Chapter 463: The Final Conversation and Statement |
The communication breakdown lasted until just a few minutes before the rule ended.
Many people were afraid—afraid of the answers to their questions, even afraid to ask questions at all.
Because the person who had asked a question earlier had now become isolated, and the crowd's looks toward him were anything but friendly.
At this point, the Human Consortium was less concerned about continuing the conversation with the "Dialoguer" and more focused on calming the public, ensuring that the masses weren't swayed by the "quota theory."
Once a large proportion of people believed that the passing quota was extremely small, that the vast majority wouldn't get it, and simply gave up altogether, it would severely disrupt the production and construction of every country.
Even if the official authorities still had the final trump card of "forced coercion," the cost of using it was too high, and it could easily backfire if mishandled. So it wouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary.
As the rule's time was about to end, Kalinga, the writer from the Xisiya delegation who hadn't yet left, walked over to the Suroma delegation and discussed with them that he wanted to ask one more question.
The Suroma delegation was quite surprised, not knowing what Kalinga wanted to ask. To be safe, they first asked what the question was, then reported it to the Senate.
They had assumed the Senate wouldn't approve it, but to their surprise, the reply came back as permitted.
Dialoguer: "In another three minutes, I'll be leaving. It seems you humans want to ask one last question."
"Yes." Kalinga's expression was solemn. He first asked a confirmatory question.
"From the series of conversations you've had with us humans, whether it's about so-called friction reduction or individual awakening... it all indicates that you support and hope that humans will shift from collective survival strategies to individual survival strategies. Individualism is what you advocate, and you don't deny that, do you?"
Dialoguer: "I don't deny it."
Kalinga took a deep breath, and under the gaze of everyone present, he word by word asked the final question he was representing humanity with.
"If you are an individualist, then you should only care about yourself. Why would you go to the trouble of debating and trying to persuade us humans? How do you explain the inconsistency between your words and actions?"
After this question was raised, the viewers' hearts collectively jolted, and they admired the writer's sharp logical observation.
Yeah, why would a person who follows individualism care so much about others' fates? Shouldn't they just mind their own business?
An individualist's competition target was never the collective, but other individualists. Under these circumstances, why would a true individualist go out of their way to persuade and exhaust themselves just to create more competitors for themselves?
From this perspective, Kalinga's claim that the "Dialoguer" was inconsistent in word and action made perfect sense.
Hearing this question, the "Dialoguer" nodded slightly, paused for a moment, and then gave an unusually long answer.
"I didn't go to the trouble of persuading you; I'm just doing what I want to do. Individualism means not living for others. A person who practices individualism might still sacrifice themselves for others, even give their life for others—but that is merely a personal choice.
If you are convinced by me, that is your own choice. If you are not convinced, it doesn't affect me continuing on this path. Collectivism equates a person's 'actions' with 'altruism,' but in the logic of individualism, action is just action, arising purely from personal interest and direction."
After the "Dialoguer" finished speaking, there was silence in the room.
Many people in front of their screens also fell into deep thought.
Logically speaking, the "Dialoguer's" answer was flawless.
Just as it said, some people who disdain collective action might still lend a hand when others are in trouble. They don't do it for others; they do it for themselves, because helping others gives them a strong sense of accomplishment.
It's just that...
People didn't know whether this was the "Dialoguer's" true thoughts or just a way of sophistry.
Dialoguer: "Does my answer convince you?"
Kalinga first nodded, then hesitated and shook his head: "I'm a writer, and I know how complex human nature can be. But I can't fully trust you—especially when I don't know what's underneath that human face you're wearing."
The "Dialoguer" smiled: "Realizing that the only one you can trust is yourself—that is the first step of individualism."
After the conversation ended, the remaining one minute of the rule quietly passed.
Before leaving, the "Dialoguer" left one last sentence.
"I look forward to meeting again with those who pass the test of human civilization. I hope that when that day comes, there will be no more 'national delegations.' Each of you will stand before me representing only yourself."
...
June 4th, 9:00 AM.
Guan Tong was sitting in front of the shelter playing fetch with Coal Ball, when the Fire Thief's notification sounded in his ears.
[Congratulations on passing the test of the 19th Doomsday Rule.]
[There is no reward for this rule.]
[In seven days, the 20th Doomsday Rule will be released.]
"It's over."
He threw the ball to Coal Ball, who nimbly jumped up, caught it in its mouth, and then dropped it back at Guan Tong's feet.
Guan Tong rubbed Coal Ball's thick fur, thinking to himself that it seemed to have gotten even bigger.
For a long time now, Coal Ball had been living freely in the valley, growing wilder and wilder. However, its intelligence seemed to have improved as well.
In the past, if anyone other than Guan Tong was nearby, Coal Ball would stay alert, occasionally baring its fangs. But now it seemed to understand that people like White Star and Black Star were Guan Tong's friends, and it no longer hissed or snarled when it saw them.
"Go play by yourself."
Guan Tong patted Coal Ball on the back, and with a meow, it darted into the forest and disappeared.
He returned to the second floor of the shelter and logged onto the Ascendant Home website.
After the rule ended, every screen returned to normal, and netizens who had been cooped up for days started posting in the Casual Chat section.
The current hot post was a reprint, where the original poster had copied over the official statement just released by the authorities.
Guan Tong clicked on it and saw that the content was pretty much what he had expected.
[Human Consortium: Statement of Position on the "Dialoguer's" Remarks]
Attention, all human compatriots.
The three-day-long 19th Doomsday Rule has ended, and the rule's entity, the "Dialoguer," has also disappeared. Using highly deceptive logic, this entity attempted to dismantle the collective beliefs that sustain human survival. In response, we hereby make the following three solemn declarations:
First, the history of human development has proven that collectivism is the correct path.
An individual who survives alone might last for days or weeks, but no isolated individual can face all the special rules on their own. History and tears have proven this: the only reason humanity was able to move from caves to civilization, to rise from the ruins time and again, is because of "us," not "me."
Second, collectivism and individualism are not contradictory. True collectivism safeguards the survival of every individual.
The "Dialoguer" deliberately confuses concepts and stigmatizes the collective, promoting nothing more than a repackaged "survival of the fittest" theory. Please ask yourselves: Are you the strong in its context? During the Blood Plague rule, who sent you protective equipment? When plastic became toxic, who prepared food and clean water for you? The collective it dismisses as a source of "friction" is your most reliable support in times of crisis.
Third, division means destruction.
The Fire Thief's purpose has always been to divide humanity, to make us suspicious of each other and fight alone. Consider this: once nations collapse and shelters are abolished, if survivors scatter into the wasteland, will they really survive better? No, humanity will only perish from infighting, or be picked off one by one by the Doomsday Rules. What happened during the [Nightmare Beasts] rule is a cautionary tale.
To this end, we make the following deployments and calls:
From this moment on, all shelters and gathering points must strengthen public defenses and resource allocation. Any behavior exploiting the "individual awakening theory" to incite division among the masses must be immediately reported to the relevant management personnel...
...
The statement was quite long, published right after the rule ended, clearly drafted during the rule period.
Most of the comments below were supportive. As the statement said, most people were not in the "strong" ecological niche that the "Dialoguer" was talking about.
How could a non-strong individual face the reality of not being strong while advocating for "individual awakening"?
And even those in the strong ecological niche didn't all buy into the "Dialoguer's" rhetoric.
Guan Tong himself didn't believe it.
If things were actually implemented according to the "Dialoguer's" logic, with only a little over 700 million people left in the world, without even needing the Doomsday Rules, a civil war alone would wipe out more than half of them.
Once the few remaining national systems collapsed, various large-scale complex industries were destroyed, and technological knowledge was lost, human society would have truly entered the wasteland era.
And how many of those so-called strong would actually want to live in a wasteland era?
Sometimes, even bad order is better than no order. It's like throwing all the world's criminals onto an island—after the initial chaos, the criminals would establish a stable order on that island, maybe even form a new country.
Guan Tong scrolled through the replies, thinking to himself that the "Dialoguer's" influence definitely existed, but it wasn't as great as he had imagined.
The biggest impact it had wasn't the "individual awakening theory," but rather the answer about "passing quotas." The Human Consortium's statement didn't touch on this point at all, clearly knowing it was a topic that couldn't be touched.
Even if they declared it false, many people would still question it. So it was better not to mention it at all. Whether it was forgotten over time or people pretended it didn't exist, that was still better than constantly bringing it up.
After reading the post, Guan Tong then contacted the various members of the troupe.
Black Star and White Star were still at their tavern stronghold in Xisiya. They said they were incredibly busy right now. As soon as the rule ended, a large number of underground Ascendants had come to them, most of them anxious about not being strong enough, wanting to know about ways to get stronger, afraid they wouldn't get the final passing quota.
Although Black Star clearly said he didn't have such channels, people still came to him in droves, showing just how much influence he had as a middleman in Xisiya's underground scene.
Over in Sakura Prayer, Uenoshi had also initially established her small intelligence organization and had even named it the "Serpent Hair Society."
The core of the organization was mainly her juniors from her time in the "Chosen Team." They were still in a "trial operation" phase, planning to first fully grasp the intelligence of the two cities, Bandzhen and Antu, and to control all significant activities in those cities.
Then Guan Tong contacted Silver Fox to check on Aaron, who was training under Dragon Soul.
"From what Dragon Team said, that young man you sent over is pretty good," Silver Fox said. "Said his abilities are amazing. He can basically pick up any complex fighting skill after seeing it two or three times. And although he's young, he can really endure hardship. He trains for over a dozen hours every day, even kept training himself during these three days of the rule. He didn't even watch the 'Dialoguer's' livestream."
"He didn't watch the livestream?"
Guan Tong was genuinely surprised this time. Apart from those with vision problems, there probably weren't many people around the world who hadn't watched that livestream.
He remembered that before Aaron left, he said he had to work hard to catch up on the progress he had missed while unconscious, that he didn't want to hold the team back. He hadn't expected the kid to actually put it into practice, not just talk about it.
Surprised as he was, Guan Tong thought about it and couldn't help but ask with some concern: "With training that intense, won't there be problems?"
"Hehe, don't worry. You think I'd let him get hurt?" Silver Fox chuckled. "The training plan Dr. Zhang came up with is solid, and Dragon Team knows what he's doing."
"Mhm, good. Then I won't keep you."
"Hey, wait." Silver Fox asked, "That pioneer the 'Dialoguer' mentioned on the second day—was that you?"
"...How did you know?"
"Haha, so it really was you! I guessed. Because there were so many people there at the scene, and that lurker either had invisibility or a special ability. Your Shadow can sneak anywhere, right? Into a tree or underground, no problem, so I figured it was you."
Guan Tong thought to himself that besides the Shadow being able to lurk, he could also turn invisible through his cloak item, but the latter had too many limitations, and he hadn't used it yet.
"Well, congratulations on guessing correctly, but there's no prize."
Silver Fox was unfazed and asked further: "Did you have the Shadow lurking nearby for a reason? Were you trying to talk to the 'Dialoguer'?"
"No, not that."
At the time, Guan Tong had considered whether to use his title ability to devour the "Dialoguer," but in the end, he didn't attempt it. Regardless of whether the information the "Dialoguer" provided was right or wrong, it was at least useful. Even misleading information had value.
Just like before his time travel, when he watched that Three Kingdoms drama—Jiang Gan brought back false news from Zhou Yu about Cai Mao and Zhang Yun surrendering. Cao Cao, enraged, had the two men executed, only to realize later he had been tricked. There was no undoing it then... But he didn't punish Jiang Gan, because it wasn't Jiang Gan's fault. Bringing back information was already a great service.
Even if it was false information, it at least made Cao Cao understand that the Eastern Wu side greatly feared Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. This indirectly showed that these two were indeed skilled at managing the navy. So after executing them, Cao Cao still followed the military regulations those two had established.
"Don't want to say? Forget it, then." Silver Fox could tell Guan Tong didn't want to continue that topic and didn't press further.
Just then, Guan Tong received a new communication request. He glanced at it, somewhat surprised, and said to Silver Fox: "Dr. Zhang is contacting me. I'll hang up now."
With that, he ended the call with Silver Fox and answered the one from Zhang Minglu.
"Dr. Zhang, what's up?"
"A message just came in from Base No. 2 half a minute ago." Zhang Minglu's voice carried a surge of excitement—the kind that came with the potential for a lot of new intelligence. "Adam, the one you rescued—he's awake!"