Shen Yishi, after seeing that everyone on the first floor had left, couldn't help but say, "Mom, why didn't you persuade Dad to watch the opera here with us? I specifically picked several wonderful love stories for him to watch. It's too much that the whole family can't spend some leisure time together!"
"Didn't we just watch Dan Dao Hui together? The people below were also very satisfied. Since we watched it together, let's just let it go. He still has many important things to do. When this war is over, he will have plenty of time to accompany us!" Chu Chaoyan said to Shen Yishi beside her.
Shen Yishi already knew her true identity, but she still preferred to stay with the mother who had raised her for a long time. Instead, she tended to neglect her biological mother.
Chu Chaoyan thought of something and then looked in the direction of Shen Qingrou. This child was only four years old and should have been restless, as children are naturally active. However, she was lying listlessly on Zhou Yuyao's body.
"It seems this is fate, always clinging to her sister-in-law and not being close to me, her biological mother. Sigh! I don't know what to say!" Chu Chaoyan thought to herself. The daughter she had raised was very affectionate towards her, but her biological daughter, due to less time spent caring for her, was instead close to her sister-in-law, treating her as her own mother.
The reason for this situation was that children need companionship. Whoever spends more time with a child will naturally be closer to them. Time is the most important factor. It is a grave mistake to think that providing superior conditions for a child is enough.
On the other side, Shen Feng had already led these ability users to a conference room in the City Lord's Mansion. The conference room was heavily guarded, with ordinary people forbidden from approaching, and even ability users stood guard to prevent anyone from eavesdropping nearby.
"You have brought so many disaster victims here. Is it because the God Slave no longer has food? I remember that I distributed food on time every month and never mistreated those under me. Are you trying to force my hand by leading countless refugees towards me?" Shen Feng asked directly after everyone had arrived.
The crowd quickly replied, "We dare not defy the will of Lord Fengshen. We merely have some requests that we wish to explain. These are fundamentally different!"
After all, at this moment, Shen Feng was still the leader of China, and everyone dared not openly oppose him, especially since the food all came from Shen Feng.
Other places would have to wait until later to cultivate the land, after the volcanic ash had turned into soil and the Earth's temperature had risen, allowing for the replanting of crops. Until then, they all had to rely on Shen Feng's disposition.
Shen Feng did not lower his guard due to their somewhat tactful words and continued to inquire, "What exactly are your requests? State them clearly now, and then take your people back to your respective territories. I will not have time to deal with your issues!"
The crowd exchanged glances, and then Wang Aoye stepped forward to speak.
Wang Aoye, not intimidated, stood up and said solemnly, "Lord Fengshen, we all recognize you as the leader of China, and you should now lead us to strive for the future of China. Although I know that all regions are currently in decline and not suitable for large-scale military deployment, those foreign powers are snatching meteorites. If we do not seize these meteorites, we will likely fall behind for hundreds of years. You should understand this!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng slowly replied, "I naturally understand this, which is why I am always preparing to act. If you ability users wish to join me, then I naturally welcome it. However, my current thinking is to strike at the opportune moment, allowing foreign powers to clash with sea beasts until they are both severely weakened before I emerge to reap the benefits. This is known as sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight!"
The ability users breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Shen Feng's answer, as they had previously worried that Shen Feng would be unwilling to act and would only conserve his strength. After all, for the past decade or two, Shen Feng had always acted this way, guarding his own small territory and unwilling to launch major offensives, which was too shortsighted. However, they now realized that Shen Feng also had his own unique vision and understood what was most important.
However, before these people could rejoice for too long, Shen Feng continued with another statement.
"I will naturally go to seize the meteorites, but I want to know your attitude towards their handling after obtaining them. This is crucial to whether I will allow you to join. Please clarify this!" Shen Feng said with piercing eyes.
The people pondered for a moment and then replied, "Since this meteorite likely contains alien technological achievements, we must obtain it and study this technology. This will surely lead to a leap in China's technology, allowing us to surpass other countries and stand at the pinnacle of the world!"
At this point, everyone was viewing the issue from a national perspective. After all, humanity was not a monolithic entity. Even in the face of the most severe crises, people still divided themselves by nationality or region, prioritizing their own interests rather than considering all of humanity.
In fact, many people in China harbored ambitions. For a long time, China had stood at the pinnacle of the world. After declining for a hundred years, they now saw hope for a resurgence and did not want to let it slip away. This task, they hoped, would be accomplished by Shen Feng.
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng said indifferently, "You all wish to seize these meteorites and develop them, but in my opinion, it is all useless. I have only one idea: to send this meteorite into space, or even to the moon! This way, the meteorite will not be able to affect the Earth, and the doomsday will end in my hands. This is what I hope to achieve!"
When Shen Feng stated his objective, others were actually prepared, as they had heard earlier that Shen Feng was building rockets. Once rockets were built, he would naturally want to send the meteorite into space. However, to send such a valuable item into the sky where no one could obtain it seemed too much of a waste.
Therefore, many began to persuade him, unwilling to accept this outcome, hoping that Shen Feng would change his mind.
He Qiuan even criticized Shen Feng, saying, "Shen Feng, you are now the leader of China, and the major cities in the Chinese region acknowledge you as our boss. Yet, you are now doing something that disregards the common people. This is truly disappointing. I don't think you should continue in this position!"
Shen Feng said calmly, "I didn't expect you to have become like this. You probably want to get this leadership position. If you have the ability, you can take it. As for me disregarding the common people, I apologize, but this is precisely how I care for the common people!"
Shen Feng had heard earlier that He Qiuan had begun to engage in power struggles, which was why he wanted to gather his subordinates, cultivate his private army, and concentrate all power in his own hands. He did not expect him to challenge his position now.
He Qiuan, having his thoughts exposed by Shen Feng, quickly retorted, "It is clearly you who cares about the leadership position, so how can you blame me? Your irresponsible attitude, wanting to transfer the leadership position so casually, is true irresponsibility. However, if you say you are considering the lives of the common people, then tell me what benefit there is in doing so. You are clearly wasting China's opportunity for resurgence!"
Upon hearing this question, everyone nodded in agreement, as they believed this was a good opportunity for China to rise again and should not be let go. Moreover, the common people were not of much concern, as most of those participating in this battle were ability users, and even evolutionaries did not have the ability to participate.
Shen Feng then said, "The reason for the mutations in various creatures on Earth is the meteorite that fell on the planet. This is all the trouble caused by the meteorite. By sending this meteorite into space, we can prevent its impact from causing the doomsday. When there is no true division or conflict in the world, ordinary people will have a peaceful environment, and the world will be at peace. This is the best outcome!"
Upon hearing this, some of the others fell silent, seemingly persuaded by his words. The other part began to consider how to refute him, as they did not want to see the meteorite slip away in vain, nor did they wish to see it sent into space or to the moon.
"Lord Fengshen, I understand your concerns, but I believe your concerns are unnecessary!" Ke Yiming suddenly spoke.
Shen Feng looked at Ke Yiming and asked, "What advice do you have? Speak it now!"
Ke Yiming nodded and said, "Lord Fengshen, the reason you consider the meteorite a disaster is because you do not understand it well enough. What if this meteorite is a blessing? Epictetus once said, 'Do your best with what you can control, and face the unpredictable with optimism.' Your current thinking is entirely pessimistic speculation!"
Shen Feng heard this and said, "No matter what you say or how you try to persuade me, my mind will not change. I will seize the meteorite, and the world will be seized at the right time. Once the meteorite is in my hands, I will send it back into space or to the moon!"
"Why are you so stubborn? We have clearly explained to you that the benefits brought by this meteorite will surely lead to a technological leap for China, and we may even dominate the world in the future. Why are you still unmoved by such a goal? Don't you have any sense of national honor?" Li Xiangkang also asked.
Shen Feng sat above and said, "Your so-called sense of honor is merely to deceive others, to make them do the same thing as you, and thus these things are fabricated. In my opinion, you are simply after your own interests, which is why you want to seize the meteorite. After seizing it, the various elements on the meteorite's shell can be used to cultivate ability users, and the machinery within the meteorite can be used to research various technological achievements, ultimately solidifying your ruling position. Moreover, the doomsday on Earth may not be over. With crises, there will be continuous warfare, and those of you who control military power will naturally gain more opportunities."
Now, Shen Feng had directly exposed these people's intentions and cut to the heart of their interests, leaving them with no room to retort.
Seeing that these people did not answer, Shen Feng knew he had hit the nail on the head. He then continued, "I will depart in a while to seize the meteorite. If you support me, stay. If you do not, please leave. However, if you intend to lead refugees to storm my checkpoints, then be wary of your own heads. With a wave of my hand, I can kill all of you!"
After saying this, as if to prove his absolute strength, he suddenly waved his hands, and in an instant, countless wind blades condensed from the air and flew around the room, precisely slicing through the surrounding tables and chairs, even cutting through steel with a single stroke.
These ability users had not expected Shen Feng to suddenly attack. They all wanted to resist Shen Feng's attack, but in the end, they found that the entire room was filled with countless wind blades. No matter where they tried to hide, there was nowhere to go. They could only stand there dumbfounded, watching the tables and chairs in front of them being cut into pieces.