Chapter 396: Chapter 395: The Master
After spending nearly two hours in the air with the flying vehicle, Ah Zang steadily held the gear stick, gradually beginning to lower the flight altitude.
A few minutes later, this flying car landed in front of a hotel covered with greenery.
There were already several identical flying cars parked in front of the hotel’s open space, obviously indicating that some of the community Speakers had arrived earlier than them.
Lv Bai didn’t act too ostentatiously, waiting for Dabiao to open the door and get out first before he jumped down from the vehicle.
Two middle-aged men with stubbly beards were squatting by the hotel entrance, smoking.
They noticed the arrival of Lv Bai and his group, nodding casually in acknowledgment.
Although the master did not explicitly forbid them from forming factions and engaging in private dealings, out of loyalty to the master, the various community settlements, in fact, tacitly had no deep connections.
There was no real friendship among the Speakers of various settlements, only knowing each other’s names at most.
Dabiao briefly responded, not even slowing his pace, as he led the way into the hotel.
Walking into the hotel lobby, one could see those community Speakers who had arrived earlier, along with their subordinates, mostly seated on the lounge sofas.
Dabiao didn’t want to stand out too much, so under his lead, the group of four silently found an empty spot to sit down.
"How does it feel?"
After sitting quietly for a while, Dabiao lowered his voice and asked Lv Bai beside him.
Lv Bai neither confirmed nor denied, with a smile on his face, looking quite relaxed: "When will the master arrive?"
"Usually, when the gathering time arrives, the master will appear."
Dabiao made no attempt to conceal, surveying the surroundings, and added: "It won’t be long now."
No matter their real thoughts, the attitude of submission shown by these community Speakers was impeccable.
With more than three hours still to the appointed gathering time, the Speakers from nine communities had already arrived.
Each Speaker brought along two or three subordinates, making the hotel lobby notably lively.
However, despite the full attendance, the master had no intention of starting the gathering early.
The people present could only wait silently for the gathering time, even if bored, the most they dared was to go out for a smoke, not daring to stray too far.
Lv Bai chuckled lightly: "Quite the pomp."
After saying this, he simply lay back on the sofa with his entire back, closing his eyes to rest.
In such an idle wait, time seemed to crawl by, yet no matter how slow, it eventually passed entirely.
Once the appointed gathering time began, they didn’t have to wait foolishly any longer as a man dressed as a waiter emerged from the back door, loudly announcing: "Thank you for your patience, the master is waiting for you in the dining room."
The community Speakers present could no longer sit still, all quickly standing up, and those a bit thicker-skinned even said to the waiter that he was the one who deserved the gratitude.
Not daring to linger, the crowd soon headed towards the dining room.
The solid wood double doors of the dining room were pushed open, and amidst the crowd, Lv Bai immediately noticed the man sitting in the middle of the long dining table.
The master was dressed in a left-overlapping white robe, visibly of poor quality, as if it was a piece of curtain casually draped over himself.
Lv Bai heard from Dabiao that each time the master met with them, he appeared in a different form, evidently not his true appearance.
The master smiled and extended his hand: "Please come over and sit, let’s talk while we eat."
The long dining table was already filled with sumptuous dishes, making one’s mouth water.
As it was the master’s command, the Speakers present could only comply, gradually taking their seats.
Seats were clearly insufficient, so the subordinates could only stand behind their respective Speakers.
After everyone was seated, the master picked up a wine glass, took a sip of the liquid inside, and said: "Thank you for waiting, please have some food to nibble on first."
"Thank you for the master’s grace."
"May we be with the master."
"Master, your generosity makes me feel ashamed, for gifting us not only with daily sustenance..."
After a string of flattery, the Speakers present dared to start eating, but only in moderation.
Symbolically, after a few rounds of wine and a tasting of the dishes.
The master put down his chopsticks and calmly stated: "Someone among you has betrayed me."
Hearing this, Dabiao shuddered with fear, his heart seemingly clutched by an unseen hand.
Lv Bai, however, showed no emotional reaction; after all, his purpose for attending the gathering meant he could not possibly maintain peace throughout.
Lowering his head to look at his own plate, the master continued: "If someone steps forward now, I will let bygones be bygones."
An invisible pressure hung over the dining table, and unable to bear the pressure, someone suddenly knelt in front of the master, weeping bitterly.
"Please forgive me, I was momentarily confused and misappropriated the supplies you bestowed upon us."
"If you’re short of supplies, you could just let me know, there’s no need to do such things."
The master stood up and walked over, gently patting the person’s head: "From now on, half of the supplies allocated to your community will be deducted, and those starving children, bring them along for the next tribute, will you?"
"Yes, yes. Thank you, master, your leniency makes me feel ashamed." The Speaker did not expect to get a chance to escape death and was instantly overjoyed.
Before the voice had faded, this Speaker’s head unexpectedly separated from his neck, with blood spurting two meters high.
Facing the headless corpse, the master said: "Thank my grace, won’t you?"
Seeing this, Lv Bai suddenly didn’t want to wait any longer.
And indeed that’s exactly what he did.
He unleashed the hidden title effect, an endless murderous intent emanated from him.
Lv Bai stepped forward among the crowd, with a hint of a sigh: "Living muddleheadedly, dying in ridiculous absurdity, do you consider this a grace?"
The master looked at Lv Bai in surprise.
Suddenly, as if he sensed something from Lv Bai’s aura, his smile became somewhat stiff.
The master did not make a direct move, instead putting on an appearance of reasoning: "Even without us, do you think they would live better? The vast majority of humans are like lambs, there will always be others to control them, whether through violence or ideology.
Resistance? They won’t think about it, nor are they able to, and those who control them won’t allow them to think either. The lambs simply need to channel their excess energy into things like religion, entertainment, and drugs."
The master leaned back lazily into his seat, appearing as if he had given up resistance entirely.
He even had the mind to pick up a pea and chew it in his mouth.
After swallowing, he looked directly at Lv Bai, expressionless as he added.
"Are you sympathizing with the lambs? Don’t be naive, otherwise, I’d feel ashamed to fall by your hands, you can’t sympathize with them, they won’t understand why you would, as a fellow human, pity them."
