LRAB Chapter 158 The Problem
Chapter 158 The Problem
Chapter 168 Difficult Problem
"Smura?"
Azure felt that the name was somewhat familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Then she remembered that in a corner of the Feather Residence, in the intelligence list compiled by the detective and the Grass Turtle, this name was located near the center.
That old man is the propaganda chief of Team Plasma, responsible for thought control throughout Unova. Many inflammatory incidents are related to him!
Azure couldn't help but jump up from her seat and ask N, who was standing in the middle of the living room, "N, is Group Plasma also involved in this incident?"
The green-haired youth calmly replied, “I know the cult has been sending people to follow my travels. After listening to your account, I began to piece together the cause and effect of the entire explosion and realized a reality—this protest and explosion would never have happened if there had been no external interference. There was deliberate manipulation behind the incident, and as far as I know, the only person who could do this so quietly is one of my seven teachers, Smura, who holds a doctorate in public relations.”
"Aren't you angry? Because of your teacher's actions, seventy-one Pokémon died. Mr. William's factory was destroyed, and the energy industry in Liyong City will be set back ten years. Aren't you searching for the culprit behind the explosion? Are you going to give up now that Team Plasma is involved?"
“I understand your feelings. The sacrifice of innocent elves is always a tragedy worthy of weeping and sorrow. But my feelings are now being overwhelmed by a more intense rage,” N said.
"If we recall and think about it for a moment, we will realize that in this industrial city where energy is the mainstay, there were in fact two heinous terrorist crimes."
"One crime was the instigation of suicide by certain individuals driven by paranoia, while the other was the indifferent and almost deliberate oppression and slaughter of another species by the entire human race. The former crime occurred over a few words, while the latter lasted for thousands of years. The former resulted in the deaths of seventy-one Pokémon, while the latter has claimed the lives of tens of millions of Pokémon and left hundreds of millions of Pokémon living in misery. But why are you only angry about that small-scale, short-lived instigation of crime, yet indifferent to the latter's overwhelming discrimination and oppression?"
N Junsu's cheeks were trembling, as if he was desperately trying to suppress the emotions surging within him.
"If this incident was indeed Smura's doing, then his and the Plasma Group's actions are truly outrageous... However, can the death brought by deception and lies in an instant compare to the slow slaughter of hunger, cold insults, cruelty, and grief? Can the death brought by lightning in an instant compare to the slow slaughter of the torture of branding?"
"Of course I know that the Elven liberation movement launched by Team Plasma has left countless atrocities on this land, but... the coffins filled by this brief period of terror could be contained in a single cemetery in a city, yet people keep telling us to tremble and lament over it. But the true terror that has existed since ancient times, that indescribable, inhuman horror, the coffins filled by it... even the entire Unova region cannot contain it! Yet no one tells us to see the sheer scale of this terror, to show it the compassion it deserves!"
Then, disregarding all etiquette, the green-haired youth pointed his long, slender finger at Factory Manager William and said contemptuously—
"Stop being delusional. Your power plant can't possibly bring about real energy reform in Liyong City. I've calculated the production capacity of your factory, and you should know better than me how much of the so-called new energy portion is actually valuable—that leading enterprise that was reduced to ashes in the explosion was nothing more than a castle in the air built on the remaining value of Pokémon."
“Mr. William, your greatest achievement is nothing more than finding a highly efficient way to exploit Pokémon. Pokémon cannot obtain equal rights with humans in factories. You take advantage of their ignorance and kindness, forcing them to work day and night in jobs that harm their physical and mental health! You use the money you gain from exploitation to buy people’s hearts, and rely on the admiration of others to satisfy your own moral fastidiousness, thereby balancing your guilt for ignoring Pokémon!”
Faced with the stern accusations, the middle-aged man remained silent, frozen like a stone statue. If judged solely by the outcome, the young man's words were entirely accurate.
N was about to continue his accusations when Azure interrupted him, the girl trying to defend Mr. William—
"But the factory manager is completely innocent in this incident! He had no intention of harming the Electric-type Pokémons. All his actions were within the bounds of the law. He even provided the Pokémons with treatment above the average level of other factories... You can't just put all the blame for the accident on the factory owner because he chose a controversial production method, can you? On the contrary, if Dr. Smurf really was manipulating everything behind the scenes, then that person should be the murderer who killed seventy-one Pokémon!"
“When I was a child, learning various subjects in the church, my father once told me about a moral dilemma…”
In response to Azur Lane, N did not answer directly, but instead spoke about something unrelated to the incident—
"A train rumbles in the distance, its path branching off onto two tracks. On one side, five children are playing on their designated track, oblivious to the approaching train; on the other, an abandoned railway lies where an innocent child is strolling. You are now in the control room at the fork, and with a single push of a lever, you could change the train's course. The lives of six children rest on your decision… Do you think you should push the lever, sacrificing that innocent child in place of the five?"
“This is a classic moral paradox,” Azure said after thinking for a moment. “There is a difference between positive and negative morality, and different people will make different moral choices. Duty, benefit and other factors are intertwined, so no matter which side you choose, the person who makes the choice will be caught in a knot of conscience.”
“That’s right, that’s exactly my opinion too.” N nodded emphatically.
"Whether or not you choose to push the lever, there will be sacrifices. The only difference is whether you actively push innocent people to their deaths or watch more lives die before your eyes without doing anything. Both have their own reasons and difficulties. No matter which side the people in the control room choose, we, as outsiders, cannot praise or criticize them. Don't you think this analogy is similar to the social reality we face?"
Azure understood what N meant at that moment, and her expression immediately turned ugly: "Do you think the plasma cluster is the one who pushed the lever in the control room? Those people are the real criminals."
"Law and morality are always products of compromise with reality. Within these shackles, the rights of Pokémon are not protected at all. People like William are endless on this continent and will continue to emerge. If we want to fundamentally change the status quo of this world, we can no longer continue to drift along within the existing framework."
N narrowed his eyes, revealing a glint of green light.
"A surging avalanche can engulf everything in its path, but the source of all disasters lies in the slope that supports these snowdrifts. More than the problem itself, I want to solve the train."
Perhaps in response to the young man's analogy, a cold wind began to blow through the living room, which had been tightly sealed with doors and windows, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
Two black-clad ninja figures suddenly appeared out of thin air beside the green-haired youth.
“Lord N, please forgive our inadequate precautions, which have led you to such a dangerous situation. As you said, this city is beyond saving, and there is no need for you to stay here any longer.”
Amidst the astonished gazes of the other three in the living room, a ninja with a somewhat strangely shaped forehead spoke these words.
"Where is Smura? Where is my protector now?"
N's eyes were indifferent, like those of a true king.
The ninja was stunned for a few seconds, clearly not expecting N to have foreseen this extent, and then quickly said, "That sir failed to update the intelligence in time and is now being pursued by the police. We have already sent one person to rescue him."
"That's settled then. Team Plasma still needs his abilities. Although Smura committed the crime of instigation, it's not time for him to go to jail yet."
N's gaze shifted to a corner of the living room, looking at Douzi who hadn't spoken a word, before she managed a weak smile.
"I'm sorry, Miss Touko, I think it's time for our journey to come to an end. I have found the answer I was looking for on this trip."
"I don't quite understand the profound principles you and Sister Xiaolan are talking about."
The girl with the high ponytail had her eyes hidden in the shadow cast by her baseball cap, and her tone was somewhat heavy.
"However, I really don't like you right now. If we were in the wild, I would teach you a lesson in Pokémon battles."
"I always enjoy my matches against Touko. I hope I'll have another chance to compete against you in the future."
As if recalling his past journey, N smiled gently and walked towards the door.
"Sir, there are still many reporters outside. Won't showing up like this cause unnecessary trouble?" another ninja hesitantly advised.
"When did Team Plasma become so protective of its reputation?" N said nonchalantly, now finally accepting his place as the king of Team Plasma.
"It's just an explosion, isn't it? The best way to resolve this is for Group Plasma to take responsibility for it, and the incident itself is inextricably linked to Smura's own actions."
The young man walked through the entrance hall and stood just one door away from the reporters' cameras and microphones.
"It's time to let the world meet the king of the Plasma Group."
“N, or rather, Mr. King,” William, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke in the living room.
"You once said that I've been using my protection of humans to balance my disregard for Pokémon, and I can't deny that. But right now, aren't you doing the exact opposite?"
N seemed not to hear and opened the door directly.
As the night grew darker, the sound of camera shutters rained down, and the flashes were as bright as day. The young king, like a burning insect throwing himself into the flames in hopes of rebirth, stepped into the white light.