Chapter 487: I Have a Friend |
"....That's the situation."
In the Countermeasures Research Office, inside Gao Liangwei's office, Zhang Minglu reported the results of the operation.
"Although we failed to stop the Bright Moon's ascent, according to the data provided by the observers, the attacked sphere lost a lot of mass, so the threat has actually been reduced."
After listening, Gao Liangwei pointed out the reason: "So the plan's approach was fine. The problem is that Adam couldn't provide Guan Tong with a stable gravitational field for a long time."
"It seems that way for now," Zhang Minglu said, "but it's not Adam's fault. The Bright Moon has been rising all along, and the gravitational field changes with its mass. For him to constantly maintain synchronization consumes too much brain power and Mind Power."
Zhang Minglu thought for a moment, then said with a look of expectation, "But this time I wasn't adequately prepared. If you give me another chance, I can mobilize a large number of Ascendants to assist Ye Dang and help from the side. I am absolutely confident we can succeed!"
"Give you another chance..."
Before Gao Liangwei finished speaking, the phone on his desk rang.
He answered, listened for a moment, then hung up and told Zhang Minglu, "Suroma found out about this operation and is going to raise questions within the Human Consortium, asking why Beixing concealed it."
Gao Liangwei nodded.
One reason the operation was kept secret was the fear that Suroma would sabotage it. Another reason was not wanting the other side to find out that Adam participated in the operation.
These two reasons complemented each other. If Suroma learned that Adam was a key player in this operation, they would seize on the excuse that "Adam is a wanted suspect in Suroma" to demand intervention.
If they intervened, it would be even easier for them to cause trouble.
This was also why Beixing chose to transport Guan Tong and Adam by spaceplane instead of by ship or submarine for this operation.
"Then, director, what do we do now? If I gather the relevant support personnel and run more trials with Adam to get them to sync, it would still take several days, but now..."
Zhang Minglu's face showed distress. This operation failed, and they couldn't launch another one immediately; there had to be time to adjust and review.
But the "array action" was imminent, and Beixing needed to make a statement.
Especially in the past two days, morale at the base had been shaky. Many Ascendants who met the criteria were nervous, worried they would be forced to participate in the plan.
The trouble was they couldn't openly protest, because when they chose to join the Countermeasures Research Office and become government-affiliated Ascendants, the agreement they signed included an obligation to "obey orders."
The official agreement stated that Ascendants affiliated with the government were essentially like soldiers in peacetime.
Food, medical care, personal safety—these were all provided free by the government, and on top of that Ascension Coins were periodically distributed like allowances... The right corresponded to the duty to obey orders and follow commands when the government needed them.
Just like peacetime soldiers who must go to the battlefield in wartime to kill the enemy, or be deployed to the front lines in disasters to rescue people. If they refused, they would face serious punishment or even a court-martial.
Now the official Ascendants appeared similar to soldiers, and in essence they were the same. Only war and disasters had become the Doomsday Rules; the core was identical: when the nation needed people, they had to go to the front lines.
But reasoning is one thing, reality another. Among Ascendants there was a general superiority complex; they believed they were more important than ordinary people. They accepted risk—surviving or dying in the process—because at least there was some chance.
However, when facing the "array action," a mission that was essentially a death sentence, the mindset would be entirely different. The government would certainly forcibly select people, and the outcome was hard to predict.
Gao Liangwei looked at Gao Liangwei and asked, "Dr. Zhang spends the most time with Ascendants and understands us best. If the government forces some people to participate in the array action, will we obey orders?"
"Then...."
"Tell me the truth."
.......
Zhang Minglu was silent for a moment, then answered earnestly, "To be honest, I think they'll say they will obey orders at the base, but once at the execution site, there will be trouble one hundred percent."
"Really?"
"Director, think about it. How many people with a Mind Power upper limit of five hundred don't think they are exceptional? When they face imminent death at the site, even if only a tiny fraction lose their temper and act, the damage they could cause would be enormous!
Last night on the Ascendant Home forum someone posted anonymously, claiming to be a government-affiliated Ascendant, saying that if they were selected they would find an opportunity to use their ability to destroy the ship.
Many won't say it out loud, but they must have that mindset. If among three thousand Ascendants even one percent—thirty people—plan that and act together, imagine the destruction. If one tenth—that's three hundred people—then don't talk about the success of the operation, they'll be slaughtering each other and a huge number will die!"
Zhang Minglu spoke a lot in one breath, his voice getting louder and louder. He only realized he had lost his composure at the end, and hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, director, I got excited."
"You deal with Ascendants every day, it's not surprising you'd be emotional about this," Gao Liangwei said. "And I agree with what you said."
Zhang Minglu asked, "Do you mean, director, that we should be upfront to the Human Consortium?"
Gao Liangwei said meaningfully, "People aren't that different from one another. The problems our Beixing Ascendants have, Ascendants in other countries will have the same. Trying to mobilize everyone in three days is impossible; the operation will be delayed. I need to stall a bit longer and create another opportunity for you."
....
On June 21, to worldwide attention, the Human Consortium issued an updated statement.
The statement said the array action would be postponed.
The reason for the delay did not cite Ascendant opposition; it focused on an objective condition.
That objective condition was that experiments showed the plan's success rate would improve if all unfavorable factors were eliminated—the biggest unfavorable factor was seawater.
Seawater absorbs and scatters lasers. Even highly penetrating high-energy lasers experience energy attenuation when fired into seawater, and the farther the distance, the greater the attenuation.
At that time the Bright Moon was still over two thousand meters from the sea surface. If the operation were executed then, the high-energy laser would have to penetrate more than two thousand meters of seawater before hitting the target, losing and attenuating a great deal of energy in the process.
Everyone understood this clearly: the operation would have only one chance. Even if the array device could be reused, they could not afford to sacrifice three thousand high-end warriors a second time.
So after discussion the Human Consortium decided to conduct the operation on the 28th or 29th. They judged that by then part of the Bright Moon would have risen above the sea, and it might include the core position.
When the Bright Moon rose out of the sea, with no seawater to deflect or attenuate the laser and with the best visibility conditions, firing that decisive high-energy laser would have the best chance of making the plan succeed.
After the statement was released, most people were surprised, but soon accepted it.
After all, as long as the Bright Moon was stopped before the Rules ended, the challenge would count as completed. Whether it was ten days before, the day before, or the second before the end, stopping it still counted as success.
People's only worry was whether the Bright Moon rising out of the sea would cause large-scale disasters, bringing irreversible changes across the Lanyang Ocean.
But worrying was useless; coastal cities were already dead cities. Even if another tsunami hit, it would just flood places already underwater.
In the following days, all parties made active preparations.
Guan Tong focused on increasing the Shadow's deployment speed, hoping that in the next operation he could penetrate the Bright Moon.
Adam worked with Zhang Minglu and the group of assistants Zhang had selected, trying to prolong the duration of the gravitational field as much as possible.
Meanwhile, Suroma's authorities actively selected personnel to enter the array.
On June 27, Guan Tong received a call from Adam. As soon as he answered he heard Adam's furious voice.
"Damn Bruce, damn the Senate!"
"What's wrong?" Guan Tong had just finished training in a valley and wiped sweat as he asked.
"I have a friend on the island who has my terminal ID and contacted me through the Communication Scroll. He said many Ascendants on the island were selected for the array! Those bastards are using the lives of their relatives to blackmail and force them into submission."
"You mean Suroma's authorities are putting people from Eden Island into the array?... Not surprising—these people really have weaknesses."
Many Suroma Ascendants on Eden Island, like Adam, had wives, husbands, and children.
Earlier Adam said one purpose of Bruce and the Senate was to control Ascendants using their relatives; it now seemed that was true.
Moreover, doing this also meant Guan Tong's earlier suspicion was correct: the Eden Project's objectives must have been achieved, so the Ascendants on Eden Island were less important to Bruce and the Senate.
"What do you plan to do?" Guan Tong asked.
From Adam's previous act of risking his life to resist the Red Demon mech's self-destruction to save Ascendants on the island, it was clear he cared for those islanders.
"I know rescuing them is unlikely. Even if we managed to rescue the Ascendants themselves, their relatives would still be held. Bruce has control over their families; they can't escape that control.
"But as long as we complete the Rules challenge before the array action begins, their lives will be safe!"
Guan Tong thought that was true: if the challenge were finished in advance, no sacrifice would be needed.
"I asked Dr. Zhang. Observations indicate the Bright Moon will rise out of the sea at noon on the 29th. The array plan will be implemented after it rises, so we can act in the morning."
"I have no problem," Guan Tong said.
He had been pleased with his training these past days. As long as Adam didn't fail, he was confident they would succeed this time.
At the same time, at Suroma Second Research Institute.
Dressed in a suit and wearing a pair of narrow black-framed glasses, Han Qiu stayed in his office.
He cared about maintaining this new identity. As the saying goes, a clever person has many escape routes; he would never let himself be cornered with only one way out.
"Mr. Han." Someone knocked. A Suroma female colleague pushed the door open and stuck her upper body in. "The Senate wants you to come over."
"Is that so? I'll go right away." Han Qiu stood and smiled at his colleague. "Thank you for the notice."
"Hehe, it's nothing~ Oh, by the way, when you're done, want to go to a restaurant tonight? My treat."
"Sure, if I'm free, of course."
When Han Qiu agreed, the female colleague immediately smiled and gave him a flirtatious wink.
Once she turned to leave, the smile vanished from Han Qiu's face.
"The Senate calling me at this hour must be about the Beixing Countermeasures Research Office issue. If I'm right, I might be able to take advantage of this opportunity..."
As his gaze flickered, he deduced a possible scenario and immediately went to the Senate.
He did not meet a senator. He met Bruce.
As he expected, Bruce asked him straight away when he saw him: "Han Qiu, you were formerly affiliated with the Countermeasures Research Office, so you should know your former superior well."
"Your Majesty means Director Gao Liangwei? Yes, I know him."
"I ask you, will he force government Ascendants from Beixing to participate in this array action?"
"Of course not," Han Qiu answered without a second thought.
Bruce narrowed his eyes. "But as far as I know, Gao Liangwei is a leader with a strong sense of responsibility who values the group over the individual. Would he really sacrifice the majority and disregard the Human Consortium's decision for the interests of a few?"
"Heh. Indeed, given Beixing's large number of Ascendants, sacrificing thousands might still be better than an across-the-board decrease in Mind Power upper limits. But you can't treat deaths like accounting figures."
Han Qiu said slowly.
"Your Majesty may not understand Beixing fully. There, when an issue concerns lives, economic considerations usually yield. Take me as an example."
"Oh?" Bruce looked curious.
Han Qiu explained, "You must have investigated me and know I grew up in an orphanage. Economically, the orphanage probably costs the government hundreds or thousands each year, but without it we'd have been starving on the streets."
Bruce stared at him. "Yet you betrayed Beixing."
Han Qiu neither admitted nor denied. "I simply followed the version. In gaming, technical skill isn't as important as understanding the meta. This version favors individualism, and I adapted to it, that's all."
"...If Beixing refuses to send people, the array will have a massive gap."
Han Qiu said, "Suroma can send extra people to fill that gap. Then the world will think your Suroma bears great responsibility, while Beixing appears selfish."
At those words Bruce's eyes sharpened like knives cutting across Han Qiu's face.
Why would I do that—sacrifice thousands of high-end forces for a meaningless international reputation? And do you think Suroma's Ascendants would obediently go to die?
The reputation does matter. Have you forgotten the existence of faith power? If the world admired your righteousness, the Mind Power upper limit's growth speed would increase."
Han Qiu showed a profound, inscrutable smile. "As for how to make high-end forces obedient, I happen to have a friend who can help with that."
A few minutes later, Bruce left the conference room.
Han Qiu followed out. At that moment Yishan, serving as the Senate assistant, walked out of another office. Seeing Han Qiu she said nothing, gave him a side glance full of disdain, and turned away.
Han Qiu's heart stirred. He quickly caught up and greeted her with a gentle smile, "Miss Yishan? Hello, I'm Han Qiu. I've heard you're very beautiful; seeing you today, you're even more beautiful than people said."
Yishan was stunned by the flattery for two seconds before coming back to herself. She sized him up: clearly a Beixing person, decent-looking and refined.
"Han Qiu? Do I know you?" she asked. "What's your relationship with my father... with Bruce?"
"Not before, but we do now." Han Qiu invited, "I'm just a minor subordinate of your honored father. Might I have the honor of taking Miss Yishan to dinner tonight?"
