For some time before this, the pace of Ronan and An Dongsheng's conversation had actually been speeding up. Their basic positions were clear, and they had reached a consensus on many matters.
But once the issue of "the Balance of Truth and the Thirteenth District" came up, everything suddenly slowed again.
After a second, An Dongsheng asked in return, "Why does Mister Luo think so?"
Ronan did not mind An Dongsheng's attitude. Sipping his soda, he replied, "I've heard people say that the Wilderness is the hallmark of this era—well, its 'theme,' you could say. That isn't without reason. But General An, you and I should both understand that while it is the theme—the main problem—it is absolutely not the fundamental problem."
Holding his beer can, An Dongsheng listened quietly.
"The Wilderness became a hallmark or theme only because it is intimately tied to our living environment, and the livelihoods of ten billion people are bound to it. So I know that making cuts there will draw the broadest and greatest response." Ronan smiled again. "See? I merely set the Anxia Line in motion, and once word got out, so many 'clues' came running on their own."
An Dongsheng gave a wry smile. He himself was precisely one of those who had come bearing "clues."
What An Dongsheng did not know was that another thought was turning over in Ronan's mind:
An analogy closer to "theme and essence" was actually the Testing Time-Space.
The standoff Ronan had experienced around Pupil Ring-28758 Asteroid had merely been a surface phenomenon. Even the entire course of the Two Star Gate Battle—including the deployment and contest of Great Monarch-level forces, the schemes, offense, and defense—had not touched upon the true core. Because the most "fundamental" issue was still the confrontation between the remnants of