Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 880 - 125: Old Acquaintance

Chapter 880: Chapter 125: Old Acquaintance

The man looked at Xiang Shan, and exclaimed with surprise, "Xiang Shan?"

But immediately, he denied his own words.

"No, Xiang Shan has been dead for two hundred years."

Seeing the reaction of the person opposite, Xiang Shan was also a bit puzzled. He said, "Indeed, Xiang Shan has been dead for two hundred years. You could consider me as the result of a technological reconstruction of Xiang Shan’s personality, or you could see me as someone playing the role of Xiang Shan. It doesn’t matter. But... do you know me?"

Unlike the two who recognized Xiang Shan’s identity quickly, Xiang Shan himself did not recognize these two people at all.

It’s not memory loss but truly no relevant impression.

The Martial Artist who recognized Xiang Shan immediately straightened up and said, "White Fleet Prosthetics Followers... no, never mind, that’s all in the past. I used to be a subordinate of the Sixth Martial God. The Sixth Martial God once arranged for a special task force to penetrate the inner regions of the Solar System. When Hartman went to the Asteroid Belt to confront the Sixth Martial God, we were responsible for coming to Earth, looking for opportunities to sabotage Hartman’s stronghold. Additionally, we originally attempted to establish contact with the Fifth Martial God. But the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Martial Gods were defeated one after another, leaving us as a lone force which got defeated a hundred years ago. I narrowly escaped death, falling from satellite orbit into the ocean. The shock absorption of my Prosthetic Body saved my life. My Prosthetic Body shattered into pieces, while my brain was only severely injured. After that, dolphins saved me. I’ve been living here since then."

Xiang Shan said, "Even though you’ve introduced yourself a lot, you still haven’t mentioned your name, have you?"

The person remained silent for a moment, then looked away, "It’s all in the past. A name, nothing worth mentioning."

Xiang Shan turned to the other person: "And what about you? Do you also know me?"

"I..." The person hesitated for a few seconds, then said, unsure, "I know the... ’you’ from two hundred years ago."

"No need to be so cautious." Xiang Shan shook his head, "It’s not like I’ll go crazy if someone exposes ’you’re not the original Xiang Shan.’ So, you’re also an old friend of mine? As you can see, this ’I’ does not have all the memories. Please forgive me for not recognizing you. What’s your name?"

"Ola Freeman." The person extended a hand towards Xiang Shan in a manner understood from the Old Era, "We actually only met a few times. Back in 2031..."

Xiang Shan immediately searched through his hard drive. He said, "Oh, so it’s you, Dr. Freeman... oh no, I remember you later got the position of Professor, right."

Indeed, he had met this stranger with a fishtail Prosthetic Body.

In 2031.

Ola Freeman in 2031 was a graduate student at Harvard Medical School, a somewhat well-known animal protection advocate and community opinion leader.

Of course, if you search for this person in history books, the identity they are most often mentioned as might be...

Yawgmoth Voigt’s early friend.

Ola, Yawgmoth, and Niyaguti were all members of the same animal protection community.

"You still remember me." Ola Freeman sighed, "It’s been so long."

"You helped me a lot back then." Xiang Shan smiled, "In public network memories, this matter also holds significant weight."

—Although Xiang Shan remembers this mainly because of Niyaguti.

In 2031, due to a series of misunderstandings, Niyaguti and Yawgmoth got caught in a senseless public opinion storm. However, at that time, Niyaguti had no mind to deal with these issues. She was researching a type of Scale-horn Gastropod Snail living near deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Yet, a mining company from the Federation had just obtained permission and was about to conduct mining exploration there.

This human activity could very likely destroy the unique Scale-horn Gastropod Snail species.

The mining company claimed only a minimal number of the Scale-horn Gastropod Snails lived near that hydrothermal vent. Compared to the entire Earth’s population, their numbers were insignificant and wouldn’t lead to extinction. While an undersea mineral deposit could provide tremendous profits and numerous jobs, more beneficial to human interests. Even from a utilitarian perspective, the mining company’s actions were justified.

Niyaguti didn’t see it that way. She always believed that every group within a species and every individual within a group contributed to the diversity of the species’ memory pool. For a species like the Scale-horn Gastropod Snail, which was already incredibly rare and difficult to migrate, every population was invaluable.

But Niyaguti evidently lacked the techniques to persuade others. In several hearings, the mining company representatives managed to convince the judge that "this woman’s stance might be extreme."

Meanwhile, the mining company also accused Niyaguti and identified her as an "interested party"—the specific hydrothermal vent’s Scale-horn Gastropod Snails were Niyaguti’s research subjects at that time.

Initially, animal rights groups believed that having Niyaguti as "the most knowledgeable person on Earth about the Scale-horn Gastropod Snails" might enhance their claim’s persuasiveness. They did not expect it to instead become a moral... uh, flaw.

Niyaguti was mentally and physically exhausted. She was expediting her research while facing pressure from the mining company and hearings. At the same time, Ola Freeman was campaigning domestically in the Federation, advocating for the cause.

It wasn’t until Xiang Shan intervened in the matter.

Ola Freeman sighed, "What do you mean help? You helped us a lot..."

Before Xiang Shan intervened, that animal protection group struggled on every step. The problem with the Scale-horn Gastropod Snail was that too few people knew about it, and it didn’t even look good, attracting little attention. Few people knew about the matter. Ola Freeman found it hard to garner others’ concern.

But Xiang Shan didn’t see it that way. In his view, this animal protection group was clearly a very useful force, a good card.

It was precisely because of the existence of this card that he could recruit some marginalized politicians in need of exposure, thus increasing his "hand resources," and simultaneously use it as a stepping stone for the next strategic move.

It can be said that this group played a significant positive role in that event.

Precisely because of this crucial card, Xiang Shan could execute a combo in the Federation.

This was Xiang Shan’s first practice of the "card techniques" as guided by Jing Hongtu.

Simultaneously, it also became his "credentials."

In short, that incident was resolved perfectly, and Yawgmoth also got what he wanted.

Yet Ola sighed, "But afterward, I often think if you hadn’t helped with this..."