Just the words "Second Seat" written in the illustration gave ordinary readers a full sense of oppression, not to mention how "grand" his appearance was.
How to put it—similarly, the "paid content" brought an upgrade in "visual quality." The previous Fatui all focused on being "cute" and "friendly."
Why are you so different, Doctor? You don't look like a good person at all!
The stories of the previous Fatui soldiers had just slightly improved the Fatui's image a bit, and the Doctor was immediately about to ruin it again.
Thanks to "Katarina" and "Lyudmila," these two Fatui soldiers, everyone had a slight change in perception toward the Fatui.
But that change wasn't big to begin with. Now it's good—it's changed back. Even the rich sighed; it affects the "brand image."
One can only say, why is your aura so uniquely different, Doctor? You don't look like a good person at first glance!
As for how the Doctor ruins the Fatui's image? Just keep reading.
In the story, Nahida asked about Setaria's whereabouts—she was still concerned for her people.
[The Doctor replied: "If you're looking for that female researcher, she's already in the confinement room."]
["She couldn't even detect the eavesdropping device on her. She lacks the rigorous attitude a scholar should have."]
Setaria blamed herself deeply. In the story, she must have been so broken by the consecutive blows that she didn't notice these things.
It was all her fault for actually putting the god in danger. Now Setaria felt even more self-blame.
If the Traveler were by her side, she would pat her shoulder and tell her it was no big deal.
With the Traveler's experience of being tracked—not a thousand times, at least eight hundred—what does this one time count for?
But it couldn't be said that way. After all, the Traveler's combat strength was right there. More than ninety percent of Teyvat's people weren't her match, so being tracked didn't matter.
But Setaria was a genuine frail scholar. Being tracked once left her without the power to resist. Fortunately, now she was just imprisoned—no one died.
In the story, after knowing Setaria was safe, Nahida felt much relieved and turned to question what the Doctor had done to Sumeru's people.
[The Doctor: "I just slightly modified the Akasha Terminal so it can project information into the subconscious."]
This sentence made Sumeru people's scalps go numb. Ever since the Sumeru story began, this Akasha Terminal has had nonstop problems.
Originally, the matter of being deprived of dreams due to the Flower God's Birthday Festival and falling into a loop already terrified Sumeru people. Now it was modified by the Doctor to directly control others—this was too horrifying, right?
No one wants to be inexplicably controlled! If it were being controlled by our little Dendro God, that would be one thing—but who are you, Dottore, some random guy comparing to a little loli?
Sumeru people are good at thinking. They quickly caught the blind spot.
The Akasha Terminal indeed has many problems, but the prerequisite for using it to do bad things is being able to control it.
Who can control the Akasha Terminal now? That's right—the Grand Sage, Azar!
So in the end, the problem still lies with the Grand Sage, right?
Regarding this, Sumeru people really wanted to say: Grand Sage, do you know why a dog digs up your mother's ashes? Because—it wants to gnaw on your mom's old grave!
Something like the Akasha Terminal, the "foundation of the nation," could actually be handed over to the Fatui's Doctor? Handed to an exiled scholar for free modification?
What exactly is the Grand Sage doing? Even if a Geo Vishap sat in that position, there wouldn't be so many messes!
Adou at most couldn't achieve great things—you have to learn from Ming Baozong and cause some big trouble, huh?
Don't even look at your own level! Aren't you just giving it away?
You have to know, Sumeru people's trust in the Akasha is exaggerated to the point where if the Akasha said "the moon is a silver plate," Sumeru people might very well believe it.
Thinking of this, Sumeru people became even angrier. Their disgust and hatred toward the Grand Sage truly increased layer by layer.
Such a core national technology could actually be given to the Fatui—and to the Doctor, who has overwhelmingly bad reviews even within the Fatui—for free modification?
What about social security? Who can guarantee that oneself or family won't become victims? What about legality and credibility? If social trust is gone, wouldn't Sumeru collapse?
If the previous Grand Sage could still be said to be braindead operations for the sake of absolute power, then the current Grand Sage is simply braindead.
This is like SpongeBob wearing a steel helmet saying stupid—stupid in a full, three-dimensional echo!
In today's Sumeru, those who can hold back from cursing the Grand Sage are saints.
Continuing to read the story with anger, in the later illustrations, the "enthusiastic citizens" surrounded the Traveler. The scene was like zombies.
Facing ordinary Sumeru citizens, the Traveler was very troubled. She couldn't possibly attack these ordinary people. Little sister Lumine loves using force over brains, but she doesn't use force on ordinary people.
Unless the other party is subjectively evil—but the people in front of her weren't even subjective; they didn't even have thoughts.
Katheryne (Nahida) protected the Traveler behind her and said:
["Hurry and go. You two leave the city first."]
Nahida has always been like this. She has always been the type to sacrifice herself rather than others—before and in the future as well.
Unlike Xiao's low desire to live, Nahida's mindset comes from two points.
First is her personality. Her divine nature makes her unafraid of sacrifice and willing to sacrifice for her people.
Second is her experiences. Because she never received recognition, she has this idea of undervaluing herself, feeling that sacrificing herself to save others is worthwhile.
She might even have the thought of sacrificing herself to gain others' recognition.
This stems from the "inferiority" in Nahida's heart. Yes, Nahida is a god with some "inferiority" emotions.
[Paimon worriedly said: "But that's a Fatui Executive—how can we abandon you…"]
Paimon: Nahida, what are you doing, Nahida! Run!
The illustration's camera immediately focused on Nahida. Her expression was resolute as she said:
["I can't abandon the people of Sumeru City either!"]
Powerful force "splashed" out. The Dendro God's power affected the Akasha Terminals, and the citizens stopped their movements.
Nahida used her own consciousness to occupy the citizens' thinking, thereby interrupting the Akasha's influence on everyone. At this moment, she was essentially multitasking.
Thousands? Tens of thousands? No one knew how many people the Doctor had gathered in front of the Akademiya, but at this moment, they were all controlled by Nahida. This was Nahida's extremely terrifying multithreading processing ability.
Nahida was somewhat breathless. What, my power is pretty strong, huh.
Captain—no, I mean, Nahida thought as such.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice Lines · Nahida: About the Manipulated Citizens
"I'm really angry right now. You can tell, right?"