Chapter 462: The Third Day's Conversation (2) |
Since the disaster struck over two years ago, nearly half of the forty-nine Doomsday Rules had passed, yet humanity still knew little about the Fire Thief, the originator of it all.
If the "Dialoguer" had passed the test, it must have had contact with the Fire Thief.
After the Suroma delegation raised their question, the Dialoguer said, "This question is difficult to answer, because it is neither a pre-set running program nor a civilized intelligent being."
Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily bewildered. If it was neither, did there exist a third form of life?
Dialoguer: "You will have the opportunity to learn about it in the future. There's no need to rush."
The Suroma delegation observed that the Dialoguer's tone was very calm when mentioning the Fire Thief, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"It destroyed your civilization, didn't it?" one person in the delegation asked in a questioning tone, "Why is your attitude towards it..."
Judging from the expressions the Dialoguer had made—smiling, sadness, sympathy—it was capable of expressing emotions while using a human form.
Since it could express emotions, why was the most crucial "anger" missing?
This question caused the Dialoguer to fall silent, a rare occurrence, with complex glimmers flickering in its eyes.
After a moment, it said vaguely, "This question... you will understand on your own in the future."
Based on the previous two days of contact, humanity knew that whatever the Dialoguer didn't want to say was useless to press. Still, from its answer, it seemed to suggest that the Fire Thief's actions were not purely for destruction alone.
The Suroma delegation asked a critical question: "When the Fire Thief descended, it announced that passing all tests of the forty-nine Doomsday Rules would allow participation in the Doomsday Operations. Since you are a 'qualified one,' you must have participated. What is the 'Doomsday Operations'?"
This question was also widely concerned by the public. Few had mentioned it in the past because it felt too distant. But most people who had survived this far wanted to live to the end, so discussions about the Doomsday Operations had recently become more active.
Dialoguer: "Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to this question."
Suroma delegation: "You don't know? But you said you passed the test."
Dialoguer: "As I said earlier, each civilization faces different trials. This is not simply reflected in how that entity is addressed. What you call 'Doomsday Operations' might correspond to the 'Final Trial' our civilization was to undergo. But that trial has not yet begun, so I cannot give you an answer."
The Final Trial that had yet to begin—this statement made many people quite concerned.
Did that mean even after humanity passed all forty-nine Rule tests, the Doomsday Operations wouldn't start immediately?
Suroma delegation: "Then why were you able to become part of the Rules? Why did the Fire Thief agree to let you do this? How did you communicate between yourselves?"
Dialoguer: "These are all things that cannot be disclosed."
"..."
After a brief discussion among the Suroma delegation members, they shifted the topic away from the Fire Thief.
"You previously said that humans could use the power of 'belief' to accelerate the increase of their Mind Power upper limit. How exactly is that done? Does a person need to earn the unreserved trust of others?"
Dialoguer: "The power of faith is something humanity, as a social civilization, excels at. This question should be asked of yourselves."
Suroma delegation: "You mean your civilization is not the social type?"
Dialoguer: "Yes."
This answer made many people feel they had found an explanation for the earlier "attitude" problem.
As social animals, most humans place great importance on intimate relationships.
Family, friends, loved ones... When these close ones died under the ravages of the Doomsday Rules, survivors found it hard not to harbor a bone-deep hatred for the Fire Thief.
But if a civilization were not social, with each individual surviving alone, perhaps they wouldn't hate the Fire Thief as much as humans did. The problem, however, was how could a civilization of entirely solitary individuals be formed?
Humanity was very curious about what form the Dialoguer's civilization took, and what its true body looked like. But the Suroma delegation did not continue pressing these questions, knowing they wouldn't get answers.
"You also mentioned earlier that survival lies in reducing unnecessary friction, and those who implement this principle are the 'pioneers'," the Suroma delegation continued to dig deeper into the previous topic. "Does 'pioneer' refer to people who believe in this philosophy, or are there hard conditions, like reaching a certain level of Mind Power?"
Dialoguer: "Anyone who understands and implements this survival strategy can be called a pioneer. And pioneers usually possess powerful strength far beyond ordinary individuals."
One member of the Suroma delegation blurted out: "Is becoming a pioneer necessary for survival? No, let me rephrase. Based on your experience, did the Fire Thief set a 'quota for qualified individuals' for civilizations undergoing its test? How many individuals from your civilization survived?"
The moment this question was asked, countless people around the world held their breath.
Because it cut straight to the heart of this survival competition.
If there was a limit on how many people could pass the forty-nine Doomsday Rules, then once humanity knew it, the collective survival strategy—even if it didn't collapse instantly—would face heavy resistance in the future.
It was somewhat like college entrance exams. If the "Fire Thief University" only planned to admit 100 students on Tianshui Star, then no matter how hard anyone outside those 100 tried, they'd be fishing in a dry well.
But the difference was, if you couldn't get into this university, you could try another, repeat the exam, get a job, or work. Even if you were pushed off the narrow bridge with thousands of troops crossing it, there were many other options.
The "Fire Thief University" had no other options. As far as anyone could see, failure meant death. Faced with this survival pressure, 99.9% of the world's people would become rivals fighting to the death.
Dialoguer: "Yes."
The moment it spoke, countless people felt their hairs stand on end, a bone-chilling cold spreading through their bodies.
If there were limits on the number of spots to pass... then wouldn't the collective survival strategy be...
Dialoguer: "But how many spots your civilization has, I do not know."
"What about yours? How many from your civilization survived!" The Suroma delegation's questioner spoke with anxious impatience, eager to hear a number that could bring humanity some comfort.
Dialoguer: "I don't know. I haven't seen any other individuals from my civilization. Perhaps there was only one spot for our civilization, or perhaps there were many. But the 'Divine Oracle' did not place us together."
Silence fell over the scene.
The Suroma delegation stopped questioning. This topic was spiraling out of control.
Everyone's gaze at each other turned somewhat strange.
The answer the Dialoguer had given was so terrifying that many people felt their throats dry and hearts pounding.
If there was only one spot, then everyone was in competition with each other!
If there wasn't just one spot... humanity would still fall into a dilemma. Even if only two people were left on the entire planet, when they looked at each other, they might think, "What if there's only one spot?"
This would completely destroy trust between people, forcing everyone to constantly guard against backstabbing.
Inside the Countermeasures Research Office of Beixing, someone exclaimed, "This can't be true! It's lying to us! If humanity believes its words and abandons trust, turning on each other, the resulting tragedy will surpass all previous Doomsday Rules combined!"
"Whether it's true or false, we must treat it as a lie! Otherwise..."
Before he could finish, Gao Liangwei shot him a stern look.
"Whether it's true or false? It must be false."
"Yes... I understand, Director."
At the same time, the conversation between the Suroma delegation and the Dialoguer was continuously interrupted, apparently because the delegation had received an urgent order from Suroma forbidding further exchanges.
It made sense—even a country like Suroma, which openly deployed massive numbers of intelligent robots to replace human labor, couldn't completely detach itself from its citizens at this stage.
If the conversation continued, this topic would only cause greater repercussions.
The person who had asked that question was now being looked at by other members of the delegation with expressions far from kind.
This scene was broadcast through countless screens. When Guan Tong saw it, he recalled part of the note in the Hidden Rule: What are the consequences of saying the wrong thing in front of the whole world?
It was easy to imagine—the questioner would have a hard time in the days ahead.
Even if the delegation had discussed this question beforehand, as the one who actually asked it, he would still face extra targeting. And judging from the shocked expressions of the other delegation members, the question about "spots" didn't seem to be part of the planned questioning.
In other words, this question might have been something the questioner asked on impulse.
An impulse that was no small matter—it had directly plunged humanity into a prisoner's dilemma. In many people's eyes, this was an unforgivable sin.
Because even if what the Dialoguer said was true, objectively speaking, this information wasn't good for humanity. Besides promoting internal strife, it had no other benefits.
It was like being trapped in an iron house while the lights were out, and someone started shouting, waking up everyone sleeping inside. Would those people thank that person? Most wouldn't, because they could have died in their sleep, but now they had to wake up and face their cruel fate.
Unless the people inside could tear down the iron house. Unless humanity could defeat the Fire Thief with its own strength... Could that be done?
Guan Tong didn't harbor any resentment toward that questioner, because he believed people could tear down the iron house.
On the level of the Rules, humanity had thwarted the Fire Thief before. The most recent time was when Guan Tong used his title ability to devour the "Wailing Furnace," ending the Scarlet Fear that had been spreading over Terra a day early.
Where there was a first time, there could be a second. And if there was a second, who's to say there wouldn't be a third?
No matter what others thought, Guan Tong would never fall into excessive pessimism, let alone treat others as competitors for "passing spots" because of what the Dialoguer had said.
Meanwhile, in the Suroma Empire's Senate, the Senators had already begun cursing.
"Who allowed that beast to ask such a question? That question wasn't on the list!"
"The moment that question was asked, it became a problem. Whether the Dialoguer answered or not, it would cause an impact."
"The decision-makers of all Human Consortium nations need to communicate immediately. We must unify our stance and deny the Dialoguer's claim."
As the Senators spoke, they unconsciously looked at King Bruce.
Bruce hadn't said a word. Every Senator's gaze carried an unspoken meaning.
The Suroma delegation had been continuously inquiring about the technical details of "memory digitization" during the conversation, asking dozens of questions—all prepared by Bruce.
Was His Majesty, the King, in such a hurry to advance this technology because he wanted to apply it to himself as soon as the experiments succeeded? That way, after securely backing up his memories, as long as there were enough storage devices scattered across the country—even in uninhabited areas worldwide—he would essentially achieve a form of "immortality."
If there really was only one passing spot, who could have a greater advantage than an "immortal" person?
The Senators' gaze—Bruce saw it clearly.
He still didn't speak, only furrowed his brow deeper.
...
In the church of Lianluo'an City, the scene unfolding in the conversation was also taken in by His Holiness and others.
Unlike the atmosphere of fear and tension that pervaded the scene, the people here appeared relatively relaxed.
After the Suroma delegation stopped communicating, Han Qiu spoke up: "Looks like the Senate got scared too, not daring to let the delegation continue. No wonder—if there really is only one passing spot, it sure as hell wouldn't go to them. These people used to having privileges must be furious, throwing a fit right about now."
His Holiness asked, "You don't seem to share that concern?"
Han Qiu shrugged: "I just don't think the Dialoguer is trustworthy, so I won't take its words too seriously. What do you think, Prophet? Didn't those 'voices' tell you anything? After all, humans are hosts to the alien spores. If the hosts all die, can those spores still exist?"
The Prophet paid no attention to the sarcasm in Han Qiu's words, only said lightly, "Everything will unfold as planned."
"This information works in our favor," His Holiness said. "If citizens of Human Consortium nations start fighting among themselves, it will help us implement our plan."
"Internal strife, huh..." Han Qiu nodded. "I figure that as soon as this Rule ends, the Human Consortium will immediately issue a statement labeling the Dialoguer's information as false to calm the masses. Otherwise, if the public can only focus on the passing spot and refuse to cooperate or produce, things will go badly."
Hearing this, Scarface, who had been standing aside with arms crossed, sneered: "Hmph, how naively laughable... What, they think the masses won't cooperate and they can't do anything about it?" His sneer carried a trace of contempt. "In the Three Beasts Army, anyone who dares disobey gets starved for three days, thrown into a bear's den. There are plenty of ways to handle them. Even if there's only one spot, do you want to die now or die later?"
Han Qiu said, "That's a fair point. Compared to an uncertain future threat, survival in the present is more important. People live in the present, not the future. But for the official level to resort to violence to coerce people into doing things—that's ultimately a last resort when there are no other options."
Scarface looked disdainful: "What weak-minded thinking. No matter what means are used, I only care about results."
Han Qiu smiled: "Fear, benefit, ideals—three paths of governance. The further forward you go, the weaker the drive that a single choice provides for people. And without sufficient subjective initiative, getting a good result isn't easy."