Seven rounds of applause rang out in the Monitoring Center, now somewhat empty after most of the staff had been withdrawn, sounding especially dry and eerie.
Lü Siya also realized that these people with strange faces and stiff postures were anything but normal humans.
She stopped struggling uselessly, fury blazing from her eyes as she tried to burn away these puppets' shells and expose whoever was hiding in the depths of darkness.
"Who exactly are you people?"
Meng Chao heard Lü Siya ask through gritted teeth.
"Who we are is not important."
The Seven Puppets spoke at once, their voices overlapping like echoes from the depths of a dark cavern. Not only did they contain a soul-stirring magic, they also concealed the unmistakable traces of Yun Feidian that lingered between the words of any single puppet.
"What matters is that every civilization will always have people like us, and can never do without people like us."
The Seven Puppets continued, "We are the people destined to rule Dragon City; we are the people born with the mission of leading civilization boldly forward; we are the chess players seated behind the board; we are the captains who chart the course, manage the ship, and cleave through the waves; we are the commanders of the Iron Torrent; we are tomorrow; we are the future!
"Our plans may fail, and some among us may even be killed, but we as a whole will never perish. Dragon City needs rulers, humanity needs guides, civilization needs masters—and that is what we are, an eternal mission!"
The Seven Puppets spoke these words simultaneously in an aria-like tone. Echoes crashed through the Monitoring Center like invisible waves surging back and forth.
"I understand now."
Completely unaffected by this tide, Lü Siya sneered. "You must be certain people