Chapter Thirty-One: The Incident Occurs

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I’m too merciful?!

A trace of cold ferocity flashed through Ye Han’s eyes.

“Do you want something to drink?”

Noticing the shifting expression on Ye Han’s face, Luan Shuangyu timely offered a cup of freshly brewed tea.

“I’m from Seventh High as well.”

Ye Han glanced at the teacup but did not accept Luan Shuangyu’s gesture. Instead, he poured himself a cup, downed it in one gulp, then poured another and set it before him.

“Secretly in love with me?”

Luan Shuangyu raised her cup, her expression impassive, replying coolly, “Love unrequited doesn’t justify turning affection into hatred!”

“You’re far too extreme!” she counseled rationally, “You’ll never win a girl over acting like this.”

Ye Han shot her a curious look.

Wasn’t it rumored at school that she was cold and distant? This sort of self-flattering talk was rather out of character—almost shattering her established image.

“Isn’t that so?”

Luan Shuangyu curled her lips, flicking the rim of her cup so that a clear, ringing note resonated.

“Yes and no,” Ye Han exhaled slowly. “What happened in the past is another matter—at least right now, it isn’t.”

He couldn’t deny what his predecessor had done, but as for Ye Han himself having feelings for Luan Shuangyu now, that was impossible.

In terms of appearance, there were plenty on both Earth and Hailan more beautiful than her. As for talent, aside from the prerequisites of those with ties to him, Ye Han hadn’t noticed anything particularly captivating about her.

“Oh,” Luan Shuangyu nodded.

One of her gifts allowed her to sense and probe the truth.

Her intuition told her Ye Han was not lying.

“In the end, it all boils down to the planetary transformation package,” Ye Han got straight to the point.

He explained in detail the impact the ‘Magic Package’ had brought to Hailan Star.

As he spoke, Ye Han also expended some of his source power, borrowing the abilities of several individuals on Hailan who had advanced to second-rank elementalists.

Right in front of Luan Shuangyu, he summoned fireballs, water screens, and other minor displays of power.

Throughout the conversation, Ye Han interwove stories of what had happened at Seventh High.

Luan Shuangyu would occasionally cooperate by asking questions or making a brief comment.

Ye Han was doing everything he could to delay, waiting for news from Earth.

As for Luan Shuangyu, she was genuinely idle.

The gene serum of Xi Yuan was still in development; she hadn’t yet passed the early stage and had nothing urgent to attend to in the short term.

The two of them chatted back and forth, lively as could be.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were old friends catching up over idle conversation.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted both on Earth and Hailan.

“What on earth is going on? Why did Mr. Ye bring up the issue of nuclear arms?”

Su Jianbang slammed the documents in his hand onto the table, furiously pointing at the think tank responsible for Chen Xu’s decision-making: “Investigate—keep investigating! Go through all ten people’s communications, every record! In four minutes, the Elders will intervene—back up every data file on paper for me, check every word, leave nothing unchecked!”

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What kind of international joke was this—so many people monitoring things and mistakes still happened?

Right now, An Jianbang wanted nothing more than to tear apart the members of the think tank.

All these people who usually prided themselves on being society’s elite, now, faced with a problem, couldn’t even identify where they’d gone wrong!

It was only because Ye Han asked that they realized something was amiss?

What think tank? More like a lunchbox of fools!

No matter Ye Han’s former identity, now he was the Earth’s will incarnate.

His importance was self-evident.

From the fact that he’d brought China into this matter at the very first moment, it was clear that in his heart, China still held a central place.

Even if this incident brought turmoil and cost them dearly, it was a price worth paying.

As long as Ye Han came to no harm, even if the government paid a price equal to a world war, with him present, China’s legacy would endure forever!

This was a matter that affected China and, indeed, the entire future of humanity.

And now—what was he hearing?

Their covert line had used conventional warheads for a precision strike?!

At this moment, Su Jianbang was on the verge of collapse.

“I suggest activating first-level protective measures for the Xi Yuan avatar!”

Just as Su Jianbang was stewing in frustration, a psychological expert from Chen Xu’s think tank stood up and made the suggestion.

“First-level protection? Isn’t that too risky?” someone questioned.

“I support it—but I ask Mr. Ye to give us another half hour!” Another stood up.

But before he’d finished, someone else shot him down: “No—our entire decision-making process revolves around Mr. Ye. We can’t let our issues delay him!”

Those speaking up at this moment were representatives of each subgroup, and all their statements had been reviewed internally.

Su Jianbang looked hesitantly at the psychologist who had first spoken. He still didn’t dare give his approval.

First-level protection was a protocol deduced by the think tank after the last internet blackout.

Through psychological suggestion, one could induce someone to write a required message—yet the content would not pass through any sensory organs of the Xi Yuan avatar.

Even Chen Xu and his team didn’t know why the think tank had them say those things.

After the content was written, it would be randomly passed to a third or even fourth party.

Who ultimately received the content, not even Chen Xu’s team would know.

Once the avatar issued a certain command, the third or fourth party would carry out the prearranged instructions.

If first-level protection was triggered, not only could Hailan not intercept the information, even the think tank itself would be in the dark.

Since those induced to write the message hadn’t seen it directly, accuracy could only be guaranteed to about sixty percent.

“No need!”

Just as Su Jianbang hesitated, a voice steeped in the weight of years resounded, settling the matter.

“Elder Li, you’re here!”

At the sound, Su Jianbang felt he’d found his anchor.

“When you issue commands, Xi Yuan is already beyond our control!”

Elder Li assumed command the moment he stepped into the underground nuclear bunker. “China has always acted with integrity—connect me to the head of the Yan clan.”

“You suspect...?”

Su Jianbang glanced at the central screen, hesitant to speak his mind.

The main screen was 5 by 15 meters, split into two sections. One showed the perspective and health stats of ten living hosts on Xi Yuan; the other, information from Hailan.

“Over half a month ago, we lost the internet for an hour. On Hailan, that’s half an hour; for Xi Yuan, it’s three hours!”

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Elder Li shot a fierce glare at Su Jianbang and pointed to the first psychologist who had spoken. “If even this comrade can see the possibility, how can you, the person in charge, not understand?”

After all this time, it had become clear: Hailan’s basic technology lagged behind Earth’s, but their information technology was generations ahead.

Since the two sides were connected, who could guarantee they weren’t being monitored?

The psychologist’s intuition was right, but he never should have spoken out loud.

First-level defense wasn’t just about besieging or even eliminating the avatar via a third party; more importantly, it meant severing all signal transmission from Earth.

Now that it had been said openly, the protocol was a joke.

“Are you representing Earth?”

Soon, Yan Qiluo’s image appeared on the central control screen.

At that moment, Yan Qiluo was deeply uneasy.

With intercepted information, she already knew Ye Han was questioning Earth’s actions.

Every instruction had passed through her. She had even proactively opened the port to the Su clan.

She had thought everything would go according to the Su clan’s plan, but just as the operation began, Ye Han had disrupted it.

Now, Yan Qiluo realized the gravity of the situation—her calves trembled, though she maintained a calm facade.

“I speak for the Hua nation alone. I request that the Yan clan of Hailan publicly disclose the data the Xi Yuan avatar returned during the last network blackout.” Elder Li’s voice was powerful and resolute.

He had already discussed this with the other elders; he now had the authority to represent his nation.

“No. That would require accessing the Hailan main intelligence. Only our deity may issue such an order!” Yan Qiluo lifted her chin, refusing outright.

The avatars controlled by Chen Xu’s team all operated on the computation of their virtual helmets.

That data had been erased—ordinary equipment couldn’t possibly provide the computational power needed to recover it.

If they were to recover those records, they would have to connect to the Hailan main intelligence and use its power to reconstruct the events of that time.

However, Hailan’s main intelligence was currently being used to sow chaos in several civilizations’ networks back home.

It was already overloaded, with no spare computational capacity for anything else.

The Su clan chief was a pervert—disgusting though he was, Yan Qiluo considered his tactics worth adopting.

Now was the time to demonstrate Hailan’s value; aside from Ye Han, she would brook no interference for any reason.

She had to prove Hailan could be of use to Ye Han, that they had the strength to charge forward!

“You should understand the seriousness of this. I don’t know exactly what you’re plotting, but once it slips from your control, Mr. Ye’s safety is at risk.”

“Hailan can and should work with Earth—mutual strategy, mutual support. If, out of self-interest, you put Mr. Ye in danger, it’s not just Hailan that will suffer, but Earth as well!”

Elder Li’s tone was stern as he regarded Yan Qiluo. “The Yan clan may represent Hailan, but if your actions involve Earth, there must be transparency and fairness. Our decisions are open to you—we have shown our sincerity. I hope you will respond in kind.”

Yan Qiluo was left speechless by Elder Li’s series of admonishments.

He didn’t give her time to respond. “Mr. Ye is the embodiment of the will of both our worlds. Our relationship goes beyond mere allies—we are siblings, family!”

“Family may quarrel internally, but when facing the outside world, we must stand united.”

“And you must understand this: problems are not to be feared. What is truly frightening is failing to properly address and resolve them.”

“I trust you have already made your own judgment about this incident. I can only say, on behalf of Earth: Hailan is our inseparable kin. If something goes wrong, we will not let you bear it alone.”