156: A Rat's Backbone (Part 1)

"It has been a very pleasant conversation with you, President Dai Weilin."

After the banquet, Red Arrow Empire Regent Crown Prince Rudolf of the Red Arrow Empire and President Dai Weilin of the Frostplate Federation strolled and chatted on the main street outside the palace.

Of course, the streets had been cleared in advance, and there were special agents and bodyguards accompanying them at all times, so the safety was fully guaranteed.

Despite their twenty-year age difference, Crown Prince Rudolf and President Dai Weilin hit it off immediately, reaching a consensus on many political views. For example, they both agreed on the need to regulate businesses, support the government's role in managing public affairs, and strengthen the integration of the military and citizens.

As fellow political strongmen, Dai Weilin was quite surprised by this young man in his early thirties. He shared his favorite cigar with Rudolf, and the two got along very well. Dai Weilin loved listening to Classical Music, while Rudolf was an avid pianist. As they talked, their relationship grew stronger.

When they returned home and entered the lounge, the conversation eventually returned to matters of state.

"Your Excellency Dai Weilin, I truly admire your talent and courage. It is a blessing for the Frostplate People Frostplate have a president like you." Rudolf sat down and said sincerely, "I believe that your visit is a great opportunity to promote friendship Red-Frost People. It is time to put aside our differences and set aside some disputes."

"Thank you for your blessing, Your Highness." Dai Weilin nodded, remaining calm and composed. "You are an open person, so I will speak frankly. Whether Red Arrow and Frostplate, or even the entire Azure Planet, can survive for another 20 years is still uncertain."

"You mean Malefic Calamity and Entropy?" Rudolf shook his head. "This matter is beyond saving. I can tell you that Red Arrow has chosen to settle its historical scores before the end of the world, and then face destruction with equanimity."

"Does this include Frostplate?" Dai Weilin asked bluntly.

Rudolf looked at Dai Weilin: "Even hatred has priorities. We can decide later. But right now, the Sky Ring is the Red Arrow People's most hated enemy, and we must carry out this sacred revenge."

"In that case, my views are fundamentally different from yours and your country's." Dai Weilin sighed, "Frostplate has also repeatedly faced life-or-death crises. I'm not here to persuade you to give up your hatred, but I want to say that the Malefic Calamity a common crisis faced by all mankind and the entire Azure Planet civilization. If the civilization itself cannot continue, then talking about revenge is meaningless."

"If civilization doesn't have Red Arrow, then civilization is meaningless." Rudolf said calmly, "The Red Arrow People don't care whether human civilization continues or not, we don't mind the destruction of the world—when Red Arrow was on the verge of destruction, the perpetrators were the entire human world."

"I understand the feelings of your people," Dai Weilin nodded. "But now, the Empire is powerful enough. All the territories lost have been recovered. I wonder, is that so-called revenge still necessary? Sky Ring is also one of the Four Nations, with a large population and military strength. If we can bring Sky Ring together to face this most serious crisis on Azure Planet— "

"Excuse my bluntness, but you don't understand the Heavenly Ring People."

Rudolf leaned back, his hands resting on the armrests of his chair, and said in a deep voice:

"The Heavenly Ring People are despicable and vulgar, only subdued by violence and tyranny, utterly devoid of humanity. Sky Ring should be dismembered and divided, and their culture needs to be assimilated and Teachings by the advanced civilization of the Empire. Red Arrow must fundamentally eliminate the Sky Ring people and nation, making their subjects speak Red Arrow Language, grow into blond-haired, blue-eyed Red Arrow People, and prostrate themselves before the throne of the Empire. This is their ultimate destiny."

"...You're going a bit too far." Dai Weilin frowned. "This doesn't align with the morality of modern civilization. In any case, this level of extermination is unacceptable."

"Civilization will soon be gone, so what's the point of talking about morality?" Rudolf said calmly. "Besides, we (the Four Nations) have all done this kind of thing quite a bit. Before the Malefic Calamity, Frostplate Colonies were all over the world, and quite a few peoples were wiped out and annexed by the Heavenly Ring People."

Dai Weilin frowned and said in a deep voice:

"I think, at least starting with our generation, we should make some progress."

"This is difficult, Your His Excellency the President," Rudolf said. "Just imagine how we are going to announce this to the people? How will those Outland People who were once incorporated into our country view us? Since the founding of the Four Nations, we have destroyed and conquered countless small countries, and now we say that we want to become more civilized? Will anyone really believe this?"

"In that case, let's take a longer-term view. There are many things we can work together for besides war," Dai Weilin explained. "We can develop space exploration and mass-produce Thermonuclear Weapons, and keep sending our people out of the Earth, just like Li Aoz's."

Rudolf leaned back in his chair, his gaze surprised.

It's really interesting to hear Dai Weilin say that.

It should be noted that Dai Weilin was promoted by the military, yet he uttered words that were tantamount to a betrayal to the military. His intentions are truly intriguing.

After a moment's thought, he understood Dai Weilin's logic. It wasn't surprising, really. Dai Weilin didn't want to just wait to die, and the other three kingdoms had basically given up on getting entangled with Entropy Lord long ago.

Dai Weilin didn't want to give up. What he wanted was not to hold onto power tightly for the last 20 years, but to use that power to help Frostplate get through this difficult period.

He is very ambitious and shrewd, which is admirable.

But Rudolf wouldn't lose his rationality just because he liked someone. He watched Dai Weilin talk about many construction projects and Red Arrow's debt problems. When Dai Weilin paused, he threw out a fatal question, "Mr. Dai Weilin, how much time do you think we have left?"

Dai Weilin paused for a moment, then answered honestly, "From now until the Malefic Calamity descends to an altitude of 8,000 meters, it will be no more than 24 years."

"Even if we build underground engineering as you say, it would take another two years to salvage the situation. Let's say 26 years."

Rudolf took the calculator from his secretary and typed on the keyboard for Dai Weilin, calculating the numbers for him. "Including the Outland, the total population of Azure Planet exceeds 3 billion. We don't have a unified census. Even if we only save Four Nations, that's still about 2.4 billion. The old, weak, sick and disabled remain. Okay, so we only need to send 1.7 billion people. Am I right?"

Dai Weilin nodded. "That's right."

Rudolf looked at the other person and said, "Our largest space shuttle, the ' Moon No.,' can carry 240 people. Old Era, large Space Station could only accommodate a maximum of 300 people. So, tell me, where will these 1.7 billion people go?"