Chapter 665: Brainwashing: Skillful Manipulation Of Facts

"A letter?"

"Yes. A member of the City Council once entered a Gate to find a message announcing their imminent arrival, and that wasn't the only thing he found!"

After igniting the listeners' greed and making them abhor the alternative came the final step.

"As the lucky person to have received the message, said City Council member received a sliver of their power through the faint connection that was established."

"Oh? Which councilman received these miraculous powers?"

"Well now, such information is naturally hidden for the sake of the councilmen's safety. However, it's very easy for the common man to get a grasp of the scope of that power."

All that was left was to solidify the content of this whole unbelievable story by setting an actual real-life example!

"How so?"

"This is exclusive news, but when do you think this actually happened?"

"A year ago? Come on, with things finally getting interesting, are you really going to keep me guessing?"

"Spoiler alert: the councilman's little mystery adventure happened just a few months before the establishment of Enigma City."

"You can't possibly mean…"

"I mean exactly that. Wasn't everyone back then curious how a precarious project like the creation of Enigma City was approved and brought to reality ever so quickly?"

"No way!"

"Yes way. It was all thanks to our lucky councilman utilizing his new powers to make it happen. In fact, without the Ascended Beings' help, Enigma City might have never come to exist, remaining a dream on a piece of paper."

And just like that, every grateful citizen in Enigma City was forced to have feelings of goodwill towards the unknown beings that were about to descend.

After all, this could no longer be a made-up story. Otherwise, the City Council would have immediately renounced this expert for attributing their efforts to merely being the extension of some entity's favor.

Without the establishment of Enigma City, all synonyms of order on this Earth might have been completely extinguished.

At this point, these visitors were truly the benefactors of all of humanity!

"This really feels hard to believe, but it's even harder to doubt the councilmen's words, especially on this matter. It's just that I don't understand why Aurora would refuse to listen to the City Council's instructions when it would only mean good for everyone."

Such a question was meant to invoke the possibility that Aurora didn't err; perhaps something was indeed wrong. However…

"Vanity, maybe. I'm not sure. Perhaps all her heroic actions were just a facade to quench her hunger for renown and validation, basking in the afterglow of her own good deeds."

Depending on the answer, that very concept of doubt would turn into mere contempt.

"If she felt threatened by the visitors' promise to make our world a better place, then it's possible she chose to sabotage this matter in an attempt to keep the problems that only she could solve for as long as possible."

'Shameless.'

Naturally, this was a faulty accusation.

If one were to look at it objectively. Aurora had always been the one preaching to solve these problems from the root; this directly contradicted the assumption that she wanted the problematic Gates to stay.

Unfortunately, with the build-up that this discussion has had, any normal listener would have been semi-brainwashed to accept everything the expert had to say.

Moreover…

"At the very least, the one to solve the problem from the roots, as she claimed to be attempting to, must be her. That way, even after humanity enters an era of prosperity, she could guarantee getting her daily fix of acclaim."

When even the one line of thought that intelligent viewers would consider was being debunked, only the Aurora fanatics would be able to find an excuse to tell themselves that she was innocent.

"If that's true, then the Hero of Light is no different from a self-righteous monster, one that we created from our over-enthusiasm."

"Indeed, but there is no need to feel bad about it. Even the City Council was willing to believe that she was actually altruistic, so everyone had been equally deceived."

"That's a shame. In any case, how bad is Aurora's screw-up going to affect the upcoming visit?"

That was the real turning point in the discussion.

The news reporter who had been acting as an Aurora supporter and a disbeliever of the expert's claims now acted as if he accepted everything from the start.

There was nothing more that they needed to prove.

"Fortunately, the aftereffects of her transgressions aren't too bad. The menacing timer in the sky was meant to be in bright cheerful color, but thanks to her designating our visitors as invaders, it's inscribed with blood-red numbers, spreading anxiety worldwide."

"Sheesh, it really is unsettling, but is that really the extent of the problem?"

"That's only thanks to the councilmen being intent on stepping forward to mend the broken bridges and ensuring that none of the visitors' wrath would end up befalling us."

"That's good to hear. You are sure we would be safe, right?"

"Absolutely. Again, warnings and alarms might end up flaring when the time comes, but that's only the result of Aurora's sabotage. There is no need to be anxious. In our case, these alarms are only meant to be a cause for celebration!"

"Well said! With a future as bright as this, one rogue Ability User's wrongdoing shouldn't ruin our good mood."

"You couldn't be more right. Rejoice, for we are mere hours away from Earth's greatest day."

"You heard him, everyone! Rejoice!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

In a fit of frenzy, cheerful claps exploded all over the studio, almost jumping out from the large television screen, creating tension in an already tense room.

"Finally, is there anything more you want to say before we wrap this up?"

"One last thing. If anyone catches sight of Aurora, make sure to inform the authorities; it would certainly please our visitors if we hand them the one that attempted to sabotage their descent."

"You heard him, folks. If you see the fake Hero anywhere, make sure to call the numbers appearing on the screen, and see you next time!"

As the news report came to a conclusion, silence ensued, broken only by the protagonist's inquiry.

"You knew?"