Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Dead Silence

Elder Huang was a man of immense wisdom; he realized the implications of Ge Xiaolun’s words in an instant. He instinctively turned to look at General Duka’ao, only to find the general’s brow furrowed in deep contemplation, as if he had grasped the gravity of the situation but found it difficult to speak. Beside him, Leona also wore a troubled expression, her gaze fixed on Ge Xiaolun with a look of profound complexity.

The conference room fell into a heavy silence. It seemed as though many had sensed the truth, yet no one dared to break the tension. Perhaps they knew that once the matter was laid bare, the resulting picture would be far from pleasant. Watching this, Ge Xiaolun nodded inwardly; his earlier suspicions had been confirmed.

"I remember very clearly," Ge Xiaolun continued, his voice calm and understated, not waiting for the others to speak. "Master Ryze said at the time that he usually didn't get involved in such matters, and that I was still just a child."

The others looked at him with varied expressions. Regardless, his willingness to speak helped alleviate the suffocating atmosphere. Elder Huang watched Ge Xiaolun, his eyes no longer holding the critical scrutiny they had before.

"Master Ryze also said that if Angel Yan truly wanted to negotiate on behalf of the Angel civilization regarding their assistance to Earth, he told her to wait, because he wanted someone capable of negotiating with her to be the one to do it," Ge Xiaolun continued. "Although I thought at the time she would find someone like you, Elder Huang, or someone like General Duka’ao or Sister Lianfeng to negotiate with, it clearly wasn't the case."

"This reminds me of Angel Yan’s attitude toward me. She is very close to me—or rather, she has always treated me as an equal. Even though she often teases me as if I were a child or offers praise as one would to a child, I can see that she respects me. Even when I deliberately used my identity as the Power of the Galaxy to deflect her words or tease her back, she accepted it, however grudgingly. In other words, in her eyes, if I weren't so young, or if I had sufficient backing, I would be fully qualified to engage in dialogue with her."

Ge Xiaolun looked earnestly at Elder Huang. "Perhaps this is the true significance of our discussion regarding the concept of a god."

Elder Huang did not interrupt; he nodded, signaling for Ge Xiaolun to continue. Meanwhile, Duka’ao and the others looked at the young man with expressions of immense complexity. They were genuinely gratified by his intelligence and courage, and even pleasantly surprised by the breadth of his perspective. Yet, as they listened to him now, they couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. Was this really a man from Earth who had only just encountered the world of super-soldiers a single day ago? Even as a mortal, he had truly been the elite of the elite.

"Therefore, we need to consider whether there are rules governing the world of gods," Ge Xiaolun said. "Within the jungle of cosmic civilizations, are there rules recognized by all? We might not want to accept these rules, but if we choose complete resistance, self-isolation, and internal friction, I fear we will lose too many critical opportunities."

Ge Xiaolun tried to avoid looking at the expressions of Duka’ao and the others, for Duka’ao and Lianfeng looked beyond conflicted, and Leona, who had previously been watching from the sidelines, looked as if her face were knotted in distress.

"I understand what you mean," Elder Huang said. He had observed it all, and he nodded seriously at Ge Xiaolun.

"To put it more bluntly," Ge Xiaolun continued, "the core issue we are struggling with is that our Earth civilization is not comfortable with a supreme god ruling over everything—myself included. I have vaguely realized that we need a god, or at least an entity perceived as a god externally, to communicate with the outside world and to protect or secure the interests of Earth. But this internal conflict should be a secondary concern when faced with the primary contradiction of life and death that is already upon us."

Ge Xiaolun glanced at Elder Huang and then at everyone present. "I do not wish to speculate maliciously about Master Ryze, nor do I have any intention of misjudging any of you. I can feel your goodwill and your help. Perhaps you have your reasons, but I am merely arguing for the sake of Earth's standing in relation to the concept of a god, so that I may secure support for my future role as soon as possible."

He finished speaking and fell silent, looking at Elder Huang.

Elder Huang remained silent for a moment, then turned to Duka’ao with a grave expression. "Old Du, I want to know what is going on here." He knew that at this moment, he had to speak.

"I..." Duka’ao’s expression was pained. He sighed, then said frankly, "I did know about the meeting between the Angels and Master Ryze, and he did speak to me about it. But that Angel had no intention of negotiating with us. Master Ryze said she was here for the Super Seminary and only wanted to speak with someone qualified to hold a dialogue with her. I did not consider this a pressing issue at the time, and as for the final outcome, I am not entirely sure."

He was telling the truth. Though it looked suspicious that he had only revealed this now, he had already guessed the situation. To ensure Earth continued to receive help from the Leona’s home, he had been forced to smooth things over in secret. He genuinely hadn't thought it was a major issue; he had been busy, and the matter had truly seemed trivial.

"Then I want to know who represented the Earth civilization to negotiate with the Angel civilization," Elder Huang said, his voice deep. "I am not speculating maliciously; I just want to know the facts."

Silence descended upon the room. But the gazes of everyone present instinctively drifted toward one person.

"It was me."

A second later, Leona spoke with a pained expression, hurriedly adding, "But I truly had no malicious intent... I..."

The people in the room held their breath, but they could not hide the fact that Elder Huang’s expression had turned hideously grim.

"And the result?" he asked, looking at Leona, his tone as calm as he could manage despite his darkening complexion.

"I..." Leona looked as if she were on the verge of tears. "Angel Yan suddenly found me. She thought I could represent Earth and said she wanted to discuss Earth's affairs with me." Her face twisted in distress, but she had to explain: "I was busy helping you deal with the dark alloy armor and was quite impatient with her, so... I just casually dismissed her."

As she finished, her beautiful face turned pale. Duka’ao and the others held their breath. As for Elder Huang, he could no longer contain himself; his face was as dark as soot.

"So, while we are here discussing the concept of a god, the diplomacy of our Earth civilization with other civilizations has already been... managed by this goddess from an allied nation," Ge Xiaolun summarized with a shrug.

His words rang out like a thunderclap. The conference room fell into an instant, deathly silence.