Suroma Empire, Senate.
Several hundred years ago, the empire was initially jointly established by thirteen families. Each family selected one decision-maker, and these thirteen individuals formed an institution responsible for deciding important imperial affairs, named the Senate.
After entering the era of the Doomsday Rules, the Senate was responsible for analyzing each rule and formulating response decisions. However, the empire's king held veto power; if the king rejected a decision, the Senate had to revise it.
At this moment, in the Senate's council chamber, information regarding the Sakura Prayer Country's warship operation was already displayed on the electronic screens.
After the rule of visual elimination took effect, each senator could still see, clearly having used special items as a safeguard.
"This time, the Sakura Prayer Country beat us to it by dispatching warships to Andai State with the aim of seizing the fragment. This is unacceptable to us!"
"However, according to the latest information obtained from Adam, the Sakura Prayer Country's operation seems to have failed. The fragment's location has not changed."
One senator said, "I proposed earlier to send warships and bombers over there to conduct large-scale bombing. Andai State is just a tiny country, where would they dare to have any objections?"
"This issue has been discussed before. Andai State's attitude was never a consideration in the first place," another senator retorted.
"The key point is Beixing Country. Andai State borders Beixing Country, and the two have friendly relations. Furthermore, that Shadow is most likely from Beixing. If we dispatch troops to bomb, Beixing Country will definitely not stand idly by. Under current circumstances, we must avoid military conflict with Beixing Country."
"Then why doesn't the Sakura Prayer Country have such concerns? Aren't they afraid that bombing a neighbor of Beixing Country and killing Shadow, a Beixing national, would trigger a military conflict with Beixing?"
A female senator shrugged. "The Sakura Prayer Country has always been crazy and bold. Who knows what they're thinking."
"Don't forget there's another problem, and that's Adam, that kid's lack of motivation!" a hot-tempered senator complained loudly.
"That kid spends all day not thinking about improving his strength, just sunbathing on the island with a few women. He's nothing like a Suroma man! I think he's not even as good as that Lucifer who fled to another country. At least the latter has more guts and is more like a predator!"
While this statement had some issues, it resonated with many senators.
Adam, selected as the "Father" for focused cultivation in the "Eden Project," displayed none of the masculinity a father should have. Instead, with hair almost reaching his waist like a woman's, and idling about enjoying himself on the island every day, the senators found it truly hard to stomach.
"In my opinion, he should have been replaced long ago! It's just that His Majesty, for some reason, is fixated on that kid!"
"It's because of Adam's ability," one senator said. "Adam's ability to manipulate force fields is absolutely one in ten thousand. Moreover, only his brain's computational power, comparable to a computer, can bring out this ability's full potential."
Everyone had to admit this point.
Adam's strength lay not in the ability itself, but in the perfect combination of his brain and the ability.
If his ability were given to an ordinary person, its effectiveness would be greatly diminished. The reason is simple: an ordinary person's brain lacks sufficient computational power to balance the relationship between force field manipulation and Mind Power consumption.
An ordinary person using this ability would either fail to manifest it effectively or instantly deplete all their Mind Power. With his computer-like brain computational power, Adam could rapidly judge in complex environments how much Mind Power to use to achieve the transformation of force field manipulation, thus meeting his needs according to the situation.
It was precisely because of this that he stood out in the selection and was bestowed the special name "Adam," a name only given to those chosen as "Father."
However, the senators soon discovered that while Adam was powerful, his personality didn't match.
His non-confrontational, indifferent-to-the-world personality was nothing like a Suroman. He was more like those people in some tropical region countries who don't engage in productive work, just eating their fill and sleeping all day, muddling through life.
This also led to Adam having almost no fame among the populace. Lucifer, a deranged serial killer, had far more popularity and worshippers than he did.
The Senate had discussed this issue more than once, hoping Adam could be more "domineering" and possess more "leadership qualities." After the first Ascendant Challenge Tournament ended, they collectively confronted him, angrily criticizing Adam for not competing for the Holy Grail and letting Shadow take first place.
But Adam adopted a completely indifferent, thick-skinned attitude. Whatever others said went in one ear and out the other.
If not for the king overriding all objections, Adam would likely have been voted to be stripped of his "Father" status long ago.
"Let's not talk about Adam's flaws for now. Just looking at this Sakura Prayer Country operation, it's clear their government has a plan to collect all the fragments. This means they are likely also planning to launch an attack against our Suroma."
"Do they really dare to do that? In terms of military strength, our Suroma is more than ten times stronger than Sakura!"
"This isn't a question of daring or not. In this era, never overestimate human rational thinking, even among high-level decision-makers," a venerable, highly respected elder senator said slowly.
Everyone nodded slightly upon hearing this, quite in agreement.
Indeed, in this era of the Doomsday Rules, which could be called insane, humans were capable of anything.
Even those with power and influence could be crazier than ordinary people.
The reason was simple: many ordinary people had nothing to begin with. They lived at the bottom before the Fire Thief descended. After the Fire Thief descended, some of them weren't suffering; instead, they were happy.
Happy that everyone was the same now. Whether it was someone working a humble job for a bite to eat or those profligate billionaires, they all had to equally undergo the trials of the rules.
Even if the wealthy and powerful could mobilize resources to gain some advantage, they still couldn't remain high and mighty forever like before the Fire Thief descended.
Therefore, compared to the madness of ordinary people, those wealthy and powerful individuals who fell from their lofty heights after the Fire Thief descended would only be more insane, more unscrupulous to pass the rules.
Therefore, compared to the madness of ordinary people, those wealthy and powerful individuals who fell from their lofty heights after the Fire Thief descended would only be more insane and more unscrupulous to pass the rules.
"The Grand Elder is right. It seems we must also remain cautious at all times to prevent the Sakura Prayer Country from going crazy and launching a surprise attack!"
"I think we can communicate with Beixing Country. After this incident, they shouldn't remain indifferent."
"I support that. Among the world's major powers now, we and Beixing are on the same level. Originally, the Tulip Federation was also not to be underestimated, but the civil war that started from the eighth rule and continues to this day has completely torn apart that alliance's combined strength."
"Hmph... The Tulip Federation was just dozens of large and small warlords thrown together. Even without the catalyst of the eighth rule, a civil war would have erupted sooner or later. They simply can't sit at the table."
"I also believe we should establish a good communication channel with Beixing Country. Let's all vote."
"I agree!"
"Agree."
While the Suroma Senate was voting, the Countermeasures Research Office in Beixing Country was also holding a meeting.
The meeting focused mainly on two issues.
One was the impact caused by visual elimination; the other was the Sakura Prayer Country's bombing of Andai State.
The second matter, because it involved Shadow, required the foreign affairs department to seek the research office's opinion.
It was worth noting that, at present in the meeting room, only one person had their vision eliminated, and that person was precisely the person in charge, Gao Liangwei.
At this moment, his eyes were hollow, staring ahead. Everyone looking at him felt both concern and admiration.
By gathering these people, specific personnel could be exempted from sensory elimination, making it more convenient to carry out work.
The various experts belonging to the Countermeasures Research Office naturally enjoyed this privilege.
But Gao Liangwei refused. He believed that only by personally experiencing the feeling of sensory deprivation could he truly understand what the general populace needed.
After all, only an extremely small number of people could rely on external means to seal their senses in advance. Most ordinary people living in gathering points and shelters couldn't get this treatment.
Regarding this rule, Gao Liangwei didn't want to become detached from the people. So he would rather personally endure the pain than use external assistance.
An analyst now reported, "Because preparations were made in advance, the situation in various shelters is currently relatively stable. With the help of intelligent guidance equipment like guide robots, people can maintain normal daily life and routines."
"What needs more attention are psychological issues. Some members of the public with poorer resilience may break down during the sensory elimination process."
Gao Liangwei said, "This is indeed not ordinary elimination. I can feel at this moment that I am in an absolute, lightless darkness. If one isn't congenitally blind, it's very difficult to endure for long periods. Certain psychological counseling is needed."
Gao Liangwei's eyes were hollow, but his expression was quite serious.
"I've already said it. We've been staying in this safe underground base all along, able to prioritize the use of various resources to pass each rule. If this continues, we will only grow further and further apart from ordinary people, unable to empathize with their situation. So this time, I want to feel what the masses feel, hurt what the masses hurt. Only then can we make more correct decisions."
"Truly worthy of Person in Charge Gao..."
"Having a person in charge like Senior Colonel Gao is the good fortune of the broad masses."
Everyone praised in low voices, but inwardly they also felt somewhat fortunate.
"Furthermore, regarding the Sakura Prayer Country's military operation, based on currently collected intelligence, it's known that their target wasn't Andai State, but rather Shadow, who is still within Andai State's borders."
The analyst continued reporting.
"Combining the previous fog gate cavern intelligence from the First Squad and some information Data Officers collected from Ascendant Home, the following judgment can be made: In the ninth rule, multiple fog gate caverns have appeared around the world. Inside them exists some kind of special item.
The item holder should be able to know the locations of other items. Therefore, the reason Shadow suddenly went to Andai State was likely to obtain the special item. And the Sakura Prayer Country's dispatch of warships to bomb the southern rainforest of Andai State this time had the same objective: to eliminate Shadow and seize the special item."
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