"Ben or Odin, I want to know why? Or perhaps, what value do I have to the Heroic Spirit Palace? "
Zero asked calmly, looking at the old man who he had once known in Remter and was now on his high horse.
Ben beckoned to Zero with his hand and said, "Come here, zero."
Zero did not object. He walked behind the old man and looked down at the prosperous city with him.
"You are clever, zero. That's good, so we can talk a lot less. I'll tell you the answer, but before that, I want to hear about this city. Asgard's view. " With his hands clasped behind his back, Ben looked at the reflection of the blue sky and white clouds reflected on the holographic plate outside the fence.
"This is the best city I've ever seen." After a moment of silence, Zero said, "Although it has a strict level, but when I pass by the city, I can feel that it is full of vitality. This is a feeling that other cities can't give me. "
Ben nodded in satisfaction. "Your senses are still sharp," he said. "Although you've only been in this city for a short time, you can already feel the very essence of it. That's right, it was life. "Life does not come from matter alone, but from the hearts of the people who live in this city."
"The strict hierarchy allows people to determine their own location, but in any field, I have reserved opportunities and avenues for advancement. In this city, everyone's fate was not fixed. Through hard work and creativity, even the lowest slaves had the chance to change their fates. It is as though my Sovereign's Hall has reserved six divine seats. As long as one is talented, one will be able to stand at the highest position and see a different view. " Ben blinked and said, "The vitality comes from competition and change. When people see the light of hope for changing their destinies, you will find that the lowest level of people are also full of enthusiasm and creativity, and that they are fundamental to urban development. "
Zero showed a thoughtful expression.
As Ben had said, he was only intuitively aware of the special atmosphere of the city. Now that it was described in detail by Ben, Zero could see that Asgard was different from other wilderness cities.
However, what made him feel even deeper was Ben's unconventional way of thinking. In the case of senior managers in cities along the coastline, there is no one who does not want to hold the heart of power in his hands. Even if there was a promotion mechanism in the city's management system, there was no way he would place promotion opportunities on the lowest level of slaves like Ben did.
Ben's approach, so to speak, brought Asgard so close to the liberal democracies of the old days.
Of course, there was no complete freedom in this world. This was the case in the old era, but it was even more so in the turbulent era. Asgard's class still existed, because it was an indispensable link in the consolidation of the city's power. However, Asgard was clearly freer than any other city in the wilderness. Even though it was a city of miracles, Zero still felt that it was more like a city of hope!
"You know, I was one of the survivors of the Cataclysm. I witnessed the darkest period of time with my own eyes. Building a city as free and democratic as the old days was my dream when I was young. And now, it has achieved less than half, at least in Asgard, I have achieved a small part of the so-called freedom that countless people view as an innocent thought. Asgard, the ideal place for me and all of you to live! " After saying this, his tone turned a little heavy as he said, "But any dream will be realized by experiencing tribulations. Asgard cannot be an exception. I was the only one left with the same ideals as I was once. It makes me sad occasionally to think that my worthy comrades are unable to share with me what I have accomplished today. However, it is also because of this that I am able to constantly tell myself that it is not easy to achieve my dream, and that I need to continue to work hard in order to completely realize what we originally thought. "
Patting Ling Tian on the shoulder, the old man gestured Ling to sit on the sofa. He picked up a bottle of whiskey from the table and poured it out for Zero.
"Zero, a person's power is limited. No matter how hard I try, I can't build the ideal country by myself. It requires a lot of like-minded comrades to join in, like you. " The old man pointed.
Zero shook his head and said, "As you can see, I am just a mercenary in the wilderness. My abilities aren't that outstanding …"
"No, no, no." Ben interrupted Zero and said meaningfully, "Never look down on yourself. Besides, you have a great value that even you don't know about. You can't imagine, perhaps through you, that we could come into contact with another civilization. A civilization that existed, was strong, and disappeared into the long history of mankind. "
For some unknown reason, Zero's heart suddenly beat violently. Ben's words reminded him of the Six-Winged Ship he had found underground in the Great Rift, and of the unknown civilization on the ship.
"To understand yourself and that mysterious civilization, you first have to understand the origins of our Heroic Spirit Hall and this city, Asgard." The old man let out a sigh of satisfaction after taking a sip of whisky. He put down his glass and continued, "You should know about the Dark Council, right?"
Zero nodded.
"In fact, when the Dark Council was first established, it was entirely out of the will to rediscover human civilization in order to build an ideal nation of freedom, democracy and a way to keep humanity alive. My Asgard, however, is also a city built upon the ideals of the early years of Parliament and the continuation of that ideals. " Ben's eyes were filled with reminiscence, and even his voice had gone hollow. "I was one of the core members of the parliament back then," he said in a dreamy voice, "and nobody had any selfish thoughts. The days of fighting for the same goal were full and touching. However, when Parliament first took shape, differences and contradictions arose because of different beliefs. At that time, the council had already started to become stronger and had a lot of manpower and resources. In fact, we are only a step away from achieving our goals. However, the corruption in our hearts changed the nature of the council. "
"Some people believe that with the resources currently at their disposal, they should build a feudal kingdom with the strong at the centre, with the weak and the powerless as its core. This was the complete opposite of what we had originally thought, so I and a few other comrades strongly opposed it. The majority of those who had no choice but to support that idea quickly turned down our objections. Angry, we opted to leave the council. However, those who put themselves at the height of God, afraid that we would take away the resources of the Council, plotted against us. Perhaps from that moment on, the Assembly has begun to show its dark nature. " Ben narrowed his eyes and said, "Those who proposed to attack us were the former comrades of the current council head, pitch-black Oglock!"