Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Of course it does!”

Meng Xiaolang said, “In ancient times, people like my sister would’ve been the ‘think tanks’ around the king, and their super teams would’ve been high-level ‘think tanks’. Who wouldn’t respect their professional opinions? For example, most of the representatives in the parliament didn’t know how to

calculate the changes of the situation. If a certain representative entered the parliament because he was so strong that he could blow up a mountain with a single punch, how could he not listen to the opinions of the experts?”

Meng Jiang suddenly realized something. “Just like our Speaker?”

“Yes. She is the wife of your old classmate Li Yao, the famous ‘Dragon of Fire’ of the federation!”

Meng Xiaolang couldn’t help but laugh. “Everybody in the federation knows that Speaker Ding is best known for her strength and charisma. She doesn’t know much about the big picture, but as the Speaker of Parliament of the federation, she doesn’t need to be adept at all fields. Naturally, countless

experts such as her sister will help her make plans and analyze, infer, and predict the changes in the future with her amazing computational ability and detailed data.

“Of course, this is just one of them.

“More importantly, it will influence public opinion and allow the general public to understand the current situation and problems in the fastest and easiest way.

“Grandpa knows that it’s been decades since ‘Civilization’ became popular. During the decades, the new generation has grown into the backbone of the federal society. Our generation started playing games almost as soon as we were born. We had a high degree of acceptance and trust in the games. The

games almost became our ‘first media’, and the professional super players became the stars and idols of our generation.

“If the country’s policy is presented in dry data and words, few people will be interested.

“However, the game will be presented by the super players who are the center of attention. Their attention and acceptance will be much higher.

“Right now, the authorities want the public to understand the importance of the federation’s participation in the sea of stars as much as possible. News and announcements alone are not attractive enough. Besides, if we release the new expansion pack of ‘Civilization’ and ask the public to explore and

appreciate the mysteries in the center of the sea of stars as well as the imperium and the strength of the Holy Alliance, won’t it be fun to teach them and make them understand everything without them knowing?

“If the ‘amateur expansion pack’ that the ordinary players play on is still a joke, the strategical deduction that my sister and the rest of them are doing right now is very authoritative. Grandpa, look. This is the forum of ‘Glorious Expedition, Summit Confrontation’. It is a simulation of the federal army

marching to the center of the sea of stars across billions of stars to fight against the main fleet of the Holy Accord Alliance together with the revolutionaries of the imperium.

“Although we cannot collect the real combat data of the main fleet of the Star Glory Federation, we can estimate the enemy’s strength by multiplying the relevant data that the Star Glory Federation collected in the past by a factor. Also, the combat ability of the Star Glory Federation’s fleet is somewhat

reliable when compared with the Black Wind Fleet.

“According to the data, virtual duels are more or less of great reference points.

“Therefore, countless people of the federation have been paying full attention to the match. According to the forums, the number of people watching the match in real time has surpassed 10 billion. Huhu, 10 billion people! It must be noted that a match of this level is actually very boring, It does not have

any dazzling sound or lightning effects. Most of the time, what is displayed on the light beam are words, icons, and information streams. Just like that, 10 billion people are online at the same time. God knows how many times more people are waiting for the final result!

“Wherever my sister is, ‘Team Moon Fiend’, supported by the Dark Moon Foundation, and ‘Team Blood Shadow’, who has a vague background in the military, have countless passionate supporters among the civilians. The members of the teams are all influential leaders of opinion. The outcome of the

battle will certainly change the public’s opinion about whether or not to march into the center of the sea of stars.

“Here, these are the three largest all-class forums of the federation. They are the most authoritative polls. Currently, the number of people who support sending troops immediately is almost equal to the number of people who support thinking twice before leaving. In one of the forums, 47% vs. 44%,

with 9% expressing that it is hard to say. The other two forums are similar, indicating that the public does not have a unified voice.

“But I believe that, when the final battle between ‘Team Moon Fiend’ and ‘Team Blood Shadow’ is over and the outcome is out, the outcome of the public opinion polls will be greatly changed.

“Although the public opinion poll is not a real vote, it can strongly influence the outcome of the parliamentary vote. Most of the MPs were elected by the public. Who would dare to defy the universal condemnation, ignore, or even go against the public’s voice?

“If the public declares that they will march into the center of the sea of stars, I believe that countless congressmen will turn into the ‘Iron-Blooded Eagle Clan’. On the other hand, if the majority of the public does not support the idea of sending troops, and the anti-war voices among the civilians are

endless, it is unlikely that the parliament will decide to send troops by force.

“Grandpa, my mouth is almost dry. Do you understand?”

“More or less!”

Meng Jiang said, “If that’s the case, your sister’s match is quite important. Hurry up and play it for me!”

“T’s alright.”

While Meng Xiaolang typed in the invitation code for his grandfather, he smiled and said, “Such a strategical deduction at the level of an expert is not an ordinary game. Although the flow of time in the virtual world is adjusted relatively fast, it is quite normal to fight for three days and three nights. It

won’t end so quickly.”

“Oh.”

Meng Jiang nodded and asked, “Then, which side is your sister and their so-called ‘Team Moon Fiend’ on?”

“They are the attackers. Driving virtual fleets across the sea of stars to attack the legendary Empyreal Terminus and Empyrean Terminus, they should be the advocates, shouldn’t they?

Meng Xiaolang thought for a moment and said, “On the other side, ‘Team Blood Shadow’, who is backed by our military, is manipulating the virtual fleet of the Star Glory Federation. They are also attacking the Empyrean Terminus Sector and the Empyrean Terminus Planet. I don’t understand why they

are assigning combat missions in such a way. That’s how the game is designed anyway.

“However, you can’t say that the military is a pro-war faction. The only thing you can say is that the military has its own considerations. ‘The Lord cannot rise in anger, and the General cannot rush into battle’! Victory requires countless soldiers to fight for it. Of course, we have to think about it carefully!”

While Meng Xiaolang was talking, he had already brought up the only live arena of ‘Glorious Expedition’, the latest expansion of ‘Civilization’.

Meng Jiang’s crystal processor was still an antique from more than ten years ago. Although the so-called ‘live’ had mostly been hidden due to confidentiality regulations, the enormous data still crowded his crystal processor and made squeaking noises.

The light beam was frozen for a long time before a waterfall of information streams and overlapping translucent icons, lists, and data reports appeared.

“Well—”

‘Meng Jiang was somewhat dumbfounded. This “expert-level strategic deduction” was too different from the game in his impression. He stared at it for a long time and still could not see the reason. He had no choice but to ask his grandson, “What’s the meaning of this? It’s all fancy. Are the fleets of the

two sides at war? Where is this? Who won and who lost?”

Meng Xiaolang was qualified to join the latest ‘Kunlun Fleet’ of the federation. Naturally, his reading ability was a hundred times better than his grandfather’s.

However, it was also the first time that he had ever received such a complicated and all-encompassing stream of information. It was like a magnificent torrent rushing into his eyes and crashing inside his brain. After only three to five seconds, he found it hard to bear.

“What is it exactly? Tell me quickly!”

Meng Jiang didn’t think much of it a moment ago. But now, his curiosity was aroused by his grandson. He asked, “Which side won? Your sister’s Team Moon Fiend or the opponent’s Team Blood Shadow? Can you see what your sister is doing from here? Tell me!”

“Well…”

‘As Meng Xiaolang read the match, his face gradually turned pale and awkward.

The serial serial numbers that represented the starships of the federal army turned from bright green to deep green, from deep green to orange, and from orange to crimson. In the end, they were burnt to ash in the burning redness.

In only several minutes, countless starships and soldiers of the federal army had reached the end of their lives.

It seemed that the imperial army sent by the revolutionaries to defend the Empyrean Terminus Sector and the federal army that came to reinforce them had been surrounded by the fleet of the Sanctuary Alliance. The situation of the battle was extremely bad!

“sh*t!”

At first, Meng Lichuan’s eyes were orange, and then they were filled with paleness. Her soul seemed to have been pushed out of the virtual world by an intense blast and returned to the gaming capsule that was full of neural interactive liquids.

Meng Lichuan suddenly sat up and cursed.

This was the Federal Information Center, the center of ‘Civilization’ in Hundred Flowers City. It was the biggest secret base.

It was also a national-level strategic deduction center that was closely followed by the Secret Sword Department, the Dark Moon Foundation, the military, and the Glorious Sunlight Group.

For the strategical decisions that would determine the future of the federation, the first public strategical deduction of whether or not to march to the center of the sea of stars was to be carried out in this place, which was also known as the ‘Glorious Expedition’.

Among the tens of thousands of array-type super crystal processors, thousands of the most advanced gaming capsules were densely arranged. Those lying inside the neural interaction liquids were all experts of deduction who were one-in-ten-thousand and had the strongest computational ability, the

most meticulous logic, and the most abundant imagination. They were not simply ‘super players’ but the elite intelligence personnel of the Dark Moon Foundation and the precious babies of the military.

Meng Lichuan was one of them.. He was also the well-acknowledged Newcomer King and was very confident that he would become a real ace player in the next ten years!