Chapter 198

“Bajins… me… I truly regret it…”

In the evening, inside a small house in the rebels’ settlement, after drinking a cup of cheap wine with a gloomy expression, the chubby uncle with a red face hugged “Xiaoba Jin’s” neck and tearfully said: “If you hadn’t gone to save me back then, maybe my injuries would have been fewer. After being laid off, I could have drunk less alcohol, and your family wouldn’t be in this state now…

Waaa… I… I really did everything I could to gather money for you back then. Not only did I sell our house and my wife’s jewelry, but I even sold my reserved spot in the military department just to avoid being laid off. But in the end, I couldn’t even raise one-tenth of what was needed.

I… It’s not that I didn’t want to give you the money, I swear!

I really tried hard, even kowtowed to people at the relief bureau… but your wife’s illness was incurable. If I had given all the money to you, not only would your son have no one to take care of him, you’d probably starve to death, and so would my wife…

I… I’ve wronged my wife, I’ve wronged you, your wife, your son, I’ve wronged your whole family! I… my whole life… I’ve wronged everyone!”

“…”

“Sorry… Owen got drunk and mistook you for old Bajins, making a fool of himself in front of you…”

Amidst the drunken uncle’s incoherent wailing, a gentle-looking woman wiped away her tears and pleaded with “Xiaoba Jin” with a slightly beseeching look:

“I know I shouldn’t be saying this… but… could you please not blame Uncle Owen? He really did his best back then… can you?”

“Hmm…”

Looking at the woman who appeared to be not yet forty but looked quite aged, Leon couldn’t help but nod, emitting a somewhat muffled sound.

After piecing together the fragmented stories told by the drunken uncle, although he hadn’t personally experienced them like the real Xiaoba Jin, Leon still felt a tightness in his chest as if something was blocking it, making his breathing difficult. Suddenly, he wanted to go outside and get some fresh air.

“Xiaoba Jin…”

Seeing Leon hanging his head silently, the gentle woman sighed and said:

“You haven’t been drinking, but it’s getting late. Your home is on the other side of the valley. Why don’t you stay here tonight and sleep in Owen’s room?”

“No.”

Shaking his head to decline the woman’s kindness, Leon softly said: “Aunt Fanny, I haven’t tidied up my place yet, and… I want to go out and get some fresh air.”

“Alright… make sure you button up your coat so you don’t catch a cold.”

“Hmm.”

After leaving with the gentle woman’s warm reminder, Leon quickly walked along the dark dirt road toward the other end of the valley.

…

As an undercover mission, this reconnaissance was quite a failure.

Apart from being a good listener and hearing many stories from the chubby uncle, he didn’t obtain much intelligence about the upper echelons of the rebels, nor did he even figure out where his own residence was.

But… it wasn’t entirely fruitless.

At least he confirmed that most of these rebels weren’t power-hungry opportunists; they were just ordinary people who wanted to live peaceful lives.

Finding a slightly higher spot to sit down, Leon observed the distribution of buildings in the valley while seriously contemplating what he should do next.

From the perspective of being a cleaner from the Clearing Bureau, he had already located the rebels’ hideout, identified their leader, and gained a foothold.

Next, by showcasing his “anomaly,” joining the rebels who possessed anomalous items, he could complete the task, helping the princess regain her identity and completely eradicate this organization.

However, apart from those eight or nine anomaly possessors, there were nearly a thousand members in the entire rebel group. Besides their families, many of them were also wanted criminals with bounties on their heads.

They relied on their leader’s strange “door ability” to hide in this valley. If they returned to the capital city, they would likely be arrested and thrown into prison immediately, and their families would lose their means of survival once again.

Although all of this seemed unrelated to him, once the anomaly possessors were under control, the rest would no longer fall within his scope of work.

But…

Looking at the coat the gentle woman had specially draped over him before he left, and at the tear stains left by the chubby uncle’s crying, Leon couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

Impersonating someone else’s identity… it wasn’t easy either…

“Xiaoba Jin?”

Just as Leon let out a long sigh, a middle-aged man with streaks of gray hair emerged silently from the nearby shadows, furrowing his brows and asking:

“Why are you here?”

Finally decided to show up, huh? This guy’s suspicion is pretty strong…

Having noticed his presence earlier and deliberately coming over to make contact, Leon, already equipped with the Performer Badge, shivered all over upon hearing the question, feigning surprise as he turned around and asked incredulously: “Leader sir? What are you doing here?”

“It’s not far from where I live. I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk.”

Not caring about Leon’s counter-question, the middle-aged man answered first, his eyes flickering as he asked: “And you? Why aren’t you going home so late?”

“Going home…”

Upon hearing this, Leon fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and whispered softly:

“Do I even have a home?”

Huh??

Confused by Xiaoba Jin’s words, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but frown, pointing at a dimly lit shack in the distance and saying: “Xiaoba Jin, what are you talking about? Isn’t that your home?”

Oh, so that’s where “my” home is.

Gazing desolately at the shack, noting its exact location, Leon shook his head indifferently with a very light yet firm voice:

“That’s not my home, it’s just the house I live in.”

“…”

Unaware that he had been subtly provoked, upon hearing Xiaoba Jin’s response, the middle-aged man’s heart trembled slightly, overwhelmed by a hollow pain.

For Xiaoba Jin, that place was no longer his home… and the current kingdom was no longer his either…

No matter how many changes and efforts he made, the events that were supposed to happen had already occurred. Regardless of where this world’s kingdom headed in the future, whether the outcome was good or bad, it was no longer related to him.

After having his chest pierced with seventy or eighty bloody holes by Leon’s single phrase “that’s not home,” the middle-aged man couldn’t help but sit down beside him, silently blowing in the night wind together.

…

A short while later, the “homeless youth” broke the silence first, gazing at the lights scattered throughout the valley and asked thoughtfully: “Leader sir… will we truly be able to change this country and prevent the tragedies that have befallen everyone from happening again?”

“…”

“Of course.”

Even though he himself didn’t quite believe these words, the middle-aged man who still needed the existence of the rebels nodded earnestly, trying to convince with utmost seriousness: “This country has no hope of salvation. As long as we keep working hard, sooner or later we’ll sweep it into the garbage heap, and then build anew on its ruins…”

“Leader sir.”

rudely interrupting the middle-aged man mid-sentence, Leon’s tone carried a hint of confusion: “After being confirmed by you that I lack the necessary talent, I seriously thought about it. I want to know, without such magical abilities, what should I do to change the kingdom?

But I realized, I can’t seem to do anything. Even the group you lead seems unable to accomplish anything.”

With a somewhat shocked expression on the middle-aged man’s face, “Xiaoba Jin” continued calmly: “Though I haven’t read much, observing the situation in both chambers of parliament, I feel that politics, as described by those big shots, essentially boils down to convincing more people to believe in you, trust your judgment, and willingly follow your lead, thereby gathering enough strength to effect change.

But over the years, what we’ve done is continuously making enemies everywhere… The nobility hate us, the merchant guild fears us, the royal family hunts us down, and even commoners are distancing themselves from us. We only become the last resort when people are driven to desperation by suffering.

Leader sir, do you really think this approach can change the country? Furthermore, even if you succeed eventually, how can you guarantee that the new kingdom built on the ruins won’t be another one doomed to decay from the day it was born?”

“…”

After listening to these cutting questions that pierced deep into his heart, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but suddenly stand up, eyeing the “Xiaoba Jin” in front of him suspiciously, demanding sharply:

“Who taught you to say these things? Or… are you not Xiaoba Jin?”

“?”

“Leader sir? What are you talking about?”

Upon hearing this, “Xiaoba Jin” couldn’t help but look up in shock, wearing a puzzled expression as he asked: “If I’m not Xiaoba Jin, then who am I? Moreover, these words weren’t taught by anyone else; they’re all my own thoughts.”

Saying this, Leon sighed deeply, briefly recounting what he had heard at the chubby uncle’s house, then gazed at the middle-aged man with a “bewildered” expression, looking full of longing as he asked: “By the way, Leader sir, since you’re our leader, naturally the one among us who knows the most, I have a few more questions for you.

Uncle Owen and… my father, they fought for the country without fault, and the kingdom provided quite generous compensation, which can’t be considered wrong either. My mother and I did nothing wrong too, but why has it ended up like this? My mother is dying in the hospital, my father has become a drunkard, I’ve had to endure a life of constant beatings, and Uncle Owen, who worked tirelessly to help our family, feels guilty for life… Can you tell me why these things happened? And under your leadership, aside from causing destruction everywhere, we can’t even dare to show our faces, confined to this little valley. Do we truly have the ability to change all this?”

“…”

…

Xiaoba Jin must be real… right?

Responding somewhat incoherently to a few sentences, hastily fleeing from the rocky heights, the middle-aged man, whose suspicions were dispelled by a series of soul-piercing questions but whose brain was effectively frozen, aimlessly wandered back towards his residence in the night.

Why did I go talk to him? Wouldn’t it have been better to just leave? What kind of questions are these? Why couldn’t I answer any of them?

Also, just because Xiaoba Jin discovered he lacked the talent for anomalies, he could think so much? In my past life, I went through so much, yet why couldn’t I understand anything? Is the gap between people really that great?

Carrying a belly full of chaotic questions, staggering to the door of his residence, the middle-aged man was about to push it open when he suddenly stiffened, turning his gaze towards the nearby tree.

“Who’s there?”

“Leader sir, it’s me…”

Under the stern gaze of the middle-aged man, a bulky man with flushed cheeks and reeking of alcohol emerged from behind the tree, sheepishly grinning at him.

Old Owen? Furrowing his brows slightly, the middle-aged man lowered his guard somewhat and asked curiously: “It’s so late, and you’re not resting. Is there something urgent?”

“Well… it’s not exactly urgent… I just wanted you to use that watch to test Xiaoba Jin again.”

Pulling out a strand of hair he picked up from the dinner table, he held it respectfully in both hands and handed it to the middle-aged man, explaining with a pleading expression: “Leader sir, Xiaoba Jin carried a large barrel of oil alone during the day, he was already very tired. These past two days, not only has he been beaten, but he hasn’t slept much either, so his condition might not have been ideal, falling just short of your standards.

That child hasn’t spoken much all day after failing your test. Even the boy who hates others drinking the most drank a couple of sips tonight and has been distracted ever since. I… I’m worried about his condition.

Leader sir, if it’s not too much trouble, could you test him again? What if he passes this time?”

“…”

So it’s because of this. You really do treat him like your own son…

Looking at the strand of hair in the chubby uncle’s hand, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but shake his head helplessly.

“Owen, this test isn’t a physical one where indicators drop due to lack of sleep or intense exercise… um…”

At this point, seeing the pleading eyes of the chubby uncle, the middle-aged man hesitated slightly, then remembered the bizarre questions Xiaoba Jin had asked, his eyes flashing with a trace of doubt.

“Alright.”

After pondering for a while, the middle-aged man inexplicably nodded, taking the strand of black hair from the chubby uncle’s hand and lightly rubbing it against the outer side of his wristwatch.

“Zii~”

Under the operation of the middle-aged man, the sound of gears meshing rang out again. The wristwatch quickly opened its “mouth” and swallowed the strand of black hair, beginning to chew on it forcefully once more.

“Owen, even though I’m willing to test again, you still shouldn’t have high hopes.”

During the detection process of the wristwatch, the middle-aged man gently reminded:

“This thing doesn’t just measure physical aspects; it focuses more on mental and willpower levels, etc. Xiaoba Jin doesn’t meet the standards in these areas, so even if tested again, it’s likely that…”

“Daa, daa, daa, daa, daa, daa.”

Staring at the needle that didn’t even waver, directly hitting six crisp collision sounds and snapping all the way to the farthest right, locking firmly in place, and still faintly attempting to bend further to the right, the middle-aged man’s eyes bulged instantly, drawing in a sharp breath.

“Whaaaaat??????”

(End of Chapter)