Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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“I’m Miss Amell’s friend,” Anthony explained. “I was on the road just now…”

After listening, Louise said, "She's fine. You should go back and report right away."

Anthony nodded and left Louise's house.

"I'll go change first," Louise said to Lavana and Liz. "Lou..."

Nan isn't here; we need to discuss what to do.

"

Hearing her sister's voice, she jumped out of bed, put on her coat, and rushed out in her slippers.

The three of them went to Louise's room together. Louise put on her clothes and shoes, and then her second brother knocked on the door and asked them to go to the living room.

Upon entering the living room, the entire family gathered together.

Then Louise learned that, in addition to the cook, another servant had also undergone that terrible transformation. Following that, Louise relayed the news she had heard from Anthony that many mortals outside had turned into monsters.

This might not be a big deal for high-level superhumans, but for mid- to low-level individuals, it can be troublesome if they get entangled in large numbers.

“Let’s stay home for now and see how things go. With us here, even if a whole bunch of those monsters come, it won’t matter,” Louise said to her mother, Felicia.

Chapter 1278 Calm Down, White Tree, What This World Lacks Is Hell!

The situation calmed down much faster than expected. In Paristo, a protest by a mere thousand or so ordinary people might take five or six days to be suppressed, and even then, it wouldn't be able to be quelled anytime soon. However, this upheaval involving more than 100,000 mutated individuals and indirectly affecting millions was quelled in just three days.

There is only one reason: those in positions of power with extraordinary strength care a lot about this matter.

They immediately located the source of the mutation: a thin, stick-like tree trunk that suddenly grew from the ground.

Then they pulled them all out. If this hadn't happened in Paristo and so many people hadn't been watching, many of them would never have just pulled out the trunks, but would have let them continue to exert their influence and further observe and explore their working principles. Now, well, they could only take them away.

Most of the mutated individuals were killed on the spot, while many others were captured alive and taken away for research.

Zombies themselves are not strong, their physique is slightly stronger than a first-tier positive-rank, but they have no rationality, their brains are not even as good as those of wild beasts, and their flames constantly consume magic power. Once the magic power is exhausted, the zombie will turn into a pile of ashes and die completely.

But, as Louise said, this kind of thing has value.

These zombies don't die before their magic is exhausted. Their flame-clad armor is incredibly powerful, far surpassing the level of first and second tier zombies. They can also absorb the magic of others when they get close.

Any one of these three characteristics, if mastered and applied, constitutes a powerful force.

This naturally needs to be studied carefully.

At the same time, in New Sea City, those invited by Frank truly witnessed what these burning zombies were and what their significance was. After the burning zombies burned out, they turned to ashes, which would fly to the white trees and become nutrients for them.

The White Tree absorbs human life and magic to strengthen itself, and Frank uses the White Tree's power?

It's easy for ordinary people to think this way, and many of the people invited by Frank also thought this way.

However, it is not.

Garcia, sitting in his wheelchair, looked at the white tree and said, "Everyone, do you think that people in this world always talk about truth, goodness, and beauty, but most of them actually do falsehood, ugliness, and evil?"

No one answered, because it was obvious that the old man in the wheelchair had his own answer and didn't need anyone else to answer him.

"Murderers and arsonists wear golden belts, while those who build bridges and pave roads leave no trace." Garcia said in Seres, which is almost the first foreign language in France. There was no upper-class person present who did not know it. In fact, because Seres had long been rivals to France, there were even some among them who had read Seres' history and classics. They could understand this sentence perfectly.

Garcia continued, “The world is like this because good people don’t get good rewards, but bad people like you and me not only enjoy material and spiritual pleasures, but are even genuinely regarded as great people and worshipped. Don’t you think such a world is too absurd?” Still, no one answered.

"It's hard to be a good person, and it's even harder to be a good person in a high position, because the higher you are, the less restraint you have, and you can only constantly set moral shackles for yourself to control yourself," Garcia sighed. "So, being a good person, especially a good person who is responsible for leading others, means facing moral tests at all times, which is no different from being tortured at all times. I remember my grandfather Ronan once said that the Vanguard's mistake was that this self-torture was against animality, against humanity, and against divinity; it was utterly anti-humanity."

"But I think even you and I have thought about being good people."

"I wonder if you know about Buddhism, which originated in India?" Everyone was puzzled, wondering why Buddhism was being brought up again.

“Buddhism was originally a sect that arose in opposition to another religion. It was essentially used to assist in the rule of the people by keeping them ignorant. The so-called exhortations to do good were either hypocritical or embellished by later generations,” Garcia said. “However, there is something very interesting about Buddhism that took root in Seres: the concept of karma and reincarnation.”

As he spoke, Garcia scanned the crowd. His old face, which was filled with death and had a senile look, suddenly tightened, and his cloudy eyes suddenly became bright. "Our world is terrible not because there is no heaven, but because there is no hell. Too many people should go to hell to be reincarnated and become animals, because that is what they were."

After a passionate speech, Garcia said he would build a system that could judge the dead and reincarnate them.

Only when such a system is established can people be truly guided towards goodness.

Ideal states and paradises are all unrealistic. The truth is simple: good people are rewarded and evil people are punished. If this truth is realized, the world will be just.

The white tree is the foundation for completing this system.

Those who are now being nourished are all virtuous, and in the future they will be reborn from the Tree of Life in the form of unborn fruit.

Garcia's merit was, of course, in establishing this system.

Those present who contributed their efforts to this system were doing a good deed; otherwise, they would all deserve to die, they would all be reduced to beasts.

After speaking, Garcia looked at the crowd.

The crowd immediately expressed their support for this unprecedented and great undertaking in human history, and their desire to accumulate merit.

On one hand, there was the habitual flattery of Jue; on the other hand, there was a reluctance not to flatter him. Most importantly, the plan was genuinely appealing. Frank would be the king of hell, and they would be his underlings—that would be great! Amandina stood to the side eating ice cream; the plan could be described as grand, righteous, and correct.

But the question is, who is Yama, and who are the ghost messengers? And who is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the true ruler of hell?

Is there a Buddha in this world?

Garcia ignored Armandina. Once he had dealt with Ronan and completed the first phase of his plan, this woman would be the first target. Armandina herself was well aware of this.

Amidst a chorus of flattery, Garcia gazed at the white tree that was gradually growing stronger, his thoughts drifting.

He dared to do what his father Ronan dared not do, and he did what his father Ronan could not do.

If we cannot make this world a better place, what is the point of living?

Although Ronan, the father, propelled the course of world history, he did not change the very mechanisms of the world.

For some, Ronan has not only failed to make the world a better place, but has actually made it worse. In the past, extraordinary talents were random, and most extraordinary individuals were born into poor families. Now, however, extraordinary talents can be bestowed, the number of extraordinary individuals in society has increased, productivity has improved, and social wealth has grown, but the channels for upward mobility have become increasingly narrow.

He is different from his father, and is destined to surpass him.

“Come, Father.” Garcia looked at the distant sky, eagerly anticipating, “Your life should have a perfect ending in the place where you were born. Then, I will give you a fair trial. I believe in you; in your next life, you will still be a great man who drives civilization forward.” He, Garcia, wanted to personally judge Ronan, his father.

Chapter 1279 Arrival, Farewell, Departure

On January 5, 1786, in the afternoon, the snow stopped falling.

Ronan's spaceship suddenly appeared in the sky and landed in Louise's yard.

Louise, Liz, and Lavana quickly ran out of the house.

The hatch opened, and Ronan, Rector, and another old man named Seris stepped out.

Ronan looked at the three of them. "Louise, go say goodbye to your families. Liz, Lavana, say a few words to your fathers. I'll wait for you here." Louise smiled and turned back.

Rector used a few flashes to get to a distance, and Liz followed.

The old man Seris slowly walked in another direction, and Ravana followed him after a few seconds of stunned silence.

Under a tree, Liz looked at her father, Rector, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

“I came to see you, after all, we may never see each other again,” Rector said.

“You’re as annoying as ever,” Liz said with disgust.

Rector still had his back to Liz, only looking at the tree trunk. "I like your straightforwardness now. I remember when you first came to rely on me, even when you were bullied by others, even when you had opinions about my arrangements, you kept quiet and just pretended to be hardworking and pitiful."

“If that’s all you’re going to say, then so be it.” With that, Liz turned around.

Just then, Rector suddenly kicked a tree and jumped back to dodge, while Liz, caught off guard, was drenched in snow, her red hair covered in snowflakes.

Liz glared at Rector, "You..." Before she could finish speaking, a snowball hit Liz in the face.

"Hahahaha." Rector couldn't help but laugh as he looked at his daughter's embarrassed and angry expression.

Liz wiped the snow off her face. "Are you sick?"

“You should have made a snowball and thrown it at me,” Rector said with a smile.

"I have no obligation to satisfy your twisted sense of humor, you lunatic." Liz shook her head, brushing the snow off, and angrily prepared to leave.

“That’s fine then.” Rector sighed and turned around. “Anyway, I just happened to come and see you.” Before he finished speaking, Rector had disappeared.

Just then, a pendant necklace flew towards Liz, who caught it. It was a silver arrow pendant wrapped in vines, a family heirloom of the Orion family.

This means that Rector chose Liz as the family heir.

Liz crouched down, grabbed a handful of snow, rolled it into a ball, and threw it hard in the direction her father had disappeared. "Bastard!"

On the other side, there was a pool with a thin layer of floating ice.

"Long time no see, Lavana," the old man greeted.

"Mm," Lavana simply replied.

Although the other person had aged considerably, she recognized him at a glance as her adoptive father, or rather, the researcher who had raised her.

The old man added, "I'm sorry, I made those arrangements based on my own assumptions back then."

Lavana shook her head gently. "It's alright. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be who I am today. By the way, how are they?"

"I live a very ordinary life," the old man replied.

“That’s great,” Lavana said.

The old man couldn't help but sigh. At that time, he had left with several other teenagers who had grown up and had developed some special potential under his tutelage, intending to return to Seris to seek help from some old friends and restart the research.

As for Lavana, a girl with less than ideal qualities, let her live an ordinary life.

Unexpectedly, he and the other boys ended up living ordinary lives, while Lavana's life took a dramatic turn.

Perhaps that saying is true: some things in life are predetermined.

"Now, there's nothing I can do but wish you good luck," the old man said with a sigh, realizing that he could offer Ravana no further assistance.

“Mm,” Lavana replied.

She had intended to say a few words to reminisce, but after thinking about it, she decided against it. Her "adoptive father" seemed old and weak, and clearly did not want to recall the past.

At the same time, inside the house.

"Oh, Felicia, can you please stop crying?" Louise said helplessly to her mother, who was burying her head in her hands and sobbing. This was the third time she had said this in just a few minutes.

Felicia looked up, wiping away her tears. "Louise, you have to...you have to win." She meant to say, "You must survive," but she stopped midway and changed her mind.

Louise was full of confidence. "Ha, Mom, you're kidding. How could I possibly lose? I've never lost since I was a kid. You have no idea how strong I, Red Hair, and Tall Guy are combined. We could blow this house away with a single breath."

Felicia was amused by her daughter. "Yes, yes, you're amazing." "When I bring the old man back, I'll give him a good beating," Louise added.

“Louise, actually…” Felicia was about to speak when Louise interrupted her with a gesture.

“I know,” Louise said. “You know I know too, but I don’t care. Before, I didn’t want to care, but now I really don’t care.” Felicia sighed, looking down. Only those who have reached the summit can be indifferent to the hardships they have endured along the way.

In just two years, my daughter has reached another level.

The mother and daughter chatted for a few more minutes, then Louise and her mother kissed each other on the cheek before separating.

When Louise arrived in the courtyard, Liz and Lavana were already there waiting for her.

"Let's go, we can talk about some things on the way."

Ronan invited the three of them to board the spaceship together.

Rector and the elderly Zhang Jun did not go with them.

During the flight, Ronan discussed important information from the previous documents with Lavana, Louise, and Liz, especially regarding Frank and Armandina's strengths and weaknesses in combat.

"Isn't Yang Nian coming?" Louise asked.

Ronan replied, "No need. If the situation becomes urgent, just activate your forces directly."

Liz, looking slightly nervous, kept tapping her knee with her fingers and couldn't help but interject, "Actually, I've always had a question: why not just go to another time and space?"

"Perhaps it's because if the other party can close the door once, they can close it a second time?" Lavana tried to answer.

Once you go there, you might not be able to come back for a while.

If they can't return in a short time, then no one can stop their plans.

When Ronan returns, he may face an even stronger enemy and a situation that is beyond repair.

“That’s right,” Ronan confirmed Lavana’s answer.

But for him, there were other reasons. From the moment he identified Frank as the mysterious man, he felt that Frank was not like the mysterious man at all. And the series of events before and after that, from the Suleiman incident to the recent contribution of so much information by Louise's father, made him feel that there seemed to be another script in the dark.

Amandina?

Judging from various clues, she is indeed the one orchestrating things, but it doesn't feel as simple as just helping Ronan and guiding him to defeat Frank.

However, this battle was inevitable in any case.