Chapter 820 Deceptive Shell
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Emilia was well aware of the fact that Norman regarded her as an 'ignorant' child. He was neither the first, nor the only one around to 'underestimate' her like that, after all.
Far too many people believed what they saw and heard too seriously. And once they'd categorized someone as a certain type of person in their hearts, it was easier to selectively ignore some hints instead of changing their already established thoughts.
Of course, since she'd worked so hard to act like that, the crimson-haired girl would never fail to make the most of the opportunity.
Her glittering-blue eyes and smug yet charming smile made it so that, not to mention Norman, even those scrutinizing her far more carefully never once doubted the authenticity of her words.
Even the most skeptical of them only worried about her bragging too much, with their perception of Emilia already solidified as a somewhat arrogant but easily deceived little girl.
After a while, Norman led her to an isolated bedroom after he had already extracted everything he felt he needed from the young girl, then bade her goodbye with a smile.
"Take a nap, or go play that game again if you like. There's one of those game capsule things here, too."
He even ruffled Emilia's hair fondly on his way out, just as he often did to his own little niece, completely unaware of the cold edge hidden beneath the beautiful girl's outwardly twinkling eyes.
Her expression didn't change even after the door closed and she was 'alone'. Despite the cozy little room carpeted in pink being in complete contrast with the otherwise cold military complex, Emilia knew there must be hidden cameras and other 'bugs' around, after all.
Norman might act like a 'good elder' in front of her, and maybe it was possible that he really started thinking of her as a 'good kid' in his heart, but Emilia felt no pity in 'deceiving' him. If he really knew the truth, she had no doubt that the middle-aged man wouldn't think twice before ordering his subordinates to subdue her team.
Not to mention, even if Norman treated her like that, Emilia understood very well just how much certain people in power obsessed over having eyes and ears everywhere. Moreover, while he might really believe her, even the middle-aged man who looked at her so warmly just moments before wasn't above using certain underhanded tactics on her if really needed.
After all, since she was so easy to use, wouldn't it be a pity to not exploit her to 'convert' some of her more rebellious teammates more thoroughly? To make the most out of a tool, one must first fully understand how it works. And what better way to do that than through observation?
Maybe he would even justify it in his heart as it all being for Emilia's own good, and wouldn't even feel an ounce of guilt regardless of what the crimson-haired girl actually ended up going through.
'Hopefully, Sylvia and Danielle would respond as I expect them to… otherwise things might get a little tricky.' Emilia sighed.
With their current level of strength, her team simply had no way to resist even the local law enforcement agencies in their area, let alone the military. And once their level of threat became known to certain higher-ups, it was even less likely that they would be allowed to grow strong enough to be able to do so in the future.
Of course, things were about to change soon.
Emilia's eyes turned to the full-dive pod in the corner of the deceptively cozy little room, and she smiled. 'The first pillar must have already descended after we conquered that dungeon… I wonder how the hero is doing.'
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In a relatively modest meeting hall, several middle-aged men mulled over the report presented to them, their expressions ranging from calm and unpredictable to confused and disappointed.
Not many of them doubted the authenticity of Norman's findings. Some of them may have disagreements with the stubborn and hard-headed general, but the man had already dealt with so many tricky situations throughout his career, after all. How could a little girl who could barely be considered an adult on paper possibly hide anything from him?
"Based on what we know so far, the value of all these items combined… it's definitely very good, isn't it?"
With their own people now thoroughly investigating everything related to Arcadia, even if they didn't yet have an intuitive grasp of how it all worked, it wasn't hard for them to roughly judge an item's value. And every bit of loot that the 'Crimson Witches' had obtained from the first dungeon boss seemed to just completely outclass everything else that their 'professional' teams had managed to congregate so far, combined.
And yet… it was still a little disappointing.
One of them couldn't help but sigh. "I thought there would be something in there that would completely turn the situation around, but sadly…"
"It looks like we overestimated how lucky these little things were."
"It wasn't all in vain, though. We can still redistribute these items to more competent teams. And with some effort, it may not take long before we can catch up with 'those' guys."
Several eyes turned to him skeptically, and one of them even openly scoffed.
"They've already monopolized the area around the so-called 'Tower of Heaven', which we have already determined greatly boosts the unnatural powers. These items may be good, but… it'll just be a drop in the bucket."
His words rang true in many ears. Compared to a steady stream of power, such a one-time boost was really too insignificant.
They argued over it furiously over and over, and in the end, the idea most of them had at some point, yet refused to acknowledge, finally remained the only one they had left.
The unnatural powers that gave them such a headache seemed to ultimately all stem from 'Arcadia', and while the strength of those players who actually 'awakened' seemed to be completely random at first, the descent of the 'Tower of Heaven' made them wonder if that was really the case.
There was no way to figure out how it all worked, but since Arcadia was the source of it all, and the Crimson Witches were currently one of the 'best' teams in the game…
"How about we let them continue growing…?"
Despite many of them having the same thought, they instinctively rejected it.
"They're much weaker than the awakened near the tower at the moment, aren't they?"
"Hmm. Not to mention, even if they could somehow be nurtured and grow to become stronger, it won't be easy to discipline such volatile threats."
Another fierce argument ensued, but despite their 'fierce resistance' to the idea, a sense of helplessness slowly grew as the realization started dawning on them.
Would the fate of their country really need to rest on some undisciplined brats?
No matter how they thought about it, with such unreliable tools being their 'ace weapon', their prospects in the upcoming and unavoidable war seemed… extremely bleak.
Even if they were still young enough to be brainwashed and trained, it was almost impossible for them to reach a satisfactory level before it was too late.
Several of them couldn't help but have the same pessimistic thought.
'We're doomed… aren't we?'
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