Yu Lian and Anne chugged a case of vodka, debated with Lilia whether the light spear or kinetic cannon was the trend of the future, argued with Daina over whether Andes Black Cattle or Vierno White Cattle tasted better, and finally chatted with Zhi Xia about the recent stock market, even seriously telling her to pull out before September.
From beginning to end, he did it all in front of Feifei… at least theoretically, it should have been within Feifei's perception.
So, Yu Lian truly didn't understand why these girls were all acting as if they were stealing gold coins from under a dragon's nose, constantly startled.
Since he had finished relaying everything he needed to, Yu Lian calmly awaited the end of the banquet.
In fact, before the banquet even ended, Wien and the others found him.
“Good, this kind of setting is more suitable for a discussion.”
Feifei did see Yu Lian and Wien go upstairs together, just as she had witnessed Yu Lian's conversations with the girls one by one the entire time.
She remained unconcerned, seated firmly on her throne, unmoving as a mountain.
At this moment, Miss “Queen of the Moon” was very busy. She was the idol of all the girls in the school, and now that she was about to leave, there were still quite a few younger students and classmates crying and clinging to her.
“Alright, everyone can still have class reunions when you have time in the future! How about this, we can organize a social gathering, just for us girls! Yes, no stinky men allowed, hehe~~~ Irene, you organize it?” Feifei pointed to a younger girl, and that little girl immediately seemed to have received the highest directive, filled with a sense of mission.
And in the small conference room on the second floor of Lion's Tower, only a group of men finally remained. Without the chirping and chattering of those women, this was the right time to discuss serious matters.
“What do you all think about the future?” Yu Lian went straight to the point.
This caught everyone off guard. Wien had originally intended to exchange a few playful jabs and banter.
“The future?” It was Mihiel Rozes who spoke first. This major steward-tool man of the 830 Party mused for a moment, then chuckled, “All of us, except Yahata, have decided to remain on active duty.”
Yu Lian breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the butterfly effect hadn't gone too far off track after all.
He continued, “Then, it's just a matter of becoming a qualified officer step by step. If nothing unexpected happens, I should retire after becoming a general, by which time I should be over forty, and then I can enter politics.”
“As for me, after retirement, I'll probably have to go back to my hometown to raise cattle; I've really had enough,” William Banner chuckled.
“So, you're not going to manage those more than a million cattle in your hometown?” Deng Zhengqing chuckled.
“Hehe, I can leave them to my younger siblings. The Banner family is a large one; there are plenty of people who can inherit the family's assets.”
“Daina is also preparing to go back home.”
“Her family only has her as a daughter… Anyway, it's not like I'm never going home again.” At this point, Banner couldn't help but want to glare at Yu Lian as if he were a class enemy again, but then he thought that would make him look too much like a defeated dog, so he gave up.
“I'm not sure about the others, but I should probably stay in the military until retirement. I quite like military life; at least becoming a Marshal wouldn't be considered a failure, right?”
“However, if it's you, you shouldn't just be asking about this, should you? Our respective futures? Our respective career plans? Yu Lian, would you ask such a superficial question?” Kent said.
No, no, no, the questions I asked the girls and my roommates ABC earlier really were that superficial, I'm truly sorry!
“Yu Lian, I know what you want to say… People like us should consider more than just our own futures. It also includes deeper and broader content: society, the nation, and even the international situation of the entire galaxy. If we were to say we don't have the ambition to become leaders of the Commonwealth military, or even the nation, that would be too hypocritical.” Kent was quite frank, and his words didn't cause much reaction from everyone, indicating that they were indeed not hypocritical people.
He pondered for a moment and continued, “However, we are still just young people who have just graduated from the academy. Our education has given us a very good start… And, because of this incident, we have even stepped onto the stage earlier than all our seniors. Nevertheless, we are still just starting; whether it's achievements, popularity, or strength, all require time to accumulate.”
“Heh, but my dear Chester, I heard you proudly say that you would show those old guys who the true future is!”
“My dear” Chester? This guy's been a bit too arrogant lately, hasn't he? He should clearly be the youngest one. Chester Kent's eyelid twitched unnaturally, and then he said:
“Oh, that was just a slogan from when I was carried away! It's not much different from 'Amitabha,' 'Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable,' or 'For Messiah.' In fact, everyone sitting here can indeed represent the future. I have that confidence! But, it's only the future; this is reality.”
“Let him speak.” Wien, who had been silent since the beginning, suddenly spoke.
His attitude today was quite proper, his expression calm and solemn, even carrying a few touches of solemn ritual, as if he had realized something.
Yu Lian looked at him more closely, and the respect he had for the future leader of the 830 Party, which had been wavering, recovered a little. Then he said, “Does everyone feel that our Universe is very strange?”
“Strange?” Everyone exchanged glances, their expressions a bit subtle.
They had expected a profound insight when Yu Lian was so serious, but they didn't expect him to start with metaphysics.
Sure enough, all spiritual energy users talk like mystics.
If everyone's upbringing hadn't been so good, they probably would have started pitying him.
However, Yu Lian's next sentence silenced everyone.
“Three thousand years ago, we were using gravity wells for superluminal navigation; today, three thousand years later, we are still using gravity wells. From Nefi to Tianyu, it took half a year two thousand years ago, and now it has finally progressed to a little over four months.”
“Three thousand years ago, our railguns could penetrate asteroids; today, three thousand years later, the kinetic super cannons on Titan can penetrate the Moon. But, it's still a railgun.”
“light spears, arc weapons, new weapons have appeared. But, in the final analysis, isn't that just replacing a long spear with a sharper long spear?”
“Throughout the history of civilization within this galaxy, culture, ideology, political systems, and even scientific and philosophical thought, there has been no fundamental progress since the day we climbed into space. Even online games are like this. I was playing… oh no, our grandfathers were playing RPGs, and we're still playing them, can you believe it?”
Everyone was stunned by Yu Lian's tone. Perhaps it was because this was indeed a question worth pondering, or perhaps it was because he had already used a bit of mind control at this point. Although the future famous generals Present were all resolute and ambitious individuals, they had all drunk a good deal of alcohol, so they were somewhat affected.
At least, in the current environment, they were willing to quietly listen to Yu Lian continue, and would not instinctively reject the following content due to preconceived notions.
“Our Universe has stagnated. The scientific community hopes that new archaeological discoveries can lead to knowledge that leads to truth. Such an idea is more theology than science.” Yu Lian looked at everyone, who were becoming increasingly serious, and his voice grew heavier and colder.
“Our society has also stagnated. The rich crisscross the fields, while the poor have no roof over their heads. Those of you who grew up in the prosperous Central Starfield, those of you born into wealthy families, may find it difficult to have a direct experience. But I have seen it!”
“It's the space age! We can clearly cross galaxies and transform heaven and earth, so why are there still so many people who, after a lifetime of hard work, still cannot guarantee their families' livelihoods? Always leaving their homes, always having their families broken.”
“My classmates, if you cannot understand this problem, then you are not qualified to talk about becoming leaders. Because I dare to guarantee to the universe spirit that when you finally climb to a high position one day, you will be exactly like those useless old guys you despise the most now.”
Yu Lian felt that what had been said so far was enough. Although he could bring out the Dragon Slaying Art and the “Book of Origins,” the time was not yet ripe… More importantly, he still lacked a good entry point to make those grand contents more relevant to the current era.
You all need to accumulate, and I also need to accumulate.
“Alright, this is actually a problem for all of you. I hope you will think more about it in the future. Once you figure it out, we can proceed to the next step.”
If earlier they were influenced by mind control, this time everyone truly began to ponder Yu Lian’s words.
Wien’s hand tapped the table somewhat unnaturally, and it took him more than three times the usual amount of time to pick up the wine glass in front of him and drink it all.
“Yu Lian, are you planning to tell us that you are going to be a Messiah of the Universe Age?”
“I’m just telling you the current situation. In fact, Horatio, there has never been a savior; that’s the first thing you need to realize,” Yu Lian said.
Autumn Mountain Yawata, who had been observing with cold eyes, pushed up his glasses, wondering what he was calculating.
Wien watched the other party with a solemn face, feeling a bit thirsty, a bit irritable, a bit like laughing, but more than that, a surging, boiling sensation filled his chest.
He didn’t know where this feeling came from, only that he didn’t dislike it.
Yu Lian’s words seemed like a joke, but he also understood that the other party was serious.
Or rather, unprecedentedly serious! He had never been this serious, not during their four years as classmates, nor when facing assassins and cultists in Big Apple, nor when confronting Morey on the Azure Princess.
“Alright, future changes and the problems of the Universe, we can discuss those slowly later. First, the practical problem we need to face is our Blue Star Commonwealth. Although it is terminally ill, and although it is useless, it is still the nation of Earthlings and the nation everyone loves. You all don’t deny this, do you?” Yu Lian looked at everyone.
The Blue Star Commonwealth is still the third largest military power in the galaxy.
Then he took out a small notebook and began to record.
“So, everyone’s big goal is the Universe, and the small goal is to save the country!”
“Yes, it really is a… uh… refreshing small goal!” Rozes said with a bitter smile.
“So, what I want to ask everyone next is, regarding this small goal, who are our enemies, and who are our friends?”
Deng Zhengqing paused for less than a few seconds and said, “Currently, the Central Government is trying to establish comprehensive cooperation with the Alliance. I believe that even if President Nockham steps down due to this issue, this will be the new government’s established foreign policy. We separated from the Empire, and even now, our existence is still considered a great humiliation by too many Imperial nobles. However, given the Declaration of Independence and the Orion Treaty, the Empire has, after all, recognized us as an independent political entity and will not directly attack us.”
Unless extreme circumstances are encountered. However, such a situation is destined to happen in the future.
“Our long-term opponent is indeed the Empire, but our current direct opponents are the Kaitai Kingdom, the Bakerville Republic, and the Luminar separatists. The Alliance can be considered our ally, but I think they only need a pawn in the Third Arm to tie down Imperial forces, plus a buffer zone between the two great powers. Our relationship with the Alliance is destined not to be comparable to those traditional allies with hundreds or thousands of years of friendly relations.”
Yes. But this has little to do with diplomatic history; it has to do with whether we want to fully open our market, and more importantly, whether we want to join the Alliance’s military system. Yu Lian thought to himself.
“…Looking at it this way, we seem a bit isolated and helpless,” Rozes said with a laugh. “If a war breaks out in the future, we are very likely to not receive practical support. More importantly, many of our war necessities depend on imports. Once a war breaks out, the Commonwealth will actually find it very difficult to gain an advantage.”
“No need to be so polite. As long as the Empire personally enters the fray and cuts off the Gibraltar starfield, we are bound to lose!” Wien said coldly, “This is no longer an era of unity and unyielding spirit! The current international situation will not disperse too much of the Empire’s power!”
“We have territorial disputes with the Kaitai and the Buckwheat Birdmen, and the Luminar rebels are also a major hidden danger. If any side is not handled in time, we could be dragged into a quagmire. At that point, it could give the Empire an excuse to personally intervene!”
“Whether in population, military, industry, agriculture, or technology, we are far behind the Empire. The Alliance cannot be trusted either… They will not help us with all their might.”
“The Alliance wants us to be a buffer, but they definitely don’t want us to truly become a powerful nation, do they?”
“No, if the Commonwealth were completely dismembered, it might be more in the Alliance’s interest.”
They truly are future celebrities! Their words seemed a bit presumptive, as if any member of a keyboard warrior group who read a few more books and paid more attention to international news could analyze it, but if their analysis was ninety percent correct, then they could be described as strategists.
And these young people, talking back and forth like this, were truly close to reconstructing the process of the later Hundred Days War.
However, after this analysis, everyone’s mood inexplicably dropped quite a bit.
“To our nation fighting alone!” Yu Lian raised his glass.
Everyone chuckled bitterly and tilted their heads back, drinking their glasses dry.
Fortunately, while their mood was a bit low, it was far from despair, and their spirits were still full.
The nation is in a time of crisis; isn’t this precisely the time for us to make our mark?
Yu Lian bet that this bunch of guys were definitely thinking that right now.
Wien put down his glass and actually took the initiative to fill Yu Lian’s glass.
“What exactly do you want to say?”
“The road ahead is indeed treacherous, but it is not a dead end. Our enemy is not the Empire, but merely 5 million Imperial nobles and 2 billion so-called Imperial citizens. If you analyze it this way, don’t you feel less despairing?”
These words were indeed refreshing. Everyone was stunned for a moment, then fell into thought.
“This is the second problem I’ve prepared for everyone. Once you understand this, you’ll find that our horizons are vast. And our first problem will also have a direction for resolution!”
Yu Lian smiled, and then, before anyone could ask, he continued, “And then, let’s consider the third problem. Hmm, I don’t know if you all find me annoying, but I find all of you very pleasing to the eye.”
There was a bit of an awkward silence; everyone still hadn’t spoken, but they were clearly no longer in deep thought.
“Yu Lian, actually…” Rozes, with a bitter smile, was about to speak when he heard Yu Lian say, “So, I hope to establish an organization. An organization where everyone shares information, resources, advances and retreats together, and strives together for a common goal!”
“An, an organization?”
“Yes! Horatio’s idea of establishing the Lionheart Society is very good. This is not some rich people’s play-club, but rather a group of like-minded companions moving forward side by side. However, we must go even further: disciplined, organized, with a program, with short-term goals and long-term plans. The people, the nation, and this Universe need such an organization!” Yu Lian scanned everyone, his gaze lingering on Wien’s astonished expression for two more seconds.
“So, why not call it the Com…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Yu Lian was suddenly seized by a certain oppressive force, and he shivered. In the depths of his being, he felt as if the entire Universe he was in was on the verge of destruction.
His mouth almost didn’t obey him, and he quickly pulled back the words that had reached his lips.
He hadn’t even brought out the Book of Origins and the five volumes of the Dragon Slaying Art; calling that name was also too soon.
“Right, it’s equivalent to Lionheart Society 2.0! As for what it’s actually called, let’s all put our heads together.”
Thanks to Lord kasaan for the fifteen thousand reward, so… I’ll grit my teeth and not take a leave after all.