Chapter 204: Chapter 194: The Optimism That Humanity Must Win Whenever an earthquake struck, every nation had to locate the epicenter to perform data calculations and collection.
However, unlike other nations, North Star had changed its protocols within just two days due to the events of the last magnitude-2 earthquake.
When the earthquake occurred, the monitoring bureau received the instrument signals and, as usual, reported in via telephone.
This time, however, they didn’t report the latitude and longitude directly. Instead, they reported a string of code.
After the eavesdropping Shadow synced the audio to Guan Tong, he immediately realized the authorities were on to him.
After the last incident, the authorities not only wanted to find him, but they must have also wondered, ’How did the person who dealt with the Earth Vein Pillar know the epicenter’s location?’
Just as Guan Tong had figured out the information came from the earthquake bureau, there was no reason the authorities wouldn’t come to the same conclusion.
Therefore, if the authorities suspected an internal leak at the earthquake bureau, they would naturally tighten security. Abandoning "plaintext" and using code—ciphertext—to represent the coordinates was one such measure.
It had to be said, this method was highly effective. Without the decryption key for the code, Guan Tong had no idea what the string of numbers meant, making it impossible for him to learn the location of the epicenter.
"This is trouble."
Guan Tong had planned to run a test during this earthquake, but he hadn’t expected the authorities to move so quickly and completely cut off his source of information.
’In that case, I can only wait for the official data,’ Guan Tong thought. ’The authorities have the data from the first earthquake. By comparing it with the data from this third one, they’ll reach a conclusion. If they make the results public, I should be able to make my own judgment.’
Without the epicenter’s location, even with his Shadow Lines spread across the entire country, Guan Tong wouldn’t know which one to use for Body Shifting.
He had no choice but to wait.
Meanwhile, the authorities, using the encrypted coordinates of the epicenter, had already dispatched a data collection team to the location. They arrived within two minutes.
Upon seeing the Earth Vein Pillar, the collection team’s leader immediately reported to his superiors, "We’ve found the Earth Vein Pillar. No suspicious individuals in the vicinity. We’re beginning contact-based data collection now."
The superior relayed the message to the Strategy Research Room, where everyone who heard it agreed they had found the cause.
"It seems the information was indeed leaked from the monitoring bureau."
"But we questioned all the employees on duty last time. They even passed an evaluation by a professional with ’lie detection’ abilities, who confirmed there was no leak. So what’s going on?"
"Maybe a miniature bug was planted on someone, or maybe there’s an item that allows for remote eavesdropping... The abilities and items of Ascenders are weird and wonderful. Nothing is impossible."
"That’s right. As long as the mysterious person doesn’t show up again now that the coordinates are encrypted, we’re good. If the authorities fail to collect data again, it would undoubtedly affect the precision of our model."
As they spoke, the people in the conference room watched the live feed streaming back from the site.
The members of the data collection team quickly reached the Earth Vein Pillar and made contact with their palms. A large amount of their Psychic Power caps was absorbed, and in exchange, the outer shell began to crack at a rate that could only be described as "slow." After more than ten seconds, a small, palm-sized piece finally broke off.
The longer they watched, the grimmer their expressions grew.
"This is far less efficient than the first time."
"All that Psychic Power from so many collectors, and it only caused this much damage to the outer shell?"
"I really don’t know how the Earth Vein Pillar from the magnitude-2 earthquake disintegrated completely..."
"It looks like this data is going to be very grim."
The absorption process, which lasted a little over two minutes, soon ended. The Psychic Power caps of over forty data collectors had been completely drained, and the Terminal Panel shut down.
But in exchange, the Earth Vein Pillar’s outer shell was only slightly damaged. This roughly meant that making it disintegrate completely would require thousands of ordinary Ascenders—a truly staggering number.
That morning, the member nations of the Human Federation uploaded their collected data to a large-scale model for intelligent analysis and forecasting by an AI.
During this time, another event sparked a discussion within the Human Federation.
This was the "Great Chaos at Liluo’an Central Plaza" that had occurred in Fahe Country in the early hours of the morning.
The chaotic event resulted in thousands of casualties, and the trigger was government soldiers opening fire on a crowd of civilians.
Because Fahe Country, like the Soloma Empire, did not have strict gun control, civilians could own firearms as long as they passed a licensing test. Thus, when the government forces opened fire, civilians in the protesting crowd drew their own guns and returned fire.
This caused the situation to descend into chaos instantly. Everyone with a gun started shooting, while those without used Psychic Power abilities and items to attack. The entire central plaza instantly turned into a massive free-for-all.
This kind of situation would have been unthinkable before the Apocalypse Rules, but after more than a year of the Rule Stage, everyone was psychologically repressed. Many harbored an impulse to "destroy everything."
Stimulated by gunpowder and bloodshed, this impulse became reality, leading to massive casualties not caused by the Rules. Over three thousand people were killed or injured in the district that night. In the end, the Fahe government had to deploy a large number of armored vehicles to suppress the riot.
The Human Federation paid close attention to this matter, as several thousand deaths and injuries unrelated to the Rules was no small thing. By virtue of their membership in the Human Federation, commissioners from other countries had the right to inquire.
The female commissioner from the Soloma Empire, Mary, began with an accusatory tone. "The government ordered soldiers to fire on civilians. Does Fahe Country have too many people to spare?"
Since the advent of the Apocalypse Rules, nearly every country had ceased procreation, with no new population growth expected for the several years the Rules were projected to last. Population was now the most precious resource. Every death meant one less person, and that was no joking matter.
The Fahe commissioner looked helpless. "We certainly didn’t want this to happen. It was because... SIGH!"
Seeing the Fahe commissioner’s pained expression, Gao Liangwei spoke up. "Whatever the difficult reason may be, please speak plainly. Don’t forget, the Human Federation was founded for the very purpose of unity and mutual assistance."
The Fahe commissioner glanced at Gao Liangwei gratefully. "Thank you, Chairman Gao. According to our overnight investigation, we’ve preliminarily determined that an extremely cunning, despicable, and villainous Ascender is lurking in our country. This individual very likely possesses some form of ’Brain Control’ ability that allows them to control the actions of others."
"This person used their ability, using Brain Control to turn a large number of ordinary civilians into Cultists to obstruct our official data collection on the Earth Vein Pillar. The culprit themselves hides in the shadows, far from the authorities’ sight... And though I hate to admit it, it’s possible that some of our own officials have been subjected to this Brain Control, which is how the information about the epicenter’s location was leaked."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the commissioners present turned extremely grave.
A Brain Control ability that could command multiple people?
It was, without a doubt, a terrifying ability. In the hands of someone inherently evil, it could lead to the kind of horrifying consequences they were now seeing.
Imagine one person, hiding in the shadows, manipulating others into doing things they themselves wouldn’t dare or couldn’t be bothered to do. If such a person had a malicious nature, what immense harm could they inflict upon society?
What was even more frightening was that even some Fahe government officials had been affected. That was truly alarming.
One commissioner asked, puzzled, "How could high-level officials be subjected to Brain Control? Aren’t they equipped with defensive items that guard against Psychic Power intrusion?"
It was a tacit understanding among all nations that key government figures would be equipped with Psychic Power defense items. There were simply too many strange and unpredictable abilities to defend against, but since the source of all these abilities and items was Psychic Power, defending against Psychic Power meant defending against them all.
"They were equipped, but it still failed," the Fahe commissioner said. "It’s possible the perpetrator’s Psychic Power cap is so high that it broke through the protection of standard-issue items."
"..."
"However, you needn’t worry. We have already isolated and are screening all individuals who might have been affected. The troublesome part is that those who were subjected to Brain Control lose all memory of the period they were controlled, which makes it extremely difficult to hunt down this vile Ascender."
"This is not a matter to be taken lightly. I believe all of our nations must remain vigilant," a commissioner from a smaller country said with concern. "If this person manages to infiltrate and control high-level decision-makers, wouldn’t the entire country be in grave danger?"
"Indeed. You must handle this with extreme care. If you need assistance, we can send people to help with the investigation."
"That won’t be necessary." The commissioner from Fahe Country shook his head. "We of Fahe still have our pride. We can handle this problem on our own."
The commissioners exchanged glances. Fahe Country had indeed been a powerful nation, once ranking among the world’s top five in comprehensive national strength, but times had changed.
"Let’s turn to the earthquake data," Gao Liangwei said, having just received the analysis results from the AI modeling department. He displayed them on the main screen.
The results were grim.
"According to calculations based on the data provided by all nations, the requirements for weakening an Earth Vein Pillar are positively correlated with the earthquake’s magnitude, and the rate of increase is enormous."
"For a magnitude-1 earthquake, the ratio of Psychic Power cap to the percentage of reduction in destructive force was 1,000 to 1%. But for the current magnitude-3 earthquake, that ratio has widened to 4,000 to 1%—a fourfold increase. This means that even if we gathered a group of elites, each with an average Psychic Power cap of 200, it would still require a thousand of them to reduce the destructive force by even 50%."
"But a magnitude-3 earthquake is considered minor, isn’t it?! If we get a magnitude-8 or 9, how many people would that require?!"
"That’s difficult to estimate right now." Gao Liangwei’s expression was also grim. Based on this data, when the greatest catastrophe—the magnitude-10 earthquake—arrived at the end of the month, even gathering tens of thousands of Ascenders would only slightly weaken a fraction of its destructive power.
"Does this mean the path of weakening its destructive power is a dead end?" the commissioner from the nation of Sakura Prayer said in despair. "Can humanity only brace for impact and see who survives?"
"Could there be other hidden information that hasn’t been revealed! Can’t we find out who that mysterious administrator is?!"
"...As it stands, that administrator has no reason to conceal vital information. If the majority of humanity perishes, it wouldn’t do them any good, would it?"
Someone chuckled bitterly. "So, is it time to start preparing for our extinction?"
"No." Gao Liangwei’s denial was firm. "Humanity still has time. We will find a way. I am absolutely certain of it."
"And your reason, Chairman Gao? Is it merely your optimism that dictates humanity must triumph?"
"Yes." Gao Liangwei didn’t deny it. "I believe humanity will triumph. Furthermore, I believe the Fire Thief is not some ’Intelligent Robot’ that merely announces rules on a schedule. It must be a being with emotions and thoughts. I am convinced that this latest Rule is a deliberate blow against us for forming the Human Federation. As long as we endure this, humanity’s future will be bright!"