Hong Qiming's words acted like a signal, quickly silencing the councillors' discussions.
The noisy meeting room instantly grew much quieter.
Several councillors who had voiced the strongest objections exchanged glances and fell silent.
Seeing this, Lü Yongchang raised his eyebrows slightly.
It seemed Hong Qiming had accomplished quite a bit within Parliament lately.
At least, he commanded far more respect than when he first took office.
To some extent, though, this was not a good thing.
The concentration of power was bound to have some adverse consequences.
But while human civilization still faced a struggle for survival, a certain degree of centralized power could actually be highly beneficial.
Hong Qiming swept a solemn gaze around the room.
Seemingly noticing the hesitation on many councillors' faces, he said gravely:
"Everyone, if you have objections, please speak freely."
"This is Parliament, not a place where my word alone decides everything."
Hearing this, quite a few conservative councillors looked somewhat encouraged.
"Head Councillor, I believe there is a problem with Professor Lü's proposal."
A gray-haired councillor was the first to speak.
Hong Qiming's expression did not change in the slightest. "Councillor Anthony Ao, let's hear your thoughts."
Anthony Ao reached out to disengage the Electromagnetic Adhesion Device, stood up, and turned toward Lü Yongchang. "Professor Lü, could anything unexpected happen with genetic modification technology?"
"If something unexpected does happen, can the Academy of Sciences resolve it?"
Lü Yongchang considered this for a moment.
"Thanks to the biotechnology we obtained from the Proxima Centauri people, the Academy of Sciences' research into human genetics has now advanced far beyond its previous level."
"But human beings are complex organisms, after all."
"Even now, I cannot guarantee that nothing unexpected will happen during the genetic modification plan."
As his words fell, the meeting room erupted into disorder