Rong Shu returned to the base in the afternoon of the next day, along with Wang Meng.

Li Zhen was slightly surprised by this—he had thought that the man would not return, but would disappear into the vast snowfields of Siberia with his "people".

At this time, he was sitting at the dinner table with Kitagawa for dinner. Last night, the thigh meat he made "with the taste of a man's wild nature" was a failure - because the muscle fibers of wild animals are relatively thick and the fat content is relatively low, so according to his method, what he made was a pot of woodwood and tasteless things although it was cooked badly, so today's dinner was made by Chef Beichuan, who made fried meat steak.

When he saw the two people walking in, Li Zhen warmly beckoned them to sit and asked them if they wanted something to eat. There was a lingering look of annoyance on Rong Shu's face, but when he saw Li Zhen's appearance, this look was quickly replaced by a look of surprise.

Because in his opinion......

Li Zhen seems to have changed as a different person.

When I met him before, he occasionally had a faint smile on his face - although it didn't seem to be a gloomy and cold smile, it always made people feel that it was more or less compulsive self-regulation. But the smile on his face now was different from the smile he had had before — it did seem to be "smiling." It does not contain any complicated thoughts or hints, it is just the relaxed and happy smile of an ordinary person.

Eiki realizes that something has changed in Li Zhen's body. It's like a person suddenly unloading a thousand pounds of heavy burden, disarming and returning to the field. And this steady smile, which surprised him, made him feel a little more at ease, because it seemed to imply. The thing that worries him so far may be "no big deal" here for Li Zhen.

So he took off his coat after a moment's pause, shook off the chill from the outside, and sat down at the table.

Li Zhen raised his eyes to look at Wang Meng again.

The prophet's face was a little unspeakable, and it was obvious that he wanted to say something to Li Zhen, but he didn't know where to start, as if he wasn't even sure whether he should be here or not. But when he got to the end, he sat down opposite Li Zhen, rested his hands on the table, and only said, "I didn't expect you to have such great influence in the human army. ”

"So you've met Dai Bingcheng." Li Zhen nodded noncommittally, "What did he say?" ”

Wang Meng looked to both sides. Kitagawa Qingming and Rongshu glanced at each other, intending to leave the room, but Li Zhen pushed away the plate in front of him and stood up. He said, "Then let's go out of the road." ”

The two men walked out of the room one after the other. Come into the hallway.

So Wang Meng's face changed—not the previous look of Ai Ai, but became a little anxious.

"What did you promise me before?" He said, "You told me that my people and I could find a place to live without being disturbed – but General Dai wanted me and my people to leave Siberia permanently!" ”

Li nodded sincerely: "I'm sorry." It's true that I didn't keep my promise in this matter. But I want you to know that I'm not a bad guy. Actually, it was an unexpected thing - I thought I was in control. ”

"But you promised me." Wang Meng said.

Li Zhen sighed helplessly: "I know the way." This kind of thing is also distressing and shameful for me. But I did plan it carefully at the beginning - I knew that it was going to be extremely cold, for example. Once the ultra-low temperature arrived, the vast majority of the Imperial Army units could no longer continue to fight. Then wait until you find your people in Murmansk. You are a force to be reckoned with – Dai Bingcheng will not risk expelling you immediately. ”

"But I didn't find them." Wang Meng sighed. "I thought my people would be more than I thought, but they weren't there."

"So, that's how it ended." Li Zhen reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "But if I'm not mistaken, Dai Bingcheng should have just asked you to leave the land of the Empire - he already knew who you were, so making such a decision would be a sign of tolerance and compromise for him. He held more kindness than I could have imagined. ”

"I feel so much better to hear you say that." Wang Meng said calmly.

Hearing this, Li Zhen was stunned at first, and took two seconds to see Wang Meng's expression. Then he noticed that the other party shrugged his shoulders slightly, only to realize that the sentence just now was a slightly mocking joke. This surprised him a little - Wang Meng's mood seemed to be better than he imagined.

So he knew that what he was going to say next should also be expected by the other party, and Wang Meng was ready to accept that result. So he smiled: "So you guys go to Luzon with me?" ”

"Actually, I suspect that what you just said was already in your plan. If this is a conspiracy, then I have to obey my fate. Wang Meng said.

Then he raised his eyebrows before Li Zhen spoke, and asked softly, "What are your plans there?" ”

Li Zhen furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Wang Meng. He was no longer the ignorant young man, and the new human on the other side was not a real four-year-old child. Therefore, Li Zhen felt that Wang Meng's expression at this time was a little strange, which meant that the sentence he just said actually had other obscure meanings.

He stared at Wang Meng's eyes for a while and figured it out. So he couldn't help but chuckle: "You think...... What selfish motives did I 'trick' you powerful new humans into going to Luzon for? Like seizing power and becoming president or something? Please—the president there is my daughter-in-law right now. ”

Wang Meng didn't laugh because of his words, but said seriously: "That's what I think, even if you don't think so." I have read through the history of your humanity and know about your past and present power struggles and political systems. As far as I know, it is the prime minister, not the president, who is really in charge in Luzon right now. ”

"But the prime minister is also a friend of mine." Li Zhen shook his head, but saw Wang Meng leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed, posing as if he was talking for a long time. But he didn't want to waste time on this kind of issue, and Wang Meng's speculation about his motives also made him a little unhappy. So he sighed and waved his hand, and said, "I'll be here here today." ”

But the other party's next words made him turn his head again.

Wang Meng said: "You shouldn't be the president, you should be the emperor." ”

Li Zhen looked at him in surprise and felt that this person was crazy to read history.

"Of course I know you're crazy." Wang Meng spoke his heart for him, "But you Chinese still have a saying, which is called the authority fan." Why do you think I'm crazy? Do you think that the emperor - the emperor who holds real power should only exist in history? Do you feel that the restoration of the monarchy in a civilized society is a barbaric regression? ”

Li Zhen looked at him and shook his head: "It's the opposite." Not long ago, someone in Yuzhou said something similar to me, but this should not be what you said. As you said, the authorities are obsessed. If you read through human history as a bystander, it should be clear that empire is not a good thing. ”

Wang Meng showed that prophetic smile again: "There is no absolute good or bad in anything in the world. The same is true for the system. At least for now. For me and my people, it doesn't hurt you to be emperor in Luzon. I ask you, where we went, how do you introduce our identity? We can't live our lives with concealer foundation – species and xenomorphs have brought so much suffering to the entire world. Once humanity is freed from its long-standing fears...... What emotions do you think will follow? ”

"That's right - it's crazy revenge. The species disappeared. We will be the preferred outlet for the old man. Until that time. On what basis do you fulfill your promise to me? A place for us to recuperate? I don't think Luzon, or any other place, at that time, met that condition. You will have endless conflicts and problems in front of you, or you will push it to that inefficient 'democratic government'. Either you'll take matters into your own hands - but then more trouble will be drawn to you—"

Li Zhen stretched out his hand to stop him from talking: "I understand your concerns. But if you ask me to be an emperor just for that reason, I'll think you're hitting mosquitoes with anti-aircraft guns. It's ridiculous, so ridiculous that I don't want to explain anything anymore, I don't want to continue on the subject. ”

He turned and walked away. This time, Wang Meng didn't stop him. It's just that after he took five steps, Wang Meng behind him suddenly shouted: "Are you still human?!" ”

This sound can be described as deafening, and the echo reverberated in the corridor several times, making Li Zhen's eardrums buzz.

Just as he was thinking about whether to turn around and ask the guy, "Why do you swear", the second sentence came to his ears again-

"You are already the king of this world!"

Li Zhen stopped.

He didn't look back, he spoke.

Wang Meng walked slowly from behind him, put his hand on his shoulder, put it aside for a while and asked, "Understood?" Lookers-on see most of the game. ”

The door on the other side of the corridor opened a crack, revealing half of Kitagawa Haruaki's face.

Li Zhen waved his hand and said that it was okay, and the door closed again.

He turned around and looked at Wang Meng with a wry smile: "What is this for?" Is the lion roaring? Want me to have an epiphany? ”

Wang Meng only looked at him.

Li Zhen lowered his head and thought about it, and sighed lowly: "I thought of it a long time ago." ”

He raised his head and said to Wang Meng, "Yes, I have thought of it a long time ago. I'm not human. And I know what you're trying to say. ”

"Why did there be an emperor in history? For what kind of imperial power will die out? I think the development of productivity is one of the important reasons, even the main reason. Those who were once ruled absolutely, by virtue of their technology, productivity, and the progress of civilization, had the strength and consciousness to rival the imperial power, so that thing disappeared—this is what I thought, and this is what you think. ”

"I'm guessing you also know that of the three points I mentioned above, the last reason is probably the weakest and the most tenacious. The progress of civilization -- in ancient times, there was popular will, and in modern times there was public opinion, and it is the progress of civilization that has led to public opinion becoming an important force influencing a country's political power. But strong enough force can suppress public opinion – for years, even decades. Yet I say it is the most tenacious because there is only so much that can be done by force alone. In a world like today, no extremely brutal regime can last for a hundred years without the help of the outside world. ”

"For humans." Wang Meng said.

"For humans." Li Zhen smiled, "I know the truth." ”

"To be honest, I used to be scared of things, like missiles or something. But now I don't know how much of a threat nuclear weapons can pose to me. I used to be afraid of my family and friends being threatened, but now I also realize that when a person is so powerful that he is no longer human, the deterrent effect of that threat will be extremely limited - they don't even dare to threaten me, because some people are more afraid of death, and know that I have the power to let them die. ”

"So you think I deserve to be called 'extremely powerful force.'" Actually, I think so, too. ”

"And you have influence." Wang Meng said earnestly like a staff member, "Even if you claim that the world has been saved under your efforts, it is not a big deal, and now everyone on this planet knows your name." Luzon will be your starting point. ”

Li Zhen looked at him and smiled: "Being an emperor is just a popular saying, what you want me to do is absolute dictatorship." If I want to, this is how it can last for decades. ”

"And I believe that you will be a benevolent dictator, and in a short time you will do better than the current democratic government. And your life will be long, and for a being like you, the novelty of power will eventually wear off, and once you are tired of being a dictator and want to make your kingdom 'civilized' again, you will be able to make sure that everything works as you imagined. Wang Meng kept nodding approvingly, and his tone became a little hurried after the end, "You will realize the dream that every man has, and all I ask is what you can easily do in the process of realizing this dream." ”

Li Zhen nodded. Then he took a step back and said softly: "Actually, I am only a mortal to some extent, and my appetite for appetite and lust is no less than that of any normal person. To be honest, I wanted to do it, and even tentatively took a small step some time before. ”

"You mean Yuzhou?"

"Hmm." Li Zhen responded.

He then let out a sigh: "Then now you know the Dao, I know the Dao of what you know, and I have thought about what you think before." And I'm not a fireworks-eater, just a few years ago I was a hot-blooded young man who dreamed of joining the student council in college. ”

"So I want you to understand that the next reply I'm going to give to you isn't just because of my values, not just because of my self-restraint, but there's another reason why I have to give up — stop pestering me about it."

"I really can't."

In Li Zhen's opinion, Wang Meng is a very pragmatic person. The specific performance is that after hearing his solemn answer again, Wang Meng only thought about it for two seconds and really stopped mentioning the incident, but asked: "What is the reason?" If you may say something to me. ”

Li Zhen looked at Wang Meng.

I don't know if Lu Dao had a delusion on his own, but for a moment Wang Meng felt that he saw a trace of compassion in Li Zhen's eyes. He almost felt that this was actually a trap, and Li Zhen would kill all of them in the next moment.

But that "trace of compassion" was fleeting, and Wang Meng couldn't even figure out if it was an illusion caused by the refraction of light on the pupil. He heard Li Zhen say in a low voice-

"Actually, I'm still a very selfish person."

These words were just like the look in the eyes that Wang Meng felt he had just seen, sounding ethereal and distant, as if Li Zhen was muttering to himself unconsciously. However, the other party quickly said: "I can tell you, but not now, not all." ”

Then Li Zhen smiled and walked away.

This time, Wang Meng did not stop him.

It was only after a long, long time that Wang Meng really understood what that low and ethereal sentence meant. (To be continued......)