Order ran on its own

White Crow stood at the rear of the main hall, his hands hidden beneath the long sleeves of his gray robe. His gaze passed over row after row of recorders and settled on the silver-haired boy at the far end of the long table.

Using the Holy City investigation delegation's roster, he had entered the Reconstruction Institute under the alias "Jack." He had been here for more than half a year without ever truly getting close to Shien.

Judging by the young prodigies White Crow had encountered before, after suddenly gaining authority over the reconstruction of the entire defensive line, Shien would most likely rush to introduce what had made him famous to the Twelve Defense Zones.

As long as he was eager to prove himself, old and new interests would inevitably clash. Both sides would begin defending their own interests, plunging the Reconstruction Institute into prolonged disputes.

White Crow had been waiting for that moment, but Shien had done nothing of the sort.

First, he had shown everyone a grand blueprint that was still unfinished, breaking an enormous goal down into achievable stages.

By the time the meeting ended, hundreds of civil officials understood both their responsibilities and the mission they bore.

White Crow looked back at the boy at the far end of the long table.

What made Shien truly dangerous was his ability to make those who entered his system believe that accomplishing the work was their own mission.

This approach was harder to escape than dogma, and more likely than fear to draw people in willingly.

White Crow quickly suppressed the stirrings in his heart. Whatever Shien intended to build, his mission in entering the Reconstruction Institute had not changed.

He had previously been responsible for sorting the duplicate registers brought by the Holy City investigation