Tokyo in the early morning was shrouded in a layer of grayish-white mist. The air was thick with the salty tang of the sea and an indescribable, oppressive feeling.
Lilith stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of her hotel suite, once again fully dressed.
The black and red gothic military uniform was sharp and severe. The shadow of the wide-brimmed military cap perfectly concealed part of her brow and eyes, revealing only the exquisitely sculpted lower half of her face and those striking crimson vertical pupils.
On the streets, compared to the previous day, the number of people had thinned by more than half.
Pedestrians hurried along with anxious expressions, mostly keeping their heads down, quickly disappearing into alleyways or behind tightly shut doors.
The entire City exhibited an eerie emptiness and dead silence, as if all living things had instinctively retreated to their nests before a storm.
A heavy atmosphere, like invisible leaden clouds, pressed down upon the City, making the very air seem to turn viscous.
"Is it about to begin?"
Lilith murmured to herself, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. Yet, the corners of her lips, delicate as a doll's, slowly curved upward into an extremely faint arc.
In this moment, Lilith finally showed a trace of the liveliness belonging to a child.
Just then, the door was gently knocked.
The knocking interrupted Lilith's train of thought.
Almost in the same instant, that faint, elusive smile vanished from her face without a trace.
The last hint of softness in her brows was completely smoothed away, and an aura of coldness that warned others to keep their distance naturally radiated from her entire being.
The speed and thoroughness of the shift in her aura were seamless.
"Enter."
She adjusted her already immaculate collar, clasped her hands behind her back, turned, and faced the door, expressionless.
Forti pushed the door open and entered. His gaze first fell upon Lilith. Seeing her familiar, composed commander's posture, he silently took a deep breath and adjusted his facial expression.
Then, he bowed slightly and said respectfully:
"Master, the representative envoys from major Western Factions, including the European Union, are currently waiting in the hotel's reception room, hoping for an audience with you. What do you think... shall we grant them an audience?"
Lilith lifted her eyelids. Those crimson eyes were a vivid, dripping red. Yet, the words spoken in her clear, childlike voice carried an undeniable indifference.
"Let them wait first."
She was, of course, well aware of the purpose of their visit.
The international landscape of the old era had been completely shattered with the arrival of the Main God Game. A new balance of power was tilting drastically.
The Dragon Nation's foundation remained strong. With three SSS-Rank Hunter and a population of over a billion, it was enough to dominate the entire East Asia.
America also had three SSS-Rank Hunter. While its overall strength might not compare to the Dragon Nation's, its top-tier strength was on par, perhaps even superior. Its momentum was currently fierce.
These old Western nations caught in the middle lacked the power to resist alone, yet were absolutely unwilling to be relegated to vassalage or a marginal role.
With the competition for the strange artifacts imminent, this was likely their last chance to pick a side and pledge their loyalty.
If they didn't make a choice now, and waited until the two giants truly settled their score or one side completed its consolidation, the fate awaiting them would likely be slow erosion and eventual annexation.
In just the time of three dungeons, the upper limit of individual power had been crazily elevated.
Powerful individuals capable of withstanding artillery shells and overturning tanks had already appeared.
It was foreseeable that in a few years, the strength of top-tier superhuman individuals would completely surpass the conventional thermal weaponry of the old era.
By then, what would determine the map of Factions and the fate of nations would no longer be the number of aircraft carriers or nuclear bombs, but the will and power of the few individuals standing at the peak of the Pyramid.
These people felt the crisis, but they also saw the opportunity—the opportunity to attach themselves to a stronger power.
After noon, Lilith, having finished a simple meal, unhurriedly made her way to the hotel's private reception room.
Inside the reception room, the atmosphere was stifling and awkward.
Envoys and representatives from seven or eight Western countries sat stiffly upright. The tea before them had long gone cold, yet no one had the mind to touch it.
They had been waiting since morning, their hearts already restless with anxiety, yet they dared not leave easily.
Leaving might mean directly offending this fearsome deity and cutting off any possibility of future cooperation.
Not leaving meant this endless waiting itself was a torment and humiliation.
Fine beads of sweat dotted everyone's foreheads. They couldn't figure out what America's current stance truly was.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Clear, rhythmic, military boot footsteps with a unique cadence echoed from afar, growing closer in the empty corridor.
As the footsteps neared, a chilling coldness, as if tangible, quietly seeped into the reception room.
The temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Everyone involuntarily shivered, their throats bobbing as they swallowed non-existent saliva. They felt as if a stone were pressing on their chests, making breathing somewhat difficult.
It was the instinctive fear of a lower-order life facing a higher-order predator. Even though they held high positions and were well-traveled, they could not be completely exempt.
The door was pushed open.
A petite yet ramrod-straight figure in military uniform stepped inside.
Snow-white hair cascaded down her back. Crimson eyes like rubies swept lightly over each envoy present, who were all trying hard to appear composed.
Wherever her gaze fell, no one dared meet it, all instinctively lowering their eyes or looking away.
This seemingly harmless little loli's brutality from yesterday was still fresh in their minds. To be fooled by her appearance would lead to a fate no better than that of the Dragon Nation's deceased [Kong].
Lilith walked directly to the main sofa but did not sit down immediately.
She simply stood there, hands still clasped behind her back, chin slightly raised. Her voice, a chilling blend of childishness and absolute authority, slowly rang out.
"If you have something to say, speak directly."
After a pause of one second, she added, her tone flat, as if stating an inconsequential fact.
"Also, I only understand Chinese."
These words were like an invisible command, a clear line of demarcation, and a declaration of her stance.
Here, she made the rules.
To talk, use my language. If you don't understand or are unwilling to use it, then there's no need to talk.
It was domineering, without any attempt to conceal it.
Hearing this, everyone's hearts tightened. They hurriedly nodded, forcing the most sincere smiles onto their faces.
As seasoned diplomats or high-level representatives of their respective countries, proficiency in multiple languages was a basic requirement, and Chinese was naturally no exception.
But no one immediately broached the main topic.
After a brief silence, several representatives almost simultaneously accessed their systems, then, with beaming smiles, transferred 100,000 Points to Lilith.
Seeing this, the others followed suit. This was what they had agreed upon beforehand to curry favor with the person before them—each contributing 100,000 Points.
A hundred thousand Points was not a small amount, but for a relatively well-established country, it wasn't difficult to produce.
Lilith's expression remained unchanged. She still stood there, as if what she had received was not a sum that would make a small Faction green with envy, but a string of insignificant numbers.
Only the representatives of the two countries who had secretly transferred one million Points were silently noted down by Lilith...