The night was as black as ink, shrouding a secluded yet scenic resort manor within Huaxia.
Cut off from the neon clamor of the distant city, there was only the chirping of summer insects and the gentle brush of mountain winds here.
Neos and the Primarchs appeared before the manor's main building amid an imperceptible spatial ripple.
Without alerting any security systems, they walked straight inside.
The manor's interior was elegant and comfortable. It was not extravagantly luxurious, yet every detail reflected exceptional taste and refinement.
In the spacious living room, Hua Wei sat leisurely on the main sofa, savoring a cup of tea.
Pandora was curled up in a single-seat sofa beside him, holding an obviously expensive tablet. Her fingers flicked swiftly across the screen, a lollipop clenched between her lips.
However, the living room held more than just the two of them.
An elderly man in a plain Zhongshan suit, his hair meticulously combed and his face naturally imposing, and a middle-aged military officer with stars on his shoulders, seated as straight as a pine with eyes as sharp as an eagle's, sat in the guest seats.
Several translucent light screens floated above the coffee table before them.
The largest screen silently replayed the earth-shattering battle that had only just ended.
The smaller screens beside it displayed a very different sort of clamor, one belonging to the mortal world and utterly out of place amid such a transcendent scene:
One screen showed a live news studio from a major media outlet. The host was passionately condemning "the devastating blow Star Ring Technology's technological monopoly has dealt to the global pharmaceutical market," while footage of interviews with so-called "victims" suffering "unknown side effects caused by Star Ring medicines" scrolled beneath.
Another displayed the trending list on an online social