My whole family is involved in diplomacy, so you dare to flex your muscles?

Under the spotlight, Gu Yun's figure appeared exceptionally clear.

Unlike Scott, he didn't start by using a grand narrative and impassioned parallelism to stir emotions.

He simply stood there quietly, his gaze sweeping gently across the room before finally settling on Scott.

"A very insightful speech," Gu Yun said.

"A story about a 'city on a hill', it's beautiful and moving."

Just like in Hollywood superhero movies, there's always a perfect, lone hero who saves the world.

He then changed the subject.

"But such stories don't exist in our Chinese culture."

The entire audience was stunned.

The live stream chat in China was instantly flooded with comments.

【What kind of opening is this, Brother Gu? Is he exposing his own weaknesses?】

[Don't rush! Let the dust settle! Gu Shen never lays the groundwork for nothing!]

[I feel like this opening line is a bit off; it sounds like I'm praising the opponent?]

This is called a "praise followed by a slap"! Do you even know what top-level manipulation is?!

Scott's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He couldn't figure out Gu Yun's tactics.

Ignoring the crowd's doubts, Gu Yun continued, "In our mythology, when a hole collapsed in the sky, no god or hero stepped forward and said, 'You all believe in me, I will save you.'"

There was only one goddess named Nuwa, who silently crafted five-colored stones and mended the sky.

"When the floodwaters rose and submerged the earth, not a single prophet came out to build a large ship, taking only his believers and his wealth with him."

There was only one man named Yu the Great, who led everyone and spent thirteen years carving through mountains and dredging rivers, ultimately ensuring everyone's survival.

His voice was unhurried, as if he were telling two old and ordinary bedtime stories.

However, these two stories left many representatives from non-Western countries in the audience with thoughtful expressions.

"Nuwa mended the sky, Yu the Great controlled the floods." Gu Yun's voice seemed to carry the echoes of a thousand years.

"These words were inscribed at the very source of our civilization—"

"The world belongs to all; human will can conquer nature."

"We never believe in any born savior, nor do we expect a distant 'city upon a mountain' to shine upon us."

When disaster strikes, our only choice is for everyone to unite, shoulder the burden of this sky, and overcome this flood!

He paused, his gaze sharpening as he looked directly at Scott.

"Mr. Scott, you just asked what kind of future we aspire to. Now, I'll answer you."

"Looking back on this competition, I think the answer is already written in every choice we made."

"When the virus raged and the simulated world was filled with devastation," Gu Yun's voice suddenly rose, "you chose 'survival of the fittest,' chose to use cold algorithms to calculate the value of life, and chose to turn life-saving vaccines into scythes for reaping the world."

We chose to lock down cities to save lives, we chose to conduct mass testing regardless of cost, and we chose to share vaccines as a global public good free of charge!

"You say you represent 'freedom,' but is it freedom, or selfishness, to watch your compatriots die while shouting 'I have the freedom not to wear a mask'?"

"You call us 'imprisonment,' but when everyone sacrifices some convenience for the sake of more lives and health, ultimately bringing about the rebirth of the entire nation, is that imprisonment or responsibility?"

Scott's expression began to darken.

Gu Yun didn't argue with his vague "values," but instead used facts from the previous debate to slap him in the face!

Gu Yun did not stop; he moved forward step by step, his momentum growing stronger and stronger.

"When history was plundered and national treasures were lost, you chose to use a set of outdated 'rules' of your own making to cover it up, and to whitewash the logic of robbers as the achievement of 'protection'."

We choose to unite all nations that have been oppressed and challenge the old order. What we want is not pity, but justice!

"You say you represent the 'rules,' but are those rules that only allow you to set fires while forbidding others from even lighting lamps, truly rules, or are they acts of tyranny?"

"You call us 'closed-off,' but is opening your door to welcome back your abducted child closed-off, or is it natural justice?"

The atmosphere at the scene had completely reversed.

The fervor on the faces of the Western audience, previously stirred up by Scott, gradually faded, replaced by embarrassment and unease.

The representatives from the developing countries stood up and applauded enthusiastically.

Nicholas, Elena, Adkunle... their eyes glistened with tears of excitement.

Gu Yun's words expressed what they all felt!

"You're right, Mr. Scott." Gu Yun walked to the very front of the stage, almost face-to-face with the audience. "You have indeed 'connected' the world. You've used a surveillance network to connect politicians and people all over the world, leaving no one with any secrets."

You have used your financial hegemony to connect the world's wealth, allowing you to reap the rewards at will.

You have used military bases to connect strategic locations around the world, allowing war to rage on other people's homes.

"And what about us?"

Gu Yun smiled, a bright and confident smile.

"We are building roads, constructing bridges, setting up photovoltaic power stations in the desert, and laying out railway networks on the plateau."

When we do business with our friends, we bring technology and jobs, not harsh political conditions.

We believe that to get rich, you must first build roads.

We firmly believe that once the roads are built, people's hearts will be connected.

"You ask me, what is the Chinese model?"

"This is our model!" Gu Yun's voice was firm and powerful.

"It's not called 'authoritarianism,' it's called 'concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks'!"

It's not called "confinement," it's called "discipline"!

It's not called "ambition," it's called "universal harmony!"

"We never seek to change anyone, much less lead anyone. We simply want to work with all our friends who are willing to walk alongside us to make this world a fairer and better place."

"We don't want to be preachers, we want to be doers!"

"Mr. Scott, you and your 'City on a Hill' have been indulging in a beautiful dream woven with rhetoric and concepts for far too long."

You have long forgotten that the true power of a nation, a civilization, lies not in how eloquently it speaks, but in what it actually does for its people and for the world!

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

Everyone was deeply moved by Gu Yun's simple yet powerful speech.

He used no flowery language, no vehement cries, but with the most irrefutable facts and the most striking contrasts, he tore apart the hypocritical facade of Scott's meticulously constructed "city upon a hill."

Scott sat in the audience, his body ice-cold.

He lost.

His cherished values, freedom, and innovation appear so pale, so hypocritical, and so vulnerable in the face of Gu Yun's "pragmatism" and "responsibility."

Gu Yun's speech was not yet over.

He turned around, facing the big screen, his eyes shining with an unprecedented light.

Finally, I want to tell you, and the whole world, that we, the Chinese nation, do indeed like to look back on history.

"When we look back at Nuwa, we learn about responsibility and dedication."

"When we look back at Yu the Great, we learn about perseverance and sacrifice."

"We look back at our ancestors not to wallow in their memory, but to find the answers to where we come from and where we are going."

"Now, we've found it."

Gu Yun's voice became incredibly solemn, as if announcing the arrival of a new era.

"Our journey is no longer the long river of history spanning thousands of years."

Our journey is to the stars and the sea!