Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 536

As Ronan spoke leisurely, the continuous barrage of missiles replaced Ryan and Lisa's words as a response.

"Heh, I'm not on the same level as Xiaoying," Ronan joked, his sword trembling violently for a moment before he quickly added, "Actually, I'm only a tiny bit stronger."

The difference is that Ronan can navigate through the ray impacts unscathed, even joking around, while Madam Zhao, despite her best efforts to dodge, will be constantly hit.

This is the difference between Ronan, a battle-hardened individual whose raw strength surpasses that of a seventh-rank cultivator, and Madam Zhao, whose raw strength barely reaches the sixth rank and who has hardly ever fought anyone.

“Don’t panic. As long as we don’t attack at close range, he won’t be able to find us,” Lisa said, speaking to Ryan as well as to herself. “I know,” Ryan replied nervously.

Indeed, as they said, since they did not directly contact Ronan, Ronan had no idea where they were and could not launch any attacks.

But if you can't attack the main body, then attack the floating cannons.

In the blink of an eye, Ronan shredded three floating cannons.

This is a great loss for Ryan and Lisa, as the drones are not only their semi-intelligent weapons, but also their supplies and computing aids.

The two merged together simply put away their floating cannons and abandoned their attack.

They stopped attacking, and Ronan couldn't find them either.

"You're too naive. I can turn back." Ronan laughed.

The next instant, he became Lady Zhao's equipment again, and the ghost Lady Zhao became the main body once more. This time, he could lock onto them again. Immediately afterward, he and Ronan jointly controlled the floating swords to shoot out sword beams and launch an attack on the enemy. Ryan and Lisa took a hit and immediately counterattacked. At this moment, Lady Zhao was no match for him from a distance, and the two prepared to switch between their main and secondary roles again to dodge.

Taking advantage of the moment when Ronan and Madam Zhao switched between primary and secondary attacks, the two instantly flashed close to launch an attack. Unexpectedly, this was a trick. Madam Zhao had time-stopped in advance, and the moment Ryan and Lisa got close, they entered the time-stopped range and were frozen in place, resulting in another time-stopped flying sword attack.

With a snap of his fingers, time began to flow, and the sword's edge pierced through his body.

The two, severely injured, fell downwards again, managing to regain their footing just before reaching the river surface.

“What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? Come on.” Ronan beckoned with his finger in a provocative gesture.

Ryan and Lisa dared not make any rash moves. The current situation was that they were using ranged attacks, which meant Ronan was the main attacker, essentially sending floating cannons to their deaths.

Close combat is even less effective. Madam Zhao can stop time, leaving them completely on the defensive. Ronan, on the other hand, can counterattack with zero delay. Although Ronan can also be injured, the damage from the sword Ronan used by Madam Zhao to stab them was far too great for the ghosts. They can't just stand still, because if they don't, Madam Zhao will launch a ranged attack on them one-sidedly.

Chapter 1246 Calmness, Words, What the hell is this so-called sincerity?

Ryan and Lisa still have the ability to fight, but they are filled with a sense of powerlessness.

"This damned old relic, how can it suppress us in every way? Damn it, what should we do? What should we do? No, this can't go on." Ryan was terrified and agitated. The power of ghost transformation should be invincible, how could it be suppressed so easily?

"Calm down, Ryan, we can't panic," Lisa immediately advised.

She knew very well that if Ryan completely lost his composure and became emotional, their union would not be able to be maintained. After all, the two had too many personality differences, no friendship, and no love for each other, so the success rate of their union was very low.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have this much strength after combining, and they wouldn't have to worry about breaking their combination.

Once they are no longer in their combined state, they may be in danger, let alone have a chance of winning.

This danger doesn't just come from Ronan.

An impatient Ryan felt they had no chance of winning. "Why don't we go to Antoro's side? There are so many of them, what can Ronan do to us?" "No, that would mean we'd have to completely side with them," Lisa immediately rejected Ryan's suggestion.

“How could we completely side with them?” Ryan retorted. “The upper echelons of Austria are not a unified entity. Can’t we waver between them? Besides, even if we can’t waver, we can pretend to completely side with the King and his people first, and then change our minds later.”

Upon hearing this, Lisa felt a surge of anger rising in her chest. She wanted to retort, but she restrained herself.

As a former senior researcher at a top French company, Ryan had met and heard about the deeds of many politicians, but he had never personally participated in politics. He had a delusional understanding of politicians, believing that the more shameless a politician was, the more outstanding and influential they were, and that he could manipulate others by simply learning to play the game of fickle behavior and arbitrarily breaking contracts.

Do you really think everyone else is an idiot?

Lisa sincerely suggested that he read "Ronan's Biography" to see what it truly means to be a person who can manipulate others with sincerity.

A politician's, or rather, a person's, public persona is the most despicable thing, but also the most expensive.

They cannot easily ruin their public image in Austria, which is the second most precious thing besides the technology they possess.

After hesitating for a while, Lisa finally said, "I think we should talk to this Mr. Ronan."

"What?" Ryan was shocked and confused.

Who drove them to such a wretched state? Who brought their otherwise successful plan to the brink of failure? Who forced them to consider bowing down to the people of Austria? It was Ronan, and it was Ronan again.

Why bother talking to someone like that?

Lisa was still holding back. She really wanted to say that a true politician is one who can negotiate with an opponent who was fighting to the death just a second ago, while someone who jumps between sides and easily breaks contracts is nothing.

"It's better to bow down to someone who also possesses ghost-transformation technology than to become a vassal of those who want to take our technology and then kick us aside, isn't it? I think you've always been annoyed by that king and his brother." She completely restrained her anger towards her companion. She knew that at this moment, she could not belittle her companion in the slightest, nor could she just reason with her; she also had to redirect her emotions.

Hearing this, Ryan was conflicted. Finally, he sighed and said, "Okay, I'll talk to him."

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief.

He flew towards Ronan, then stopped midway, saying, "I think we can talk."

“Okay,” Ronan agreed, then asked, “Would you like to go somewhere else?”

“No problem,” Lisa agreed.

Ronan flew towards Lavana and the others, saying, "Alright, that's enough for now, come with me." After that, Ronan flew straight north.

The trio, still in their Silver Pegasus Black Knight form, quickly caught up, and Lisa, understanding the situation, urged Ryan to follow.

Old Erwin didn't follow; he flew west to the King's side. As one of the core members of the Royalist Party, it wouldn't be right for him not to give an explanation.

Soon, Ronan and Mrs. Zhao arrived at a secluded forest in the northern suburbs of Vienna, a place perfect for their conversation.

“Alright, if you have anything to say, you can begin,” Ronan said.

Lisa and Ryan dissolved their fusion as a gesture of sincerity. The masked man, Ryan, remained silent, standing to one side with his arms crossed, facing Ronan. Beside him stood Lisa, missing an arm, half a leg, and an eye. She steadied herself by leaning against a tree and said, "We originally had no enmity, nor any conflict of interest. This whole thing was a misunderstanding." Ronan interrupted her with a raised hand, "Forget about misunderstandings. The fact remains that you tried to control Lavana and the others, and even initiated a conflict with us. Whatever your reasons, the facts are the facts. There's no need for these useless words. Show some real sincerity, you two."

Lisa stopped rambling. "We can share the technology with you." Ronan shook his head. "Anything I can obtain through direct violence or indirectly through some means cannot be called sincerity, understand? So-called sincerity is something that can't be bought with fists or money."

“You…” Ryan gritted his teeth.

“This…” Lisa’s gaze turned serious.

“Alright then, you can tell me your stories.” Ronan’s gaze suddenly softened. “To be honest, I still don’t know who you are or what you want to do. I think it’s necessary to introduce yourselves before showing sincerity.”

Lavana, Louise, and Liz, standing nearby, were all confused about what Ronan meant.

Only Mrs. Zhao understood something. Ronan's idea was not complicated; he wanted to subtly control the pace of the negotiation by having the other party narrate their own story.

Ryan was quite surprised.

Lisa fell into deep thought.

Ronan spoke again, "In the end, any benefits you can offer are not sincere. If you want me to ignore the series of conflicts before, unless I can be sure that we are not enemies, what do I have to talk to you about?"

Ryan's facial muscles twitched. He didn't want to admit it, but deep down he still felt that Ronan's words made a lot of sense.

Lisa sighed. "We were early researchers at G&A. When we first started having ideas, we were pretty much like those drunkards in bars who talked about how countries should be this way or how humanity should be, until we started a project..."

She spoke with great enthusiasm, as if she had forgotten reality and was completely absorbed in her memories.

But Ronan was certain that the disabled woman was not truly emotional; her recollections contained almost no crucial details, seemingly all about emotion, but in reality, all about technique.

She remained calm and cautious, never revealing any important information.

"...For humanity as a whole, there are far too many pointless conflicts. We want a more just world, one with fewer disputes, where everyone works together..."

“As for the method, turning everyone into ghosts is one way.” Lisa deliberately paused at this point.

Chapter 1247 Still Young, Is the Ideal State Itself Guilty? Is Love Important?

When the topic of ideals came up, Ryan, who had been holding back, finally couldn't contain himself any longer and took the lead, beginning to tell Ronan and his group about the ideal world he had envisioned in his mind.

He started talking and went on and on, getting quite emotional. But despite his excitement, he didn't ramble on at all. On the contrary, his explanations were very organized, with each point logically connected to the next—at least that's how it sounded.

Moreover, he is definitely not the kind of person who only says this is bad and that is good, and only imagines the outcome.

He would explain why he did it, where the feasibility lay, and what the negative effects would be besides the positive ones.

The only problem was that he would occasionally stop, give Ronan a look that was hard to describe, and then continue speaking.

Ronan could probably understand the meaning behind the masked man's gaze.

It's roughly the pride of a new-era science student when talking about their ideals, along with a touch of disdain for a famous liberal arts student from the old era.

After all, Ronan was probably thirteen or fourteen years old in his previous life, still in junior high school. During the last few days of summer vacation, he would go to McDonald's with his classmates and friends, order a Coke and fries, work together to finish their homework, and then casually give orders and talk about the world. When he was looking down on the powerful and influential, that was probably the kind of look he had.

Back then, Ronan was probably the youthful version of Pol Pot among the supporters of the Industrial Party.

It's quite abstract.

The masked man, Ryan, is at least in his seventies or eighties, so it's quite remarkable that he still looks so youthful.

Ronan sighed. Perhaps he really was getting old, while others were still young, haha.

"What are you laughing at?" Ryan demanded.

Lisa, who had been holding back for a long time, kept rubbing her temples. Why was the companion she could rely on such a person?

"Why am I laughing?" Ronan asked himself, then turned to look at Lavana and the other two. "Lavana, you answer for me."

Lavana's lips parted slightly, her face filled with disbelief. "Me?"

“Yes, you, you tell him why I’m laughing,” Ronan emphasized again.

Ryan's eyelids twitched. He had met these three people before. If Louise had some knowledge and Liz had some ideas, then this Ravana was a fool. Ronan actually let her answer. Was he looking down on him?

“Okay,” Ravana agreed, taking a few steps forward with an expression that said, “Don’t blame me if I don’t explain it well.”

Ronan had great confidence in Lavana.

Ravana may be illiterate in some respects, however, she was instilled with the traditional ideas of Seres and was forced to learn the revolutionary philosophy of the Roses. She grew up in a free environment and also lived in an oppressive atmosphere.

She became simpler after Ronan comforted her.

And Simplicity is something specifically designed to target people like Ryan.

Taking a deep breath and gathering her thoughts, Lavana began, "In the past few thousand years, this world has seen many powerful superhumans try to build their own ideal worlds, but often it has resulted in tragedy. Later generations always say that it was because the inhabitants were not mature and rational enough, and that it was caused by the corruption and depravity of the administrators."

"Whether or not we come to the ideal world, the starting point is good. Even if some extremely cruel and bloody things happen in the process, it is a case of 'the sin is in the present, but the benefit is for future generations.'"

"But is that really the case?"

"The ideal state is often conceived in this way: in a fair environment, everyone is of one mind and works together towards the same goal, and people maintain a pure and simple state of mind."

"The ideal state you envisioned is just like that."

"But if you think about it carefully, this is terrifying in itself. Losing oneself, with only fairness left, no privacy, only the collective, led by a 'Big Brother' who can eliminate dissidents at any time, can such a prison-like world really claim to have good intentions? It can only be a sin."

At this moment, Ryan laughed, quite disdainfully, "That's too superficial. In the world I designed, it's precisely because we eliminate blood ties and abolish inheritance to achieve a level playing field that everyone can truly possess themselves and freely pursue and practice what they want. Because there's only one large collective, and no other organizations exist, there's genuine privacy, and it won't be violated through power and money. And a leader isn't really a leader, just a guide, certainly not a prison warden."

Lavana was not intimidated by the rebuttal and simply replied, "That's what the Seven Saints' teachings said a thousand years ago."

Ryan was speechless for a moment, almost furious.

Lavana continued, "But actually, the real evil of your ideal world is not these things, but the lack of love within it."

Love? That's laughable.

"A world without love will only stagnate, resembling death." Hmm? For a moment, Ryan realized that he couldn't quite understand this statement.

"Love is a continuous impulse to pursue; in essence, it is pursuing for the sake of pursuing. If one must explain the reason for pursuing, it is the difference in cognition."

“There is a story about a person who keeps pushing a boulder up a mountain. When the boulder reaches the top, it falls back down, and he pushes it up again, over and over. This is meaningless and futile. Only love can fight against this futileness and against mediocrity.”

"In your ideal world, most people will fall into nihilism and be trapped in mediocrity. But in your ideal world, there is no longer any difference in perception, and therefore no love. Most people will be unable to fight against nihilism and mediocrity." "Human beings cannot live without false meaning. The most despised but most important of these meanings is love, a genuine, innocent, simple, and even absurd and foolish emotion."

"And love originates from differences."

"When one day, without this, that person will no longer be able to push the stone up the mountain, and the world will come to a standstill. This is the greatest sin of the Republic."

Finally letting out a long breath, as if she had survived a major exam, Ravana rubbed her forehead and revealed a relieved smile.

Louise and Liz were stunned. Was this really their goofy older sister, Lavana?

Mrs. Zhao showed some curiosity; she felt as if she were meeting Lavana for the first time.

Ronan simply smiled slightly. That other world, the world where those artificial intelligences lived, eventually came to an end in the same way.

Ryan gritted his teeth. He understood a little bit, but he couldn't refute it. He couldn't accept that everything he had built over decades was being denied like this.

Lisa remained calm because she never took any ideal state seriously; all she wanted was power, and she would use that power as a guarantee for her to explore the truth.

"Well, do you understand why I laughed?" Ronan asked, then continued, "In short, your approach doesn't appeal to me at all, and it even makes me want to meddle and stop you."

“However,” Ronan changed the subject at this point, “your choice of Austeria as your base clearly indicates that you want to stand against France. And from your own account, you seem to have some grudge against G&A. Coincidentally, our rival is also with that company. Perhaps you can offer something of value?”

Chapter 1248 Let's Deceive

She panicked; a win-win situation meant winning twice.

They possessed confidential information about certain research projects at G&A Corporation, which they knew as former senior researchers.