Chapter 144 What They Want

Even if the family heads present didn't voice their objections, Vivian herself wasn't particularly interested in serving as the laborious and unrewarding "Shadow Council Chairman." She knew that the new order in the supernatural world would inevitably be chaotic at the start. She knew that the constantly squabbling and suspicious factions wouldn't obediently follow any rules. She knew that many people didn't care about a stable and prosperous new life; they just wanted to rush out of the shelter and vent their anger on human society. Some hotheads even simply wanted to display their power in front of the "weak" mortals. All this messy nonsense would drive her crazy.

More importantly, Vivian felt she had a more important mission and value by Hao Ren's side—she had to cook, clean, wash Hao Ren's clothes, and change Doudou's water. The Countess was busy; she didn't have time to deal with "the order of the new world."

But her unwillingness to be the chairman was one thing; being pointed out by others was another. The Countess was immediately quite embarrassed, quite annoyed, and quite tempted to beat up this group of disrespectful juniors. But she thought about it, felt she should maintain her image as an elder, and could only smile calmly: "Spare the rod and spoil the child—it's been centuries since I last smacked you lot, have you gotten itchy?"

The representatives quickly denied it, and Vivian waved her hand magnanimously: "Alright, you have a point. I'm not suitable to be this 'Chairman' in many ways—being old doesn't mean being capable, and I know I'm not good at this. You can elect your own candidate, but I think I should still have a special seat in this 'Shadow Council,' right?"

"Of course," Jean Lucas placed a hand on his chest and bowed slightly, his etiquette thorough and elegant. "The Countess will always have a place in the Shadow Council, just as you have in all societies, secret orders, and councils throughout history, occupying your unique position."

Hearing this, Hao Ren immediately became curious, leaned close to Vivian, and whispered, "Special position? What does that mean?"

"Like the position we're in today, barging into their high-level meeting and interfering," Vivian said casually.

As the oldest anomaly in the world, as someone who had met almost every supernatural race, participated in every epic event, and was the most powerful life form on this planet in her prime, Vivian had an unwritten privilege in any camp. This privilege wasn't just "giving her some face"; it meant that if she wanted to, she could express her opinion on any supernatural force, and that opinion would be greatly respected.

She was a recognized sage and elder by all forces—even if she was poor, even if she went crazy every now and then, even if she was a weirdo who wandered around the human world all day and liked to live with humans, she still had this transcendent treatment.

Vivian never participated in any alien forces. She didn't belong to any family, didn't have a family under her name, and hadn't participated in the various societies organized by the aliens. But if she wanted to express her thoughts on these forces, everyone had to listen obediently, even the werewolves. Although she had fought many times with other races in the past, she had also served as an arbitrator and mediator in the conflicts of these races more than once as a "passing master."

When she was crazy, everyone regarded her as a mobile natural disaster, but when she was calm, everyone treated her with respect.

Vivian was such a contradictory and great existence in the supernatural circle, capricious and awe-inspiring. Today, she could barge in and criticize when the family representatives of the Athens Shelter held a high-level meeting. Tomorrow, if she didn't like what she saw after the Shadow Council was established, she could still run to their headquarters and cause a storm. She was tacitly qualified to participate in any meeting of any race. This was Vivian's "special position."

Without tens of thousands of years of life and experience in the mythical era, ordinary people would find it difficult to understand this phenomenon.

Hao Ren didn't understand either, and he wasn't interested in understanding. He almost never felt how great Vivian was in the supernatural circle—of course, he would occasionally marvel at it, but after marveling, that was it. He preferred to marvel at Vivian's cooking skills and her financial luck that allowed her to lose money even when buying a popsicle…

After the general concept of the "Shadow Council" was thrown out and accepted by everyone, Hao Ren lost much interest in the matter. He was a neutral observer, so he wasn't interested in participating in the management and control of any force. At most, he would monitor from the side, and only intervene slightly if the situation got out of control. So he left the conference room and went outside with Vivian to get some air.

The others were free to act.

The square outside the council hall had returned to calm. There were only a few people walking around in the empty square. The crowds who had gathered to cause trouble before were like experienced extras, full of enthusiasm and excitement during filming, but scattered as soon as the lunch boxes were distributed.

They didn't even leave any litter behind, which impressed Hao Ren…

"They weren't like this before," Vivian stood beside Hao Ren, looking at the empty square, then turned her head slightly to look at the council hall behind her. "These races were originally violent maniacs, war criminals, and troublemakers who would fight at the slightest disagreement. Although they also schemed against each other, it was all 'aboveboard scheming.' But I didn't expect that they would now learn these tricks of humans… Creating public opinion, exerting pressure internally and externally, expressing their positions in roundabout ways, and secretly fighting for benefits. Tsk tsk… Although I knew they had been changing, this kind of change is still surprising."

"Because they have long been dependent on human civilization," Hao Ren said casually. "So they are becoming more and more like humans."

"You seem to have some doubts?" Vivian looked at Hao Ren with a grin.

"I just didn't expect them to really be persuaded," Hao Ren scratched his head. He knew Vivian was thoughtful, but he didn't expect his slightest doubt to be seen through so easily. "I thought they would be bent on regaining their glory."

Vivian just smiled and looked up at the city streets in the distance. After a long while, she suddenly said, "Did you notice that this new street uses electric lights?"

Hao Ren: "Huh?"

"Actually, it's not you and I who persuaded these people—although our negotiations today also played a big role, these guys are very stubborn. What really determines their behavior is their own judgment," Vivian said, crossing her arms and curling her lips. "Even if we didn't come, they wouldn't really launch any counterattack against Earth, let alone allow others to do so. Do you think they're stupid? They have long enjoyed the convenience of modern society. They know how comfortable this world has been transformed by humans. The development of humans over thousands of years has not only replaced the position of the 'gods,' but more importantly, it has developed this world from a barren wilderness to its current state. This is an era of enjoyment. Civil aviation planes are faster than any vampire's flying speed. The utensils manufactured by modern industry are more convenient than anything in ancient times. Mobile phones are more convenient than communication magic. Tablet computers can crush all classical entertainment. Those guys who are immersed in this… have long been living in luxury."

"So, do you think they would allow anyone to destroy this comfortable and beautiful era?"

"Of course they wouldn't allow it. They want to enjoy all of this even more. What they want is benefit, not war and ruins. Only those who have nothing will risk their lives with a passion, because they only have a passion. Any guy in the shelter who hasn't had too bad of a life wouldn't do that… They have too much, so they won't give it up easily. What they want is to be able to enjoy this era more freely and simply. So after the demon hunters disappeared, what they thought about was not competing with humans for hegemony, because this 'hegemony' means the barren and desolate old world. What they want is to walk out of the shelter and embrace this new world openly. As long as these big families set this unspoken rule, those little guys who jump around are just pawns thrown out by them to wave flags and create momentum. The farce in the square was not to start a counterattack wave, it was just some big families stirring up trouble to fish in troubled waters."

Hao Ren thought for a while and shook his head: "Too messy, can't understand."

"To be honest, I don't quite understand their thinking either, but whether it's humans or aliens, that's how they've been developing noisily for thousands of years," Vivian curled her lips. "It's troublesome, boring, and many people enjoy it."

Hao Ren smiled helplessly and didn't say anything next. He just stood beside Vivian, looking up at the chaotic dark dome of the shelter.

Soon, this dome would be a mere formality.