In a luxury suite in Pattheid, Ao Ge poured himself a glass of wine and carried it to the spacious floor-to-ceiling window, taking small sips as he watched the bustling nightscape outside.
For certain reasons, he had not appeared at Third Prince Hua Zhen's inspection tour or the welcoming banquet. He had remained in this room the entire time, lost in his own thoughts.
Steady footsteps sounded outside the door. Before long, the door opened. Ao Ge did not turn around, but he already knew who had arrived.
"Father... I've been wondering, are we really doing the right thing?" He stared unblinkingly outside, as if casually asking about something insignificant.
Ke Li entered the living room and sat down, his tone calm. "What is right? And what is wrong? Felinton may appear prosperous and powerful, but don't forget that it has always been crushed beneath the mountain that is the Angel Civilization. No one is willing to remain lowly... So from the day you and Ya Erman discovered the Ancient Civilization Ruins, I stopped considering things like right and wrong."
"There's something I can never understand. The leaders of the other four major federations are all exceptionally capable, and the Central State District has no shortage of talented people either. But Father..." Ao Ge turned around as he spoke. "Why did you give me the only qualification to become a Super Warrior?"
"Don't think that just because you're my son, I would have considered giving you that qualification if you were mediocre. But you aren't. You surpass everyone else in the federation. You possess things they don't, including me!"
A faint smile hung on Ke Li's lips as he asked, "Back then, because of this matter, everyone among the four leaders except that girl Bang Ni strongly opposed it. Yet I still overrode all objections and made you a Super Warrior. Do you know why?"
Ao Ge said nothing and waited for him to continue.
"Forget them. Even you, boy, probably think I did it for my own Central Federal District, don't you?" Seeing him nod, Ke Li shook his head with a laugh. Then his voice lowered. "You're all wrong. I did it for the entire Fellinton Civilization!"
Ao Ge's expression froze.
"A civilization with five different voices will eventually fall apart over certain factors, no matter how strong it becomes. Only by merging them together, without distinctions between east, south, west, north, and central—like the Angel Civilization—can Felinton survive for a long time in this chaotic universe!"
"I'm old, child. I've already paved the road ahead for you. Now Felinton is at a critical moment, so you need to step forward and shoulder the burden!" Ke Li said earnestly.
Ao Ge lowered his head to look at his reflection in the wineglass and murmured, "But my greatest wish is simply to live an ordinary life with Bang Ni."
"You are the son of Ke Li, ruler of the Fellinton Civilization, and that girl Bang Ni is the youngest leader of the Eastern Federation. You were never born to be ordinary people!"
"Never born ordinary..." Ao Ge repeated helplessly.
Ke Li poured himself a glass of wine. "Have Ya Erman, Huo Er, and their two districts shown any abnormalities?"
"The people we sent out reported that everything is normal. They found nothing!" Ao Ge said sternly, having regained his composure.
"The Heavenly Palace's technology is formidable. Who knows what high-end detection equipment that Third Prince might have brought this time? If they really find the base, everything we've done before will have been for nothing." Ke Li rose from his seat. "All right, child. The leaders are waiting for us in the conference hall. Come with me."
"Has Father already made his decision?" Ao Ge suddenly asked.
"...Everything is for the Fellinton Civilization!"
After leaving the suite, the boiling clamor downstairs surged into their ears like ocean waves. The air was filled with the scent of women's perfume and alcohol. Although the Third Prince of the Heavenly Palace had long since left, the leaders of those smaller federations were still indulging in the extravagance offered by the Pattheid club. After all, such an opportunity was not easy for them to come by.
"Sure enough, ignorance can be a kind of happiness too." Listening to the noise below, Ao Ge spoke with a hint of envy.
Sometimes, knowing too much was not a good thing, because it often brought people varying degrees of pressure. Those with weak mental fortitude could easily collapse under such stress. Ke Li understood what his son meant, so he said nothing.
The meeting was held on the top floor of Pattheid. It had been chosen not only because the people downstairs could serve as cover, but more importantly because the place had Dark Signal-jamming facilities, making it sufficiently secure.
When they arrived at the top-floor conference hall under the guidance of an attendant, the leaders of the other four major districts had already been waiting for a long time. The instant the door closed, the noise vanished completely, as though two worlds had been separated. Outside, there was laughter and merriment; inside, the silence was terrifying.
Ke Li took the seat at the head of the table. Ao Ge first exchanged a glance with Bang Ni across the room, then sat beside him. Strictly speaking, he was not qualified to sit at the same table as the leaders, but ever since he had become the Fellinton Civilization's only Super Warrior, no one dared say anything further, no matter how dissatisfied they were.
With hawk-like eyes, Ke Li swept his gaze across the leaders of the four major federations. He wanted to find the traitor among them, but he did not possess Insight into People's Hearts. He could not possibly do it with his eyes alone.
The current era was chaotic and disorderly. Higher civilizations fought endlessly in pursuit of long-term survival, while weaker lower civilizations struggled to survive in the cracks between them. Some became dependent subsidiary civilizations of higher civilizations, while others became Subordinate Civilizations with higher civilizations as their parent bodies.
So-called Subordinate Civilizations were forms of civilization that had evolved through repeated hybridization, which was why they could also be called hybrid civilizations. After being invaded and transformed by other powerful parent civilizations, they had been forced to accelerate their development. Most had reached the Cosmic Class, and Felinton was among them.
There had been resistance, and there had been struggle, but before the enormous disparity in power, everything was futile. In order to keep their civilization from becoming history, it had been unavoidable for Felinton's rulers to compromise.
Due to the influence of the Angel Civilization, they were obsessed with higher-level technology. In order to obtain the Old Angel King's gifts, the rulers fulfilled their duties faithfully, yet all they received in return were all manner of restrictions.
The other restrictions were tolerable, but if technology was limited, it would be an extremely cruel thing for an entire civilization. If they could not explore profound technology, then what hope would that civilization have for the future?
Just as Ke Li had said before, no one was willing to remain lowly forever! It was only natural that he wanted to rely on the Ancient Civilization Ruins they had found to make the Fellinton Civilization soar.
Because of the lesson from three hundred years ago, Ke Li had been extremely cautious in researching the Super Gene. The materials used to build the Research Base had all been carefully selected, and the base's dome had been coated with a large amount of Dark Alloy Powder to block the Acting Prefect's Dark Signal scans.
But several months ago, the shielding equipment inside the base had been destroyed by that scientist Ge Na. At some point, a large hole had also appeared in the dome. Though they had tried their utmost to remedy the situation, the Acting Prefect had still detected the Dark Energy fluctuations generated within the base.
The Angel King had sent Third Prince Hua Zhen here. Anyone with a brain knew that the so-called inspection was merely an excuse. His real purpose was to find evidence that Felinton had secretly been researching the Super Gene. Then the Heavenly Palace would descend upon them, and Felinton would be left in ruins!
Who exactly was the person behind this?
Ke Li desperately wanted to drag him out and ask what he had hoped to achieve by doing this. But...
An insider was always more terrifying than an external enemy... he lamented inwardly, speaking the same words Hua Zhen had spoken.
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