Love, Gun, Cupid

"Don't lie to me. I already know you're draining my life force. I won't believe a single word you say!"

The black cat jumped down: "If it's this one, you can rest assured, because I've found a substitute to temporarily absorb his life force."

And don't change the subject. I'm the only reason you're with the person you like, and you're looked down upon by him because you're powerless. You understand both of these points, right?

"I may not have any power, but he didn't look down on me! Otherwise, why would he save me and look like he was about to cry?"

The black cat transformed into human form, hugged Teacher Yang from behind, and whispered against her cheek, "Yang Xuemeng, you poor fool, being nice to you and looking down on you are not contradictory."

Think back, from childhood to adulthood, weren't your parents, uncles and aunts, your friends, teachers and classmates all very kind to you? And, their kindness was all the same—it was one-sided care for you?

Why do they take care of you? Your parents lament their daughter's laziness and worry about how you will live after they are gone, yet they still take good care of you.

Your uncles and aunts take good care of you, the younger generation, because they are friends with your parents. They feel that you are unreliable and they have to keep an eye on you for your parents.

The teachers are taking care of you because your parents have put in a good word for you with the school. Nobody wants to offend two influential figures in academia, as there is a lot of overlap between the academic and educational circles.

Your friends take care of you like a flower in a greenhouse. When you go out together, they will even send someone to accompany you to the toilet.

They call you little princess, which is both a statement of fact and a taunt. Your loyal maids have said the most bad things about you behind your back. No wonder, who would respect a good-for-nothing who needs to be taken care of?

Taking care of those who are less fortunate than you can provide them with psychological compensation—every time you treat them to a meal and pay the bill, you are silently mocking their poverty, which makes them both love and hate you.

Even Lin Jiade felt the same way. He believed that no one but himself would save you, and he didn't want the death of someone he knew to become his inner demon. So he risked his life to save you, but also made you forget about it after he succeeded.

You've missed the point, Yang Xuemeng. People take care of you not because they love you so much or think you're important. What matters is the self-satisfaction they derive from protecting you, who they raise, care for, and save. That 'who' is you, but it doesn't have to be you.

So, after several unsuccessful arguments about blind dates, your parents have largely left you to your own devices. Your uncles and aunts have their own grandchildren to take care of, so they can't look after you now. Your classmates and teachers have gradually lost contact after leaving school, and your friends, after having children, no longer keep in touch...

Yang Xuemeng, you are becoming lonely. People you know are drifting away from you, and you can't make new friends, new people who can take care of you and whom you can rely on.

When Lin Jiade enters your life and fulfills your sexual and emotional needs as a man… when you realize this, you immediately cling to him like a lifeline, losing all dignity and morality, becoming like a clown, like a dog kicked out of its home and drenched in the rain.

Teacher Yang's breathing became rapid, and her face flushed red. Anyone would be furious if they were spoken to like that. The black cat stroked her hair and said, "People are all hypocritical and foolish. Some people can't see through it, and some people see it but don't want to say anything. They create a gentle world for you, who are weak and powerless, and never expose the truth."

But now, is the skill of gaining attention simply by playing the victim still useful? Lin Jiade has Jasmine, Gladiolus, Ice Cave, and Albizia by his side. They are all beautiful, and more importantly, they are powerful. Lin Jiade helps them and can expect them to repay him, both in his career and in bed.

Lin Jiade is paying for your hospital room accommodation, taking care of your food and drink, ensuring your safety, and even finding you a roommate so you won't be lonely. From any perspective, he has already done everything he can for you.

And what can you do for him? Give him money? You're a spendthrift, where would you get the money? Mentor his girlfriend? Your education is something you're proud of, your professional knowledge is your livelihood, but in their circle, your pride and your professional skills are just embellishments.

You can't even overcome your morals to offer your body, so you're only of little use to Lin Jiade.

And today you witnessed the girl accompanying him, that girl suddenly appeared in his life, but because she possessed unique magic, she and Lin Jiade developed that kind of relationship within a few days.”

"Lin Jiade is not that kind of person!"

"Your expectations of the person you like are unrealistic, forcing him to be a saint. But he is not. His energy is limited, so he will naturally prioritize those who can help him. As for a liability like you, he can only give you some when he remembers."

You might lament that you desire extraordinary power, that they refused to let you in, that life has been unfair to you… That's your biggest mistake, Yang Xuemeng. Power is right beside you, yet you fail to realize it, constantly rejecting its invitation.

Teacher Yang turned around, and under the moonlight, the black cat's shape kept changing until it finally took on her appearance, with a crescent moon in its eyes.

"You're trying to trick me into signing this evil contract again, aren't you?" Teacher Yang dodged backward repeatedly. "Give up! I would never betray Lin Jiade!"

The black cat looked at her with pity: "I was here, yet you didn't warn Lin Jiade. That's already a betrayal."

You know very well that as a passerby, you will be forgotten by Lin Jiade, while only those with power—whether joining a hero's team or standing against a hero as a monster—will be remembered by the hero.

"I might be deceiving you, causing you utter ruin, but it's also possible that you can harness this power and repay Lin Jiade, making him see you the same way he sees other women."

"No, get out! I don't want to see you again!"

“Yang Xuemeng, you possess power, but you lack the incantation to activate it…”

Ms. Yang couldn't take it anymore. She pounced over and grabbed the black cat by the neck. The black cat looked at her for a while, its expression changing from surprise to gloom, and finally back to calm.

It reached out and stroked Ms. Yang's hair. Ms. Yang gripped the cat's throat even tighter, but the black cat's voice still clearly reached her ears—

Its spell is: I love you.

After saying that, the black cat turned into smoke and disappeared. Teacher Yang, who had lost her support, fell onto the bed, leaving mottled tear stains on the pillow.

Teacher Yang wasn't the only one crying along with Thursday. After returning to the Holy Land, Iphigenia looked up at the unusual full moon there and touched her throat, which felt like it was being choked.

"Are you satisfied?" Ragnar asked.

Iphigenia turned back: "You'll always find me."

"Because wherever you are, there will always be moonlight."

"It's not that I brought the moonlight, it's that I enjoy strolling in the moonlight."

Ragnar neither confirmed nor denied: "Agamemnon was once the commander of the Argos coalition. During the voyage, he hunted and killed the moon goddess's sacred deer, causing the moon goddess great sorrow. The moon goddess's revenge caused headwinds at sea, making it impossible for the coalition to move an inch."

The prophet Calchas enlightened Agamemnon and found a solution: sacrifice Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia to appease the moon god's anger and allow the allied forces to set sail again.

Torn between his own flesh and blood and the lives of the allied soldiers and the success or failure of the expedition, Agamemnon considered abandoning the expedition. However, as king, Agamemnon triumphed over as father, and so he decided to sacrifice his daughter.

So Agamemnon first tricked his wife and daughter into coming to him. His first decision was to sacrifice his daughter, but soon he regretted it and sent a second messenger to stop him.

The contradictory orders were eventually noticed, causing a split in the allied forces. Achilles, the famous hero among the Argonauts, led his loyal soldiers to stop the sacrifice, while the others agreed to sacrifice one person to allow the army to set off—after all, this disaster was started by Agamemnon, and his family should be sacrificed to end it.

After learning the truth, Iphigenia faced death with composure. She lay on the sacrificial altar, watching the priests who were carrying out the ritual raise their knives to stab her heart... but they only stabbed a doe.

The moon goddess stopped the sacrifice and had a doe suffer in her place. From then on, Iphigenia was promoted to the position of the moon goddess's priestess... But the moon goddess brought not only mercy but also punishment. Iphigenia survived, but whenever the Argos were brought to the moon goddess's temple to be sacrificed, the poor moon goddess priestess had to witness the entire process of her compatriots' suffering.

Agamemnon's revenge came after the war, because his wife, in collusion with her lover, murdered him in a dishonorable manner for deceiving his wife about his plan to sacrifice their daughter.

Now, time has passed, and Agamemnon is once again the commander-in-chief of the Greeks, while you have become their artificially created offspring—an ancient story brought to life in the modern era.

Chelsea won, extra chapter tomorrow.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Ragnar's Memories (Two Chapters Combined)

"Having the same name does not mean having the same fate; it's just that some people want to be Agamemnon, while others want others to be Iphigenia."

The black cat paused, then said, "When that idiot Yang Xuemeng grabbed me by the throat, her heart opened to me, and I already knew my fate."

"..."

"You already knew about my true form, didn't you?" the black cat said.

Ragnar nodded: "Your father... if you acknowledge his words, told me that you are different from your other brothers and sisters, that you are unique."

So you care about me?

“I have a daughter who is in a similar situation to you: she is unaware of her true form and lives without realizing it, as if she has the wrong identity.”

"I'm curious," Ragnar said, "what does it feel like for someone who's awake to reminisce about their dream?"

“It’s painful, hard to accept, but I have to accept it,” Iphigenia said. “My thoughts are probably not a valid reference, because I don’t understand people’s hearts, I am… a monster.”

“When you realize you are a monster, and understand the difference between monsters and humans, you have already understood the human heart,” Ragnar said. “I am a monster too, and I can guarantee that.”

“You are an Imperial citizen, and you are out of place among us. We can only hide in the dark, move around like rats, and feel smug when we steal things that others don’t want or have forgotten. We also fight with our own kind to pass the time.”

And you, according to your two children, you eat and drink well, live in a big house, drive luxury cars, have many humans serving you obsequiously, and many women lining up to mate with you. You're also familiar with the empire's high command... What kind of monster are you?"

Ragnar smiled: "On the surface, I have a higher status in the Empire than 99% of humans, so I am indeed a respectable alien."

Fifty years ago, when I was still a teenager, I studied in the human world for more than twenty years. During that time, I made many human friends, met good teachers, and had a first love that I will never forget.

The hatred I felt for humanity after reading history was gradually dissolved because I realized that there are many good people among humanity, or rather, most of them are not bad people; they just want to live their own good lives and have no intention of exterminating this or that.

The root of evil lies in power. Under the instigation of those in power, people with no conflicts, and races with no conflicts, create conflicts and sacrifice their lives in vain, becoming blood-stained gold in the hands of those in power.

Therefore, I want power. With power, I can counterbalance those elders of humanity who have amassed wealth through war. Not all those in power want to wage war. If I can unite with them, I can push through more equitable legislation. Under the banner of patriotism, everyone, regardless of gender, race, or skin color, will be determined by their abilities, their status, and their wealth.

At this point, Ragnar chuckled, as if mocking his own naiveté: "I thought that personal advancement and the improvement of ethnic status could be achieved by integrating into human society, which seemed possible in the circle I was in when I was studying."

Because I am not at a high enough level, I naturally do not come into contact with people at a high enough level. Therefore, everyone is able to set aside prejudices and racial discrimination. On the one hand, we must prevent people from the lower classes from moving into our own class, and on the other hand, we must break down class barriers and climb upwards.

However, in some respects, the ideas of the empire's ruling class and the empire's lower classes were strikingly similar, such as their fondness for racial discrimination.

I climbed to where I am now almost ten years ago. However, I have been unable to advance any further in the past ten years. They did not say it explicitly, but I understand that the Empire will not allow a non-human race to rise to a position that influences an entire continent.

Then, every year my application to advance to the Master level was rejected for various reasons. So I realized that in the Empire's system, the status and power of alien races were doubly suppressed.

For humans, it would be best if other races lived an idyllic life like the minotaurs, farming in their reserves, farming in this life, and farming in the next, only to have their hard-earned fruits harvested by humans with industrial products.

At that time, I understood that if I wanted status and power, I had to achieve it through my own means.

"So, you want to join forces with us?" the black cat asked.

"There are two reasons why I have set my sights on Fuxing City. One is related to the Holy Land located in Fuxing City, and you are a byproduct of the Holy Land. The other is because I have someone I want to see."

Therefore, last September, I hired a mercenary through an unreliable intermediary, who then recruited even more unreliable teammates locally, causing a small disturbance in Fuxing City.

Thus, it provided cover for my arrival here to meet you. I witnessed firsthand the security strength of Fuxing City and confirmed the condition of the person I wanted to see.

If all had gone smoothly, I should have settled my score with the person I wanted to see by the end of October last year... until Korobochka came to cause trouble.

I had once heard rumors of Korobochka's death, but the truth is that she found a young man in the city of regeneration and settled down there, leading the local supernatural forces.

What a joke! I know her. She's not the kind of useless person who would give up her future for love. Because she's inherently cold and ruthless, she only loves herself... Maybe she also loves the family she imagines, but in her family, her husband is just a tool she can manipulate at will.

So this matter is very suspicious, and I had to postpone my plans. After investigating, I found that Korobochka's boyfriend was also the boyfriend of the person I was looking for, and at the same time, he was also involved with Yang Xuemeng, whom you were so persistent about.

I don't believe in chance. When several isolated lines converge at one point, there must be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Ragnar looked up at the half-moon in the sky: "And the answer is the moon."

Iphigenia looked up, her eyes reflecting a full moon: "The moon goddess?"

“I watched the live stream. In the competition to help his accomplice advance to a higher professional title, he entered the virtual space using a special method and briefly became the King of the Forest—the priest of the Moon Goddess, the Oracle Protector. The power of the moon was so compatible with him, it was as if it was tailor-made for him.”

I know I can't wait any longer. He sheltered the person I wanted to meet, and more and more people were drawn to him, while he himself was growing at an astonishing rate... even though he was still like an insect to me right now.

He must be brought to an end, and that end begins with the power to protect someone. In the Empire, proving someone's cult membership is difficult, but precisely because of it. I know a cult—you yours—that can fabricate half-truths to frame someone.

"Are humans really that stupid?" Iphigenia asked.

"Human politicians are not clean. They need to accumulate points to enter politics, and these points mainly come from interpersonal relationships and financial backers. In order to earn points, they have to use their positions to do things for those who provide points."

Therefore, these partially true and partially false documents, certified by a real cult, were enough to put the couple in the spotlight. The rest could be handled by their enemies.

As time goes on, the pressure on the couple will increase, even if they haven't done it, because the network of people who provide them with points and the possibility of investors considering a partnership with them will become greater.

This has nothing to do with the facts; it only depends on the individual's ability to withstand pressure. When they can't take it anymore, they'll try to find a way out, which is to admit to secondary offenses in exchange for a judicial deal with the prosecution, so that they won't be prosecuted for their primary crime of colluding with a cult.

"In other words, it's still possible for them to be reinstated and accumulate more points?"

Ragnar replied, "Possibly, but it doesn't matter, because during the time I want to do things, it's enough to restrain the power that protects Lin Jiade."

"And the Greeks are the force you use to restrain and protect Lin Jiade, in order to get a chance to kill Lin Jiade and his dragon girl girlfriend... But won't that anger the Moon Goddess?" the black cat asked.

"If the Moon Goddess were truly enraged, then the full moon reflected in your eyes right now would kill me. Since that's not the case, I will continue with my own affairs: first kill Lin Jiade, then pursue power in my own way, accumulate power, and wait for the right opportunity."