Chapter 1135
Consensus
Cui Ming stood up, looked at the two of them as they recovered, and said in a calm tone, "It's good that you're awake. I've verified everything I asked earlier, and you were telling the truth. There are no other problems."
The two breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and were about to express their gratitude when Cui Ming added, "I will provide you with communication equipment later. You can then contact your planet and have them come to Earth to pick you up."
Upon hearing this, Lucia and Zara were instantly filled with gratitude. They quickly stood up from their seats and thanked Cui Ming repeatedly, their voices full of sincerity: "Thank you so much! Mr. Storm One! We thought..."
The two paused halfway through their conversation, remembering their previous fear of Cui Ming, and looking at Cui Ming who was willing to give them the opportunity to contact their own people, they were filled with guilt and gratitude.
Zara couldn't help but mutter to herself: Who said Storm One was vicious! He's actually so nice! Not only did he not make things difficult for them, but he was also willing to help them contact their tribesmen. They were so scared before.
Lucia nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with emotion. They had thought that even if they were cleared of suspicion after falling into the hands of Earth's forces, they would still be strictly controlled. They hadn't expected Cui Ming to be so understanding and give them enough trust.
Cui Ming waved his hand, interrupting their thanks: "Alright, no need to thank me. Until the communication equipment arrives, stay at the base and don't wander around. Earth is not like your planet; wandering around will only get you into trouble."
"We understand! We'll stay put!" the two replied quickly, their attitude respectful and grateful. Their previous fear had long since vanished, leaving only their changed opinion of Cui Ming and their gratitude.
Tom and Spike munched on snacks, while Jerry squatted to the side with his arms crossed. Seeing that there was no need for intimidation, he dropped his previous serious demeanor and went about his own business. The oppressive atmosphere in the interrogation room completely dissipated.
After ensuring Lucia and Zara were properly settled and repeatedly instructing the guards to strengthen the security of the base, Cui returned to the Earth Defense Force command center only to receive an emergency meeting notice from Director Sawai's office. Sawai attached great importance to the invasion of the Mokujin aliens, not only listing it as a major warning case but also convening a special meeting with the military, research department, and heads of various factions to review the entire handling of the incident and simultaneously deploy core strategies for dealing with subsequent cosmic threats.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was exceptionally serious. All attendees, dressed in formal attire, sat solemnly on either side. Sawai stood before the projection screen at the head of the table, behind him playing a live recording of the Muzhen alien invasion. He said in a deep voice, “This Muzhen alien incident has served as a stark warning. The malice of the universe is far more serious and direct than we anticipated. Humanity has always upheld the ideals of peaceful development, but peace is never achieved through compromise and retreat. We must possess sufficiently powerful military force to firmly safeguard our home and our right to survival.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yoshioka stood up first, his tone firm and resolute: "The Director is right! In the past, we have often been passive in the face of various cosmic forces due to insufficient military deployment and lagging equipment upgrades, and have even suffered many hidden losses. If it weren't for Cui Ming's team's swift reaction and decisive action in successfully annihilating the main force of the Muzhen aliens, the consequences would have been unimaginable. We must expand our military capabilities with all our might, accelerate the research and development and deployment of new combat equipment, and at the same time strengthen the combat capabilities of our troops in order to form an effective deterrent and prevent those treacherous cosmic forces from easily provoking Earth."
Nan Yuan, who usually clashed with hawks, offered no objections this time. Instead, he nodded slowly in agreement, speaking sincerely: "We firmly uphold the principle of peaceful development, which is humanity's unchanging original aspiration. However, we are also keenly aware that peace without the backing of force is merely fragile empty talk. The cosmic environment is complex and dangerous, with many forces eyeing us covetously. Many civilizations believe in the law of the jungle. Without sufficient self-defense capabilities, even the most beautiful vision of peace can be easily shattered, ultimately leaving us at the mercy of others."
This time, the hawks and doves have reached a rare high degree of consensus. The hawks have abandoned their radical stance of "proactive deterrence and external expansion," instead acknowledging that the core role of force is to safeguard peace. The doves have also relinquished their idealistic obsession with "pure peace and the rejection of force," frankly acknowledging the importance of necessary military force. Although their positions and starting points differ, they have reached an undisputed consensus on the core demand of "strengthening military force to safeguard peace."
Nan Yuan further elaborated, speaking in a serious and firm tone: "We do not intend to provoke conflict or invade other civilizations, but rather to possess the ability to resist external malice and defend our own security. For us, force is a shield to protect peace, not a sharp knife for proactive attacks. Its core purpose has always been to safeguard human peace and security, and is by no means external expansion or plunder."
Yoshioka nodded solemnly upon hearing this, adding, "We completely agree with that. The most urgent task is to prioritize improving the combat capabilities of our troops, conduct targeted space warfare training, and at the same time improve our global defense system and early warning mechanism to ensure early detection and early response. We must also focus on cultivating more elite forces like the Choi Myung Squad, building a group of ace teams that are capable of fighting tough battles and are good at fighting tough battles, so that when the next crisis comes, we can calmly resolve the threat and firmly grasp the initiative."
Seeing the high degree of consensus between the two factions, Sawai's face showed a relieved expression. He immediately made a decision: "Since all parties have reached a consensus, let's immediately start advancing all tasks. The three tasks of expanding military equipment, conducting combat training for troops, and upgrading the global defense system will be carried out simultaneously. Each department should perform its duties and cooperate efficiently to build a military defense line sufficient to resist all kinds of cosmic threats in the shortest possible time. Cui Ming, your team performed exceptionally well in the Muzhen alien incident. Your team will be responsible for leading the formulation of standards and direction control for subsequent combat training across the entire army."
Cui Ming immediately stood up, gave a standard military salute with a straight posture, and replied in a deep voice: "Understood! We will comprehensively review the combat experience with the Muzhen Star people, extract the core tactics and key points of response, and combine them with the characteristics of space warfare to formulate a scientific, reasonable and highly targeted combat training plan to fully enhance the comprehensive ability of the entire army to deal with various space threats."
The meeting concluded smoothly with clear and unified decisions. This rare consensus between hawks and doves not only rallied the forces of all parties but also strengthened the Earth Defense Force's resolve to confront cosmic threats—always upholding peace as its guiding principle and armed with formidable force, it will calmly face the unknown risks and potential malice of the universe. (End of Chapter)