Chapter 472

Chapter 472: Don’t Scare the Kid

"Alright, we’ve arrived."

The all-terrain vehicle came to a halt before an auditorium exuding an air of solemnity.

Liu Xiaoheng gently shook the young man seated in the passenger seat, noticing his pallid complexion, and inquired with concern, "What’s the matter?"

As the other puppets drew closer, Lachesis managed to sustain a stable network speed through signal relaying, though the necessity of relay resulted in higher latency.

Shaking his head, Ain finally spoke, "I didn’t sleep well last night; I’m feeling a bit carsick."

"It’s alright, let’s grab something to eat first; there should be food prepared inside."

After a brief pause, he added, "Don’t stress too much; our Speaker isn’t fond of unnecessary formalities. You’ll likely be back to work as usual this afternoon, so no need to worry."

Ain nodded in agreement, and the others followed suit.

Led by Liu Xiaoheng, the group made their way into the auditorium.

—

To be honest, in the final quarter of the 53rd year of the New Era, people often felt a profound sense of reverence toward this auditorium.

The place was steeped in countless tales, so many that even children on the streets could recount them at length.

Over ten months prior, a grand spectacle had unfolded here, where a golden giant had left the ten ruling councilors utterly humiliated.

Eight months ago, the drama continued; following a trial, the five old folks who had championed the design of this auditorium met their end right here, while the remaining five councilors were still embroiled in their fates, rumored to have earned reduced sentences for their diligent efforts.

Thus, it was no surprise that while people felt awe, they also harbored a sense of anticipation.

After more than half a year, the auditorium reopened; what would transpire this time?

Though no one dared to voice it aloud, as long as they had nothing to hide, everyone was quietly curious about what the Speaker might unveil.

The group was ushered to their seats, and as those slated to receive awards, Ain and the others were seated near the edge.

He felt a blend of excitement and trepidation, yet couldn’t quite pinpoint the source of his fear.

Several strands of mycelium from Lachesis’s main body were primed and ready; should any significant discoveries arise, he could instantly reach out to Clotho and Atropos.

Through Ain’s eyes, he began to survey the surroundings, observing the biological fields of those present.

There were indeed superpowered individuals, and quite a number of them.

Some were tasked with security duties, while others were seated in positions designated for those who would soon take the stage.

Their biological fields glowed with varying intensities, but compared to Lachesis’s main body, they were as faint as mere embers.

However, in the next instant, Ain suddenly felt as though his eyes were about to be seared, as a beam of bright light, not of this world, radiated from behind him.

He instinctively shielded his eyes, then forced himself to gaze toward the auditorium entrance.

Just moments ago, there had been nothing there.

But now, a Middle-aged Man over 1.8 meters tall, with blonde hair and a warm smile, appeared there.

It seemed as if he had teleported to the spot; no, Lachesis determined through his biological field vision that this man really did teleport here.

The intense light forced him to close his biological field perspective, leaving him to observe the movements of this greatest enemy with his naked eyes.

Arthur entered through the main door, smiling as he walked forward and made eye contact with everyone around him.

All applause and other formalities were canceled; he came here today to commend those outstanding representatives and to briefly mention the decisive battle expected to start next year.

However, Lin Qingliu, who also possessed biological field vision, sensed something subtly amiss in the auditorium.

In the front and second rows on the edges, a few people’s faces did not look good; they avoided Arthur’s gaze, as if intimidated by his presence.

It was a bit strange, yet somewhat reasonable.

Arthur subconsciously considered this, but outwardly, he showed no signs of concern.

To immediately identify those few who were no longer human might be a bit paranoid.

Unlike the Dummy made of tall grass before, this time, Lachesis manipulated genuine human beings; unless they revealed more flaws, there was no reason for exposure.

Arthur stepped up onto the High Platform, speaking a few simple words while searching the list for those individuals’ names.

Soon, he found Ain and a few others at the top of the list.

After a brief moment of thought, Arthur decided to adjust the order of their commendation.

Aside from the staff who designed the ceremony, almost no one noticed the change here.

Even Ain and his group were unaware of anything unusual; although people around them came and went in batches, they didn’t know the order and simply felt a bit unfortunate, thinking that they were next but still had not been called.

Before long, everyone in that section received their commendation orders, leaving only Ain and his group sitting there all alone.

"Ain, Cheng Fan, Feng Yi, Zheng Xing…"

Finally hearing their names, the group displayed smiles of pleasant surprise.

Amidst the applause of the crowd, Lachesis’s puppets, slightly fluctuating in the network, stepped onto the stage one by one.

Something felt off.

This was what the main body of Lachesis discovered in his mind.

Although he could clearly sense that the blonde man had deliberately restrained his biological field in front of ordinary humans, that solar-like fluctuation still interfered with his connection to the puppets.

Left with no choice, Lachesis had to again use the method of "pre-input" to control the humanoid bodies, preventing any slip-ups in front of this human Speaker.

Arthur handed out the commendation orders to everyone and then shook hands one by one while offering words of encouragement.

During the final photo session, Arthur subtly used the ability he enhanced during the Extinction Legion: [Flesh – Control].

What ill intentions could Arthur have? He just wanted to help these visibly under the weather workers with some physical treatment.

But an unexpected occurrence happened; he detected the resistance from these individuals.

Such incidents were not unprecedented; for some sensitive superpowered individuals, they could sense that the Speaker could manipulate some of their flesh.

Yet this time, it wasn’t merely a simple resistance; it was synchronized rejection, the same intensity of resistance information, as if a single person was issuing the command.

The same "person" issued the command.

Looking at the live broadcast camera in front of him, Arthur displayed a convincing smile.

When Ain and his companions returned to their seats, Arthur’s expression turned playful.

In his usual tone, he said very normally:

"Those from other organizations may leave first. Those from the factory, please stay; I have some questions for you."