Qin Siyang stared at Hao Liang and said in disbelief, "Professor Hao, you want to overthrow the United Government?"
Hao Liang turned slightly, looked at the dumbfounded Qin Siyang, and said, "Why not?"
"B–but this is the United Government!"
Hao Liang's expression did not change as he answered slowly, "A bastard isn't an egg, and a lapdog isn't a dog. The United Government isn't a government either."
Qin Siyang argued, "In name, the United Government is the government of the Safe Zone. They're responsible for administering and governing the Safe Zone."
Hao Liang gave a light laugh, "Responsible for administering the Safe Zone? Little Qin, the Safe Zone isn't safe, and it isn't a zone either."
"..."
"Ten years ago, when the apocalypse descended, and up to today, too many things that are rotten to the point of oozing pus have become respectable, high-sounding institutions."
What Hao Liang said was something Qin Siyang had also vaguely suspected.
How the United Government had come into being, and how it had so quickly established public credibility after the apocalypse, was something that really made one think.
But these matters had little to do with him, and the United Government was an enormous behemoth that could not be shaken.
Just like knowing that when you're tired, you should go to bed and sleep, Qin Siyang had always followed the rules of the United Government within the Safe Zone.
Thinking too much about things far removed from oneself had no meaning and was a waste of energy.
So he had never seriously thought about where the United Government came from.
Of course, he had never been interested in it to begin with.
If anyone said they wanted to drag him into overthrowing the United Government, Qin Siyang not reporting them would already count as Buddha's mercy.
But people have degrees of closeness.
His relationship with Hao Liang was not that of strangers passing by.
Seeing Hao Liang about to charge like a moth into a flame, Qin Siyang could not help but try to stop him, "Professor Hao, didn't you just say that the United Government is strong enough to deter all sides?"
"That's right. But using the word 'deter' to describe the United Government is still a bit too conservative. Do you remember the protest by sequence ability users that happened in the Safe Zone three years ago?"
Qin Siyang nodded. Of course he remembered.
Back then, it was precisely through his understanding of that incident that he discovered clues about Olov and exposed the secret of Olov's forged identity.
"On the surface, the Safe Zone looks peaceful and harmonious, but in private, all sides were dissatisfied with having a United Government looming over them as a parent figure. They had long wanted to find a chance to topple it together."
"On the surface, it was said that sequence ability users were dissatisfied with the United Government's repeated testing and its excessive grasp of personal privacy, so they protested together. In reality, that large-scale protest in the Safe Zone was the result of all sides collectively pushing things from behind the scenes, just to test how much strength the United Government really had."
"But they didn't expect the United Government's efficiency and ability in resolving the issue to far exceed everyone's expectations."
"The leaders of the protest died suddenly one after another, leaving no one in charge. The United Government quickly produced a compromise plan, and the protest was rapidly quelled."
"After dealing with internal troubles, they began to sort out external ones. Within half a year, mutinies broke out in four legions, internal splits within the three major merchant guilds worsened, and conflicts among university professors intensified. For example, Old Li and Guo Jiuxiao became mortal enemies after that."
"And all of these things, whether it was the legion mutinies, the Commerce Chamber splits, or the professors' conflicts, were all resolved with the United Government stepping in. For instance, Old Li was only demoted and not imprisoned, which also had to do with the United Government deliberately glossing things over."
"When various forces caused trouble for the United Government, the United Government solved it. When the United Government caused trouble for the various forces, it still had to be the United Government that solved it."
"In short, without the United Government, problems in the Safe Zone couldn't be settled at all. A series of combined moves pushed the United Government's public credibility to its peak."
Qin Siyang took a deep breath, "So that's how it was…"
"There's more. What made all sides most wary was that from beginning to end, whether handling the protest or stirring up conflicts among the various forces, the United Government never exposed a single high-level sequence ability user under its command. On the contrary, quite a few people from the three major commerce chambers and the major legions were forced to reveal their strength in order to suppress the turmoil, and ended up on the Warren Chamber of Commerce's Tiger List."
"In short, after that incident, everyone understood that the resources and connections the United Government could mobilize were beyond measure, and that its trump cards were deeply hidden. So they accepted the reality of the United Government continuing to sit firmly as the common leader of all forces within the Safe Zone."
Hao Liang spoke at length, sketching out the outline of the United Government's power within the Safe Zone before Qin Siyang.
That only made Qin Siyang more confused.
"Professor Hao, if even all sides together can't do anything to the United Government, why would you, alone, insist on doing something so foolish, like striking a stone with an egg?"
Hao Liang gave a bitter smile, "Naturally, I have my reasons for doing this."
Qin Siyang sighed and did not press him further about what those reasons were.
Behind those reasons there was surely a scar that could never be smoothed over, and Qin Siyang decided it was better not to tear it open.
"Is it just you alone who plans to overthrow the United Government?"
Hao Liang shook his head, "Actually, before me, quite a few people tried to do this, but without exception, they all failed. Not only were they killed by the United Government, even their family members were all buried with them."
Qin Siyang said flatly, "Eradicating the weeds by pulling out the roots is a lesson summed up from thousands of years of our history."
"Exactly."
"Professor Hao, then when you do this, don't you care about your wife's safety?"
After hearing this, Hao Liang pressed his lips together and did not answer for a long time.
Only then did he say softly, "Little Qin, your background, and the examples around you, may have given you an illusion. Couples deeply in love like Old Li and Chen Fenghe, or Old Lu and Yang Dan, are actually very rare."
"Love is something just as rare as a crimson crystal."
"For example, my wife and I absolutely cannot be called loving, we're even somewhat like strangers."
Qin Siyang could not help asking, "If that's the case, then why did you choose to be together in the first place?"
"I chose to be with her because at that time, I truly did love her."
"And her?"
Hao Liang gave a self-mocking smile, "She probably never loved me. She just didn't have a better choice at the time."
Qin Siyang did not know what to say and could only steer away from the topic of his wife, "Professor Hao, even if your relationship isn't good, the child is innocent."
"Her heart was never mine. How could the child be mine?"
"Ah… then you…"
Qin Siyang looked at Hao Liang's sharply contoured, ice-cold face, as if his mouth had been stuffed with a block of ice.
Hao Liang looked at Qin Siyang, "So even if I fail and end up with the entire household executed, there's nothing for me to care about. Don't you think so?"
"..."
Hao Liang looked out the window again, "What I wanted to tell you is just this."
After hesitating for a long time, Qin Siyang said, "Professor Hao, thank you very much for telling me all this honestly, but I won't join you in overthrowing the United Government. I have no motive to do this, and no benefit to gain."
Hao Liang nodded slightly, "I know."
"Then why did you still tell me all this?"
Hao Liang gave a light smile, "Who knows."
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