Chapter 366 - 339: Opportunity or Not

Chapter 366: Chapter 339: Opportunity or Not

Sikokun was right. The intelligence had leaked.

On their way to the town, the contact delegation had their personal network devices returned to them.

The moment they went online, they saw that intelligence about the Alien Intelligence was everywhere. Discussions about it revealed a multitude of viewpoints and positions, leading to endless arguments.

"An alien that has to eat people to answer questions? This is obviously a plot by the Fire Thieves, right? It’s like they’re using it to further reduce the human population! Don’t fall for it!"

"Didn’t the reports say Parasites can be used as food, too? It’s not a bad deal to trade them for information valuable to humanity. After all, they’re our mortal enemies."

"Speaking of which, the Human Federation’s coalition forces are already fighting in Black Banner Country. Could this all be just to capture food for that alien monster?"

"No wonder they kept it a secret. Were they afraid of a public outcry?"

"Why does the Human Federation get to decide what questions are asked? We should have the right to vote, too!"

"I’m firmly against asking any questions! This is a Fire Thief plot!"

"If it were up to me, a man-eating Alien Intelligence like this should be obliterated with missiles. And don’t give me that nonsense about using Parasites as food. Who can guarantee there won’t be actual humans among them!"

Aside from the online outrage, another piece of news shocked the members of the contact delegation, especially the people from the Soloma Empire.

This was the surprise attack Fahe Country had launched against Soloma.

According to information posted online, this surprise attack involved several thousand Ascenders, as well as tens of thousands of armed ordinary people.

For an operation of this scale, Soloma had received no advance warning at all. It was a clear sign that the Fire Worship Cult had forged Fahe Country into an iron fortress, one that Soloma’s spies were completely unable to penetrate.

For many people, this event was even more important than the current Apocalypse Rule.

After all, few people would have the opportunity to ask the Alien Intelligence a question, but tens of millions of Soroma People were directly facing the threat of the Fire Worship Cult’s followers!

This caused the Soroma People to focus all their attention on resisting the invaders, and online rhetoric was filled with calls for a "strong counterattack" and to "annihilate Fahe."

As for Sisiya Country, the pressure on them skyrocketed after the intelligence about the Alien Intelligence was exposed.

Within just a few hours of the news breaking, large numbers of foreigners began attempting to enter the country from various border regions.

Needless to say, their purpose in entering the country was to see if they could get a chance to get close to the Alien Intelligence and ask it a question.

Asking it a question was the main point. If it was just to catch a glimpse of the alien, the fanatics would have already arrived and checked into Icefield Town ahead of time.

This was an extremely dangerous behavior, both for Sisiya and for its Governor, Yelena.

Because this Alien Intelligence’s Landing Site was inside Sisiya’s borders.

If an outsider were to ask an enormously costly question, what would the consequences be if the on-site food supply proved insufficient?

Based on several experiments and speculations, once it finished eating everything on-site, it would definitely go to the nearest source of food—in other words, Sisiya’s population centers.

The few closest prisons and the icefield town of Sennantata would be the first to bear the brunt. If all the town’s residents were eaten, the next stop would be the nearest city.

This was a consequence the people of Sisiya could not bear.

Therefore, Governor Yelena immediately ordered strict investigations into all unauthorized entrants and forbade any of them from approaching the Sennantata Icefield.

The two major powers, Soloma and Sisiya, each had their own matters to worry about. North Star was, of course, no exception.

...

「Strategy Research Room.」

Inside the conference room, a meeting on the topic of "Reactivating the Mind Network" was in session.

Of the answer the Alien Intelligence had given for identifying Parasites, the only part humanity understood was "Mind Network." The rest of the message was still being deciphered.

The most pressing task, therefore, was to find a way for humanity to reactivate the Mind Network it had once opened.

A young academician from the Science Academy was currently speaking:

"After receiving the news, we immediately reviewed all materials and data from the period of the twelfth Apocalypse Rule, ’Digital Detox.’ There was a discovery made at the time regarding the Mind Network."

"At the time, the general public believed that the Mind Network was intentionally opened for humanity by the Fire Thieves. The ostensible purpose was to replace humanity’s existing electronic networks during the Rule Stage, but the true purpose was to isolate the communication between Ascenders and ordinary people."

"I’m sure none of you have forgotten just how much the conflict between Ascenders and ordinary people intensified during that Rule Stage, right?"

Everyone in the room nodded.

After the Mind Network appeared, ordinary people launched widespread protests.

The reason was their belief that Ascenders would use the Mind Network to secretly plot plans and actions detrimental to ordinary people.

The "Shen Yun case," which erupted during that period, further exacerbated the conflict and nearly caused several major incidents.

Fortunately, when the Rule Stage ended, the Mind Network shut down and became unusable. This, combined with the introduction of new laws targeting Ascenders, led the ordinary populace to gradually cease their protests.

But who would have thought that now, of all times, this thing would become one of the methods needed to identify Parasites.

The young academician continued, "When the Mind Network existed, it was widely documented that after speaking frequently, Ascenders would begin to consume Psychic Power."