Hearing him say this, the Elders of the Elder Council were all stunned.
Derick, seeing this, felt a surge of excitement.
Castorice's points were valid, but they didn't resonate with the Elders of the Elder Council. You say Hyacine already examined you. Caenis would just say, what's the big deal about examining again?
But Derick's words directly concerned them.
If the collective sacrifices the individual, who can guarantee that the individual won't be themselves?
Everyone would have this concern.
After all, Derick hadn't committed any mistakes, yet Caenis still demanded an investigation. What if it were their turn? Without the support and help of the Golden Lineage, wouldn't that make it even easier for Caenis to do as she pleased?
Would they not encounter the same things Derick had?
"In this era, collectivism, prioritizing the interests of the collective, is indeed correct. But are your own individual interests not important? Are all of you ants? Only for the survival of the colony, without considering individual feelings?"
"Today, sacrificing me is for the collective. Tomorrow, sacrificing someone else is also for the benefit of Okhema. The day after tomorrow, what if one-third of Okhema's people must be sacrificed to save the remaining two-thirds? How can you be sure that such a thing is right, and at the same time, be sure that you are not among that one-third?"
As Derick spoke, he walked to the side of the spectator seats. Meeting his gaze, the Elders lowered their heads, their expressions thoughtful.
A few people's faces were different from the others. They belonged to Caenis's faction. Seeing Derick approach them, someone wanted to reach out and subdue Derick.
No matter what you say, let's restrain you first.
But just as he reached out, he instantly felt his arm being grabbed. Turning his head, he saw Mydei reaching out and gripping his arm.
"Ahhhhhh..."
Mydei applied a little pressure, and he immediately let out a miserable howl.
Derick pretended not to hear and returned to the center of the plaza.
"You are confusing concepts. Your body's specialty is not the same as the property and bodies of other Elders," Caenis said loudly, looking at Derick.
"Oh? What's different? Hyacine has already examined me. This is proof from Twilight Courtyard. Do you think it's not appropriate? Must you personally examine me for it to count?" Derick looked at the Elders.
"Fellow Elders, you must pay attention. One day, Caenis will also inspect your assets. You'll say your assets are legal and legitimate, and she'll tell you that your proof doesn't count, only her personal proof is valid."
"What she says is the truth."
After Derick finished speaking, he pointed his finger at Caenis.
"No, it's not like that. I have no interest in the assets of other Elders," Caenis's face turned red with anger from Derick's words, and she shouted loudly at him.
"Oh? Who can prove it? Is what you say the truth?"
Derick used the same tone she had used to question Aglaea to question her back.
Caenis never imagined that the words she had used to question Aglaea would be turned back on her.
"You accuse Aglaea of being a tyrant, a dictator, but what about your own actions? Would Aglaea easily search and inspect a person? Would she disregard the life of an Okhema citizen?"
Hearing Derick's words, Tribbie quietly glanced at Aglaea.
When Derick first entered Okhema, Aglaea had indeed inspected him. It was just that Derick hadn't mentioned it.
"What a good child," Tribbie thought to herself.
Derick's voice grew louder.
"Everyone, do you know? When she summoned us just now, her subordinate actually used a berating and commanding tone. I dare say I just helped Okhema resolve a crisis, yet he still thought he could order me around as if I, who had done no wrong, could be bossed about. So what about her attitude towards others? What will she do?"
"Even if something can be obtained from my body, are you sure she will share it with everyone, instead of gaining supreme power and establishing a dictatorship?"
He spoke continuously, not giving Caenis a chance to interrupt.
Actually, Derick also knew that there were loopholes and problems in his words. But now was not the time for writing a thesis and discussing right and wrong; it was a debate.
In a debate, one must speak from a position of strength.
Caenis found an opportunity and shouted back at Derick in an equally loud tone:
"Everything you're saying is your own delusion. I just want to examine your body, I absolutely have no intention of harming you."
Seeing her about to shout back, Derick also gathered his breath, preparing to raise his voice.
How old are you? Can't I, a teenager, out-shout you?
Just as he was about to speak, a figure appeared in the assembly hall.
"Come, come, let me prove that this Elder Caenis wants to harm Derry-boo."
It was Cipher.
She appeared in the assembly hall as if carried by the wind, standing beside Derick and Caenis.
First, she glared fiercely at Derick.
Damn Derry-boo, stuffing a cucumber down my clothes, what an inhuman thing to do.
Then she took out her phone and showed a video to the Elders of the Elder Council.
"Everyone, this is the video of Elder Caenis's transaction with me. She clearly told me to kidnap Derry-boo and bring him to her."
The video from Tribbie's side was fake, a bluff. But this one in Cipher's hand was real. To avoid misunderstandings during transactions, she always recorded them secretly. Now, at the Elder Council meeting, Cipher displayed this video.
Seeing the video appear, some of Caenis's subordinates wanted to come over and snatch Cipher's phone. However, they were easily evaded by Cipher as soon as they approached.
"I am the ancestor of thieves. How could I let you take my communication slate?" Cipher said disdainfully.
Being tricked by Aglaea is one thing, but you guys want to ambush me? You're purely dreaming.
Watching Cipher's video, the Elders all turned their gazes to Caenis, wanting to see how she planned to respond.
Caenis's mind was also agile. She immediately said, "I didn't intend to do anything bad to Derick. It's just that those Golden Lineage members kept preventing me from meeting him. I suspected they were restricting citizen Derick, so I asked Cipher to steal him away. I didn't expect that they, the Golden Lineage, would naturally collude, and as a result, Cipher betrayed me."
"You say you wouldn't do anything bad?" Cipher smiled and took out a few more pieces of paper from her bosom. "I went to your house before coming here. I got a few documents from there. Tsk, tsk, tsk, human dissection research from the Grove of Epiphany, and your personally drawn dissection plan. This dissection diagram of a young boy's physique, who are you planning to dissect? It couldn't possibly be your child, could it?"
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