Shadow of the Beautiful World

Draft the papers, Icarus.

After sending May home, Merlin sat on a chair in the study, leaned there, and said:

Voice transcription, after I finish speaking, help me polish the document by the way.

The translation program starts.

Icarus' voice sounded in Merlin's ears, and she said:

Are you going to draft a rule that restricts the behavior of superheroes? With all due respect, Merlin, it is a bit difficult for a group of guys with different backgrounds, different ideas, and born among ordinary people to enforce the same rules.

Disaster?

Merlin supported the mirror frame and said softly:

No, it's not difficult at all. We can make the rebellious aliens abide by the new order, and we can also make those 'heroes' act according to the rules. And I think this is much easier than dealing with the aliens.

Aliens who violate the order will be caught in prison or directly die in the hunt, but those heroes have a second choice, they can quit if they can't bear these rules to protect themselves and the innocent, they are not willing to accept Necessary constraints, they are unwilling to undertake the obligations that heroes must undertake, then they can choose to return to the role of 'protected'.

Merlin said bluntly:

Where is there freedom without rules in this world? Those bastards who want to act recklessly in the name of 'justice', who are worse than criminals, should be punished. As for those who really want to do something good, but lack the ability , I would rather give them a chance.

Punishment without teaching is wrong. This rule will not directly deny their value, but they have to prove themselves first.

He snapped his fingers and said:

It's like a net, using rules to filter out those hypocrites who are motivated by interest, who cannot persist for a long time, who have other weird purposes, who are only for show and attracting attention, and who are not up to standard. Those who are willing to do good within the rules are the heroes the world really needs, or I prefer to call them 'protectors'.

Merlin took out a cigarette and lightly tapped it on the table. He concluded:

It's like a folk remake of the official hero group 'Avengers'.

Of course, from my point of view, I think the biggest problem with the superhero group, good and bad, is that they only see the good side of superheroes, but they ignore the sacrifices and compromises that it takes to become such a person. , they need to understand that it's not just the bad guys who get hurt by them, it's the innocent who take the risk when they throw their punches.

That's what this rule and this law is about, we have to make sure that everyone is held accountable for their actions, whether they are rescuers, protectors, or protected.

Merlin lit his cigarette, and amidst the rising smoke, he said:

Let's start recording, Icarus, my thinking may be a little divergent, but we still have time to finish it slowly.

First of all, superheroes must register information in the supernatural affairs database, and regularly accept various official training and assessments, and divide the hero level or a whole system, just like how we handle heterogeneous affairs, in this way to make sure they are adequately equipped to deal with different levels of crime and emergencies.

Secondly, in any case, registered superheroes must avoid leaking their real identity information. Those who want to rely on being a superhero to make themselves a star in order to attract attention and win admiration are unstable factors. Get rid of it!

Third, well, let me think about when fighting crime, they need to carry recorders, so that their actions will be monitored and recorded, to ensure that these heroes don't do bad things. Of course , the loggers are not turned on when they are not on duty.

Wait, Merlin.

When Merlin was drafting the draft document, Icarus suddenly interrupted Merlin's narration, and the artificial intelligence lady said:

You are treating them as your agents and asking for the truth. I don't think superpowers born from ordinary people would be willing to accept such harsh rules.

Then maybe they shouldn't have chosen to be 'heroes' in the first place!

Merlin snorted:

Bruce and I have talked about Batman more than once. I think Batman is a real superhero, but let's see, what is the difference between ordinary people and Batman?

Ordinary people often discuss some abstract issues: Which is more important, emotion or reason? How to balance the world and ideals? How to choose the distance and life? The future and the original intention are more important. Tonight, should I have dinner with that blonde chick or with that long-legged girl? Come on, girl

Merlin said calmly:

And what about Bruce? What does Bruce think about every day?

How to fight criminals without killing people, how to deal with lunatics in Gotham, how to rescue hostages, how to deal with all kinds of troubles

When Bruce was an ordinary person, he didn't need to care about anyone to survive, but a hero was different. Once he didn't care about anyone in Gotham, but when he came back to his hometown as a hero, he saw All he saw was the glaring blood, and all he saw were injured people, or people who were about to be injured.

Icarus, you ask me, what is the difference between the heroes imagined by ordinary people and the real heroes in reality, you see, this is the difference between ordinary people and heroes, people who live in two worlds!

Merlin exhaled, and said:

Sometimes I really struggle to understand what gives ordinary people the courage to think they are capable of heroic duties? Like those two young men today, what makes them think they can deal with three armed robbers What made them dare to walk around the city with a grenade that was about to explode?

I'm curious what material is their unfounded confidence made of?

Perhaps you could ask him yourself.

Icarus projected a projection onto the lens in front of Merlin's eyes. In the hospital ward guarded by the police, the young black man Tyrone Johnson who had just woken up was struggling to sit up from the hospital bed, and seemed to be planning to use his own ability , jumped into the darkness to escape.

This man is not like that little blond girl.

Icarus projected Tyrone Johnson's posture in front of Merlin's eyes, and she said:

The little blonde girl Tandy Bowen who was taken into custody was innocent, and she was a bit silly and sweet. But this young man, Tyrone, had a complicated past. He had a criminal record in the Boston Police Department. The police accused him of being a murderer, and the deceased Tyrone's best friend who absconded to New York and has been hiding in Hell's Kitchen for almost 2 months.

On Merlin's lens, several surveillance images were jumping, all of which were scenes of Tai Long fighting crimes at night or in remote areas.

In the past 2 months, he has prevented 13 robberies, 27 thefts, and saved 4 girls from possible sexual assault situations. He works in different restaurants to support himself and has no record of stealing , and never killed a single person, not even those criminals.

Seriously, if it weren't for the fact that he killed 17 people this time, this young man might be more in line with your definition of a street hero.

Huh? Interesting

Merlin looked at the surveillance screen in front of him. After a while, he stood up and said:

Then, let me ask him myself.

hum

Between the gathering and scattering of the dark halo, the weak Tyrone Johnson staggered out of the darkness. An energy cloak composed of a layer of floating darkness wrapped around his body, shaking behind him like a real cloak.

His condition was very bad. The grenade almost exploded in his arms. Although it had energy to block the damage to the body, his left arm and abdomen were still severely burned.

But more painful than physical pain is the torture of the mind.

Unlike Miss Tandy, Tai Long knew exactly what he had done. Before he passed out, he saw the scene of the grenade exploding in the crowd with his own eyes.

He is no longer the hero he imagined, the persistence in the past has become a big joke at this moment, he has become a criminal, the person he hates the most, the kind of person who wantonly hurts others.

He leaned on the wall and moved forward with difficulty, he didn't know where he was going, he just instinctively wanted to escape from the shadow and pain in his heart.

cough cough

A light cough sounded behind him, stopping the young man's movement forward.

He looked back, and there was a man wearing a windbreaker and a cane standing quietly behind him, but a few seconds ago, there was obviously no one there.

Is this leaving?

In the guise of Beowulf, like Merlin with the mask of the raven's beak, asked:

After killing 17 people by mistake, are you planning to give up the 'hero' road you just started?

I do not deserve

Tai Long was already heartbroken, he didn't care about Merlin's sarcasm at all, he said:

I no longer deserve to be expected to be an imaginary hero. I am a murderer, worse than the worst criminal.

Then why did you run away?

Merlin said with great interest:

Wouldn't it be better to wait for the judgment to come in the hospital?

I'm going to find the dead and wounded.

Tyrone says:

Make up for the relatives of the deceased as much as possible, and obtain the forgiveness of those injured. After doing all this, I will surrender myself. Whether it is jail or more direct punishment, I am willing to accept it.

Crap!

Merlin stepped forward, he reached out and grabbed Tai Long's collar, looking at this young man with a wound on his face, he said mercilessly:

You just want to escape! Don't make excuses for your cowardice! You are a murderer, Mr. Tyrone. In the Boston murder case, you killed your best friend. Trying to atone will not change what you have done .”

No, I am not!

When Merlin talked about the murder case in Boston, Tyrone, who was already ashen-faced, suddenly burst into a rage, and he refuted the weird masked guy in front of him with a ferocious expression:

I didn't kill Billy! We witnessed a robbery, we called the police, but the police mistook Billy for the murderer, I wanted to explain, but I had a bad stutter and Billy was shot, Right in front of my eyes, the police fired! They also tried to kill me.

I didn't do that! I'm innocent!

Oh, really?

Merlin stared at the young man, and he said:

If what you said is true, then let me see your memory. If you have a clear conscience, then you will not refuse.

Check memory?

Tai Long looked at Merlin. In the dark night, there was a pale light dancing on the crow's beaked mask on Merlin's face, which looked terrifying. He saw the sarcasm shining in the dark red eyes under the mask, and it made Talon feel humiliated.

He gritted his teeth and said to Merlin:

Let's see! At least I have a clear conscience about Billy!

look into my eyes!

Merlin activated the Dementia Curse, and the next moment, Tai Long's memory unfolded in front of his eyes, probably because the young man didn't resist at all. In short, this time the memory search was unexpectedly smooth.

Merlin saw Tyrone's experience in Boston, he saw the young man's friend was shot dead by the police, he saw Tyrone running away from bullets, he came to New York, hid in Hell's Kitchen, he saw him in hell Those things the kitchen does.

He fights crimes in a low-key and unassuming manner. He leaves the scene as soon as the incident is over, and never asks the rescued to do anything for him. Leave them to the belated police.

Icarus was right, if not for those 17 lives, Talon would almost be the real street hero in Merlin's mind. A monkey version of Batman that has been downgraded several times.

ah!

The pain of being searched for memory made Tyrone Johnson unable to stand up straight anymore. In the pain of a splitting headache, he half-kneeled on the ground, holding his head and moaning in pain.

Merlin looked at the young man at his feet. He knelt down and put his fingers on his shoulders. He said:

Well, you are really not hopeless. Let me ask you a question, and you have to answer me honestly.

Do you want to be a hero?

?

Tai Long raised his head and looked at the weird man with a sharp beaked crow mask in front of him in astonishment. He said:

Who the hell are you? Why do you ask?

You just need to answer me honestly, do you want to be a hero?

Merlin says:

I advise you to answer cautiously.

I think so.

Tai Long knelt on the ground. He clenched his fists and propped himself on the ground. He lowered his head and said softly:

But I can't, can I? I've made a mistake, 17 innocent people, that blood, they keep reminding me that I'm nothing but a murderer.

Actually, I don't think it's a bad thing. You made a mistake and it will teach you a lesson so that you won't make the same mistake next time when you face the same situation. Those innocent people who died because of you It will become the alarm bell ringing in your ears, and it will become the shackles that bind you, preventing you from having freedom of mind in this life, making you feel like walking among thorns, and making you understand that the rules of this world are not only restraints, but also protection.

Merlin stood up, he patted the dust off his hands, and he said to Tyrone:

Maybe instead of being sent to court, you can do something more meaningful and really remedy the wrong. You can choose to be a sinner, and you are not incurable. Besides, your friend Billy , the policeman who killed him for no reason will also be brought to court soon, and your charges will be cleared, but you still need to atone for your sins.

Who are you?

Tyrone struggled to get up from the ground, he looked at Merlin, he asked.

Merlin snapped his fingers and said:

In this world, some people are responsible for having a good life, and others are responsible for protecting them. You can read that, I am the protector.

Everyone deserves a second chance, but few are willing to give everything to get it. Tyrone Johnson, young man who wants to be a hero, answer me, will you?