On November 24th, the Human Consortium conference was held in Beixing.

This conference had two main themes: the space migration plan and dealing with the Fire Thief Worship Cult in the Republic of Fahe.

After the meeting began, Mary, the representative committee member from the Suroma Empire, first inquired about the situation regarding the robots sent to each country.

After the last conference ended, the Suroma Empire had sent a batch of embodied intelligent robots to each member state of the Human Consortium free of charge. Now, after some time had passed, every country had put them to some use.

"How do you all find our robots?" Mary asked with a smile. "Can they replace real people?"

"Completely replacing real people is certainly impossible, but... the robots produced by your country can indeed handle the vast majority of jobs," said the committee member from Black Flag Country.

The committee member from Sakura Prayer Country said, "First, we thank the Suroma Empire for the gift. The quality of these robots is exceptionally high, capable of completing input commands on time and in set quantities."

Even the committee member from Xisiya who had mocked Mary last time now had to reluctantly admit that Suroma's robots were indeed impressive.

These robots didn't just handle ordinary work; they could even manage complex coordination tasks requiring high-intensity brainpower, with efficiency far surpassing that of humans.

"What about Chairman Gao?" Mary asked Gao Liangwei, who had remained silent. "How is the practical value of the one hundred robots sent to your country?"

Gao Liangwei replied, "Very good. These robots already possess highly intelligent capabilities."

After that batch of robots was delivered, Beixing's official scientific research department disassembled and studied them.

The conclusion was that the other parts weren't particularly special; the key lay in the computing chips installed inside the robots.

The construction of these chips was extremely unique, completely different from conventional chips, and the internal algorithms could not be deciphered. It could be said that precisely because of these chips, these robots could perform almost indistinguishably from humans.

"If our judgment is not mistaken, the chips inside these robots were likely manufactured using the power of Mind Power, correct?"

This was the conclusion given by Beixing's research institutions after multiple studies. That special chip was not a product of human technology; it was more like the product of some kind of Mind Power item or ability.

And once it involved Mind Power, many scientific laws known to humans would become invalid.

Just like the "Ascendant Home" website, after countless hackers failed to crack it one after another, it was now generally acknowledged that it wasn't a normal website, but a special creation related to Mind Power. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"That's correct," Mary admitted frankly. "A special talent in our country obtained an ability related to chip research, which is why we were able to manufacture this unique and excellent product."

So that's how it is...

A look of envy appeared in the eyes of several committee members.

This kind of ability that could drive technological development, or rather, be applied on a large scale and promote social progress, was the most important ability for a country.

Perhaps one hundred or even one thousand Ascendants with such abilities combined couldn't defeat a single Lucifer. But if any country had to choose, they would definitely choose the former, not the latter.

Because from a national perspective, Lucifer was just a slightly stronger enforcer, whose contribution value was far less than that of a person with a research-oriented Mind Power ability or item.

"We plan to proceed with larger-scale robot manufacturing in the next step," Mary said. "Next year, we aim to have the total population of humans plus robots in our country reach one hundred million. If the officials represented by the committee members are interested and wish to jointly create an intelligent robot society, our Suroma Empire is willing to assist."

The committee members nodded one after another, indicating that after the conference ended and they returned to their countries, they would consult with their official departments.

No one directly agreed, partly because they couldn't make the decision themselves, and partly because they weren't entirely at ease.

These robots were all manufactured by Suroma, and judging by Mary's words, they didn't intend to open-source the manufacturing method of the logic chips. So who could guarantee that there weren't backdoors left in the chip's programs?

If a large number of robots were introduced and something went wrong one day, and Suroma remotely activated a backdoor to do something, the consequences could be very serious.

"Let's set aside the robot matter for now," Gao Liangwei said. "Regarding the space migration plan, Beixing has preliminarily decided to attempt launching a manned rocket to land on Terra by the end of this year for migration testing."

Mary said, "Our Suroma Empire has also scheduled a manned rocket launch for next month, that is, the end of December. As long as we aren't affected by any rules at that time, on January 1st of next year, there will be Suroma people on Terra."

Upon hearing this, the other committee members fell silent.

Their countries might have had the resources and capability to launch manned satellites to Terra in the past. But after more than a dozen rules, with resource losses and personnel deaths, their nations had lost much of their technological and talent reserves in high-end industries.

For major powers, because they had large talent reserves, even if some perished in the rules, technological regression wouldn't occur immediately.

But small countries had few talents; in many high-precision and cutting-edge industry fields, there might only be a handful of people capable of doing the job. Once these people had an accident, the pillar supporting that country's related industry would instantly collapse, with no one to replace them.

And the related technologies required for manned rockets were extremely complex; forcing the issue would only get astronauts killed, so several countries had abandoned this plan.

Now, only the three countries of Beixing, Suroma, and Xisiya truly had sufficient talent and technology to most likely ensure astronaut safety.

Before the earthquake rule, Sakura Prayer Country also had a chance, but the earthquake destroyed their island, along with various aerospace facilities.

Now relocated to the tropical continent, Sakura Prayer Country's national power had greatly declined. Without twenty years of stable development, returning to its former strength was simply impossible.

This was also the reason some radicals within their country chose to end their own lives. Such a massive decline meant they would never see Sakura Prayer become the world's number one in their lifetimes. Crushed by this, they simply chose to leave this world along with their old homeland.

However, what surprised everyone this time was that the Kingdom of Xisiya also had no rocket launch plan.

The bald committee member from Xisiya spoke somewhat hesitantly, "Our country currently has more important matters to deal with, so we don't plan to launch a rocket to Terra this year."

More important matters...

Mary and Gao Liangwei exchanged a glance. Though unspoken, they both vaguely guessed what it might be.

It was probably related to internal power struggles within the Kingdom of Xisiya.

Especially Gao Liangwei, who knew a bit more. Previously, when that girl from Xisiya named "Yelanka," who had a special status, came to Beixing to join the academy, the authorities had specifically notified the Countermeasures Research Office to provide her with some special consideration.

"So, the only countries planning to launch manned rockets this year are our Suroma Empire and Beixing?"

"That may be so, but I have a proposal," the committee member from Sakura Prayer Country said. "I believe we should embody the 'sharing spirit' of the 'Human Consortium.' Although we cannot launch manned rockets, we can provide well-trained astronauts to travel to Terra aboard the rockets of your two countries."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other committee members chimed in one after another.

They couldn't produce safe and qualified manned rockets this year, but providing a few astronauts was no problem.

Mary's expression showed displeasure upon hearing this, but Gao Liangwei said, "Our authorities originally intended this, planning to form a Human Consortium migration team to go to Terra."

"That's excellent!"

"We will definitely cooperate actively and send our country's most outstanding astronauts to participate."

"Beixing has demonstrated the responsibility and spirit of a major power, truly admirable!"

The committee members showered praise, making Mary's face also look somewhat awkward. She spoke up to make amends, "Suroma's rockets certainly also welcome astronauts from Human Consortium member states, but they must pass personnel selection."

"Committee Member Mary, for this Terra migration attempt, I believe the aerospace departments of our two countries should cooperate fully. There is no room for, nor should there be, any selfish motives."

"Yes, I know that."

The purpose of this space migration test was not to grab territory, but to find more living space and possibilities for humanity.

Therefore, this conference needed to establish the guidelines. If the migration test succeeded, Terra would serve as a second home option for all humanity. All people of Tianshui Star would have a claim to it; it would not become the territory of a single country or family.

"Regarding the selection of astronauts to board the rockets, finalize the candidates as soon as possible by the end of this month, and begin emergency cooperative training in early December."

As the chairman of the Human Consortium for this year, Gao Liangwei firmly controlled the conference's progress. After finishing the matter of the space migration test, he immediately moved to the second focal point of this conference.

"Regarding the situation in the Republic of Fahe, based on comprehensive intelligence from multiple sources, we currently have some leads."

Gao Liangwei projected some images and video footage onto the conference room's large screen.

The content of the footage was mostly Fahe people gathering to sing hymns, reading the previously issued Doomsday Rules one by one around a bonfire, wearing clothing with symbols of the Fire Thief like black cylinders and multiple mechanical arms... and various other worship rituals for the Fire Thief.

Judging from the perspectives, most of these shots were satellite images, with a few being close-up first-person perspectives secretly recorded by dispatched agents.

"As mentioned in the last conference, the Republic of Fahe is currently completely overrun and has become the stronghold of the Fire Thief Worship Cult," Gao Liangwei said, combining his words with the images on the large screen.

"Besides Fahe's own citizens, many people from other countries or regions who believe in the Fire Thief have flocked there, gathering in the capital city of Lianluo'an."

Mary added, "According to our Suroma Empire's investigation, a large number of believers are suspected of showing signs of brainwashing. It can be preliminarily judged that this is the work of that Ascendant with the mind control ability."

Upon mentioning this person, the expressions of the committee members present turned grave.

Who could have imagined before this that Fahe, a proper world power, would fall to such a state, completely disrupted and collapsed by an Ascendant of unknown identity?

Of course, this was related to Fahe's own poor management and the fact that it coincided with the most destructive earthquake rule at the time.

Also, that Ascendant's mind control ability was just too tricky.

As long as they resolutely stayed hidden, lurking in the shadows manipulating others, making them do what they wanted, they themselves bore no risk while successfully carrying out bad deeds and causing chaos.

"The current Fahe is very dangerous for our Suroma Empire," Mary said seriously. "Their fanatical believers will spill over into our country, causing harm. This trouble must be resolved as soon as possible."

The committee member from Xisiya said with a hint of coldness, "Take action and eliminate them? Use guided weapons for a remote solution."

"But how do we distinguish who among those fanatical believers truly worships the Fire Thief and who is mind-controlled? The latter are innocent, right?"

"If we really can't distinguish, we can't worry about innocent or guilty anymore."

Gao Liangwei said, "Indiscriminate killing is absolutely not allowed. I propose that our Human Consortium countries each send some elite Ascendants to form a joint action team, enter Fahe, find the mastermind and their accomplices, and eliminate them."

"I think that's feasible."

"Agreed."

The other committee members had no objections. No one would stand by idly on this matter, because if this problem wasn't handled properly, every country would suffer the impact and threat of fanatical Fire Thief believers in the future.

After the conference ended, on his way back by car, Gao Liangwei received materials sent by Li Meng.

He opened his laptop to view them. The materials detailed everything related to Guan Tong in the kidnapping case in Yunhua.

The records stated that Guan Tong himself was not kidnapped, but a friend of his named "Xu Xiaotian" was taken by a local violent organization.

Afterwards, Guan Tong reported the case promptly and accompanied Li Meng and others to the violent organization's hideout. In the end, he even knocked out and subdued the organization's leader, Shen Zuohu, who had almost escaped.

Gao Liangwei was already quite surprised reading this far. He continued reading, wanting to find any records about how Guan Tong subdued Shen Zuohu, but the materials did not record it.

Moreover, since Shen Zuohu had already been executed, it was impossible to interrogate him again.

After reading the materials, Gao Liangwei pondered.

At that time, the Fire Thief had just descended not long ago, and every Ascendant was still very weak. As a student, Guan Tong was able to subdue a vicious violent organization leader, and later even single-handedly kill a wild boar. This indicated his combat ability was not low from the very beginning.

Combined with all the unusual circumstances, this Guan Tong was undoubtedly worth contacting seriously.

Gao Liangwei picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Prepare to make contact with the target."

After a moment of silence, the other end replied awkwardly, "Sorry, Director. The target... we have lost track of the target's location."

"What?"

"After leaving the academy, the target entered a certain closed building and never came out again. We sent people to check and found the person was already gone from inside... The target likely left by using a teleportation-type item. We've been searching all this time but haven't been able to find them."

"...So, you were discovered? Otherwise, why would he waste a high-value teleportation-type item to move?"

"We were very careful, didn't use any Mind Power-related items, and relied entirely on experienced agents for physical surveillance. If the other party hasn't received anti-surveillance training, they shouldn't have noticed."

"Director, what should we do now? Should we continue trying to search?"

Gao Liangwei considered for a moment. "Forget it. The other party probably noticed and won't be easily tracked by you again. However, you can closely monitor the movements of the target's related contact, 'Xu Xiaotian.' He is the target's friend and might contact or meet with the target."