You said mechs were going to fight monsters, but instead you're destroying stars with your bare

Chapter 164 Their Revenge

"Have you read the inspection team's report?"

The leader's voice broke the deathly silence from the main seat. His tone was unusually calm, but his deep eyes held a turbulent undercurrent.

"Can anyone tell me how a crisis of trust triggered by academic fraud could escalate into a life-or-death gender war in just a few hours?"

No one answered.

The entire command center was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

They have deduced countless ways the abyss could attack.

They envisioned a fierce battle against the corrupted Fusang Empire, and even prepared contingency plans for a possible planetary-level catastrophe.

But they never dreamed that the super project that the coalition government was most proud of, a symbol of human unity and the future, would collapse from within for such absurd reasons.

"Behind this, there must be the shadow of the Abyss False Man," a general in charge of intelligence analysis said in a deep voice. "The memetic virus from the 'Mingquan Immortal Peak' incident has not been completely eradicated. This conflict is clearly another offensive they have planned, with the goal of paralyzing our construction and shaking our foundations!"

"Foundation?" General Volkov scoffed, a dangerous red glint in his mechanical eyes. "I think our foundation has long been rotten! A mech pilot who rose to power through cheating and deception, a review committee that would distort the truth to cover up scandals! That's the root of the problem! Our enemy isn't just in the abyss, but within ourselves!"

His words struck like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart hard.

The detailed investigation report on the Yang Moumou incident had already been presented to them.

The intricate web of vested interests and the outrageous rent-seeking behind it sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.

"The Discipline Inspection Commission has intervened in this matter and will investigate it thoroughly without any leniency!" A member in charge of discipline immediately stated, his tone resolute.

"A thorough investigation? By the time you've finished, Third New Tokyo City will have been completely destroyed!" General Volkov retorted without hesitation. "The problem now is how to quell this damned civil unrest! I suggest immediately deploying the 'Siberian Wolves' and using the strongest possible means to carry out an armed clearing operation! All those involved in the riot, regardless of gender, shall be considered traitors and executed on the spot!"

This bloody suggestion sent a chill down the spines of many present.

"No!" A female representative stood up abruptly, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. "Comrade General, although their actions were excessive, they are still our compatriots at heart! They are the builders of this project! They have simply been misled and incited! We cannot treat our own people the way we treat enemies!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" the general glared angrily. "Send people to reason with them? Can't you see? Their reason has already been consumed by hatred! Going in now will only result in them being torn to shreds! They might even get infected by this meme virus!"

"Comrade General has hit the nail on the head," the Abyss expert who had previously analyzed the "meme virus" added with a grave expression. "According to feedback from the front lines, this meme contamination is extremely contagious. It does not spread through physical contact, but rather through emotional resonance and information transmission."

“The ordinary staff on site are already showing signs of mental instability. If this continues, the entire base could be transformed into a huge ‘mental epidemic zone’!”

The meeting reached a stalemate once again.

To attack would completely shatter the internal unity of the coalition government, playing right into the hands of the abyss.

If we don't fight, this internal strife will only escalate and ultimately destroy the "Third New Tokyo City" project.

This is a dead end dilemma.

Just when everyone was at a loss, a clear and steady female voice broke the suffocating silence.

"Distinguished leaders, perhaps we have all fallen into a misconception." Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young woman dressed in a well-fitting business suit, with a capable demeanor, a beautiful face, and an unapproachable air of authority, slowly standing up.

Her name is Ji Qing, and she is one of the most outstanding figures emerging from the new generation of politicians.

After the outbreak of the Abyss Crisis, she made outstanding contributions in many crisis managements with her excellent organizational skills and highly forward-looking strategic vision, and quickly stood out within the United Government, earning the title of "Iron Lady of the New Era".

"Comrade Ji Qing, what are your thoughts?"

The leader looked at her with a hint of encouragement.

Ji Qing nodded slightly and walked to the holographic map. Her eyes were clear and sharp, as if they could penetrate the chaos before her and get to the essence of the problem.

“We have been discussing whether to use an ‘iron fist’ to suppress or to appease with ‘appeasement’, but both of these approaches are only treating the ‘symptoms’ rather than addressing the ‘root cause’.”

Her voice wasn't loud, but it resonated clearly in everyone's ears.

"Is the root of this conflict really gender antagonism? No." She shook her head and gave a revolutionary conclusion: "Gender antagonism is just a carefully selected, easily ignited fuse. The real problem lies in our current 'elite selection system for mecha pilots'!"

"From the moment this system was born, it has invisibly divided our society into a completely new class—'superman' and 'ordinary man'."

"It concentrates the best resources and the most powerful forces in the hands of a few, which inevitably breeds privilege, arrogance, and... injustice and resentment deep in the hearts of ordinary people."

"Yang's cheating and Pan Shi's false accusation are just poisonous fruits that have grown from this 'root cause'."

"The Abyss's False Man saw through this, and precisely used this resentment hidden in the collective subconscious to ignite a small conflict into a war that swept across the entire base."

These words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the fog in everyone's minds.

Ji Qing changed the subject, her gaze becoming even sharper.

“But the root of the problem doesn’t end there…” She looked at an intelligence officer, “The intelligence analysis department’s report, besides the dangers of the meme virus, also mentioned something else, didn’t it?”

The intelligence officer paused for a moment, then pulled up some data: "Yes... our model shows that after establishing a mental link with the mech, the pilot's mental resilience and willpower are greatly enhanced, and their resistance to memetic contamination... is at least an order of magnitude higher than that of ordinary people. It's like forming a 'mental firewall'."

“That’s right!” Ji Qing’s voice suddenly rose, filled with undeniable power. “Everyone, we have inadvertently discovered the ‘vaccine’ against the most deadly weapon in the Abyss—that is, becoming a mech pilot!”

"But what are we doing now? We are treating this life-saving 'vaccine' as a privilege and glory for a few, monopolizing it in our hands! And leaving the vast majority of our compatriots, the cornerstone of our civilization, nakedly exposed to the threat of the virus!"

"This is no longer a question of fairness; it's strategic shortsightedness and suicide!"

"So, you mean..." The top leader's eyes became incredibly deep.

"To cut off the fuel supply from under the cauldron."

A near-fanatical light shone in Ji Qing's eyes.

"Since this elite system is the root of the problem, and since becoming a mech pilot is the only effective way to resist memes, then let's completely... abolish the existing system!"

(End of this chapter)