Chapter 415: The Good and the Bad
Chapter 415: The Good and the Bad
"Alright."
Upon hearing the Water Bottle Director's instructions, the female journalist nodded and took the glass lantern from his hands. However, instead of immediately setting off to the Dream Realm, she bit her lip and hesitated, asking, "Director, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
The Water Bottle Director, appearing youthful but with eyes that betrayed his age, turned to face her and smiled gently, his expression warm and kind. "Nicole, ask whatever you like. I'll answer anything I can... Also, you don't need to be so reserved around me. You are one of the few people I can trust, and I hope you can trust me more as well."
"Alright..."
Hearing the Water Bottle Director's words, the female journalist's demeanor relaxed slightly, and she asked softly, "Director, the Virgin Division has repeatedly ruined your plans and even harmed your soul, forcing you to play along with the Nightmare King. Don't you feel any resentment?"
"You're probably not asking if I resent them, but why I didn't take advantage of the situation and deal with Bloodhair or the Nightmare King just now, right?"
"Hmm..."
After pointing out the real question the female journalist wanted to ask, the Water Bottle Director didn't answer directly. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Nicole, can you tell me what kind of person you think I am?"
The female journalist was taken aback by the Water Bottle Director's question and lowered her head slightly, speaking softly, "You are my savior. If it weren't for you, I would have died at the age of seven. You rescued me from the privateering ship in the Seo Kingdom and gave me the ability and opportunity to seek revenge..."
"Nicole, you know I'm not asking about your gratitude. I want to know how you truly see me."
Interrupting the journalist's evasive answer, the Water Bottle Director couldn't help but chuckle. "Never mind... Even though you're avoiding the question, it's still an indirect answer.
In your eyes, I'm probably an obsessive madman who is obsessed with the Anomaly Creation Secret Art and will do anything to fulfill my desires. I'm someone who sacrifices anything to achieve my goals, a truly evil person who deserves to die, right?"
"No!"
The journalist couldn't help but speak up, "Director, you... Although your methods are a bit extreme, you've also done a lot of good. You've saved many people..."
"I'm a bad person."
After defining himself, the Water Bottle Director's smile faded slightly, and his expression became calm. "To you, I'm a savior, but to many others, I truly deserve to die."
"..."
"Although the number of people who died because of me is far less than the countless people I've protected over the past hundred years.
But during my research into the Anomaly Creation Secret Art, I've done many terrible things. To create anomalies or obtain secret art materials, I've ignored those in dire situations, secretly pushed them further, and even directly caused their destruction.
Even when I rescued you from the privateering ship in the Seo Kingdom, it wasn't out of kindness. I sensed your exceptional talent and believed you could nurture top-tier anomalies.
Nicole, although you've always been reluctant to admit it, I truly am a bad person."
"..."
Looking at the journalist who had fallen silent, the Water Bottle Director smiled and said, "I'll ask you, a few years ago, when the Intelligent Machines confined the Gemini Division and secretly controlled all the cleaners, why did I only save you?"
"Because I'm a First-Class Cleaner?"
"Are you also the strongest in the Bureau?"
"No."
The Water Bottle Director shook his head and said, "Because you are a good person."
"???"
"Hehe, you and the others who are willing to follow me are different. Although they also obey my orders and can even stand by my side, covering up my various violations, they don't truly acknowledge me. Some are just used to obeying, some fear my power, and some want to obtain stronger anomalies. You are different. You followed me out of simple gratitude, gratitude for saving your life and giving you the ability to seek revenge."
"……"
"Once my actions are exposed, those who are used to obeying me will also obey the Cleanup Bureau without hesitation. Those who fear my power will naturally fear the more powerful Cleanup Bureau. Those who want to gain benefits from me will be swayed by the benefits I can't provide. Nicole, you are the only one whose purpose for following me is the purest. You just want to repay my kindness."
Looking at the silent female journalist, the Water Bottle Director smiled and then began to count on his fingers, "Although you strongly dislike my actions, you always secretly sabotage my experiments, destroying many potential anomalies. You even reported me to the Bureau a few times, hoping someone would stop me. This time is no different. When you went to steal the Bloodhair Princess's purse, you could have done it without showing yourself, but you went there anyway, without changing your appearance, intentionally warning them to be cautious of me besides the Nightmare King, right?"
"……"
At this point, the Water Bottle Director paused slightly and then continued, "But at this moment, you, who tried to warn the Bloodhair Princess to be cautious of me, are more reliable than those in the Twin Division who have never opposed me. As long as you remember that I saved your life, raised you, and helped you seek revenge, and feel that you haven't repaid my kindness, you will never truly betray me."
"……"
"Um… when people get older, they tend to ramble. I seem to have gotten a bit off-topic."
Looking at the female journalist who had unconsciously pursed her lips, the Water Bottle Director smiled and said, "In short, although I am a bad person, I have my reasons for what I do. I am not some lunatic who enjoys killing and destruction. Collaborating with the Nightmare King was just a matter of necessity. I have no grudge against the Kingdom, so I have no reason to harm them. Moreover, if the Nightmare King really invades reality, it would not only bring me no benefit but also make me fall under his control. Of course, I wouldn't help him."
"As for why I didn't take advantage of their distraction to sneak-attack the Bloodhair Princess and Lyon, who have been causing me trouble… well, there are many reasons, but the main one is that I simply can't beat them."
"Ah?"
"Really, I can't."
Pointing to the Nightmare River, which was rapidly shrinking under the morning sun, the Water Bottle Director said with a pained expression, "In just half a night, the Bloodhair Princess has eliminated nearly a million Nightmares. And this is while she was mainly focused on preventing Nightmares from entering the real world, not actively attacking. The Bloodhair Princess's over 100 million [Massacre Blood Hair] are the Cleanup Bureau's most advanced physical damage anomalies. If used without concern for consumption, they could punch through the moon in just fifty hours. Any being that relies on flesh and blood is naturally at a disadvantage against her. And one of the fundamental rules of the real world is that one must be dependent on flesh and blood to remain there for a long time. In the real world, she is almost invincible."
(End of Chapter)
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