We are still bound to the curse of the past.

Slavery, a term defined in the history books as extinct, this demon has never left us, and its hands have never let go of the throat of mankind!

It has been given a makeover, under a new name, and continues to be violent against the weak.

It hides in the shadow of history, in the letter of the law, and squeezes the soul of mankind.

It hovers over the world like a ghost, peering through the clouds, playing with the fate of all of us.

That's not our fate, it's not God's punishment, it's the sin of a few! And we! For the sake of the so-called "people"! Carry all their filth!

Every morning, when I stand in front of the mirror, how I wish I could look into my eyes and say to myself: I am free.

But I can't.

I should know that I am a slave.

I can't lie to myself.

If I am free, why do I have to do the work that someone else has arranged?

If I'm free, why can't I walk into the Britannian park?

If I'm free, then why do I have dog tags around my neck?!

If I'm free, then why do I have the number of a beast branded on my body?!

Some people, the root of those evils, must pay for this twisted world! My anger! It won't stop! ・・・・・・】

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In the dark room, Yilan was standing behind a huge unidirectional transparent glass, carefully studying the scene behind the screen, tilting her head from time to time, as if thinking about something.

On the opposite side is a stepped classroom like a university classroom, and the semi-circular classroom that can accommodate more than 200 people has already been filled and full.

They are all candidates who have undergone preliminary auditions.

Most of the volunteers who joined the group were Eleven, but there were no less than 20 or so piercing eyes with different skin tones mixed among the students.

At this moment, they were staring intently at the LCD screen in front of Yilan, some with passionate expressions, some with frowns, and some with indignant expressions, but the eyes they looked at the man on the screen were full of adoration without exception.

Of course, they didn't know that someone was standing behind that majestic figure at this moment, observing their every move. THEY'VE BEEN CAUGHT UP IN ZERO'S DEAFENING SPEECH ON THE SCREEN.

Under the direction of Diethart's almost paranoia, this two-hour speech was carefully choreographed from beginning to end, with every movement of ZERO, every change in tone, every wrinkle on his clothes, and every angle of shadows. The effect of the finished product did not disappoint, it was just a conversation at the table, but it had a magnificent sense of ups and downs. The contagious effect is evident in the feedback from these students.

Yilan looked at the faces of the beings in front of him, but his mood was not beautiful.

The suzhì of this batch of students disappointed him.

"One hundred and thirty." Ylan sighed as she spoke.

The ponytail man was sitting in a soft chair in the shadows behind Ilan, the light from the flat on his knees hitting him in the face from the bottom up, making him look like a ghost.

Hearing this, Diethardt's fingers quickly slid across the tablet, finding his target.

"Aida Yuichi, male, 29 years old, unemployed, studied at the Faculty of Literature and History of Kanagawa Prefectural National University before the war, but failed to graduate due to the outbreak of the war, and made many radical statements against the empire during his studies. After the defeat, he was exiled..."

"Let him fuck off."

Yilan looked at the down-and-out young man who was waving his fists, looking crazy, and spitting and shouting something, his eyes showed a faint disgust. The decision to kick him out was made without waiting for Diethart's introduction.

This kind of guy who yells the loudest in the crowd is often the fastest to turn against the wallgrass. This has been proven by countless traitors who have gone down in history.

Moreover, his cloudy eyes, his exposed arms, and his nervous twitching facial muscles all illustrate his pathetic identity as a drug addict.

The ponytail man didn't say much, and deleted the information of this older angry young man.

"Thirty-three people left?"

Towards the end of the first lesson, Ylan asked.

"Yes, thirty-three."

Is it less than 20 percent?

Ylan sighed.

At this pace, it is not impossible to reach the set target of 1,000 men, but training such as tactical run-in will be greatly delayed, if it is not possible to form a capable force before the next battle・・・・・・

Will it be up to Euphemia to buy some more time?

At this time, the expression of another student attracted Bai Mao's attention.

It was a blonde, blue-eyed, good-looking young man, different from the crowd around him, although he was also looking at the screen seriously, his expression was quite calm. It was only when ZERO ended a sensational speech about some of the core political concepts that a glimmer of spark could be found in the depths of his eyes.

Being able to keep your composure in this atmosphere and filter out valid information, this guy ・・・・・・

"Nine." Ylan glanced at the nameplate in front of him.

"Aaron Pierre." Diethardt quickly found the other party's information. "27 years old, born in Marseille, France, EU, fluent in French, English, Japanese, and German, a top student of the Faculty of Languages of the University of Paris Dauphine. After graduating, he worked in a newspaper, and at a young age, he had his own column, mostly praising and disparaging current affairs. Two years ago, I came to District 11 alone, and I filmed several documentaries on the living conditions of the aborigines at my own expense, but they were never broadcast due to political reasons..."

"Documentary?"

"Yes."

"Have you seen it?"

"It's a buildable material." As a peer senior, Diethart did not hesitate to affirm him.

"What about the political position?"

“・・・・・・”

The ponytail man didn't respond, and Ylan turned his head to look at him, only to find that the other party had a strange smile on his face.

"According to his own bio, he is a member of the ultra-left French Communist Party underground party."

"The Communists?" Ylang raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

Due to the reasons of the next-door neighbors, the position of the Comintern, including the French Communist Party, was very embarrassing, and many people in the EU were suppressed, and even named red bandits. As a result, many of them simply did nothing, gave up on themselves, and found a new way out.

"Then why don't you hold a half-official position in the Federation?"

"'I have developed a deep despair at the so-called policy of equalizing the wealth and the poor of the Chinese Federation, which is no longer the emancipation of mankind that the Comintern insists on, but a heavier shackle on the heads of the suffering people, which has rotted from the bone marrow and is twisted to the extreme of centralized feudal capitalism.' That's what he said. ”

"Hmmm...

Ylang stared intently at the red youth.

Regardless of his political views, he was indeed the most scarce "noble man" in this era.

This kind of person is a double-edged sword, and if they can win the respect of this kind of person, they will be willing to sacrifice their own part for the other person. Otherwise, they can be incredibly destructive.

Give them a spark and they will set the whole steppe on fire, and he will drain the last drop of his blood from this idea.

In other organizations, this kind of person is often unpopular, because their three views have already been formed, and they are smelly and hard like stones in a pit. But the Black Knights are different, there is no essential conflict between the two concepts, and everyone's ultimate goal is to "liberate all mankind". And・・・・・・

Violent revolution has never been a topic that the Communists shy away from.

"Well, let him come to my small class."

After thinking for a moment, Ylan made a decision.

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Since the class size is small, the classroom is naturally much smaller. In a room of less than thirty square meters, there were ten students named by Bai Mao himself. THE PERCENTAGE OF ELEVEN HAS DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY, TO JUST FOUR. They looked at each other with curious but polite eyes, as if they felt some strange atmosphere, and neither of them spoke first.

Footsteps could be heard faintly outside the door, getting closer and closer, and then, the classroom was opened.

"Ah, it's all here. Good afternoon, first meeting. ”

A white guy -- this was their first image, and he stood in front of them with a sunny smile that melted snow and ice.

"Eastland Lampeluchi."

Bai Mao didn't say much, turned around and wrote his name on the electronic blackboard.

"You can call me Ylan, or whatever you want by name, but only in this classroom. Here I am your guru. But if you are outside, you still have to call me the deputy commander, and if you mess with discipline, there will be chaos. We speak English in the classroom, so you don't have a problem, right? Do you have any questions before class? ・・・・・・Ah, of course. ”

Ylang motioned for the girl who had raised her hand to ask.

"The deputy commander refers to ・・・・・・"

"Literally, I'm the second-in-command of the Black Knights. What else..."

"You're the second-in-command of the organization?!" A middle-aged white man who looked to be three times the size of ylang-ylang couldn't help but speak.

"Raise your hand before asking a question. I can understand whether you should have doubts about my age or race, and when you join the organization, you will no longer have such doubts. Of course, whether you are qualified to join the Black Knights or not, I have the right to decide. ”

Everyone looked at each other, and finally accepted his statement with a stomach full of questions.

"Did Your Excellency bring us here?" The question was asked by Aaron, who had just been selected by Ylan.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because your talents are not on the battlefield."

Ylang's explanation was fairly simple and straightforward.

"I have more important work to do with you."

"What do you mean?" The young man's brows furrowed slightly, and there was a look of vigilance in his eyes.

"You want to know why I'm singleing you out, right?" Ylan smiled. "Among you here, the lowest of you have a bachelor's degree, the highest even has a double doctorate, and you can speak at least three languages. None of you should have been cornered and forced to go to Liangshan to join the Black Knights. With your talents, you could have found your place in high society, and even in the ruling class. Or ・・・・・・"

YLANG LOOKED AT THE FOUR ELEVENS.

"Become an honorary Britannian and live a life of food and clothing. At the very least, you can show off your might in front of your own people. ”

THE ELEVEN'S FACES TWITCHED VIOLENTLY, AS IF THEY HAD BEEN GREATLY INSULTED, AND THEY TWISTED THEIR HEADS TO THE SIDE IN INDIGNATION.

"But you didn't, and some of you gave up your future and came to Japan just to expose the truth of the world. You can't tell yourselves that it's an irrelevant bunch of people like the rest of the world and bury your head in the sand. You can't ignore the bloody reality, even though you know that sometimes it's best to close your eyes.

Others, those who twist their heads away, I respect you equally. The choices you have made are no less difficult than anybody. Seven years, seven years of utter despair, is enough to shake the most determined, enough to make people wonder what the meaning of their perseverance is.

The exit is always in front of you.

The dog hole that you can get through just by kneeling.

And you choose to turn around and go back to that dark, rotting world full of maggots.

Let it be known to you that if you go through it, you will be dead. The moment you kneel, it is the moment when you strangle your soul with your own hands. ”

Ylang sat on the podium, his gaze sweeping the classroom, looking into everyone's eyes.

"Each of you has different beliefs and different beliefs. Some are staunch atheists, while others believe that all men are equal before God. Some people believe that democracy is the only salvation in this world, and some people think that the common wealth is the same in the world. Some of you have even come with missionary purposes・・・・・・"

Yilan's gaze fell on Pierre's body intentionally or unintentionally, and the latter's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"Use the Black Knights as a platform to promote their political ideas on the world stage."

"You're right, but I'm—" Aaron was anxious to argue.

"I don't care what your ideal world looks like, Monsieur Pierre, I just want to ask you one question. Freedom of the flesh, freedom of property, and freedom of the spirit, who comes first and who comes first? ”

"Of course, the freedom of the flesh." As a pragmatist, Aron gave the most logical answer.

"That's right." Ylang smiled and nodded. "If there is no personal freedom, any political proposition is empty talk. When you take the first step, you start to fantasize about the end, which is just a daydream, a wild whisper. I am not at all against your faith, on the contrary, I would like to see her shine in the new world. But, Monsieur Pierre, the seed of hope has only just sprouted, and too much nutrients will drown it. ”

"I know. I just want to..." Aaron couldn't argue for a moment.

"I know what you're thinking, I'm not asking you to give up on your ideals. No, please don't give up on your ideals, it is the faith in your hearts that has sustained you to get here, and made you the strongest individuals. However, in this era, the power of the individual is small, and we can only complete this path and achieve ultimate liberation by supporting each other. The Black Knights are not pursuing political forces, ZERO is just a simple rebel. Here we have only one goal - to overthrow the old world. Only after that will we be able to build tomorrow.

Mr. Pierre, are you willing to make sacrifices for the future of humanity? ”

Ylang smiled and held out her hand to the blonde youth.

Money, women, status, fame, these things that ordinary people flock to are for some people, equivalent to dung.

"Sacrifice."

This word is the death hole of people like them.

In the middle of the night, Aaron Pierre finally raised his head, and there was no confusion in his eyes, replaced by an indescribable excitement.

"For tomorrow." As he spoke, he took Ylan's hand.

"For tomorrow."