The Court of Public Opinion

Amidst the furious outcry of countless citizens, Lee eventually left the Japan and arrived at the Fire Moth Asia Branch, which could barely be considered the headquarters for now.

Many of her old friends, including Su, were here. However, unlike the warm receptions she usually received on previous trips, this time there wasn't even anyone to greet her. Even the security personnel responsible for escorting her looked at Lee with a strange expression.

Lee understood this. After all, at the height of this controversy, if Su and the others came to welcome her, it would only add fuel to the already explosive public opinion.

The Herrscher of Dominance is really playing games. But what is she planning to do next? She can't possibly think she can crush me with online public opinion, right?

Lee wasn't someone like a certain White Fang of Konoha.

Her stress resistance was off the charts. Mere insults wouldn't break her or make her commit suicide.

"Lee, for the time being, please stay at the base. Try not to go out unless it's absolutely necessary."

After arriving at Su's office, the wise man, who had carried out a major purge of Fire Moth's upper echelons, now looked unusually weary.

"The public outcry is terrible right now. There are many forces at play, and it's impossible to suppress it in a short time... After a while, when the public sentiment calms down a bit, we should be able to handle it."

Su's thinking was sound. The public was always forgetful. Even with this fervent protest, after some time, people would forget about it. At that time, with a visible hand controlling the situation, the problem would naturally be resolved.

But Lee knew things wouldn't be so simple. The Herrscher of Dominance had clearly made her a target and wouldn't let her off so easily.

Unfortunately, the Herrscher of Dominance, who should have been launching attacks in multiple locations, was now hiding. Fire Moth didn't even know what kind of existence the Herrscher of Dominance was, let alone their plans.

"Mobius and Elysia are also here. If you feel bored, you can go find them. They've been missing you."

It was clear that Su was trying his best to make Lee not resist this kind of protective "imprisonment." He even brought up Mobius and Elysia's names. How could Lee refuse such kindness?

"Mm, I understand... I'm sorry for troubling you."

"It's nothing, Lee. This will all be over soon."

Watching Lee's smiling figure turn to leave, Su hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke.

"Lee, do you ever feel... like you have thoughts that aren't your own?"

Lee, who had already grasped the doorknob, paused. She turned her head, her eyes calmly looking at Su.

"Lee, I'm not doubting you! It's just... the Herrscher core transplant is unique to you. I'm worried it might be affecting you."

Su's concern didn't arise from seeing the viral posts online. In fact, ever since he learned about the artificial Herrscher surgery, he had always had this worry.

Long ago, Fire Moth had conducted similar experiments. But without exception, all the test subjects, whether human or animal, who were implanted with Herrscher cores became violent and extremely aggressive, eventually dying from Honkai energy erosion.

Lee's body had a very high Honkai energy adaptability, which prevented her from dying from erosion. But what about the effects on her consciousness? Especially since the core she had been implanted with was from the Eighth Herrscher, who specialized in the realm of consciousness.

The recent events had only heightened his concerns.

One was the incident with Ato's death. Lee's decision was correct. Even if he hadn't spoken up, Ato himself would have chosen that method. But knowing Lee, Su believed she would have opposed such a plan.

And then there was the Tenth Herrscher incident.

Killing the Herrscher on the spot was indeed the decisive and correct choice. But with Lee's current strength, she could have used a less bloody method to deal with the situation, rather than beheading the Herrscher in front of Sakura's younger sister.

Lee's actions were all correct, but... perhaps too correct, to the point of lacking humanity.

Although both he and Aponia had examined Lee after the surgery and found no abnormalities in her consciousness, what if the Herrscher core's influence was subtle and gradual?

Su couldn't help but worry.

"...Don't worry, Su," Lee shook her head. "I've always been me. I haven't changed."

"That's good... But if you have nothing to do, perhaps you could come find me, or ask Aponia to come and do some mental checks."

"I'll leave it to you," Lee smiled gently, said nothing more, and opened the door, stepping out.

As it turned out, Lee was right. The Herrscher of Dominance was really something. As time went on, the heat of the matter not only didn't decrease, but continued to rise with various revelations.

[A few more died in ARC City today. Do you know what they have in common? They're rich and powerful! The medicine they injected is different from us bottom-feeding rats. It's called [Holy Blood.]]

[This medicine is more effective. It can not only cure Honkai infection but also increase Honkai resistance, because it contains a high amount of Lee's blood! But now these people who inject [Stigmata] are starting to die one after another.]

[Now it's the people who use this advanced medicine who are dying. But at this rate, it won't be long before those of us who inject ordinary medicine will die too. My uncle is a Fire Moth scientist. He said that if Lee, the source of the blood, becomes a Herrscher, even the medicine made from her blood before she became a Herrscher will be affected. Unless the source of the influence is killed... That's definitely impossible. Lee is a superior being. We can only wait for death.]

As these posts said, those who injected [Stigmata] began to die one after another.

Although ordinary people did not have access to this medicine, it did not prevent panic from spreading among them.

Under the manipulation of a large number of interested parties, the boiling public resentment became more and more intense, to the point that today it had even developed to the point of surrounding Fire Moth's Asian branch to protest.

Even though Lee's living quarters weren't on the periphery, she could still hear the overwhelming clamor.