Seeing the gloom hidden in Vill-V's eyes, Su spoke up with the only piece of good news among the three matters, hoping to ease her worries a little. "The good news is, Miss Elysia sent a message saying she'll help us look after Zofia for the time being... her reason being that Zofia is also a cute girl, and she can't let her be wronged."
"Mm... I suppose that counts as good news." Conductor could already guess that Elysia would definitely use this as an excuse to demand some form of compensation later—and she wouldn't even be able to refuse...
Debts of favor were the hardest to repay.
"Wait a second—how are you even able to receive messages from Elysia?"
Had Elysia turned into some kind of all-knowing informant? She could even find this channel?
Oh right—once, when Magician performed a magic show, Elysia had said she wanted to be able to chat with Vill-V at night. So Magician had directly given her a Mad Hatter communicator as a gift.
Later, since Vill-V needed to go to the Sea of Quanta, the communicator had been passed to Su.
Magician was truly someone you could trust.
If I weren't Vill-V myself, I'd want to befriend Magician too. Helping others flirt with Vill-V—who wouldn't want that kind of friend?
"Sigh, forget it. I'll go talk to Elysia and find out the details."
And maybe see if the favor debt could be discounted a bit.
Otherwise, Elysia's nightly chats might gain an extra 'segment.'
After Vill-V left, the atmosphere in the office instantly grew quiet.
Su poured himself another cup of bitter melon juice. After taking a sip, he turned his gaze toward Hua, who had her hair styled in twin buns.
After hesitating for a long moment, Su asked, "Hua, in your opinion... does Vill-V suspect me at all?"
"Suspect you? Why would she?"
Faced with Su's sudden question, Hua was simply confused.
If Vill-V heard this, she would definitely complain that no matter how suspicious she might be of others in the organization, she would never suspect someone as upright as Su.
He was the Flame-Chaser of Bodhi—an enlightened being free of desire.
If one had to say who among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era was the most reliable, aside from Vill-V herself, it would undoubtedly be Su, who always sacrificed himself for others.
Even when facing Vill-V's probing just now, Su had remained completely composed.
If not for that, Vill-V would never have entrusted the organization to him so easily.
If it had been handed to someone else, Vill-V would truly worry they might do things that went against her intentions.
What if someone introduced some bizarre logic and turned the base into some kind of decadent party hub?
At present, Vill-V's expectations for the Mad Hatter weren't high. As long as it developed steadily step by step, that was enough.
If it were someone else, they likely wouldn't have Su's patience. They would definitely try to stir things up.
Some would do it to show off their abilities, others to satisfy their desires. And even those who did nothing would gradually shape the organization's culture to reflect their own personality—like its leader's temperament.
Kevin, for example. Or Vill-V herself.
If Kevin led the organization, it would become like instant noodles—no, like a cold, emotionless gun aimed at the Honkai. In such an organization, friendliness would be in short supply.
As for Vill-V herself, she was hardly someone who followed rules.
She didn't believe she was suited to be a leader who shouldered the burden of an entire world. That had never been her purpose in creating the organization.
Perhaps it hadn't been mentioned before, but when Magician acted as Mr. Mad Hatter, she had issued all sorts of bizarre orders.
For example, gathering members to perform a meaningless time-travel ritual...
A group of people would surround a building, performing strange movements, and then Magician would use magic to change their clothes back to what they wore a day earlier...
Although it earned her a wave of admiration from the members, it was also incredibly wasteful of manpower and resources.
There were countless such incidents. With so many ready-made spectators, Magician had the time of her life.
All those strange activities were funded by Vill-V herself. Bit by bit, her wallet had truly begun to suffer.
Even the name Mad Hatter had been chosen by Magician. Originally, Conductor had wanted to name it "Mysterious Organization NERV," but on the day of the announcement, Magician changed it.
Aside from Magician, the other personalities weren't exactly reassuring either. With them pulling the organization in all directions, who knew what Mad Hatter would eventually become.
What? Why not let Conductor strictly control everything?
Ha—did you really think Conductor was some serious, rational leader?
She wasn't someone like Dr. Mei, who approached everything with a clear objective.
Conductor never judged whether a plan was successful based on whether it achieved its goal.
Despite her frequent complaints about her other personalities, when it came down to it, those personalities were still herself. Compared to them, could something like an organization or even friends really be considered closer?
Do you know what she said after Magician caused chaos within Mad Hatter?
"Hmm, the style is quite unexpected. If there's time, I should let the others try it as well."
Conductor was well aware of her own tendencies. That was why handing the organization over to Su, the Flame-Chaser of Bodhi, was undoubtedly the best choice.
Looking at the faint confusion in Hua's clear eyes, Su let out a helpless sigh.
"As expected... Vill-V truly trusts me."
Hua's confusion only deepened. "Isn't it a good thing that she trusts you?"
Su shook his head and explained:
"An organization is not a machine for war. It cannot simply be measured by efficiency and scale."
"Under normal circumstances, the leadership of an organization must have checks and balances. Right now, Zofia—who manages HoMu Company—barely counts as a restraint on me. If anything were to happen to her, I would hold complete authority."
Even though Vill-V came from the future, her ability to trust him so completely still left Su feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
How difficult was it to fully trust another person?
If their roles were reversed—if Vill-V were him, and he were Kevin—would he allow Kevin to sit in that position?
Su's answer was no.
After serving as the organization's leader for two years, Su had witnessed the nature of humanity in this era. He recalled the final words left behind by one member before death: "In the face of Honkai, human nature is worthless."
Su did not agree with that statement, yet he could not refute it either. There were far too many examples proving that Honkai could amplify the darkness within human hearts.
"In this era, under the dual forces of Honkai and human development, society has already entered a 'zero-sum society.'"
"With information being tightly controlled by governments, communication between people has become increasingly restricted."
"This city is a microcosm of the world's future."
"Government power is more concentrated than ever, while large corporations act with increasing impunity. Capitalists can easily manipulate public opinion."
"Thought is tightly constrained. Paths to upward mobility and wealth are suppressed. People can no longer change their circumstances through effort alone—only true geniuses have even a sliver of hope."
"Honkai further intensifies this environment, leaving the struggling lower classes with even fewer chances to rise."
"As a result, they can only turn their hostility toward those around them, and trust between people collapses."
"Social trends spread from the bottom up. And unequal distribution leads to stagnation among the lower classes, which in turn affects the upper levels."
"Thus, human civilization as a whole becomes shrouded in distrust, providing the foundation for the emergence of a 'zero-sum society.'"
"Even with the catastrophic threat of Honkai looming overhead, true human unity remains a distant dream."
Su stood up and looked out the window at the busy members of the Taixu Gang. Though their lives had not improved much, there was already a glimmer of hope in their eyes.
But... that was merely an illusion.
In modern society, even without Honkai, there was no hope to be seen.