Chapter 190: Recruitment

"What will you do to restrict human development?" Luo Qi shook his head. "Life will always find a way."

He looked at Du Zhengyi and said hesitantly, "Mages in the past once used religion to trap human development, but in the end, humans still moved forward on their own."

"And there were the outcomes of countless wars," Du Zhengyi said. "Manipulating human groups is like playing with mindless puppets, yet it still couldn't block human development."

Mr. Zhao smiled slightly. "Legend has it that the day humans were able to use writing, ghosts wept and spirits wailed. I think this is actually a prophecy; it wasn't the day humans invented writing, but the day humans gave birth to science."

"Then what can we do?" Luo Qi said, confused. "Are you going to smash every lightbulb? Tear up every book? Knock out every hard drive in the world? Slaughter all the intellectuals?"

Mr. Zhao remained silent, and the man beside him frowned.

Luo Qi waited anxiously. He couldn't think of a solution, and he didn't want to solve this problem either, because he liked the world humans had created. He liked elevators, he liked computers, he liked refrigerators, he liked video games... Oh, he thought slowly, so he was one of those people in the story of the Odyssey who had eaten the lotus; he was a Lotus Eater.

He controlled his mouth and did not say these words out loud. He urged again, "So what exactly is your method?"

Du Zhengyi suddenly spoke up, "I know what their method is."

Luo Qi glanced at him in surprise. Du Zhengyi's young face was full of mockery. "You want to control the human population scale, don't you?"

Luo Qi was shocked. He saw Clownfish staring at Du Zhengyi thoughtfully, while Mr. Zhao's eyes were deep. The leader of the Lotus Burners looked at Du Zhengyi with appreciation and a hint of provocation; his expression was extremely complex, and Luo Qi could almost see his desire for Du Zhengyi. He was indeed very sincere; he had come to recruit Du Zhengyi in person.

"How is this any different from that Hitler business?" Luo Qi blurted out.

Mr. Zhao turned his face sharply to look at him. "Hitler never lacked admirers. Besides, for his own people, what did Hitler do wrong? Wasn't he seeking welfare for the Germanic people? If he had succeeded, how would humans sing his praises then?"

"Oh," Luo Qi said loudly, "so the Lotus Burners know about Hitler too and have even put effort into studying him. I thought you looked down on humans."

Mr. Zhao looked at him calmly. "Looking down on the enemy—that is the blind rank and file among the Lotus Burners."

"How come I feel like you actually like them? Those so-called rank and file, they can bring you fame, and the fear they create is the weapon of the Lotus Burners," Luo Qi said in a low voice. Amidst the soaring flames, he thought of the train tracks that day again.

"I have no choice. To oppose the rigid Mage tradition, we can only unite everyone who can be united," Mr. Zhao said earnestly.

"Thieves, hooligans, stinking beggars, schizophrenics, perverts, murderers." Luo Qi lowered his head and muttered a string of nouns, and he clearly heard Du Zhengyi let out a snort of praise beside him. He had a premonition that the interview might be falling apart.

Mr. Zhao was not angry, nor did he seem offended. Luo Qi had to admit that although he was conceited, he was much more real than the Venerables of the Qionglin. "You are not wrong, and that is why I came to see you two in person. We need more Mages with bottom lines, we need like-minded people, truly like-minded people. We need decent Mages to help the Lotus Burners get on the right path."

"That's quite persuasive," Luo Qi said, rubbing his chin in thought. "If I didn't have other career goals, I'd be a bit tempted."

"Interesting, what is your career goal?" Mr. Zhao said.

"Not worth mentioning," Luo Qi lowered his arm. "I plan to be an animal behaviorist."

"He means opening a pet shop," Du Zhengyi unexpectedly explained for him, attracting Clownfish's attention. His gloomy gaze scraped dryly over the two of them.

Mr. Zhao smiled slightly, broad-minded enough not to think he was playing them. He gestured back at the Swallowing Heaven Flame that seemed as if it would burn endlessly. "After seeing Magic like this, do you still think you can be satisfied with fiddling with kittens? I don't doubt your humor or your past life choices, but..."

"Sorry, I'm a person without ambition. I just want to live a simple life, the kind that doesn't require thinking," Luo Qi said. Mr. Zhao really had a good temper; Clownfish, on the other hand, gave him a mocking sneer.

Luo Qi shrugged his shoulders, crossing his arms over his chest. "But don't you think about touching Du Zhengyi again. You are a Telepath, he is not." He pointed at Mr. Zhao with his chin, because his arms were busy posturing, so he could only use his chin to point at people. "Right?"

"What do you want to say?" Mr. Zhao watched him with interest, the smile on his face deepening.

Luo Qi met Clownfish's cold, gloomy gaze. His Yajian was accompanied by a burst of scorching heat and cold murderous intent. Luo Qi was secretly startled; it was like the power had suddenly cut out, and the process of talking tough and posturing suddenly stuttered.

Du Zhengyi immediately asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Luo Qi raised a hand, stopping Du Zhengyi's worry. "I'm just thinking; I think I've figured something out."

Mr. Zhao laughed, though he was also thoughtfully pondering Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi. "I think I got something wrong. You two, who exactly is the boss?"

"Of course it's me," Luo Qi said without thinking. "Have you ever seen a thug be the boss?"

Du Zhengyi didn't say anything. Luo Qi, of course, knew that Du Zhengyi was always too lazy to respond to this kind of nonsense of his; not disciplining a child in front of others was also one of Du Zhengyi's virtues.

Mr. Zhao looked at him thoughtfully. "If you are referring to the Zhouqiao Grass Market, Clownfish bumping into you there was purely accidental. If there was any clash, it was just a misunderstanding."

"As long as it's a misunderstanding," Luo Qi said, going with the flow.

He exchanged a look with Du Zhengyi and became serious. "Then let's talk about the main topic."

"The main topic?" Mr. Zhao asked in surprise.

"I'll start," Luo Qi said. "In order to survive, I am also very sincere."

"Please speak," Mr. Zhao said.

"Why did Leader Zhao decide to recruit us tonight? How do you intend to complete the control of the human population scale? Why reveal this deep-seated purpose to us? I think it's because Du Zhengyi and I can help you achieve this goal." Luo Qi paused, keeping his eyes on Mr. Zhao's. "Oh, not me—Du Zhengyi can help you achieve this goal? That is indeed the case. But you must be interested in me now too, aren't you?"