Chapter 175

"In addition, China will also send a research team of fifty experts and scholars, carrying all the aberration data of the Fused Warrior within Shenzhou, to stay in the Moth to Fire and help solve the aberration phenomenon."

"Furthermore, we will call on all countries to do their utmost to ensure the containment of Fused Warrior, and we are willing to provide comprehensive assistance to countries that are unable to maintain containment conditions, so as to ensure that more Fused Warrior can live to see the day when the aberration phenomenon is resolved."

At this point, the Shenzhou representative put down the documents in his hand, stood up, slowly scanned the entire room, and then spoke in a solemn tone.

"I hope everyone can remember that every Fused Warrior has made a huge contribution to the fight against the Honkai. They are the common heroes of humanity, and heroes should not be treated as tools."

"What's the point of all this? Without Doctor Ai Yue, how are we supposed to crack the distortion phenomenon?"

The North America representative couldn't help but ask, "Even if you insist on doing this, what can one country change?"

"It is precisely because the power of a single country or organization cannot change anything that we established the United Earth Government."

The representative from Shenzhou retorted without backing down, "If at this point we can only pass the buck and act passively, how can humanity be qualified to talk about the future?"

"If we do nothing without Doctor Ai Yue, then what are the billions of humans on this planet?"

"Snort."

Seeing that he could not refute her, the North America representative could only awkwardly change the subject, "This is the United Earth Government, a place where the minority obeys the majority. No matter how good your words are, the final decision will be made by voting."

As he spoke, he raised his hand. "Representatives who support the 'post -Fused Warrior handling plan,' please raise your hands!"

The conference hall was deathly silent. The North America representative looked around in surprise and found that he was the only one who had raised his hand.

At that moment, the Shenzhou representative also raised his hand. "Representatives who support the Shenzhou solution, please raise your hands!"

This time, the people's movements were so synchronized that they transformed into a wave of sound that echoed throughout the vast space.

Everyone, without prior agreement, chose to raise their right hand to support this plan, which had a slim chance of success but represented unity and hope.

At this moment, Dr. Mei noticed that the North America representative did not lower his hand.

He looked at the representative from Shenzhou, and a slight smile even appeared on his lips.

No one made a sound, but everyone could sense the special nature of this moment.

If the North America representative's actions indicate that he has also chosen to support Shenzhou's proposal, then this would be the first time since the establishment of the United Earth Government that a resolution has been passed unanimously.

Just then, a burst of somewhat abrupt applause broke the rare moment of perfect harmony.

Everyone instinctively turned their heads to see who was spoiling the mood, but the moment they saw the person's face, they all jumped up from their seats.

In an instant, the conference hall became noisy.

Everyone present was a carefully selected talent from the country or organization, and they were certainly not lacking in composure even in the face of a collapsing mountain. However, at this moment, no one could remain calm—because the person standing in front of them was Ai Yue, who had been missing for more than seventy days!

"That's a very good determination. It at least shows that you haven't let me down."

Looking at the group of people in front of him who were so excited they couldn't even speak, Ai Yue smiled from the bottom of his heart, "But you're already this excited now, what will you do when you see the surprise I've prepared? You'll probably faint!"

As he spoke, he opened the door behind him and extended a hand. "Please, madam."

A slender, white hand rested in Ai Yue's palm as he led her out from behind the door.

The world-renowned "Golden Songstress" thus appeared gracefully before everyone.

But everyone here pays more attention to each other's other identity—the first Fused Warrior to undergo mutation and transform into giant whales.

The fact that she can appear in front of everyone as a human means that the anomaly has been completely solved!

Chapter Fifty-Six: You just wait, I'm going to find my father!

No words can describe the feelings of those present at this moment.

Just a moment ago, the aberration was a Damocles' sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment, a desperate predicament that could have truly united them to face it together. But the next moment, this hopeless situation was resolved with a casual remark.

It's like you've been cornered by a raging bull and have no choice but to charge at it head-on, when someone just walks by, casually knocks the bull over, and then asks you if you want some hot pot—it's as absurd as that.

But the atmosphere in the room quickly calmed down – because after a little thought, everyone realized that Ai Yue was indeed such an outrageous person.

He could use unimaginable means to precisely decapitate the Eighth Herrscher as soon as she made a move, make the Ninth Herrscher abandon the easily destroyed Atra City and instead focus on dealing with him alone, and even take down the Eleventh Herrscher with a Fused Warrior squad of no more than twenty people, whose mission report alone was enough to make the Eleventh Herrscher's scalp tingle.

Thinking about it this way, a mere aberration seems to be nothing to Ai Yue.

Most importantly, the fact that Doctor Ai Yue was able to return is more significant than anything else.

After the initial euphoria subsides, many people's first emotion is actually "feeling wronged"—like a child who has been bullied when no elders are around, and now that someone has finally stood up for them, how similar is that feeling to the present moment?

If the Twelfth Herrscher, who has caused everyone so much trouble, were to appear at this moment, many people would probably point at him and say to Ai Yue, "He's the one who hit me!"

In the heated meeting hall, only a few people were able to maintain basic composure. Although they were also excited about Ai Yue's return, they were already considering other things.

If the distortion can be resolved in this way at the lowest cost, then everyone will be happy. But if such a victory comes too easily, will it cause people who were originally showing signs of unity to return to the old atmosphere of intrigue and power struggle?

The representatives from Shenzhou and North America exchanged a glance, both seeing the familiar calculation and wariness in each other's eyes.

Prior to this, they had just completed a perfectly synchronized act, successfully arousing everyone's yearning for the future by having one play the bad cop and the other the good cop.

I would feel a little regretful if I couldn't take this opportunity to do something.

While everyone was lost in thought, Ai Yue led Eden into the conference hall. "Are there any empty seats here?"

"You may sit here."

The first to react was the representative from Shenzhou, who immediately stood up and gave up his seat, saying, "This seat is in the center, so everyone can see it."

"Oh, thank you then."

Ai Yue nodded casually and then walked over and sat down without any hesitation.

Meanwhile, the North America representative, who was a step behind, could only grit his teeth secretly as he watched the slightly smug expression on the Shenzhou representative's face.

Pah, you bootlicker!

"Alright, no matter what, everyone calm down first."

After getting the microphone, Ai Yue began to take control of the situation, saying, "I have something to say about the so-called distortion phenomenon."

The meeting room fell silent once again, and everyone waited for Ai Yue to speak.

"First of all, as you've probably already seen, there's a cure for the aberration phenomenon,"

Ai Yue glanced at Eden, who had already sat down next to Dr. Mei. "This method can not only restore the Fused Warrior to normal, but also ensure that they can develop antibodies against the aberrations, thus becoming immune to similar effects."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but smile—although they had already confirmed this matter since Eden's appearance, hearing a positive answer from Ai Yue was obviously more reassuring.

However, Ai Yue's next words made their expressions serious again. "But this is not a problem that can be solved with a single injection or a few capsules. It requires the assistance of surgery to achieve the desired effect. Therefore, the plan that you voted to approve earlier needs to be implemented as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, the Shenzhou representative, who had just brought a chair over, couldn't help but exchange another glance with the North America representative, and it seemed that a little bit of tacit understanding had been restored between them.

As a seasoned veteran, the Shenzhou representative vaguely sensed something unusual in Ai Yue's somewhat ambiguous words. He vaguely realized that Ai Yue might have also thought of the problems they were worried about, so this was very likely just an excuse that the other party had made up to ensure the smooth progress of the plan.

"Besides that, I've also made some progress regarding the Herrscher."

After briefly explaining the issue of the distortion phenomenon, Ai Yue asked again, "How much information do you currently have about the Herrscher?"

"Besides confirming that the distortion was caused by the Herrscher's authority, there is no other information available at the moment."

Dr. Mei picked up the microphone, her tone somewhat helpless, "Due to the network shutdown, we can only fight our own battles now, using the information at our disposal to conduct analysis. More intelligence may have to wait until after the meeting ends."

"I see. It seems we really can't count on you."

Ai Yue casually uttered a very hurtful remark, "Regarding the issue of internet shutdown, have you ever considered where this virus actually came from?"

"We haven't solved this problem yet, because the network is under Prometheus's control. Once she shuts it down, we can't activate it from the outside."

The North America representative said, "However, we have already begun investigating the suspected targets that may have created this virus, and we may have results soon."

"With the current level of human capabilities, it is impossible to create an electronic virus that can defeat Prometheus."

Dr. Mei shook her head and voiced her inner speculation, "So the most likely culprit behind all this is... the Herrscher."

Before Ai Yue appeared, Dr. Mei had not voiced this speculation because she had no evidence. A conclusion without evidence would inevitably be questioned if it were not described by Ai Yue.

However, now that Ai Yue has returned, things are naturally different.

"That can't be, right?"

One representative was the first to raise the question, "Can Herrscher really influence the internet? This is the culmination of human technology!"

"The fruits of human technology are not some insurmountable fortress. Don't forget what the powers of the First Herrscher are."

The Shenzhou representative shook his head. "Moreover, the Herrscher have already done it before. Whether it's the electromagnetic force of the Third Herrscher or the Eighth Herrscher's ability to spread meme pollution through the network, these are all manifestations of the Herrscher authority influencing the network."

"But those interferences to the network are not enough to be called viruses. The previous chaos on the network could have really destroyed human civilization."

A flicker of fear crossed the North America representative's eyes. "If this was truly the work of Herrscher, then we have clearly already brushed with death."

Even though a month has passed, he still vividly remembers that scene—all of North America's weapon systems were activated, and even the triple password for activating nuclear weapons was easily broken by the virus. If they hadn't added artificial mechanical unlocking as a last line of defense after Ai Yue's reminder, the Earth would probably be shrouded in nuclear winter by now.

Even manual mechanical locks were not safe, because according to the subsequent investigation, the soldiers responsible for guarding the nuclear weapons base had received the ultimate order to "launch a nuclear missile"—the electronic virus had been able to perfectly mimic human tone in a very short time, to the point that the soldiers could not tell that it was a fake order.

If Prometheus hadn't activated all the host arrays at the last moment, bringing the virus under control and severing all connections between the network and the real world, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Looking back now, it's hard to imagine that there would be such a madman among humans who would be so depraved as to want to drag everyone down with him, but since all of this was done by Herrscher, it seems quite reasonable.

"But if this was truly the work of the Herrscher, then what exactly is His power?"

Another question has been raised, "The electronic viruses that infiltrate networks and the aberrations that cause the Fused Warrior seem to have absolutely nothing in common, don't they?"

"That's not the case."

Ai Yue, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up, "Isn't the common point between them 'virus'?"

"You're not going to say that the Herrscher's powers are viruses? Viruses that can affect both living things and networks simultaneously?"

The representative seemed to be trying to ease the tension, so he spoke in a slightly teasing tone, but he quickly stopped laughing, "This can't be... really true, can it?"

"Unfortunately, this is true—if we consider electronic viruses as a kind of 'abnormality,' then this is the power wielded by the twelfth Herrscher."

Ai Yue said with certainty, "Let's even be a little bolder—up until now, you haven't found any clues about the Herrscher, have you?"

Although they knew that Ai Yue couldn't possibly notice everyone's actions, everyone still honestly shook their heads.

As early as when the distortion phenomenon appeared, some people speculated that it might be the work of the Herrscher. However, this conclusion was never accepted because the Prometheus monitoring network at the time did not find any trace of the Herrscher.

An unrevealed Herrscher sounds even more terrifying than His power.

"Therefore, it is very likely that this Herrscher does not have a physical form."

Ai Yue concluded that "the electronic virus that is blocked in the online world is very likely its true form."

These words immediately caused an uproar in the conference hall. Some people discussed with their neighbors, some vented their emotions, and others fell into deep thought. But no one questioned Ai Yue's conclusion, even though it seemed to be just his own guess.

"Alright, regardless of what the Herrscher's true form really is, at least the events of the past few dozen days have proven that we don't need to worry about His problems for the time being,"

Ai Yue quelled the chaos in the meeting room, and then dropped a bombshell, "So let's discuss the last issue—the issue of preventing and controlling aberrations among the general public."

"A distortion of nationwide prevention and control?"

Everyone's expression changed upon hearing this. Even the representative from Shenzhou couldn't help but turn to look at Ai Yue, "Does this mean that ordinary people will also be affected?"

"Of course, ordinary people can't even withstand the erosion of Honkai Energy, let alone the power of Herrscher?"

Ai Yue shook his head. "This mutation only targets the Honkai Beast genes within the Fused Warrior. But if Prometheus fails to contain the Herrscher and causes Him to reappear, it will be too late to prepare then."

After a pause, he continued, "Of course, if we can confine the battlefield against the Herrscher to the cyber world, then we don't need to worry about this issue, but it's always good to be prepared in advance, right?"

He tapped the table and said, "Let's vote by raising hands. Those who are willing to carry out anomaly prevention, please raise your hands."

The result this time is self-evident, since the United Earth Government has always passed Ai Yue's votes unanimously.

"Very well, that's all I wanted to say. You can let me know the details once you've finalized the arrangements."

Seeing this, Ai Yue nodded in satisfaction, then stood up and walked outside, saying, "You can continue your meeting."

Everyone watched Ai Yue leave the conference hall, and only after he closed the door did they all breathe a sigh of relief.

"Something feels off to me."

The North America representative muttered to himself, "It seems like ever since Doctor Ai Yue came here, this place has become his personal fiefdom. It feels like we're managing the Earth for him."

"You're only just realizing that?"

The representative from Shenzhou glanced at his old rival, then shook his head. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

The North America representative paused for a moment, then nodded. "Indeed, the existence of someone like Ai Yue is a blessing for human civilization."

After Ai Yue left, the meeting quickly came to an end. After all, the topic of Fused Warrior was the last item on the agenda of the meeting. So after a brief summary, the representatives from various countries left.

They must bring the contents of the meeting, as well as the good news of Ai Yue's return, back to their country as soon as possible.

Only a few countries or organizations' representatives were unable to leave immediately.

Because Eden's voice finally entered their minds.