Chapter 262: Hunters and the Distribution of Benefits
While Bai Mo was still diligently writing in the icy wilderness, the upper echelons of the Huaxia Federation began a redistribution of power.
According to the results of prior private negotiations between all parties, Chen Bo would succeed Cheng Mu as the new Speaker, while Ye Zi would withdraw from the center of power, retaining only a nominal position; her place would be taken by Liang Gong.
Cheng Mu and Liu Zhen, having successfully achieved godhood, would remain in the council. The three newly appointed members were Wen Jian and Mu Chen from Chen Bo's faction, and Yun Jie from Ye Zi's faction. All seven possessed Five-Tier combat power.
As for the few individuals from the Martial Arts Symposium who had achieved the Dharma Body, they unanimously withdrew from contention after certain exchanges of benefits.
Though they had intricate ties with Cheng Mu's faction, both sides now stood on equal footing, and they would no longer blindly obey orders on certain matters.
Having no foundation whatsoever within the Federation government, even if they had secured a position, they would likely have been a mere figurehead, rendering it largely meaningless.
It was also from this second council meeting that the principle of appointing individuals based on strength was officially established: no one below the Five-Tier level would be permitted to meddle in the highest echelons of power.
From the perspective of administrative efficiency, this could not be considered an ideal approach; those truly skilled in governing a nation and possessing such talents might not necessarily possess the corresponding strength.
However, for the sake of balancing the interests of the three major factions, it was a proper method of handling affairs, as negotiating the division of supreme power prevented the outbreak of numerous conflicts.
Many discerning individuals could tell that the so-called Huaxia Federation was gradually shifting towards an autocratic system. Were it not for the three major factions still checking each other, it would likely have formally transformed into a kingdom or empire, just like many smaller nations.
With the emergence of various new Spirit Arts and martial secret techniques, some cultivators possessing Four-Tier combat power already had the ability to rout an entire army group composed of ordinary soldiers.
Invisibility, poison gas, and thought interference—these universal Spirit Arts, impossible to guard against, had sprung up like mushrooms after rain in recent years. The Spirit Hub was no longer the sole determinant of an Ability User's combat strength.
Although the inherent strength of a Spirit Hub's innate ability was generally five times or more that of a universal Spirit Art with a similar effect, it couldn't stand up to the sheer diversity of universal Spirit Arts.
Between the Four-Tier and Five-Tier levels, there was an even greater disparity in combat power, a difference as vast as clouds and mud. The defense-focused Xuanhua granted cultivators in the Xuanhua Stage the true confidence to withstand nuclear bombs head-on.
Without more than ten Four-Tier combatants continuously alternating their attacks, it was highly probable that the rate at which the Xuanhua was damaged would not even keep up with its rate of recovery.
Even the most potent single-target weapon, the electro-optical cannon, developed several years ago and having displayed immense power during the Tianqing Rebellion, capable of instantly killing Unmelting Realm Ability Users, could only barely penetrate the relatively thinner Xuanhua layer of those who had just broken through, according to actual tests.
The attack-focused Martial Path Dharma Bodies each possessed a movement speed of at least twice the speed of sound, and their strength further surpassed their main bodies. Like Xuanhua, they could also transition between real and illusory states.
The unique empathetic aura of Dharma Body realm martial artists could significantly influence weaker opponents in their surroundings, causing some to even switch sides and render human-wave tactics ineffective.
For a powerhouse with Five-Tier combat power, suppressing a small nation single-handedly was not a problem at all.
On the third day after assuming the position of Speaker, Chen Bo convened a meeting with the heads of several major global powers.
Immediately after the meeting concluded, various nations simultaneously announced the establishment of a transnational cooperative organization—the Global Oceanic Outpost Committee—with three sub-branches in Europe, Asia, and America, responsible for unofficial Sea Race hunting activities. It was commonly referred to by the populace as the "Hunter's Guild."
Due to the rampant spread of the article "Life Alchemy Array" and the long-standing animosity towards the Sea Race, public clamor for a proactive assault on the Sea Race grew louder with each passing wave.
However, it was clear that engaging in battle with the Sea Race, whose numbers far exceeded humanity's by an unknown margin, in their home turf, the ocean, was not a wise move.
Especially given that seawater served as a natural barrier, rendering most of humanity's kinetic weapons useless; an ordinary handgun, for instance, would likely fail to even reach a ten-meter range underwater.
According to analysts' estimates, exhausting most of the world's manpower and resources might eradicate the current Sea Race population, but humanity had no means of long-term survival underwater. As long as Spirit Qi continued to exist, ordinary marine life still held the potential to mutate once more.
Such a battle seemed meaningless to the upper echelons: if everyone died, who would they rule? Moreover, the presence of an external enemy could, when necessary, serve to divert domestic conflicts.
However, the public's cries could not be ignored. Thus, after some compromise, Chen Bo proposed the following method of resolution.
"All individuals capable of obtaining a 'Hunter' license after passing an examination will be permitted to use underwater combat equipment, cooperatively developed by research institutes from various nations, to hunt the Sea Race in the ocean."
"Those who achieve an Upper First-Tier combat rating will automatically receive a Hunter license."
From this point forward, the world eased some restrictions on civilian access to the sea. As long as one obtained a Hunter license, they could purchase a set of underwater combat equipment at an extremely low price.
Equipped with this gear, even an ordinary person could exert Mid First-Tier combat power in the ocean.
The upper echelons also had a great demand for things like the Philosopher's Stone, which could extend one's lifespan. However, they were unwilling to risk their lives personally hunting the Sea Race; encountering large groups of enemies could easily result in them being hunted instead of doing the hunting.
It would be more appropriate to open it up to the public and act as merchants themselves. Spending a bit more money was no issue at all. Even if one possessed the strength to uproot mountains and rivers, once caught in a tide of millions of Sea Race creatures, the only outcome would still be destruction.
Furthermore, this series of policies was secretly intended to give the "keyboard warriors" active on the internet an opportunity to personally step onto the battlefield, preventing them from constantly advocating for proactive attacks and creating public pressure.
As soon as they were wiped out by a wave of the Sea Race, these individuals would back down and shut their mouths.
After all, it was still a democratic society; forcibly silencing people would not look good.
After the initial wave passed, those who could truly persevere and transform hunting into a source of wealth were, in fact, those same people: the lower-to-middle-tier cultivators who perpetually lacked resources.
After Huaxia introduced its nationwide VR system two years prior, the American populace harbored considerable dissatisfaction with their government. For a long time, they had been the world's technological center, but this time, they had actually been publicly humiliated.
Of course, the truth was that they had already possessed mature technology four or five years ago, but it had always been hidden by the military for military purposes, and ordinary citizens had no way of knowing.
Their approach was the normal course of action. In Huaxia's case, it was actually due to Bai Mo's power that the civilian sector and the military were simultaneously compelled to construct the VR network.
Restrained by public pressure, America could only release a portion of its technology and begin constructing corresponding VR networks in various states.
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