Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 625 - 269: Another Part of the Tragedy

Chapter 625: Chapter 269: Another Part of the Tragedy

Lu Xuanyu was stunned once again. He said, "Those retired armed police and soldiers, together they haven’t killed as many as that kid? What kind of child is this? How is that possible?"

Xiang Shan lowered his head, his tone becoming somewhat sad again: "I actually told you the first half of this story, right?

"Ah?"

"Do you remember the small African country called Sheluke Midom?" Xiang Shan murmured.

"Ah..." Lu Xuanyu thought hard for a moment, then uncertainly asked, "Was it that one from a while back... that... "

"The country where the massacre happened." Xiang Shan said, "Two hundred years ago, the colonizers divided the local people into two different tribes, the Haoa and the Zima. Then these two tribes kept accumulating conflicts, and it finally erupted recently. I had a friend who was doing field research there. Then he got involved and died. This is the part you know."

Lu Xuanyu nodded.

"There is a bit more detail to add." Xiang Shan continued, "My Japanese friend, in Sheluke Midom, wasn’t just wandering in the fields. Given the situation in that country, he was conducting his investigations inside a refugee camp set up by the United Nations. Theoretically, it was somewhat safe."

"That refugee camp, though it sounds like a ’camp’, was actually quite large in scale, larger than some villages and towns. There, my friend happened to save a kid. Those locals, though brutal with the ’Other tribes’ around them, didn’t particularly despise Europeans and Asians. Then that kid, being grateful, wanted to repay my friend."

Xiang Shan intertwined his hands in front of him: "Anyway, various things happened, and my friend and that kid got quite familiar with each other."

"The first time my friend saw that kid, he was being chased by a group of kids. He ran very fast, the other children couldn’t catch him. At that time, a student of Japanese descent with my friend exclaimed, ’so fast’ (ha ya i). Then the kid thought the foreigner was calling him by some strange name again. My friend’s student initially referred to him as ’the fast kid’, and seeing that he reacted to it, thought he had accepted the ’nickname’."

"He didn’t have a name before. His Haoa parents were killed in a conflict a few years ago, and he was too young then and later forgot his own name. He had a few names, all code names casually given by different ’commanders’ and ’comrades’, nothing very formal."

"Later, when he was doing field research with my friend, he also learned a bit of Japanese. Only then did my friend realize the origins of the matter, and seeing that he liked the nickname ’ha ya i’ (so fast), he gave him an official name called ’Haya’ (ha ya), written in Kanji as 隼, the falcon. My friend seemed to really like something in their culture... anyway, he told the kid he hoped this name would bring him some kind of good luck."

"Then, on that very day, the Zima Clan organization burst into the refugee camp and launched a massacre. The refugee camp had been expanded several times in a hurry, beyond the scale the Peacekeeping Forces could maintain. At that time, the United Nations’ Peacekeeping Forces were encountering armed militants at the other end of the camp, and my friend sent the fast-running kid to find the Peacekeeping Forces, while he tried to protect some children... anyway, in the end, he died."

"Finally, according to my friend’s will, his prosthetic body was donated to my company for research activities. His last, yet-to-be-organized manuscript was partly sent to the institution he belonged to, and part was given to another friend of mine. To acquire this bequest, we went to collect his body, and then we encountered that kid. He was crying terribly, saying he was willing to die in the hands of my friend’s family."

Yawgmoth felt that the kid was someone our friend had pulled out of hell and shouldn’t be thrown back into hell, so he insisted on bringing him back. That kid has also been here for a while now, and his behavior has been quite good overall."

Xiang Shan rubbed his face with his palms.

At this moment, Florence walked in. She said to Xiang Shan, "Good news, we have found Haya."

Xiang Shan rubbed his head, "What is it this time?"

Florence shook her head, "Not sure yet. Haya’s English and Chinese don’t support him expressing complicated issues. We have informed Ingrid to check on him." She said, then glanced at Lu Xuanyu’s bare feet, "I think... maybe it’s post-war PTSD? You know, that..."

Lu Xuanyu looked at his feet, scratching his head, "This... seems I’ve heard that this is a military-funded project. But..."

"Many technologies in this prosthetic limb, including the balance control algorithm, are compatible with the exoskeleton." Xiang Shan shook his head, "And when unmanned, the powered exoskeleton can also form a four-legged automatic tactical platform, which can carry some logistics..."

Lu Xuanyu exclaimed, "You still sell military weapons?"

Xiang Shan rolled his eyes, "Are trucks considered military hardware? The exoskeleton can help people with mobility issues live independently, four-legged transport robots can also play a huge role in complex disaster areas. It’s just that now a customer has a need. We don’t even directly produce these military vehicles; we just provide technical support to a state-owned enterprise in the north."

"Currently, this kind of technology mainly plays a role in riot control and disaster relief. Peacekeeping Forces are also using it extensively, especially remote-controlled robots, which are very popular and have indirectly saved many lives," Florence explained, "A few years ago, when the Peacekeeping Forces intervened in the Sheluke Midom Civil War trying to mediate, these robots with non-lethal weapons widely appeared on the battlefields. It’s not strange that Haya has seen them."

Xiang Shan muttered, "Can non-lethal weapons also lead to PTSD?"

"Boss, you haven’t been on a real battlefield," Florence reminded, "If you don’t know what people face on real battlefields, you shouldn’t expect everyone to be equally strong."

At this time, Ingrid came in, leading a crying dark-skinned child. Haya was sobbing, continuously explaining something in some local language.

Ingrid had learned this language from the notes left by Kanhara Tsun. This was the last thing Kanhara Tsun was investigating.

Ingrid apologized to Lu Xuanyu with a smile.

Xiang Shan’s brows furrowed slightly. It seemed he took some effort to regain his usual expression. He asked, "What happened?"