Everyone in the world has something they care about, whether it's someone as crazy as Otto, as emotionless as Makima, or as simple as March 7th. And this thing they care about, sometimes, can also be called a—weakness.
Why did the entity controlling Lihua and the others from behind feel so incredibly difficult for Otto and his group to handle, to the point where they couldn't find a solution at all? The biggest reason was a lack of understanding. They had no idea who their opponent was, let alone how to defeat them.
But things were different now. If that entity was indeed protecting the Blue Earth, it meant It cared about the Blue Earth. Whatever the reason, the Blue Earth had now become Its weakness—and even the most powerful being, once their weakness is grasped, will still lose the initiative.
"Using the Blue Earth as a hostage means…?" Kiana swallowed nervously, feeling that what these people were about to say would be incredibly insane.
"We can threaten It, make that entity release Lee—and everyone else It's controlling." MEI's tone was calm, but her eyes, hidden behind her glasses, emanated a bone-chilling coldness. "Otherwise, we'll destroy the entire Blue Earth."
"Destroy the Blue Earth…?" Raiden Mei's brow furrowed tightly. Honestly, she often felt a sense of irony; she was a Herrscher, yet there were always people whose madness and malice far surpassed anything she could imagine. "Are you serious?"
"Why not? Since that entity can freely oppress and even take away the people we care about, why can't we, in turn, destroy the world It cares about?"
Otto Apocalypse smiled. He had to admit, calling MEI and her two colleagues from the laboratory was the right choice.
Compared to warriors who fought on the battlefield, sometimes scientists with a grand, albeit detached, vision for humanity could think of such crazy and cruel methods faster when solving problems and quickly reach a consensus.
The only effective piece of intelligence they had now was that the entity cared about the Blue Earth.
Whether using this to threaten It would work was completely unknown—but so what? For Otto, the only thing he cared about had already been completely taken away by that nameless entity. Things in this world couldn't possibly get any worse for him.
Threatening an entity with the entire Blue Earth and the lives of billions on it was a truly villainous act, but Otto didn't care. He was a villain to begin with, and now, if he couldn't get what he wanted, he was fully determined to see it through, even if it meant mutual destruction.
"We have many people now, and our strength far exceeds that of the Blue Earth locals. Destroying their civilization—even destroying the planet itself—might not be impossible." Otto scanned the faces around him, some pensive, some shocked, and said calmly, "The only problem is whether we can reach a consensus and bear the risk of losing everything."
"Wait a minute, it's not even clear if this method will work at all?! And there are billions of people on the Blue Earth! If the other side doesn't agree, are you really going to kill all these people?!"
The first person to become agitated was Fu Hua, and her opinion was clearly shared by many sensible people present. Using the lives of an entire planet's innocent people to threaten an unknown entity was an act that couldn't be described by the word 'insane' alone.
"As long as the other side agrees to our conditions, naturally there won't be any dangerous consequences," MEI said calmly.
"The problem is, what if the other side doesn't agree? Are you really going to wipe out the entire Blue Earth?!" Fu Hua glared, furious.
Although she had long been deeply aware of MEI's inhumanity, the current situation still exceeded her limits of acceptance. "To put it bluntly, we know absolutely nothing about the specific situation right now! This kind of action might not only be useless but could even provoke the other party!"
"If there's no determination to burn one's bridges [commit to a course of action with no retreat], then a threat is meaningless. The ability to ensure mutual destruction when necessary is the premise of negotiation."
"I cannot accept this! Let me be clear, if you do this, then I will stop you!" Fu Hua's voice faltered. She understood that trying to persuade these people before her with words alone was impossible.
Therefore, the only thing she could do now was to state her resolve and attitude. "Think about it, MEI, Otto! Would Lee and Lihua want you to save them this way?! If they were standing here right now, they would be the first to oppose your proposal!"
"I will save Lihua, even if she scorns me for it." The smile on Otto's face rarely faded, but the calm determination in his eyes was like steel. "You should have known this long ago, old friend."
"Hua, I don't want to say this… but do you truly understand Lee? In the end, you've never once successfully understood her or helped her, have you?"
MEI slowly closed her eyes, unwilling to recall those past events. "Neither you nor any of us are qualified to predict Lee's thoughts, because when it comes to us… we simply don't understand her."
MEI's words directly silenced Fu Hua. Although unwilling to admit this fact, she couldn't refute it in the slightest. Thinking back carefully, during their time together in the past, it seemed she had only brought harm to Lee. And not just Lee, but even Lihua too...
However, it was clear Fu Hua was emotionally devastated by MEI's words, but her opposition to using the Blue Earth as a threat didn't change. And there were quite a few others who shared her view.
"No matter how you look at it, this kind of action is a bit too extreme, it's unacceptable…" Himeko frowned slightly. "It's practically something the Antimatter Legion would do."
Now that her memories had returned, although she also recalled that the Astral Express crew seemed to have committed quite a few earth-shattering, unscrupulous deeds, almost like galactic scammers(or Bandit), threatening to destroy a planet where billions lived… Even though Caelus now also possessed the power to shatter destinies, their Astral Express crew were, after all, Trailblazers following the Path of Trailblaze.
"Besides, according to you, Twilight and your friends are currently in that entity's hands. What if this threat, instead of working, only angers It? What about Twilight's and their safety?" Although Dan Heng somewhat agreed with the idea of 'flipping the table', he was ultimately hesitant to act rashly when so much was at stake.
With Twilight seemingly in the enemy's grasp, he still hoped, as much as possible, to ensure her safety through more secure means.
"That entity is strong, but from what we've seen, It's not omnipotent. If It is truly determined to kill Lihua… we won't be able to save them. But similarly, It won't be able to save the Blue Earth either. We can at least ensure the extinction of humanity on the Blue Earth."
Otto silently clenched his fists. "Even if the Blue Earth isn't irreplaceable to It, and even if the price we pay is far heavier than Its—when the weak want to change the situation, they must have the resolve for mutual destruction."