With Bai Ting's help, Yang Jia contacted Bai Shu in person.
The message Bai Shu had sent before did not contain any specific content. Yang Jia believed that it was not because she did not know.
So this contact had two purposes: one was to confirm Bai Shu's or the Silver Guild's attitude, and the other was to gather information.
Of course, achieving the latter goal must be based on the former. The Silver Guild was once an ally of the Nirvana Guild, and they had enjoyed a happy partnership. However, whether this relationship could continue depended on the other party's choices.
Since Bai Shu had sent this message, Yang Jia felt she wouldn't abandon this alliance. However, it was quite possible that she no longer had control over the guild. If that was the case, she would have to be separated from the Silver Guild.
However, the facts proved that she had underestimated her sister. Bai Shu was indeed not the one in charge of the Silver Guild at the moment, but Bai Shu seemed very calm, clearly having anticipated this.
The subsequent conversation further proved this point.
"There's been some unusual activity lately." She looked at Yang Jia. "You should know what I mean. It's not in the game."
Yang Jia nodded, remembering Li Bai's unexplained transfer, and now this incident, it was clear someone was behind this. Clearly, Bai Shu had sensed something was amiss, and was therefore retreating, proactively handing over control of the Silver Guild as a way to test the other party.
The situation was still under her control.
Although it was different from what she had imagined, it was much better than what Yang Jia had envisioned. So she didn't hesitate, "Now that we've come to this, is there anything President Bai wants to remind me of?"
"I don't know where this rumor came from, but so far, people from the six major guilds are very confident that you can develop a virus vaccine." Bai Shu said something that was beyond Yang Jia's expectations.
Bai Ting was furious when she heard this. "Since you trust us, why are you doing this kind of trick behind our backs?"
Bai Shu smiled helplessly and looked at Yang Jia.
Yang Jia, however, remained unmoved, her face still smiling. She knew that Bai Ting was not incapable of an answer, but simply unwilling to believe that people's hearts were like that.
It's fine for guilds with ordinary relationships; even in reality, they're all competitors. But the Silver and Dawn Guilds, despite their close ties to Nirvana, are still acting this way. It's chilling.
But that's just how reality works. Even if this only happened in a game, it was still a microcosm of reality. Sometimes, even close relatives can turn against each other for the right to speak, let alone an alliance as fragile as theirs.
This was something Yang Jia had anticipated a long time ago, and to be honest, she was quite surprised that this matter had not broken out until now.
After much reflection, she felt that Li Bai's departure might have something to do with it. Although Li Bai held a delicate position within the Nirvana Guild, not responsible for specific matters and mostly accompanying Yang Jia, she was undeniably a formidable force, possessing an unparalleled intimidating power over her peers. It was after her departure that these people began to target the Nirvana Guild.
As for why it took so long, I think it was because they had different opinions internally. It was not easy to work out a charter that everyone was satisfied with.
After all, this matter is probably not just a problem in the game, but also involves reality.
She patted Bai Ting's shoulder and said to Bai Shu, "I wonder what the plan is over there right now, and what stage they've reached?"
Since Bai Shu had expressed her desire to continue the cooperation, Yang Jia decided not to beat around the bush. After all, she had limited time to prepare, and there was no point wasting it on Bai Shu.
But Bai Shu didn't answer her question immediately. Instead, she said, "I've shown my sincerity, but President Yang, I haven't seen your sincerity yet." Yang Jia didn't beat around the bush, so she didn't even say anything polite. "Everyone speculates that you should have made some progress. As allies, I think we should share our knowledge and experience from time to time."
Yang Jia lowered her head and thought for a moment. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about this; it was simply too drastic. It was a major discovery that could change the entire Earth, and if mishandled, it could cause endless harm. Without confirming Bai Shu's stance, Yang Jia didn't dare to speak.
But we cannot help but say it.
Trust does not fall from the sky, but is composed of many other things, such as shared experiences, shared ideas and values, etc. The former is self-evident, but we still need to test each other's thoughts to know.
Furthermore, Yang Jia had already considered this aspect when she chose this ally, and now she was simply taking it a step further. So, without much hesitation, she said, "Of course, this is a serious matter. President Bai, please keep it confidential for now."
Bai Shu's eyebrows raised slightly. She didn't believe Yang Jia didn't know what kind of person she was. This kind of thing was something they both knew, so how could he possibly bring it up? But Yang Jia still reminded her again, showing that the importance of this matter was beyond her expectations.
She even had a vague premonition that knowing this would inevitably make her more closely connected with Yang Jia.
But not to mention that it was impossible to regret now, even if it was possible, Bai Shu wouldn't do it. Although this change was not what she had expected, it was not necessarily a bad thing. At least compared to those scheming people, she trusted Yang Jia more.
So she quickly said, "It's natural."
Yang Jia said, "According to our research, the true purpose of the DIE virus should be to allow humans to evolve and improve their physical qualities in all aspects."
Bai Shu looked at her bluntly, "Is President Yang still speaking half-heartedly now? This so-called evolution, I'm afraid, has side effects, right?"
Without waiting for the prototype to reply, she offered her own guess. "Hope's population has always been kept within a certain range, so not many people have been infected with the DIE virus. The vast majority of them died before the evolutionary process was complete, probably because this so-called evolution is not that easy. Of course, there may be ways to stabilize this process and reduce the risk. But I remember..."
At this point, she turned to look at Yang Jia and said with a half-smile, "After the second-generation vaccine was developed, only two infected people survived. They recovered after the injection of the vaccine, but both died of the disease a few years later. I'm afraid this has something to do with what you're talking about, President Yang?"
Even though Yang Jia already knew that he should not underestimate the heroes of the world, he was still shocked by Bai Shu's speculation and his face changed slightly.
Although she was able to deduce this because she had enough information and data to draw the connection in the current situation, such a precise deduction, where every point was exactly in line with the facts, was not something that anyone could achieve.
No wonder she, despite being a woman, became the leader of the Bai family. Even though she seemed to be "□□" now, everything was according to her plan.
In contrast, Bai Ting, who looks sweet and cute, and has a simple and easy-to-guess mind, doesn't seem like a real sister to her. This is simply an all-round crushing defeat from many angles. No wonder every time I see her, I feel like a mouse seeing a cat.
"It seems that I guessed right?" Seeing her performance like this, Bai Shu, who had been sitting upright since they met, finally relaxed, leaned back in the chair, and asked with a leisurely smile.
"Yes." Yang Jia nodded, laying out his concerns. "This so-called evolution carries enormous risks. It's like overdrawing your life force, so it's naturally unacceptable. But it doesn't rule out the possibility that those driven by greed might use this method to cultivate trusted aides. After all, to them, human life is the least valuable. Or perhaps the benefits they gain are entirely worth the price. But you and I both know that while those in power only talk, it's the common people at the bottom who suffer."
Bai Shu nodded slightly, frowned and thought, "If that's the case, things will be a bit troublesome."
"What do you mean?" Yang Jia was stunned.
"Something happened on Hope Star." Bai Shu said, "Most of the recent unusual movements stem from this."
Only then did Yang Jia's expression completely change. He stood up suddenly, stared at Bai Shu and asked, "What happened to Hope Star?"
Li Bai is still there.
Or even if she wasn't there, she would probably be transferred there if something happened. After all, for some people, she was born to fight in the most dangerous places and wipe out the enemies.
Bai Shu was a little surprised by Yang Jia's reaction, and she quickly said, "It's a long story. We humans on Earth have never stopped exploring space, even during that protracted, nearly world-destroying war. But the discovery of habitable planets is a recent phenomenon, and landing on Hope Planet has only been a short thirty-something years. Yet, we've encountered challenges one after another, resulting in slow progress."
"What does this have to do with what happened?" Yang Jia asked.
Bai Shu's expression was grave. "Over the past thirty years, although the extent of our exploration of other planets has varied, we've always adhered to a steady and cautious approach. So, even though we've been on Hope for many years, our scope of exploration remains limited. But because of this, we're currently keeping our distance from the creatures on Hope. If this continues, we might be able to seamlessly integrate into the system. However, the higher-ups can't wait any longer."
"Actually, this isn't the fault of the higher-ups," Bai Shu said, explaining, seeing Yang Jia's grim expression. "The Earth has been experiencing far too many unusual movements in the past two years. While humans are no longer afraid of natural disasters and can completely prevent them, the frequency is still worrying. Based on the Academy's detection and calculations, the situation is likely very dire. The Earth can't hold out for much longer and could disintegrate or even be annihilated at any moment."
No one has ever seen what it would be like when a planet is destroyed, but everyone can imagine what a disaster that would be. Since the Earth no longer exists, naturally any life living on this planet would not be spared.
Therefore, finding a new place to settle down is urgent and cannot be delayed.
For this very reason, the higher-ups couldn't tolerate the slow pace of development on Hope Star. So, with a single order, they dispatched a significant number of personnel and immediately began the massive development.
The results were naturally encouraging. With the combined wisdom and strength of humanity, a significant area on Hope Star had been occupied in a short period of time. Backed by mountains and facing water, it could meet every need. At this rate of progress, the first batch of immigrants could soon be organized.
Although some people mentioned that there were still many hidden dangers, in the face of such a vigorous trend, this small voice of opposition did not even make a splash.
As a result, something went wrong.
Yang Jia didn't expect that the situation would change so much in just a few months.
She had heard Li Bai mention that Hope Star had accelerated its pace of development, but she didn't pay much attention to it at the time. She just thought that the expansion was still under control. However, she didn't expect them to be so bold, and the result was undoubtedly a failure.
She thought for a moment and asked, "What is the current situation on Hope Star?"
…
The situation on Hope is dire.
Li Bai rubbed her forehead tiredly. She hadn't slept much for many days. She could only take the time to sit down and take a nap when the battle was not so intense, but that was only for a short moment and could not relieve her physical and mental fatigue at all.
But it's not just her, everyone else is like this too.
In this situation, there's no other way but to hold on. As for how long we can hold on, only God knows.
As for how things turned out this way, that’s a long story.
The last time she left, Li Bai had thought that if Hope Star continued to act so ostentatiously, something might happen. But she hadn't expected her guess to be so accurate, and the situation was even a hundred times worse than she'd imagined.
When she left, the territory of Hope Star had only expanded from the river to the mountains and forests she had explored before, and a new base was established there.
But when she returned, the advance team had already passed through the small forest and reached the other side. The land on the other side was more fertile and vast, with beautiful scenery and rich vegetation, and most importantly, it seemed less dangerous.
Such a place naturally cannot be missed. After all, if we start to immigrate in the future, we must have a large enough territory.
In this way, as they explored and built new bases, the area they occupied soon became larger and larger.
And the base hadn't just sent people in this direction. Aside from the river, which hadn't been explored yet and therefore hadn't been crossed, people were sent in the other three directions. In a short period of time, large tracts of land were marked out and construction work began in full swing.
The reason we chose to land on Hope Star was because it was a vast grassland with spacious space and boundless horizons, so any danger could be immediately spotted. And now, expansion is going very smoothly.
No one noticed that a series of changes were taking place on the entire Hope Star because of this expansion.
Because this change was too covert and deliberately avoided humans, it was not until a small base that had not yet been built was completely razed to the ground overnight, and all the workers sent to build the base and the soldiers sent to protect the base died, that the base was shocked and realized how dangerous this reckless advance was.
There aren't many people on Hope Star to begin with, and if they continue to be scattered like this, they'll be easily defeated one by one.
Although this incident garnered considerable attention at the time, no one believed it was unsolvable. To appease the others, the military even dispatched a small team to track down the culprit responsible for the base destruction. Capturing and killing him would be ideal.
Li Bai came back at this time, so he was immediately forced to take on this task.
She knew that if this situation continued, it would turn into an unending feud. Animals sometimes hold grudges far more readily than humans. While humans might temporarily set aside their hatred for reasons of self-interest, animals don't. Furthermore, they rarely possess the forbearance and strategic tactic of "a gentleman's revenge is never too late," and instead seek immediate revenge.
But she had no say in this matter.
Moreover, she had received news of the changes taking place on Earth. This was a struggle for survival, and there was no room for retreat. The subtle methods of the past were no longer effective. As invaders, humans were determined to gain a foothold here, and such a war would inevitably break out sooner or later.
So Li Bai didn't investigate the "real culprit". He just took his men to sweep the surrounding area and killed all the large animals around.
But this was just the beginning. Before humans could deliver any relief, the animals on Hope Star launched a full-scale attack on all the bases built by humans, and they were all fearless and suicidal attacks.
Fortunately, this time the news was not delayed, and because of the timely response, irreparable losses were avoided.
Since then, the confrontation and fighting between the two sides has continued to this day, with almost no pause.
Normally, animals have their own territories. A wild animal will often stay in the area where it lives for its entire life. They survive by instinct and rarely become curious about the outside world, let alone risk leaving a familiar place.
But now this rule has been broken.
More and more species were joining the war, and Li Bai, observing carefully, felt that there was a subtle sense of organization among them, albeit a rather crude one. Perhaps animals were unruly and untamed, with low intelligence, and it was difficult for them to obey commands like humans.
But the number of these animals is simply too large. Even if humans have more weapons, it is difficult to resist such brute force.
Of course, if nuclear weapons were used, these animals would naturally be doomed. However, having learned from Earth's experience, humans were prohibited from using restricted weapons on Hope. After all, they didn't want to live here for hundreds of years before having to set off again to find a new habitable planet.
So there is no reserve of this kind of thing on Hope Star.
They could only use the limited weapons in their hands and hold on until help came.
…
"Although we took aerial photos of the entire Hope Planet from space before landing, you know that undeveloped planets are covered in virgin forests, towering and blocking out the sun, and many areas are completely undetectable," Bai Shu said helplessly. "If it weren't for this incident, we wouldn't have known that this planet actually had so many unprecedented species living on it."
Bai Shu couldn't help but smile bitterly when she said this. "This time, I've really stirred up a hornet's nest. It won't calm down anytime soon."
"So the situation is very bad?" Yang Jia asked.
"Animals have no reason and only know how to act recklessly, but humans have all kinds of concerns. Weapons of mass destruction cannot be used, and they are also afraid that killing too much will affect the ecological balance of Hope Star. They are restricted and naturally find it difficult to perform. In addition, the number of people on Hope Star is limited after all, but there are an endless supply of animals. Therefore, the current human territory has been gradually shrinking, and I don’t know how long they can hold on." Bai Shu sighed.
"No one was sent to rescue?"
"Of course we sent them. Earth is currently conducting pre-war mobilization and conscription every day. After all, the financial, material, and human resources spent on building the Hope Star Base are beyond the imagination of ordinary people. We can't afford the loss." Bai Shu said this, then changed the subject, "But for now, we can only airdrop. How many people can we send at a time? It can only barely make up for those who died in the battle."
She glanced at Yang Jia and sighed, "So now you know why I said it was troublesome, right?"
“If the people above knew that the virus had such a use at this juncture, they would probably get the formula at all costs, and then round up the people to evolve, and send them to Hope Star to fight after they succeed. This war is destined not to last too long, and these evolved people who can only live for a few years are just right for use. And when the dust settles, their lifespan will be over, and there is no need to worry about causing trouble if such a group of people are left behind. Anyway, just give them the title of martyrs to comfort their families.” Having said that, Yang Jia felt a slight chill and shivered.
Sometimes people's hearts are just so naked.
"They'll even encourage you to voluntarily hand over your research findings. After all, this is a great thing that benefits both the country and the people," Bai Shu said, a flicker of bewilderment in her eyes. "Sometimes I don't know what's right and what's wrong in this world. From a big picture perspective, this idea isn't wrong."
Losing some lives was better than annihilating the entire human race, and it was far better than being stuck in a stalemate with the beasts, making it impossible to move forward on Star Hope. They had little time, and every step was crucial, with no room for delay or negligence.
Throughout history, have there been few such sacrifices?
But from a humanitarian perspective, or from the perspective of those who were sacrificed, what guilt have they committed?
That's why Bai Shu felt conflicted. She'd seen more than anyone else, yet her heart wasn't as cruel. Otherwise, she wouldn't have tipped off Yang Jia earlier. But now, she was glad she had. If the Six Guilds had truly uncovered what Yang Jia was doing, the situation would have spiraled out of their control, with unpredictable consequences.
Yang Jia didn't hesitate and said immediately, "Sacrificing oneself for humanity is naturally commendable, but I think everyone should have the right to choose."
As long as they don't aid the enemy and maintain this bottom line, then everyone should be able to decide their own thoughts and actions. Whether to sacrifice themselves for humanity, and to what extent, should be decided by them.
Why don’t those people who shouted slogans passionately throw themselves into the cause and sacrifice their lives?
While there are certainly people of noble character and ambition in this world, there are also many more who simply want to live ordinary lives. Their choices should not be dictated by others, and certainly not made for them!
However, Yang Jia was also well aware that this was the reality. In this world, only a minority of people hold the power of discourse, while the majority of the rest are simply swept up in blind obedience, rarely engaging in the kind of deliberate analysis and thought that goes into this matter.
So all she could do was not let them choose.
For now, we can only keep this matter secret until there is new progress in research. Whether it is to completely eliminate the DIE virus or just eliminate the hidden danger of dying quickly after evolution, at least our lives will be safe.
The author has something to say: A sudden update.
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