Ren Fei paused for a moment before saying, "I need time to report to my superiors; after all, this is a major decision."
Hoshino nodded. "I'll give you three days! I expect your response in three days. Remember, this is your best choice."
Half an hour later.
Ren Fei and several temporary workers walked out of the house, turned to look at the door that had been closed again, and fell into deep thought.
To be honest, she knew what decision the higher-ups would make, but there was no denying that this decision would affect the future of Blue Star.
If the cooperation is successful, both Blue Star and Hua Country will usher in unprecedented development opportunities.
If it fails, the consequences will be unimaginable.
In the rain, Ren Fei's figure gradually disappeared at the village entrance.
The temporary workers stood under the eaves, watching the direction she left, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Do you think this is a reliable plan?"
"Whether it's reliable or not, we're just errand runners anyway. But if we can actually get our hands on alien technology, that would be really interesting."
"Don't think it's that simple. It seems we won't be leaving the village for the next three days."
"Alright, they'll definitely send people to monitor us. Our job is to make sure nothing goes wrong these three days."
"..."
Inside the room, Hoshino remained seated.
Standing by the window, Ma Xianhong suddenly asked, "Are you really just here to find a way out?"
Hoshino's lips curled into a slight smile. "What, you don't trust your own younger brother?"
"It's not that I don't believe you," Ma Xianhong turned around, "It's just that I think you probably have other plans."
The sound of rain grew louder, drowning out their subsequent conversation.
At the sentry post, several villagers wearing raincoats were on duty, vigilantly watching everyone entering or leaving the village.
An old warehouse on the west side of the village.
Chen Duo squatted beside the wooden box, quietly boiling a pot of spring water.
Chen Junyan lay at her feet, his wet nose occasionally brushing against her trouser leg.
The rain outside grew heavier, and water droplets seeped in through cracks in the warehouse's corrugated iron roof, forming small puddles on the concrete floor.
Chen Duo stared at the flickering oil lamp light in the water, ignoring the commotion in the village, and focused on pouring boiling water into the rough pottery teapot, watching the curled tea leaves unfurl in the swirling water.
Chen Junyan suddenly pricked up his ears and let out a low whimper.
Chen Duo reached out and ruffled its fluffy head. The yellow dog immediately quieted down and rested its chin on its special shoes.
An underground command center in the western suburbs of Beijing.
The meeting room was completely silent as the presentation materials were displayed on the projection screen.
Sitting opposite Ren Fei were five elderly people dressed in Tang suits, all in high spirits, who did not look like they were already in their seventies.
"Have you finished reading the materials? Share your thoughts, feel free to speak your mind," said the elderly man sitting in the middle.
Upon hearing this, the first elderly person on the left, representing the safety zone, stood up.
"I think the risk is too high."
"A self-proclaimed immortal from a parallel universe, talking about establishing a so-called backup plan—it all sounds suspiciously fake."
The second person on the right, the head of the technical department, had a different opinion.
"But judging from the energy manipulation techniques he demonstrated, he's at least two centuries ahead of us, and you've seen how he made his entrance. He crossed directly from space."
"So you mean you want to gamble? Don't forget they also mentioned some multiverse war."
The first general on the right said solemnly, "If this is true, then regardless of whether we agree or not, Blue Star is destined to be affected."
Inside the meeting room, arguments rose and fell.
Some have suggested a full-scale collaboration with Hoshino.
Some suggested a swindle, to get the benefits first, and whether or not the favor would be done would depend on the specific circumstances.
Some even suggested taking direct action, mobilizing all available resources to defeat the enemy.
Bang--
Seeing that his colleagues were talking increasingly outrageous things.
"Quiet down, everyone!"
The old man in the middle suddenly raised his hand and pressed it against the table, the bottom of the celadon cup hitting the wooden table with a crisp sound.
After everyone quieted down, the old man asked, "What is the population size of that world?"
Ren Fei opened the file, her fingertip tracing the page labeled 'Population Data', and reported.
According to Hoshino, his world is divided into two continents. The main continent has a population of about 400 million, while the population of the secondary continent is unknown, but it will not exceed 300 million. The total population is controlled within 800 million.
Eight hundred million?
The old man frowned. "That's equivalent to one-tenth of the total population of Blue Star. If they all flooded into Blue Star, the resource pressure would be too great."
While it's possible to place people in specific overseas regions, that's still someone else's territory and could potentially trigger unnecessary disputes.
However, stationing them in Hua Country would put a lot of pressure on resources...
"No, they won't be stationed on Blue Star," Ren Fei said.
Hoshino explicitly stated that Blue Star is merely a 'spacetime landing point,' through which his people will enter the universe to search for other habitable planets.
The meeting room fell silent, with only the hum of the projector piercing the air.
The general sneered, "Landing point? That sounds nice, but isn't it just turning us into a buffer zone between them and their external enemies? Once the dimensional war spreads, Blue Star will become their battlefield with other worlds."
"So whether we cooperate or not, we're already on the chopping block." The old man stared at the projection screen, his fingertips tapping rapidly on the file.
The only difference is whether you actively become the knife on the chopping board, or passively become the meat on the chopping board.
After all, Hoshino's attitude during the conversation was quite tough.
While in Biyou Village, he even said things like "either cooperate or go to war," completely disregarding his identity as Hua Country.
Of course, the so-called Hua Country identity only stemmed from the fact that the other party was Ma Xianhong's younger brother.
The authenticity of this relationship remains to be seen, but it can at least be considered a goodwill signal, indicating that the other party is unwilling to start a dimensional war prematurely.
It's also possible that they need to focus all their attention on the intruders and can't attend to this place for the time being.
A wave of silence swept through the conference room.
After a long silence, the old man suddenly raised his hand to rub his temples and said, "I'll cancel the foreign affairs meetings for the next few days. I need to go to Biyou Village tomorrow; I can't keep people waiting for three days."
"Going there personally is too risky, we should..."
"It's alright, risk always goes hand in hand with opportunity!"
"I want to see for myself whether this self-proclaimed immortal, Hoshino, is really as kind as he appears."
The old man stood up, the hem of his Tang suit billowing with the movement, and his aura suddenly increased.
The crowd tried to persuade him further, but fell silent when they saw the determination in the old man's eyes.
That is the composure to remain unmoved even when Mount Tai collapses before you.
The head of the technical department suddenly stood up and saluted.
"If you decide to go, I request to accompany you. The technical verification process requires the presence of qualified personnel."
Following this, several other elderly people stood up one after another, expressing their full cooperation in ensuring safety while advancing the risk contingency plan.