"I'm different from Tian En and the others. My view of Mokaka is quite strange. Well... to put it bluntly, I just don't like her."
Yuanbao's voice was very weak, as if she wasn't even confident in her own words.
Indeed, on the Floating Island, many people dislike Mokaka, but those people generally hate Mokaka because she infringed on their interests, preventing them from acting recklessly.
A normal person, especially soone like Yuanbao who has received Mokaka's kindness, shouldn't speak such words.
If Tian En, those "Mokaka guards," heard this, they would definitely fight with Yuanbao.
But Yun You could also tell that Yuanbao wasn't lying. "Not liking" was her most genuine thought; a pure little otaku doesn't deceive.
"But when I say I don't like her, I don't an I hate her... my impression of her hasn't reached that extre level."
Seeing Yun You lost in thought, Yuanbao quickly waved her hand and explained, "I just feel that this person doesn't really match my preferences."
"Why is that?"
Yun You was sowhat puzzled.
"Even though I haven't seen Mokaka with my own eyes, what she did should be true, right?"
"Distributing food equally, caring for the weak, maintaining order... no matter how you put it, these actions should not earn a 'bad' evaluation."
"Yes! That's correct!"
Yuanbao nodded heavily and said helplessly, "But how should I say it, it's just a feeling."
"You surely know the saying 'Saints ask for deeds, not for intentions,' right? It ans that when evaluating a person, you shouldn't look at what they're thinking, but at what they're doing."
"Only actions are the objective standard for evaluating a person, I do know that."
"But I must say... if she didn't have those noble intentions from the start, and everything she did was to satisfy her own desires, even if those actions incidentally helped everyone, how should I evaluate such a person?"
"I can say she is a good person, but I cannot see her as a leader, or as a 'Saint' in others' words."
"That's the feeling I have about Mokaka."
After saying so much, Yuanbao noticed that Yun You still seed to not understand, so she shrugged and sighed, "It seems verbal explanations alone can't convince you."
"You'll naturally understand the specific situation once you see Mokaka with your own eyes."
Since Yuanbao said so, Yun You could only suppress her doubts and quietly leave.
...
Outside the door, Tian En had been waiting for quite so ti, leaning against the corner, almost falling asleep.
When she saw Yun You co downstairs, she imdiately shook off her sleepiness and put on a smile as if changing faces, leading Yun You further down the stairs.
"I didn't expect Miss Wu Ming to know Miss Yuanbao."
Tian En lowered her head and said with a smile, "The world is indeed small."
"Hm."
Yun You nodded but didn't continue on the topic, instead she asked, "Tian En, do you really like Mokaka?"
"Ah?"
The mont those words were spoken, Tian En's face imdiately flushed.
"I... I..."
She lowered her head, as if not wanting Yun You to see her embarrassnt, but after hesitating for a long ti, she finally answered in a small voice, "Of course I like her, Lady Mokaka is amazing, I admire her, and I'm willing to give her everything I have."
The words were very straightforward, and Yun You sensed no hint of lying.
Yet sohow, that overwhelming sense of admiration also seed sowhat illusory, like a castle in the air, relying solely on the foundation of "life-saving grace."
Yun You didn't ask any more questions. She knew that at that mont, she couldn't obtain any more information from Tian En.
Perhaps due to Tian En's confinent in deep boudoirs from a young age, she exuded a sowhat "hazy" sense of illusion throughout, and even Yun You couldn't discern her reality, unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
All she knew was that Tian En might be more complex than she imagined.
And all these mysteries might find a little clarifying once she ets Mokaka.
...
In the evening, Yun You and Tian En traversed nurous streets and alleys, finally arriving at an open ground square.
This was the gathering place of Mokaka's power.
What ca into view was an exceptionally serene scene.
Residences converted from containers were arranged neatly along the edge of the square, solar panels glinting with a sugary frost-like gleam under the moonlight. In a corner, an old-fashioned record player played a cellist's nocturne, the rusty speaker adding a layer of electronic noise to the music, yet it brought a sense of solace.
"Ding——"
With a lodious chi ringing in the air, a delivery drone dragged a golden-laden light trail down to the center of the square, the supply box hanging underneath automatically opening to reveal packets of compressed biscuits.
The crowd quietly queued up, and as they passed the scanners, a chanical notification would announce each person's food allocation.
There was no scrambling, no insults, and certainly no murderous disputes over food.
A little girl in a floral dress tiptoed to reach the drone's fuselage, and imdiately, a holographic projection of a cartoon cat appeared on its surface. She giggled as she broke her compressed biscuit into two, giving the half coated in seaweed powder to a tramp curled up by the roadside.
The two were strangers, but the rare goodwill in the Floating Island and throughout Nest City drove her to share her food.
From the southeast corner's repair station wafted the scent of pine and solder. A chanic wearing a monocle was helping adjust people's prosthetics. This service was completely free, or rather, a duty that only existed in Mokaka's enclave.
When the virtual clock on the building advanced one notch, the black-robed guards at the edge of the camp began to change shifts. There were about 30 of them, including 6 Apprentice Death Gods, with the remaining 24 being rcenaries.
The Death God's black robe swept lightly over the ground without raising dust, and at the hilt of their waist sword was embedded a holographic screen that scrolled with regulations personally set by Mokaka: Equality for all, love and mutual aid.
For this reason, when a drunk man accidentally knocked over a water tank while passing by the Death Gods... the nearest Apprentice Death God simply placed a light hand on his shoulder, helping him sit down to rest.
In this city, cannon fire and the sounds of slaughter flickered incessantly through the streets, with scarlet neon sketching the outlines of corpses. Yet here, soone strung wind chis from discarded chips, soone else lted shell casings into candlesticks, and children born on the Floating Island were playing hopscotch gas on tactical tablets...
Sotis, as the alarm sound pierced the eardrum, Yun You saw the Death Gods' blades glow with ethereal blue code streams, disappearing like phantoms into the dark, quelling threats that triggered alarms in their cradle, while the holographic flowers in the center of the square continued to bloom quietly.
Equality, unity, love, guarding, unyielding.
This is Mokaka's masterpiece, and the only flower of hope on the Floating Island.
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