Chapter 110 [KING!!]

Mingyue...

It is a moving name, much like the smile of the woman in the photograph.

Old Tian looked up at the smiling Mingyue in the picture and spoke slowly. His voice carried a tenderness that was rarely heard in his daily life: "I remember it very clearly. When I first met her, I was already over three hundred years old, while she was only seventeen. We ran off to drink by the West Lake in the misty, rainy spring, and we chased herds of deer across the vast, snow-covered plains..." As he spoke of these things, a light seemed to shine in Old Tian's eyes, but then, that spark gradually faded.

"...I remember it very clearly. I remember every single day I spent with her. That period was the happiest time of my entire life."

Old Tian’s voice was filled with emotion, and then he whispered: "I remember once, on my birthday, she told me she would celebrate my birthday every year from then on. Unfortunately... I have lived too long!"

The final "lived too long" was heavy with a sorrow and weariness that Chen Xiao could not truly comprehend.

Chen Xiao looked silently at Old Tian’s face and suddenly asked in a low voice: "Did you... love her?"

"Very much," Old Tian nodded.

He then seemed to offer a faint smile: "I have been married several times in my life, but none of them lasted... oh, I mean, not long compared to my lifespan. Every woman I fell in love with, I had to watch them grow old and die. I even watched my own children and grandchildren grow old and pass away one by one... I suppose you cannot understand that feeling."

At this moment, Old Tian’s voice was raspy and bitter.

"She was the last woman I ever loved. And the one I loved the most. I have lived for over four hundred years; it’s not as if there haven’t been other women, but... Mingyue was special. She was beautiful, and she possessed a charm that no one else could reach. She was a unique woman, the kind of person you could never find a second of in this world." Old Tian sighed bitterly: "Perhaps there is another reason: I never once possessed her love."

What one cannot obtain is always the best.

Old Tian walked to the innermost display cabinet. He reached out to take out an old, worn-out wooden box and retrieved a pocket watch from it.

It was a copper pocket watch, the chain covered in green verdigris, the casing riddled with scratches.

"This is mine... the first birthday gift Mingyue ever gave me." Old Tian’s fingers gently traced the scratches on the case as he whispered: "She said that every year on my birthday, she would give me a watch. Unfortunately, she died very young... but she made her descendants fulfill that promise. Until the last owner of this watch shop passed away, I received a brand new watch every birthday. But the one I have always cherished the most is this one." Old Tian placed the old pocket watch back, shaking his head: "This thing is too precious. I could never bear to keep it with me, yet I dared not keep it near me, so I hid it here in secret."

"Mingyue... was she part of the Phoenix..." Chen Xiao asked quietly.

But Old Tian waved his hand, not answering immediately.

"The story of Mingyue is the beginning of everything," Old Tian said, shaking his head. "Even... the Service Agency, the Club, and so many other things... they are all related to this remarkable woman! If it hadn't been for her back then... I fear... the situation now would not be..."

Then, Old Tian pointed to two old chairs in the shop: "Sit down. I will tell you slowly."

He sat down himself, clutching that cigarette, and skillfully retrieved a lighter from beside the coffee table. He looked at Chen Xiao and smiled: "I often come here alone in secret. When I’m in a bad mood, I sit here, smoke a couple of cigarettes, and talk to myself, and I feel as if Mingyue is still here keeping me company. That’s why I keep a lighter hidden here, heh."

He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag. As the blue smoke curled upward, Old Tian began his tale.

"Mingyue was born into a wealthy family at the end of the Qing Dynasty, during the time of the Self-Strengthening Movement. When Mingyue was young, she had the temperament of a boy. She wouldn't dream of learning the things a refined lady should, like zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting. Later, when her two older brothers were sent abroad by their father to study, this delicate miss actually rolled up a small bundle, ran away from home in secret, and snuck onto an ocean liner." Old Tian puffed on his cigarette and sighed: "That was when I met her. I was doing a job for the Service Agency at the time and happened to be on that same cruise ship, and that’s how I encountered her..."

Chen Xiao suddenly chuckled: "That sounds like the Titanic."

Old Tian smiled: "She was a tomboy. Back then, to run away, she cut her hair, wore Western-style clothes, and put on round glasses. She was just too slender, so you could tell at a glance, but fortunately, she had one special skill: makeup." As Old Tian spoke, he drifted into a daze. The ash on the cigarette between his fingers grew long and fell onto his clothes without him noticing.

Chen Xiao didn't interrupt his memories, waiting quietly.

After a long while, Old Tian sighed and shook his head: "Never mind that. In truth... I wasn't the protagonist of that event. Because the person who met her on that ship... or rather, the protagonist in her heart was not me."

He paused, his expression turning serious: "There was another man from the Service Agency on the ship with me. That man held a higher rank than I did. I was merely there to assist him."

Assist?

For an ancient monster like Old Tian, who had lived for four hundred years, his own power was unfathomable! To have him act as an assistant? The status of that man...

"He was K," Old Tian whispered. "At that time, he was K. And he was the youngest K on the Service Agency Committee!"

His voice turned bitter: "To tell you the truth, that encounter on the ship was a cliché love story—a runaway rich girl meets a man of mysterious status. And I... I was merely a bystander."

"We took Mingyue with us to Europe. After we finished our business there, K accompanied her as they traveled everywhere—to Paris, London, Berlin, Antwerp... The three of us were very happy, like three good friends. But I knew clearly that in their hearts, I was a friend, but the relationship between the two of them was not 'friends'."

"K was a very special man. He was a dedicated operative of the organization, loyal and possessed of an extreme sense of responsibility, as well as an innate sense of mission. He believed that the existence of the Service Agency was to watch over the world and guide our direction... Heh, those words—back then, in the Service Agency, I believed them too."

"I believed their love was pure at the beginning. Although I... I was willing to bless them. Mingyue was a beautiful woman with a kind heart. I think she understood my feelings for her, but she never made me feel embarrassed. She was clever and knew how to handle things harmoniously. Even when the three of us were together, she always had a charm that kept us in good spirits. Even though... at that time, K and I were really only colleagues, not friends."

"But things changed after more than two years. They were married in Paris, and after the wedding, K almost entirely abandoned his duties at the Service Agency to live in seclusion with her by the Seine. In those days, I often found excuses to execute missions in Europe so I could visit them. They were always very happy, living a wonderful life. I remember that year, I went to Paris on my birthday, and she gave me a pocket watch—this one. But two years after we met, when I went to Paris to visit them again, things had changed. When I arrived, they had a child, but I didn't see K. Only she was left in the Paris home. Although she still gave me a bright smile, I could see that she wasn't happy—not happy at all."

"Why?" Chen Xiao asked.

"Because... Mingyue, she wasn't an ordinary person either," Old Tian’s voice was bitter.

"Was she an esper too?" Chen Xiao frowned.

"No, she wasn't an esper." Old Tian thought for a moment and said: "I’m no expert in this field, but perhaps I can explain it in a way you can understand. Mingyue’s genetic makeup hid a certain substance. If her partner was an ordinary person, or even another esper, it wouldn't have produced any special results. But as it happened, the person she met..."

Old Tian smiled: "To use a chemical analogy, water is H2O. Two different substances meet, a chemical reaction occurs, and it becomes a new substance. That event was purely a coincidence; I only learned a bit about it later: the genetic components in Mingyue’s body just happened to cause a strange mutation when combined with K’s. The odds of such a coincidence are incredibly, incredibly small. But in this vast world, in the sea of humanity, Mingyue just happened to meet K, and they fell in love, united, and had offspring. The child, inheriting the genes of both, underwent a chemical reaction. In other words, their offspring was an esper, and the ability wasn't simply inherited from K. Instead, some new, incomprehensible changes occurred!"

"K’s ability was time manipulation!" Old Tian’s voice was grave. "It’s a very powerful ability with almost no obvious weaknesses. As someone who possessed it, K held a very high position in the Service Agency. But the result—their child was neither an ordinary person like Mingyue nor did she have K’s time-manipulation ability. Instead, a brand new, extremely powerful ability emerged! This discovery reignited the fanatical sense of mission and responsibility in K, who had been content with his life of love and seclusion. Facing this new discovery, it was as if he had found a new path for humanity toward the future—yes, those were K’s original words. That is exactly what he said when I questioned him."

"What... exactly happened?" Chen Xiao could hear the deep sorrow in Old Tian’s voice.

Old Tian crushed his cigarette and sighed, then looked up at Chen Xiao: "What do you think is the greatest weakness in human life as it is today?"

Chen Xiao frowned. Although he didn't grasp Old Tian’s intention, he thought about it seriously: "Hmm... individuals are too fragile? Lifespans are too short? Or..."

"I mean, all of humanity, including espers!" Old Tian said coldly: "For espers, the individual is not fragile, and some, like me, have long lifespans. But even for an esper with extraordinary powers, there is one unavoidable, greatest weakness. A weakness that all humans possess."

"What is it?"

"Inheritance!" Old Tian said the word with iron certainty.

His speech began to quicken: "Inheritance! The inheritance of knowledge, the inheritance of ability... and so on! Everything! Every kind of inheritance!"

Chen Xiao frowned: "I don't quite understand what you mean."

Old Tian looked into Chen Xiao’s eyes, his gaze carrying a strange quality: "Alright, let's say a person—no matter how talented they are—from the moment they are born into this world, from infancy until they grow into an adult... they have to learn all kinds of external knowledge. It’s a very long process."

He smiled and continued: "Take our modern society. A normal person has to receive over a dozen years of schooling just to learn the basics of civilization, whether it’s math, science, or anything else. And even after over a decade in school, they’ve only learned the most basic, common things. High-level, cutting-edge knowledge is only studied by a few elites who have the energy for it. For example, a college student learns calculus. But what about further? Take physics or chemistry—they only learn low-level theories, nowhere near the level of professional experts."

Chen Xiao frowned: "That’s natural. After all, human effort has its limits. To study a field deeply requires a lot of energy and a long time."

"But these are things human predecessors have already discovered! Existing knowledge! And yet, humanity is already unable to master even the knowledge and civilization left behind by those before them," Old Tian smiled. "Take Einstein’s Theory of Relativity—that is an intellectual legacy left by our ancestors, yet for the vast majority of people in this world, it’s impossible to learn. Why? Because there simply isn't the time, or the energy, to learn such profound things—even if it were just to inherit the intellectual legacy left by the past." Old Tian shook his head: "As I said, a person spends a dozen years in school and only masters a small fraction of the most basic, common knowledge. They can never finish learning all the cultural and intellectual legacy left by those who came before. It even leads to a terrifying situation: a professional who has mastered deep knowledge in a certain field dies, and the knowledge in that field is left without a successor."

He gave a bitter smile: "For example, my own children couldn't learn all of my lifelong martial arts. There are many things that will likely be lost when I die. Even if I leave them written down, no one can learn it all—if it just stays on paper, it’s effectively lost!"

Chen Xiao gradually began to guess: "So, you mean..."

"Inheritance is a very troublesome thing. Currently, human civilization and knowledge are passed down only through learning—spending energy, spending time, and it depends on talent. Talented people learn more, those without learn less. And spending a dozen years to learn just the basics... for most people, how many 'dozen years' do you have in a lifetime? Relying on learning to inherit is too slow and inefficient," Old Tian shook his head. "Especially in the era when K and Mingyue met. There were no computers, no massive storage tools. Even the inheritance of knowledge relied only on writing and printing... So, when K suddenly discovered this 'new path', all the fanaticism in his heart was ignited!"

Chen Xiao swallowed. "So, what exactly was the ability possessed by Mingyue and K’s child..."

"Copying!" Old Tian spat out the short word.

He looked at Chen Xiao again: "Total copying! Complete replication! To copy everything the parents mastered—all their abilities, all their knowledge, all their wisdom! Direct copying! From the moment of birth, she possessed immense knowledge and ability!"

Old Tian whispered: "That child was a girl. I saw her later. She was only two years old, yet she could recite reams of Tang poetry—things she had never learned, but knew from birth because Mingyue had recited them! She didn't have to learn; she naturally inherited most of the knowledge of Mingyue and K! She also inherited K’s ability without reservation... time manipulation! You could say she was like an adult in a child’s body. Aside from being immature in emotion and EQ, her IQ was already at an adult level." As he spoke, he smiled bitterly again: "It was like copying content from one computer to another!"

Chen Xiao’s eyes widened!

Miraculous! It was simply too miraculous!

But...

Why...

Chen Xiao then began to frown. Such a miraculous thing sounded wonderful, yet why did a feeling of "terror" arise in his heart?

Old Tian closed his eyes.

He couldn't help but recall that day a hundred years ago, when he had run back to the island home in anger, found K in the laboratory, and angrily accused him...

At the time, that man’s face was cold and resolute. Facing his accusations, K had said coldly:

"This is a great discovery! If I succeed, it will completely change the path of humanity's future! Humans won't need to spend a dozen or even dozens of years learning the culture and knowledge left by their predecessors! They will be able to inherit it directly! They can use more of their life's time and energy to pioneer! To explore, to pursue new, unknown things! It will drastically accelerate the progress of human civilization!!"

"But what about Mingyue? Your feelings! Her feelings!"

"I don't have time!" K had replied coldly at the time. "For the sake of the mission, I am willing to abandon a woman. I am even willing to abandon everything! Feelings, life, everything!!"

Back then, Old Tian had pointed at the young girl in the laboratory: "What about her? She is your daughter! Not a test subject!"

"I don't even belong to myself anymore! Let alone my daughter!"

Old Tian reached into his pocket, seemingly trying to find another cigarette, but he couldn't find one. He could only irritably pull at his hair, then looked up at Chen Xiao: "Do you know what happened to that K later?"

"I imagine he failed," Chen Xiao frowned. "After all, his so-called inheritance has been around for a hundred years, and yet, it hasn't been realized."

"Hmph," Old Tian smiled non-committally. "Then, do you know what happened to that K himself?"

"?" Chen Xiao looked at Old Tian.

"He is... still alive," Old Tian sighed.

Chen Xiao frowned: "Like you... or like Zhurong and the others?"

"He is still alive, and... his current identity is..." Old Tian’s smile was bitter: "His identity in the Service Agency is—the 'King' in the deck of cards!!"