Chapter 450: The Possibility of Human Guilt |
On May 4th, the Human Consortium released its latest statement, announcing multiple upcoming plans.
First, learning from the just-concluded Eighteenth Rule, member states were instructed to stockpile ample food and drinking water using diverse methods to avoid similar restrictions in the future.
Second, the space migration plan would restart.
Since the astronauts previously killed on Terra had been affected by "Scarlet Fear," and now that the fear had dissipated, this important seed project should also be relaunched.
But as a precaution, rockets and spacecraft launched afterward would first carry a batch of intelligent space robots. These pre-programmed robots would first build a survival base on Terra. Only after confirming no threats existed would manned rockets be launched.
Additionally, a new large-scale plan was initiated — the "Super City" project.
Led by six nations, including Lury, the plan aimed to build a super-tech city capable of housing fifty million people. The city's construction philosophy was to resist and prevent Doomsday Rule damage, so its design logic would be entirely different from ordinary cities.
For this project, Suroma, Beixing, and the Xisiya Empire would provide a certain degree of technical or resource assistance. Currently, tasks like city location selection were underway. With the help of AI, robots, and even Mind Power abilities and items, construction was expected to be completed within a year.
The statement finally mentioned the "Plastic-Activated Success" group. Suroma publicly announced that, based on preventive considerations, it would implant electronic positioning chips in members of this group within its territory. The other eight nations declared they had no such plans for now.
"Building a super city?? Isn't that a waste of precious resources and time... Aren't you afraid another large-scale environmental destruction rule like the earthquake will come and destroy it?"
"Why spend precious resources on something like this? What everyone really cares about is digital memory backup technology!"
"Exactly. It's been months since we got the key technology from that alien intelligence, but no relevant department has updated us on the progress. I'm still hoping to back up my memories, so if some rule destroys my body in the future, I can just go straight to mechanical ascension!"
"That last statement was the most explosive. As expected of Suroma, implanting electronic chips..."
"I think Suroma is right to do this. It's not cold-hearted, it's rational. Who knows what those people will become in the end?"
"Right. Other countries should implant them too, just in case. If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear. As long as they don't harm normal people, this chip will never be used."
"Strongly oppose!!! This is deliberately creating division among humanity. Is the Suroma Senate full of moles? Isn't this exactly what the Fire Thief wants to see!"
"Am I the only one more focused on the space migration plan... Sending space robots to build a migration base is pretty good. Once it's done, we can just move in directly."
Regarding the Human Consortium's statement, people had their own opinions.
But no one could easily convince dissenters, especially the decision to implant electronic chips in Plastic-Activated individuals. Even though there was considerable opposition online, it wouldn't change Suroma's decision.
This was related to numbers. Worldwide, there were only about four million Plastic-Activated people total. Even if they all vehemently opposed and created a loud noise, they couldn't compete with the silent majority of billions.
If parasites didn't exist, perhaps many normal people would stand up to support them. But the existence of parasites made most normal people inevitably worried, thus silently supporting the electronic chip matter.
Even some Plastic-Activated individuals spoke out in support.
Because implanting a positioning chip now was still acceptable — as long as they didn't cause trouble or commit crimes, it wouldn't affect daily life. If they were too aggressive, they would undoubtedly face stronger targeted measures.
Mind Power Development Academy.
Outside the gate, Guan Tong sat on a long bench, waiting for Shi Jingyi to finish her class and come out.
The two had agreed to meet today to catch up on recent developments.
They hadn't been in contact at all during the last rule period because they both knew the other was safe.
Guan Tong had the shelter, isolated from the outside world, to live in, while Shi Jingyi at the academy received the highest priority clean food and water supplies from the authorities — nothing to worry about.
Bored with waiting, he took out his phone.
Soon, Shi Jingyi's figure appeared. Spotting Guan Tong, she walked over and asked, "Reading the news?"
"No." Guan Tong stood up, showing her the screen. It displayed the Doomsday Rules White Paper, continuously updated by the Countermeasures Research Office, currently stopped on a line of text: "Star Sea Court."
"That was mentioned in the notes of the last rule," Shi Jingyi said.
"Yeah. I'm wondering if the Fire Thief could be a member of this court?"
Guan Tong was very concerned about this "Star Sea Court." Since his goal was to uncover the truth, he didn't want to let any detail slip.
"I've heard some students discussing it. They said if such a court really exists, it should sentence the Fire Thief to death for causing the greatest disaster in human history in terms of casualties."
They walked and talked.
Guan Tong nodded at this. "From our human perspective, that's true."
Before the Fire Thief's arrival, Tianshui Star's population exceeded ten billion. Now, two years and one month later, only less than eight hundred million remained.
This rate of reduction was utterly despairing. No wonder so many pessimists believed humanity was doomed to extinction, that their current struggles were futile.
"Is there another perspective?" Shi Jingyi asked.
"I was thinking..." Guan Tong hesitated, "If the Star Sea Court exists and our planet falls under its jurisdiction, could it be possible that we are the criminals being sentenced? And the Fire Thief descended as some kind of executioner?"
Previously, Cultists from the Fire Thief Worship Cult often preached worldwide, claiming the Fire Thief came as a god to punish humanity, representing justice, and that humans should accept it. Back then, few believed this.
But after the "Star Sea Court" appeared in the rule notes, many people started having strange thoughts. Guan Tong was certainly not the only one with this speculation.
However, this kind of talk wasn't suitable for public discussion — it was easy to get labeled a Cultist. And Guan Tong himself wasn't fond of posting online, so he preferred to discuss such thoughts with Shi Jingyi.
"It's possible."
Shi Jingyi wasn't surprised or upset by Guan Tong's speculation. Instead, she smiled and said, "But even if we're to be judged, shouldn't they at least tell us what crime we've committed?"
Guan Tong was stunned, then laughed along. "Fair point."
Even a death row inmate has the right to appeal, let alone all of humanity.
"If we follow your speculation, I think the 'crime' might be related to producing pollutants," Shi Jingyi said. "Didn't the rule notes mention plastic ranks very high on the pollutant list, above radiation clouds? Maybe in cosmic civilization, producing plastic items is a serious crime."
"...I'm not so sure. Otherwise, the Fire Thief wouldn't have used 'Plastic-Activation' to alter human physiology, enabling biodegradation through digesting plastic."
Shi Jingyi thought for a moment. "That's true too. What the truth really is — it's certainly intriguing. Your 'Trace Origin Travel Troupe' was established for this very purpose. We'll have to rely on your efforts."
"Right. And recently, Black Star and White Star's younger brother woke up. Also..."
Guan Tong told Shi Jingyi about Aaron and even Adam.
Although she hadn't asked, he always felt an extra urge to share when he was with Shi Jingyi.
After learning about Suroma's Eden Project, Shi Jingyi was also very puzzled. "If they've been cultivating since the beginning of the Doomsday Rules, the oldest baby would only be a little over one year old today. What can a child that age possibly do?"
"I can't figure it out either," Guan Tong said. "Even if the Suroma King and Senate are preparing for the Doomsday Operations after the forty-nine rules end, it's simply not enough time."
A one-year-old child now would still be under five years old three years later. Even if this child truly had god-level talent, how mature could their mind be at less than five?
Having a child with an undeveloped mind serve as humanity's leader — no matter how you looked at it, this plan was absurd.
"But Guan Tong, you need to be careful yourself," Shi Jingyi said. "From the fact that Suroma had mecha weapons ready to deal with Adam and the others, it's clear their higher-ups won't hesitate to eliminate any threat. If they know you saved Adam... no."
Shi Jingyi shook her head. "Even if you didn't save Adam, they must have already regarded you as a threat, despite you having helped them and saved many Suroman lives."
"I understand. I've always been on guard against these people."
The existence of "Shadow" was itself a threat. Guan Tong was all too aware of this.
If Suroma's higher-ups were this wary of their own official Ascendants, how much more so toward Ascendants from other nations?
It was very possible that those who developed the red mecha were also working on a mecha specifically designed to counter his "Shadow" ability. That's why he had never accepted any olive branch from Suroma, and his earlier rescues weren't for Suroma's higher-ups either.
As they talked, the two arrived at Shi Jingyi's residence. The small courtyard was as peaceful and tranquil as ever.
"Unlike your colorful life, my days here are quite dull," Shi Jingyi said, pouring Guan Tong a cup of green tea. "Every day, just teaching and training."
Guan Tong took a sip. A faint fragrance spread through his mouth.
"Ordinary is true happiness. Actually, I miss living on Mingdao Mountain, but before everything is over, it's hard to live that kind of life again."
Shi Jingyi sat beside him, teacup in hand, smiling warmly as she watched him. "If you're tired, take a rest. You have so many good friends supporting you — it's okay to lean on them sometimes."
Hearing this, Guan Tong looked at Shi Jingyi's gentle smile and felt a stir in his heart. Whether it was because of the warm green tea, he felt a wave of warmth spread through his entire body.
"I will."
...
[Name: Guan Tong]
[Nickname: Shadow]
[Title: Intermediate Civilization Observer]
[Mind Power: 1198 (1198) (261250)]
[Ascension Coins: 10,120,170]
[Overall Biometric Rating: Perfect]
In the shelter, Guan Tong looked at his panel data and nodded slightly.
His Mind Power upper limit was currently steadily increasing by 3 points per day. Tomorrow, it would break through 1200 points — this number was unmatched worldwide.
As for reserve Mind Power, he had two channels for acquisition: purchasing at 20% off from the Beixing Countermeasures Research Office, and buying from the underground market in Xisiya through Black Star.
Combined, these two channels provided him with a stable total of about 200,000 points of flowable Mind Power daily. After conversion, that added 40,000 points of reserve per day.
This number was high, but far from the limit.
If the Countermeasures Research Office were willing to give full support, Guan Tong could collect even more... but both sides were intentionally controlling the quantity.
Guan Tong knew that if he bought too much, even if Research Office head Gao Liangwei trusted him, he would still feel uneasy. To avoid mutual suspicion, Guan Tong was willing to slow down.
Meanwhile, his daily expenditure of Ascension Coins was also around 200,000. Actually, at the Countermeasures Research Office's 20% discount, it wouldn't cost this much. But part of the coins weren't used for purchasing Mind Power — they went to intelligence gathering.
All the world's hustle and bustle is for profit; all the world's comings and goings are for gain.
Uenoshi had gone to Sakura Prayer Country to gather her former juniors and build a Sakura Prayer intelligence network from scratch. How could that operate without Ascension Coins?
With a high daily expenditure of 200,000, Guan Tong still had over 100,000 Ascension Coins remaining. Besides what he earned from selling Hidden Rules, several of his compensations had arrived in installments.
There were three total compensations.
One was for when his Beixing team, led by him, had stopped the Cultist-parasite mixed convoy attack. Without the precious time they bought, that Suroma city of one million people would likely have been destroyed — the consequences unthinkable.
Setting everything else aside, just saving one million Suromans alone meant that even the Suroma authorities, reluctant as they were, had to pay a seven-figure reward.
One was for Guan Tong himself riding a rocket into space to explore the source of Scarlet Fear. This mission was extremely dangerous, so upon success, he received another massive payment from all member states of the Human Consortium.
The last was for the previous rule period, when he supplied the Beixing authorities with large amounts of clean drinking water daily, meeting the supply needs of over ten shelters. Although he hadn't planned to accept payment, Gao Liangwei had allocated funds anyway, claiming it was official business.
These three compensations totaled millions of Ascension Coins... Although at Guan Tong's current consumption rate of 200,000 per day, they wouldn't last a month, it was still better than nothing.
After closing the panel, he took out a bottle of potion from his Storage Box — something he had pulled from it after the rule ended.
[Truth Serum]: After the target consumes this, if their Mind Power upper limit is lower than the holder's, they will answer any question asked for 3 minutes. This item can be traded.
Without a doubt, this was an itemized truth serum.
Guan Tong had drawn it a few days ago. After his initial surprise, he had been thinking about where to use it and on whom.
"Counting my enemies, quite a few of them are carrying secrets... Han Qiu definitely counts. That guy probably has information on all the remaining Qingmei Society members. The Fire Thief Worship Cult's Your Holiness, even the parasite leader — if they're human, it could be used on them too. There must be some secret as to why a human was chosen by the spores to be the parasite leader..."
Guan Tong even felt one bottle wasn't enough. He wished he had a few more.
After thinking it over, he put the potion away. "Forget it. All these enemies are currently missing. I'll use it on whoever I find first."
"As for the remaining time in the Interval Period... Zhang Minglu said Chen Na and Silver Fox would be back in a few days. I can meet them then. The rest of the time, I'll devote entirely to improving myself and preparing for the next Doomsday Rule."
Even with a Mind Power upper limit far ahead of everyone else and 100,000 Ascension Coins in hand, Guan Tong wouldn't become complacent. Adam, still lying in a hospital bed with a broken body and unconscious, was a living example — even if you're a top-tier powerhouse, when facing the targeted might of a superpower like Suroma, you remain extremely dangerous!