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Chapter 109: Ideals

"I'm not much of a talker, nor do I really bother with the art of conversation. So some of what I say might sound a bit harsh. Just get the gist of it," Bai Mo added, his words leaving everyone present not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Alright then..." Liu Zhen was speechless for a moment. It had been years since anyone had spoken to him so directly. Even among his peers, conversations were often like riddles, nothing as unreservedly straightforward as Bai Mo.

"In a week, I will officially take over this work," he stated, his tone still flat and declarative.

"Can you handle the workload? Submissions from all over the country?" Liu Zhen remained persistent, hoping to subtly probe and insert a few assistants.

"I can handle it alone, as long as no one deliberately causes trouble, like sending me junk to waste my time. If I find anyone messing around, don't blame me for tracking them down through the network cable and taking action."

"Also, Mr. Liu, I believe you should understand that all power is fleeting. Only strength is the key to holding your position. If you're strong enough, even if you re-establish an imperial system, no one would dare voice an opinion. And how long do you think Huaxia can control these hundreds of thousands of Ability Users? How many can it retain through loyalty? Strength will, after all, breed ambition..."

"Bai Mo, your views are very similar to the Chairman's, though he didn't express them so directly. He once raised this issue in an internal meeting," Liu Zhen now regarded Bai Mo completely as an equal, not a junior.

"So?"

"The Chairman believes that we old fellows, with access to the finest material conditions, have far too great an advantage over you commoners. It's only a matter of time before we surpass you."

"That's why we need to cooperate with smart people like you. Speaking of which, aren't you afraid that the Spirit Materials we cultivate will allow us old fellows to catch up to you youngsters?" After some conversation, Liu Zhen, who had seen countless people in his life, had initially grasped Bai Mo's temperament. He began to crack some harmless jokes to ease the overly tense atmosphere that had just settled.

"Aren't you afraid I'll add some 'special ingredients' to the Spirit Materials to trip you old fellows up?" Bai Mo retorted. "For all you know, I could be a spy sent by the rising young faction you're so wary of."

"Your honesty actually puts my mind at ease. Though, indeed, the conflict between us old fellows and the next generation of the rising young faction is growing. Who would want to let go of power once they have it? But we can't afford to completely fall out, after all, they are our own descendants. Bai Mo, do you have any good ideas to resolve this conflict?" Liu Zhen spoke of this sensitive issue as if he were chatting with a friend.

"Me? I have no feeling for power whatsoever. Managing other people, in my eyes, is an incredibly boring task. It just reminds me of a passage I once read in a book: 'Earth's lifespan is 4.6 billion years, and the Milky Way galaxy's lifespan is 14 billion years. And in the universe, there are countless galaxies like the Milky Way.'"

"Time is so magnificent and vast... What do even the greatest achievements, the most illustrious names, amount to compared to this boundless heaven and earth, this infinite expanse of time? What I truly desire are not those worldly things..."

"From the deepest ocean abysses to the starry rivers of the cosmos, I want to see them with my own eyes, touch them with my own hands. I want to travel to every place I wish to go."

"I want to understand all the mysteries of this world. This is my true pursuit."

"You are an idealist," Liu Zhen paused. "You have the same gleam in your eyes as those people around me decades ago who fought to build this nation."

"I've strayed too far from the topic. Let's get back to the experiment."

"Hmm, do you have anything else to add?" Liu Zhen completely relaxed after sensing that the person before him genuinely had no desire for power, as there was no fundamental conflict of interest.

"Lastly, I need an assistant. There are many trivial matters I don't want to handle. I need someone reliable, and who can completely accept the content of our human experiments."

"That's a small matter." "Hu Feng, did you get all that down?"

"Yes, it's all recorded."

"Since it can absorb infrared light, then theoretically it should also be able to absorb visible light energy. It's just that the Life Field hasn't actively done so yet," Bai Mo muttered to himself.

Then they suddenly noticed that the surroundings dimmed, then returned to normal, then dimmed again and returned to normal.

"What's going on? Are the lights in the reception room broken?" Liu Zhen asked the staff around him, somewhat displeased.

"No worries, it has nothing to do with the lights. I was just doing a small experiment."

"By the way, Mr. Bai, speaking of cultivation, can we take a look at the Blood Clan cultivation technique you seized earlier?" Liu Zhen had already begun to get used to Bai Mo's occasionally erratic behavior and didn't dwell on the previous issue.

"It will be uploaded to the Contribution Points system in a couple of days. As a private tip, don't cultivate this technique, or you'll bear the consequences yourself. I certainly won't touch it."

"This..."

"I'm not sure of the reason, but I can guarantee the authenticity of the information. Anything else to discuss?"

"You had a hand in compiling the 'Martial Edict,' didn't you? Why did you make it public?"

"That was originally their four intentions. They wanted to combine Spirit Qi cultivation with Huaxia's traditional martial arts to forge a new path, thereby promoting the effect of national martial arts. I just happened to cooperate with them. I didn't expect you to be keeping such a close eye on it; the one time I uploaded it to the internet using my own computer, you discovered it."

"How could we not pay attention to a cultivation technique of such strategic importance, one that everyone can practice? We specially arranged a working group to collect relevant information. We just didn't expect you to be involved."

"It's just a basic cultivation technique that can at most train one to the fourth or fifth layer of the Spirit Animation Stage. Beyond that, its effects are minimal. What's the big deal about making it public? Has Huaxia lost even that much courage?"

"Basic cultivation technique? In other words, you've developed more advanced ones?"

"No, we only cooperated for about a month. What major project could we possibly have developed? The release of the 'Martial Edict' has already practically exhausted our accumulated knowledge. If it weren't for Elder Hua and the others being grandmasters who have immersed themselves in traditional martial arts for many years, it would have been impossible to create such a framework in such a short time. I estimate that the next round of cultivation techniques will require at least four or five years of research before yielding any results."

"Four or five years... Six years from now will be Huaxia's next government transition. I'm afraid by then, the winds of change will truly be upon us."

"First, think about the Sea Race. If a few more waves of nuclear bombs hit, there won't be any power left to think about. They must have other highly technologically advanced groups supporting them, otherwise, they couldn't possibly detonate nuclear bombs."

"Our think tank has already researched this, and the only logical conclusion we reached was that high-tech aliens are on their side," Liu Zhen said, a hint of helplessness in his voice.