Since scientists around the world have been repeatedly targeted by assassinations, Mei Yiqiu has not left the laboratory for a long time. Even when attending special meetings of the United Nations, he does so via online video.
The conference room was filled with white smoke. Mei Yiqiu liked this feeling; the strong smell of smoke made his body more relaxed, as if every pore of his body was smoking. At this time, his brain could focus more calmly on thinking without having to be distracted by other aspects of his body.
Therefore, when he was alone, he often turned off the air purification system and smoke alarm system, letting puffs of white smoke fill the room. Of course, this was limited to his office and meeting room; in the laboratory, he still maintained considerable restraint.
The United Nations Space Management Committee just held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in the South Pacific. The discovery of research vessel wreckage and submarine debris has put many countries on high alert, prompting calls to deploy their navies to the Pacific Ocean. Even the traditionally powerful United States has been unable to stem the tide and has had to put its entire Pacific Ocean Fleet on high alert, ready to respond to any unforeseen events.
Mei Yiqiu understood that this was nothing more than those countries using this incident to vie for control of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding interests. Besides a few major powers, many smaller countries were also involved. Some countries joined voluntarily; although they lacked the strength to fight for control of the sea, they were second to none in their ability to wade through troubled waters, hoping to fish in troubled waters and gain as much as they could. Other countries were forced into it because they were located in the vicinity of the incident and had no choice but to participate.
The meeting lasted for more than four hours, Mei Yiqiu feeling both tired and bored. However, as a crucial advisor to the Space Management Committee, he had no choice but to attend.
He was well aware that the more countries involved, the greater the possibility of conflict. And with the general economic downturn in many countries, some people were eager to find a place to launch a military operation in order to alleviate domestic conflicts.
Moreover, the world has just experienced a period of panic caused by consciousness invasion, toxoplasmosis, and the Gray Brain Virus, making it most vulnerable to causing even greater chaos.
Some might think that alien invasions or global catastrophes would unite humanity like never before, but Mei Yiqiu knows that such people have never experienced true suffering. Suffering never unites people; it only exposes the ugliest side of human nature.
Those in power are obsessed with the endless power struggles, and they cannot stop even if the struggles do not bring them any real benefits. Mei Yiqiu calls this the disease of power, a disease that has no cure because it is rooted in human nature and genes, like cancer cells lurking deep in the human soul. When conscience is slightly lax, it will erupt and become incurable.
Mei Yiqiu was a scientist, powerless to change anything. But he was not a hermit, so he had to do something.
Only after the endless debates subsided Mei Yiqiu formally submit his proposal to the United Nations:
The Dream Society Dream Foundation was shut down globally, its related accounts were investigated, and Ronald Cohen was put on the wanted list.
Because of his proposal, the meeting was extended for another two hours, but in the end, fewer than ten countries agreed. The other countries said that their laws did not allow it, and that there must be sufficient evidence to prove the connection between the Dream Society and Ronald Cohen and aliens, and that a trial was required.
Finally, the committee proposed an alternative solution: the Space Management Committee would establish a special prosecutor's team to prosecute Cohen in the International Court of Justice. If the court ultimately found Cohen guilty, all countries could take unified action to issue a global warrant for Ronald Cohen's arrest.
The charges were discussed for another hour, because there has never been a law specifically targeting extraterrestrials and Parasitic Consciousness. Finally, it was decided to prosecute them for crimes against humanity.
Mei Yiqiu sighed and turned off the remote conference screen, refilled his pipe, and lit it with a match. The smoke passed through his lungs and was exhaled through his nose, filling the conference room. His fluffy and stiff white hair spread out in the thick fog, like a pine tree covered with snow in winter.
Just as she finished another pipe of tobacco, Mei Ziqing knocked on the door and came in. She was choked by the thick smoke, coughing and wiping it away with her hand, frowning as she asked, "Ah, Professor, why do you smoke so much?"
"I've been smoking this much all along!" the professor replied.
Mei Ziqing sensed that the professor was in a bad mood, so she stopped complaining, reached out and pressed a button on the wall to turn on the air circulation and purification system.
The smoke dissipated quickly.
Mei Ziqing poured a glass of water and said, "Professor, you don't need to get angry over those politicians."
Mei Yiqiu said, "I'm not angry; they're not worth getting angry at. I'm just wondering why humanity has developed into the kind of social structure we have today. When fate reaches a crucial crossroads, the ones deciding our direction are a bunch of foolish politicians!"
"Aren't there outstanding scientists like you?" Mei Ziqing said, helping him clean the soot from his pipe. "It's because of you that humanity progresses."
Mei Yiqiu laughed and said, "That's what you say to a child, trying to fool an old man like me." He then asked, "Any news from Hans?"
Mei Ziqing said, "I just received an email from Professor Hans. The performance testing of the second-generation Space Box went smoothly. If all goes well, we can connect to the Dream Guide game next week."
"Okay, that's good." Mei Yiqiu rubbed her eyelids. "We need to hurry. Once the second-generation product is out, we'll launch the Dream Guide game for public testing. You need to keep a close eye on the game's global marketing and distribution."
Mei Ziqing asked curiously, "Professor, aren't we supposed to wait for Qingmu and Professor Su to return for internal testing? You said that only after they've tested it can some functions be used with confidence, otherwise there would be a significant risk."
Mei Yiqiu said, "It's too late, we can't wait for them. Send Hans another email and tell him to speed things up. Also, contact the Xia Family. The game's promotion still relies on capital. Huanyu International and Changzhou International both have entertainment businesses, and they also cooperate with Penguin Group. We must get their full cooperation. In addition, I also need to meet with Elder Xia. After the game's promotion, the mass production of the Space Box is a big deal. I want to set up another processing base in China."
"Wasn't it supposed to be HW Company that produced it?" Mei Ziqing asked.
" HW Company Parasitic Consciousness will definitely infiltrate, so we absolutely must keep the core components and game intentions hidden from them. However, their production conditions are better; we can outsource the production of the virtual reality part and some related components to them, and temporarily entrust the assembly of the outer shell to FSK Company, with us sending people to supervise. But ultimately, we still need to have our own production base."
Mei Ziqing wrote everything down and was about to take care of it when she suddenly remembered something and said, "Professor, Bian Ziyuan has been going to the top-floor lab a lot lately, saying he's checking the game code, but I always feel like he's acting a bit strange. Also, Tu-shu and I discovered that he's secretly used the Space Box, but you said that no one is allowed to use the Space Box alone."
Mei Yiqiu his hand and said, "Let him go! We shouldn't restrict talented young people too much. Let's see what he can achieve; maybe he'll have some unexpected gains!"
Mei Ziqing nodded and left, but she still felt uneasy.
What unexpected gains might there be?
The professor clearly stated that before the second-generation box was released, there was a risk that someone entering the Space Box would lose consciousness. Isn't he afraid a genius might accidentally become a vegetable?
Or was he an experiment?
Mei Ziqing suddenly shuddered, startled by her own thought.