novelraw Chapter 702 - 13: Family Values
Chapter 702 - 13: Family Values
As soon as he heard that, Yun You’s interest was immediately piqued.
Letters?
In this highly advanced technological age, people had long since abandoned pen and paper, and things like letters had all gone electronic.
But Yun You also knew what this was.
It was said that during the corporate wars decades ago, the crossfire between the major powers once damaged Earth’s magnetic field to such an extent that the communications system suffered a large-scale collapse.
So people had been forced to abandon those convenient means of communication from before, and use the most primitive method—letters and couriers—to transmit information.
In other words, those letters left behind by Jin were, with high probability, from the time of the corporate wars, and that period was precisely the turning point of Jin’s fate, also the most important stretch of days in his life.
"Let me have a look."
Yun You rubbed his hands together, somewhat expectant.
Shiqi nodded lightly, then went upstairs alone and began searching in the room.
Not long after, she came back down carrying a small iron box, entered the password in front of Yun You, and opened it.
Inside the box lay stacks of letters, piled neatly, already sorted in order beforehand—it was obvious someone had realized that later generations would come to read them.
Yun You picked up a letter and began to read.
[September 2037]
[To my most respected elder brother, Elrond Gold]
[Brother, it has been more than a year since we parted in our hometown, and we have not seen each other since. Father misses you and Lamia very much. He is willing to compromise now, and is willing to support your ideals. He will no longer force you to inherit the family’s medical arts, but he also hopes you can come home. The situation on the East Asia battlefield has already become dangerous to an unpredictable degree; he is afraid something will happen to you.]
[Brother, please think it over carefully.]
[May you find this letter as if we had just spoken—your younger brother, Elrond Akas]
The year 2037 was right in the period of the Fifth Corporate War, when the whole of Asia was a complete mess, and East Asia and the Eastern Pacific were seeing large-scale battles every single day.
And that was exactly when Jin made his fortune.
But in this letter, it actually mentioned Jin’s family and his younger brother.
Yun You ran a quick search with the Information Reconnaissance Chip, and indeed dug up a bit of information.
The Elrond Clan was a family that had risen on the American continent in the first half of the 21st century.
Their family business was mainly pharmaceuticals and biological modification. Although the scale of their industry wasn’t that big, nowhere near the size of the [Biotechnology] company, their medical technology was extremely advanced, so they specialized in providing customized medical services for the wealthy.
In terms of money, they were definitely rich. Jin had also said he was born into an aristocratic family and had never lacked food or clothing growing up.
But in terms of influence, they really didn’t have much. After all, they only existed as dependents attached to those great nobles.
As for this guy called Akas, Yun You only found a few scattered bits about him. He was more than ten years younger than Jin, and his achievements in medicine and other fields were not outstanding. After he turned eighteen, there were no more detailed records.
However, what caught Yun You’s attention was that in Akas’s letter, he actually mentioned Lamia, and even said that his father... that is, Jin’s father, missed Lamia very much.
"Back then, Jin would only have been just over thirty, right? So by the time he was thirty, Lamia was already at his side?"
Yun You scratched his head, then simply picked up the second letter.
[November 2037]
[To my younger brother, Elrond Akas]
[Brother, I have received the concern from you and Father, but my mind is made up.]
[In the past, the family protected us too well, to the point that we never saw the truest face of this world. Only after leaving the clan this time did I finally understand that the vast majority of people in this world live in an extreme kind of hell on earth.]
[When we wake to the warm greetings of our servants, learn noble etiquette, and enjoy feasts of steak and lobster, the common folk living in the slums of Nest City Lower City have to fight for food in garbage heaps. Even the leftovers from our servants’ meals are treasures that they must risk their lives to scramble for in their eyes.]
[Clearly, technology has become so advanced, and yet there are still people who can’t even eat a proper meal, people who have to sell their sons and daughters just to trade for the supplies they need to survive... I think the world shouldn’t be like this.]
[I know your thinking is the same as Father’s: what does any of this have to do with us? It’s not as if we’re the ones who made them go hungry, who keep them from getting an education...]
[But I feel that, as someone who possesses power, and as an Apprentice Death God, I have to do something, just like those three founding sages of the Death Gods.]
[And war is the best opportunity. In the chaos we can save more people; we can keep expanding our ranks, slowly change the whole world, and then, at the right moment, rise in a single leap, turning our power into the great tide of an era, and complete the transformation with unstoppable momentum.]
[That is my dream... Brother, I know I’ve let the family down, so I’ll be counting on you to take care of Father and Mother. Of my own accord I hereby relinquish all my inheritance rights and family property; those things are yours now.]
[Elrond Gold]
"So Jin voluntarily gave up his right of inheritance..."
Yun You scratched his head, unable to stop a wave of emotion.
No wonder he hadn’t found Jin’s name just now on the Elrond Clan’s genealogical record—Jin had already discarded everything that belonged to him.
Yun You picked up the third letter.
[January 2038]
[To my elder brother, Elrond Gold]
[Alright then, brother, I have relayed your thoughts to Father and Mother. They are still somewhat disappointed, but they can understand.]
[Father says he respects your choice. If you ever feel homesick, you can come back anytime.]
[That said, with your departure, starting last month I’ve had to start learning those complicated medical techniques. To be honest, the family’s techniques really are hard to master. Just reading the theoretical part is enough to make your scalp go numb. I got sleepy after only an hour of reading—I really don’t know how you managed to stick with it before...]
[In any case, I wish you smooth sailing.]
[Elrond Akas]
Yun You opened the fourth letter.
[February 2038]
[To my younger brother, Elrond Akas]
[Brother, there’s no need to worry about me. I’m Tier Five now, and there are very few Death Gods stronger than me. As long as I don’t directly confront large-scale legions or fleets, no one can hurt me.]
[Things are going very smoothly. In just six short months, more than tens of thousands of people have gathered under my banner. We have already become a force that can’t be ignored in this war. I believe that as long as we maintain the current situation, sooner or later we will be able to overturn the existing Nest City order.]
[Oh, and by the way, I’ve also taken in a few "students." Unlike the "apprentices" we used to see, my students have inherited my ideals and are willing to fight for the poor and the common folk.]
[Their Talent may not be that strong, but they’re willing to learn from me. To be honest... these days I spend with them might well be the happiest time of my life.]
[Of these students, the one I’m most satisfied with is a disciple named "Erin." She is extremely stubborn by nature, and one of the very few who dares to criticize me in public. But she’s also a very clever little thing; she always manages to spot the loopholes and mistakes in my plans and points them out without hesitation.]
[It’s no exaggeration to say she’s practically made up for the flaws in my personality.]
[What’s more, she and Lamia get along very well, almost like sisters, so you don’t need to worry about that... Once the time is right, I’ll try to help Lamia awaken the Death God Power. She’s a promising child, with an eidetic memory from a young age and no resistance to body-tempering techniques. I believe that as long as she can become a Death God under normal circumstances, Lamia will definitely become the youngest Death God powerhouse in the world.]
[As her father, maybe I can’t protect her for her whole life, but I might be able to let her gain the power to protect herself. That’s the limit of what I can do.]
[Elrond Gold]