Chapter 684 — What Is Happening Now
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
In all honesty, Gao Yang felt at this moment that he could barely keep up with Amber's line of thought. For a transmigrator who had always managed to seize the high ground in any discussion, this was a rare predicament indeed.
But after a moment of astonishment, he realized that Amber genuinely was troubled. Her habit of running her mouth off was just that—a habit, or perhaps a way of masking what she truly thought. But something this momentous had happened, and even someone with nerves so thick they bordered on terminal necrosis ought to have something weighing on their mind.
"Actually... I don't really care about this whole homunculus business..." Amber finally said after several seconds of silence. "Ever since I was little, I've been a 'half-blood' with a mysterious lineage. I've lived in slums, brawled with people in dark alleys, slept in stables, slept in graveyards. Truth is, I always knew Pi Yun was probably being hunted by the Embershade cultists. He was likely a defector, just like my adoptive father... Staying with people like them, there's no such thing as a peaceful life.
"People who scrap for a meal in the gutters and back alleys have no spare energy to worry about bloodlines and birthright. You know? The ones who have it hardest don't even think about whether they count as human—just thinking about tomorrow's food drains every ounce of their strength. Some of them sincerely envy the dogs the knights keep. I'm not exaggerating.
"I've had it better than the ones at the very bottom, of course, but I know that state of existence all too well, and it left a deep mark on me.
"I don't care whether I'm a homunculus. Sure, the whole thing did scare me a little, but I genuinely don't care. I'm someone whose origins are a complete blank. 'Homunculus' is at least a little better than blank... Like you said, it doesn't stop me from living like a normal person."
Gao Yang glanced down at Amber. "What you care about is how you should face Verodai."
"She once ordered my destruction, only she didn't succeed," Amber answered Gao Song's question obliquely. "And when she talked about the Shadow Project and the homunculus embryos, she was as calm as if she were discussing stones. Though I know she meant no malice whatsoever..."
"That attitude makes you uncomfortable?"
"A little, but more than that, it's worry. Many of the Defiants' plans strike me as far too obsessive and dangerous—especially now that I've become part of one of those plans myself. The feeling is even more pronounced. To ensure humanity's survival, they don't mind putting some people on the scales as weights in exchange for results. They seem to have their own bottom line, but the biggest problem is you can never be sure whether you're also on the scales while you're cooperating with them..."
Gao Yang looked at Amber with some surprise. He hadn't expected that what this fellow was genuinely struggling with would be something so serious and solemn.
After thinking for about half a minute, he finally spoke. "The followers of the God of Commerce often say one thing: all things in this world rest upon the scales of the gods.
"I don't believe in the God of Commerce, but I think that saying is half right. All of us, from the moment we're born, inevitably stand upon a scale. But the one holding the scale isn't necessarily a god—it might be an ordinary person more powerful than you, it might be the laws of a nation, it might be the laws of nature, it might even be that so-called elusive thing called fate. One thing is certain: as a member of all living things, as long as you're born into this world, your value is inevitably being weighed by something.
"As weights, we can't expect mercy from the scales. So you either have the ability to forge a new scale yourself, or you keep your value sufficient to avoid falling from the pan.