Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 575 - 219 Flower of Rhetoric

Chapter 575: Chapter 219 Flower of Rhetoric

Xiang Shan halted his deadly Moves upon hearing the word "Xiang," simultaneously changing his Stance and looking towards the source of the voice.

He had never expected he could keep his identity concealed forever. He had merely hoped that it would be revealed in a way that best fit the code of a chivalrous hero when "necessary." A little surprise was acceptable; it was no big deal.

Yet, when he heard the address "Uncle Xiang," Xiang Shan felt a shiver erupt from deep within his soul.

The magnetic field parted the metal aerosol in front of Xiang Shan. He still maintained his Stance, but his aggressiveness dissolved in an instant.

A person... it should be a woman, slowly walked over.

Her demeanor was unlike any he had seen in the past three years. As the culture crumbled, society’s discipline disappeared as well. The people living in this era could only rely on intuition to choose a "non-offensive" way to interact with others.

But this woman’s posture retained the "etiquette" of the Old Era.

It was a very subtle difference, identifiable with precision only by the enhanced brains of Internal experts.

This woman, like Xiang Shan, came from "the past."

——Who is it... who is it... whose daughter...?

Xiang Shan unconsciously pressed a hand to his forehead. Not everyone in the core circle of Superman Enterprise had descendants. Some had devoted their lives to the pursuit of truth, and by the time they realized it, they had missed the stage in life most people found partners. Others were too busy to raise the next generation.

Of course, the four-hundred-year lifespan of the Benchmark Man, achieved by Yawgmoth, was another reason they were "not in a hurry."

Many had planned to think about it only after gene modification surgery had been thoroughly researched.

But there were also several who had offspring.

——This title... Chen’s... no... it is...

An image from the old days overlaid the metallic figure in front of him.

It was a young woman wearing a white blouse and a black skirt suit.

Xiang Shan felt as if he were seeing the past.

The girl entered the office, bowed slightly towards their side: "Uncle Xiang, Uncle Klein. Thank you for giving me this opportunity..."

David, his eyes filled with tears, embraced the girl: "No, you did this on your own... We really didn’t do anything. Xiang Shan and I only learned yesterday that you secured this position. That’s really great, little..."

——Who is it...?

Xiang Shan took a step back.

He had another vision of the past, forty-something years ago. He was sitting in a helicopter, gripping the shoulders of a little girl around ten years old, looking at the huge white tent growing closer: "It’s lucky that this place’s security level is low enough now that I can bring you here. Your father only worked here for a year and didn’t achieve anything special. But it was here I met her. Let me tell you about your father and my stories."

——Who is it...?

Lu Xuanyu decisively knocked down a few hooligans who had gathered around. The prosthetic body that covered his whole being was more intimidating than any fully armed Great Armor. The ruffians fled in a panic. But they didn’t know that the police had been waiting around the corner for a long time.

The police had actually located the runaway girl long ago. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had specifically instructed that she was involved in a lot, so they didn’t proceed with normal procedures, instead just following her from a distance, "so as not to scare her." They had notified the girl’s family, not expecting that she seemed to already have a conflict with those hooligans her age.

Xiang Shan grabbed the girl’s wrist. The girl didn’t speak but kept struggling, trying to pull her arm away.

"Your mother..."

"You’re a big liar too," the girl interrupted him, "I remember you. Dad’s friend. Liar."

——Why...?

At the bottom of his memory was a video file.

Back then, Director Xiang still lived in a highly confidential area. One day, he received such a video, so he called others to watch it together.

Zhu Xinyu was beside him, elbowing his ribs: "Hey, is that the ’linguist friend’ you talked about? Are you sure he’s a linguist and not an athlete?"

"Stop it," Xiang Shan waved his hand and started the playback with a hand gesture Command.

Kanhara Tsun was holding a baby. Of all the Japanese people Xiang Shan had met, Kanhara was the strongest. But the way he held the baby was so careful, without a hint of discordance.

Compared to the memory, the man seemed to have tanned more.

"Hi, Shan, Yawg. It’s been a long time. Something big happened recently, a big event in my life, so I really wanted to share it with my best friends—you should have already seen. I became a father."

Xiang Shan grinned: "Everyone’s getting married so young; some people have even divorced. What a life habit..."

Kanhara’s face was filled with a happy smile: "This is my daughter. I’ve given her a name, ’Kotoba’ (kotonoha), the characters mean ’speech’ and ’leaf’ (in Chinese), ’language’ and ’flower petal.’

"There was a time when a Western scholar asked a Japanese scholar, ’Does the Japanese language have a concept equivalent to the Western notions of language, sprache? If not, how do you understand what Westerners are referring to?’ The Japanese scholar told him, we have a word called ’Kotoba’. Westerners find this concept difficult to understand. ’Leaf’ simply means ’tree leaf’ and ’flower petal,’ linked to things like cherry blossoms or plum blossoms. What is ’koto’? Can it be explained as language in the mouths of Westerners? This seems to be an important question. Human cognitive functions are really amazing."

"For Westerners, language seems to be a dwelling place. But in the eyes of our ancient ancestors, language is like flowers and leaves, as if it truly exists. There is an ancient form of writing in Japan called ’Manyo Kana’..."

"I thought I would devote my life to the origin of humanity. But recently, I saw something as beautiful as those ancient languages, as ideal as my own aspirations. I have given the name that best embodies our culture to this little one..."

Kanhara Aier gently stroked the infant’s face with his finger.

Xiang Shan took another step back.

That infant... that little girl... that young woman...

In an instant, they linked to the enemy before him.

Not sure if it was reality or illusion, Xiang Shan felt an unaccountable ache. He pressed his forehead, retreating again.

Then, hesitantly, he asked, "Koto... noha?"