For some reason, Dai Lan saw that the emperor's face suddenly darkened for a moment.

Mr. Ultramarine was not killed, but still survived; Ultramarine: He even helped them take control of the network, making sure that the secrets revealed by Dailan could be spread - now that they're in good order, it should be even better, right? So when the emperor went to get a drink, Dai Lan caught up and asked with some hesitation.

The Emperor gave an answer that she could not understand for the time being.

"In the eyes of the sun, there is probably no such thing as a shadow in the world. But there is a limit to the human horizon...... Do you understand?"

No. To be honest, I didn't understand it at all.

Dailan was a little confused.

Because her brain is really not very good—or she wouldn't be where she is now.

The reason why she likes ultramarine and Xiao Liuli is because they speak very clearly. Even people like her who haven't been to school can hear it clearly, and that's what they really want to understand. Whether it is Bingshui, the emperor, or the leader of the newspaper..... these smart people like to say that the hazy and vague is like an unsolved riddle. She is not very suitable for this kind of chatting method where everyone has to take a look at the subtext first when they are talking.

If it's online, she can think about it seriously. But when she had to respond immediately, her brain was going to overheat.

So Dai Lan did not reply to the emperor's words, but just thought about this sentence like a ghost, and followed the emperor back around.

"Ice Water told me a word before."

The Emperor poured Russell Coke and whispered, "If one day, Ultramarines don't like to drink Coke...... Then he probably wasn't the person he was at the beginning."

"Do you know why she said that?"

After the foam faded, Russell looked at the glass with only half of the Coke left, and couldn't help but laugh, "You really haven't poured Coke."

"Ice Water and I are emperor penguins. If you don't control sugar strictly, it's easy to gain weight."

The Emperor said calmly, "She was able to maintain such a slender figure because she had been strict with herself for the past twenty years. Not to mention Coke, she didn't even drink much juice. The only drink I've ever drunk is probably mixed vegetable juice."

"That kind of life is really boring."

"She's really hard."

The emperor did not deny Russell's words, but nodded seriously: "It's me who is sorry for her. If it weren't for my status, with her well-behaved and intelligent, she would have been able to achieve her happiness more easily."

"You don't understand your daughter."

Russell held up the iced cola with one hand, but didn't finish it, just took a sip.

He glanced at Dailan as if he had thought of someone. He looked out the window.

Russell's ears trembled slightly, and he whispered with some nostalgia, "You know, Bingshui and Kasumi grew up together."

"They're good friends." The Emperor replied.

"Then you don't know how they became friends," Russell replied with great certainty, "because Kasumi is a lost hero, and Ice Water is a born hero."

"She adores you. She said she wanted to be a hero like her father. But if the hero's path doesn't work, then she goes to work as a journalist. If a reporter can't be a host, if he can't be a host, he will be a writer, and if a writer can't be a nun. If you can't save him in person and support justice, at least you can use your life to tell the truth, and if you can't say it, you can turn it into a hidden thought and integrate it into your work, and if you can't even write it, you can also do something good within your ability.

"—As long as one wants to do it, there is always a way."

Bingshui, who said this, was only sixteen years old at the time.

At that time, neither Kasumi nor Russell knew why Bingshui, who was only sixteen years old, could have this kind of consciousness that others couldn't think of at the age of twenty-six or thirty-six.

"Is it ..... because of Mother Icewater?"

Daisy on the side

Immediately thought of the secret that I had just learned.

As soon as she said it, she was startled, thinking that she had slipped out. But Russell nodded, "You're right. After experiencing such pain since she was a child and gaining insight into the truth of the world, she still chose to become a hero and save the world. The hero in her eyes is not the well-known 'partner of justice', nor is it the plaything of authority in Kasumi's eyes. Kasumi thinks she knows the truth about the hero, so she tries her best to prevent Icewater from becoming a hero...... As everyone knows, the ice water knows earlier and deeper than she knows.

"The hero she wanted to be was the kind of hero who endured pain and loneliness and saved the world with her own suffering from her own suffering—just like her father.

"Do you understand, Emperor? For Bingshui, the cause she is practicing and dedicating now is happiness itself. Not everyone is happy in their eyes, they all enjoy power and wealth, fame and sex. If Bingshui was that kind of person, then she would not have promised you to hide it from the beginning.

"You are too arrogant, Emperor. You've been on this lonely path for so long that you've begun to refuse to think, to accept others approaching you."

"Because I don't need a companion, and I don't need a companion."

The Emperor said in a deep voice, "[Heroes] are cobweb-like lies that I have compiled, thin and easy to destroy, but they do exist, and they do catch some mosquitoes. The Brokers are also parasitic on this cobweb, the 'successor to the professional hero—so you should know that I don't need a successor.'"

"'The need to exist' and the 'need to exist' are two different things. You don't need to be your business, it should be determined by justice and righteousness. Bingshui is a sensible and intelligent child, so she can see you clearly, she can see Xia... You can see me clearly."

Russell looked at the Coke in his cup and sighed, "Do you know why I like to drink Coke?

"I'll be honest, Emperor. Actually, in the beginning, I didn't like to drink Coke at all. Or rather, I don't like to drink Coke that much.

"It's not expensive, it's just a mass-produced commercial beverage with almost zero cost. Even though I was poor on Sogo, at least I could drink it casually - I don't mean to boast, but I was really cute and much prettier than I am now.

"My mother, when she was a child, was like a child. People called her the eldest sister, and she mingled with her peers. But I'm different..... I've been aware since I was a kid that I'm cute, likable to the level of being able to easily become a child star. And I'm not clumsy, dull, and selfish like a real child..... I'm generally mixed up with elders who aren't the same age as me.

"Use my looks, my age, my origin, my speech, to make them have pity on me, to trust me, to love me. It's a very simple thing for me – how could I be without snacks and drinks for someone like this? The small gifts and snacks I received were much more expensive than that.

"The answer is simple..... because cola has a special property: it's hard to drink in one sitting. And after it becomes room temperature, the taste and texture will decrease a lot - as the temperature rises, the sweetness will become lighter, and the solubility of carbonic acid will decrease; Coupled with the satiety it provides with gas, it's fair to say that the first sip of Coke is the tastiest. The more you drink, the more painful it becomes.

"It's not just bubbles that numb your taste buds, but it's also bloating in your stomach when you drink too much; When I drink too much iced drinks, I still feel abdominal pain."

Speaking of this, Russell glanced at the emperor, who was still frowning, and couldn't help but chuckle.

His dim yellow pupils looked at Dailan, making her subconsciously feel nervous and frightened, "Did you guess?"

"..... because, do you want to share it with others?"

Relying on her own experience of playing with her peers as a child, Dailan tentatively guessed.

Russell nodded.

She was even stunned - she really guessed correctly?

"Because I'm afraid of being alone."

Russell whispered, "My meal was already small... If you drink too much coke, the amount of food will become smaller. Because cola itself is a drink that is easy to provide a feeling of satiety

Material. When I was very young, I would share the same bottle of Coke with my friends – we couldn't get enough of it, and Coke was the best at that time.

"Actually, I don't have a heavy preference for drinks. When I started, I drank lemonade, milk, and alcohol – I was actually quite a drinker. When I really want to drink, I don't usually drink iced coke, but a champagne, not sweet champagne. I used to get taken to drinking parties by my mentor and then get drunk and throw up a mess — if I didn't know how to drink, she wouldn't take me there, and that would be a disappointment. When we're together, she'll take me to drink some elf drinks, and when I'm working overtime, I'm drinking coffee. How can there be so many opportunities to drink Coke?

"Part of the reason I started drinking Coke was because the barber used to like Coke, but then he became an idol and wanted to take care of himself, so he didn't have the opportunity to drink it. At that time, I was also trying to make up for some regrets for him, and I felt that Ice Coke was really sweet.

「… Later, it was because of a big stupid dog who often came to my house and rushed to drink the Coke from my fridge. He drank so well that I felt like I had to drink a little too. We rushed to drink Coke and grab snacks together....that's when I think Coke is the best.

"Later..."

Russell paused: "Actually, it comes from a kind of masochistic psychology. I drink Coke in the hope that Delphinium will stop me from doing this unhealthy behavior or join me.

"Whether it is to stop me, or to indulge me, or to join me, that is love for me. I haven't read her heart, and I know not to tempt the love of others...... But I did indulge in it. Then before I knew it, it became a habit - I really started to like drinking Coke. I habitually wear a mask, act on a personality that is likable, and make people smile with small shortcomings that make people feel close. Over time, even I was about to believe it.

"Or maybe I'm not lying to myself..... but because Coke reminds me of the peaceful and beautiful daily life I had when I first came to Happiness Island. With the bad day, with the delphinium and the bad, they don't need to worry about the troubles of the present, they don't need to think about the catastrophe and the enemy of fate, they don't need to think about the future of the world and the future of all beings.

"That makes me feel like I'm not alone..... I'm still human, just like everyone else."

Russell crossed his hands with his fingers crossed and placed them in front of his chest.

His tone became as calm and clear as that of a barber: "So from this point of view, Ice Water is not wrong at all. If I don't like Coke anymore, then I'm not the same person anymore.

"Now, I'm no longer mortal. The fateful day is approaching, and I can no longer numb myself.

"—So, I gave up Coke. And the one who still dreams."