Chapter Fifty-Two: Avoidance x So-Called Love

"The latest news," Lin Feirui said as she sat at the table, gazing at her pink-painted nails. "Instead of withdrawing, the enemy has mobilized their entire force and is preparing to attack us. There are now only two thousand left in the Yellow Turban camp."

A murmur of regret swept through the room. "What a pity," Dart complained.

Most could understand his disappointment. If the Han army arrived early, they could reclaim the camp and all its supplies. If their team managed to coordinate from within and make an outstanding contribution to retaking the camp, the progress gained on the battlefield would be substantial.

"Commander," several people turned to Lin Feirui. "Isn't there any way to make the Han army come sooner?"

"There is, but we can't afford it," Lin Feirui replied with a hint of resignation. "If we paid for that, Blood Rain would have no chance to be used in this round. Remember, the reward only comes at the end of the battle."

And besides, it wasn't that simple.

Upon hearing their own forces had been annihilated, the enemy, enraged, launched a sweeping attack against them; Charles had been placed under house arrest, allowing him to leak the intelligence.

Everything seemed reasonable. Yet, why did it feel somehow false? Inside this seemingly golden opportunity, was there not a hidden danger?

There was no doubt—the enemy’s commander was a cunning adversary. Previously, he had used the head of the Yellow Turban leader as bait, squandering many of their universal points and ambushing Huangfu Song’s army. If he planned to repeat the trick...

Blood Rain, unless used at a critical moment, was a costly skill. Previously, it had been deployed to boost morale and exert pressure on the enemy.

In such circumstances, it was not greed but her keen perception that guided her. Detecting something amiss was not difficult.

What a devil of a man~~

To conquer him, devour him, ravage him, trample him—ah, what delight that would be!

It was a while before the flush faded from her cheeks, and she reached her decision.

"We withdraw. We’ll wait for the Han main force to arrive before making any further plans."

----

"Revolution, rebellion—when undertaking such things, one must grasp this crucial point: the correct way to categorize humanity."

"In this world, nothing has caused more harm than the word 'nation.' The two world wars and the Congo massacre were all the result of erroneous classifications."

"Evil imperialists and their vile experts, for their own convenience in discourse and research, divided people by bloodline, skin color, habits, religion, using the concept of 'nation.'"

"Whether intentional or not, they wrought enormous destruction—what is called a 'heinous crime.' If I had the power, I would execute them all for crimes against humanity."

"In my view, humanity should be divided as follows: 1. Those with no resources, who strive to improve their lives; 2. Those with no resources, who make no effort; 3. Those with abundant resources, who indulge themselves, neither working nor bearing responsibility for the group; 4. Those with abundant resources, who nonetheless contribute to the group through their efforts."

Wang Luo paced the tent, pen in hand, muttering as he put his thoughts to paper.

Beside him, Zhou Suyan seemed accustomed to his ways. She paid no heed to his words—she could not understand them anyway. She simply sat nearby, refilling his cup when empty, disposing of his discarded paper balls, and so forth.

"In this era, following this principle—unite the first type, making them the backbone of the team; ignore the second type, give them no chance to muddy the waters; if possible, collaborate with the fourth type, and relentlessly strike the third type."

"As for ideology, such an inheritance system would face opposition from the fourth type, and fierce resistance from the third; among the first, most would support it at this moment. As for celebrities, Cao Cao would oppose, Liu Bei would support, Sun Quan would be resolutely against..."

"Two legs to walk on: one is ideology, the other is interest. Ideology alone is too thin, cannot gather people; interest alone too scattered, united by profit, divided by profit. Betrayal and fragmentation are all too likely."

"The nearest interest is victory on the nearby battlefield; the core ideology is the assurance of survival and advancement for humanity as a group. At present, they are in the trough of a spiral. The kinship system established by the Zhou dynasty, after nearly a millennium of positive effects, is now revealing its negative side, exacting a terrible price—one step away from extinction."

"Love should be a neutral term..."

"You? Understand love?"

Though she understood little of his words, though she scorned and despised him inwardly, she could not help but interject at this point.

"Hm?" Wang Luo looked at her, surprised. "I think I understand a little. What do you believe love is?"

"Love is the attitude of one soul toward another! It is sweet, warm, independent, pure. Companion in solitude, longing in separation, trust without reason, unique recognition..."

"Love is merely an excuse for intelligent beings to embellish their instinctual behavior, a tool to spice up the process of reproduction," Wang Luo interrupted her.

"You’re simply inhuman," she glared at him, furious.

Though she had told herself countless times to be indifferent, to endure, to get through this scenario without dealing with Charles any further, she could not help but voice her complaint.

As soon as the words left her lips, she regretted them.

What did it matter? Although she no longer intended to feed Charles information, just to get through this scene, now, after saying that, this cruel man would probably send her to chop wood.

He was strong, not unpleasant to look at. In previous days, enduring such a person had not been too difficult for her—a manageable task.

Yet every time she saw those eyes, indifferent yet hiding innocence, seeming to perceive everything while still full of curiosity, her anger rose uncontrollably—she simply could not restrain herself.

Perhaps her words had angered him, perhaps an apology could mend things, yet she could not bring herself to say it.

In such distress, she did the only thing she could: she began to cry. Not the kind of crying that left her sniffling and wailing—just simple tears, reddened eyes, droplets falling, yet without disturbing the beauty of her face.

Perhaps this tactic worked, for he did not mention chopping wood, but merely turned away and continued his monologue.

"Love cannot be described with petty, narrow terms like good or bad. It is like water—it can quench thirst or drown. Loving one's family is of course good, but taken a bit further, it grows into loving no one outside one’s kin, not even regarding others as human—as this era has done."

"In the late Han, love became an excuse for evil, a way for evildoers to forgive themselves. Relying on it, the brave noble clans became arrogant aristocratic factions, giving rise to the so-called 'gentry'—those who wield power yet care only for their own pleasure, disregarding the nation as a whole, the scum."

"In modern times, where there are thirty million more marriageable men than women in China, love is a tool, an excuse for women to seize male resources. I will not comfort you; I will not give you reasons to scorn me."

You scorn me? Clearly you’ve always been the one bullying me!

She found him incomprehensible.

"If I had a wife, I would treat her well, provided she fulfilled her duties. I support Karenin, despise Anna. If in the future I return to the real world, grow powerful, I would import marriageable women from abroad—from Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela...all places plagued by poverty and war, to balance the number of men and women in the country."

Hearing herself treated as a commodity, Zhou Suyan felt even worse. She abandoned her pretense and burst into sobs.

Strangely, this quarrel did not disrupt their union that night. She was more passionate, biting him harder than usual, and there was no rejection or resistance at all.