Cocolia finally shifted her gaze from Shu. Her eyes swept over Mei, and she let out what sounded like a sneer.
"Is that so? In other words, the Fire Moth is still a place where the strong take all?"
"We will be the strongest." Mei's gaze darkened slightly; she neither refuted nor confirmed it.
The smile on Cocolia's face faded a little. She re-evaluated Mei, somewhat surprised.
Mei understood their position clearly and had a firm grasp of her own leverage.
The Fire Moth... or rather, Shu, did indeed possess an advantage they could never overcome: his unbelievably immense personal power.
The warlord factions here could overthrow Cocolia with a single bullet. But if their target were Shu, they would have to consider whether their entire arsenal could withstand a casual whim of his.
They had all seen more awe-inspiring weapons: Future City's weather manipulators, orbital strikes, fusion reaction chains, and even one of Future City's three great wonders, the "White Blood Cell."
But they still feared Shu's power. Once an individual's abilities surpassed a certain threshold, technology could no longer compare.
It was meaningless to compare something that had to be considered at its lower limit to something that had to be considered at its upper limit.
The strong dictate everything. Under this rule, the Fire Moth held the highest authority. It was willing to protect the weak, so they had to care for the weak—unless they became stronger than the Fire Moth.
They didn't have that kind of power.
But... they had leverage that the Fire Moth would be forced to acknowledge.
Cocolia smiled. "Alright, it seems we won't be getting too many special privileges."
She reached a hand into her greatcoat and pulled out a thick file folder.
"Then let's start tallying up our respective contributions during this time. I wonder how many Fire Moth contribution points all this is worth?" She placed the file on the table and pushed it toward Mei.
A slight stir went through the people Cocolia had brought with her. Shu looked up as a faint wave of [Hope] washed over him.
This was the part they had been waiting for.
Mei took the file and frowned slightly as she opened the first page.
There was no strong smell of ink, and even the paper wasn't particularly new. It was clearly a document that had been prepared long ago.
She quickly scanned the neatly arranged table of contents. Cocolia's own name was listed last. Mei couldn't tell if this was humility or saving the headline act for the finale.
Somehow, she didn't think Cocolia was the humble type.
She glanced at Shu, who nodded at her. "You decide."
This was a declaration of his trust, and instantly, everyone's eyes focused on Mei, awaiting her final verdict.
Though her expression remained unchanged, Mei's breathing quickened ever so slightly. After calming herself, she turned to the first page and began to read the detailed accounts of what these people had done over the past few months.
Gathering supplies, searching for survivors, establishing defensive lines, providing weapons... These reports were undoubtedly written by the individuals themselves, and the wording between the lines seemed desperate not to let a single good deed go unnoticed.
Surprisingly, they had also listed their "transgressions," but only those that occurred after the Honkai outbreak... they were mostly "harmless" matters like looting supplies and pushing out other survivors.
They even went so far as to specifically note what they had done to atone, what they had provided, and what they had sacrificed. Their attitude was so impeccable that one could hardly find fault.
As she mentally assigned a "merit" score to each person, Mei suddenly noticed something.
The score seemed to be increasing... each person in the table of contents had done more, and done better, than the last...
They had intentionally arranged it this way. That meant the person saved for last must have the greatest contribution...
Mei's hands moved a fraction faster. About half an hour later, just as Kiana was drifting off to sleep, Mei turned to Cocolia's "Personal Contributions."
And the first line that met her eyes was—
[Control of a Nascent Herrscher]
Mei's eyes widened instantly. Cocolia watched Mei's hand tremble slightly, a triumphant smile gracing her lips.
"Is this report accurate?" Mei looked up sharply, seeking confirmation from Cocolia.
"You are more than welcome to verify it yourself." Cocolia gestured invitingly toward Mei. "Perhaps it would be more appropriate for Mr. Shu to do it? After all, he's the only one who has encountered the other Herrschers."
Kiana's head snapped up. Schrodinger's eyebrows rose, and she slowly sat up from her lazy slouch.
Shu froze for a second, then turned decisively to Mei. "Mei, let me see."
Mei handed him the file. Shu took it, his brow deeply furrowed as he read what Cocolia had written.
After just a few glances, Shu looked up at Cocolia. "Where is the Herrscher now?"
Seeing Shu's completely different demeanor, Cocolia's smile widened.
"That thing is right here within our defensive line. So, interested now?"
"You'd better have it under control." Shu took off his glasses and stood up. His eyes, as brilliant as a starry sky, stared directly at Cocolia. As his long hair swayed behind him, an invisible pressure descended upon the entire conference room.
The quiet murmurs that had filled the room moments before vanished completely. Everyone Cocolia had brought with her stared at Shu, too terrified to move.
In their minds, they were cursing Cocolia. We could have negotiated peacefully, why did you have to provoke him?!
We don't even know which is more important to the Fire Moth—a Herrscher or a group of survivors!
Cocolia realized the effect she'd created might have been a little too good. She had to stand up just to resist the oppressive force rolling off Shu.
"I have one condition," she stated coldly, ignoring the terrified looks from the people beside her.
"Tell me... where is the Herrscher?" Shu ignored her, the pressure emanating from him intensifying.
Cocolia frowned. Shu's emphasis on the Herrscher was far greater than she had imagined. And given his current state, Cocolia had no doubt that he would act before she could finish her next sentence.
"Alright, I'll hand it over to you." As if a thought had struck her, Cocolia's eyes shifted. She then closed them and leaned back in her chair, a clear gesture of concession.