Chapter 46 - Specimen Ban (1/2)

When he was young, Adrian’s favorite adult was definitely Vahl Cayman.

There were just those few big families within the upper echelons of the capital, so they would often meet during parties. This uncle, who had no blood relationship with him, would often secretly bring him snacks that children liked to eat. Adrian’s grandfather did not like this young colleague of his and warned Adrian many times not to talk to such people, but this, in turn, served to arouse Adrian’s rebelliousness. As long as he had the chance, he would try to talk to Vahl as often as possible. Vahl would not reprimand his outspoken and childish thoughts in harsh tones like Stalvern did, but would instead encourage him kindly, or coax him patiently.

The only time Vahl spoke harshly to him was when he was thirteen. He had a fight with the older kids in his school and was photographed by the patrol cameras. The parents of several of the participating students were asked to come discuss the incident with the school. Adrian knew what Stalvern’s temper was like; he would definitely fly into a rage on the spot. He did not wish to lose face in front of the other students, so he lied that something happened to his grandfather and called Vahl to come instead.

Sure enough, Vahl protected the boy’s pride. He rushed over with the other parents, and after listening to the matter, not only did he not reprimand him like the parents did with their children, he even said without a care, “I don’t hear anything wrong with what Adrian has done.”

Vahl had no rights to speak at the round table, but that was a matter within the inner workings of the Supreme Council so outsiders did not know much of it. The other parents were scared of his status as a council member and did not even dare to talk back to him, while the teacher had been in disbelief. “Sir Cayman! Mr. Yate has wounded two of his seniors!”

“So you mean to say that two sixteen-year-old kids tried to bully a thirteen-year-old, and got beaten up instead by said thirteen-year-old?.” Then, they could hear him speaking casually to Adrian. “That’s where you’re wrong then, Adrian. How could you be so harsh with your seniors? You need to give your seniors some face. Apologize.”

“Sorry, seniors, I’ll go easy on you next time,” said Adrian, following his advice.

The two sixteen-year-old senior students were so angry that their faces were flushed red with fury. The complexions of their parents also changed. The teacher would never have expected a proper council member like him to be so blatant in showing his favoritism. She was just about to say something, but Vahl went on, “Alright, he’s already apologized. So, Miss…”

“‘Butterfly’ is about to be implemented in its 51st and 52nd star systems soon. Everyone knows this. Roundtable meetings are becoming more frequent, so Sir Yate has to be relied on for many things. The children have only gotten into a small conflict with their fellow schoolmates…so you shouldn’t disturb him for such a matter now, right? How about this. I’ll bring this boy home, and I’ll have him reflect on what he did today. Then, we’ll just see this as the end of this matter. Is that alright?”

He spoke slowly, but his words show no acceptance of refusals; the teacher could only nod and let them go.

Adrian really believed with all of his heart that Vahl really thought him as blameless, and he even told him on the way out of school excitedly how he taught those two seniors who had come to provoke him a good lesson…he would never have expected Vahl to drop the facade once they reached the car, and ask him seriously, “Adrian, do you feel proud of yourself for winning over those two seniors in a fight?”

This was the very first time Vahl had ever spoken to him so harshly. Adrian was stunned, and nodded hesitantly.

“You clearly agreed to having a one-on-one fight, but the other party brought two people. They never wanted to have a proper fight with you at all. They wanted to teach you a lesson!”

“So what if they brought two people? I won!” protested Adrian. At thirteen, he was unconvinced he did anything wrong.

“Have you thought about this then? If that boy wasn’t sure of your strength, he might have called another person. Do you think you could win if there were three? What about five? Ten? What if they brought weapons? It’s very dangerous for you to rush headfirst into things like that. You were lucky today because your opponents were foolish, and their hearts were not completely corrupted! Adrian, you should be more cautious about your own safety. It pained me to hear from your teacher that you had gotten hurt. Your mother didn’t give you your life just so you could go on such risky ventures.”

Nobody has ever told Adrian that seeing him hurt pained them. Adrian raised his head and looked at the profile of the middle-aged man who was driving and muttered, “Okay…”

“Alright, your grandfather is probably going to be back late today, so I’ll send you home for now. Then, I’ll head back to school later to get this wiped from your record. It won’t leave a big impact, but…it’s a fierce competition, getting into the Supreme Institution. ‘Butterfly’ will be doing a full evaluation of your school performance, so it’s best to stay on the safe side.”

“Wiped?” Adrian said, “We learned in school that all the cameras are ‘Butterfly’s’ eyes. He won’t forget after seeing it, would he?”

“You’ve forgotten what your uncle works as,” Vahl chuckled, “This is just a small matter. It can be wiped, so don’t worry.”

Adrian raised his voice, “I’m not worried, but how could the records be wiped? Doesn’t AI represent absolute justice? If humans can change the records, then what’s the meaning of its existence?”

“There’s no such thing as absolute justice in this world, Adrian. However, ‘Butterfly’ has indeed become the closest to that standard. Many things may have come from good intentions, but…”

“But those good intentions can’t have been all that good, right?” Adrian pouted. “Since there’s no such thing as absolute justice, why did they have to forcefully make one?”

Vahl was stunned by this child who was only thirteen this year. After being immersed in the world of officials for so long, he found himself unable to answer for a short moment.

“Uncle Vahl, being cautious is not a solution either. It can’t solve our problems.” Adrian continued, “The only way to solve our problems is to get stronger. When I’m strong enough, so strong that I don’t have to care whether my opponent is one person or ten, then they’ll never dare to pick a fight with me at all.”