The unexpected interlude brought a touch of levity to what had been a suffocatingly serious meeting.
But soon, as the intelligence came in, everyone's expressions turned solemn.
With Source Matter communication, everything moved swiftly. After delivering the intelligence, Huai Shi was sent to wait in a small private room.
He did not yet have permission to sit in on a meeting of this level.
The remaining attendees neither panicked nor flew into a rage. In truth, anyone making a living these days without a strong heart would sooner or later be driven mad by the endless stream of bizarre incidents.
Even the Unified Bureau's clerical staff—those who had risen this far were all work monsters tempered by an extreme corporate environment and cutthroat office politics. In terms of mental fortitude, they surpassed the vast majority of Ascenders.
The Workshop Masters joining the war and the remnants of Bo Xun had indeed dealt the Present Realm's counterattack plan a Sudden Enlightenment Blow. But given the Unified Bureau's style, it would have been ridiculous if they had not anticipated the worst possible outcome before making the plan.
Even a situation as terrible as "mobilizing a vast army, exhausting every last resource, storming the Gospel Throne, only to find the Grand Lord of Thunder and the King of Withered sitting at a table drinking tea with the Ranch Owner" had been mentally prepared for.
It could only be said that Ideal Homeland, the Unified Bureau, and the Continuance Institute had rather different interpretations of the word "prudence"—Ideal Homeland might consider something as outrageous as "we thought it over and this deal seems doable, and since all our brothers are gathered and our gear is ready, why wait for another day? Let's go represent the Present Realm and stab the bastards today" to be