"Are these people crazy?" Hou Laosan gritted his teeth. "They won't even give out a single spot?"
Inside the meeting hall, many members of parliament silently watched the parliamentary hall, their feelings complicated. After today, many of them would no longer belong here. With the formation of a new parliament, powerful families would have to give up a sufficient number of seats.
"You still want to negotiate?" Elder Xu looked at him strangely.
"Why can't we negotiate? Do they really think they can outsmart us?" Hou San was furious.
Despite being the Laosan in the Hou Family and enjoying numerous resources since childhood, in terms of individual strength, he is currently inferior to many junior lieutenants in the military. If he were to compete for a spot, he might not be eliminated beyond a million, but he certainly can't rely on his privileged background.
How could he tolerate this?
In particular, many people from humble backgrounds will have a better starting point in the New World than him. Why is that?
Elder Xu was too lazy to continue talking to this guy. He still couldn't see the situation clearly. From the moment Elder Hou and the others made it clear that the situation was irreversible, how could the marginalized members of the fence-sitting faction possibly stand on the side of these direct descendants who were profiting from the situation without the restraint of Elder Hou and the others?
Wouldn't it be more advantageous for them to have a fair selection process involving both civil and military personnel?
Why should you fight against those armies outside just to protect your interests?
People aren't crazy to do something so thankless and exhausting.
He even suspected that the operation had gone so smoothly because many of those marginalized youths had probably already secretly defected.
Just then, a group of unusual people burst into the conference room.
Most of these people have gray hair and are dressed simply. If you pay attention, you'll notice that they frequently appear in various media outlets, mainly on technology channels.
" Elder Xu is here too?" The leading elder greeted Elder Xu first upon entering the hall. Elder Xu nodded slightly, a gloomy glint in his eyes. What trouble were these people up to now?
Now that the matter has been settled, he doesn't want to cause any further trouble.
" Mr. Kong, why are you only arriving now?" Hou Laosan quickly stood up to greet them.
"Councilor Hou, you're too kind. We were discussing a topic when such a big incident happened. We rushed here as soon as possible."
The old man gestured for the others to sit down.
A closer look reveals that they are all prominent scientists and academicians from various fields, who frequently appear on various platforms and in technology endorsements.
" Elder Xu, how could you so easily agree to such absurd conditions?" Elder Kong frowned as soon as he sat down. "Isn't this creating chaos?"
Elder Xu frowned inwardly; this group of people was the Academic Clique that even he disliked dealing with the most.
They control the technological resources of the Central Federation, and have long been so vile as to be utterly repulsive.
Over the years, they have consumed countless national resources, yet their achievements are often inferior to those of amateur scientists. However, they are exceptionally adept at xenophobia, and any promising scientist who is not part of their faction, no matter how talented, cannot enter their circle.
As the largest resource-developing Federation, the Central Federation still lags behind the West in many technologies, and these bastards bear a great deal of responsibility for that.
"Which point is Elder Kong referring to?" Elder Xu asked slowly.
"How can this Disintegration Program be so easily eliminated? How can safety be guaranteed afterward?"
Elder Xu calmly looked at the person opposite him. The Disintegration Program was unique to the Central Federation. The Western Federation hadn't used that thing for many years, and there hadn't been any major safety incidents. To put it bluntly, as long as the strong got the status they deserved, and unless they had an extreme personality, why would they cause destruction?
"Due to the circumstances, we have no choice but to cancel." Elder Xu shook his head and didn't argue further.
Upon hearing this, Elder Kong frowned. The Disintegration Program was something they had developed together, and it was a crucial factor that the Federation relied on. Now that it was gone, their influence would likely be greatly diminished.
But we can't worry about that now; the key point is the last one.
"Let's put that aside for now. I looked into the Civil and Martial Selection on the way here, and it seems like we're making too many assumptions!"
"Why do you say that?" Elder Xu sighed and asked, following the other person's words.
"Those people take it for granted that this is the fairest way, but can this really select the most suitable candidates? Ability isn't everything. What about character, prestige, and organizational skills? Aren't they even considered? Especially the written exam, where the winner is determined entirely by the questions. That's absurd! A scientist's unique inspiration is the most important thing. The questions can only determine the foundation. If we use that as a test, how many excellent researchers will be buried?"
Elder Xu looked at them and knew that this was their real purpose for coming.
The martial arts exam touches on the interests of aristocratic families. Now, age and background are no longer considered; everyone relies on their own abilities to secure a spot. Losing is naturally unacceptable. Although someone like Hou Laosan, who is all show and no substance, might be anxious, most of the elite students are still confident. But this group is different.
This group, which occupies a large amount of Federation resources and wears the guise of scientists, is actually focused on forming cliques and fighting for power. They haven't been exposed to the latest knowledge for many years, and many of their papers and academic achievements are obtained by exploiting their subordinates.
Everyone knows that if you don't write papers for your supervisors and give them the lion's share of your academic achievements, you can forget about getting by in this field. This has led many arrogant young people to despise this field, but there are also quite a few truly talented people who grit their teeth and persevere.
However, this is a vicious cycle, because once they rise to the top, they will also exploit those below them, forgetting how they were exploited in the first place.
Generation after generation, those who truly control the resources are no longer pure scientists.
But at this crucial moment, the rules of the New World are to be strictly enforced.
This left these bigwigs, who hadn't been exposed to new knowledge for who knows how many years, completely dumbfounded.
The majority of the New World recruitment slots are for military personnel, while most research personnel will be assigned to the Jiangnan and Southeast regions. The number of slots for research personnel is already limited, only slightly over ten thousand, while the number of engineers with solid theoretical knowledge across the country is well over ten million.
If you asked these old guys to take the exam against those people, they might not even be able to beat those maintenance engineers who work in the wind and rain.
It would be strange not to be anxious at this point.
"We didn't make these rules," Elder Xu said with a forced wry smile. He had long disliked these vile fellows and adopted a spectator's attitude. "Those rebellious peasants wouldn't understand these things. If they really understood the bigger picture, they wouldn't have caused such a huge commotion, would they?"
Elder Kong and the others nodded, but they weren't there to listen to the other party's excuses. So they said, "These unreasonable rules should be addressed. I think I should talk to those people. Scientific research talent in this New World is crucial; we can't be so willful. This concerns the future of all mankind."
Even Hou Laosan couldn't help but roll his eyes at these words; these guys really knew how to exaggerate.
"I suggest that the elders and senior members of each academic society personally conduct the selection process, making a comprehensive evaluation based on research achievements and the quality of the papers. How can a single test determine the outcome? That's too hasty."
"That's right," a group of old men nodded in agreement.
Elder Xu curled his lip. " The Central Federation exams have always been the most rigid, and you're the ones who set those rigid procedures. Now you're saying one exam can't determine the outcome?"
So, when it's your turn, you won't be so hasty, right?
Of course, he didn't intend to argue with these old guys himself, since there were already ready-made replacements.
"Don't worry, sir. Xu Min and Gong Mingrui, the representatives from over there, will be here soon. You can raise your opinions with them in person. Elder Kong, you are all leading figures in your respective academic schools. I believe those people will listen to your advice, given your expertise."
Upon hearing this, Elder Kong and the others' expressions softened slightly.
True, what do those peasants know?
We'll give them a good talking-to later; we're not worried that they won't take our opinions seriously.
After all, even at their most powerful, aristocratic families couldn't do anything about their academic faction, let alone those bumpkins.
The New World. Warlocks, unlimited lifespan—this is practically their hope for establishing a true academic family! How could they possibly miss it?!