Chapter 247: Seventy-six, you can only be loyal to me_2

Gerard gazed directly at Oliver, “Isn’t that the case?”

As he uttered these words, Gerard noticed a sinister smile briefly surface on Oliver’s lips as if he had been waiting for the conversation to arrive at this very point.

But that smile was fleeting, and soon Oliver resumed his indifferent demeanor.

Aside from Gerard, no one noticed that smile.

This made Gerard feel somewhat uneasy.

“Yes, it seems so,” Oliver turned around and slowly walked back to his seat, “to the Creator, to our god, I must seem unfeeling and overly cruel, right?”

He stopped in front of his seat, then turned back, sweeping his gaze over all those who were attending the meeting, and finally rested it on Gerard’s face.

“But, is our Lord, our Lyra God, really the benevolent father you speak of?”

Gerard blinked in mild surprise.

“Is everything He does truly for our protection?”

Oliver slowly raised his metallic prosthetic limb, his voice growing louder.

“People of Lyra, look at our bodies.”

“Look at your own selves, the bodies beneath these mechanical limbs.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Oliver’s raised prosthetic limb.

“Look, such a perfect creation. It can do so many things; with it, we are the people of Lyra, the most advanced citizens in the world.” Oliver said with a smile, then suddenly exerted force, wrenching the prosthetic limb off. Before people could react, they saw the gruesome muscles at the stump of his arm, torn and bloody from the force, a sight that made hearts quail, “But without it, what are we?”

His blood dripped onto the platform, a shocking sight.

“Heh, without these prosthetics, what are we?” he said softly, “Disabled, people with incomplete limbs, those who can’t hold a knife and fork to eat, who must use a cane to walk.”

“But when did it start?”

“People of Lyra are the disabled with prosthetic limbs.”

“Why do we take pride in having prosthetics and shame in our flesh and blood?”

“Why do our children clamor for newer, better limbs before they are even of age?”

“None of our adults have many parts of their own.”

“Our elders cannot take a complete body to their graves when they die.”

“Why is it like this?”

Oliver’s gaze shifted downward again, continuing to meet Gerard’s eyes.

“Can you tell me? Gerard, who made us so dependent on machines that we would discard our own flesh and blood to embrace the cold metal?”

“Who planted one shackle after another in our minds, that even as we possess such strength, we cannot act against its source?”

“After using these things, the people of Lyra can only be people of Lyra; once they leave Lyra City, with the machines inoperative, we are helpless disabled individuals.”

Oliver’s tone turned increasingly icy.

“Answer me, Gerard.”

“Has He truly sheltered the people of Lyra, or has He imprisoned them?”

“Are we truly His people, or the miscreant beasts He breeds?”

“Gerard, have you ever thought, if one day He abandons us, then across the entire city… there would be millions of disabled individuals.”

At that moment, the entire council hall… no, the entire Lyra City fell deathly silent.

People stared blankly at Oliver, then blankly at their own mechanical limbs.

They had never before considered such a problem, but now, as if awoken suddenly by Oliver, an indescribable fear surged in their eyes.

Even Gerard found himself at a loss for words, just staring at Oliver, the momentum of his earlier queries gone.

This oppressive silence lasted for almost an entire minute.

Finally, a trembling participant whispered lowly, “Then… kill Lyra.”

His words were like a spark falling into kerosene.

In an instant, flames of anger and fear blazed high.

All participants stood up, their fists raised, shouting.

“Yes, kill Lyra!”

“Kill Lyra! Kill Lyra!”

“Kill Lyra!”

The participants’ voices spread outside the meeting, similarly igniting the spark there.

The whole of Lyra City was shouting “kill Lyra” with furious voices!

And Oliver walked down from the stage amidst these roaring waves, approaching Gerard once again.

Even though they were of similar height, Gerard felt as though Oliver was looking down on him.

“Do you understand now? Gerard,” Oliver said with a smile.

Gerard felt a raw pain in his throat. He looked at Oliver and asked in a low voice, “Is this your plan?”

The fire had been lit, and Oliver no longer needed to make his voice heard throughout the city, so he spoke just loud enough for Gerard to hear, “Yes, of course, the original plan was somewhat safer, but because of the trouble you caused me, I had to revise it continuously, acting ahead of schedule… Fortunately, it still went smoothly.”

With that, he stepped back once more, letting his voice reverberate throughout the whole city.