Chapter 590: Flipping the Table!

Chapter 590: Overturning the Table!

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

It was like a sumptuous banquet, where the flavors might not have been breathtaking, but the sense of ritual had absolutely been achieved to the ultimate degree.

Yet, while just a second ago the dishes were being meticulously arranged, striving to ensure the position of every knife and fork was neat and orderly without a single flaw; the very next second, someone had grabbed the tablecloth, instantly flipping everything on the dining table over.

Knives, forks, bottles, and jars crashed to the ground, the harsh noise of clattering and shattering piercing the eardrums of almost everyone present, leaving them frozen in a state of bewilderment from which they could not yet recover.

In the front row, Director Harry maintained his previous sitting posture, his facial expression barely changing, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.

Chief Bishop Wolfrun held a cup of tea, drinking it silently. This cup of tea had been brewed for him by his attendant using the attendant's own tea leaves. It was bitter and astringent, scraping the throat as it was swallowed, which earned this tea the nickname "Falcon Tea."

Although Wolfrun's current physical condition appeared unchanged from the outside, his internal systems had actually begun to deteriorate severely, and only this tea allowed him to barely taste any flavor.

Therefore, what was happening around him seemed unable to touch him either. While drinking his tea, he even habitually closed his eyes, looking as though he had already completed today's share of work and was purely dozing off as he waited to clock out.

Yet, the tea in his cup kept rippling.

No one knew that he was restraining an impulse, an impulse to throw the tea in his hand directly onto the face of the director sitting beside him.

Before his death, he wanted to follow his own heart and do some things for the Divine Church; he was pure.

But unfortunately, other people were not so pure, and they even wanted to scribble graffiti over his purity.

However, this was also understandable, because their families hadn't died out.

Bernie gave a silent yawn. Seated in his row were quite a few directors from the Whip of Order as well as bishops from the Regional Administrative Office. The expressions of the two in the front row could not be seen clearly, and no one dared to extend their consciousness to investigate, so they all looked at him sitting in the second row.

Bernie frowned slightly, revealing a look of slight displeasure.

The others sitting in the second row caught this "message," and when they looked back at Karen standing on the stage, their expressions were no longer friendly.

Sitting in the third row, Neo rubbed his chin, looked at Karen standing on the stage, and let out a sigh.

Fortunately, we made it to the table;

But the cruelty of reality is that we are still just chess pieces on the board.

Immediately after, Neo looked at Bernie sitting in the front row, his gaze gradually darkening:

Others usually pickle the sauce well before changing to a new jar, but you guys are starting to despise the jar for being dirty just as the sauce is getting flavorful, aren't you?

...

"Is this a grand feast?" Philomena asked Richard, who was sitting beside her.

"I guess so."

"Is all of this arranged by the Captain, oh no, the Director?" Philomena continued to ask.

"It should... be."

Richard answered with uncertainty, then looked at Alfred sitting next to him, only to see Alfred frowning with a solemn expression.

Subsequently, Richard looked over at Vick and found that Vick was already gritting his teeth, his fists clenched, looking very angry and dissatisfied.

Richard immediately said to Philomena, "No, it seems things aren't that simple."

At this moment, Vick turned his neck slightly and said to Alfred, "Does this feel suffocating?"

Alfred nodded and said, "But we can only endure it."

Vick bit his lip hard and said, "Yes, we can only endure it. The Director did the same. We have no room for choice."

Pausing for a moment, Vick added in a low voice:

"I just hope they don't take it too far."

...

"Click! Click! Click!"

At this moment, the journalists, having recovered from their brief astonishment, all widened their eyes, their breathing quickening as their cameras began to frantically shoot toward the award podium, each one as excited as if their "bloodline had awakened."

"It's about to start. York City really never lacks spectacular big news."

"This young director is truly ferocious; he really isn't afraid of anything."

"Afraid of what? Afraid that next time an award is given, no one will dare to be the guest presenter?"

"No, it's different. That one is a Bishop, he broke the rules."

"Yes, after all, he is young."

"Perhaps, he thinks he looks very powerful right now."

"Please, without him, what news would we even write? We should bless him!"

The entire auditorium subsequently erupted into a "buzzing" sound, as everyone began to whisper to one another, like a pot of boiling water.

...

The living room of the Guman residence.

Madam Tangli smiled as she ate crab while watching the broadcast projection before her, "Truly spirited. This temperament, it's as if he was born to stand at the center of the stage."

"Yes, Mother." Kaixi echoed her mother-in-law, "I wonder when our Richard will be able to grow to this stage."

"Yes, indeed."

Using a pair of tweezers to extract a piece of crab meat, she dipped it in vinegar and popped it into her mouth, the sour and fresh flavor spreading through her oral cavity.

Madam Tangli laughed in her heart: You are still looking forward to your son growing to this stage, but I have already experienced the joy of my grandson growing to this stage.

In Karen, Madam Tangli could always see the shadow of Dis from those days;

It wasn't that she wanted to treat Karen as her emotional substitute for Dis, it was purely... in her mind, the standard for true excellence was what Dis looked like when he was young.

What did it matter if he stepped out of line a bit?

A true genius had long since grown numb to the shock ordinary people felt toward them, and would even find it boring.

...

"A young man shouldn't be used like this."

Pilo said as he stuffed tobacco into his pipe.

A broadcast projection was set up in front of him, showing the exact scene inside the auditorium.

"Why won't it work?" Beside Pilo, Levin crossed his arms over his chest, expressing a different opinion with utter disdain, "Young people should have this kind of drive, this kind of thought, and this kind of desire to perform! Otherwise, if everyone were like us old men, how boring would that be!"

Pilo rolled his eyes at Levin and said, "Do you think every place in the Church is as simple as the Knights Order?"

"Is there any difference?"

"There is a huge difference."

"Tell me."

"Just like your blade, it is very sharp, but it also needs meticulous maintenance, otherwise it breaks easily. Young people are the same; they must be used sparingly, and they must be protected while being used."

Levin immediately realized something and asked, "You mean, this wasn't the kid's own idea?"

"I think it shouldn't be. People who like formations are often hard to provoke into impulsiveness. Besides, ever since I met him, this kid has given me a feeling of decency and steadiness. I really can't figure out why he would suddenly become so high-profile when it was clearly unnecessary."

Before entering the Gate of Reincarnation, the two squads of Karen and Muri had undergone training in the Dingle District. Pilo was the formation mentor, while Levin, the retired vice commander, was the close-combat mentor.

Piro held an excellent impression of Karen, for the young man seemed to strike a chord perfectly with his every stride, bringing him genuine delight, so much so that he had even gone out of his way to present him with a gift.

"He is just being a bit high-profile, that is all," Levin said, still somewhat unconvinced. "That is the only way to draw attention, is it not?"

"Is it merely being high-profile?" Piro let out a sigh. "I hope so."

At that moment, a figure walked inside.

Piro and Levin saluted together: "Lord Mavario."

Mavario held a singular status; although he could enter and leave the temple at will, even when he came out, it was difficult for him to find a suitable place or group of people for his activities, so ever since they met through a past training session, he frequently visited this "old men's club."

Though the elderly men here treated him with great respect and addressed him as "Lord," they were all individuals waiting to join the First Knights Order, so at times, there was an added touch of casual ease, which was precisely what he enjoyed.

Mavario looked at the broadcast projection and asked, "Has something happened?"

"It is just that this old fellow Piro feels..."

Piro interrupted, "It is nothing, Lord. Out of our past acquaintance, we were merely rather curious about this young man, Karen. It just so happened that an announcement came out saying there would be a live broadcast of his commendation ceremony, so we took a look."

Mavario nodded, pulled over a chair, sat down, and said:

"I shall watch it with you."

...

In the beginning, the commendation ceremony actually did not garner much attention, but as the news rapidly fermented through the communication magic circles, more and more focus began to shift toward this place, gradually catching up to the popularity of the previous live trial of the Vikole case.

Yet at this moment, Karen, as one of the focal points, felt none of the joy that came with being the center of attention.

The next stage he, Neo, and Alfred had mapped out was to perform as much as possible to accumulate political capital for himself, thereby smoothing the path for subsequent development.

However, there was a limit to everything, and exceeding that limit was highly likely to trigger a backlash effect.

It was much like the mayoral election in Sangpu City last year, where the candidate who originally possessed the highest prestige, reputation, and chance of winning encountered several extremely fanatical journalist adherents; those journalists enthusiastically championed that candidate in the local newspapers with high frequency, bestowing words of praise upon him to an exaggerated and even brainless extent, which in the end provoked immense public resentment, ruined the candidate's image, and ultimately led to his defeat in the election.

Afterward, reliable information leaked that those journalists were actually people working for his opponent.

Although the circumstances of the two events were different and could not be compared by force, the underlying principle was much the same.

Originally, Karen's process should have been: the higher-ups would give the commands, and those on his level would be responsible for the hunt, aiming to project the image of a capable young vanguard.

But now, it was highly likely to be steered toward an uncontrollable image of someone who only cared about showing off and was difficult to manage.

Karen sighed in his heart; although he had arrested Vikole in front of many people in the Academic Affairs Building last time, Vikole was merely a judging officer, whereas the one before him now was a true Bishop.

Just look at the expressions of those journalists right now, like sharks smelling blood; there was no need to wait for tomorrow, as this explosive news would surely spread throughout the entire Church by this afternoon, and the Order Weekly might even print an extra edition for it.

His performance in the Vikole case last time could be described as full and well-rounded, leaving most people outside this parish with an impression of decency and composure;

But this time, it was as if he had brought up a needle to publicly pop a massive balloon, startling everyone into a shudder.

This persona was being established far too fiercely.

According to the laws of nature, the more fiercely a persona was established, the faster it would collapse.

Yet, after glancing at the card and seeing the words "Announce the arrest of Bishop Yeder" written upon it, Karen still chose to comply with the instructions on the card.

For Karen knew very well that he had no other choice; when playing the role of a chess piece, before you have the ability to move yourself on your own, you must have the awareness of being a chess piece.