Chapter 489: Chapter 378 A Classic Problem
After hearing the question, Mendo started to laugh uproariously without even thinking, "This question is just ridiculous! Do I even need to think it over? Obviously, it’s..."
"Mendo!" Cote roared suddenly, jolting Mendo.
"Use your brain!" What Cote was most afraid of was this. Mendo was sometimes too confident in himself, and this unwarranted confidence would surely lead to his undoing! Especially with the question that Long Yi had thrown at him!
Mendo was originally going to choose the door to the room with the minister and the people, but the problem arose.
At a time like this, who carried more weight? The emperor, or the everyday commoners who kept the Empire running?
By the value of a country’s standards, of course, the emperor would be deemed more important. But could the emperor really be more important than those ministers?
Mendo looked around, catching glimpses of the expressions on everyone’s faces. He saw absolute contradictions! No one could make a decision!
"Everyone could discuss it, too!" Long Yi said with a smile.
They all looked at each other then one person muttered softly to the person next to him, "I choose the minister’s room. The life of His Majesty is precious, and if he were to die, it would surely create turbulence across the entire nation, and enemies would surely exploit this weakness!"
"Idiot! Isn’t it obvious? We should save the emperor! Despite his precious life, it cannot be traded with a thousand other lives!"
"You dimwit! You’re not thinking far enough! You should consider..."
"You’re the short-sighted one! Why don’t you consider it from this perspective..."
Soon, the entire room devolved into chaos, with individuals becoming more and more passionate in their discussions. Some had already started slamming tables and pointing fingers, hurling insults at each other.
At this point, Mendo was sweating profusely. He gratefully glanced at Uncle Cote, who had interrupted him in time. If he had spoken out hastily, he might have never been allowed to enter the Eye of the White Dragon again!
Mendo looked again at Long Yi, who had now changed his expression. The kinds of questions one could propose determined their perspective. Could it be that Long Yi’s indifferent and silly facade had been a ruse all along?
Long Yi was smiling, watching the heated discussion that seemed on the brink of getting out of control.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please calm down." Long Yi clapped his hands, and the room instantly hushed. Everyone present was either a high-ranking official or a renowned businessman, so they had some degree of restraint.
"This question seems to have split the opinions down the center. Let me make it a little easier for all of you," Long Yi said, "What if, in that room, there are no ministers, only five hundred laborers working in the Imperial Palace?"
Five hundred workers’ lives, and the emperor’s life, which one is more important?
Mendo immediately began to think hard. Instinctively, he thought he could abandon those five hundred civilians. But what if he considered merely from the point of view of valuing human life?
Damn it! This damned question!
The discussion soon resumed. Mendo initially thought that more people would support the idea of opening the door to the civilians. But the result was the opposite - more people supported opening the door to the emperor!
Right! That’s what Long Yi had said! Compassion! Fairness! Justice!
Damn it!
Mendo felt a tingling sensation on his scalp. This seemingly simple multiple-choice question was proving to be a hot potato!
"Alright, let’s make this question a little easier. In that room, there are only one hundred civilians! What do you think?"
One hundred!
Everyone exchanged looks, and with an unspoken consensus, they all fell silent.
This problem had suddenly become very difficult to answer.
At this moment, Mendo was feeling incredibly flustered. His self-proclaimed clever mind couldn’t help him at all. He attempted to seek his uncle for help, but Cote was deep in thought as well, unable to assist him.
"Alright, let’s lower the difficulty again," Long Yi started again. Almost everyone’s gaze was on him, "In that room, there are only ten civilians."
Mendo almost blurted it out without thinking! Just ten people! Merely ten people! It’s enough! But he held back because he could see the cautiousness on everyone’s faces. It was the prudence of someone about to walk into a trap.
"Nine?"
"Eight?"
"Seven?"
"Alright, since this question seems so difficult for you, let me simplify it further. There are two rooms, one with the emperor and the other with a civilian who has nothing to do with you. Which one would you choose?"
Long Yi held his gaze steady on Mendo.
"I..." Sweat was trickling down Mendo’s forehead.
"I..." Mendo’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.
"I choose to open the door to the civilian’s room."
Long Yi laughed.
"Congratulations, Mr. Mendo! You just killed a civilian you did not know, who had nothing to do with you. A child lost his father, a father lost his son, a wife lost her husband. But you saved the emperor of the White Dragon Empire. Your achievements will be praised by everyone."
As Long Yi spoke, he nodded to Ai Lin and Suolin on the side, indicating it was time to leave.
Thud!
Mendo sat dejectedly on the ground, gazing at his trembling hands with a look of bewilderment in his eyes.
Not just Mendo, almost everyone felt as if a large stone was pressing on their hearts, causing significant discomfort.
"Hold on, Mr. Long Yi."
The boss stopped Long Yi and his group.
"What is it, boss?" The honest Long Yi asked with a smile.
"If this dilemma were presented to you, what would you do?" The boss asked Long Yi.
Suddenly, everyone’s eyes were focused on Long Yi. Fundamentally speaking, Long Yi proposed a question where no choice seems entirely suitable. But what if this question was posed to Long Yi himself?
Long Yi stared into the boss’s eyes. Time trickled by the second. He seemed to discern something from the boss’s eyes, then he gave a wry smile.
"If I’m still alive, I would absolutely prevent this situation from occurring. However, if it does happen, it means I’m already dead, so who lives and who dies would have nothing to do with me."
Upon hearing this, the boss shook his head. "That answer is too cunning and not what we’re seeking."
Long Yi burst into laughter: "That’s why I say, I despise clever people the most."
The boss was taken aback, and his smile faltered slightly.
After a pause, Long Yi said solemnly: "If it’s about the initial question, I would choose to open the Emperor’s room."
"Why?" The boss pressed further.
"Because Kirei is my friend, he would definitely understand my choice, he would be prepared to face death bravely." Long Yi said. "And also, right after I open the door, I will jump in immediately. Even if I can’t defeat the Black Knight, I won’t let my friend die alone because of my decision!"
"But under the conditions of the final question?" the boss continued to probe.
"I would choose the commoners." Long Yi said.
"But then! How are you any different from me?"
Mendo shouted suddenly.
The hall fell silent, only the heavy breathing of the people around could be heard.
Long Yi gave a slight smile, then he simply said.
"Yeah, there’s no difference. The answer is always similar, but, does this answer hold the same value for you and me?"
As Long Yi left, everyone present sank into their own thoughts. This question, in essence, is about the value of life. How should one measure the worth of a human life? Everyone has a standard in their heart, and through the answers to this question, everyone found their own position. Some people were enlightened, some were secretly shocked, while some were filled with resentment.
But none of these were of any concern to Long Yi anymore.
"Brother Long! You’re amazing!" On the carriage ride back, Ai Lin exclaimed joyfully. Not just her, even the young man who was tasked to guide Long Yi, had an expression full of surprise. He had always thought that Long Yi was nothing more than a muscle-brained bully, but this question made him think deeply. If the initial question didn’t seem difficult, when Long Yi began to change the conditions, he understood that the complexity of this problem was escalating.
Equality and justice are not just lofty ideals. Once you hold the power of life and death, things could go beyond your wildest imagination.
Compared to Ai Lin’s excitement, Suolin was rather silent. She had been acting strange twice tonight, which made her uneasy. At this moment, Long Yi’s big hand grasped hers.
Suolin was startled, she looked up at Long Yi.
"Don’t worry too much, there’s nothing wrong with what you did today," Long Yi said with a smile.
What Suolin feared most was the blame from Long Yi. But from start to finish, Long Yi showed no signs of blaming her. Instead, he was comforting her.
"Thank you, Brother Long." Suolin whispered. Even though it was a simple bit of comfort, it was enough to set her mind at ease.
"No need to thank me, I think things have been a bit monotonous lately, perhaps we’ve been cooped up too long. How about we go out and have some fun?" Long Yi asked with a smile.
"Huh?"
At this moment, both Ai Lin and Suolin looked at Long Yi with confusion. Long Yi wore a smile on his face, not saying much more.
Soon, the carriage arrived at the villa, Long Yi hopped off first, and gentlemanly helped the two girls down - this etiquette, of course, was cultivated by Little Zi.
The young man, serving as the guide, also hopped off the carriage. He happily said to Long Yi, "I am very grateful for your brilliant talk today. Your question gave me a feeling of sudden enlightenment. I seem to have discovered many things that I usually overlook. I owe it to you!"
Long Yi also laughed, saying: "Thank you as well. Please help me tell your boss that I’m very grateful for his invitation. Also, does your boss have a fondness for armor?"
Long Yi suddenly threw out a question.
"Huh? How did you know?" The young man was startled.
"Nothing, just curious." Long Yi split-mouthed, laughing.
Watching the carriage depart, Ai Lin felt that there was a hidden meaning behind Long Yi’s final question.
"Brother Long, what’s going on?" Ai Lin asked in a low voice.
"Nothing much, I just found something I’m not quite sure about. The truth of the matter is still uncertain, but if it turns out to be true, that’d be interesting." Long Yi said. (To be continued. If you like this piece of work, please feel free to vote for and recommend it on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
