Top edge chapter 25

Childish man

It was an untimely moment to space out.

Shen Siwei’s knew that klet was observing him and could surely sense that something was off. But in an instant, Shen Siwei understood many things, and this refreshing feeling filled his mind. He didn’t want to stop halfway.

As it turned out, the appearance of newborns had started even earlier, twenty years ago, within the Tree of Life.

There was a strong and brave little boy who, although initially cried and said he didn’t want to leave alone, still plunged into the river without hesitation after parting ways with Shen Siwei.

So many years had passed, and if he had survived, he should have grown into a young man in his twenties.

… if he had survived.

After that mission, Shen Siwei fell twenty years behind in his understanding of the Tree of Life.

He didn’t know if his fabricated explanation had deceived Moran, nor did he know if any other action teams had followed up on the trace of the little boy.

Hopefully, the little boy survived. If there was a chance, Shen Siwei wanted to see him again and see if he was doing well…

“Negotiator?” klet raised his hand and waved it in front of Shen Siwei. The offline puppet doll still didn’t react.

klet frowned and decided to grasp Shen Siwei’s chin, forcing him to lift his gaze. “Stop playing tricks on me.”

Shen Siwei’s empty eyes flickered and regained their proper color.

Shen Siwei couldn’t help but feel somewhat helpless. Even when he genuinely spaced out, klet saw it as playing tricks. It seemed that in klet’s eyes, he had become some sort of lying trickster.

“No,” Shen Siwei gently lifted his head and took back his chin from klet’s grip. “I was just thinking about the past, “

That was Shen Siwei’s genuine sentiment.

When the first newborn appeared within the Tree of Life, the Marg people chose to exterminate them.

If the Marg people had allowed the existence of the first newborn, then other commoners would also have been able to lift the restrictions on childbirth. At that time, the “Declaration” would become a meaningless document, and a new energy crisis might have erupted.

What truly made him worry was that after the little boy, there were second, third, and many more newborns born. By the time the Mag people discovered them, they couldn’t simply exterminate them so crudely anymore. After all, killing children was something that couldn’t be openly discussed.

Shen Siwei remembered that klet had mentioned the Marg people were formulating new laws regarding the newborns.

No matter what policies they eventually implemented, the treatment of these newborns would certainly be a hundred or even a thousand times better than that of the little boy. In other words, if Shen Siwei hadn’t acted out of empathy and saved that little boy, he would have become a sacrifice in the developmental history of the Tree of Life.

Now, twenty years later, many people had broken free from the limitations of medicine and regained their reproductive abilities. Since the Marg people could devise new strategies to address this situation, why resort to such extreme measures in the first place?

Sacrificing Sara, sacrificing the action team, all to conceal something that was bound to happen in the future. Was it truly worth it?

He was just grateful that he had let go of that little boy back then.

“Sigh?” Klet obviously couldn’t understand what Shen Siwei was thinking, and his gaze became even more suspicious. “So, is that why you saved knock?”

“Yes,” Shen Siwei said in a calm tone, “Some things were helpless in the past, but now there’s an opportunity to do better”

Klet furrowed his brow, seemingly finding it harder and harder to figure out Shen Siwei.

In fact, Shen Siwei was also unsure of the Marg people’s actions over the years, and whether his attitude was in line with his Marg identity.

But since Klet’s so-called evidence was only circumstantial, he naturally wouldn’t easily admit it.

“I’ll say it again, don’t impose your stereotypes of Marg people on me,” Shen Siwei said, “I was born and raised in the top layer, I am a true Marg person.”

One thing at a time, although Shen Siwei had subconsciously drawn a line between himself and the Marg people in the past, twenty years ago was twenty years ago, and now Shen Siwei still had a mission. He couldn’t suddenly change his values and stand against the Marg people just because of his inner turmoil.

And his calmness and persistence—or perhaps stubbornness—seemed to make Klet doubt his judgment.

Klet raised an eyebrow skeptically, and the evidence he voiced began to lose credibility. “Are there really Marg people as short as you?”

Shen Siwei remained expressionless. “Do you have a problem with that?”

He was being called short again. Isn’t 1.8 meters considered normal?

But since Klet had asked, it meant that he probably believed Shen Siwei’s nonsense.

“Also,” Klet tilted his head, deliberately scanning between Shen Siwei’s legs, “I heard rumors that Marg people have extraordinary talents. How come yours is so small?”

“?” Shen Siwei was momentarily stunned, realizing what Klet was referring to.

Last time, in the private bath, the two of them were naked, and Shen Siwei inwardly admitted that Klet’s size was impressive.

“Where am I small?” Shen Siwei suppressed the rising anger, “I am perfectly normal-sized.”

“Oh,” Klet casually said, “I guess our understanding of ‘normal’ is different.”

Shen Siwei: “…”

It seemed that this rogue leader couldn’t prove that he wasn’t a Marg person, so he deliberately provoked him.

How childish.

…But he had to admit, he succeeded.

Shen Siwei calmly grasped a corner of the cushion, for a moment tempted to hit Klet in the face. But he immediately realized that he was wearing an oxygen mask, and if he were to strike, he would likely give Klet a concussion and ruin the fragile image he had carefully built.

Moreover, after calming down, he wondered why he was having a confrontation with an immature man who liked SpongeBob SquarePants.

“Do you want to fight me?” Klet noticed Shen Siwei’s restless right hand and found it amusing. He chuckled softly, “Do Marg people fight with pillows?”

Shen Siwei had already regained his composure, releasing his grip on the cushion. He replied in a calm tone, “Marg people don’t fight.”

Klet rubbed his chin and a curious expression flashed in his eyes, “I’m just sitting here, waiting for you to hit me.”

Clearly, he was curious about how the seemingly gentle Shen Siwei would react if he were to engage in a physical altercation. Klet himself couldn’t imagine it, so he wanted to see it for himself.

But Shen Siwei naturally wouldn’t fall for it.

He leaned back on the backrest of the sofa chair, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and placed his left leg over his right leg, looking like he didn’t want to bother with a rural brute like klet. “I won’t fight.”

His slender legs, exposed through the gap in his bathrobe due to the crossed posture, revealed the faintly visible lines of healthy and firm muscles on the side of his left leg.

klet hadn’t paid attention before, but now as he looked carefully, it seemed like only someone who engaged in regular exercise would have such legs.

He raised an imperceptible eyebrow, feeling a hint of curiosity.

At that moment, the communicator rang, diverting klet’s attention. He glanced at the caller ID and went to the balcony.

“It’s me… Yes… I can help you lift the restrictions on the power station… Let’s discuss it in person… Yes, see you in three hours.”

In the small room of a few dozen square meters, Shen Siwei could clearly hear klet’s conversation without even needing to strain his ears.

The obvious person he was talking to was the leader of the Nightingales.

Shen Siwei could almost deduce what the two of them had discussed. The Nightingales asked klet how to lift the restrictions, and klet said they should discuss it in person.

If nothing unexpected happened, in three hours, the refugees and the Nightingales would reach a collaboration.

From the perspective of maintaining the stability of the Tree of Life, this was definitely not a good thing.

 Didn’t klet know that this room was small? Why did he go to the balcony to take the call? What difference did it make from speaking in front of Shen Siwei?

When discussing such important matters, why didn’t they pay attention to avoiding the mention of the Mag people?

Klet returned to the room from the balcony, and Shen Siwei frowned slightly. “Aren’t you afraid that I will report to the higher-ups?”

“Do as you please” klet said, “It would be best to send your most elite troops.”

 Shen Siwei suddenly remembered that Avis had said klet led the refugees into the city to find someone.

This was different from simply looking for someone.

klet had a fixed residence in this city, but based on their previous conversation, he could freely enter and exit the Tree of Life.

In other words, he didn’t need to “invade the Tree of Life” to find someone because he could already enter.

So, if he wanted to find someone, why did he have to create such a commotion?

Shen Siwei could only think of one possibility.

If he didn’t create such a commotion, perhaps he wouldn’t be able to attract the attention of the person he was looking for.

“The person you’re looking for,” the thought in his mind became clearer and clearer, and Shen Siwei guessed, “Is it someone from the military?”

klet paused his steps as he left the room and slightly parted his lips. “No.”

“No wonder you’re so fixated on finding my comrades because you think it’s possible that the person you’re looking for is among them,” Shen Siwei directly ignored klet’s response and said to himself, “And you don’t want to cooperate with me and let me help you find that person because I’m a Mag person, and you’re afraid it would cause trouble for that person.”

This time, klet completely stopped and turned around to look at Shen Siwei.

“So,” Shen Siwei knew he had finally found a breakthrough and asked tentatively, “What is the connection between you and that person?”

klet’s lips moved, showing signs of speaking.

However, at that moment, without any warning, a deafening alarm sounded from outside the window. It was as if someone had covered the entire city with a huge speaker and was desperately issuing a warning.

Shen Siwei had heard a similar alarm when he transferred on the second level.

It was the alarm that sounded when a civilian entered the aviation control zone, triggered by the defense system on the outskirts of the second level.

But this time, the alarm was several times more severe than the previous one. With the distant memory of his military training, Shen Siwei quickly realized that it was a breach of the outer wall of the Tree of Life by an external force.

“Are there other refugees attacking as well?” Shen Siwei asked subconsciously. After all, the refugees were not a unified group.

“No,” Klet looked at the miniature monitor projection in his palm and strode toward the balcony, “Stay in the house, don’t go out.”

After saying this, his communicator rang again.

“Malken,” Klet answered the call, “Notify the civilians not to go out and have all the refugees gather their weapons.”

Seeing Klet jump onto the balcony railing, about to jump down to the lower floor, Shen Siwei quickly called out to him, “Klet!”

Klet stopped in his tracks and turned back.

“What’s going on?” Shen Siwei furrowed his brow and asked.

“A distorted monster has entered,” Klet replied and then leaped off the balcony.