Xia Gu, it’s night time.

In the library, Abbas was meditating on an empty table facing the floor-to-ceiling windows. Sparkling ice fragments floated on the sea outside the window, like pearls and shells on the sea.

The door of the library was slowly pushed open, and the person who walked in was Caesar.

"Although you don't talk much to begin with, you seem to have become more taciturn since entering this Nibelung. Compared with you now, Chu Zihang can be considered sunny and cheerful." Caesar was holding a bottle. Whiskey, and two glasses, it seemed that he was going to have a good chat with each other.

"I actually don't like drinking very much." Abbas smiled.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, we are here in the Nibelungen. If you take a few sips secretly, you won't be discovered by Allah or God." Caesar placed the wine glass in front of the two of them and sat down, his sea-blue eyes just reflecting the night outside the window. with ice floes.

"Then I'd rather be respectful than obey." Faced with Caesar's persistence, Abbas could only laugh.

The wine glasses collided, the ice cubes floated, and after a long drink, neither party made much movement, as if silent.

"Is there any news about Chu Zihang and the others?" Abbas asked.

"Not yet, but I feel quite relieved about the two of them." Caesar said.

"Given your pride, it must have been unpleasant for you not to go with them, right?" Perhaps because of the drunkenness, Abbas showed a hint of provocation, "Do you feel frustrated at being left behind by your companions?"

"If it were in the past, I might just find a decent deputy and hand over the responsibilities of the team leader to him, and then I could embark on a journey to conquer the sea, but now I understand what it means to each perform his or her duties." Caesar responded head-on to the other party's provocation without wavering.

"Things on the Xiagu are equally critical. This is our important stronghold. It is full of weapons, and there are many injured people to take care of. Their conditions are not ideal, and the wounds have unprecedented alien infections. At this time, you need someone who can stabilize military morale to be present," he continued.

"And including staring at me?" Abbas raised his eyebrows, with a hint of laughter.

Caesar was stunned: "Yes, including keeping an eye on you."

This conversation did not create any atmosphere of tension between the two. Caesar remained calm, while Abbas always showed a calmness full of self-awareness and seemed a little tired.

"Ever since you set foot in the North Pole, you have been looking at the Arctic Ocean. And you are not looking aimlessly. You are always looking in the same direction." Caesar's words hit Abbas's heart directly, and he raised his hand to raise the glass. It moved slightly, causing the ice cubes inside to collide together.

"No matter how our sailing direction changes, the direction you look at is always the same. This is incredible. Humans do not have the keen perception of animals and cannot lock the same direction forever without the help of positioning tools. Unless you The brain has its own compass." Caesar was also shaking the wine glass gently, and neither party showed any hostility.

"It turns out that you have been paying so much attention to me. I thought I wasn't very noticeable," Abbas said.

"It's true that I don't pay much attention to you, but Chu Zihang has always been hostile to you. Although he didn't say it explicitly, I can see his attitude towards you, which makes me curious as to why he would target you like this. So I have to pay more attention to you." Caesar said.

Abbas was silent for a long time, still shrugging and smiling bitterly, as if he couldn't think of a better expression than a bitter smile.

"Aren't you going to refute it? This is acknowledging that there is something wrong with you?" Caesar asked.

"I'm glad you came here specifically to discuss this matter with me instead of knocking me down and locking me up without any reason." Abbas was somewhat pleased, "It's great to have a friend like you."

"Does this count as a friend? The threshold for being your friend is too low." Caesar remained calm.

"Yes, I really don't have many friends. I have always been like this since I was a child. It was not until I entered Kassel that my social circle became a little more active, but it is still very deserted."

"Tell me about your past. Many people want to know about it." Caesar continued to pour wine for the other party and himself. There was no spark in this conversation that seemed to be just for fun.

"In your opinion, what kind of person am I?" Abbas asked.

Caesar thought for two seconds before replying: "A perfect man... and a friend."

"Can you be more specific?"

"Brave, determined, and self-disciplined, it's like the protagonist of a medieval chivalric novel who has never even been interested in beautiful girls." Caesar said.

"Can the last one be considered an advantage?" Abbas couldn't laugh or cry.

"There are very few heroes who can pass the beauty test. Some people even inspire to become heroes just so that they can be tempted by beauties." Caesar said with emotion, "Speaking of which, I have to mention Chu Zihang again.

You may be more aggressive than him in resisting the temptation of women."

"What about friends?" Abbas continued drinking.

"Since I have said so about you, I must be a friend." Caesar said, "Last time in the Bronze City in Iceland, you and I fought side by side."

"In other words, how many impressions do you have of working with me?"

Caesar paused for two seconds: "Unfortunately, it seems that is indeed the case."

Of course Abbas understood the meaning of this two-second pause.

Juno's case has shown that memory is unreliable, especially vague impressions.

Caesar also had to admit that since he realized that Abbas might have a problem, his impression of this person had become increasingly blurry. The more he recalled it, the more he felt as if this person had never existed from the beginning.

But there was one thing that Caesar was not wrong about. There seemed to be some real friendship between him and the other party, and he didn't know why, even if it was just a false phantom.

Glutinous rice

After a long silence, Abbas spoke: "The beginning of the story is very cliché, starting from when I was in the orphanage... Many stories are suitable for this opening, and I am no exception."

The ice sea under the night, the icebreaker floating slowly, and a small dim light as quiet as a fire, watching Abbas's story.

"I was born in a remote town in the Middle East. Unfortunately, it is caught between government forces and opposition forces. There are often sounds of bullets and military vehicles roaring in the town, and there are also many wandering orphans like me."

Caesar was mentally prepared for the beginning of this unhappy story. The world is often so contradictory. The more chaotic a place is, the more noble and powerful men like emperors can emerge. The bloody and glorious history of the Middle East is enough to explain everything.

"We, a group of street children, formed a group that could be said to do all kinds of evil. We robbed the old woman of food and smashed the windows of the mayor's house because he said he wanted to hire mercenaries to clean up the garbage in the town. I don't think so.

No need to think, those rubbish are us." Abbas said.

"Although I was not at the first scene, I think your crimes can probably be called charities compared to the government forces or the opposition." Caesar looked like he was listening to the story.

"In fear, we did not wait for sanctions from mercenaries, but an advertisement saying that homeless children could stay in a warm place with a heater and a bed outside the town... Only a ghost would believe it, it's like

The witch used candy to trick the children into visiting her home, but winter was coming and the food was getting less and less. I had to find a way to survive the winter, so I went to the place mentioned in the advertisement."

"It happened to be snowing on the day I went there, and the oak forest outside the city was covered in snow. But in my opinion, it was not beautiful, but it would kill me. I would freeze to death at any time...

But eventually I arrived at the orphanage, a small private villa, and the director was a bald old man."

"The following story, converted into a Hollywood movie, would last about 60 minutes. It is suitable to use bright background music to advance one sunny scene after another. The dean's house does have beds, heaters, and even beef...

...Each of our children got a Christmas gift, and my gift was a pair of thick woolen socks." When he said this, there was an uncontrollable nostalgia and touch in his eyes.

Caesar made up a picture in his mind. Christmas gifts are usually packed in socks, and taking out a pair of socks from the socks is... somewhat weird...

"The old guy promised me to help me go to school because I am the smartest among these brothers. It was precisely because of this love that he did something he regretted his whole life." Abbas was moved.

, and quickly turned into a cold calm, like the confusion after waking up from a dream.

Caesar was mentally prepared to hear what was to come.

“One night, he was drunk, took me to his room, and showed me the gold bars in his safe. It was the first time I saw such a huge wealth, and I was very happy.

.....I accidentally couldn't hold back and told the news to my brothers...This is supposed to be a secret that only I know."

"One night after that, I saw a nightmare scene - the brothers said to me with happy and bloody expressions, saying that they would leave here tonight and live a free life together outside...

I was confused and scared. I was afraid of the dean’s wails and the violence of my brothers. I ran far away, with the dean’s face in my mind. When I finally reached the bottom of the mountain, I couldn’t help but look back.

The villa was found to have been engulfed in flames..."

"Fortunately, at least you didn't hold back your evil thoughts and did it yourself. That would be the worst outcome."

Caesar was far from as calm as he looked on his face. He thought that the boys might have an idea for gold bars, but he didn't expect that it would eventually turn into blood and fire.

"I think this is the worst ending. I don't dare to fight with my brothers because of my cowardice. On the contrary, if I really couldn't help my evil thoughts and carried out the murder, then I would only regret my devilish impulse afterwards.

....Remorse for cowardice is more painful than regret for impulsiveness."

Abbas's tone was still soothing, even gentle, but Caesar felt that there was a weak sadness hidden in that calm face.

"Later I ran back to the villa like crazy, but I couldn't find anything in the burning fire. The dean's body was engulfed in the fire, and the brothers disappeared without a trace, including of course the gold bars. All

Everything is gone, only I am still there...still am.”

"Did you find those brothers later?" Caesar asked.

"They can't be found, even with the help of the academy's power. It seems that after doing that, they all evaporated out of thin air." Abbas shook his head.

"What will you do if you find them?" Caesar asked tentatively.

"Burn to death, they should be burned to death." Abbas replied very quickly. It was obvious that these cruel conclusions had already been finalized in his mind.

Caesar thought for a long time: "Fortunately, it looks like you are more like a normal person, and you don't believe that God will really punish sinners... What you really hate is yourself who escaped from that villa, right?

"

Abbas frankly admitted: "I hate that weak Abbas, and if I had the chance, I would want him to die."

"Sure enough, you do look a lot like Chu Zihang," Caesar said carefully.

When Caesar found out these words under Kamaita's open mouth, Abbas's heart jumped sharply, and then slowly calmed down.

"Yes, I am indeed very similar to him." He smiled helplessly, his imperial green eyes showing fatigue and weakness.

Caesar didn't understand what the other party meant. Maybe more than one person thought he was very similar to Chu Zihang?

"In other words, no one can actually prove that your past is true and reliable." Caesar returned to the theme of reality.

"Yes, my past is all based on my personal narration. This is not popular with Cassell who emphasizes background and political review. If you are not careful, the target suspected of being the Dragon King will sneak in...

..Although even with careful scrutiny, it seems to still creep in.”

"But the crisis has not passed yet, and we still have to trust each other." Caesar said, drinking the last bit of whiskey in one gulp.

"Do you decide to trust me so easily? Even if there are many mysteries surrounding me?" Abbas asked.

"No matter what, at least your bloodline is stable for all to see. Even if you were once cowardly, at least you are upright and brave now, and your spirit is extremely stable." Caesar said, "Even if you are really fake, this story should always be true.

Bar?"

"Thank you, Caesar Gattuso." Abbas thanked him solemnly, calling him by his full name for the first time.

To be honest, Caesar didn't have much confidence in Abbas. Internal dangers were no joke and must be treated with caution.

What really convinced him to temporarily accept the other party was Abbas's sincere emotions and his honest eyes.

He doesn't have the devilish ability to see into people's hearts like profilers, but he has the ability to listen to the other person's heartbeat, and he also has the ability to read the soul from a person's eyes based on his own experience.

Moreover, the story of Abbas always made Caesar feel inexplicably familiar...not in the sense of being familiar by analogy with other people's stories, but because he seemed to have heard this story before, as if he had also heard it in a quiet and peaceful place.

At night, the atmosphere is like a minstrel's bonfire, and time and space are reversed like magic, making people immersive.
Chapter completed!