Meeting

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

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

Groups of people had already taken their seats around the long table. Nearly all wore dark suits. Most of these attendees were middle-aged or older, 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 documents 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 the matters being discussed at this meeting were only permitted to exist in the attendees' minds and in their handwritten notes.

"...The materials alone may not give everyone a clear impression. Some comrades have not yet come into contact with the specific situation, but the documents before you 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. Without putting on airs, he began explaining with the practiced fluency of someone who had rehearsed it many times.

"...Simply put, after multiple large-scale verification efforts by the relevant departments, at around four in the afternoon Yandu time on August 12th of this calendar 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, who proactively reported the relevant information after waking up, the responsible departments swiftly took notice and began further verification..."

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

"...Based on identity screening and investigation through the internet and public security systems, and communications with some of those who have awakened afterward, we have learned that they entered another 'space,' whose nature cannot yet be defined, in a state similar to mental activity during sleep..."

"...The specific events that took place there may be referenced, to a limited extent, against [Fourth Kind Contact], as well as an online literary work written in his youth by the author surnamed Zhang mentioned in the documents..."

Some people had already begun to frown, because the documents before them plainly noted that "Fourth Kind Contact" was a technical term in UFO research and extraterrestrial life topics, specifically referring to "the experience of humans being abducted by aliens or taken aboard alien spacecraft."

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

"...And according to the academy's testing and evaluation results, aside from certain exchange items rashly consumed by citizens who had become so-called [Main God users] before and after awakening, a small number of 'special items' currently mentioned in the documents—including [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 ordinary physical experience."

"In practical terms, according to the experts' assessments, 'that place' may indeed contain 'concrete products' corresponding to all manner of myths and legends, science fiction, magic, and even every kind of fantasy creation containing unreal elements that we know of..."

Following the speech, quite a few of the older attendees rapidly flipped through the unfamiliar names listed in the appendix at the back of the document, titled "List of Exchangeable Items Known in the Main God Game (Compiled from Awakened Users' Recollections)"—

...[Celestial Being Form]...[Unit-01]...[Book of Raziel]...[Water from the Eternal Well]...[True Annotation on the Transformation of the Five Divine Thunderbolts]...

Even though most of them had never heard of these terms and could not even understand them, that did not stop them from clearly seeing the value and threat behind each item from the brief one- or two-line explanations following them.

—It was both deeply unsettling and deeply covetous.

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

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

This was often the moment that tested one's ability to remain composed.

Ignoring such minor details, the speech on the stage continued.

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

"...In addition, 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 citizens who were forced to lose their [Visitor] status because they failed the [Newcomer Trial] mentioned in the materials."

"Even the only two or three foreign-national participants were clearly within our national territory at the time of the incident. These special cases have currently been invited back by National Security to assist with the investigation..."

"Beyond that, we have yet to determine the specific criteria by which this mysterious 'space' selects participants, nor can we judge its possible purpose..."

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

They understood very well that in just a few days, gathering and testing these seemingly broad and vague statistical intelligence reports—and preliminarily expanding the scope of the investigation to the scale of an entire country—represented an enormous deployment of manpower and resources.

To say nothing else, in a modern country whose population was counted in the hundreds of millions, specifically screening individuals to identify a "tiny minority" whose criteria were not fully defined was far more troublesome, both openly and behind the scenes, than it appeared on the surface.

"There is one thing everyone must first understand," the leader paused in the midst of his presentation, raising his eyes from the document in his hands and swiftly sweeping them across every face present. "According to the academy's assessment and the conclusions reached through concentrated discussion among experts in related fields, 'wherever one walks, traces are left behind.'"

"Based on historical logic, the relationships within hierarchical information transmission chains, and the foundations of how human society operates, the experts were nearly unanimous in believing that this 'Main God Game' may not necessarily be appearing in this world for the first time. But at the very least, from ancient humans who had only begun to record information by tying knots through modern society—and especially during the past one or two centuries, when information transmission capabilities have developed at tremendous speed—its influence has most likely never appeared too obviously on the planet beneath our feet..."

Under this intense strain of thought, time quietly slipped away second by second.

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

Naturally, none of the "listeners" present were fools. Even those who did not know much about the relevant fields quickly understood what the leader meant by his simple summary of the experts' views—

In real history, there were undoubtedly many obscure and even fragmented areas. But if this "Main God Game" had truly existed since some unknown time in the past, then the more frequently it interfered with human society and the wider its range of influence, the greater the theoretical probability that it would have left anomalous "traces."

Especially the closer one came to modern times, as human civilization developed and progressed and the effects of information recording and transmission became further defined within collective civilization, such "traces" should naturally spread with population movement and migration, civilizational exchange, and development. They should not remain confined to a single region, group, or country for long. Their impact should become increasingly obvious.

But in reality—from historical and social perspectives, no country should have any relevant records.

Unless one considered low-probability possibilities such as "all related traces, people, and objects were completely erased."

Then, in other words... this time was most likely the so-called first instance in which its "influence had become clearly apparent"!

The eyes of many people flickered slightly. They had obviously grasped the difference almost immediately, and even inferred certain issues behind it...

The leader at the head of the table swept his gaze over everyone present. Naturally, he had no intention of keeping them in suspense.

Rather, the speaking pace of this steady-faced middle-aged man was gradually quickening. By the end, he simply cast aside the document in his hand and began speaking without a script.

"...At present, the academy has confirmed the authenticity of this 'Main God Game' and these exchange items, as well as their enormous value. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is an immeasurable fortune that cannot be described by the word 'benefit' alone! But it also carries great risks!"

"Moreover, based on some of the information gathered from this 'Coma Incident,' our country currently most likely possesses a 'first-mover advantage'..."

"...But everyone should understand that paper cannot contain fire, and there are no walls without cracks."

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

"Especially in the short term, when a large number of 'users' whose identities have yet to be confirmed or effectively contacted by our comrades remain scattered among the public, it is fundamentally unrealistic to completely seal off this information through internet controls and subsequent contact management alone..."

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

"Before the information further ferments and spreads, before those countries outside catch wind of it! While maintaining stability, we must find every possible way to take further initiative in entering this so-called 'Main God Game' and expand our current advantage!"

"No matter how unreasonable it sounds! As long as it truly exists, there is naturally a reason for its existence! And what we must do is respond to it appropriately and swiftly!"

His voice grew louder and louder, and everyone present listened with solemn 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 helplessly as England's flags flew across the world! During the transformations of the Industrial Age, nations rose to contend for supremacy, yet we fell behind! And now, another race into a new era has begun, one without a starting gun!"

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

To those inside the conference room, that day seemed both especially brief and especially long. To the few people outside who knew of it, perhaps it felt the same.

Almost no one knew what these highly influential attendees from various departments and administrative bodies had specifically discussed inside.

But after this highly classified meeting ended and a consensus had been reached, a special functional department tentatively named the "National Special Affairs Investigation and Management Bureau," or "Special Investigation Bureau" for short, had already begun taking preliminary shape.

Large numbers of personnel lists, work outlines, and detailed task lists rapidly took form afterward, and were put into tentative practical implementation and construction processes.

In the end, the conclusion of a meeting often merely signified the beginning of the real work.

...And the undercurrents and surging waves stirred up by these matters might only be clearly felt by the world much later.