Miss Virtual YouTuber had made her case, and it was perfectly logical.
But by this point, it was about time for her to wrap things up.
Alright!
Today, we gave a brief overview of Lady Elysia's situation.
As more characters appear in the future, or when we cover certain events, we'll go into greater detail and share more interesting stories about these heroes.
Please stay tuned for this series, everyone!
She launched into her usual promotional spiel.
She was an old hand at it.
The cute chibi avatar made people smile despite themselves.
Same as always.
If this gets over a million likes, I'll update the next episode.
Who would be in the next episode?
That's right, it would be Grandma Mobius.
The next video would take you into a different side of Grandma Mobius.
See you next time, dear viewers~
The image vanished.
The heavenly curtain gradually faded away as well.
Where it was nighttime, it remained nighttime, with stars visible in the deep night sky.
Where it was morning or noon, people got busy after a brief silence, having digested what they had seen and returning to whatever they needed to do.
Naturally, it became an indispensable topic of conversation.
Yet for some, it remained nothing more than gossip.
But compared to last time, more people had begun to act because of it, and undercurrents stirred among all sides.
PS1: Here's the first update. There's one more to come, keep it up~~
A Meeting Regarding Kiana
That day.
The twelfth high-level meeting was convened within Shenzhou.
It was held to comprehensively summarize the second exposure video.
"Yang, you go first."
"Alright."
A middle-aged man rose to his feet.
Looking at his colleagues, he spoke in a steady voice.
"After analysis, our group unanimously agreed that Origin and Finality were inseparable. We believe that if the trial began from the moment Finality was born..."
"Then!"
"Origin was like Finality's other half."
"She would likewise act in Finality's place, using her own eyes and senses to perceive human civilization."
"..."
He said,
"We can assume that the final trial may not involve Finality alone, but Origin as well. What she thinks of human civilization may, to a certain extent, influence Finality and affect the difficulty of the trial."
"..."
"Fortunately, for now, Origin and Finality have a fairly favorable impression of our civilization. Origin especially is more like a holy mother than an ordinary human, loving everyone equally."
"So long as we do nothing that truly crosses her bottom line, perhaps she will not care."
"..."
The middle-aged man spoke in a low voice.
"However, this is not a reason for us to keep testing their limits. I believe that no matter what, sincerity is more important than calculation when dealing with them."
"Alright, please take your seat." The elderly man at the head of the table nodded slightly, motioning for him to sit.
"Old Chen, your turn." He looked at another elderly man.
"Alright, I'll say a few words."
The elderly man nodded slightly, stood up, and read from the prepared notes in his hand.
"Although all of our current analysis is based on the premise that Honkai is conscious, and that she is indeed a trial aimed at civilization..."
"We have only encountered two Herrschers so far—what they called two Great Honkai."
"Not only were their strengths not particularly high, but many things still showed no clear clues and could not be substantiated."
"..."
At this point,
another elderly man said seriously, "But! You and I both know that Honkai has indeed grown stronger alongside the development of our society."
"And every time we grew stronger, she grew stronger too—each time, only slightly stronger than us."
"It truly does seem as though she is urging us onward, driving us to keep progressing."
"..."
He said,
"Though I hate to admit it, every major leap in technology has, to a great extent, been directly or indirectly tied to war. If Honkai truly wanted to destroy us, there would be no need for all this. She could simply checkmate us outright."
"In that case, we would never have had the time or means to study Honkai, much less make use of Honkai Energy."
"Why go through so much trouble?"
"..."
Some people at the conference table nodded slightly, while others whispered among themselves.
The previous elderly man merely smiled. "Old Li, why are you in such a hurry? I am only discussing the matter as it stands."
In truth,
he also agreed that Honkai was fundamentally a trial for the world and civilization.
He even hoped that was the case.
Now, countries and organizations everywhere were exchanging information and communicating with one another, which had indeed confirmed this point. It was like getting the answer before looking at the problem—many overlooked details and previously unclear areas became obvious at a glance.
That feeling was indeed relaxing.
However,
that did not mean everyone could chat and laugh while treating Honkai lightly, much less underestimate her.
What needed to be considered still had to be considered.
"Our side believes that both Origin and Finality are Herrschers. As everyone knows, Herrschers possess inconceivable power. We can trust what the heavenly curtain reveals, but not blindly. Or rather, we must analyze for ourselves what information is useful."
"We propose that if Origin and Finality truly serve as examiners, then whether the people they encounter are hypocritical, good, or evil may all be evaluation criteria."
"But what exactly are those criteria based on? Their own views? Conventional values? Common moral standards? Or something else?"
"..."
The elderly man spoke unhurriedly.
"People's hearts are hidden beneath their skin. That is an old saying we often use."
"But sometimes, that saying may hold no meaning when facing Origin and Finality. Because they may truly be able to see through people's hearts and sense their feelings. They simply do not say so; it does not mean they cannot."
"..."
He set down the notes in his hand.
Then he looked seriously at the elderly man in the main seat.
"I propose that regardless of how others wish to approach them, we must at least maintain the most basic sincerity."
"Miss Kiana has been confined to her home for over a week now."
"..."
"Perhaps that does not seem like very long to us."
"But do not forget that she is still only a young girl in her adolescence. Girls that age are emotionally sensitive and prone to overthinking. Even if we have constantly shown goodwill, we cannot guarantee that she will not read too much into it."
"..."
He looked around at his colleagues.
"Whether it is us or others, are we doing this for peace of mind, for insurance, or for something else...? We all know the answer in our hearts."
"But we also know that we cannot restrict her for the rest of her life, nor should we. Since everyone has calmed down over this past week, reflected, analyzed, and discussed so much, surely you now have some idea whether her restrictions should be lifted?"
"..."
"Dragging this out brings us no benefit."
"It would be better to let go, at least to a certain extent."
"..."
The old man's words were forceful and resonant.
Though he appeared elderly, he had once carried a gun and fought in wars. He still had plenty of backbone.
He had no personal connection to Kiana's family.
Yet he had been one of the people who opposed placing Kiana under house arrest from the very beginning.
Weighing the pros and cons, weighing the pros and cons.
You politicians only knew how to weigh the pros and cons.
And what had all that weighing gotten you now?
"Alright, sit down first." The elderly man in the main seat smiled faintly, soothing him.
In truth, the overall trend had already become quite clear.
Kiana would not remain under house arrest for much longer.
She knew it herself, Mobius knew it, and many others understood it as well.
It was just that!
The shock brought by the first video had gradually faded. Although subsequent updates, including everything surrounding Kiana, still made many people wary...
They would nevertheless consider more factors and weigh more possibilities, whether for their own interests or something else—whether from their own thoughts or someone else's words. In any case, they could not help considering more and more.
There was nothing that could be done about that.
It was only human nature.
Everyone could understand.
Some had long proposed that restricting someone's freedom was the most detestable thing. Excessively constraining her would only make her resent them.
It would be better to release her sooner rather than later.
But others kept thinking they should delay a little longer, then a little longer still, bit by bit. It would be fine.
The two sides had argued back and forth all the way until now.
Before you continue