Chapter 726

Hearing the term "cup water theory," Uesugi Muneyuki raised his eyebrows: "I remember this sounds like Kautsky's theory from back then." "That's right, this is the theory of Kautsky and Luxembourg. Since you know it, Uesugi-san, I won't elaborate further." Nango Yui nodded. Uesugi Muneyuki recalled that this term should specifically be called "cup waterism," which spread among the earliest batch of social revolutionaries in the nineteenth century. They believed sexual needs were just like other physiological needs, not something shameful, but rather a normal human need.

After all, the famous social theorist Tokugawa once said: "Humans have three great desires: lust, appetite, and sleep desire."

Therefore, early female revolutionaries like Luxembourg and Kautsky advocated that "sexual desire is also a normal human need, just like the need to drink water, and should not be suppressed or restricted, but should be regarded as normal as drinking a cup of water," and this is what "cup waterism" means. Thus, this group, especially the early female revolutionaries involved in the movement, actually had quite chaotic social relationships.

However, as everyone knows, this clashed fiercely with traditional human morality.

"Actually, looking at the original primitive view, marriage—whether under feudal or capitalist systems—is backward and corrupt, and must be completely broken free from, which is why cup waterism emerged as a trend of thought. But this undoubtedly triggered a massive moral crisis." Nango Yui said with a smile: "Putting aside other things, if a woman spends all day out fooling around and then tells me this is a 'revolutionary' symbol, that it's cup waterism, and that you have no right to point at me—I'm a good girl and I haven't broken the law—then how would Japanese society judge her?"

"A slut." Uesugi Muneyuki twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Yes, this is the conflict between traditional morality and so-called 'progressivism,' and also the root of the tragedy of Hasegawa Yukako and Honda Atsuhito. Both of them longed for rebellion and to break all shackles, and they both sought benevolence and received benevolence, arriving at their respective ends." Nango Yui said this, her expression becoming much more solemn: "Undoubtedly, Miss Marie was also influenced by her parents. From a normal perspective, she has not participated in those extreme actions, and her father's killing of criminals has nothing to do with her, so she should not be implicated in any way, but actually..."

"In reality, morality and law can conflict." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "If we only talk about law, then the outcome of any conflict would just be 'you go report it to the police!'"

This is like how in my past life, I knew a veteran who had served three terms and spent 58.8 on a bride price to get married. Two years after marriage, the woman filed for divorce—not only did she not return a single cent, but after the divorce ruling, she was also forced to bear child support. Theoretically speaking, the woman indeed had no illegal grounds, and even demanding child support was legally supported.

But morally speaking?

Many people get stuck on this kind of progressivism bug—wanting both things, they enjoy themselves, but this gradually leads to the collapse of the original social consensus and moral system.

In the end, they have no choice but to return to the Fear and Torture Arena, that is, to return to the most primitive violence to solve problems.

Blood sacrifice to the blood god, skull offering to the skull throne!

Just as Kautsky could accept herself going out and fooling around everywhere, but when she grew old and returned to her hometown of Odessa, she discovered her husband De Bian Ke also had a bunch of young lovers. She found it unacceptable but could not blame him, after all, her husband was also a follower of her own "cup waterism," so she could only demand a divorce and sourly say: "We have now become obstacles to each other in pursuing revolution."

"So it's no surprise that Honda Atsuhito would abandon Hasegawa Yukako." Nango Yui said: "As long as I have no morality, morality cannot bind me. He carries several, even dozens, of human lives on his back—what morality is there to speak of?"

"Then how can we explain why Honda Atsuhito is now being threatened by his daughter's situation?" Uesugi Muneyuki became interested: "Isn't he devoid of morality?"

"Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to say." Nango Yui nodded: "People change, Uesugi-san. Have you heard of the example of U. S. Supreme Court Justices?"

"U. S. Supreme Court Justices often lean right when young, advocating more for competition and conservatism, but almost without exception, in old age their views shift left, tending more toward protecting vulnerable groups and respecting individual freedom." Nango Yui continued: "This is because, no matter how populist and empathetic U. S. Supreme Court Justices appear on the surface, they were absolutely elite who rose through the highest-level slaughter and judicial process trials in their youth, naturally leaning right."

"Social Darwinism, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki laughed.

"When they grow old, bodily functions decline and age increases, they gradually realize people won't always be eighteen, but there will always be someone eighteen. Their past invincibility, their past abundant energy—were not because I was strong, but because I was young. Therefore, compared to their early rulings, the late-life rulings of these justices show a clear shift." Nango Yui said: "Honda Atsuhito's change might lie within this." "After becoming unable to have children in old age, they begin to long for familial affection and moral comfort, only then remembering their daughter, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki retorted: "That's very cup waterism—picking morality back up again?"

"Therefore, the existing human moral system is the result of bargaining over hundreds of years, or even longer. No person or system can completely detach from and shatter traditional morality. Something a person conceives temporarily cannot possibly be more complete than the traditional moral view built by countless people over thousands of years." Nango Yui said with a smile: "This is the conservatism of Foucault from the British Empire."

"No wonder you're an elite graduate of Kyoto University—chatting with you, I've gained something." Uesugi Muneyuki thought, nodding slightly.

As Nango Yui was about to say something more, the silence in the hotel suite was broken by a sudden ring of the landline phone.

Hearing the sound, both looked up, glanced at Uesugi Muneyuki sitting with eyes closed in deep thought on the opposite sofa, stood up, walked over, and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

From the other end came Hayase Mary's voice, a few degrees more subtly awkward than in the cinema, but still maintaining that restrained plainness: "………Inspector Nan'gō? It's me, Hayase."

"Miss Hayase, is there something you need?" Nango Yui said gently.

"That…… sorry, I have something I'd like to trouble you with." Mary paused, seeming somewhat hesitant to speak: "I…… I forgot to bring some…… women's supplies. Namely…… sanitary napkins. There seem to be no spares in this room. Could you…… trouble someone to go downstairs to the convenience store and buy a pack?"

Nango Yui held the receiver, his expression instantly stiffening. He instinctively turned his head to look at Uesugi Muneyuki.

Uesugi Muneyuki had already opened his eyes, evidently having also heard the faint sound leaking from the receiver. The two men exchanged a glance in the air, both seeing in each other's eyes a flash of embarrassment and the helplessness of "how could it be this kind of thing?"

Having them deal with vicious criminals, analyze complex corpses, or handle high-level political crises—they might remain calm—but this simple yet private request left these two elites momentarily scratching their heads.

After a brief silence, Uesugi Muneyuki slightly raised his chin, his gaze falling on Nango Yui, clearly meaning: you go.

I'm already married!

Uesugi Chief, you TMD???

Putting knowledge into practice?

Nango Yui's mouth corner twitched almost imperceptibly, and, resigned, he said into the receiver: "………Okay, Miss Hayase, I understand. May I ask if there are any specific brand or type requirements?"

"………Just the regular kind, a mix of night and day use will do. Thanks for the trouble." Mary's voice seemed to relax a bit. "No trouble. Please wait a moment." Nango Yui hung up the phone, sighed, and grabbed the suit jacket draped over the chair back.

"Go quickly and return quickly, stay safe." Uesugi Muneyuki reminded him, then closed his eyes again, his thoughts clearly drifting back to the more complex layers of the case.

Just next to the hotel, there is a 24-hour convenience store, its sign especially conspicuous in the night.

Nango Yui hurried out, paused briefly in front of the women's supplies shelf—one dazzling array of packaging made him a bit dizzy—but still quickly, according to Mary's description, found a pack of the most common day-night mixed sanitary napkins.

He tried to keep his expression normal as he carried it to the checkout, paying together with a few cans of coffee and snacks, as if it were just an ordinary late-night snack purchase. Japanese people like vending machines for a reason.

Holding the small convenience store plastic bag, Nango Yui walked back to the hotel.

The night breeze blew, making him slightly clearer-headed, as he mentally calculated what to discuss with Uesugi upon return regarding tomorrow's liaison with headquarters, and whether adjustments to the monitoring frequency of Mary's room were needed.

He swiped his card to enter the hotel side door, then stepped again into the quiet corridor, heading toward the elevator area.

Everything was as usual, the hotel's internal security camera red lights weakly blinking.

Arriving at Mary's floor, the corridor remained empty and quiet, only the carpet absorbing his footsteps. He reached Mary's room door, took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell.

"Miss Hayase, I've brought the things." He spoke low to the door, waiting for a response or the door to open.

However, just as his words fell at that instant

A vicious wind suddenly attacked from behind his head!

Nango Yui's body hair instantly stood on end!

But the opponent's movement was faster, fiercer, and more unexpected!

A hard object, seemingly a specially made baton or similar blunt instrument, wrapped in terrifying force, precisely and violently struck his occipital region where the neck meets the skull!

"Bang!"

A dull thud, muffled by the thick carpet yet loud enough to be fatal.

Intense pain and shock sensation exploded in the skull like a blast, the field of vision instantly occupied by a patch of black-red snowflakes, all sounds—his own breathing, the distant faint hum of the elevator, even any possible movement inside the door—rapidly receded. The arm attempting to counterattack hung limp in midair.

The invincible Kyoto University Faculty of Law elite, Acting Unit Chief of the Special Mission Unit, Nango Yui, collapsed!