After everyone fell asleep in the middle of the night, Elysia quietly got up and left.
She followed the tire tracks on the leeward side of the sand dunes, moving forward.
With the enhancement of her Herrscher physiology, she could traverse dozens of kilometers in just a few moments.
At the end of the road, she saw a heavily guarded base.
Several searchlights rotated and swept autonomously, casting scattered spots of light on the ground.
Elysia nimbly slipped into a blind spot, vaulted over the fence, and crept up beside the only room with its lights on, leaning against the window to eavesdrop.
The room was filled with many people, the voices chaotic, as they were happily playing cards.
In the lull of the card game, a younger voice rang out: “I’m still not used to shooting at civilians.” “That’s normal, everyone goes through it,” a deep, thick voice said, sounding unperturbed.
“Just killing that scum for fun is fine.
Terrorists aren’t that easy to find; if you follow the rules honestly, you’d be lucky to fire a shot once a month.
“In this godforsaken place, it’s nothing but wind and sand.
You’re just stuck in a tin can; if you don’t fire some shots to vent, your whole body feels uncomfortable.
Last week, some guy was cooped up too long and shoved his own gun barrel into his mouth.
What a damn pathetic way to go.” As soon as the words fell, a chorus of agreement followed.
“Won’t we be court-martialed?” The younger voice held a trace of fear.
Everyone in the room suddenly burst into laughter, accompanied by loud thuds against the table.
“Ha, the fact that you can ask that question is why you’re still a greenhorn.” Someone whistled sharply and teased, “Do you want me to find you a lawyer?
Hmm?” “The higher-ups tacitly approve.
If you’re bored, just find a village and slaughter it; everyone does it.” Once the deep voice spoke, the whole room went quiet.
“We are the humans; that scum doesn’t count as people.
You’ll understand after you stay here longer.
Why would we give up the good life in North America to come to this backwater and eat sand if we weren’t going to get some compensation?” “Besides, those guys are like weeds; you cut them down, and they grow right back.” Another voice laughed heartily.
“Isn’t there one right next to the base?
When are we going?” The younger voice was now settled, feeling eager to try.
Elysia’s heart sank lower the more she listened.
“They paid, and that man is from the Mu Continent, get it?
Extorting a bit is enough.
“Who you can kill for fun, who you can do business with, who you have to treat with respect—it’s all a science.” The deep voice spoke coaxingly, “If you want to have fun, just wait.
We rotate out the day after tomorrow.
Once we get to the new location, just go out and look; you’ll find something.
I hope the people over there leave us some.” Then came the sound of shuffling cards, and they began another round of the game.
Elysia leaned silently against the wall and looked up at the night sky.
The moonlight was a lifeless, ghastly pale, oozing out pale liquid light that blanketed the sea of sand in a silver glow, looking like bones scattered everywhere.
After returning, she sat on the sand dune outside all night.
Elysia was not shaken by their wanton words.
She had seen plenty of such scum on her travels and had dealt with many of them as well.
She had gone from trembling with rage at their unreserved malice toward others to handling it with composure.
She was just wondering if she should soil her own hands.
Soil the hands of the person named “Elysia.” Back in the European Union, some of the most heinous individuals had deep-rooted power.
It was impossible to bring them to justice through proper channels, so Elysia had always followed the rules of the underworld to send them to hell.
She had a specialized department under her to handle these unsavory matters efficiently.
During this process, Elysia only issued the orders and then kept her distance.
She would not take a life with her own hands, nor would she watch how her subordinates carried out punishments; this was a principle she held.
Many people maintain a non-killing principle, in fact, to prevent themselves from falling into the abyss.
But now, she had come alone, just as she had when she first set out, yet the sins she faced were a thousand times greater than before.
Then she would simply have to handle it herself.
As soon as this thought emerged, Elysia couldn’t help but frown.
The moment she thought about using Elysia’s appearance to do these things, a wave of resistance rose within her.
The original Elysia was a god who loved humanity, and a person who loved humanity.
During her journey around the world, she had experienced the kindness that warms the heart, as well as the malice that had no reason.
She had witnessed the brightness in human nature that shone like stars, and she had also witnessed the ugliness in human nature that was like a quagmire.
And at the end of that long journey, she chose to love everyone.
Elysia ought to love all people.
But she could not do it.
Elysia walked from godhood to humanity, while she was merely a mortal from the very beginning.
Whether it was the education from her past life or her current self-awareness, both told her that this scum should be burning in hell, never to be reincarnated.
But she had usurped her position—a position that required loving all people.
Giving orders indirectly and then closing her eyes to avoid looking was her limit.
In the midst of her chaotic thoughts, she remembered a saying from Mencius in her past life: “From this, we can see that without the heart of compassion, one is not human; without the heart of shame and dislike, one is not human; without the heart of modesty and yielding, one is not human; without the heart of right and wrong, one is not human.” At that moment, she was suddenly enlightened.
The premise of loving everyone is to first know what a human is.
Elysia was the collection of thousands of beauties in human nature, yet she had never criticized her companions for eliminating evil.
Whether it was Mobius purging the opposition of the Fire MOTHS, or the repeated restructuring of the higher-ups led by Mei, she had never stopped them, and even subtly agreed.
Interpreting Elysia’s love for the world as an unconditional inability to distinguish right from wrong was, in fact, a desecration of Elysia.
The desert sunrise gilded the frozen waves in the sea of sand, spreading out undulating dunes.
The hazy sunlight shone into the depths of her heart.
In the flawless radiance, she seemed to see a phantom surrounded by a pink halo.
The phantom tilted its head slightly, hands behind its back, and smiled gently at her.
Anger and confusion receded like the tide.
Elysia found herself in a state of extreme calm.
At this moment, she could calmly recall every word they said, and calmly analyze their twisted psychology and base souls.
Then, she calmly decided to send them to their deaths with her own hands tomorrow.
In her past life, those who came to the Middle East to audit accounts often died in plane crashes; presumably, a plane crashing here was just the norm.
Then, she revealed a faint smile, sitting on the sand dune and quietly admiring the magnificent scenery of the desert.