Mobilization

Huai Ruohe Ruhe's words did not cause any disturbance.

Everyone in the Conference Hall rationally accepted this fact.

However, this does not mean that the attendees could remain calm.

Whether we like it or not, the facts are before us. The question now is how to protect the lives and property of those in shelters, and even the continuation of human civilization, in the face of this harsh reality.

Perhaps still harboring a sliver of hope, a City Councilor in a suit voiced his doubts. "Are the events on the surface only based on this Deputy Captain Lu's side of the story? Has its veracity been verified?"

Quiet murmurs arose again at the scene, prompting many others to chime in with their own opinions.

It can only be said that human nature sometimes leads to situations where people bury their heads in the sand.

One-Eyed Dragon stood up and walked to the stage. "Leaders and colleagues, the leaders of nine settlements are under the surveillance of our Second Team. We have conducted routine inquiries, and the conclusion is that the authenticity of the intelligence is beyond question."

"Okay, then I'm all set."

The City Councilor, dressed in a suit and tie, sat back down in his seat, somewhat dazed, clearly still unable to process the heavy blow.

It is worth mentioning that after this City Councilor mentioned Lu Bai, many attendees in the Conference Hall did indeed focus their attention on Lu Bai.

Most humans do not consider the long-term future, are aware of their own limitations, and have no intention of carrying civilization forward.

Therefore, they are actually quite satisfied with their current lives, having no worries about food and clothing, and enjoying a sufficiently high social status.

Even though we now know that the Mona civilization existed above humanity, what does that have to do with them? We've never heard of a county magistrate starving to death.

They already had superiors, so this is just another one, which won't affect their comfortable lives.

Quite a few people share this view, and many exchange glances discreetly, reaching a consensus without saying a word.

The last City Councilor, sporting a Mediterranean hairstyle, asked, "Is it possible to mitigate the impact of this conflict through diplomatic means?"

As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Lu Bai.

Even though it wasn't explicitly stated, everyone could tell that he was asking if handing over Lu Bai would quell the anger of the Mona civilization.

"Cough cough..."

The old man didn't get up from his wheelchair; he simply coughed twice into the microphone in front of him.

After drawing all eyes in the Conference Hall, he said somewhat stiffly, "Let's vote by raising hands. Those who agree with Representative Kim's proposal, please raise your hands."

The people in the Conference Hall looked at each other in bewilderment, and soon a portion of them, about a quarter, raised their hands.

Seeing this, a burly man in an executive jacket in the front row pressed his earpiece. "Write down the list. Execute the arrest operation after the meeting."

He is Zhu Taihong, the head of the Security Defense Department of Shelter No. 9, who is nominally in charge of all armed forces in the Underground City except for City Direct Military.

The old man seemed unaware of what Minister Zhu was about to do, and raised his hand to gesture for everyone to put their hands down.

He then struggled to his feet and, with the help of medical staff, walked to the podium.

Looking around the room, he said in a solemn tone, "I know that those of you who didn't raise your hands probably don't want to confront the Mona people head-on, but I need to remind you that the Mona people have no goodwill towards us. The only reason they've left us room to live is because Mona people haven't achieved their goals yet."

"Once the Mona people get what they want, no matter how much we beg and plead, Mona people won't keep us here."

"This confrontation was inevitable; it was only a matter of time."

"I know you're scared, you're worried, and you feel that just getting by like this is fine, and you don't want your peaceful life to be disrupted."

"But I must remind you that humanity's peaceful life was already shattered 413 years ago when the Mona people's fleet arrived on Earth. The Mona people plundered our homes and more than half of our people in a way that we were powerless to resist. The safe havens that are now providing you with a stable life are nothing more than deliberate enclosures left behind by the Mona people."

"This is not starting a war, because this war has never ended."

"I urge you all, for the sake of your children and future generations, for the future of humanity, to fully commit yourselves to this cause."

"At least this time, we won't be as passive as we were back then."

Frankly speaking, what the old man said was not inflammatory at all.

And due to the aging of his body, his speech was intermittent.

However, none of the attendees in the Conference Hall stood up to refute or raise questions at this moment; instead, they all nodded in a rather spectacular display.

To reiterate, the regime in this Underground City is far from being corrupt.

To reach a high position, one must at least be mentally competent, if not morally flawless.

Once the facts were laid out, they all knew what the right thing to do was.

The old man nodded, then turned to look at Lu Bai sitting below. "You will lead the following meeting and explain in detail your experience fighting the Mona people."

Lu Bai naturally stood up and began to explain in detail.

Although he didn't think it had any real effect.

However, it is meaningful for a civilization.

The academicians from the Research Institute took notes while occasionally asking questions.

"We can actually produce controllable high-frequency microwaves, but considering the marginal effect, we cannot carry out precision strikes at such a distant location."

"Can you understand the principles of constraints?"

"It's not understood at the moment. Theoretically, gravitational collapse can only be produced by stars or interstellar matter, eventually forming compact stars, such as white dwarfs and black holes. The whole process is irreversible."

"It's difficult to make a judgment without supporting data."

"I requested to go to the site to investigate; I suspect it wasn't a real gravitational disaster."

"How is the enemy's defense? To put it another way, if the isolation door in front of the seclusion elevator has a defense rating of 1, then what is the starship's defense rating?"

"In that case, our attack methods should be more than enough to counter the enemy's starships, but this is just my opinion, and we still need to put it into practice to get a result."

As these academicians spoke one after another, for some reason, the other attendees' fear of the Mona people inexplicably lessened.

Fear often stems from the unknown. When you can peel back the layers of mystery step by step, even if you still know the gap is huge, you can still have the courage to fight.