Chapter 197: Establishing True Authority!

Chapter 197: Defining True Authority!

Happy New Year, everyone!

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As Karen stepped down from the stage, he could discern a palpable shift in the way everyone looked at him and the subtleties of their interactions. After all, genuine respect was something earned through one's own strength.

By contrast, Marlo was an exception. First, because during the last mission, although he hadn't witnessed it firsthand, the array he had constructed himself provided a clear perception. Second, after browsing through the notebook Karen gave him containing the array's records, his mind remained immersed in that relatively pure academic atmosphere.

"Karen, regarding this array, I have a conjecture. Could you take a look at it for me?"

"I am not very familiar with arrays," Karen replied with a hint of apology.

And indeed, it was the truth; a person's energy was always limited. Although Mr. Hoffen had left him extremely rich notes on arrays, Karen had only remained at the stage of reading them and lacked the time for practical application. On the contrary, Alfred had always been deeply immersed in the study of arrays.

As it stood, Mr. Hoffen had given the array notes to him, but Alfred was the most suitable inheritor.

Yet, after the previous two exchanges on the stage, Karen's "honesty" was often subconsciously perceived by listeners as a virtue of modesty.

"I will set it up, and you help me take a look, alright?" Marlo requested.

Left with no choice, Karen could only nod. He thought to himself that while he didn't have much practical experience, he had at least found time to read many of Mr. Hoffen's records on array theory, so offering Marlo a few words based on the situation should suffice when the time came.

At least they would all be correct words.

"Then let's go next door," Marlo led Karen toward the side door with immense enthusiasm.

The first floor of the factory building was a combined space for the fighting club and the shooting club. Half of the basement belonged to Paige and Vanni's private activity and training area, doubling as a space for exchanges among other team members, so the required area naturally wasn't large.

This meant that slightly less than half of the basement space was left undecorated and unarranged. Marlo led Karen here and began to set up the array on the ground first.

Karen stood nearby and asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

Marlo, who was crouching on the ground drawing the array, looked up and said, "Oh, there's plenty of alcohol over there."

"I don't want alcohol, I want soda." Karen smiled, shook his head, and continued, "You draw first, I'll go up to the first floor to check; I remember there's a shop there."

"Drinking soda? No problem, I'll go get it," Marlo offered proactively.

"No need, no need, you keep drawing the array, I'll fetch it."

Karen went up by the nearest staircase. There were two staircases leading from the factory to the basement; usually only one was used, while the other saw barely any traffic.

As Karen ascended from here, Neo happened to be leading Richard down from the other staircase.

When the captain appeared, the originally boisterous crowd fell silent immediately.

Neo spoke up, "Although we have the new administration building, our office hasn't been set up yet, so we can only hold our meeting here. Now, everyone, get ready."

"Yes, Captain."

"Yes, Captain."

Everyone began moving chairs. According to tradition, the seats were arranged in an oval.

Richard proactively stepped forward to help, warmly greeting everyone with "hello" and "hello," though he received mostly indifferent responses.

"Captain, do we need to prepare food?" Vanni asked.

"No need, we'll eat out for dinner; this place is only for meetings."

"Alright, Captain, then I'll go upstairs to bring down some more red wine."

"I'll help you," Richard immediately chimed in.

Vanni glanced at him. The captain hadn't formally introduced him yet, but she had a rough idea of his identity, so she nodded and said, "Go tell the people upstairs that the boss wants the wine she stored here brought down, and they will move it themselves."

"Alright, I understand." Eager and desperate to blend into this team, Richard immediately trotted upstairs, found a minor leader there, and repeated Vanni's words.

"Yes, I understand, I'll send it down right away." The minor leader agreed immediately and took men to fetch the wine.

Richard rubbed his own face. Even for someone as socially adept as him, the brief encounter with his teammates earlier felt somewhat awkward.

This is a different atmosphere; I need to find it quickly, then learn it and join it.

Richard actively cheered himself on, even clenching a fist and swinging it.

"Be careful."

Richard turned around and saw Karen standing behind him holding a crate of soda. The fist he had just swung had almost brushed against the soda bottles.

"Karen, why are you here?" Richard asked.

"I was called over," Karen shrugged.

"I'll carry it for you," Richard reached out proactively.

Karen unceremoniously handed the entire crate of soda into Richard's hands, placing a small bucket filled with ice cubes on top of the crate as well.

After all, who could refuse ordering their own cousin around?

"Cough..."

Richard almost failed to withstand the weight.

The two of them walked downstairs together.

Because his view was obstructed by the items in his hands, Richard walked downstairs very slowly, but even so, he still asked:

"You joined Neo's squad too?"

"Yeah, because of a recommendation."

It was a recommendation by Mr. Pavaro.

Richard smiled and said, "Then you've benefited from my grandfather's influence, haven't you?"

"Heh."

It was normal for Richard to think this way. Although at first he felt Karen was from a prominent family like him—because Karen treated him with an attitude of complete equality without a shred of sycophancy—

Karen's demeanor toward his father and grandfather when he was at his house made Richard realize that Karen had no family background.

Because the other party could hide it from him, but shouldn't hide it from his father and grandfather; otherwise, it would be a huge sign of disrespect. Someone from a prominent family would certainly know this rule.

Therefore, Richard could only assume that Karen was just an interesting, approachable divine servant registered at the Pavaro Inquisitor's Office.

For such a divine servant, being able to enter a Whiplash of Order squad was already a great stroke of fortune, let alone entering Neo's squad, which was basically impossible.

Thus, in Richard's eyes, the only explanation was either Neo saw Karen at his house and simply did a favor by taking Karen into the squad as a peripheral member, or his grandfather had mentioned it extra. Because yesterday, when he escorted his grandfather out, his grandfather had specifically told him:

That friend of yours is quite good; you can spend more time with him.

Grandfather rarely praised anyone.

"Are you a peripheral member?" Richard asked one more question.

"Yeah, I am."

Alright, it seemed he had guessed correctly. This time, counting himself, Captain Neo had taken in a total of two peripheral members.

"They seem to be quite difficult to get along with," Richard said.

"Yeah, a little bit."

"But it's great that you're here too. We can look out for each other. At least when things get awkward or quiet, I know who to talk to to ease the tension; and when I feel constrained, I know whose eyes to look for to share a smile."

"Right, exactly."

"Don't worry, I'll have your back," Richard said.

Karen nodded and said, "That’s wonderful, thank you."

He could feel that his cousin wasn’t looking down on anyone, and that he was genuinely happy because he was part of this team too.

"By the way, do they know who I am?" Richard asked.

"Hasn't the Captain introduced you formally yet?"

"No, but the meeting is starting soon, so he should introduce me then. I just don't want them to introduce my family background. It's not that I want to hide my identity, but I'm worried it might make it hard to fit in and create a barrier."

"Mm, you've thought things through very well."

"So, you have to help me keep it a secret too."

"I will."

"Haha, that's great, Karen. If I had known earlier that you were pulled in too, I wouldn't have been so nervous last night that I couldn't sleep past midnight. You have no idea, when I was driving over today and thinking about meeting the teammates, my heart was pounding with nervousness and excitement."

"Everyone is actually quite easy to get along with."

"They are not. They are very exclusive. There's this atmosphere in their team—you can't quite call it exclusive, but they really act like a pack of hounds, discerning whether you're one of them based on the scent you carry.

This is a social circle I haven't encountered before, and I'm also learning to blend in. But I'd advise you, it's best to rein in your aloofness, just like the way you carried yourself in front of me yesterday."

"Me?"

"Yes, but you probably understand too. See, weren't you sent up to move things as well? The two of us are newcomers and auxiliary members, so these running errands must be done by us. We need to be a bit sharp and sensible."

Karen was quite curious about how his cousin's brain worked. Clearly born into a prominent family of adjudicators with a distinguished lineage and revered status, he still maintained a remarkably clear perception of such worldly sophistication.

It seemed that all the social skills his uncle had lost had been entirely "gifted" to his son.

Just as they went downstairs, they saw Vanny standing there.

"The meeting is about to start, hurry up," Vanny said in a very playful and intimate tone.

"Alright, alright, they said the drinks will be sent down immediately."

Richard, whose view was obstructed by the soda bottles and ice bucket in front of him, could not see clearly who Vanny was talking to.

Upon walking inside, Karen noticed that everyone else was seated. Although this meeting space was hastily arranged, great attention was still paid to detail.

For instance, Neo sat at the head of the table. To Neo's left, a chair was left vacant at an angle, followed by Gray, with Wind sitting opposite Gray, while the rest lined up downward from them.

Karen set the ice bucket down, while Richard put down a crate of soda and then called out enthusiastically to the group:

"Who wants soda? There is ice!"

And then, no one responded to him.

Neo sat with his head lowered, resting his eyes. The Captain always had this habit; when he was talkative, he could talk endlessly, but when he was silent, he could be utterly quiet.

As for the others... they simply could not be bothered to acknowledge this newcomer.

Karen suddenly recalled the scene of his first formal meeting with everyone in the suite of the Ankara Hotel. Back then, he had felt this team was very warm and welcoming.

Oh, it seemed he had been mistaken.

The reason everyone had been so welcoming back then was because he had just "confessed" to Ophelia, pioneering the first "confession-style" security measure since the founding of the Church of Order.

Without that misunderstanding, perhaps he would have enjoyed the same "collective cold violence" treatment right from the start that Richard was facing now.

"No one drinks soda?" Richard asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I do," Karen said. "They all drink alcohol."

This group of people, each and every one of them, were essentially alcoholics and heavy smokers. This probably had to do with their living environment; they had grown up accustomed to using alcohol and nicotine to dismiss the spiritual emptiness outside of their missions.

Especially the two women, Vanny and Peggy, who practically drank brandy like milk tea.

"You're moving a whole crate just for yourself to drink?" Richard asked.

"Don't I have you as well?"

Karen well remembered that when his cousin went to the administrative building, he had deliberately brought a thermos filled with iced soda.

"I want to fit in a bit, so I'd better drink red wine," Richard said. "You should drink red wine too."

"I don't like drinking," Karen shook his head.

Just then, a minor leader brought two subordinates down with the red wine and impeccably clean wine glasses, though he did not dare to step inside.

Richard took the initiative to fetch the items, and then took the initiative to pour red wine for everyone.

Karen silently pulled out four bottles of soda, chiseled four grooves into the ice within the bucket, and placed the soda bottles inside to chill.

Coincidentally, Marlo returned from next door for the meeting at that moment. Spotting Karen, he crouched down to chat with him for a while.

"Do you want a soda?" Karen asked.

"I want to drink alcohol," Marlo replied quite honestly.

"Alright."

Karen nodded, lifting the ice bucket containing the soda bottles.

The quick-handed Richard had already poured everyone's drinks. As he set down the wine bottle, he surveyed the vacant seats remaining. There were two left: one next to the Captain, and one at the far end.

Richard had intended to sit at the far end, but Marlo arrived and sat straight down there.

Now, only the empty seat next to the Captain remained.

Somewhat nervously, Richard wiped his hands on his clothes, thinking to himself: *Although everyone seems a bit indifferent, they actually still place great importance on me.*

Promptly, Richard walked over to the empty chair beside Neo and sat down somewhat stiffly.

Then, when he raised his head and looked at everyone present, he discovered that every single person in the room had turned their gaze upon him, their eyes and expressions filled with a hint of perplexity.

Richard immediately stood up, bowed to everyone, and said:

"Hello everyone, I am a new auxiliary member, my name is Richard. For a long time, I have deeply admired the Captain and yearned for this squad. Today is the day I achieve my life's dream; I am finally able to join this group. I am proud of today, and honored by today!"

After speaking, Richard bowed once more.

Then, with a perfectly measured smile of shyness and excitement, he sat back down. This expression was truly not feigned, nor was it acted; it was indeed a genuine reflection of his inner feelings at that moment.

But when he sat down and looked back at everyone, he found that the perplexity in their expressions had not dissipated.

Was it because his self-introduction hadn't been detailed enough?

Richard began to criticize himself.

At this moment, Karen walked over carrying the ice bucket and saw that there were no chairs left, so he put the ice bucket down, preparing to fetch another chair.

"Karen, your seat is over there," Peggy said, pointing her finger at the spot where Richard was currently sitting.

Vanny looked at Richard and said, "We forgot to get a chair for the newcomer. Go get one yourself, alright?"

"Ah?"

Richard stood up somewhat blankly and stepped aside.

Gray reached out and patted the chair Richard had just been sitting on, saying, "Karen, sit here."

Status within a pack of hounds was earned through one's own strength, and seating order followed the same rule.

After easily defeating Gray and Wind, Karen's rank had directly surpassed theirs, second only to the Captain. When everyone arranged the seating, it was obvious that this had been mutually understood by default.

Karen glanced at his little cousin and, without declining, carried the ice bucket over and sat down.

Richard felt a bit awkward and, moreover, thoroughly perplexed, but his psychological resilience was indeed formidable; he immediately ran out, lugged back another chair, and took a seat at the very end.

Karen picked up two bottles of soda, popped the caps, and extended one toward his cousin sitting far away at the far end.

Starting from Gray, they naturally began passing it hand to hand, one after another, until it finally reached Richard's hands.

Richard looked at the soda bottle in his grasp, then looked at Karen sitting just below the captain, and he finally realized that his prior perception of Karen had been completely wrong!

The man had long been a member of this squad, and a high-ranking one at that.

Good heavens, he had actually said before that the man had only managed to secure his insider status by relying on his family connections.

Upon this sudden realization, Richard did not feel angry; instead, he felt this was even better, for rather than both being green rookies, it seemed Karen being a veteran hound would be of much greater help to him.

Being sheltered was definitely far better than huddling together for warmth while shivering in unison.

This was perhaps the disparate treatment born of first impressions; when you harbor goodwill toward someone, you can interpret every unfolding change in a favorable light.

Neo spoke:

"Now, the meeting officially begins."

Everyone straightened their posture slightly, and Richard threw his back pin-straight.

Neo pointed a finger at Richard, who sat at the very end: "Let us first introduce the newcomer."

Richard had no choice but to stand up once more: "Hello, everyone..."

"Very well, since the introduction has already been made earlier, let us get straight to the point."

"..." Richard.

"Relying on the connections of the newcomer's family, I have just secured a security mission. The specific procedures are the same as the last time we protected the Dark Moon Island delegation, but the rewards are higher—more than doubled—and besides vouchers, there are also material rewards."

Surprise and delight surfaced on everyone's faces; security missions were simple with a low risk coefficient, and they could even sponge free food and drinks, but most importantly, the mission rewards were high—what kind of squad wouldn't love a task like this?

Fannie spoke up and asked: "Captain, who is the target of protection this time?"

Neo replied: "The Pamireth Cult."

Hearing this answer, Karen was momentarily stunned.

Manifestly, many present knew the recent direction of the wind from the Holy Cult toward the Pamireth Cult, including that incident at the Church Affairs Building, which rumor had it was a retaliation from the Pamireth Cult.

The entire ecclesiastical circle seemed to feel that the Pamireth Cult was merely one divine decree away from total destruction by the Church of Order, and that this decree should already be processing through the bureaucracy.

Because the Church of Order required a display of might to reshape its image of hegemony.

Peggy spoke up: "But I heard that the Pamireth Cult's delegation has already been expelled from the Ankara Hotel by the Holy Cult."

"The contemporary Son of God of the Pamireth Cult will land at York Port tomorrow evening. He will represent the true core of the Pamireth Cult to hold talks with the Holy Cult. If the talks succeed, then the Pamireth God will become a branch deity within the mythological overview of our Church of Order."

A sliver of a smile appeared at the corner of Neo's mouth,

His gaze sweeping across everyone present,

He continued:

"The Pamireth Cult will merge into our Church of Order!"

——

There will be more next year.