As a mage, I just want to pursue the truth

Chapter 285: I was asked
"This is a very difficult time for London right now as the perpetrator of this random killing has yet to be found.

Danger can happen to any of us at any time.

If you have any news, please report it as soon as possible through the software called Magic London.

If the information you provide is true and valid, the government will provide certain rewards later.

In addition, only that app is reliable. Even if government officials need you to go to the nearby police station because of your report, the news must be received from Magic London.

In addition, citizens who have learned magic, please trust the government and report the magic you have learned to Magic London.

Finally, I want to appeal to every Londoner: we need your help and only solidarity can get us through this difficult time."

This is what London is thinking of, to control everyone through technical means.

More importantly, the London government discovered that the power of magic would decrease as the number of people using it increased.

The power of the magic network is limited, just like when many people use WiFi at the same time, the network speed will be very slow.

"Sir, may I ask when did the government know this news, and how long did you conceal this news?"

"We need the truth!"

"Has magic always existed in England? Face the question!"

“I would like to ask if the government knows the root cause behind this phenomenon. If so, please inform the general public!”

"Sir, will you take responsibility for this magical serial murder incident and resign?"

After Boris finished speaking, he turned around and went back to Number 10 Downing Street. It was obvious that the reporters would not let him go so easily.

Almost all the reporters were rushing forward, trying to break through the human wall formed by security personnel.

The microphone amplified their questions and poured them into Boris' ears.

He was already walking very fast, and he walked even faster after hearing the last question asking whether he would resign.

For political animals, maintaining their power is the top priority.

Politicians who rise to power through showmanship care far more about the position they hold than those who rely on the influence of their ancestors or their own abilities.

Because they have left their position, they have no authority.

The other two types of politicians can still exert a certain influence even after leaving their positions, even exceeding their influence when they are in power.

"Boris first announced: Due to magical abnormal events, London will be temporarily closed."

"London? Everyone can use magic? It's true!"

After Boris delivered his speech to all media, major media outlets could not wait until the next day to get the news.

The editors in the background are already working as fast as possible to announce this matter.

At the same time, television media such as Sky TV and BBC had already urgently inserted live broadcasts of the press conference.

The number of people watching the live broadcast exceeded 10 million, and the news quickly spread.

All Londoners were distracted from work and social media was exploding at a speed that was too fast to keep up.

For the citizens of London, the feeling of unreality was indescribable as they watched their unreliable prime minister perform magic in person in front of guns and cannons.

It feels just as unreal as if your dog suddenly starts to speak human language.

"London is abnormal? London allows everyone to cast spells? Is today April Fools' Day?"

"Why did we only know about this today? What was the government doing when the first magical murder occurred?
Similar incidents have occurred more than ten times before being made public? "

"Someone must be held accountable for this. Number 10 Downing Street needs a new owner."

Social media in England has been flooded with attacks on the current government.

Magic also tore off its gentle and affectionate side in front of the people of Blue Star.

Previously, Zheng Li raised the threshold for magic very high, and the high threshold meant that magic was a "game" for a minority of people.

With about fifty mages around the world, things are still under control.

At the same time, with such a high threshold, the way to obtain magic requires extremely high knowledge of mathematics and astronomy.

With these two points combined, anyone who can learn magic is on the list of various governments.

According to the previous magic system, if someone used magic to commit a crime, it would be easy to locate them.

The semi-random approach in London, coupled with the extremely low threshold for anyone to learn magic, means that things are bound to become chaotic from the very beginning.

When superpowers become widespread, not everyone can control their inner desire to do evil.

Especially when he finds out there are no consequences and it will hardly be detected.

“Please welcome our Chief National Security Advisor for England: Mr Stephen Lovegrove.

Welcome you very much. Today, Mr. Lovegrove and I will have a detailed discussion on this magical event in London.

Mr. Lovegrove, you don't mind if I call you Stephen, do you? "

The person who said this was Andrew Marr, and the two were speaking live from the BBC studio in London.

This is a flagship high-end interview program produced by the BBC.

Stephen also came out to explain some issues on behalf of the current English government.

The whole of England and even the European Union are pointing their spearheads at 10 Downing Street.

Boris can no longer bear the pressure, so he sent Stephen to participate in this talk show to see if he can reverse the current completely unfavorable public opinion to some extent.

“Yes, Andrew, nice to meet you, I’ve heard of Andrew Marr’s name before.

I originally thought that I would never have the opportunity to be on such a high-end talk show in my lifetime.

It's like when I watch Sherlock Holmes and get a call from the director:
Hello Stephen, Benedict is ill and can no longer play Sherlock, so you will be the next season of Sherlock. "

Andrew laughed: "Although your boasting makes me feel good, this magical event concerns all of us Londoners.

Therefore, I will not show you mercy during the following interview."

Stephen shook his head: “I’m telling the truth, not trying to bribe you with words.

Please trust my integrity as National Security Advisor."

In his heart, Andrew disdained the moral integrity of politicians, but on the surface he pretended to believe in them.

The host also needs acting skills, especially when the interviewee or guest on the show suddenly goes crazy, a host without acting skills can easily lose control of his or her expression.

Stephen Lovegrove served in this administration for a decade.

In 2013, he was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Climate Change, and in 2016 he was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, until he became National Security Advisor in 2021.

He made similar remarks that year: China poses a national security challenge to England.

Therefore, he was criticized by China.

Andrew said directly: "Since you are so confident, I will not be polite. All the questions I asked today are the issues that London citizens are most concerned about at present.

The whole of London has been closed and all outsiders are no longer able to enter London.

The citizens of London are actively cooperating for the safety of the city.

They should have the right to know. " Stephen, with gray hair, nodded and said, "Yes, I will tell you everything I know."

Andrew asked: "First of all, when did the London City Government know that there were magicians in London who were not under the government's control?"

Stephen: "At the end of last year, at the launch of Kechuang Bio, the water element caused a big disturbance at the launch conference. There is no difference between the time we know and the time you know."

Andrew: "So when did you know that everyone can learn magic?"

Stephen looked thoughtful, and after a moment, he said, “About half a month ago.”

Andrew: “Why wasn’t it announced at the time?”

Stephen explained: “We wanted to announce it once we had a complete solution.

You have to know that London is a city with a population of nearly 10 million.

Not everything needs to be announced, we want to keep things under control.”

Andrew laughed and said, “So you guys finally lost control, and only announced the news after you lost control, right?”

This BBC program was specially arranged by 10 Downing Street in order to shift the blame.

But that doesn’t mean the BBC will necessarily cooperate with them. In the BBC’s view, allowing you to go on stage is already helping you out.

As for whether we can change the direction of public opinion, it depends on the ability of the people you send.

The BBC originally thought that Boris would come in person, but in the end they only sent Stephen.

Boris may even buy into the BBC's advice and not ask any sharp questions.

It’s a pity that it was Stephen who came, and Andrew was walking completely at his own pace.

Stephen: "Things are not completely out of control. We chose to make this public because we need the help of Londoners."

Andrew was shocked: "Double-digit Londoners have died, the city of London has been locked down, and you still say it's not out of control?
So what does it mean to be out of control? "

He somewhat admired the other party's shamelessness.

In fact, the program "Andrew Marr Interview" is also somewhat related to China. In 2020, the Chinese ambassador to England appeared on this program.

You can still see this news if you visit the official website of the Chinese Ambassador to England.

(That is, in this news, it is said that this talk show is a high-end flagship talk show.)
Stephen didn’t show any embarrassment on his face: “Yes, it’s too early to talk about losing control now.

Magic is a brand new subject for Blue Star.

No matter which city on Blue Star the magical anomaly in London occurs in, it cannot prevent people who have learned magic from using it to do evil.

This is not the incompetence of the London government, but the confusion of human beings when they first start to face the unknown.

But we have found the direction now, and the reason for publishing this is to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.”

When you are being criticized, the classic tactic is to pull out another person who also did something wrong and criticize him together with others.

Or maybe he did something worse than me, why not blame him first?

The biggest flaw in this kind of rhetoric is that other people’s target is you now, so what does other people have to do with this matter?

Andrew knew that he couldn't continue to be so aggressive, so he changed the direction of his question:
"When did you know that these random deaths throughout London were related to magic?"

Stephen became more alert, and he said carefully: "I just found out about it recently, probably ten days ago.

Because I remember that the London City Government issued a notice at that time saying that everyone should try not to go out at night, and single residents should remember to lock the doors and windows. "

Andrew asked: "Why didn't you tell the truth at that time?"

Stephen had expected this question. He had already prepared for it before coming: "Because we want to catch the murderer, if we announce the news rashly, it is likely to alert the enemy."

Andrew was still sharp: "So you didn't announce it, didn't alert anyone, but still didn't find the murderer.

Unusual deaths continue to occur.

You failed to protect the lives of Londoners during the emergency, nor did you guarantee their right to know."

Stephen finally felt something was wrong. He thought, why are you so aggressive? No one told me before I came here that I would face this kind of torture.

Boris clearly said at the time that the talk show would be relaxed and enjoyable.

“Many things don’t always go as we wish.

Especially something like magic that we haven’t come into contact with before.”

Andrew seemed to have something on the other party, so he said, "Let's watch a video."

Boris's face appears in the video, also in front of Number 10 Downing Street.

Stephen realized something was wrong.

Then Boris is heard in the video saying: "The government knows about the existence of magic and there are magicians in England who take orders from the government."

This was after Zheng Li caused a scene at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm, and the English people marched and smashed the windows of Number 10 Downing Street.

A video clip of Boris speaking in person during an interview.

Of course, Number 10 Downing Street will also face angry citizens today, so the security measures at Downing Street today are far greater than usual.

“We already had our own magician four years ago.

Magic is indeed a new thing for ordinary people, even if we have seen Merlin's performance.

Magic is still far from reality.

But that doesn't mean magic is far away from the English government and 10 Downing Street.

Magic is not something you are unfamiliar with.

We even have our own magicians who answer to our commands.”

Stephen had begun to sweat. It was the first time he felt how hot London was in spring.

“The magic that appeared in London this time is different from the magic we knew before.

They can be said to be two completely different things.

The magic of London is really something new.”

Andrew asked: "Then can our magician cast spells?
Can they learn the magic of London, the way the Prime Minister performed it in front of the reporters?

Stephen nodded and said, "Okay."

After he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong because this should not be revealed to the outside world.

In a sense, this is confidential.

But now it is a live broadcast, and all the staff in charge of magic-related affairs in all major countries are watching this program.

Stephen realized that it might be the end, and the leak of confidential information could be serious or minor.

But now he is worried that he can’t find anyone to take the blame, and there is a high possibility that he will be sacrificed.

Andrew looked directly at the other party and asked, "Can two different systems of magic be compatible?

This is probably not common sense.”

(End of this chapter)