"A new era?"
In the VIP room, a deep, hoarse voice suddenly pierced the brief silence. From the corner shadows, the griffon-masked man, who had remained silent since his first attempt to acquire Tendo, slowly rose. He looked directly at the Doctor and said, "Doctor, you seem to have forgotten to explain a very crucial question."
The griffon man leaned on his cane, his mechanical left leg tapping a rhythmic sound on the ground as he walked heavily towards the central holographic projection. He stopped in front of Tendo's three-dimensional image and suddenly reached out, passing his hand through the projection.
"The question is, this so-called perfect creation you speak of, is he truly controllable?"
"After all, I don't believe a powerful Star Emissary would willingly become a tool for others' dreams, do you?"
The griffon man's hand abruptly exerted force. Instantly, Tendo's three-dimensional image in the holographic projection shattered like a bubble before everyone's eyes. It was as if the Doctor's so-called perfect creation, the so-called new era, was nothing but his unrealistic fantasy. After all, the griffon man himself was a powerful Star Emissary. Thus, he understood perfectly what Star Emissaries thought. Not to mention a peerless genius like Tendo, whose future was clearly limitless.
And geniuses are always proud. They can be utilized, constrained, but absolutely never caged to be merely observed or commanded.
Facing the griffon man's skepticism, the Doctor seemed to have anticipated it, his expression towards the other party filled with meaning. "Esteemed guest, you seem to have misunderstood something."
"Oh?" The griffon man looked at the Doctor curiously, seemingly puzzled as to what he had misunderstood.
"I said from the very beginning that Tendo is our designated leader."
"Control?" The Doctor shook his head. "We never intended to control Tendo; he just needs to be himself."
"Even if such a decision might lead to our destruction, even if such a situation truly arises, we believe he will lead the reborn Embers to an entirely new height and realize the dreams of us old folks in a brand new way."
The Doctor's answer surprised the griffon man. He seriously observed the Doctor for a long time, finally letting out a sigh. "Understood. It seems you people have thought of everything and are willing to bear the worst possible outcome."
"In that case, I have no further questions."
The griffon man sat back down, waiting for the Doctor to continue introducing the specific details of the Stars Project. After all, they were willing to risk being hunted by the 'Star Emissary Association' to come to Embers today precisely because they saw immense value in the Stars Project. While Tendo, this Child of the Stars, was undeniably powerful, it was hard to say whether Tendo's strength was due to the Stars Project or his own inherent abilities. Therefore, more than this, they were curious about how the other Children of the Stars performed.
There was no need for them to reach Tendo's level. Even a tenth of Tendo's prowess would undoubtedly mean the project was successful and highly valuable for investment.
The Doctor clearly knew this. He pressed the control panel in front of him, bringing up information on another Child of the Stars. On the screen, a brown-haired, red-eyed girl was engaged in a fierce battle with three Star Beasts. The blood-red long blade in her hand was like a living entity, greedily drinking the enemies' blood. Although her combat wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as Tendo's, an eleven-year-old child being able to simultaneously confront three Star Beasts was undoubtedly an astonishing achievement.
"Child of the Stars, Sequence 002, Chen Xing. Natural Type: Bloodflame Beast. Star Core compatibility: 99%."
"And like Tendo, she has not yet acquired any Star Origin."
Unlike the lengthy introduction for Tendo, the Doctor merely showed Chen Xing's information briefly before moving on to other Children of the Stars.
"Child of the Stars, Sequence 003, Jing Liuli. Trait Type: Mirror Flower Butterfly. Star Core compatibility: 92%."
"Child of the Stars, Sequence 004, Caroline. Mech Type: Heavenly Mechanism Nekomata. Star Core compatibility: 90%."
"Child of the Stars, Sequence 005..."
...
"Child of the Stars, Sequence 036, Chen Kong. Trait Type: Black Star. Star Core compatibility: Unknown."
With each introduction of a Child of the Stars, the Doctor would include a segment of their combat footage. However, when he finally introduced Chen Kong, everyone noticed that he not only lacked combat footage, but his information was also extremely brief.
Looking at Chen Kong's meager data, the noblewoman with the canary mask asked curiously, "Doctor, why is the information for this last Child of the Stars so scarce, and why is his Star Core compatibility listed as 'unknown'?"
The Doctor pondered for a moment, then gave an ambiguous answer. "That's because we cannot confirm whether he truly completed the Star Core surgery."
"Ah?"
The canary noblewoman looked at the Doctor in surprise. After all, according to the information she received from Embers upon her arrival, the so-called Star Core surgery was, without exaggeration, a matter of life and death. Since Chen Kong was alive, it should mean his Star Core surgery was successful. How could there be an uncertain Child of the Stars? Or perhaps this child was special, which was why the Doctor intentionally didn't list his complete information?
Everyone present was a shrewd individual. Although the Doctor hadn't provided much information about Chen Kong, they still kept his name in mind and looked forward to his performance later. After all, the so-called final assessment was about to begin. At that time, whether Chen Kong was truly an anomaly among the Children of the Stars with an uncertain surgical outcome, as the Doctor claimed, or a secret weapon intentionally concealed by Embers, would all be revealed during the final assessment.
After all, battle reports can lie, but battle lines cannot. The true situation regarding Chen Kong would be proven in real combat.
"Alright everyone, the venue for the final assessment has been arranged. Please follow me."
Hearing the Doctor's words, everyone stood up and followed him towards a certain area within the base.
Meanwhile, a cold, mechanical female voice suddenly resonated from the training ground's loudspeaker. "The final assessment is about to begin. All trainees, please proceed to the central examination area."
As the broadcast ended, a metal door leading underground slowly opened. Looking at the deep, seemingly all-consuming underground passage, Chen Kong's heart instantly tightened, and he shivered involuntarily. He was clearly very afraid of this so-called final assessment.
"Nervous?"
Just then, a warm hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. Chen Kong turned his head to find that Tendo had somehow appeared beside him.
"Remember, when you feel you're at a dead end, ask yourself why you're still alive."
With that, Tendo turned and shouted to Caroline, who was not far away, "Let's go, Caroline."
"Mhm."
Tendo led the way, taking Caroline past the others and being the first to walk into the deep underground passage. Seeing this, Chen Xing snorted coldly and also walked in. The others, seeing this, immediately followed in their footsteps.
Chen Kong watched Tendo's gradually receding back, Tendo's recent words echoing in his mind.
Why... am I still alive?
Chen Kong didn't know the answer to this question yet. But he had a feeling that perhaps this final assessment would provide him with that answer. Thinking this, Chen Kong no longer hesitated and entered the underground passage with the crowd...