Chapter 517: Chapter 27: Light Core (Part 2)_3
Aorus smiled and gestured for the excited crowd to quiet down.
“I fully understand everyone’s thoughts. The fact is, the existing high school system in our city has long lost its intended purpose, serving merely as a pretentious means to waste the time of Superpower Users. I can explain to you why this is because a portion of the blind upper echelon fears your power! They are afraid that geniuses with access to abundant knowledge and technology will become seeds of instability.
However, this is ultimately blind and foolish. There are many people with clear minds, and many have realized that we will eventually take the stage. We cannot simply exist as students; we are warriors, scientists, reformers, the minority who will change the world. To realize our value, we must first change this city!”
Aorus raised his glass to the people, and the attendees erupted in cheers. His every word and phrase struck their hearts, stirring their emotions, making them involuntarily roused, gazing at the brown-haired youth and the red wine in his glass.
“I have gathered you all here for this purpose. I want to lead you to a truly exalted stage, to stand at higher grounds and show your skills!”
Aorus’s tone suddenly lightened.
“Then you will ask me, ‘Can you do it, Aorus? What gives you the right to make this promise?'”
His gaze swept across the hundreds of different faces in the hall, watching the expressions on their faces.
“I think facts always speak louder than words. Do you know Creyah? Creyah Kalash?”
Creyah smiled as she stepped forward, walking through the crowd to his side. Whispered discussions broke out in the venue: “Jade…” “I’ve heard her speak at the university!” “Last month she represented the student group in negotiations with officials.” “We know! The Jade of the Light Core!”
Aorus nodded in acknowledgment and handed his red wine to his confidant.
“Bright and charming, graceful in dealing, adept in diplomacy, versatile in competence, this is the Miss Creyah you know. But she wasn’t when we first met. Would you mind sharing your story?”
“Why not?” Creyah took the wine glass, “I was in a bad state back then. Just like any teenage girl from Ustus, I had an unhappy home life. I ran away from home and came to this city alone, full of hope to prove myself through strength, but I faced setbacks everywhere. I couldn’t even sustain the next day’s meals.”
Creyah twisted her hair, her words tinged with a trace of desolation: “I was at my wits’ end, and in my best jewelry, I came here pretending to be a socialite from high society, speaking elegantly of indecent things. Hoping, on the grounds of being from the same federal background, that this compatriot who had made a name for himself could give me a hand, help me pay off the debts I had incurred… one hundred thousand Kerry.”
Many members from commoner families were inwardly startled. One hundred thousand Kerry was not a small sum; it was almost the net income of a middle-class federal family for a year and a half.
“What did I do at that time?” Aorus asked in a low voice.
“You gave a desperate woman a full three hundred thousand, a house in Cangshou District, and invited me to join your organization to help,” Creyah drained her wine in one gulp, “I still can’t understand why.”
“Because I believed in your talent,” Aorus smiled with palms together, “I believed you were worth my offering of help, I believed you deserved the best life. And you have proven yourself countless times through successful negotiations. You are the best diplomat I have ever seen, a true gem without a doubt.”
Creyah blinked hard and clung to the young man’s arm. Aorus graciously accepted, raising his right hand toward the entire hall, elevating his voice like an orator.
“I believe in Creyah! And I believe even more in my own judgment, for those I choose must all be unique beings. We also have Kawai Yoshizo, the organization’s magician from the HR department, who has doubled our resource reserves in three years.”
A seemingly ordinary young man from Zero Island stepped out from the crowd, “I was once a chess player without success, now I am responsible for managing the accounts for our leader.”
“Gao Yu, a top officer in the Security Department, protects each and every one of our members with his solid and reliable strength.”
The next to step forward was a short boy from the Empire, “Two years ago, I was still worried about high school admission, at that time I could barely read a few words.”
“Ed Floss, a doctor in the equipment department, any university would set up a specialized lab for him.”
“Many universities have invited me, but I feel it’s better here,” the blond boy in a white lab coat laughed heartily behind Aorus.
Aorus introduced each of his proudest members in turn; they each had once faced setbacks but had now all become the most outstanding young talents in the city. His finger brushed through the crowd, “They’re excellent, aren’t they? So are you! Our organization is called Light Core, and that name refers to each and every one of us. Everyone is a core, everyone can shine a light! You will definitely become the finest talents too, because I have found you!”
The members of Light Core stared at Aorus, scarcely daring to breathe. They paid close attention to the leader’s lips, eagerly anticipating the next words that would be spoken.
“A great transformation is about to occur in the City of the Vault of Heaven! This city will no longer be a prison for all, but a place of collaboration with various countries. All the hardships we’ve experienced in the past will become our most precious wealth. We shall step out into the world, make our mark in official institutions!
Friends! I earnestly invite you to stand with me. Let us together break through this superficial calmness and establish true order. Let us be the light that truly illuminates the darkness!”
The enthusiastic applause nearly lifted the dome, everyone eagerly gazed at Aorus, unable to accommodate anything else in their eyes besides the young man. They sincerely believed in him and in the talents that were worth his reaching out for. What Aorus said was true, among them were politicians, scientists, aristocrats, and capitalists, whose influence was never limited to just this small city. They had the power to change the City of the Vault of Heaven, the Union, even the whole world!
“Aorus!” a fervent member reached out, calling the name of their leader loudly. His behavior was met with unanimous agreement, everyone voiced the excitement in their hearts, “Aorus!” “Our leader!” “The true Light Core!!!”
Aorus was surrounded by the enthusiastic youths, shaking hands with each one, conversing, saying each person’s name, like the offspring of a god surrounded by devout believers, imprinting his handsome visage deeply in their hearts.
Creyah retreated silently to the back of the crowd, standing in a corner outside of the spotlight, returning to Qin Qianbai’s side.
She watched Aorus under the lights, captivated, and said in a dreamy and ethereal tone, “He truly is an excellent leader. I think he was born to stand in the center of the stage… lifted high by the arms of the people.”
But Qin Qianbai wasn’t looking at the boy in the crowd; she was gazing at Creyah’s profile, “Aren’t you sad?”
“…Sorry?” Creyah was momentarily perplexed, “I don’t quite understand…”
“It’s nothing.” The girl shook her head, “Pleased to meet you, Miss Creyah. Thank you for the dinner, I must be going now.”
Qin Qianbai grabbed Creyah’s hand, squeezed it, and then turned briskly, walking out the door under the puzzled gaze of the Union girl, never looking back.