Chapter 1708
Chapter 1708 - 1704: Tide Changer of the Era
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The protagonist of the era, in Lu Ping’an’s view, is actually always about the "era" rather than the "protagonist."
Although Lu Ping’an could already be called the "protagonist of life," as someone who always upheld a people-centric historical view, he has always valued the era over the individual.
In his eyes, the era is like a tidal wave. When the waves crash onto the shore, there’s always a batch of spray that hits the beach first—it could be either you or someone else. To the era itself, there’s no difference and it doesn’t matter; it’s merely the latest wave to leap out.
However, he never denied the "individual’s choices" in terms of their impact on the era.
Once those "wave riders" stand on the crest, their personal preferences and choices can indeed influence the whole era... Of course, those who go against the trend of development or betray the era’s choices will meet their demise quickly; the era is ruthless to its protagonists. But those who conform to the era might indeed become symbols of it.
"...Another protagonist? Uh, I get it, it’s not going to make me a stepping stone for her, right? That’s a bit disgusting; audiences don’t like that anymore, what kind of low-class plot design still plays with that setup."
Lu Ping’an speculated while still grumbling.
It was a temporary camp, which appeared to be a hastily arranged safe bunker... Even this temporary resistance army camp chose a location within a cave.
It’s worth mentioning that the Fishmen’s ground search capabilities are indeed subpar — their "sense of smell" is extremely strong underwater but almost vanishes on land, and their vision is generally quite poor. Having multiple visual fields and myopia is the norm, and they even struggle with ranged attacks once they leave the ocean.
Of course, all of this applies to low-level, as high-level Transcendents have numerous abilities... But on the other hand, unless they are compelled by hunger to go hunting, they won’t bother helping ordinary Fishman patrols; no lord will do soldiers’ work.
The forests, mountain ranges, and marshes of Australia are not friendly to these Fishmen, especially in terms of searching... Of course, they are not friendly to humans either, but it seems they have no choice; most guerrilla teams or refugees have fled to uninhabited zones to eke out an existence.
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Moreover, with the continuous intensification of exoticism across the entire island, especially the recent deeds of the "Fishmen Deities," the surroundings have completely transitioned to permanent Otherworldly characteristics; they will soon be squeezed out of their last living space, which may indeed be their final opportunity.
Lu Ping’an’s location is not far from the Fishman Tribe, and most Fishman tribes have taken over former human population centers, which, after all, offer rich "toys" and "food" that facilitate breeding their ethnic groups. Other parts of the tribes mostly settle along the coast and clean rivers, which actually signify no-go zones for the resistance army.
Finding the Resistance Army here, without a doubt, is neither about actively attacking the Fishmen nor about raising "Pets" kept by the Fishmen...
".....we need to prove our value, we need more attention, only then can we attract the notice of attackers from outside..."
The slender woman with black hair and eyes spoke confidently above, while most of the audience below was composed of Australians with white and black skin. Yet, everyone looked at her with trust and respect.
This is quite difficult, yet Lu Ping’an unexpectedly received a message.
"....Zhu Xinran, 22 years old, was a university student three years ago. She disappeared during a vacation trip. She comes from a well-off family but has high personal evaluations. Her major is law....."
After briefly browsing, he confirmed she was Easterner and seemed to understand the target that destiny had guided him to.
Lu Ping’an has seen far too many Sons of Destiny or children of the era, but even without using Extraordinary observations, these people still possess some basic common attributes.
"...We can’t just curl up in the cave waiting for the day of Death; we must consider self-rescue. At least, we need to be able to search for some life supplies facilities, but ideally, we could even attempt to steal a boat and head out directly, or, capture a patrol team and have them take us out, which matches with our expected targets with the nearest tribe."
While watching the black-haired Asian woman above speak confidently, Lu Ping’an was quite politically incorrectly pondering her nationality.
Perhaps some believe the prerequisite for being a trendsetter of the era lies in one’s abilities or talents, but from Lu Ping’an’s sinister perspective, the first requirement is the very pragmatic "birth".
One must first be a part of the tidal wave of the era to have a chance to reap the benefits of the times; identity politics is trash, yet identity itself is an undeniable starting point.
In this era, since the Eastern Country is destined to rise, naturally, many rising powers and people belong to the Eastern Country... It has the market, human resources, policy support, and accumulation; naturally, it triumphs, even if not this company rising, then another Eastern company will.
The Extraordinary Era is even more realistic; the Eastern Country is gradually dominating the mainstream of the era, it is leading this Great Counteroffensive, and has even vaguely... no, it has essentially become the spokesperson for this ethnic group and even the planet.
Therefore, the new era’s trendsetters will naturally see a large number of Eastern faces; it is the normal choice of the era’s development, just like during the Great Voyaging Era and the Industrial Revolution, a bunch of historical figures were of Western faces.
The favor of fate, sometimes, is actually a very realistic benefit decision.
And if one is fate itself, it will naturally favor those Eastern survivors even more since they will become the targets for propaganda, able to inspire more resisters, receive support from their own country, unite more Eastern power, and become a steadfast force resisting the Foreigners.
Upon laying eyes on that person, Lu Ping’an already thought up the "script", after all, be it Catherine from the Silent Mountain Range or the little disciple from Mercury 42, they are his close ones; this is something he is very familiar with... and his observations seem to validate this speculation.
"... Son of Destiny."
Just by listening from below the stage, Lu Ping’an was sure of the extraordinariness of the woman above.
Three years of bloody battle had completely wiped away the former student’s temperament, transforming the person above into a veteran soldier. On her slightly naive cheeks are frost and small wounds, her eyes, sharp as blades, marking the biggest boundary between the past and present.
The ID photo Lu Ping’an saw showed her as she entered university, appearing like a fragile child, but now, clad in a leather jacket with camouflage makeup, a black military vest paired with long military trousers says it all; her companions are no longer a phone and makeup but a dagger, a pistol, and a whip all stained with blood.
"If the information is correct, she was an ordinary person three years ago, now... Quasi-rule, no, Rule-level, still perception-based, a very talented child indeed."
Even though he is still young himself, Lu Ping’an can now smoothly refer to others as children.
What surprised him... delighted him, was that upon just stepping into this large cavern space, he was discovered!
Yes, discovered; even though the woman on stage, did not even twitch her eyebrows nor shift her gaze even slightly... that brief flicker of her eyeballs and the subsequent focus of Spiritual Power, for Lu Ping’an, were already conspicuously noticeable.
Lu Ping’an and Zhi Xi’s cloaking layer was seen through in an instant?
And her performance was not just that; even while still motivating and propagating, she somehow managed to pass on the message.
Unbeknownst to him, people had already surrounded him from left, right, front, and back.
On the other hand, the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the logistics, were unknowingly departing.
Throughout all these developments, this woman’s speech and tone remained steady, without even glancing once in his direction.
"Interesting, how about investing a bit more, the returns on the previous couple of Sons of Destiny have been quite impressive...."
— End of Chapter 1708 —