Chapter 472: Chapter 472 Letting Beggars Pay Up_1
"Global police... Gistas?" Vengeance Goddess and Aiden talked as they walked.
"Yes, that’s right."
"I remember you said before that the war in the south was caused by Gistas’s mischief? They even hired my followers."
"Indeed, they were the ones who committed murder and arson, and they were also the ones who presided over the trials," Aiden said with a sarcastic laugh, "After the war flamed up, Gistas took charge of the mediation, inserting themselves into the negotiations between both sides, or to put it another way..."
"They were able to interfere with the internal affairs of two countries at the same time." Vengeance Goddess laughed too, "Thieves shouting ’catch the thief,’ truly interesting. But it seems that the citizens here lack awareness of what their own country is doing."
"Order is maintained by restraints, and without rules to bind a nation above, international relations become a survival of the fittest jungle. Of course, survival of the fittest isn’t all there is, decency is also a fundamental element of civilization. For a nation, even the most shameless ones will find ways to put on a good face. Often, this facade isn’t for the outside, but for the inside. Of course, this internal facade is not about deceiving their own citizens..."
"But about conveying only a part of the truth, you don’t need to explain that," Vengeance Goddess replied.
By only broadcasting negative news about another country, it’s enough to shape them into an utterly evil origin of sin. By only reporting one’s own positive news, a nation can present itself as a righteous envoy before its citizens—this is almost a necessary procedure for any state-run media of a country.
The exit of the train station was just in sight, and Aiden stopped here, turning his head.
Behind him, "Veronica" came walking up.
Without much thought, Aiden handed over his luggage to her. "Veronica" took it silently and followed quietly behind Aiden.
After leaving the train, Aiden had arranged for the people on board to move the sealed box containing the mercury amalgam golem to a luggage storage warehouse and throw it into a corner.
Then, at the right moment, he released the mercury amalgam golem from the sealed box and used the "Substitute" Divine Word to replace its form with Veronica’s.
Under Vila’s design, the mercury amalgam golem possessed a certain level of sensing ability, along with the capability to carry out some commands and basic programming.
On the way out of the station, Aiden had the mercury amalgam golem keep a certain distance from him, acting like a stranger to watch his back.
If someone approached him quickly from behind, the mercury amalgam golem would issue a "warning."
Though called a "warning," to others it would just sound like a young woman’s gentle cough, which could quickly be drowned out in the clamor of the train station.
But as the one who unleashed the "Substitute" Divine Word, Aiden could choose to perceive the reality before the substitution.
The mercury amalgam golem’s cough, to his ears, was a crisp metallic noise, distinctive and jarring.
The refugee pickpocket probably couldn’t imagine that his marked prey could suddenly turn around as if having eyes on the back of his head to startle him.
Outside the train station was a massive square, and as he stepped out, a grimy hand covered in sores reached out in front of Aiden.
"Please sir! I haven’t eaten for three days!" The begging beggar had an aged face and unkempt hair, but his voice was relatively strong, not at all like someone who hadn’t eaten for three days.
Aiden looked at him, then glanced around and quickly observed that there were no less than five ragged beggars who could move, with many more further away, hard to count.
The station was rife with pickpockets inside and beggars outside, making it, to some extent, a microcosm of Sunset City, which had been impacted by the refugee crisis.
He really couldn’t muster the compassion, so he just walked around the other person and said, "Sorry."
"Oh, please have mercy, sir, you’re dressed so smartly! You can’t be so heartless!" the old beggar persisted in pleading with him, showing no concern for decorum as he clung to Aiden, constantly blocking Aiden’s path with his hand.
This was their usual annoying tactic, the better-dressed someone was the more effective this method seemed to be. Most people obviously wouldn’t want them so close, to have the dust from their clothes rubbed onto themselves, and also didn’t like to be pestered the entire way. Some reluctantly pulled out money to send them away. If the person became angry and yelled at them, they wouldn’t mind that either—since they had already resorted to begging, their dignity had long been trampled into the mud.
Aiden actually didn’t mind giving money to one or two beggars; though they were not as pitiable as they made themselves out to be, they indeed were sorry figures.
But considering that this act of throwing money might attract other beggars, Aiden still chose to ignore them; however, this time the clingy person seemed quite persistent.
At this moment, the avenging goddess walking alongside Aiden glanced at the beggar and said, "Kind of an eyesore."
The beggar suddenly froze, then awkwardly withdrew his hand.
Just when Aiden thought he had completely given up, the beggar reached out again, but this time, he had several coins he had taken from his body.
"This money is for you, sir! You must know how to make better use of it than I do," the beggar said with a benign smile on his face.
Aiden looked at him in surprise, then quickly realized and walked past the beggar: "I don’t need it."
The next moment, the beggar returned to normal, standing still in confusion: What the hell was I just about to do?
Aiden continued to walk forward, another beggar came up intending to beg from him, but the moment he began to speak, his eyes changed, and his gesture switched from hand out asking to forcefully stuffing money at him: "Sir, please take it! I don’t need these meaningless external possessions, let me be away from these things!"
"Don’t give the money to me!" Aiden, prepared in advance, walked past him.
The second beggar came to his senses, similarly stuck in self-doubt.
Another beggar seeing this came up and said, "Don’t give your money to me, then!"
"Buzz off!" he snapped back immediately.
Aiden quickly left the plaza in front of the station, and spoke in his mind to the avenging goddess beside him: "Controlling beggars to give away money, isn’t that a bit insane?"
These strange actions of the beggars were clearly the handiwork of the avenging goddess. The "betrayal" power had reversed their eager mentality to take money from others into the idea of giving money away, and their desire for money was also reversed into disgust.
"Really? Making greedy spirits who only know how to take become generous, I think I’ve done a rare good deed," the avenging goddess said with a laugh.
"The real reason?"
"Our senses are shared, remember? Did you not smell the sweat on that guy?" the avenging goddess replied, "I have no reason to endure that, right?"
"Alright." Aiden actually found this quite understandable.
"Where to next?" the avenging goddess asked.
"We need a place to settle," Aiden answered, "Somewhere far from danger, yet close to the area we want to investigate."
