Chapter 416: The Best Option?

After the meeting.

Wu Zhixian returned to his residence with no expression on his face.

Exposed. The identity he was concealing had undoubtedly been exposed.

But he wasn’t worried or regretful, nor did he think that his move had been unwise. It was true, Mu Yunhua was still a leader recognized by everyone. Her great prestige and charisma had never faltered.

But over the past six months, he had felt legitimately fed up by this woman’s nagging. Every time the representative assembly met, she had to bring up topics that evoked anxiety. He was already tired of listening, and was reluctant to hear any more of it.

He might as well be frank about everything and express his own attitude.

Of course, if he were the only one in the compromising faction, he might immediately lose his qualification as a representative upon opening his mouth and be sentenced, at the very least, to indefinite imprisonment under the crowd’s displeasure.

Fortunately, among the 19 representatives, 12 accepted his point of view, became his fellow, and made him their leader.

He had basically gained control of what was left of the entirety of human civilization.

Subsequent decisions on policies would be laid down in accordance with his wishes, including transferring the majority of the population and resources to the surface of planet Walf, Prioritizing the construction of resettlement bases and the transformation of the ecological environment, keeping population growth within 10,000 per year, and others.

His motive was naturally to stall the survivor’s advancements, and he had achieved exactly this.

In fact, Wu Zhixian, too, had hopes in his heart at some point in the past. He was once a hot-blooded youth.

But looking at his wretched, ugly self in the mirror, he mumbled, “When did I become like this? Just when did fear and weakness overwhelmed my heart?”

Reluctantly, he remembered the events that occurred 50 years ago, when the Blue Space went full speed ahead with no possibility of turning back. Faced with an unknown future, looking at the dark, starry sky ahead of him, he had curled himself at a corner, shivering, more than once. The thoughts that continuously emerged in his mind were of destruction, obscurity, death, and other things that evoke the greatest fear in mankind. After all, in the face of absolute despair, nobody would be totally without fear of death.

Coincidently, he was the kind of person that looked daring on the outside but was actually fragile on the inside… he couldn’t overcome his fear.

At that moment.

A line of pale green text had abruptly appeared in the air before him: Come be my slave. Slaves have the right to survive.

These words made Wu Zhixian inexplicably afraid, but also inexplicably excited.

An alien spy device.

Aliens were establishing contact with him through this method.

This became the beginning of his betrayal of humanity, as he embarked on a path of no return.

However, he did not think of it as a betrayal, nor did he think that there was anything wrong with it. I’m just directing the future of mankind towards the right path.

To ensure their survival, that little price they would have to pay was completely acceptable.

Besides, the mysterious aliens also assured him that if humanity did not resist, they would not kill innocent people, and would leave the remaining humans a path to survival.

They would give those who conceded to them good treatment as long as they listened to their “arrangements”.

Hence, from that day onwards, Wu Zhixian lived in fear no more. He slept well every day, and his feelings of forlornness and perplexity completely left him, as if a future blooming with hope had come to light before his very own eyes—even if the path ahead of him was a narrow road that would take away his freedom.

“It is still better than to blindly grope in the endless void of darkness.”

Moreover, on the spacecraft, there were many more people than himself among the senior representatives who felt desperate and confused. Everyone more or less had some of those feelings in their hearts. The ones Wu Zhxian was aiming at were those who were frail in their minds that were already in a wavering state. With the help of the mysterious alien spy device and up to 40 years of operation, most of the senior representatives came to stand by his side. Then, being able to gradually seize control over the human remnants was entirely foreseeable. It had boosted Wu Zhixian’s arrogance so greatly that he was no longer cautious, and he even dared to express his inner views in front of Mu Yunhua. After all, he had already secured victory. There was no need for him to suppress himself any longer. He directly expressed his point of view in an attempt to convince everyone, including Mu Yunhua, that they should accept the arrangements provided by the aliens and live a peaceful life without any fear. This was definitely the best choice!

These were Wu Zhixian’s beliefs.

Ding, ding, ding.

The communicator sounded.

Wu Zhixian pressed the “answer” button, and a projection screen appeared in front of him. The screen was divided into 12 grids displaying avatars, including his.

This was an encrypted conference communication.

The members inside were all the representatives who had joined him.

“Wu, you’ve said too much in front of Mu Yunhua. Now, we’re all in danger.”

A bespectacled old representative said, “You are almost a hundred, Wu. Why can’t you calm yourself down?”

“Jiang, I do not think that I’ve said anything unnecessary today. I would have had to say it sooner or later, anyway. I just hope that Mu Yunhua will stop her babbling.”

Wu Zhixian shrugged his shoulders as he expressed his fearlessness.

Another representative said, “It is still too early to flip the tables now. The Pangu system and most of the guards are still under Mu Yunhua’s command. If she decides to act against us, I am afraid that there is nothing we could do.”

“Relax. She wouldn’t dare to do anything to us.”

Wu Zhixian put up his legs and said with a confident look, “My body is linked to the fate of all surviving humans, and a representative of all our people’s attitude to those aliens. If something were to happen to me, to those aliens, it would read as a war signal saying that we will not compromise. The option of peace would be entirely out of the picture! Mu Yunhua will not have the guts to do that.”

This was the reason behind his fearlessness.

“Okay… but Mu Yunhua still deserves our respect. It would be best if we could convince her of it, so that it won’t harm our ties. After all, there truly are not a lot of survivors left,” a white representative said.

“Convince her?” Wu Zhixian helplessly shook his head. “We have known her for decades. When did her straight-forward character ever change? When did she even consider compromising with the aliens who destroyed planet Haierfa? She was so eager and anxious that she constantly burned for revenge. Who could possibly convince a leader which such a character as she has?

“Under her leadership, our fate will most likely be another long journey of exile.

“But I’m tired of that kind of life. I believe that all of you would rather enjoy the blue sky and sunshine that we have now. Mu Yunhua, however, will insist on stopping us, thus dragging us all back to that spaceship on a never-ending trek. She is destined to be our opposing faction, so—”

Wu Zhixian clenched his fist. “We will use our numbers to oust her. That stubborn woman is not suited to be our leader. Only I, who am flexible and able to accommodate the circumstances, can give everyone a happy life.”

All the other representatives took a deep breath, looking at Wu Zhixian with shock.

He wanted to oust the prestigious Mu Yunhua.

“Is that really the right thing to do?”

Wu Zhixian replied in a sinister tone, “If she can’t be convinced, this is the only way.”

…

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In the main hall of the base.

Seeing the video footage through the monitor screen and hearing the words that Wu Zhixian had spoken, Mu Yunhua looked awful. She held her fist, and her body was shaking faintly. She was obviously provoked to her limit.

“Traitor.

“A despicable traitor!”

“He is not qualified to be human anymore. He’s just a dog without any guts—the dumbest and most ignorant dog among humans.”

Mu Yunhua clenched her jaw, and her eyes were blazing with rage.

She turned around and told Bai Shengqi beside her, “Arrest them all. This footage is enough to get them arrested. Bai, bring some men with you and take all those traitors into custody. They are all suspended from their positions. Brand the mark of a despicable traitor on their bodies.”

“Captain.” A bit of hesitation flashed through Bai Shengqi’s face. “We should be cautious in this matter. Representative Wu alone can’t prove the matter, as he’s just a coward who is afraid of death. But his point must not be ignored. If the aliens are still spying on us, arresting Representative Wu and the others will indeed be a signal to them that we won’t compromise. Assuming that an alien fleet is on its way towards us, I am afraid that they will show no hesitation after learning our attitude. By then, the fate awaiting us will be…”

It would surely be an onslaught without any room for negotiation.

“Are you afraid?” Mu Yunhua glared at him. “Are you too becoming afraid of death?”

“I’ve never feared death.” Bai Shengqi’s expression became stern as he solemnly said, “My life alone is nothing. But the 10,000 left of our entire civilization is right in your hands. These people may be humanity’s last chance. If a wrong decision is made, humankind may perish and be lost forever in the long stream of history. Just the thought itself makes me feel extremely heavy.”

“Captain, I presume that you who bear this weight must feel an even greater burden on this matter.”

Upon listening, Mu Yunhua was plunged into silence.

The survival and continuation of human civilization… In the face of such a problem, once a wrong decision was made, the only remains of their civilization might go extinct like the dinosaurs, leaving only some impressions within the hearts of interstellar archaeologists. No matter how brilliant and wonderful their past was, the only thing they would leave behind were a few sighs. Given the size of the universe and the length of time, even interstellar archaeologists may not be able to dig them up, and the history of mankind would become a story forever covered in dust.

No matter what, this happening would be unacceptable and tragic.

Mu Yunhua did not wish to lead the remnants of human civilization to meet such an end. All of her struggles had been to prevent their demise.

“Are you implying that, coming from the perspective of continuing our civilization, the method proposed by Wu can be accepted?” Mu Yunhua said with a sore voice.

“I didn’t mean that.” Bai Shengqi shook his head. “The main thing is that we don’t know what conditions the aliens would offer us. If it were to mean limiting our population, banning high-tech development, losing some of our freedom, living in only small plots of reserved land, a prohibition on external expansion… if it were to be harsh conditions as these, then it wouldn’t be necessary for us to even talk about it. We are not animals in the zoo. Also—”

He added, “Based on what the aliens have done to us before, their credibility is a very large issue. It is highly likely that they will go back on their words. Therefore, even if they put forward favorable conditions, we should stay vigilant and prepare our defenses so that we can avoid being caught off guard. We must not comply with them without taking any precautions.”

“A guessing game?” The term popped out from Mu Yunhua’s mouth.

“Yes. No matter what, those aliens are not worthy of our trust, no matter how good they might be with their words.”

“So, are you saying that we should be firm in our resistance and not compromise at all?”

“But that way, there’s a great chance that we will once again embark on a path of exile. Our technological gap with the aliens is at least two or three hundred years. We are no match for them. Right now, in the immigration base, the people’s minds are set. Most of them do not want to flee again. Their minds are fragile, which makes them potential supporters of Wu. They might fall for the alien’s false hoaxes.”

“The majority probably wishes to submit and surrender. If I insist on confrontation, will the current situation fall into instability or even chaos?”

“Yes.”

“Then what should I do?” Ought she to obey the wishes of the majority, or to insist on her own opinion?

“I can’t decide. It’s all up to you, but I will faithfully execute any order you give me,” Bai Shengqi said while looking at her.

Mu Yunhua once again fell into silence, and her face seemed immensely perplexed.

After quite some time, she raised her hands and said in a quiet voice, “Arrest them. Arrest them all in secret. Give them the Truth Drug, interrogate them, reveal their crimes to all the immigrants. At last, by means of a referendum, their punishment shall be decided.”

In fact, deep down, she was thinking of treating those traitors to mankind with capital punishment. She wanted to show them what it meant to become a traitor.

But…

If her personally unrelenting attitude was unleashed, those mysterious aliens who would never let go of them. They would not even think of forcing them to surrender; they would be thinking about how to exterminate them from the roots. Nothing else would go through the alien’s minds.

This would be equivalent to completely severing their way of escape.

If a referendum were conducted, investigating the immigrants’ collective will and involving everyone in the decision—only then would the dissent be lessened.

Subsequent operations were conducted rapidly.

The thunder-like arrest operation involved no big movements. All the 12 senior representatives including Wu Zhixian were arrested and thrown into a public trial.

“Kill them!”

“Shameless traitors!”

“Bootlickers to the aliens!”

“Gutless cowards!”

Curses and voices demanding them to be executed went wild below the trial bench. All of the citizens were unable to accept such a shameful betrayal.

The three options given by the judge were: the death penalty, 20-year imprisonment, and removal from their posts but with no conviction. Looking at the hysterical crowd, it seemed that a death penalty might just be what was awaiting Wu Zhixian and the others.

However, the judge gave Wu Zhixian a chance to defend himself.

He seized the opportunity to share his words in front of the microphone with an easy grace:

“You cannot sentence me to death. Not only am I not guilty, but I am also currently saving all of you.

“Surrender is the only option, and it is the best choice for us.

“The technology of the aliens is at least three hundred years ahead of us. Once they had fixed an eye on us, there was no way we could elude their sight. They will always be able to track us down, keep up with us, or even await us at our destination in advance… We can never escape their grasp.

“Insisting on confrontation will only lead to utter destruction. Not even one of our genes will remain, and mankind will perish for eternity, vanishing into the dust.

“If we choose to surrender, they will allow us to live on planet Walf, to develop in this place with the peace of mind, and give us the rights of second-class citizens. If we perform well, we may even earn for ourselves equal status and more rights in the future… These are the concessions that I have won from them through countless negotiations. We will not be losing too much.

“On the contrary, if we choose to confront them, we will either be completely annihilated, or once again have to embark on a journey of exile—wandering in a narrow, closed spaceship for decades and centuries in the dark, murky nightmare of outer space, and savoring in endless despair and suffering. I believe that people who have been there once will not want to go through that again.

“So, hurry and pardon my sins… No; all of you should praise me for my merits. They will definitely make their words count. Any punishment given to me will mean provocation and disrespect to them. I am afraid that all that we’ve achieved will become obsolete…

“Hurry up and show goodwill to me. Showing me your goodwill will mean showing the aliens your goodwill. They are watching everything now. As the weaker ones, we should not indulge in useless emotions such as revenge and retaliation. The only thing we need now is to survive, and in order to do so, we will need their merciful gift. The more friendly you are to me, the more sincere you are, the more they will regard us as a reliable partner by the time they arrive.

“So, hurry up and make the right decision,” Wu Zhixian shouted unscrupulously, giving the soldiers around him expressions of annoyance.

But the crowd below lowered their heads and became silent.