After the gift-giving concluded, the atmosphere seemed to relax by an imperceptible degree.
Only then did the envoys cautiously begin to state their purpose, their wording careful, expressing nothing more than admiration and longing for America's formidable power.
They hoped that in the upcoming new order, they could strengthen cooperation, establish closer alliances or partnerships, and jointly face future challenges.
Their core intention was to seek shelter and binding ties.
Lilith listened quietly, her crimson eyes showing no ripple of emotion.
It wasn't until they mentioned the potential multi-faceted challenges they might face that she seemed to remember something, the corner of her mouth curling up once more into that icy arc.
"I am curious,"
she spoke, her voice cutting off an envoy's somewhat long-winded flattery.
"Since Britain within your European Union possesses an SSS-Rank powerhouse—Lilith—who holds a steady fourth place on the hunter leaderboard,
why not choose to unite around her and continue building your continental European alliance, instead of coming to me?"
If her guess was correct, that Hive Lord route Hunter who had used Spiritual Spores illusions to scheme against her in the Resident Evil 2 dungeon and then slipped away unnoticed should be this Lilith.
After all, among the top ten on the leaderboard, the only one identifiable as female was this one.
Last time in the courtyard where the agreement was signed, she had indeed vaguely sensed a familiar, concealed spiritual fluctuation. But at that time, her attention was entirely on [Kong]. Only after dealing with [Kong] did she realize the other party had fled.
Otherwise, yesterday, she could have settled that score as well.
The moment the name Lilith was mentioned, the temperature in the reception hall seemed to drop several more degrees.
The faces of several envoys visibly paled, their eyes flashing with poorly concealed fear and complexity.
"Lady Lilith... her abilities are extraordinary. Under her governance, Britain indeed has... a unique order."
An older envoy chose his words carefully, sweat beading on his temples.
"The Celestial Domain she constructed, blending reality and illusion, is nothing short of a divine miracle. But..."
He paused, seemingly searching for a less offensive way to phrase it.
"That feeling of entrusting one's entire fate within another's domain, where life, death, honor, and disgrace are all at the other's whim, is not something everyone can adapt to."
"We prefer a partnership based on equal strength... uh, I mean, based on respect and cooperation."
The envoy, realizing his slip of the tongue, hurriedly corrected himself.
If their strength was equal, they wouldn't need to attach themselves to America in the first place.
The others chimed in agreement, their expressions equally uneasy.
Clearly, Lilith's method of rule, akin to herding and absolute control, evoked deep-seated resistance and fear in these political elites accustomed to the sovereignty, independence, and freedom of action of the old era.
In contrast, although Lilith was similarly domineering, what she displayed was at least a conquest model based on overwhelming power, not a binding that pulled people into her own domain, where life and death were decided by another.
The meeting proceeded with surface-level courtesy, but undercurrents of tension flowed beneath.
Lilith gave no clear promises, neither agreeing to their request for attachment nor flatly refusing.
She simply watched them calmly with those ruby-like eyes, finally stating plainly,
"I will consider it."
This ambiguous statement made the envoys even more apprehensive, yet they dared not ask further. They could only bow respectfully and take their leave.
After everyone had left, the reception hall returned to silence.
Only then did Lilith walk over and sit in the main seat. She called up the complete audio and video recording of the meeting, lightly tapped her fingertips, and sent it along with a brief note to William at the distant Apocalypse Base.
"Analyze this."
Lilith attached a short text instruction.
"Assess the remaining value and potential risks of these Factions, and... how to maximize their conversion into direct collaborators or resource channels for Tianqi without alerting the Sentinel Alliance."
"I want substantial control, not nominal allies."
She understood clearly: the Sentinel Alliance's support for Tianqi was both to utilize her strength and undoubtedly harbored intentions of checks, balances, and exploitation.
And she, too, needed to place chess pieces belonging solely to herself among these old-era political entities... Meanwhile, the envoys from various countries who had left the hotel did not disperse. Instead, they tacitly gathered at another secret location.
"Everyone, you all saw today's situation,"
a middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed short beard spoke first. He was a special envoy from a major EU country, his expression serious.
"Her deliberate emphasis on only accepting dialogue in Chinese is itself a strong signal."
"Exactly,"
another interjected, a glint of analysis in his eyes,
"Combined with her action of accepting our gifts without any courtesy, this aligns very well with our understanding of certain interaction habits from the old-era Dragon Country."
"The weight of a gift often directly correlates to the level of importance and future possibilities."
Hearing this, the others nodded thoughtfully.
In their ingrained perceptions and intelligence analysis, Dragon Country's society of personal connections and banquet-table culture ran deep.
The other party first emphasized the hint of her native language, then calmly accepted the gifts yet reacted indifferently. This very likely meant—the gifts were sent too lightly!
Insufficient to move the other party, perhaps even perceived as lacking sincerity.
"One hundred thousand Points is no small amount for us, but for an existence at her level, it might truly be insignificant."
the short-bearded man mused.
"Dragon Country has an ancient saying: 'When one presents gifts to another, they must be seeking something.' What we seek is future living space and shelter. This gift is clearly not substantial enough."
"Then, in your opinion..."
"Prepare a more generous gift!"
the short-bearded man stated decisively.
"But... what if she still doesn't agree? Or makes endless demands?"
"That's still better than hanging in uncertainty like this! At least we will have tried, expressing our utmost sincerity. If she truly is insatiably greedy..."
A sharp glint flashed in the short-bearded man's eyes.
"...then we will at least have seen the situation clearly and perhaps need to consider more extreme contingency plans. But for now, we must try again!"
Reaching a consensus, everyone dispersed, urgently preparing tributes for the next audience—besides Points, also including rare items obtained from dungeons.
Using old-era thinking, they attempted to decipher the will of a new-era hegemon, unaware that Lilith's criteria for judgment were far from the simple reciprocity of gift-giving they imagined.
What she wanted was absolute control, complete and utter submission, chess pieces on the future board that obeyed her commands entirely.
And gifts were merely the first step in testing the other party's bottom line and value.
Outside the window, Tokyo's fog seemed to thicken, with muffled thunder faintly rumbling from the direction of the distant bay.
The storm is coming; the wind has already filled the tower.
And the island nation's SSS-Rank Hunter was patiently waiting for all the prey to walk into the trap she had set...