"I believe everyone already has some understanding of this incident."
Lü Yongchang wasted no time on pleasantries and went straight to the point.
"How do you think we should handle the Latorians who surrendered?"
The moment he posed the question, a low murmur of discussion filled the conference room.
Almost everyone looked hesitant and conflicted.
That was only natural.
Unlike this situation, after the Proxima Centauri Battle, there had been no prisoners of war at all. To save time and eliminate future threats, humanity had opted for genocide.
Thus, handling prisoners of war from another civilization was also a first in human history.
Despite the hesitation and uncertainty on everyone's faces, Lü Yongchang showed no sign of impatience.
He simply sat quietly in his seat, his gaze slowly sweeping over those around him.
Clearly, the Chief Scientist's scrutiny was not easy to endure.
Whether they were academicians from the Academy of Sciences or members of Parliament, most instinctively lowered their heads and averted their eyes the moment they met Lü Yongchang's gaze.
For one thing, over the past few centuries, Lü Yongchang had all but become a god in their eyes as the man who had single-handedly led Human Civilization away from Earth and out into the universe.
For another, this meeting was a political minefield.
Although ostensibly about how to deal with the Latorian prisoners of war, the meeting was fundamentally about humanity's future attitude toward alien civilizations.
Contact with alien civilizations and how to handle them had always been an extremely sensitive issue.
One wrong move could easily have disastrous consequences.
And so... not only the members of Parliament, but even the academicians from the Academy of Sciences were unwilling to be the first to offer an opinion.
Only a few seasoned veterans dared to meet Lü Yongchang's