Chapter 423 - Chapter 423: Chapter 423: The True Heart of a Hero (1/2)

Chapter 423: Chapter 423: The True Heart of a Hero

Xiang Kun knew that Officer Wang and Officer Zhao’s investigation into the “Eight-Armed, Eight-Eyed Monster” was merely a side task, conducted privately, and wasn’t officially sanctioned.

Without traditional evidence, their investigation would be futile, even if the direction was correct. Moreover, their investigation direction was skewed to begin with. If necessary, Xiang Kun could even subtly influence their investigation through dream manipulation.

So he wasn’t particularly concerned when they used the pretext of consulting on the training of a “Guide bird” to investigate Zhao’s “Golden Flutter”.

Considering the situation their entry into the special investigation team and the information from a few days ago when they accidentally found Mijoe at Zi Huan Mountain and brought him back for “interrogation”, none of these developments surprised Xiang Kun. His real concern was not them, but “Xiao Pingguo,” or more precisely, the state of Xiao Pingguo’s external perception through the senses of “Golden Flutter”.

Saving a “Gambler” from committing suicide wasn’t a big deal in Xiang Kun’s eyes. Xiao Pingguo had used “Golden Flutter” in a clever way. Although Officer Wang and Officer Zhao might find it odd and have some doubts, without substantial evidence, they wouldn’t be able to link this to Xiao Pingguo.

Xiao Pingguo achieved her objectives and concealed herself effectively. But this incident had made Xiang Kun acutely aware of the potential danger of Xiao Pingguo’s external perception through “Golden Flutter”.

After all, the world isn’t all sunshine and roses. There is hidden filth and evil beneath the surface of peaceful daily life, just like the incident Xiao Pingguo thwarted by the lake on the night of the first day.

After that day, Xiang Kun had solemnly instructed Xiao Pingguo to always be cautious about her safety. He compared himself with the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Monster”, a pawn that Xiao Pingguo could manipulate. And “Golden Flutter” was the “hand” she used to play the game.

She needed to remain detached from the game, controlling it from the outside instead of getting involved and risking danger.

Xiang Kun had thought that Xiao Pingguo, given her abilities, would quickly “develop” the ability to guide and invoke illusions of the “Eight-Armed, Eight-Eyed Monster” through “Golden Flutter” alone, effectively distancing herself from the game, thus standing invincible on the chess board.

Accomplishing this would only promote some urban legends without implicating Xiao Pingguo.

But clearly, Xiao Pingguo hadn’t developed the ability to make “Golden Flutter” independently send out summons. While her sensory perceptions coming through “Golden Flutter” were growing stronger and her explorations growing wider.

However, during this period, she was largely sneaking around controlling “Golden Flutter” during the day while her dad was at school, out exploring and observing the world. In the evening, she was usually playing games or recording videos with Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er. Even when she did have time alone, she couldn’t send out “Golden Flutter”. Besides, “Golden Flutter” had grown accustomed to its current lifestyle of roaming during the day and resting at night. Once nighttime came, it was usually lazy.

So, for now, Xiao Pingguo’s explorations of the external world had largely yielded observations of environmental elements and daily, mundane information about people. Any conflicts or disputes she came across were insignificant, and she usually didn’t pay them much attention.

But in a bustling metropolis of several million people, even with the very best law and order, there would always be dark corners, especially at night.

Like tonight, while using “Golden Flutter” to eavesdrop on a conversation between Officer Wang and Officer Zhao, she happened to encounter a suicide attempt taking place next door.

This time there just happened to be Officer Wang and Officer Zhao present. They both happened to be alert individuals who managed to pick up on the “hints” Xiao Pingguo had given through “Golden Flutter”. So the situation was resolved quite perfectly.

But what if Officer Wang and Officer Zhao hadn’t been there? What if Xiao Pingguo hadn’t been able to prevent the man from committing suicide?

This time it was a suicidal gambler they encountered. But what if an innocent child had been in danger instead?

Or what if it had been an even more violent crime?

Xiang Kun, a 30-year-old adult, knows that even though he has what could be considered superpowers, he can’t do everything. He understands that he is powerless before many things in the world.

When faced with a situation where he knows he can help, he will try his best to do so, provided it doesn’t jeopardize the safety of his family and friends. If someone was in immediate danger, he would try his best to save them. But if he fails to save someone, he wouldn’t blame himself too much.

It was just like when he had been involved in the bus crash. In the end, he could only protect one little boy. Although he abhorred the feeling of being unable to help during a crisis, he didn’t dwell on his perceived lack of power. He knew this was the normal state of human life, something he had experienced countless times in his previous thirty years.

But Xiao Pingguo was different from him; she was not yet eighteen and still not an adult.

Despite her congenital blindness, her family had protected her well, and her innocence remained intact; she hadn’t witnessed much wickedness in the world.

Moreover, her father was an associate professor and her uncle a police officer, so their moral standards were higher than Xiang Kun’s.

There were many things that, once known, were hard to ignore. Leaving aside the potential to expose her secrets and incurring personal risks, her current abilities wouldn’t even allow her to deal with most issues.

Just like the man from tonight, if she hadn’t managed to stop him from committing suicide, having to sense the whole process of his death through “Golden Flutter” would certainly have been a significant shock to Xiao Pingguo.

Needless to say, in the dark, somewhere in the city, some more brutal events must be occurring. Given the sensory and flight abilities of “Jin Shanshan”, as well as the increasingly strong connection between “Xiao Pingguo” and it, perceiving these incidents is only a matter of time.