030 The Other

Li Aoz glanced at him.

Barnum was driving and couldn't gesture easily, so he mumbled, "I mean, isn't it a man's duty to protect a woman..."

"Women of the Old Era had far more spirit and pride than the decadent youth of today."

Li Aoz criticized:

"Moreover, she is an independent and strong woman. I believe she can get out of the shadows on her own, and so can you. Don't look down on people because of their gender."

Barnum wanted to refute this argument, but when he thought of Li Aoz's background, he stopped arguing.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Li Aoz's perspective and level of thinking are far superior to his, considering that the man in front of him was driven out by the woman in the Frostplate, yet he still maintains a normal concept of equality.

Li Aoz didn't over-teach him. Barnum was the type to achieve great things later in life. The [Architect] was the only designated master in the [Art] system's ' Devil's Life Chassis '. One of the core knowledge points was philosophical thought. If you didn't reach that level, don't even think about becoming an [Architect].

No one can help with this; Barnum can only rely on his own accumulation and experience, broaden his horizons, and then continuously reflect, learn, and gain insights.

That's what they say, but when Li Aoz saw the 'bride' in the back row staring blankly out the window, trying to find traces of her era, for some reason, Qiu Ran's image popped into his mind.

He couldn't understand why Qiu Ran had to die. She could have been saved if she had just waited a little longer, but she recklessly set herself on fire and stepped into the Imitation Human's inferno.

But now, Li Aoz understands some things.

For Qiu Ran, there might be something more terrifying than death, just like Miss Alexia's current state of being lost and distraught.

Li Aoz knew that her home and her faith had been killed.

She could no longer find meaning in her existence.

In a sense, Alexia was already dead, but in Li Aoz's mind, she shouldn't be like that. He believed that this girl from five hundred years ago could stand up on her own.

However, until they returned to the abandoned factory, Punishment Officer Alexia did not utter a single word.

The hovercar drove into the factory and slowly came to a stop. Li Aoz and Barnum got out of the car. Alexia was like a stiff corpse, slumped in the back seat, devoid of soul and life, her eyes unfocused, making it almost impossible to look her in the eye.

She was tall, only half a head shorter than Li Aoz, but now she was afraid of being caught by reality. When Li Aoz opened the car door, she turned her head away and curled up into a ball, looking smaller than a newborn baby or an old person on their deathbed.

For a moment, Li Aoz even began to doubt whether the things mentioned in that post from his previous life were true, or just sensationalist articles used by marketing accounts to attract attention and gain traffic.

Is this weak woman really the strong and brave Punishment Officer they had met?

"David Lean, are you insane?! We're all allies now, and you're trying to stir up internal strife!"

Li Aoz and Barnum turned around. Inside the factory, people were clustered around their respective groups, armed, facing off against each other alongside their leaders.

The woman who spoke out was a fierce fighter in the Citizen Militia Amanda Williams. Her long, curly hair was tied into small braids like a gypsy's. The person she was criticizing was David Lean, the leader of the Children of Fire Church, a garrulous old charlatan. He had his eyes closed, and his eyelids were painted with orange fluorescent paint, making it look as if he had burning eyes.

"Amanda, he is your subordinate. He has shown great disrespect for our faith. Hand him over, or Ariyasa's wrath will devour the whole world."

David Lean spoke as if beating a drum, deep and rhythmic. He held an exquisite human bone artifact in one hand and made various hand gestures with the other, his voice sharp and stern, emphasizing the bizarre, which made people feel involuntarily afraid.

"Go to hell!" a young man in the Citizen Militia said angrily. "You're offering the bodies of the dead as sacrifices to the gods. What kind of respectable god would even look at this!"

The youth's accusations did not elicit the expected outrage. Instead, many neutrals retorted, "Adam, you are being incredibly rude. The Sons of Fire are a great church; how can you say such things?"

"That's right, that's right. People have the freedom to have their own beliefs. No matter what, we are brothers in the same trench now."

"Heh, you who don't believe in God, you'll be burned to death by fire sooner or later."

The members of the Citizen Militia were basically people who had received a few years of compulsory education and had broken free from superstition; however, the Rebel Army standing here were not all from the city.

Some of them come from rural areas, some are traders in Outland, and many are unemployed vagrants and farmers. For them, the existence of gods is like cheap alcohol, which can temporarily alleviate their unhappiness in reality.

"...church?"

Li Aoz was startled. He turned his head, and Alexia, who was beside him, suddenly spoke.

The Children of Fire Church has deep roots in rural areas, and many people stand against Adam. The fact that they were able to gather such a large Rebel Army alliance is also due to the fact that the Children of Fire Church has gathered many followers and mobilized manpower.

Although everyone saw the ignorance and backwardness of the Children of Fire Church, they had no choice but to turn a blind eye because of the other party's power. Young Adam, unaware of the gravity of the situation and lacking understanding of human relationships, acted solely out of passion and a sense of justice. When he saw the Children of Fire Church performing rituals with the corpses of the dead and offering them as sacrifices to the gods, he angrily stepped forward, kicked over the fire pit, and disrupted the ritual.

After hearing the whole story, Amanda was also caught in a dilemma.

On the one hand, she genuinely disliked the Children of Fire Church's erratic behavior; on the other hand, if the Children of Fire Church became dissatisfied and left with its members, the strength of the entire force would be greatly reduced, and the cause of Grand Duke Rebellion would naturally be out of the question.

Just then, the leader of the Citizen Militia had to leave, leaving the decision-making of the entire faction to her. She had no choice but to turn around and say tactfully, "Adam, go and apologize."

These words struck Adam's soul like a thunderbolt. He stared in disbelief at his trusted leader and his companion who was shoving him from behind and gesturing with his lips for an apology.

"I do not understand!"

Adam said, "If we are not here for justice, not to resist the rule of the Colonizers, then what are we gathered here for? What will the world think of us? What will the people think of us if we let a bunch of freaks who worship evil gods take the political stage?"

Alexia raised her head and murmured:

"Colonizers?"

"My fellow countrymen, at this moment, isn't our country's independence and self-reliance the most important thing? Some people are starving on the roadside and under bridges, while others throw away delicacies every day. Under this sunless sky, some people are freezing to death, while others have installed air conditioning in their homes!"

Alexia clenched her fists and stood up straight.

"Injustice... oppression..."

Her gaze swept across the crowd, and she strained her ears to hear Adam's helpless cries.

"My compatriots, we have less than 50 million people, yet we feed 600 million people in Frostplate. Our milk has fattened up the soldiers of Frostplate, who then turn around and oppress us. Who hasn't suffered at the hands of Frostplate?! How many families have had their daughters harmed by the Frostplate Citizen troops stationed there? They are sucking our blood, and their churches are offering our soldiers' corpses as sacrifices to non-existent gods—what's the difference between them and Colonizers? They are all bastards and bloodsuckers."

"Heresy!"