"Empathy or indifference, that's the question."

"The phone is broken, wouldn't it be nice to get a new one? Wouldn't it be nice to buy a new set of clothes when the clothes are old? If a private car breaks down and cannot be used, then it has to be scrapped and disposed of - the replacement of goods, the trade-in of the old for the new, such things are commonplace, and even common sense does not exist. ”

"But relatively speaking, no one would think that human beings are a replaceable thing. If a friend is in trouble, then you can abandon him and change to a new friend; If there is no hope of survival for the sick or the distressed, then they have to watch their lives indifferently; Although the partner and heirs are very precious, if you discuss it rationally, it is not irretrievable in case of loss, and you can find or raise another ......."

Such values are perverted and distorted in the eyes of our normal people, because the individual value of human beings is immeasurable, let alone replaced. Anyone who challenges this code of ethics will be severely criticized by society. ”

"If the only object of empathy in this world is human beings themselves, then the director of the Lichong power plant, William, is undoubtedly a man of high morals. Unfortunately, there is another amazing creature in the world, which is completely different from the biological structure of humans, but also has the same soul as the human mind. ”

Elf, or Pokémon.

The monster pet which can be put in a pocket.

Hugo turned his head to look at Miss Goethe standing behind him, and then sighed meaningfully at Junsha: "But it's different after all." ”

Pokémon are "them" after all, not "them".

"Although most of us see Pokémon as an equal existence to humans, we will cherish their feelings and believe that they have the same irreplaceable individual value as humans. But if you look at it from a harsh perspective, how many people can pat their chests and promise that they have never treated humans and elves differently? For elves to be between the other and the like, everyone will be subconsciously confused when they are included in the moral category - and Director William went to the other extreme in this confusion. ”

"Are you saying William lacks the ability to empathize with Pokémon?"

Looking at the detective who talked about "humans" and "morality" at every turn, Junsha finally couldn't bear it anymore, she tried to open her lips and let out a dry question-

"But this is just your speculation, and there is no evidence that William harbored such a pathological mentality. There is no information in the past records that would suggest that William was hostile to Pokémon. ”

"Of course, of course."

Hugo calmly tapped his palm in the air, reassuring the sheriff.

"Each of us has different values, and an alienated sense of morality doesn't necessarily turn a person into an evil-doer bastard. William certainly sees Pokémon as an item that doesn't need to be considered morally, but as a normal person, he doesn't destroy them for no reason - he just coldly and rationally sees them as a tool to be used. ”

The detective tapped the table with his knuckles again, letting out a countdown-like drumbeat of urgency. At the same time, he spoke very quickly to confirm one fact after another to Junsha-

"William's Lichong Power Plant seems to be the best company in the city for employee benefits, and the actual wages of any employee are about three times that of the same position in the same position in the same position — is that really the case?"

Junsha had the personal information of all the employees who had been in and out of the factory on the day of the incident, and it was impossible for him not to know their respective incomes. At this time, I had to nod and respond: "If the company's subsidy is also included, it is true." ”

Hugo went on to ask: "Is it true that the treatment of employees is so good, but the treatment of the genie at the Lichong power plant is only at the average level of local energy companies?" ”

Jun Sha nodded without hesitation: "It really exists." ”

"So ten years ago, during the tough period of competition in the energy industry in the city, when all companies were exploiting their employees, did the Lichong power plant, which was still weak at the time, have a similar notoriety?"

At this time, the sheriff shook his head and denied: "I don't know the situation ten years ago, but that factory has a reputation as a conscientious enterprise since it was founded, and the treatment of employees should not be bad." ”

The detective asked again: "Lichong City has only begun to improve the living conditions of the Pokémon in the factory in recent years, so before that, did this conscience factory take the initiative to call for slogans similar to Pokémon protection?" ”

Junsha hesitated: "This is not within the scope of the investigation, I don't know very well. ”

"On this issue, we may refer to the posts of Arnault engineers on social media."

Seeing that Junsha couldn't answer, the detective took the initiative to provide evidence-

"It's not easy to read that decade-long journal from beginning to end. However, there are several short articles related to the work environment, which record the changes in the treatment of Pokémon in the Lichong Power Plant at different points in time. Although the narrator is radical and likes yin and yang, it can still be seen that no matter what stage of development the power plant is, the living conditions of the Pokémon in it are not fundamentally different from those of the blackheart factories of the same period. ”

Junsha's pupils contracted, and as ordinary evidence surfaced, an unacceptable reality had quietly appeared in front of her.

Hugo opened his mouth slowly, and the knuckles on the table twitched like the footsteps of death approaching, making people's cold hairs stand up—

"Now please answer me one more question, the question is very simple, how many elves does William himself have? Sheriff Junsha, you can't be unaware, right? ”

The number of Pokémon of citizens needs to be regularly reported to the Alliance, which is meant to be easily accessible to the police department.

“…… Four hundred and twenty-one. ”

After a moment of silence, Junsha reported a number.

"So, how many Pokémon are there in the Lichong Power Plant to assist in production? Counting these numbers should also be an indispensable step in the field survey, right? ”

"Four hundred and twenty-one."

Junsha sighed and said the exact same number as in the previous question.

"This is the total number of all Pokémon working in the Lichong Power Plant, including the seventy-one Electro-based Pokémon of the power generation system that died in the explosion." She went on to add.

421-421=0。

This meant that William didn't have a single elf on him.

This is not normal, especially for a big entrepreneur of the status of factory director William.

Some people don't accept the elves because they believe that they are inadequate, and out of excess compassion, they choose to follow a lifestyle that does not drag down Pokémon. And there are also those who choose to isolate themselves from Pokémon simply because of apathy.

Hugo stared into Junsha's eyes and said, "What kind of person do you think William is now?" Is it any wonder that such a gentleman chooses to let the elves use spontaneous electricity to save the power plant that he is benefiting society? ”

The sound of tapping on the table stopped, and the world returned to silence.

Junsha couldn't help but take a deep breath, she regretted asking the detective about the details of the case.

However, the detective's decryption did not stop with the sound of banging on the table-

While interpreting William's character, many of the previously somewhat abrupt contradictions are also explained. Why did the Pokémon's protest take place at the Liyong Power Plant in the middle of the elf's treatment, and not in other factories with a worse environment? This is because the treatment of the employees of the Lichong Power Plant is three times that of the same level, and in the eyes of the Pokémon who have not changed their salary, the gap between them and humans is even more wide, and they are naturally more dissatisfied. ”

"Why would the Genie of the power generation system terrorize William, the leader of the entire plant, instead of having more contact with them and something like the head of production? How did they come up with the great idea of violent resistance to capitalist oppression? ”

"That's the credit for that Miss Arnault's nonsense." Hugo smiled and shook his head in self-questioning.

She is now working in the maintenance department of electrical equipment, and the equipment in the biopower zone, which needs to withstand the power of the "big bang" of the electrical system, is the most sloppy power harvesting device in the whole factory.

"Because of this transfer, Arno has regained the opportunity to communicate face-to-face with the electric Pokémon, and it is not difficult to imagine what kind of complaints she would have about those naïve self-destructing elves when she was deeply involved in the elven liberation movement."

Junsha muttered to herself: "Director William is naturally the target of Arno's fierce attacks, so the electric elves will regard William as the source of all evil that is evil and cunning...... So much so that when the final negotiations are made, they will use such an extreme method to directly start the countdown to blow themselves up...... But Arno shouldn't have instigated the Pokémon to blow up the factory on their own initiative, unlike William, it is impossible for her to use elves to do such a thing. ”

"Exactly!"

The white-coated detective stood up with a snap of his fingers—

"There is another truth behind the case, there is a real murderer behind the scenes who is hiding behind everyone and fueling the troubles! There is a scheming guy who quietly incites everyone's discontent and darkness! Tsk, the last time I encountered such an incident was at the Feiyun City Police Station. ”

As if in response to the detective's announcement, there was a noise outside the door, and the originally quiet office became lively.

"It's punctual, it's a reassuring bunch."

Hugo sighed so emotionally and looked behind him.

There was another bang.

The door to the sheriff's office was kicked open with what appeared to be a Pokémon move, and a small blue penguin jumped in.

"Poga, Boga Boga!"

Under the detective's satisfied gaze, Bogaman jumped into the room with his head held high.