Letter

Are you sure you want to do this?

The person hidden in the shadows asked the speaker who was spinning a coin.

"Wasn't it already decided?" The speaker smiled, appearing both mad and calm in the interplay of shadow and light. "Are you afraid?"

"... The soldiers who escorted them were all innocent."

"Innocent?"

The speaker pressed his finger on the front of the coin, leaving the silver coin imprinted on the table, and his smile faded, "Do you still care about this now?"

"Can't you do it too?"

"I am essentially no different from the other High Council." A cold glint flashed in the Speaker's icy eyes. "We will all stop at nothing to achieve our goals. To me, the number of people we sacrifice, and the people we sacrifice, are only matters of value. I will not cease to be a scoundrel just because I killed other scoundrels."

"..."

"I think many people are tired of hearing this question. A trolley is coming, and there are five people tied to one track and one person tied to the other. You can only choose to send the trolley onto one track. This is the classic Trolley Problem. What would you choose?"

"... Let one person die."

"A wise choice. Now let me rephrase the question. Those five people are all heinous criminals, each one a piece of scum who deserves to be shot on the spot. The other person on the other track is a helpful person. He asks you to switch the trolley tracks to his track to save those five people. What would you choose?"

"There's no need to think about it. Those five people would only cause chaos in society if they lived." His tone was icy.

"Hehehe..." The Speaker chuckled softly, "In this world, humanity stands at the feet of the behemoth that is society. They shout loudly, but not to express their own will. Instead, they want someone who conforms to their will to realize their ideal world for them."

He stood the coin on the table, heads facing him and tails facing the empty seat. "So, back to the point, who is that person?"

"What exactly are you talking about?"

"That person could be High Council official in the country, a powerful celebrity, a shrewd politician, or even a chef, cleaner, waiter, or beggar."

"What matters is not the person's identity, but whether that person shares the same thoughts."

The speaker turned his head and smiled at the man, "I am a demon who has killed countless people, but those who follow me agree with my ideology, so I help them fulfill their wishes. All I need is their 'agreement', even if it's just for a moment. In that moment, they become me too."

"When you answered the question just now, you were very clear about what you were thinking. For just a moment, you also agreed with my idea."

So, go do it.

The child in the Little New Year's Eve extra chapter is Anna.

"Knock knock knock!"

"Hey! Uncle! The sun's already high in the sky!"

Lin suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes, his eye bags appearing particularly heavy under the drawn curtains. He covered his ears, trying to ignore the knocking on his door that sounded like it was about to smash it down, and escape back to sleep.

However, the noise was comparable to a vampire smashing a road roller onto his roof, something that ordinary people couldn't simply ignore.

"Gah." Lin opened the door impatiently. A snow-white figure was about to rush in when he grabbed her by the forehead with one hand and lifted her up.

"Do you know what day it is today, Anna?"

The girl whose head was grabbed was dressed in a flawless white velvet outfit, her face flushed as if she had applied blush, and her long chestnut hair peeked out from under her beret, playfully draped over her hips. The snowflake-shaped hair clip added to her cuteness.

Lin's grip was as strong as the veins on his forehead, causing the suspended girl to chuckle and whistle, "Beep↑Beep↓Beep↑Beep↓... Isn't it my birthday?"

She played it with quite a rhythm.

"I knew it was your birthday. Thanks to you for sending me messages non-stop since yesterday morning, I found out even though I didn't want to!" Lin's expression twisted, and he tightened his fingers, making Anna hold her head and twist in the air. "But school is closed today! Thanks to this heavy snow, our hardworking teachers can rest peacefully for a day, and our smart students can play comfortably for a day."

"Think about it, how many opportunities does a high school student under pressure to get into a good school have to get a good night's sleep? Don't you think that's a blessing from heaven?"

The girl looked at Lin with teary eyes. "But... but today really is my eighteenth birthday..."

"I know, that's why I'm still allowing you to stay here instead of throwing you out."

Lin put Anna down, rubbed his wrist, and casually pointed outside. "Alright, happy birthday. Go back and celebrate with Binai."

"Big..."

"Bang!"

The loud slam of the door choked Anna's words.

"Waaaaah... That's so mean! How could he kick me out just because he wanted to sleep in? I really wanted to celebrate my birthday with him..."

Binai awkwardly stroked Anna's head in her arms, comforting her with a hint of helplessness, "Alright, stop crying. I know it's Lin's fault, but you can't bother him 24/7."

Anna grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose, muttering, "But I just can't help it."

"...Sigh." Binai didn't know what to say. She knew Anna and Lin's tempers pretty well. Sending harassing text messages non-stop was something Anna was capable of doing, but Lin's temper seemed to have always been kinder to Anna, like an older brother who tolerated her. Why did he get so angry today?

Maybe they're just really fed up with it.

Anna and Lin are in the same high school. Lin is a third-year student and Anna is a first-year student. They met during a heavy snowfall. Binai doesn't know the specific reason, but since then Anna has been clinging to Lin, calling him "Uncle" all the time, which sounds rather strange to outsiders.

However, Binai felt she didn't need to worry. If her estimate was correct, Anna would probably cheer up in a few minutes.

"No way, I'm so angry! I've decided, I'm not going to talk to that old man for a month!" Sure enough, after wiping away her tears, Anna sat on the chair with her arms crossed, looking furious, which made Binai smile wryly.

"A month seems a bit long... then half a month it will be! Hmph, without me, the perfect beauty, by his side for half a month, he'll definitely be lonely and decide to come looking for me. At that time, I'll just ignore him and make him so angry!"

"... Never mind, if the older man comes to me first, I won't be angry."

Are you really that easy to fool?

Binai patted Anna's head and smiled at her, "Why do you insist on celebrating your birthday with Lin? Can't we celebrate for you at the orphanage?"

"I know." Anna's eyes flickered, and she bit her lower lip in frustration. "I actually wanted to bring Uncle over... Last time, Uncle said he had never seen Santa Claus since he was a child because he was also an orphan, so I wanted to dress up as Santa Claus for my birthday and give gifts to everyone at the orphanage and Uncle..."

Oh, I see...

Binai felt a little sorry for her, but also a little amused. Even if it wasn't Christmas, she still dressed up as Santa Claus just to bring joy to others. That was definitely Anna's style.

"It's your birthday, how can I let you dress up as Santa Claus?" Binai chuckled. "You're the one who should be receiving presents."

"... I don't want to."

"What?"

"I'm the oldest in the orphanage! I'm an adult! How can I be taken care of!" Anna clutched the hem of her clothes, her whole body trembling as she said, "So many little ones, they haven't grown up yet, I can't stay a child forever."

"... Anna."

"Binai, you don't need to say anything! My mind is made up! You'll see tonight!"

Binai couldn't stop Anna, and could only watch helplessly as Anna ran off in a flash.

At night, in the candlelight, the children eagerly awaited the Santa Claus that Binai had told them about.

Does Santa Claus really come?

The children gazed excitedly at the gate, while outside, the snow fell softly, creating a romantic scene.

"Yes, we will." Binai stood kindly behind the children and nodded.

Anna stood nervously outside the door, rubbing her hands together. She pressed down her Santa hat and beard to make sure her disguise wouldn't be exposed.

She took a deep breath, braced herself, and strode out to the door, opening her arms to speak to the children...

Wow! It really is Santa Claus!

"Santa Claus is here!"

However, all her preparations vanished under the shadow of another festive red figure, and even her smile gradually faded from her face.

Before she knew it, another Santa Claus had arrived in front of the children.

Santa Claus turned around, his familiar face bearing a smile. With a snap of his fingers, colorful lights and fireworks instantly lit up the orphanage, filling the once quiet place with a festive atmosphere.

Anna stared wide-eyed at the exquisite colored lights, unable to recall ever setting up these hidden mechanisms in the walls.

Recalling the person's tired face and bloodshot eyes that morning, she understood something.

"Hello, I'm Santa Claus." The man walked up to me, tilted his body slightly in a funny way, and extended his gloved hand. "Only the most obedient children can see me when they turn eighteen."

"As a reward for a well-behaved child, I can grant her one wish."

The orphanage fell silent, as still as the quiet night before sunrise.

The girl lowered her head, and crystal-clear tears fell onto the snowflakes at her feet, melting the ice crystals.

"Really... any wish is allowed?"

"Certainly."

"Then please come again next year."

Santa Claus tilted his head and gave a warm smile:

"Of course, my child."

Chapter Forty-Eight Letter

"Since birth, I've been curious about one question: what kind of creatures are humans?"

Are they greedy? Yet selfless people are commonplace. Are they cruel? Yet those who protect life are numerous.

"When the end of the world comes, some people will sacrifice themselves to protect the weak for the greater good, while others will help those in need while causing chaos in society. Both are human beings, yet they are completely different."

"The protectors may have been thugs before, and the troublemakers may have been doctors before. They are doing things that are the opposite of what they used to be, but they don't feel there is anything wrong with it at all."

"So this question remains unanswered to this day, and it may never be answered in a lifetime."

"After all, I am also a contradictory human being. Can the question itself answer the question?"

The man sat on the thick wooden bed, facing the empty room where no one answered. He spoke his innermost thoughts, things no one knew. He never told anyone these things, whether to prevent his weakness from being exposed or for some other reason, he himself was not sure.

Humans are always like this; they often change without realizing it, doing things they would never have done before.

His eyelids drooped, and flames seemed to burn in his eyes, but those flames quickly disappeared. Looking at Zero, who was still unconscious, the man's head drooped even lower, as if it were about to fall off his neck.

Zero remained expressionless in his sleep. His exquisite and perfect appearance made it impossible for him to believe he was a living person. But precisely because of this, in the man's eyes, this face seemed even more terrifying and ugly.

"I did the same thing as your parents, and in the end, we're no different." The man mocked himself, took a pistol from its holster, and looked at the gleaming Moth of Fire emblem on it. His expression became complex and resolute, as if something had taken over his consciousness.

He opened the magazine, unloaded the bullets, leaving only the last one, and then...

"Click".

The man glanced at the pistol; the rough grip felt cold to the touch. He then looked at Zero, who was asleep; her delicate skin gleamed under the light.

He raised his gun expressionlessly, slowly pointing the muzzle at Zero's head.

"..."

With just one pull of the trigger, this man-made monster will die.

This is his responsibility. Even as High Council of the Fire Moth, he wouldn't value a person's life.

Sacrifice a minority for the sake of the majority; sacrifice the wrong for the sake of the right.

Isn't this how it's always been done?

However, when the man's finger was on the trigger, it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he couldn't move it an inch.

He slowly, slowly, slowly... turned the gun around.

As the man stared at the murder weapon that had taken the lives of Ling's parents, he felt a sense of relief.

"Xiaolin, in the future, I will send you to live in a place where no one knows you. There I will tell you the whole truth, and then it will be your choice."

No shots were fired, and the man did not take any lives. He removed the last bullet and put it in the pocket near his heart.

Then he hid the pistol in the ceiling of the house.

"Who are you going to point this gun at, Kobayashi?"

"Heave-ho."

She struggled to open the somewhat heavy door, fanned away the dust that rose up, and sneezed a few times.

It seems that the door was intended to never be opened when it was built, otherwise it wouldn't have been made so difficult to open. But in the end, the door wasn't blocked off, and a key was left behind. It seems that the builder's feelings must have been quite complicated.

She searched the entrance but couldn't find the light switch, so she had to explore the basement in complete darkness.