Chapter 423: Chapter 423: The True Heart of a Hero ÆĐłeewebnovŃl.com
Xiang Kun knew that Officer Wang and Officer Zhaoâs investigation into the âEight-Armed, Eight-Eyed Monsterâ was merely a side task, conducted privately, and wasnât officially sanctioned.
Without traditional evidence, their investigation would be futile, even if the direction was correct. Moreover, their investigation direction was skewed to begin with. If necessary, Xiang Kun could even subtly influence their investigation through dream manipulation.
So he wasnât particularly concerned when they used the pretext of consulting on the training of a âGuide birdâ to investigate Zhaoâs âGolden Flutterâ.
Considering the situation their entry into the special investigation team and the information from a few days ago when they accidentally found Mijoe at Zi Huan Mountain and brought him back for âinterrogationâ, none of these developments surprised Xiang Kun. His real concern was not them, but âXiao Pingguo,â or more precisely, the state of Xiao Pingguoâs external perception through the senses of âGolden Flutterâ.
Saving a âGamblerâ from committing suicide wasnât a big deal in Xiang Kunâs eyes. Xiao Pingguo had used âGolden Flutterâ in a clever way. Although Officer Wang and Officer Zhao might find it odd and have some doubts, without substantial evidence, they wouldnât be able to link this to Xiao Pingguo.
Xiao Pingguo achieved her objectives and concealed herself effectively. But this incident had made Xiang Kun acutely aware of the potential danger of Xiao Pingguoâs external perception through âGolden Flutterâ.
After all, the world isnât all sunshine and roses. There is hidden filth and evil beneath the surface of peaceful daily life, just like the incident Xiao Pingguo thwarted by the lake on the night of the first day.
After that day, Xiang Kun had solemnly instructed Xiao Pingguo to always be cautious about her safety. He compared himself with the âEight-armed, Eight-eyed Monsterâ, a pawn that Xiao Pingguo could manipulate. And âGolden Flutterâ was the âhandâ she used to play the game.
She needed to remain detached from the game, controlling it from the outside instead of getting involved and risking danger.
Xiang Kun had thought that Xiao Pingguo, given her abilities, would quickly âdevelopâ the ability to guide and invoke illusions of the âEight-Armed, Eight-Eyed Monsterâ through âGolden Flutterâ alone, effectively distancing herself from the game, thus standing invincible on the chess board.
Accomplishing this would only promote some urban legends without implicating Xiao Pingguo.
But clearly, Xiao Pingguo hadnât developed the ability to make âGolden Flutterâ independently send out summons. While her sensory perceptions coming through âGolden Flutterâ were growing stronger and her explorations growing wider.
However, during this period, she was largely sneaking around controlling âGolden Flutterâ during the day while her dad was at school, out exploring and observing the world. In the evening, she was usually playing games or recording videos with Tang Baona and Yang Zhenâer. Even when she did have time alone, she couldnât send out âGolden Flutterâ. Besides, âGolden Flutterâ had grown accustomed to its current lifestyle of roaming during the day and resting at night. Once nighttime came, it was usually lazy.
So, for now, Xiao Pingguoâs explorations of the external world had largely yielded observations of environmental elements and daily, mundane information about people. Any conflicts or disputes she came across were insignificant, and she usually didnât pay them much attention.
But in a bustling metropolis of several million people, even with the very best law and order, there would always be dark corners, especially at night.
Like tonight, while using âGolden Flutterâ to eavesdrop on a conversation between Officer Wang and Officer Zhao, she happened to encounter a suicide attempt taking place next door.
This time there just happened to be Officer Wang and Officer Zhao present. They both happened to be alert individuals who managed to pick up on the âhintsâ Xiao Pingguo had given through âGolden Flutterâ. So the situation was resolved quite perfectly.
But what if Officer Wang and Officer Zhao hadnât been there? What if Xiao Pingguo hadnât been able to prevent the man from committing suicide?
This time it was a suicidal gambler they encountered. But what if an innocent child had been in danger instead?
Or what if it had been an even more violent crime?
Xiang Kun, a 30-year-old adult, knows that even though he has what could be considered superpowers, he canât do everything. He understands that he is powerless before many things in the world.
When faced with a situation where he knows he can help, he will try his best to do so, provided it doesnât jeopardize the safety of his family and friends. If someone was in immediate danger, he would try his best to save them. But if he fails to save someone, he wouldnât blame himself too much.
It was just like when he had been involved in the bus crash. In the end, he could only protect one little boy. Although he abhorred the feeling of being unable to help during a crisis, he didnât dwell on his perceived lack of power. He knew this was the normal state of human life, something he had experienced countless times in his previous thirty years.
But Xiao Pingguo was different from him; she was not yet eighteen and still not an adult.
Despite her congenital blindness, her family had protected her well, and her innocence remained intact; she hadnât witnessed much wickedness in the world.
Moreover, her father was an associate professor and her uncle a police officer, so their moral standards were higher than Xiang Kunâs.
There were many things that, once known, were hard to ignore. Leaving aside the potential to expose her secrets and incurring personal risks, her current abilities wouldnât even allow her to deal with most issues.
Just like the man from tonight, if she hadnât managed to stop him from committing suicide, having to sense the whole process of his death through âGolden Flutterâ would certainly have been a significant shock to Xiao Pingguo.
Needless to say, in the dark, somewhere in the city, some more brutal events must be occurring. Given the sensory and flight abilities of âJin Shanshanâ, as well as the increasingly strong connection between âXiao Pingguoâ and it, perceiving these incidents is only a matter of time.
Prior to significantly enhancing her ability to hear, smell and other sensory abilities through âObject Sensingâ, and even before she could expand her perception through âJin Shanshanâ, âXiao Pingguoâsâ life was always full of caution. From an early age, she has been sensible, knowing not to cause inconvenience for her father, her uncle, or the people around her. Sheâs always tried to keep her expectations for anything low in order not to be a burden to others.
However, the âObject Sensingâ and âJin Shanshanâ that Xiang Kun brought about drastically changed this situation. Her understanding of the environment was greatly enhanced, so much so that she could feel the vastness of heaven and earth like a bird, flying freely as she wishes. And from a young age, she wished more than once to be a bird, freely flying, witnessing the beautiful scenery of the world. Although she canât see it now, she has been able to truly experience it.
Not only that, but she has made connections with beings from another world, another dimension, and can âsummonâ them to help her, as if she had superpowers.
Initially, she was apprehensive and worried about these powers, about the âmonstersâ she sensed, and about facing the unknown. But with Xiang Kunâs robust endorsement, and her rapidly advancing sensory abilities, and having stopped crimes and helped others in actual cases, she has come to fully accept these powers and even actively âembracedâ this system.
Such an âXiao Pingguoâ would have a great motivation to further âdevelopâ the related abilities of the âSuper Sensory Item Systemâ, and a firm determination to use her abilities to help others.
She will not back down because of witnessing the ugliness she hadnât known before, nor will she despair because of frequent failures to help. She will feel fear, scare, anger, blame, but still insists on continuing.
She will force herself to become stronger, to gain more power, to establish a deeper connection with the âSuper Sensory Item System,â to âdevelopâ more powers, in order to better help others.
At the same time, she worries about whether her actions would reveal Xiang Kunâs secrets, and whether they might bring danger to Xiang Kun, her father, her uncle, and other friends and relatives. She would, therefore, pressure herself even more to help others in a safer way and constantly drain her own intelligent mind.
The process will be painful, but she can persist, because her inherently tenacious character and spirit will become even stronger through this process.
She is the kind of person who, despite being in darkness, can bring light to others.
She has a âtrue heroic heartâ that is even stronger than Xiang Kunâs.
This is the result that Xiang Kun concluded after sensing âXiao Pingguoâsâ emotional reactions to the âsuicide incident,â combining with the cognitive model he previously established for âXiao Pingguoâ, and making a lot of simulations and hypothetical reasoning.
This is not the result he wanted to see.
Although this may not necessarily be what will inevitably happen in reality, according to the conditions set in the reasoning, there is a high probability of it happening.
In comparison, Xiang Kun is a more selfish person. He doesnât want âXiao Pingguoâ to live so hard. He doesnât want her to experience such pain, at least not so early.
She is only seventeen.
Seventeen should be a time of brilliance and joy.
But he also knows that his guidance needs to be tactful, âXiao Pingguoâ is intelligent and sensitive, the persuasion canât be too direct.
If sheâs directly restricted from using âJin Shanshanâ to sense the outside world, or forbidden to intervene in anything sensed, even though she would certainly obediently agree, this would plant a seed in her heart, making her unconsciously strive in that direction even more. Additionally, sheâd worry more about causing problems or nuisances for Xiang Kun, and put more pressure on herself when trying hard.
Therefore, Xiang Kunâs method is positive guidance.
He first affirmed âXiao Pingguoâsâ and âJin Shanshanâsâ actions of saving people, praised âXiao Pingguoâsâ cleverness and âJin Shanshanâsâ agility, and then pointed out the shortcomings and potential risks of her plan from a technical perspective.
Although Xiang Kun didnât say it directly, smart âXiao Pingguoâ soon realized that implementing these actions through âJin Shanshanâ would actually put âJin Shanshanâ in danger.
So, the direction of the discussion turned to how to help âJin Shanshanâ enhance its self-protection ability, and how to let âJin Shanshanâ have the ability to summon the âEight-armed, Eight-eyed monsterâ or other âemotion-based monstersâ without âXiao Pingguoâ being present.
At the end of the discussion, Xiang Kun told âXiao Pingguoâ that he had an idea that might help âJin Shanshanâ improve.
âDidnât I return to West Sea with Sister Nana, Sister Xiao Bing, and Sister Zhenâer today? I am in Jianzhou now, and I will go to Tongshi Town tomorrow to deal with our rabbit meat restaurant and the game matters, and I will stay for some time. You can arrange some time during this weekend or next weekend to come over and visit with Professor Li. The environment here is pretty good, and the Wushu Mountain Scenic Area is just next door. Of course, most importantly, you can bring âJin Shanshanâ along, and I can try to enhance its self-protection ability. Um, I will call Professor Li tomorrow and invite him directly.â
âOk, got it!â Xiao Pingguo said excitedly and expectantly, then she remembered something else and quickly asked, âShould I see Officer Wang and Officer Zhao?â
âEither way, as you wish.â Xiang Kun said.
âHmm, for safety sake, I will only let âJin Shanshanâ fly in the neighbourhood and nearby parks for the time being, and not fly far.â Xiao Pingguo hesitated, then added.
In the hotel room, standing by the window and looking out at the night view, Xiang Kun finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when he heard these words.