Chapter 11 Maomao Chapter 11 If the devil could turn bad things into good things...

In countless streets and alleys, agents of the Time Savings Bank were hurrying up and down in the dim light, whispering excitedly the latest news: the full board of directors was holding a special meeting! This news can only mean that great danger is imminent!Some Mr. Gray came to such a conclusion. No, this news can only mean that there is an unexpected possibility of getting time.Others and gentlemen came to the opposite conclusion. At this moment, the gray gentlemen of the board of directors are sitting in the large conference room for a meeting.They sat side by side at the almost endlessly long conference table, and all of them were the same as before, carrying an aluminum gray briefcase and smoking a slim cigar.Now they all took off their stiff bowler hats, so you could see their heads glowing like light bulbs.

If there was an atmosphere among those gray gentlemen, it was an oppressive one. The chairman stood up from one end of the long table, the murmurs of whispering stopped immediately, and the two rows of gray faces turned towards him at once. "Gentlemen," he began, "we are in a dire situation, and I think it is high time that we tell everyone the painful but irrevocable truth. "In the process of hunting down the little girl Mao Mao, we dispatched almost all the current agents. The hunt lasted a full six hours, 13 minutes and 8 seconds. During this period, all participants had to give up their own life goals , that is, saving time. This loss should also include the time lost by our agents in the pursuit. The time lost in these two aspects is added together, and the number is even more impressive. According to accurate calculations, the number is 3.7 billion Three thousand eight hundred and twenty-five nine thousand one hundred and fourteen seconds.

"Gentlemen, this amount greatly exceeds the time of a human life! I need not explain what these hours mean to us." He paused for a moment, then raised his finger to point at the steel gate on the front wall of the hall that was locked with several numbered security locks. "Our time bank, gentlemen," he said, raising his voice, "is not inexhaustible! If only this pursuit could be successful! Let alone the pursuit itself, what a waste of our time. Ah! But that little girl, Mao Mao, escaped from our eyes. "Gentlemen, such a thing must never happen again. I will firmly oppose any such costly action.

Gentlemen, we must save, not squander!I therefore ask you to proceed from this point in all our plans. I'm done.Thanks! He sat down, blowing a thick puff of smoke. There were excited whispers from around the table. At this moment the second speaker stood up from the other end of the long table, and all faces turned towards him again. "Gentlemen," said he, "we are all very much concerned about the welfare of the Time Savings Bank. I do not think we need at all to be disturbed by it, much less to regard it as a disaster. It is No big deal. As we all know, our time bank has more than enough time, and even if we lose several times more time than just now, it will not bring us danger. What is a human life to us? What? That is trivial!

"However, my view and the chairman's view are still consistent, which is that this kind of thing should not happen again. What happened to the little girl Mao Mao was purely accidental.Nothing like this has happened so far.It seems that such a situation will not happen again. "Also, Mr. Chairman criticized us for letting Mao Mao go. His criticism is correct. What else can we do but make this child harmless to us? Now this has been fully realized! The little girl is missing up. She escaped the kingdom of time!She has nothing to do with us.I think we can be satisfied with this result. "

The speaker sat down with a triumphant smile, and at the same time, there were sparse applause from several places. Then, a third speaker stood up from the middle of the long table. "I would like to say a few words," he announced solemnly. "I think it irresponsible to hear the reassuring words just now. That child is by no means an ordinary child. Everyone knows that she has special abilities, which are extremely dangerous for us and our cause.Although this kind of thing has only happened once so far, there is absolutely no guarantee that this kind of thing will not happen again.Vigilance is necessary!We must not let our guard down until we have really got this child under control.Only then can we guarantee ourselves never to be compromised again.Since she can leave the Time Kingdom, she can also return at any time.She will definitely be back! "

When he sat down, the other members of the board of directors all shrank their heads and sat timidly, motionless. "Masters," began Mr. Gray, who sat opposite the third speaker, standing up, "excuse me, but I must say clearly that we are going in circles. We must face the facts, and there is a Strange forces intervened in the matter. I have calculated the possibilities with precision.The probability ratio of a child in the world leaving the Time Kingdom by his own power is 1:M,000,dXH—in other words, this possibility has actually been ruled out. " A murmur of excitement passed through the two rows of board members.

After the googling sound died down, the fourth speaker continued: "It seems that everyone agrees with me that the little girl Mao Mao escaped from us with the help of others. Ladies and gentlemen You naturally understand who I am referring to. That person is Master Hou Ji, who is often mentioned by everyone." At this, most of the gentlemen trembled with fright, as if they had just been beaten, while others stamped their feet and yelled hysterically. "Gentlemen! I beg you," cried a fourth speaker, throwing up his hands. "I implore you to restrain yourselves. I know as well as you all, and now to mention this name—we have said It's -- it's completely out of place. For me, it's going to be a struggle, but we have to keep our eyes open! If the person we just mentioned helped Mao Mao, then naturally he has his own reasons. He The reasons for this are obviously directed against us. In short, gentlemen, we must do our calculations, and the man just mentioned will never let the little girl back casually. He will take the little girl Arm yourself to stand against us better.

At that time, she will be a mortal danger to us.So not only do we have to be ready for everything, to sacrifice one's time a second time, or several times more - no, gentlemen, we have to go all out, and if we have to, I repeat, all Go ahead! Because for us, in this case, every little bit of time saved is extremely expensive.I think everyone understands what I mean. " The gray gentlemen became more and more excited as they listened to it, and they discussed it in a chaotic manner.A fifth speaker jumped up from his chair, waving his hands wildly. "Quiet! Quiet!" he cried. "It's a pity that the gentleman just pointed out all the possibilities of disaster, but he knew very well what we should do! He said that we should be ready to make any sacrifice-even if it is So! He says we should be especially firm—even so! He says we shouldn’t be too stingy with our reserves—even so! I say, it’s all nonsense! He should tell us what we can actually do What! None of us know what the man who helped Momo is going to arm that little girl with! We don't know what the danger is. That's the problem that should be solved first!"

The uproar in the hall turned into a commotion.There were shouts one after another, some people fell asleep on the table with their fists, others covered their faces with their hands, and panic enveloped the entire hall. The sixth speaker had a hard time getting everyone quiet. "Hey, gentlemen," he reassured everyone until the hall finally quieted down, "Peugeots, I beg you to maintain a clear mind.In the present situation, this is the most important.Let's just assume that if Momo - whatever weapon she's carrying - returns from the person who helped her, then we don't have to take her on at all.We're not particularly good at it—like the vanished agent BLM/553/C among us, whose fate was too tragic.And there is no need to do so.We have enough helpers in the world!

If we could get them to act in a stealthy way, gentlemen, we'd be able to wipe that little girl Momo and the dangers associated with her from the world without us ever having to show up.Perhaps it would be more economical to do so, without any danger to us, and undoubtedly the most efficient. " Some of the board members breathed a sigh of relief.This suggestion gave them a glimmer of hope.Had it not been for a seventh person who asked to speak, the suggestion might have been taken immediately. "Gentlemen," he began, "we've been thinking only of how to get rid of the little girl Momo. It just shows that we're terrified of fear. But fear is a poor strategist, gentlemen, that is to say, we feel , we have now lost a very good opportunity, and it is a push. As the saying goes: If you can't beat him, make friends with him. Then why don't we give it a try and pull the little girl Maomao to our side? " "Okay!" Several people said in unison, "Please be more specific!" "Isn't it obvious," continued the seventh speaker, "that the child has in fact found the way to the man's house, and we have been looking for that way from the beginning and have not found it! That kid will surely find that place again at any time, and she can show us the way! Then we can negotiate with that person in our own way. I believe, we will be able to overcome him in no time. When we sit in his place, From now on, we will no longer have to work hard to collect time every minute and every second. No, we will take all the time of all mankind at once! Gentlemen, think about it, our goal will definitely be achieved! Besides, We can also use Mao Mao, the little girl you want to get rid of, to do things for us!" A deadly silence spread in the hall. "But, you know," said another director, "Little Momo won't be fooled! Just think about Agent No. BLM/553/C! We all will suffer the same fate." Whoever tells a lie La? ’ said the speaker, ‘we will naturally tell her publicly about our plans. " "But," exclaimed another director, startled, "she will never do it with us! It's utterly unthinkable!" "I can't vouch for that either, best friends," at which point the ninth speaker joined the argument, "that we should give her something to seduce her. As I just thought, we Promise her, give her as much time as she wants..." "Promise." Another Mr. Gray interrupted him loudly. "Obviously we can't keep this promise." "Of course!" replied the ninth speaker with a sneer, "but if we don't say that, she will hear our intentions." "No, no!" The chairman yelled and patted the table heavily. "I won't allow you to do that! If that's the case, we'll give her as much time as she wants—and we'll lose a lot of money!" "It's almost impossible," said the previous director with relief, "how much time can a child take? We might lose some time, that's for sure.But think about what we're going to get!We will get the time of all mankind!The little time spent by Maomao only needs to be recorded in the expense account as an additional expense. Just think of the amazing benefits!Gentlemen! " After he finished speaking, he sat down while the others considered the benefits. "Nevertheless," continued the sixth speaker, "it will not work." "Why?" asked the chairman. "Very sorry, for the simple reason that the little girl has had enough time, and it would be pointless to try to bribe her with what she has more than enough." "Ah, best friend," said the chairman feebly, "we're still going around in circles, and the problem is precisely that we can't get close to this kid." There was a sigh of disappointment from the directors. "I have a suggestion," said the tenth Mr. Gray bravely, "Can I say it?" "Please speak!" said the chairman. The Mr. Gray bowed to the chairman and said, "That little girl can't live without her friends. She likes to give her time to others. Let's think about it, if no one shares her time at all." What will happen to her? Since she will not voluntarily support our plan, we should rein in her friends." He pulled a folder out of his briefcase and opened it, saying, "The first and foremost of her ties are Beppo, the scavenger, and Gigi, the guide. This is a long list of children who often go to Momo. You Look, gentlemen, it's no big deal! "We just have to draw these people away from her so that she can never find them again, and poor little Momo will be completely alone. Then what will all her time mean? It will be A pressure, yes, even a catastrophe! One day she will not be able to bear it. Then, gentlemen, we will go to the appointed place and present our terms to her. I'm sure she'll show us the way, just to regain her friend. " The gray gentlemen who were downcast just now all raised their heads.There were smug and cold smiles on the corners of their mouths, and they clapped together. The applause echoed in the streets and alleys, and it sounded like the sky was falling apart.