Chapter 342 Banning Equipment? Banning People Directly?!
Everyone voiced their opinions one after another, and a large group of people wanted to quit the project!
The entire conference room instantly descended into chaos!
The originally ambitious atmosphere had long since vanished.
The Secretary of State was dumbfounded at the sight. He widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Is this all the courage you have?"
"For the sake of entertainment, you're actually willing to abandon our country's project!"
"Where did that pride of yours go? Now, look at you, everyone has become a slave to the Spirit Realm, held tightly in its grip with absolutely no backbone!"
A hacker, upon hearing the Secretary of State's remarks, looked very disdainful! He curled his lip and retorted defiantly, "Don't try to guilt-trip us!"
"I recall that you, Mr. Secretary of State, also have a nutrient pod, don't you?"
"Since you are so noble and selfless, why not take out your nutrient pod for us to use? Let us try to crack it—do you dare?"
The Secretary of State was stunned upon hearing this, his face turning alternating shades of green and white! The arrogant expression he previously wore vanished without a trace, replaced by a stammering, hesitant appearance, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long while.
Seeing this, everyone let out a cold snort, their eyes filled with mockery and ridicule, as if to say, "Hmph, let's see how you handle this now. You're all talk, but when it actually concerns you, you turn into a coward."
The hacker continued, "Mr. Secretary of State, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Are you afraid that your own nutrient pod will be banned too? Haha, so you're nothing special either. Here you are criticizing us, while you're exactly the same."
The situation at this moment could be described as extremely awkward.
The Secretary of State looked at the pairs of eyes fixed on him, filled with mockery! He had never been treated with such disdain before, and feeling that he was losing face, he became flustered and exasperated. His face flushed red, and he stiffened his neck, shouting loudly:
"What harm is there in letting you use it!"
"Do you really think I'm a slave to entertainment just like you?"
"My heart has always been with my country. For the sake of the nation's interests, what is a mere nutrient pod?"
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this, appearing quite surprised by the Secretary of State's words! The mocking expressions they previously held gradually faded away!
Many of them had personally experienced the pain of having their nutrient pods banned! That gut-wrenching, agonizing feeling, much like withdrawal symptoms, was still deeply ingrained in their minds!
Therefore, upon hearing that the Secretary of State was actually willing to offer up his own nutrient pod, a sense of admiration welled up deep within them! Their perception of him changed unknowingly.
"As expected of the Secretary of State, your spirit commands our respect!"
"We originally thought you were just all talk, but we didn't expect you to be truly willing to sacrifice your own interests for the country. We are truly ashamed of ourselves."
"That's right, forgive my words from just now. You are indeed worthy of our respect!"
"We will definitely make good use of your nutrient pod and diligently crack the Dragon Kingdom's Spirit Realm. We won't let you down; this time, we will definitely give it our all!"
Everyone's attitude took a 180-degree turn, expressing their sincerity and loyalty one after another. The scene was as if the previous argument and mockery had never happened.
Seeing these people's attitudes change drastically, the Secretary of State felt triumphant! The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and just as he was about to speak a few words of encouragement to make the atmosphere even more heated, Dr. Watson frowned, and with a grave expression, spoke up again:
"Mr. Secretary of State, I feel that the Dragon Kingdom isn't just banning nutrient pods; it's not that simple!"
"I wasn't willing to give up before and tried to log into the Spirit Realm using a friend's nutrient pod, thinking that changing devices would allow me to slip through. But as it turned out, I discovered that his nutrient pod was restricted from me."
As Dr. Watson spoke, he slowly looked around at the crowd. Seeing their expressions gradually becoming serious, he continued, "In other words, what they have banned is not just our nutrient pods, but also our identities!"
"No matter which nutrient pod we switch to, as long as it's one of us working on the cracking, the system will identify us and shut us out, giving us absolutely no chance."
Once these words were spoken, everyone present felt as if they had been struck by a heavy stone, their hearts sinking instantly!
The bright yet cold lights shone on everyone's faces, reflecting expressions of despair, anxiety, or bewilderment.
Especially for those hackers whose nutrient pods had been banned, they had initially held onto a glimmer of hope. But after hearing Dr. Watson's bombshell of a statement, they felt as if they had been struck by lightning, regretting their actions bitterly.
Some hackers slumped into their chairs, clutching their heads in their hands, muttering incessantly, "It's over, it's over, it's all over now!"
Others, more emotionally agitated, even dropped to their knees with a "thud"! Their eyes were red, filled with despair, as if they had lost the most precious thing! They muttered to themselves:
"So... we can never enter the Spirit Realm again, is that it?"
"We have to say goodbye to that Spirit Realm that we were so obsessed with????"
"Oh no!!!!!"
The voice was filled with hysterical pain and unwillingness, echoing in the silent conference room, appearing exceptionally desolate.
At this moment, a person suddenly stood up. The movement was so abrupt that the chair beside him was knocked over with a "clatter." Completely ignoring the gazes of those around him, he made a move to run outside.
The Secretary of State, seeing this, rushed forward in a stride, reached out to stop him, and shouted sternly, "Where do you think you're going?"
The hacker had long since lost his usual arrogance! With tears and snot streaming down his face, he cried so sorrowfully, saying with a sobbing voice:
"I'm going to the Dragon Kingdom. I'm going to apologize to the Spirit Realm team. I want them to lift my ban!"
"Not letting me log into the Spirit Realm—what's the difference between that and killing me!"
"Even if they make me their dog, as long as they lift the ban, I'm willing to do anything!"
"I simply cannot stand a life without the Spirit Realm."
After saying this, he forcefully shook off the Secretary of State's hand. Ignoring the reactions of others, he ran straight outside, his footsteps hurried and frantic, as if he couldn't wait another second.
And this action was like lighting a fuse; the conference room descended into complete chaos. One by one, people started running outside, and the scene became absolute bedlam.
The Secretary of State shouted from behind, trying to stop them, but no one paid him any attention. When he stepped forward to grab someone and ask what was going on, the person just kept their head down, saying nothing, only focused on pushing toward the door.
After asking several people, the Secretary of State finally understood: these people were all planning to run to the Dragon Kingdom, thinking of acting as beasts of burden for the Dragon Kingdom just to get their bans lifted.