79: Chapter 79 Black Panther's Speculation

In the secret base, Black Panther stood before the giant screen wall. Ethereal blue data streams flowed behind him, outlining his silhouette like some ancient prophet.

He cleared his throat and declared solemnly, "The Human Renaissance Alliance means that we are determined to one day free humanity from the shackles imposed upon us by aliens."

"We refuse to become vassals of any civilization, refuse to surrender our dignity as an independent species under the sugar-coated bullets of interstellar trade. We firmly believe that humanity is not a pawn to be manipulated on the cosmic chessboard."

"Humans are a species capable of using their own hands to reforge the wings that fly toward the stars. One day, the flag of the Human Renaissance Alliance will be planted on the highest peak of Mars and flutter over every inch of land in the Solar System that has been trampled by alien fleets."

"Until one day, our descendants look back at today from the end of the universe and say: On that day, there was a group of people who did not kneel."

"What?" Thompson blurted out and quickly made a pause gesture. "Stop, stop, stop. I know what 'renaissance' means. I'm asking, how do you have the nerve? Just you, the gym rat outside, and that kid at the keyboard, plus these three blue-glowing servers—you want to revive humanity?"

Black Panther took a bottle of Coke from the fridge and tossed it toward Thompson.

"I understand what you mean," Black Panther opened his own can, the foam hissing as it rose. "After all, in the United Nations, so many national governments have surrendered."

"With the Permanent Five leading the way and over a hundred countries following suit, all the legitimate regimes of Blue Star have voluntarily entered the cage designed by Chen Mu. So what right do we, a bunch of rats living in the shadows, have to talk, right?"

Thompson found the words familiar, but they were indeed his thoughts, so he nodded.

Black Panther took a sip of Coke and suddenly adopted a serious expression. "Officer Thompson, first I must point out a problem with your mindset."

"Being unable to do it and not doing it are two different things." He placed the Coke can on the coffee table. "If we gave up resisting just because the enemy is powerful, then humanity would still be in a tribal system, huddled in caves, praying that every bolt of lightning wouldn't strike them."

"There would have been no need to build the Great Wall since the Xiongnu were so numerous; no need for the Age of Discovery since ships would eventually sink anyway."

"The reason humanity has progressed to this day is never because we only fight when we can win, but because we fight even when we can't."

"If we can't win, we secretly look up while being knocked down to memorize the angle of the opponent's punch; or we hold out for a few more seconds the next time we stand up; or we pass those few seconds to the next generation, so they can hold out a few seconds longer than us."

"By enduring generation after generation, I believe the day will come when the opponent is exhausted and we still haven't fallen."

He raised the Coke can again. "Know this: a single spark can start a prairie fire. As long as the embers of resistance can be passed down, then one day, the flag of the Human Renaissance Alliance will be planted in every corner of the universe."

Although Black Panther's speech was moving, Thompson was a seasoned veteran of the police force.

He placed the unopened can of Coke on the coffee table and shook his head. "OK, I know your ideals are great. But I'm just a nobody with a worthless life now; I have nothing to give you. You're better off finding someone else."

Having said his piece, he turned to walk toward the metal door.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Officer Thompson." Black Panther sat on a nearby old sofa, crossed his legs, fished another can of Coke from the fridge, and waved it toward Thompson. "How do you know we don't have a chance of winning?"

Thompson's footsteps stopped abruptly. He spun around, staring at him with the same intense gaze he used on criminals. "A chance? How could we possibly have a chance? Do you have any idea how powerful those alien fleets are? They can even turn off the sun."

"You're talking to me about winning? What do you have that gives us a chance against something like that?"

"Calm down, Officer Thompson." Black Panther popped the tab, took a sip, placed the Coke on the coffee table, and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Before I explain our chances, let me ask you a question: Why did Chen Mu's Guga Fleet come to Blue Star?"

Thompson blurted out, "Wasn't it said to be for observing our civilization?"

"Good." Black Panther snapped his fingers. "Then what is there in our civilization worth their observation?"

Thompson fell silent; he truly didn't know the answer to that question.

Black Panther didn't rush him. He leaned back into the sofa, his gaze piercing through the blue data streams of the base as if looking at somewhere very, very far away.

"I grew up in Africa. When I was a kid, a film crew from the United States came to my hometown to film a documentary called Animal World. I don't know if you've seen it."

Thompson nodded. That documentary had been a global hit back then; he had even watched a few episodes intermittently on the small TV in his patrol car.

Black Panther continued, "Back then, the photographers set up their equipment and waited for days just to capture a lion tearing into an elk, or an elk kicking a lion in the eye at the last moment."

"I asked them why they had to wait for such footage. They told me it was because such videos are impactful and the audience loves to watch them."

"What are you trying to say?" Thompson asked.

Black Panther looked at him calmly. "I'm saying that you, including the leaders of the Permanent Five, all place too much value on human civilization."

"That's exactly why you haven't seen Chen Mu's true objective."

Thompson's heart began to race. For some time now, he had felt something was off about all this, but he just couldn't figure out what.

"You know about the three proposals Chen Mu forced humanity to sign at the UN, right?"

Black Panther extended his fingers. "Namely: joining the UN, stationing troops on Mars, and banning space weapons."

He curled his three fingers back one by one, leaving only his index finger pointing at Thompson.

"Of these three, the only one Chen Mu truly cares about is the first one."

Thompson was suddenly stunned. Black Panther's voice was flat, without any ripple of emotion. "The other two are just smoke screens—what the Eastern Great Power calls 'Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at the Duke of Pei'!"

"What?!" Thompson blurted out.

Black Panther tilted his head slightly. "Let me ask you, if the Guga Fleet stationed themselves directly on Mars, could we on Blue Star do anything about it?"

Thompson shook his head. "Humanity's probes can't even defend low Earth orbit, let alone worry about Mars."

"Then do we have any weapons capable of striking into space?"

Thompson shook his head again.

"So," Black Panther withdrew his finger, "what he truly wanted was precisely to join the UN and influence Blue Star's decisions from within. The other clauses are, at most, just buying some insurance."

"But why would he do that?" Thompson took a sudden step forward. "If he wanted power, he could have completely used force to coerce Blue Star into submission!"

"His Chief of Staff, Danzo, even said they should massacre a million people first. They could completely crush us. Why go through such a massive detour?"

"Hahahaha!"

Black Panther suddenly burst into laughter, but the sound was tinged with a sense of desolation.