Chapter 368

Chapter 368: Language and Traps

One stroke to wipe it all away? Could it really be that simple at this point?

Everyone began to calculate in their minds.

Due to the existence of the spaceship’s permission system, they were certain that Arthur wouldn’t suddenly turn hostile and kill them at the round table.

This meant that he was genuinely offering them a way out. Whether explaining his origins or his previous actions, he was hinting at this very idea.

Arthur looked at the councilors, each lost in their own thoughts, and smiled without a trace of gloom.

What is the carrot-and-stick strategy?

This is the carrot-and-stick strategy.

Though the carrot, offering peace, didn’t taste particularly sweet, it was far better than the stick that had previously slammed them onto the pillar of shame.

If it weren’t for the earlier events, this negotiation would surely have been much more difficult.

Seeing everyone hesitate, Arthur lightly cleared his throat to draw their attention:

"It seems you still don’t fully grasp my point."

He smiled and began the next round of offering the carrot, laying his cards on the table:

"Let me summarize again:

"You have contributed to ensuring humanity’s survival, but you have also indulged in luxury and pleasure.

"In times of crisis, prioritizing survival is understandable. However, after the situation stabilized, your greed prevented you from making necessary adjustments.

"Logically speaking, a group like you—insects, if you will—could never manage Hope City effectively.

"But after this morning’s incident, I’ve decided to give you a slight punishment. Since I cannot manage everything alone, I still believe it’s right to offer you all an opportunity.

"In future meetings, with me present, I will oversee any unlawful actions. I hope you will all behave and work together to manage Hope City."

Arthur’s tone gradually became lofty, as if he were bestowing mercy and a chance for redemption upon the councilors present.

At the thought of that morning’s events, these individuals felt dizzy, unable to muster their full strength to negotiate with Arthur.

"So, I—Arthur, Chairman of the Hope Council—hereby guarantee—"

Suddenly, Arthur stood up from his chair, and the terminal in his hand lit up, indicating that he had activated the recording function.

"I will no longer pursue any crimes committed by Matthew and the other ten individuals from November 13th of year 52 of the New Era to January 1st of year 1 of the New Era. I hope everyone will work together sincerely to ensure the continuation of humanity."

His booming voice echoed in every councilor’s ears, and after a brief silence, they all expressed their agreement.

All past grievances seemed to turn a page from that moment, leading to the anticipated time of cooperation.

Arthur sat back down in his chair and addressed them:

"In the years outside the city, I made many discoveries.

"Before coming here, I reviewed Hope City’s research over the years regarding extraordinary beasts and external environments, and I found your progress to be disappointingly slow.

"Now, I’ll briefly explain the situation outside, then take charge of the research institutes for a while to correct their research direction. What do you think?"

The councilors were indeed curious about the world outside Hope City, but both the rocket launches and the Exploration Plan had nearly come to a halt, marking them as failures.

From this perspective, they had indeed been quite unsuccessful in dealing with the outside.

Thinking this way, despite their reluctance, they had no good reason to refuse, as the research institutes were under their management.

Seeing their agreement, Arthur leaned back in his chair and began to summarize:

"The riots in the outer city in the first half of the year led the research institutes to discover living mycelium for the first time.

"It’s a very unique form of life, not from our home planet, that rapidly assimilates after losing its life force, leaving almost no trace of its existence.

"And ‘Holy Shield’… I’m sorry, you misinterpreted that… The spaceship’s defense system can directly kill this life form when deployed at low power, which is why the institutes haven’t discovered mycelium in the dissections of extraordinary beasts.

"Recent papers show that researchers still believe mycelium and extraordinary beasts are in a symbiotic relationship, but that’s not the case. Those extraordinary beasts capable of communicating with humans prove this, though I haven’t seen the related papers yet.

"Based on what I’ve witnessed outside the city, I can confirm that the relationship between mycelium and extraordinary beasts is highly complex. Extraordinary beasts are nurtured by mycelium life, yet they possess their own thoughts, so mycelium needs to conduct individual parasitic manipulation after they are born.

"Mycelium has assimilated many plants from our home planet, forming different ecosystems in three directions beyond the east of Hope City.

"The wasteland within about ten kilometers outside the city is uniform in several directions, while to the west lies a forest shrouded in thick fog filled with spore clouds, where most extraordinary beasts are born.

"Immediately after birth, they inhale the spores, allowing the mycelium to complete the basic parasitism and manipulation. Only life forms with certain mycelium traits will be recognized by that system, which then cancels the continuation of the parasitic process.

"Some of the exploration teams you’ve sent out perished in this area; they failed the mycelium’s tests and were ultimately assimilated into a state akin to corpses.

"In simple terms, this area governs the reproduction of extraordinary beasts and serves as a stronghold for their attacks on humanity.

"To the north is a grassland that is becoming increasingly sinister. At first glance, it simply appears to differ in color from the wasteland, but its biological field—if you’ve paid attention to the institutes’ research, you should have seen Zhou Zhuo’s paper on biological fields.

"To revisit this topic, the biological field there is much stronger than in other systems, and even a small group of humans entering together will gradually have their reason eroded, ultimately becoming humanoid monsters stripped of self-awareness, left at the mercy of the mycelium.

"However, because that area is tilted toward the biological field side, it also cannot advance closer to Hope City. Compared to the offensive west side, the north side is clearly more defensive.

"As for the area beyond that grassland, the west and north are connected by a sparse grassland. Some captured superpowered individuals are sent here, where the mycelium conducts deep erosion and ability Analysis. Yes, I’ve witnessed this myself; the mycelium even attempted to invade the brains of dormant humans in that area. Unfortunately, it succeeded.

"As for the sea to the east and the large marsh to the south, I have not yet been there. So, you should now understand that I am the most experienced person regarding external matters for Hope City, right?"

With his lengthy discourse finished, Arthur lifted his head to see numerous pairs of shocked and dazed eyes, as if to say:

"You not only excel at internal strife but also at external exploration?"