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n“Don’t be ridiculous! What could those machines possibly do?” Wilde wouldn’t believe Lyton.

nLyton was confident in his argument. “I’m telling the truth!”

nHe raised his voice and waved his hands around as he explained to Wilde. “I saw them walk away from the IVE Extractors. Immediately after, our ark exploded. The explosions only happened in zones where people have left the devices. People in eighteen zones did that, and we have eighteen damaged areas. Why do you think the other zones are still safe?”

nThe look on Wilde’s face became more solemn, and he asked, “Are you sure about that?”

n“Absolutely!”

nLyton went on, “We both know well what kind of materials we used to build this ark. How can it be more durable than other countries’? Their arks couldn’t withstand the strike of a single meteorite piece, but ours has been fine until just then. Isn’t that enough to prove what I said? Wilde, I’m very certain that the IVE Extractors are the only things that have kept us alive!

n“We must calm everybody down. More importantly, we have to get the eighteen IVE Extractors working again. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter where we hide. The ark will soon be destroyed for good. I’ll evacuate the others, and you get some men to restart the IVE Extractors!”

nWilde nodded. “Sure! Hurry up!

n“Our country was right. We should have listened to them. So many people are dead now…”

n“There’s no time to get sentimental! Let’s save the ark first!”

nThe two men left the control room in a hurry and started the rescue mission.

n“Hank, get over here! You need to bring back your men! Listen, you must protect the IVE Extractors at all costs! We must get them running again!” Wilde found Hank, the captain of the guards, and gave the order.

nLyton stood at the entrance of the lower deck and shouted, “Those who are closest to the IVE Extractors, stop running! Sit down on the devices! It’ll keep you alive! The rest of you should move to the lower deck now! Don’t push! We still have time! You’ll be fine! Panic will only get more people killed!”

n…

nIn the Moonian president’s office.

nA video conference was being held. Next to the Moonian president were Henry Lang and Gordon Marlow. On the other side of the screen were the presidents of Padaski, Panthera, Soleil, and Hosia.

nThe Moonian president wanted to discuss with them the apologies from other countries. He intended to save those people out there. However, the world is a vast place, and the Moonian soldiers couldn’t travel in severe weather like this.

nThey were stretching their limits by going to neighboring countries. Crossing oceans to the other side of the world would be impossible.

nThere was a more effective way now.

nThe other four countries could share their own IVE Extractors with the countries asking for help. Of course, they needed to keep their own people safe first.

nThese five countries were the only ones that could produce IVE Extractors.

nThe Moonian president believed that those four countries still had the ability to produce more. The five countries happened to be evenly spread out on Earth.

nIf they were all willing to give a hand and send the devices to their neighbors, they could reduce the casualties by 70%.

nHowever, it would be a dangerous thing to do.

nTo deliver the devices, their people had to travel through various natural disasters, from hailstorms to earthquakes and tsunamis.

nAfter a long while, the Pantherese president shook his head.

n“I disagree!” He was the first to turn down the proposal. “I don’t see why we should save those people. The catastrophe won’t wipe out the entire human race. It’ll kill at most 90% of the global population, but some of us will survive! I can’t risk the lives of our soldiers to help those countries! I have to be responsible for my people! Flamia, Iceana, and Neige have always been hostile toward Moon. Why would you want to help them?”

nThe Padaskian president nodded. “That’s right. Why would you save them? They deserve it!”

nThe Hosian president said, “I don’t want to help them either. Their letters and apologies don’t mean anything. Why didn’t they apologize earlier? Have you forgotten what they did to your country? A whole alliance invaded Moon. Hosia and Soleil were taken as well. You must still remember the tragedies. Those countries are ungrateful, and they won’t appreciate your help. Even if you save them now, they’ll turn on you once they rebuild their countries. Am I right?”

nThe Soleilian president hadn’t said anything, but he was nodding repeatedly, agreeing with the other three presidents.

nNone of them wanted to offer help.

nHenry said, “Of course, we won’t forget what happened to us, but we Moonians believe in returning good for evil. We’ll do what we can and will be free from any compunction. If they make trouble for us, we’ll fight back again! We want world peace, but we aren’t afraid of wars! Fixating on the past will only make us look petty and timid. We can’t let them think we’re scared of their alliance! We must overcome our fear!”

nGordon nodded. “That’s right. A wolf won’t save a tiger because it’s afraid the tiger will eat it later. However, a tiger will save a wolf because it knows the wolf can never threaten it. Do you want to be a tiger or a wolf that lives in its fear forever? Without those countries, we can never truly right the past humiliations, and our past will haunt us forever!”

nThe Pantherese president sounded concerned. “But helping them will lead to casualties on our side, too. Why should we save their people at the cost of ours?”

nHenry said, “We can use the flying armor! It’s Mr. Soan’s latest invention that has IVE built into it. You all have the equipment to make IVE Extractors, right? With that, you can build the armor in thirty minutes to an hour. Once the soldiers put it on, they’ll be protected by IVE from head to toe. As long as they’re not directly hit by a meteorite piece, they’ll be safe. The armor can withstand hailstones, lightning, and magma. I’ve sent you the blueprint. It’s up to you whether you’ll help them or not.”

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