Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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Louise was even angrier. "I'm going to say it. What I said is true. I know that there isn't a single good person in Germany. They all deserve to die."

Liz knew Louise was talking, so she didn't want to argue with her. "That's enough."

Louise wanted to say more, and even had the urge to go up and question him, but in the end, Lavana pulled her back. After a struggle, she managed to restrain herself from throwing a tantrum, and the king's speech continued.

"Gentlemen, I have no interest in proving that my bloodline is anything special." "I just want to work with you to reclaim what we deserve."

"Next, I will discuss the next steps with all the ministers. I guarantee that the seal will be lifted and things will return to normal within ten days. During these ten days, I will meet with you all here every afternoon to update you on the progress of the matter."

"I've finished speaking, thank you."

After speaking, the king removed his hat, placed it on the railing platform, and quietly watched the audience.

There was no immediate response; the silence was eerily quiet.

After a long, somewhat eerie silence, a faint clapping sound suddenly broke the stillness. The applause then spread, and soon, wave after wave of applause rose and fell, continuing for a long time.

Even those in the front row, filled with doubt or disdain, couldn't help but start clapping.

It was a very, very simple speech, but it seemed to have covered everything that needed to be said, and it was also very emotionally engaging.

Amid applause, the king turned and left with a smile.

“This Antoro III is no good. That ghostly power must have some serious side effects we don’t know about.” Louise was still angry. “Let’s go find him and expose his true colors.”

“Okay,” Liz replied.

Unlike Louise, she wasn't provoked into anger, but she agreed on one point: the king was no good. Whether he was a fraud or not was another matter, but at the very least, his intention to drag a large number of Austrians into a war was obvious, even without him saying it.

This lockdown not only prevents external enemies from infecting him, but it may also make it easier for him to carry out internal purges.

“Perhaps we should go find Teacher Noah. If we can’t find him, then we’ll have to go to Sigrit,” Ravana suggested, offering a very practical suggestion.

For the average person, Lavana's level is that of a high school student who barely passes the mark, while Louise and Liz are high school students who are academic superstars, but they are still just high school students. They are far from having the ability to study this ghostly state.

At this time, Sigrid was conducting his secret research alone, while Noah, as a professor at the Imperial University, was invited to a party organized by King Antoine III.

Inside the royal palace were ministers from various departments, several high-ranking military officers, representatives and advisors from major corporations, several of the most important professors from several schools, some noble leaders who had become increasingly low-profile over the past century, and a few extraordinary individuals who were among the most powerful in the country but usually only held nominal positions and did not participate in any activities.

It can be said that those who can profoundly influence this country on their own are now gathered together.

On the other side, there was the king, his younger brother who was an artificial superhuman, an unfamiliar masked man, a general, the former president of the Imperial University, and a boy who looked to be about ten years old.

Chapter 1232 Inquiry, Death and Life, Demon Child Ghost

As for the king, he himself didn't have much to say.

His younger brother is an artificial superhuman who has had magical artifacts implanted in him. He has reached the pinnacle of artificial superhumans, the fourth tier. Presumably, he has already acquired the ability to become a ghost, and is a representative of the current group of artificial superhumans capable of becoming ghosts.

This masked man, whom no one recognizes, is likely the one who created this ghost disease, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

The general didn't have much to say either. The king's confidants, probably the elite force composed of artificial superhumans under his command, had all become people who had gained the ability to become ghosts.

The former principal was a seventh-rank official, and he certainly couldn't be considered one of the king's men. His appearance at this moment was tantamount to him supporting the king.

The person who looks like a teenager is actually the "Lord of Storms," ​​an old minister of the royal family. He is skilled in only lightning element magic and has had several encounters with Ronan. He has mastered the art of immortality and changed bodies a few years ago. This body belongs to his great-grandson. After changing bodies, he dropped from the seventh rank to the third rank and is now at the fourth rank. Although his current strength is not great, it is only a matter of time before he reaches the seventh rank again. Moreover, as someone who has lived for more than two hundred years, he has a deep network of connections in the magician circle.

Still dressed in military attire, but without a hat, King Antoine III sat on the sofa and said, “Gentlemen, please feel free to ask any questions or raise any concerns. I invited you here for communication and exchange.”

The prime minister, who was also the king's uncle, Conrad, had to be the first to speak. "I'm not questioning you, but isn't it a bit hasty for Your Majesty to not consult with anyone in the government beforehand?" Haste was just a way of saying it with high emotional intelligence.

To put it bluntly, with low emotional intelligence, isn't your king taking us too lightly?

"It is indeed hasty, but my prime minister, this is necessary," the king explained. "To quickly infect so many people with the new ghost disease and give them the ability to become ghosts requires mobilizing a great deal of manpower and resources. This cannot be done through normal procedures. Firstly, many of you here would not agree to the action before obtaining detailed information. Secondly, even if we could force it forward, too many people knowing about it would likely attract sabotage from foreign powers."

The king also used a high-EQ approach.

The actual meaning is quite simple: First, if we don't let you share the spoils beforehand, you'll definitely resort to delaying tactics again. Second, among your group, there are not only opponents but also traitors.

“Since things have come to this, let it be,” the current president of the Imperial University said. “But, Your Majesty, shouldn’t you tell us more about this ghost disease, especially its negative effects?”

After the principal finished speaking, he glanced at Noah beside him. Even though Noah was originally from France, he had to bring him along because only Noah, an expert in human anatomy, could prevent him from being deceived by the masked man.

“Then let me first demonstrate to you in detail the power of ghost transformation,” the king said, looking at his brother Philip.

Philip got up, stepped forward, and entered ghost form.

A dozen minutes later, he had demonstrated all his ghost-like abilities.

Those present had already received a lot of information beforehand, but no amount of information could compare to seeing it with their own eyes and experiencing it firsthand.

Its strength lies in two aspects: first, its rapid flight and movement that ignores obstacles; and second, its almost invisible ethereal quality.

Attack power is not improved. When in ethereal form, magic cannot be used normally, and using magic will reveal the body. Although it is possible to directly contact the ghost in ghost form for a long time to cause dizziness, this is not a big deal in group battles.

Of course, even with just a few tens of thousands of ghosts, they could already annihilate the conventional military forces of any country.

After Philip finished his demonstration, the masked man stepped forward.

"Let me explain the ghost transformation to you all." The masked man walked to a blackboard that had been prepared beforehand. He stood with his hands behind his back, facing the crowd. The chalk, driven by magic, automatically wrote and drew on the blackboard, accompanying his explanation.

"The soul has long been considered a real entity, and from various manifestations, it is indeed a soul. Therefore, theoretically, the soul and the body are two different things. But in reality, almost all manifestations of the soul are embodied in the body, and it cannot even be observed independently to prove its existence. But in the past century, there has been a breakthrough: during a special period, the soul truly exists independently and can be observed alone."

"This period is when a person dies."

"And the soul, to be precise, should be called the demonic body, which is a very interesting phenomenon that exists yet does not exist."

"It is a phenomenon, not matter, just like a flame, which is a phenomenon."

"Only the Demonic Foundation is a phenomenon that can explain many things about extraordinary power. Of course, there's no need to waste time proving some things in this setting; just assume it is..." The masked man said, before even mentioning ghost-like transformation, and most of the people present were already starting to get confused. It's important to understand that everyone present was at least a mid-level extraordinary being, and their theoretical knowledge was quite good.

But some things are no longer easy for them to understand.

The only person present who remained calm and attentive was Noah. To him, what was being said so far was too superficial; it was all stuff he and Ronan and their group had discussed over a hundred years ago. He was waiting for the masked man to delve deeper.

Before long, the scene became very awkward. The masked man was speaking seriously, Noah was listening attentively, and the others were stuck in their seats like nails glued on. They were so bored that they wanted to get up and leave, but they couldn't save face and didn't want to go.

Finally, it was King Antoine III who said, "Is everyone hungry? Would you like to eat something before we talk?" which finally saved everyone.

The masked man didn't eat and continued talking, and Noah continued listening. The group simply ate dinner in this meeting room.

After dinner, there was plenty of dessert.

A group of people who are of great importance to the country ate desserts while pretending to listen.

In the end, very few people knew what the masked man was saying.

Aside from Noah, who became more and more energized the more he listened.

Finally, the desserts were finished. Noah put down his notebook and looked up. "So, this kind of magical ghost exists between life and death, and tends towards death. So, theoretically speaking, the person who obtains this power is actually dead, but not yet extinct. Every time they switch between reality and illusion, it accelerates their process of complete extinction, right?"

Noah's words immediately drew everyone's attention back.

Instantly, almost everyone's eyes were focused on the masked man, awaiting his reply.

“Not entirely,” the masked man said. “First, when something catches fire, it will burn out, but the fire itself can remain burning as long as you continue to provide fuel.”

"Secondly, and more importantly, when one successfully evolves to a state of neither existence nor non-existence in the process of moving towards extinction, then there will be no longer any concerns about disappearing."

Noah smiled and asked, "Oh, is there anyone who can do that?"

Chapter 1233 The Death of Man, the "Quantum Ghost," Can We Create It Too?

Can anyone do that?

Of course it is. The mask removed its robe and mask, and then suddenly, magic began to appear. But you could only see the magic, not the person. It wasn't transparent; it was that you couldn't even sense the person. This was different from what Philip had shown before, and even from what others had done.

Has the masked man become a real ghost?

Putting the mask back on, the masked man spoke again, "Actually, I'm still lacking, but this is enough. A complete ghost isn't a good form." A complete ghost means truly and completely abandoning the physical body, but that's no different from being dead. To be precise, a person who receives no feedback will gradually become indifferent to everything. A person who is indifferent to everything is a dead person who has discarded all the impurities of being human. They will not be reborn, much less become a god; they will only die.

"In addition, the method of replenishing vitality can also be demonstrated..."

The masked man continued.

Clearly, the meeting in the palace was going to last a long time, but for now, everyone was in high spirits.

Outside of Vienna, at this moment, from the outside, the great city is still shrouded in a "false transparent dome".

The reason for this is that from the outside, you can see the city from the front, the side, or even fly up to the sky and look down on it. The view seems to be completely unobstructed. You can see the roads, rivers, bridges, trees, various buildings, pedestrians, and everything else clearly. But in reality, what you see through this transparent cover is a false Vienna.

Why do you say that?

Because the people inside aren't stupid, under normal circumstances, someone would definitely come to the edge of the sealed-off area, either by putting up signs with words written on them or by making some noise to convey a message.

However, this behavior is completely invisible. Not only is it invisible, but when you look inside from the outside, everyone seems perfectly normal. Is that possible? It's impossible.

Therefore, what you see inside from the outside is a lie.

You can't see the real Vienna from the outside, and you probably can't see the real exterior from the inside either.

Meanwhile, outside the city, in a villa, Ronan and his group now reside.

This place was originally a merchant's residence. He mainly made money by providing accommodation for caravans coming to the capital. Now that Vienna is isolated from the outside world, his business can no longer operate. He didn't know when it would recover. He had been thinking about changing careers, so he simply made up his mind to sell his assets. His hotel was bought up by a timber merchant at rock-bottom prices, while Ronan bought a house that he had just built.

Inside, Falek was sharing her analysis and speculations about the situation in Vienna, based on her observations over the past few days.

Ronan, Ashley, Isabel, and Mrs. Zhao sat to one side listening.

Ashley had come earlier, while Isabel and Madam Zhao arrived later. The reason was simple: to deal with the "barrier," brute force was useless if the method of breaking it was unknown, so they had to resort to tricks. Isabel, who had spatial abilities, and Madam Zhao, who had time abilities, were the "tricks."

As it turned out, just as initially suspected, what sealed Vienna was not a barrier, but a special space constructed by a unique force. It had a set of rules different from the current world, and Isabel's spatial magic and Madam Zhao's time magic were completely ineffective in creating a gap so that someone could enter from the outside. In fact, they were utterly useless.

"...Therefore, I suspect that many of them are capable of entering a state that exists yet does not exist at the transcendent level..."

"...They probably have that ability."

"Even if they do nothing, the Demonic Core will age more and more, which means their lifespan will be greatly reduced. And if they switch between life and death, it will further accelerate the reduction of their lifespan."

"Theoretically, there should be no way to avoid the passing of lifespan, unless someone can really detach from the physical body and become a magical ghost, existing in such a new form that is both alive and dead. But this is actually no different from being dead, because such an existence can no longer affect the real world as a physical entity. It cannot be seen or touched. Only when extraordinary powers are affected and interfered with is its existence expressed and proven."

Isn't this just a quantum ghost on the level of magic?

That's how Ronan understood it, anyway.

"It is estimated that there will be a way to repair the magic base, that is, to replenish lifespan."

Ronan chimed in.

Isabel put down her teacup. "It's nothing more than taking someone's life."

"It's not impossible." Falek spread his hands, his non-denial being tantamount to affirmation at this moment.

Madam Zhao sighed, "This will not only encounter strong resistance from other countries, but many of their own people will also protest and oppose it." "Ha, Xiao Ying, you are still too naive. Some things can be ignored as long as they are not explicitly stated. Everyone can pretend that injustice does not exist. But if someone tries to make this matter public, then that person is guilty of a heinous crime." Ronan said with a smile, explaining a very simple principle.

Conversely, the same applies: justice is like the emperor's new clothes—if everyone says it exists, it exists; if anyone says it doesn't, then let them be silenced. To turn it into a ghost is harmful to oneself and others, but at this time, one cannot say this, nor is it even allowed to think this way.

I reckon the Austrian government will promote this as a last resort to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.

Ronan's assessment was that it wasn't German enough, lacking that "feel."

“Alright, you’re right,” Madam Zhao admitted, then sighed. “Actually, none of this is very important. Anyway, if Austria goes crazy, other countries will deal with it. No matter what the final result is, it’s none of our business.” Falek said, “But I’m afraid that if those three artificial superhumans are discovered, the other side will never let them go and will try to take them over.”

Ronan chuckled. "Ha, those three aren't so easy to deal with either."

That's true.

Falek nodded, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

"

Lavana, Louise, and Liz are cheating. Their individual skill level may not be quite there yet, but their cheats are the result of the technical team's hard work, so their skill level is guaranteed.

"Let's put that aside for now. Is there any way to break this seal?" Ronan asked Falek.

Falek sat down in the chair and replied, "Yes."

“Although I don’t know what changes have occurred to some of the people inside, based on the characteristics exhibited by this layer of sealing, our technical team may also be able to create ghosts, and definitely stronger than ordinary ghosts.” As he spoke, Falek looked at Madam Zhao beside him.

Madam Zhao's face hardened, and she looked at Falek with a puzzled expression.

Falek smiled at Madam Zhao, "Strictly speaking, you are also an artificial superhuman. Your time manipulation ability, if combined with ghost-like transformation, could very well lead to some interesting changes."

"

Madam Zhao did indeed undergo modifications to reach the fifth level.

Falek then turned his gaze to Ronan, "Of course, whether it's the initial experiments or the later modifications, we'll still need Canaan and Faith to come over."

“Okay, after dinner, I’ll fly to Seris and bring them over,” Ronan replied.

He wasn't in a hurry, but he didn't want to put things off until tomorrow.

Chapter 1234 The most frightening thing is a mob; learn from Ronan, sometimes smart, sometimes foolish.

Late at night, close to dawn, the small meeting in the Vienna Royal Palace, ostensibly for discussion and Q&A but more like issuing a notice, finally came to an end.

The meeting ended, and the invited guests went home.