Meeting

In western Yandu, inside a large building that looked rather unremarkable from the outside—

The conference room was lit by soft, warm yellow light, yet the air carried a sense of stagnation and weight.

Groups of people had already taken their seats around the long table. As far as the eye could see, they were almost uniformly dressed in dark suits. Most of the attendees were at least middle-aged, their expressions calm. Before each of them lay an open leather notebook, a pencil, a cup of tea, and a paper document.

—On the covers of some that had already been closed, two striking red words were clearly printed: "Top Secret."

There were no nameplates, no communication devices, and no uncontrolled electronic equipment. Most of what was discussed in the ongoing meeting was permitted to exist only in the minds of the attendees and in their handwritten notes.

"...The materials alone may not give everyone a clear picture, and some comrades have not yet come into contact with the specific circumstances. But the documents before you all already cover the general intelligence. If anything remains unclear for now, you may continue referring to them."

In the conference room of several dozen people, a middle-aged leader seated at the head of the table was currently speaking. He raised a hand and tapped the document before him. There was no trace of putting on airs as he began explaining with the smooth familiarity of someone who had rehearsed it countless times.

"...Simply put, after multiple large-scale verification efforts by the relevant departments, at around four in the afternoon, Yandu time, on August 12 of this year—five days ago—at least several thousand citizens across widely separated regions of the country, covering more than twenty provinces in total, simultaneously experienced an extremely unusual [sighting phenomenon]..."

"Because this anomaly involved an important researcher at the Yandu Academy of Sciences, the responsible departments swiftly noticed the situation after the researcher woke up and voluntarily reported the relevant information, then began further verification..."

"...It is known that after making their choices, some of the witnesses who selected 'Yes' immediately fell into an abnormal coma..."

"...According to identity screening through the internet and public security systems, and from direct communication with some of those who awakened afterward, we learned that they entered another 'space' of currently indeterminate nature in a state resembling mental activity during sleep..."

"...The specific events that occurred there may be referenced, to a limited extent, through [Fourth Kind Contact], as well as a web novel written in his youth by the author surnamed Zhang mentioned in the document..."

Some people had already begun to frown, because the documents before them clearly stated that "Fourth Kind Contact" was a technical term in UFO research and extraterrestrial-life discussions, specifically referring to "experiences of humans being abducted by extraterrestrials or taken aboard alien spacecraft."

"...The difference is that some citizens even experienced death within that 'space.' Aside from the subjective psychological trauma it caused, they seemed not to have suffered any overly obvious effects after awakening. This preliminarily confirms the claim that people entered it in a state of 'mental' activity..."

"...And according to the academy's test and evaluation results, aside from certain Exchange Listings rashly consumed or used by citizens who had become so-called [Main God Users] before or after waking up, the small number of 'special objects' currently collected and mentioned in the document—such as [Nanite Repair Fluid], [Holy Light Feather], and [Lesser Degraded Venom Derivative]—have been confirmed to possess the effects described..."

"Some of these items have even produced astonishing test results that defy normal physical experience."

"Practically speaking, according to the experts' conclusions, that 'place' may indeed contain 'concrete products' corresponding to all kinds of myths and legends, science fiction, magic, and even every form of fantasy creation containing unreal elements that we know of..."

Following the speech, many of the older attendees rapidly flipped through the unfamiliar names in the appendix at the end of the document, titled "List of Exchangeable Items Known to Exist in the Main God Game (Compiled from Awakened Users' Recollections)"—

...[Celestial Being Form]...[Unit-01]...[Book of Raziel]...[Water from the Eternal Well]...[Divine Firmament Five-Thunder Transformation True Commentary]...

Even though most were terms they had never heard before and could not understand at all, that did not stop them from clearly seeing the value and threat behind them from the brief one- or two-line annotations following each entry.

—It was both deeply unsettling and intensely tempting.

Many people could not help holding their breath, while others showed brief fluctuations in their composure.

Everyone knew very well what it meant when something could still be brought up in a setting like this.

This was often when one's self-control was tested.

Without paying attention to such minor details, the speech on the stage continued.

"...Some of the research and speculative findings have been clearly marked in the documents. Please be sure to examine them carefully after the meeting..."

"...Additionally, it can be preliminarily confirmed that in this [Coma Incident], nearly all coma victims whose identities could be verified were citizens within our country, including some who had been forced to lose their [Tourist] status after failing the [Newcomer Trial] mentioned in the materials."

"Even the only two or three foreign-national participants were confirmed to have been within our territory when the incident occurred. Those special-case individuals have currently been invited back by National Security to assist with the investigation..."

"Other than that, we have not yet been able to confirm the specific criteria by which this mysterious 'space' selects its participants, nor can we determine its possible purpose..."

As they listened and read through the documents at hand, many in the audience frowned even more deeply.

They understood very well that in just a few days, these statistics and intelligence reports, rapidly tested and gathered though they appeared broad and vague, represented an enormous deployment of manpower and resources once the scope of investigation was initially expanded to the scale of an entire nation.

To say nothing else, in a modern country with a population measured in the hundreds of millions, identifying one by one a "very small group" whose criteria were not entirely clear involved difficulties, both overt and hidden, that were far from as simple as they appeared.

"There is one thing everyone must first understand." The leader paused in the middle of his presentation, raised his gaze from the document in his hands, and swiftly swept it across every face present. "According to the academy's assessment and the conclusions reached through concentrated discussions among experts in the relevant fields, 'Wherever one walks, traces are left behind.'"

"Judging from historical logic, the hierarchy of information transmission, and the foundations of how human society operates, the experts are largely in agreement that this 'Main God Game' may not necessarily be appearing in this world for the first time. But from the earliest humans who were capable of recording information by tying knots, all the way to modern society—especially over the past century or two, when information transmission capabilities have developed at a breakneck pace—its influence most likely has not manifested too obviously on this planet beneath our feet..."

Time slipped away second by second amid intensely strained thought.

The water in the teacups had gone down, but no one refilled them.

Naturally, there were no fools among the "listeners" present. Even those who did not know much about the relevant fields quickly understood the experts' meaning as simply relayed by the leader—

There were undoubtedly many obscure and even fragmented portions in real history, but if this "Main God Game" had truly existed since some unknown age, then the more often it interfered with human society and the wider its influence, the greater the theoretical probability that it would leave anomalous "traces."

Especially as time drew closer to the modern era, with the progress and development of human civilization making the effects of information recording and transmission increasingly distinct within society as a whole, such "traces" should naturally spread through population migration, civilizational exchange, and social development. They should not remain confined to a single region, population, or country for long, and their effects should become increasingly obvious.

But in reality—from what was known of history and society, no country should have any relevant records.

That was, without considering low-probability possibilities such as "all related traces, people, and objects having been completely erased."

Then, in other words... this time was most likely the first instance in which its "influence had clearly appeared"!

The eyes of many people flickered slightly. Clearly, they had almost immediately understood the difference, and even inferred some of the issues behind it...

After glancing around at everyone present, the leader at the head of the table naturally had no intention of keeping them in suspense.

Rather, the steady-faced middle-aged man gradually sped up his pace. By the end, he simply tossed aside the document in his hands and began speaking without notes.

"...At present, the academy has confirmed the authenticity of this 'Main God Game' and its exchangeable items, as well as the immense value contained within them. It would be no exaggeration to say that this is an immeasurable treasure that cannot be described by the word 'benefit' alone! But it also contains enormous risks!"

"And according to some of the information gathered from this Coma Incident, our country has most likely already secured an 'early-mover advantage'..."

"...But everyone should understand that paper cannot wrap fire, and there are no walls through which the wind cannot pass."

At this point, the middle-aged leader's tone grew somewhat urgent and impassioned.

"Especially in the short term, with a considerable number of 'users' whose identities have not yet been confirmed or whom our comrades have not effectively contacted still scattered among the public, it is fundamentally unrealistic to completely block such information through internet controls and subsequent contact management alone..."

"...Therefore, aside from confidentiality requirements, our most fundamental need now is to race against time! To race against time at any cost!"

"Before the information further ferments and spreads, before those countries outside catch wind of it! While maintaining stability, we must find ways to invest proactively and further into this so-called 'Main God Game,' expanding our current advantage!"

"No matter how unreasonable it sounds! As long as it truly exists, then it naturally has its reasons for existing! What we need to do is respond appropriately and swiftly!"

His voice grew louder and louder, while everyone present listened with grave attention.

"...Comrades, it is foreseeable that our nation and our people now stand at the beginning of a brand-new era! We may even have fortunately stepped into one of the foremost starting positions!"

"...During the great Age of Exploration, we failed to catch up and could only watch England's flags flutter across the world! During the transformations of the Industrial Age, the nations rose in competition, yet we lagged behind! And now, another race into a new era has begun, without a starting gun!"

"...Everyone should understand the importance of this. At a time like this, whoever falls behind others is abandoning the country and abandoning the people! They will be condemned by their descendants..."

For those inside the conference room, this day seemed particularly brief and particularly long. For the few who knew what was happening outside it, perhaps it felt the same.

Almost no one knew what these attendees from various administrative departments and institutions, all holding positions of considerable power, had actually discussed inside.

But after this highly classified meeting ended, as opinions were unified, a special functional department provisionally named the "National Special Affairs Investigation and Administration Bureau," or the Special Investigation Bureau for short, began its initial formation.

Large numbers of personnel lists, work outlines, and detailed task lists swiftly took shape afterward and were put into tentative practical implementation and development processes.

Ultimately, the end of a meeting often meant only the beginning of the real work.

...And the undercurrents and waves stirred by these matters might not be clearly felt by the world until much later.