189: Chapter 189 High-Level Meetings and Decision-Making

As soon as the meeting ended, the high-level official responsible for the liaison immediately moved to a secret video conference room. He synchronized all the information he had just learned, word for word, with the other leaders who had stayed behind. As the full picture of the alien disaster and the enemy's nearly impenetrable defensive capabilities were revealed, the atmosphere in the meeting became extremely heavy. Everyone's brows were tightly furrowed, falling into an unprecedented state of anxiety.

Faced with a group of alien beasts that even heavy firepower could not penetrate, even the top decision-makers present, who were accustomed to strategizing and battle-hardened, were momentarily at a loss. Only heavy breathing remained in the conference room, permeated by an irrepressible sense of oppression.

"In my view, if we want to break this deadlock, it will ultimately fall on the Blue Star Defense Department and the Dark Star Organization." After a long silence, one high-level official was the first to speak, his tone solemn. "The individual combat power of these two factions far exceeds that of ordinary people; they must possess exclusive paths for increasing their strength. Their active appearance now clearly indicates a desire to cooperate with our government. Accordingly, they shouldn't completely block us from their core secrets."

"The Blue Star Defense Department did not deliberately hide anything; in fact, they explained things in great detail," the liaison official replied in a low voice, his face full of helplessness. "Their transcendent power all stems from the phantom energy stones carried by the alien beasts. However, phantom energy stones are extremely scarce, and the Defense Department's own reserves are stretched thin. What they can spare for us is practically a drop in the bucket."

As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room fell into a dead silence once more. Everyone remained silent, knowing in their hearts that this undoubtedly blocked the most direct path of borrowing strength.

After a moment, another official suddenly looked up, breaking the suffocating silence: "Didn't they mention the existence of gifted, talented warriors? Then we will first borrow a batch of phantom energy stones from them! Our Great East boasts a population of over a billion; with such a massive base, I don't believe we can't find a few talented individuals! Only by cultivating our own transcendent warriors can we break the current vicious cycle of 'no resources to train talent, no talent to acquire resources.' Otherwise, we will always be stuck in a passive position!"

"Old Zhao is right! Even in a desperate situation, we absolutely cannot sit and wait for death! We've pushed through such difficult straits in the past; this is just doing it once more. There is no reason to bow our heads and admit defeat!" other officials immediately chimed in, their tones filled with the determination of burning their bridges.

"Fine, I will communicate and negotiate with them immediately," the liaison official nodded slowly, then remembered something and asked in a deep voice, "By the way, how should we settle that powerful Dark Star Organization squad?"

Elder Wu, sitting in the main seat, pondered for a moment before speaking with a sharp gaze: "Regardless of their underlying purpose, they have genuinely helped us resolve two crises. We see this sincerity, and we must respond with equal sincerity. Give them treatment of the highest specification and cooperate unconditionally with all resource requests. Additionally, you mentioned that this squad consists entirely of Great East faces; you might as well try to do some work to see if we can recruit a group of them to join us. Right now, what we lack most is this kind of top-tier individual combat power. As long as they are willing to come over, any condition can be discussed!"

"Elder Wu, isn't this a bit inappropriate? They are allies who came to help, yet we are trying to poach their people... it's really hard to justify..." Some officials showed hesitation and raised objections.

"We've reached a moment of life and death, and you're still worried about these empty formalities?" Elder Wu immediately countered in a deep voice, his tone brook no argument. "The old man once said, it doesn't matter if it's a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat! The Great East must firmly grasp its own transcendent power; we absolutely cannot place the fate of our race in the hands of others! Only by controlling a force capable of contending with the alien beasts can we secure a glimmer of hope for our citizens in this rapidly changing crisis!"

"I understand, I will do my best to negotiate," the liaison official took a deep breath and accepted the task.

"One more thing," Elder Wu spoke again, his brow slightly furrowed. "The warriors of the Dark Star Organization are equally powerful, but in the previous communication, they never mentioned phantom energy stones. Just what method are they relying on to increase their strength?"

"I didn't ask in detail at the time. When I have contact with them later, I will find out as soon as possible," the liaison official replied immediately.

"You must find out! If they have another way to increase power, for us, that would be the joyous news of finding life in a dead end!"

...

The secret meeting came to a close. Elder Dong, who was responsible for the entire liaison process, did not dare to delay. He immediately requested another meeting with the stationed warriors of the Blue Star Defense Department, formally proposing the request to borrow phantom energy stones and screen for local talents.

Unfortunately, the authority required for this matter was significant. The Defense Department captain on-site simply could not make the decision on his own and could only immediately contact headquarters to report and request instructions through the chain of command.

Before long, the reply from the Defense Department headquarters came back: the loan was approved, but limited by reserves, they could only provide twenty phantom energy stones of the lowest grade. At the same time, they synchronized a detailed set of methods specifically for testing talent.

It turned out that Ethereal Energy was a mysterious energy that completely transcended existing human knowledge. It was formless and substanceless; ordinary people simply could not perceive it at all. Only those born with talent could sense it, and anyone who could sense the existence of Ethereal Energy was, at minimum, a C-rank genius.

Of course, even if ordinary people could not perceive Ethereal Energy, it didn't mean they couldn't use it for physical strengthening. However, the strengthening effect compared to those with talent was like the difference between heaven and earth, completely incomparable.

(Note: All the phantom energy stones dropped by the Great Lizard that fell in the Battle of H City had already been collected by Qin Yang.)