Chapter 276

Chapter 276: Chapter 273: "This is a War

The meeting room was sealed tightly with doors and windows closed, and heavily guarded.

Attendees wearing silver five-pointed stars sat upright by a table adorned with fresh flowers.

Paper files and notes were spread out on the table, and a recorder sat to one side, typing on a keyboard.

The leading seat was occupied by a middle-aged Western man in a white military cap, who spoke with solemnity:

"At the beginning, very few people paid attention to this disaster."

"...but later, the situation developed beyond our expectations."

He spoke, his expression grave:

"Since November 30, when the first batch of Adventurer Players began to return, immense changes have occurred in the Main God World... According to observations, these returnees’ mental states have considerably deteriorated..."

"Out of the over twenty thousand known cases of mental illness among the returnees, one-third have suffered irreversible traumas... For the rest of the returnees, our limited healing methods have been almost ineffective."

His expression remained grave, his speech slow, and the other attendees also looked serious.

He spoke, glancing at a blonde woman flipping through files:

"To summarize the current situation... Kailuosa, you report."

"Yes."

Kailuosa stood, her shoulder’s silver threads shimmering under the steady light of the meeting room.

"At 1:35 AM on November 30, the first batch of Adventurer Players returned. At that time, we did not take any measures until players actively came to our service areas seeking help," she said, her voice full of strength.

"By 10 AM on the 30th, over twelve hundred players had come to the various United Group General Psychological Departments seeking assistance. Beds were becoming scarce and demand exceeded supply."

"At exactly noon on the 30th, the United Group ’Adventurer Player Spirit Rescue Plan’ was officially launched, aimed at helping Adventurer Players recover, with the principle of ’not giving up on any human’ while simultaneously starting contingency measures, massively mobilizing medical resources, opening numerous unused beds."

"...but to little effect."

"Frankly speaking, our plan had numerous issues. The total resources of the United Group, personnel operational efficiency, project implementation effectiveness... were all unsatisfactory. This could not be avoided; we lacked the necessary management system and oversight measures. After all, this is not the former world, and since the Main God World prohibits fighting, we had no enforced measures, everything had to rely solely on willingness."

"...this, in some sense, contributed to the subsequent outbreak of disasters."

"By noon on December 1, merely twenty-four hours later, the number of players coming for medical help had reached ten thousand. Mind you, this is only the number of players who actively sought help, those who went insane or chose not to seek medical help were uncountable."

"Even though we had maximized the mobilization of available resources, providing expert manpower... the situation continued to deteriorate."

"There were problems in various aspects."

"Where did the funding for our plans come from, who financed the mechanical equipment, where did the medical staff in hospitals come from... personnel, locations, technology, time... all these things are desperately needed by us, and none of these can be separated from cost."

"And ultimately, costs are finite."

"...by noon on December 3, every bed in the service areas of the United Group General Psychological Bureaus was full."

"There were even several incidents of patients initiating fights, attacking doctors, creating chaos."

"Panic spread rapidly, and this spread could not be stopped in time."

"During the intensified treatment period in various service areas, there were also hundreds of incidents where Adventurer Players committed suicide by attacking players, causing real deaths—extreme and grievous circumstances."

"People began to develop a fear of Adventurer Players—this was a genuine and fundamental crisis."

"...by noon on December 4, just before the meeting began, according to incomplete statistics, the number of players seeking medical help had reached half a million."

"And the actual data is undoubtedly far greater."

At this point in the report, Kailuosa’s voice was somewhat choked up.

She had truly volunteered to join the United Group, selflessly contributing to the future of humanity. In the former world, she had been an ambassador for an international volunteer organization, traveling between countries to aid those living in dire conditions.

Now, here she stood, reporting and working without wanting Points, compensation, or fame.

She was a true humanitarian.

Upon hearing about the incidents of real deaths and seeing the total number of mentally collapsed players skyrocket, she felt a deep sorrow.

...for the current tragic situation of the people.

Her choked voice was evident, and the few people sitting and listening also showed sad expressions.

The man in the white military cap was silent for a moment before suddenly asking:

"Has there been any message from the Information Department?"

"Yes, we are currently in a return surge period, Mr. Aishikel, and the situation is getting worse," answered a young man in uniform beside him.

He spoke as he flipped through the files in his hand: "Currently, a large number of players are posting in the forums, spreading panic and chaos. Many even accompany their posts with pictures and videos of terror attacks, making their posts more topical... Panic is spreading rapidly, Sir, even though we have taken measures and tried to divert attention with topics such as the successful strategies of top-ranking players and prospects for the New World, it’s still to little effect..."

Aishikel remained silent.

He had anticipated today’s situation. Sёarᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The internet here, after all, was not under their control, and the recently established newspaper business aimed at controlling public opinion was just starting.

In a World Forum where countless new posts appeared every second... in this era of information explosion and lack of control, their ability to guide public opinion was limited. Unless they could mobilize the public to follow the trend spontaneously, their voice was doomed to be drowned out by so many players.

With limited information, they could not convey authoritative voices to every corner.

Public opinion was disordered, and without a leader, panic would spread rapidly.

Uncertainty led to chaos.

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the meeting room became even more somber.

People bowed their heads in silence, not uttering a word.

Aishikel scanned the heads bowed before him, curled his finger, and knocked on the table.

"—Why bow your heads?"

He asked.

He was Aishikel, the current Chief of Staff of the United Group.

He came from a country located southeast of the Mediterranean, the local air force squadron leader, with the military rank of colonel, in the air force branch.

Their country had always been committed to the technology development in human sciences and engineering, making outstanding contributions to the entire world in genetics, computer science, and other areas.

War and conflict had permeated the history of their land, and the people who emerged from the fires of war had a natural fighting spirit flowing in their veins.

Even in such times when humans could not see the sky, he had never felt despair.

No matter how desperate, even when targeted by the wars of the entire world, they had survived, and even now, in these dire circumstances, he would not admit defeat.

The more perilous the moment, the more humanity needed a sense of mission and responsibility.

"I ask you, why do you bow your heads?" he asked again.

Originally sad and silent, the attendees slowly raised their heads.

Aishikel watched them, his deep gray eyes intense and spirited.

"Everyone, please think back carefully."

"Originally, when the game had just started, our members were scattered, our environment was chaotic, we even lacked a way to contact each other, remaining in our own secluded personal spaces, like solitary islands... Through such difficult times, we survived."

"We came together, with the principle of ’letting the majority survive,’ took various measures, quickly brought order to a disorderly mass of people, found a direction for the chaotic crowd, and established order."

"Now, when people hear concepts like ’public,’ ’firefighters,’ and ’organizations,’ the first name that comes to mind is ours."

"Lift up your heads, do not let down the trust of the people."

As he spoke, people lifted their heads, their eyes igniting like flames.

Meanwhile, Aishikel’s voice continued:

"...But should we be proud of this?"

His gaze swept like a searchlight, each person watching him met his gaze.

"No," he said, his voice resounding powerfully, echoing in the quiet conference room:

"—We should feel honored."

"We are honored that, even in such a world, people still choose to believe in us."

"We should feel honored that, even in such desperate situations, we still have the privilege of leading people, guiding them towards the future."

"We are honored that, of the 972 servers in the Main God World, as of now, more than half have a United Group division stationed."

"We are honored... in the most critical of situations, that we can help those in difficulty, providing a glimmer of light to those who have fallen into the depths."

"If the top-ranking players, the Adventurer Players, are the great pioneers who charge into battle, then we, we should act as their strong backup force, making sure they do not get distracted by any events behind them."

"Brethren Mutual Aid Association, Blue Ground Forces, United Reporting Exercises, Compassionate Family Search Groups, Volunteer Departments stationed at various servers..."

Aishikel listed the contributions of the United Group with pride in his voice:

"In such chaotic circumstances, we have achieved so much."

"Even though the environment is so harsh, even though the situation is so desperate..."

"Even so, we were still able to come up with every possible method, concentrating every resource, overcoming all difficulties, and fighting hard to the end."

"Under the guidance of Dr. Zhuang Yan, a city planning expert, we established an orderly permanent headquarters for the United Group and created a training ground for the troops."

"Under Sopel and his students’ guidance, our affiliated Players were able to effectively use various firearms, significantly and broadly enhancing their combat abilities."

"Donna from Ireland, from the top international Hyde Laboratory, helped us immensely improve our potion refinement level."

"We have the joint cooperation of the General Staff Headquarters, General Political Department, General Support Department, General Technology Department, and General Liaison Department, supported by the Human Self-Rescue Research Group."

"We have members from various institutions like Evergreen Universities, Independent Societies, World Research Centers, and national central research institutes from major multinational corporations providing technical assistance gratis."

"Top scholars selected from around the world work together in unison. Everyone, whether Adventurer Players, Lifestyle Players, or Casual Players, is contributing to a ’tomorrow’, and we have no reason to give up here."

"If we didn’t have the courage to face disasters, the spirit to unite in front of great difficulties... our civilization couldn’t possibly have come this far."

"Our discussion topic, and only topic, is this:"

"—How, in the face of such disasters, to maintain civilization, to let humanity resist."

"This is a war!"

"Humanity’s future will not stop progressing for anything!"

He paused here, took a bottle of mineral water from the table, and drank.

People watched him with gleaming eyes, and a silent surge of emotion filled the meeting room.

But at this moment, a red-haired young man, as if he had walked out of an animated film, raised his hand.

Aishikel’s eyebrows imperceptibly frowned: "Alger, go ahead."

The red-haired young man casually stood up.

"...Mr. Aishikel, your words are indeed inspiring. Even I felt a bit of my blood boiling," he said, then suddenly yawned greatly.

His flippant attitude caused several people next to him, who were already impassioned, to frown.

"...But the fact remains, it is indeed quite difficult right now," Alger continued after his yawn, spreading his hands, the iron-ringed bracelets on his wrists clinking: "You see, Mr. Aishikel, that’s how people are. You give them a mouthful of food, and they smile at you, grateful. But if one day you stop, they will blame you for being cruel... Now, who knows how many Adventurer Players are complaining that the United Group wasn’t prepared enough, saying that some of their people were cruelly abandoned outright. This kind of biting back, tarnishing the reputation of the United Group, in my view, is no different from those begging beggars..."

"So, what’s your specific suggestion then, Alger?"

Normally, in a meeting room, such a nonchalant young man would surely be kicked out immediately, but now, facing this yawning guy, Aishikel actually appeared rather amiable and even asked for his further suggestions.

"It’s simple." The red-haired young man shrugged his shoulders, smiling relaxedly: "The problem now is supply and demand, resource scarcity... right?"

"..." Aishikel listened, expressionless.

"So we might as well use resources wisely, save those who should be saved, abandon those who should be abandoned, focus our strength, and support the groups that are beneficial to us, making these people grateful to us... As for the others, those who only complain, ungrateful like wolves, or members of organizations that contradict our interests, just abandon them... After all, they aren’t of much use, are they?" Alger said smilingly: "Resources should be used wisely, supporting the good and forsaking the bad. Just like the legendary Noah’s Ark, only preserving a handful of the most important people... to avoid our rescue resources being scattered and everyone ending up doomed..."