Not two days after Reid had sent off the four-nation inspection team with great fanfare, the New Misurugi Kingdom welcomed a new batch of guests.
The foreign ministers of the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT's diplomatic representative had come for a joint visit once again.
However, there were some personnel changes this time.
On PLANT's side, just as in the original story, the entire provisional Supreme Council resigned en masse not long after signing the Earth Sphere Peace Accord. The twelve cities of PLANT then re-elected their directors to form a new Supreme Council and select a new chairman.
But this time, the reason for the mass resignation of PLANT's provisional Supreme Council wasn't because they were driven out by the populace, nor was it a failure in a political struggle.
This time, Eileen Canaver had proactively taken the blame for the Zala Faction radicals.
Don't think that Eileen Canaver, a member of the Clyne Faction, wouldn't take the fall for the Zala Faction. As a national leader, many things must be viewed through the lens of national interest.
Only three of the terrorists who attacked the signing ceremony of the Earth Sphere Peace Accord survived, and all of them were mercenaries.
One could only say that since they were mercenaries, you couldn't expect every one of them to have professional ethics and keep their mouths shut.
With the help of the West's Great Memory Restoration Technique and the East's half-a-man-tall Punishment Guide, the three men's memories were restored to their peak state, and they quickly confessed everything they knew.
Although none of the three had ever met the true mastermind, by following the trail and tracing the payment records, the clues ultimately converged on the radical Zala Faction within PLANT.
Eileen Canaver certainly couldn't allow other nations to directly investigate her own high-ranking military officials.
So she made the first move. After a smokeless battle, the final result was that a group of die-hard Zala Faction loyalists defected from PLANT, becoming stateless individuals who disappeared into some unknown corner of space.
However, the joint investigation team found that these people had last been seen at a Colony Satellite controlled by the Junk Guild .
The Junk Guild , however, adamantly insisted that their Colony Satellites were home to all sorts of people and that they had no knowledge of such a group arriving. The pursuing forces could do nothing about it.
Still, with the people gone, PLANT naturally couldn't say it bore no responsibility, so Eileen Canaver directly led the entire provisional Supreme Council in resignation. With that, the other four nations had nothing more to say.
After all, the Earth Sphere Peace Accord had just been signed; going to war was out of the question.
Then came the slick maneuver. Over eighty percent of the council members who had just resigned from PLANT's provisional Supreme Council were immediately re-elected to their original posts by their respective twelve cities. (The Supreme Council would undergo another major change in C.E. 73 after Durandal came to power, and only then would Durandal truly hold the reins of power.)
Only the few members of the Clyne Faction, to which Eileen Canaver belonged, were truly unable to return. They were replaced by a few unfamiliar junior members of the Clyne Faction, one of whom was Gilbert Durandal.
Reid felt this was the PLANT Supreme Council's way of balancing power.
After Patrick Zala's death, the power of the hardliners in the PLANT Supreme Council was greatly diminished, leaving the moderates completely in charge.
Now, with this move, the moderates' power was also severely damaged, bringing them into balance with the hardliners.
Meanwhile, the neutral faction had greatly expanded its influence, almost able to contend with the hardliners and moderates head-on, no longer a transparent little player caught between the two.
However, the election for the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council was still underway. Gilbert Durandal had already begun to distinguish himself, participating in the chairman election as a member of the Clyne Faction.
Therefore, the diplomatic representative from PLANT who came to the New Misurugi Kingdom this time was a complete stranger.
The other personnel change was the Atlantic Federation's foreign minister.
Intelligence indicated that after returning from Junius 7, this foreign minister had fallen ill. A week later, he submitted his resignation to the Atlantic Federation government and had now completely vanished from the public eye.
The Atlantic Federation government wasn't about to force a sick man to work, so a deputy who had remained on Earth during the signing of the Earth Sphere Peace Accord was promoted, becoming the new Foreign Minister of the Atlantic Federation.
Reid knew perfectly well why these four ministers were in the New Misurugi Kingdom at this time. It was, without a doubt, to discuss cooperation on the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor.
What? You say they weren't here to question and denounce Reid?
That's impossible. Perhaps back in their own countries, they had been cursing Reid for his lack of integrity for three days and three nights, but now, they could only come to discuss cooperation with smiles plastered on their faces.
Controllable Nuclear Fusion was no small matter. If they failed to keep up, they might miss out on the future pie of interstellar travel. Their generation would be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
So, after these four arrived in the New Misurugi Kingdom, they didn't even mention the Earth Sphere Peace Accord, acting as if Reid hadn't played any tricks with the agreement.
Although Reid knew exactly what these people were here for, he still had to put on an act. On the first day, he gave them a tour of the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor exhibition hall, which had practically become a "tourist spot" for officials and researchers from all over the world. Then, he immediately sequestered himself in the research institute, claiming he needed to conduct research and refusing visitors.
These four foreign ministers could only play tai chi with the government led by Une. After all, if they couldn't meet Reid, no technological cooperation could be achieved.
Three days later, Reid estimated that the four foreign ministers' patience was nearly worn out and that the pressure from their home countries should be sufficient. Thus, he emerged from his seclusion just as the four were preparing to return home.
Upon emerging, Reid naturally received four invitations for a meeting.
This time, Reid did not meet with the East Asian Republic, with whom he had the best relationship, first. Instead, he first received PLANT's newly appointed diplomatic representative.
The meeting took place in Reid's office as before. After they sat down following polite formalities, Reid spoke to the PLANT diplomatic representative, a man named George Adamant (in the official sourcebooks, he was the diplomatic representative during Durandal's administration).
"Mr. Adamant, have you had a pleasant stay in our country these past few days? I heard you've been visiting the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor exhibition hall every day. Are you, like those other researchers, planning to analyze its principles with your naked eye?"
George Adamant was surprised that Reid had gotten straight to the point, but he didn't show it on his face, merely smiling as he said, "You flatter me. Actually, I was very fond of physics during my school days, but my talent was limited, so I could only end up working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But now that I've seen the epoch-making technology of Controllable Nuclear Fusion, I naturally feel an itch to see more of it."
Reid didn't believe a single word. Although the genes adjusted within Coordinators varied, for this man to have reached the position of diplomatic representative, his verbal skills were definitely stronger than his scientific abilities. Many words were best just heard and not taken seriously.
Moreover, the man's words were watertight. By saying his talent was limited, he was preventing Reid from suddenly asking a profound physics question that would embarrass him.
So Reid skipped the topic and asked again, "Representative George Adamant, it's just the two of us here. Why don't you tell me the specific reason your country sent you this time? Otherwise, I can only assume you came to my country to tour the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor."
George Adamant knew that Reid was making him speak first, turning him into the one asking for a favor. This would give Reid the upper hand in the subsequent negotiations.
However, George Adamant had no choice in this matter. The New Misurugi Kingdom's security regarding Minovsky Particle-related technology was extremely high. Due to the previous Minovsky Particle theft incident, most of the high-level spies lurking in the New Misurugi Kingdom had been executed. It was now impossible to steal the relevant technology through underhanded means.
As for directly stealing the furnace on display in the exhibition hall—this was a Nuclear Fusion Furnace. For something displayed so openly, the New Misurugi Kingdom would surely have installed a detonation device.
Even if they managed to transport the furnace away through great difficulty, if the New Misurugi Kingdom had installed a device that triggered detonation upon disassembly, it would give them a nice nuclear explosion, exposing the thieves while also wiping out a wave of their elites. The thieves would be left crying.
This was the main reason why no one had yet tried to steal the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor from the exhibition hall.
So George Adamant didn't hesitate and said directly, "My country hopes to establish a Minovsky Particle research institute with your country to jointly explore the potential of the Minovsky Particle in depth. Our scientists have already submitted relevant applications, believing that the Minovsky Particle will dominate the technological progress of human civilization for the next hundred years. Therefore, I hope Mr. Reid will agree to this cooperation in the spirit of advancing human technology."
Upon hearing this, Reid burst out laughing, then pretended to be embarrassed and waved his hand. "Pfft, sorry, I couldn't hold it in. Mr. Adamant, let me be clear, I don't mean to look down on your country's researchers. I acknowledge that PLANT's overall scientific research capability is the strongest in the Earth Sphere. However, on the subject of Minovsky Particle research, your country can only be considered a beginner, having only found one or two methods of obtaining small quantities of Minovsky Particles through trial and error. You are now essentially asking a high school student to participate directly in a nuclear experiment under the guise of cooperation. Please forgive me, but I cannot agree."
Reid's words were actually a bluff to test George Adamant. The claim that PLANT had already found one or two methods of obtaining small quantities of Minovsky Particles was purely a deduction based on research progress projections made by Reid, Hoshino Ruri, and Nein, with no concrete evidence.
Reid's goal was to use his Newtype Sense to confirm PLANT's research progress on Minovsky Particles and then decide on a cooperation plan.
That was why he had met with PLANT's diplomatic representative first.
It had to be said that Hoshino Ruri and Nein's calculations and deductions were very accurate. Even if PLANT's researchers were said to have IQs on par with Einstein, when faced with the completely unfamiliar Minovsky Particle, being able to deduce a method of obtaining it so quickly was already a result blessed by luck.
George Adamant only had a preliminary understanding of the research progress, so when he heard Reid state PLANT's progress on Minovsky Particle research, which matched what he knew, his heart tightened.
George Adamant had heard the rumor that Reid controlled an intelligence network covering all factions in the Earth Sphere, but he hadn't had much contact with Reid before. And during Patrick Zala's administration, it wasn't like they would have broadcasted this to the world.
So George Adamant had originally thought it might be an exaggerated rumor, but now it seemed to be true.
However, George Adamant's expression management was excellent. He still showed no cracks, smiling as he said, "Chairman Reid, you still underestimate our country's scientific capabilities. While we are indeed not as advanced as your country in Minovsky Particle research, we are capable of stably producing Minovsky Particles."
Unfortunately for him, Reid had already used his Newtype mind-reading to confirm PLANT's research progress.
Moreover, because George Adamant didn't understand Minovsky Particles, there was a huge flaw in what he had just said.
If they could stably produce Minovsky Particles, it would be impossible for PLANT not to have discovered the I-Field phenomenon that occurs when a large number of particles gather.
Through this phenomenon, PLANT could have guessed how Minovsky Particles achieve Controllable Nuclear Fusion.
With the right idea, PLANT wouldn't even need to come to Reid; they could spend half a year or a year to independently develop a basic Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor. Then they would get stuck on the problem of why the reactor's output was so low. (This problem was very obvious in early Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors; the UC also continuously improved the output through research.)
So Reid said directly, "George Adamant, if you're going to lie to me, there's no need to talk. Please show yourself out. I will reconsider your side's request for cooperation."
Reid was now casting aside the donkey after it had done its work at the mill. Now that he knew what he wanted to know, George Adamant was useless. He directly rang the bell and had someone escort him out.
In fact, George Adamant also realized that Reid's attitude had changed so quickly because he must have seen through the lie he had just told.
And George Adamant guessed where the flaw was. It must have been the "stably produce Minovsky Particles" part. He must have made a mistake akin to telling a botanist that the skin of a blueberry is blue.
But the words had been spoken, and George Adamant could only obediently leave the office of the Chairman of the Military Committee.
Then, Reid met with the foreign ministers of the East Asian Republic, the Eurasian Federation, and the Atlantic Federation respectively.
However, after the three foreign ministers came out and probed each other a little, they knew that none of them had managed to reach a cooperation agreement with the New Misurugi Kingdom.
But it was understandable. If their own country had made a breakthrough in Controllable Nuclear Fusion alone, they wouldn't easily share it with other major powers either.
Therefore, for the other four powers of the Earth Sphere, this was just the beginning of the game over Controllable Nuclear Fusion. If the New Misurugi Kingdom stubbornly refused to cooperate, then local conflicts would inevitably arise in the future.
This visit was the "courtesy" part of "courtesy before force." There would probably be several more rounds of negotiations over interests to see if they could trade something for the data or reach a cooperation agreement.
Force was always the last resort, and right now, the four nations had no desire to fight an all-out war with the New Misurugi Kingdom.
One had to remember that the Earth Sphere Peace Accord at least limited the size of the New Misurugi Kingdom's military. If it were torn up, the New Misurugi Kingdom could build up its forces without restriction.
The thought of that, combined with the infinite energy and massive output of Controllable Nuclear Fusion, was terrifying.
However, just as the foreign ministers of the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT were about to return to their countries again, good news arrived.
Orb—they had obtained two Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors.
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