Elder Zhao frowned slightly at those words and turned toward Mars, his gaze as calm as ever, and said flatly:
"If there's nothing else, I'll log off."
"My schedule is packed. I don't have time to listen to certain people spouting crap here."
"You!"
Mars's face instantly turned livid, a breath catching in his chest so badly that he almost couldn't breathe.
Seeing Mars put in his place right at the outset, some of the national leaders stifled their laughter and immediately pretended to study their conference documents to hide it, but all of them pricked up their ears.
"All right, all right, let's get started," Bear Country stepped in to smooth things over.
"Time is precious."
Mars forcibly suppressed his anger. He knew today's objective wasn't to trade insults.
He took a deep breath and adopted a pained expression of concern for his country and its people. The meeting officially began.
"Colleagues, we are gathered here today to discuss a grave subject-the future of humanity."
"Since the Doomsday crisis struck, Blue Star's environment has deteriorated by the day, and vast numbers of people around the globe have died in the disasters."
"According to projections from the latest scientific models, the global surviving population will shrink by another third within the next five years, falling below two billion."
"More frightening still, scientists have calculated that Blue Star's rotation may one day stop altogether."
"When that happens, tsunamis, earthquakes, atmospheric stripping, oxygen... all manner of disasters beyond our imagination will erupt in full, leaving humanity on the brink of destruction."
Mars's voice was compelling as he looked around.
"With our civilization's very survival at stake, I believe humanity should unite, cast aside all divisions and prejudices, and face this crisis hand in hand for our shared survival!"
"Well said!"
"Mr. Mars