"Fist equals authority?"
Whether or not he believed Wang Hu's nonsense, Elder Wang Long sat back down on the sofa.
He continued to examine Wang Hu with his single eye, and another period of silence ensued, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
The two sat facing each other without speaking, as if competing to see who had more patience.
In reality, Wang Hu was considering whether he should simply turn the old man before him into a vegetable if things went south.
Meanwhile, Elder Wang Long was carefully analyzing whether his nominal adopted grandson might have been swapped out by Veda, like replacing a prince with a wildcat.
After some time, Elder Wang Long considered that the puppets from Aeolia's side couldn't possibly copy all of a normal person's memories.
Moreover, the Wang family had been involved in that bald man's plan for quite some time.
Though only three generations had passed...
Relying on the support of an unmentionable force behind the Wang family, they now held some influence within Celestial Being.
They knew quite a few things, most importantly—Wang Hu's true origins.
Once resolved, Elder Wang Long acted with full efficiency. To be cautious and to fulfill the family's mission.
"Follow me."
Rising and leaning on his cane, Elder Wang Long led the way out of the room. Seeing the old man's demeanor,
Wang Hu, relying on his ability to open the Light Gate and escape at any time, considered the worst-case scenario: leading the CE East Asian Army into a true interplanetary war.
As the saying goes, when you're deep in debt, a little more doesn't matter; when you're covered in lice, a few more won't itch. After all, the East Asian Federation was already providing aid to two worlds.
What harm would one more do?
At most, it would just mean the East Asian Federation would have to endure a bit more hardship.
Thus, Wang Hu obediently followed behind the hawk-like old man, Elder Wang Long. Utilizing the Wang family's influence and resources,
they first diverted to the East Asian Alliance's Solar Power Orbital Elevator, enjoying the luxury of an entire private cabin.
After reaching space, they transferred to a shuttle bearing the Human Reform League Military Emblem.
After thorough inspections to ensure no tracking devices or hidden observers were present,
the shuttle headed toward a secluded satellite, one that couldn't be found on any cosmic coordinate route.
Upon disembarking, Wang Hu discreetly surveyed his surroundings, noting many individuals wearing Human Reform League military uniforms under white lab coats.
They resembled researchers more than soldiers, moving about the area.
"Super Soldier Research Organization?"
Silently, Wang Hu followed Elder Wang Long onto a courtesy vehicle, heading toward a building that increasingly resembled a traditional hospital.
He grew more certain that this was the Human Reform League's only dark secret in this world.
The once globally condemned Super Soldier Research Organization, accused of being inhumane—and rightly so.
"This place was once declared abolished, but it continued operating secretly behind the scenes."
"All of it was to ensure the Human Reform League could become a cornerstone for advancing into space in the next era's competition."
Perhaps sensing Wang Hu's confusion, Elder Wang Long offered an abrupt explanation.
"Was it our Wang family supporting it behind the scenes?"
Wang Hu seamlessly picked up the conversation.
While pondering why Wang Long had brought him here, he also contemplated how Wang Long had managed to bring him here at all.
It was obvious that the Super Soldier Research Institution represented the Human Reform League's dark side. Could a mere upstart family like the Wangs—viewed by the public as nouveaux riches and by higher-ups as turncoats—really have the access to casually visit such a place?
Ah, right. The reason the Wangs were seen as nouveaux riches was because, according to certain accounts, their rise to prominence began just three generations ago.
They amassed wealth through comprador activities and finance.
Their reputation as turncoats in the eyes of the higher-ups stemmed from these very comprador dealings.
They also maintained ambiguous ties with external forces—specifically, the consortiums backing Celestial Being.
They were the epitome of "the body in Cao's camp but the heart in Han's"—a clear target. If war broke out and internal crackdowns were necessary, the Wangs would either be the first to face consequences or at least prominently listed.
"Where there is light, there is shadow. Absolute light and absolute darkness do not exist in this world."
"In fact, without darkness, could you even distinguish what light is?"
After the car came to a stop, Elder Wang Long, who had stepped out, fixed a meaningful gaze on Wang Hu as he was about to exit the vehicle.
"Some sacrifices are necessary. The only difference lies in whether their sacrifice holds meaning."
"And whether future generations can extract essence from the sacrifices of their predecessors, allowing the great tree to grow even denser."
"To provide a canopy that shelters the masses from wind and rain."
"Yes, Grandfather Wang Long."
Wang Hu felt as though Wang Long had said something significant, yet also as if he had said nothing at all.
Maintaining a respectful expression while heightening his vigilance to the utmost, Wang Hu watched as Wang Long began exchanging pleasantries with a figure wearing goggles standing at the main entrance—clearly the person in charge here. Though Wang Hu's senses were sharp, the distance prevented him from clearly hearing their hushed conversation.
He could only infer from their occasional glances in his direction that he was undoubtedly the central topic of their discussion.
Shortly after, Wang Long and the person in charge concluded their conversation and gestured for Wang Hu to enter the building.
Along the way, rooms with transparent windows both astonished Wang Hu and stirred an inexplicable anger within him.
It was all too similar—far too similar.
The scenes resembled those of the Enhanced human experimental bases run by the Atlantic Federation in collaboration with the Eurasian Federation from his own world.
Unconsciously, Wang Hu clenched his fists.
"Cruel, isn't it?"
Noticing Wang Hu's expression, Elder Wang Long, leaning on his cane, halted his steps.
Turning to stare at Wang Hu's clenched fists, he shifted his gaze to Wang Hu's face.
"No, these are necessary sacrifices for the denseness of the great tree."
Suppressing the killing intent in his heart, Wang Hu spoke words contrary to his true feelings.
"Hypocritical. And the killing intent in your chest is barely concealed."
Elder Wang Long let out a soft, almost eerie chuckle, unsuited to the setting, and his very image seemed to darken, taking on a ghastly, demonic appearance.
Alert and tense, Wang Hu prepared himself for a fight to the death, resolved to tear the net even if the fish perished.
Truly, if it came to it, he would lead an army to trample this world and reset the board.
A Human Reform League like this was, in a sense, absolutely not the one he wished to see.
"Give him that document."
Fortunately, just as Wang Hu was about to unleash carnage, Elder Wang Long's words defused the tense situation.
Hearing this, the goggle-wearing institution director took an electronic tablet from an attendant and handed it to Wang Hu, who was still poised for combat.
"What we do may appear cruel, but with the Human Reform League's endorsement of our credibility, there must be some merit to it."
His solitary eye gleaming with scrutiny, Elder Wang Long gestured for Wang Hu to examine the tablet.
Skeptical yet curious, Wang Hu opened the device and scrolled through a pre-loaded document. It clearly detailed how many Candidates the Super Soldier Research Institution had processed since its establishment—all selected from orphanages nationwide.
Including those sent from the families of core Human Reform League officials and elites.
This relatively impartial selection method immediately tempered Wang Hu's outrage. Among the Candidates were even descendants of former and previous No.1 leaders—not distant relatives but direct lineage.
Inequality, not scarcity, is what truly troubles people. If only the socially disadvantaged suffered such treatment, rebellion would be justified. But when the privileged sacrifice more than ordinary citizens, most find balance and become more tolerant.
Still, Wang Hu believed such experiments violated the fundamental ethics of both the Human Reform League and the East Asian Alliance. A noble goal shouldn't normalize inhumanity.
Scrolling further, Wang Hu sought data on mortality rates, recalling the countless victims of Enhanced human experiments in the CE world.
"This is!"
His pupils trembled at what he discovered. Candidates deemed unable to endure the experiments underwent psychological conditioning and memory adjustment to erase all recollections of the facility before being reintegrated into society.
Was this real?
Then why did Alleluia defect with traumatic memories? Why did Soma Peries develop a dissociative personality to escape her pain? Alleluia suffered the same!
Wang Hu's fingers flew across the screen, scrutinizing meticulously documented records of discharged Candidates and their post-discharge growth assessments. He searched desperately for flaws to prove it was all a facade to save face and deceive outsiders.
Discarding all pretense of maintaining his cover, Wang Hu rapid-fired names of specific individuals. The institution staff promptly produced corresponding video evidence.
Reluctantly, Wang Hu had to accept that discharged Candidates truly forgot this place and lived peacefully with minimal lingering risks.
"Convinced? Do you understand why we brought you here?"
Elder Wang Long watched quietly as Wang Hu returned the tablet, his smile as sinister as ever. He still looked nothing like a virtuous man.
"I don't know."
Taking a moment to calm himself, Wang Hu desperately wanted to grab the old man before him and make him stop speaking in riddles.
"Through intelligence gathering from other nations, it appears no country has officially detected Celestial Being earlier than our Human Reform League."
After dropping this earth-shattering statement, Elder Wang Long continued standing openly in public while revealing what should have been classified information. The people around showed no confusion upon hearing the name "Celestial Being."
"Huh?"
Feeling he was about to hear something extraordinary, Wang Hu wasn't actually surprised that people in the Super Soldier Research Institution showed no particular reaction to Celestial Being. In truth, even before Celestial Being's official public debut, the Super Soldier Research Institution had already had dealings with them - though it ended in failure with the official Super Soldier going missing.
"Come, let's first test whether you're human or not."
But after saying only half of what he meant, Elder Wang Long left an even more tantalizing cliffhanger as he continued deeper into the building.
"What do you mean?"
Wang Hu pressed while keeping pace, but Elder Wang Long offered no response to his questioning. They eventually arrived at a spacious laboratory where three tubes of blood were drawn from Wang Hu. In response, Elder Wang Long immediately summoned a large contingent of armed personnel.
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