36: Chapter 36 Unanimous Opposition

In the last row of the United Nations hall, a black man suddenly stood up.

He was tall and wore a simple black bodysuit that, combined with his skin tone, made him look naked at first glance.

His hair was shaved very short, with several thin, long scars on his scalp, and he even had some kind of ancient totem tattooed on his face.

"We humans are supreme!" he shouted angrily in English with a West African accent. "What are you Guga Planet people? Parasites from outer space? You only dare to speak to us using corpses stolen from glaciers!"

He strode toward the aisle, the muscle lines under his black clothing moving like a cheetah.

"Our history in Wakanda spans tens of thousands of years! We have resisted colonizers, slave traders, and the plundering of you so-called 'civilized nations'! But we have never bowed our heads!"

He pointed his finger at Chen Mu: "You have a million fleets? So what!"

"Do you have souls? Do you have ancestors? Do you have the courage to wait for dawn in the darkness and sing in despair?"

He stopped in the middle of the aisle, his chest heaving, his voice suddenly dropping, yet it carried across the globe through the microphone: "You don't, I can tell. Your eyes are perfect, your smile is perfect, and every expression of yours is calculated."

"You are nothing but an empty shell, an exquisite empty shell wearing human skin."

He suddenly spread his arms: "On this planet, in this universe, no civilization can stand over our heads and tell us what we can and cannot do!"

"If you want to force us to submit with war? Then come! We will not surrender, we will not accept your terms, and we will not let you take Mars away from the sky above our heads! Mars is ours! The Moon is ours! The entire Solar System is ours!"

Immediately afterward, he began to sing a ballad loudly. Although the lyrics were in an indigenous language that no one understood, the indomitable melody resonated with everyone.

Chen Mu continued to watch him with a perfect smile, but a trace of admiration rose in his heart.

He turned his head to look at Secretary-General Guterres: "Which country is this?"

The Secretary-General bowed slightly and whispered into Chen Mu's ear: "This is Africa, a country called Wakanda. It is a small nation with a population of less than 100,000. This is their king, TChalla, known as the Black Panther."

Chen Mu cast his gaze back to the black man whose eyes were full of anger.

Wakanda, with a population of less than 100,000. In this great hall where representatives from 193 countries sat, on this icy surface where all nations were silent, the first person to stand up and openly refute him was actually the king of a small African nation with a population of less than 100,000.

The Secretary-General waved his hand, and two staff members wearing the iconic light blue uniforms of the United Nations walked in quickly.

They did not touch TChalla, but stood on both sides of him like two closing doors.

"Your Majesty," one of them said in a low voice, "please return to your seat."

TChalla did not move; his gaze remained locked with Chen Mu's.

"We will fight," TChalla shouted again, "like our ancestors, like all those who have truly lived."

Then he turned and walked back to his seat in the last row, but he did not sit down. He just stood there quietly like an isolated island, as if no one in this world could make him yield.

The Secretary-General walked to the side of the podium and turned the microphone a little toward himself: "Now, representatives, please vote on the three proposals put forward by Ambassador Chen Mu."

Below the stage, the representatives of 193 countries lowered their heads simultaneously.

Some picked up the voting devices in front of them, some hovered their fingers over the buttons, and some turned to look at the representatives of neighboring countries.

Chen Mu also looked at the giant electronic screen.

Soon, the indicator lights under the Permanent Five turned red. Like some kind of chain reaction, the indicator lights of all other countries followed, turning red one after another.

Within a minute, the final result was displayed on the massive electronic screen: In favor: 0. Against: 193. Abstentions: 0.

The Secretary-General looked at the screen and announced loudly: "The voting result is 193 votes against, 0 votes in favor, and 0 abstentions. I regret to inform you, Ambassador Chen Mu, that the proposals have not passed."

Chen Mu looked at the numbers, the curve of his mouth not changing in the slightest. He looked at the crowd: "It seems you have made your choice. Since that is the case, do not blame us for taking action."

"During this time, I will be staying in the United Nations Building. If you wish to convene the general assembly again, feel free to find me at any time."

He withdrew his hand from the podium and turned to walk toward the exit on the side of the dais.

Maya Rodriguez also stood up from her seat immediately and chased after him.

"Chen Mu!" Maya Rodriguez's voice sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor.

Chen Mu stopped.

"Don't be in a hurry, give us humans some time," Maya Rodriguez said anxiously, "I believe..."

Chen Mu turned his head and said expressionlessly: "Maya Rodriguez, tell me, do I look like I'm easy to talk to?"

Maya Rodriguez hesitated, wanting to say "No," wanting to say, "You are an alien ambassador. You have two million starships that can destroy Earth at any time; how could you be easy to talk to?"

But she couldn't say it, because she knew he was telling the truth; he did look like he was easy to talk to.

However, Maya Rodriguez knew clearly that Chen Mu was not actually easy to talk to; it was just that he chose to appear so.

And she did not know how much longer he would continue to choose that.

Chen Mu watched her throat move as she swallowed, her expression one of hesitation, and turned back around: "Alright, don't worry about some things."

"Go tell the kitchen now that I want beef noodles from the East for lunch. Also, it's been a while since you've spent time with your family, hasn't it? I'll give you two days off; go back and spend time with them."

Maya Rodriguez shook her head: "It's alright. I am your secretary, and we have been in touch via mobile phone."

Chen Mu walked deeper into the corridor: "Suit yourself, let me be alone for a while."

In the corridor, Chen Mu's back grew more distant. Maya Rodriguez stood where she was, the corridor lights casting a long shadow of her on the carpet.

Maya Rodriguez hesitated for a moment, then took out her phone and tapped it.

The wallpaper was a photo of her and a girl a few years younger than her standing on a beach, both of them smiling.

Maya Rodriguez was in casual clothes, her hair messed up by the sea breeze. The girl had a braid, one hand making a V sign, and the other holding a melting ice cream.

That was last summer. She had saved up half a year of vacation time and taken Mary Rodriguez to Coney Island. It was Mary Rodriguez's first time on a roller coaster; she threw up after getting off, but then pulled Maya Rodriguez to ride it again.

As she pressed the call button, in the blink of an eye, a vibrant female voice came from the other end of the line, so loud that Maya Rodriguez moved the phone away from her ear a little.

"Hey! Sis! What's up?"

Hearing this voice, Maya Rodriguez smiled gently: "Nothing much, just worried that it's not safe for you to be home alone. How are things? Is there enough food?"

The female voice on the other end didn't quiet down at all: "Don't worry, Sis, I hid in your office yesterday, and I'm at your bureau chief's house now!"

The voice on the phone suddenly changed to that of a middle-aged man: "Maya Rodriguez! This little rascal of yours is really quite a handful."

The bureau chief complained with some helplessness: "She called me suddenly yesterday, saying someone broke in to hurt her. I was so worried I sent five police cars to pick her up, but when we got there, there wasn't even a ghost in sight."

Maya Rodriguez apologized quickly: "I'm sorry, Chief. Mary Rodriguez has been spoiled by me since she was young; I've caused you trouble."

The bureau chief's voice continued from the other end: "Alright, you go ahead and handle the big matters regarding humanity at the United Nations. I'll take care of Mary Rodriguez. Don't worry, with me here, no one can hurt her."

The voice on the other end changed again: "Alright Sis, I'm fine. You should hurry up and get back to your important work. Gwen is looking for me to play, bye!"

Listening to the dial tone, Maya Rodriguez rubbed her forehead with a sense of helplessness, and then walked toward the kitchen.