The more Lin Lan thought about it, the more worried he became. He was completely immersed in contemplating the possibility.
He didn't notice at all that Tian Ming had already finished introducing the research results on the Wisdom Cube from the Western Continent Institute of Technology.
Tian Ming stood awkwardly, watching Lin Lan sink into deep thought, unsure of what to do, but could only stand and wait for Lin Lan to speak.
And so everyone silently watched Lin Lan, waiting patiently for him to finish thinking.
"In the archives of the game's major events, the humans of the Original World met their end due to an invasion by a mysterious enemy, resulting in the complete destruction of the Original World."
"The shipgirls of the Original World failed in their final battle against the mysterious enemy because their ally, the Sirens, did not arrive as promised. Because of this betrayal, they deeply hated the Sirens."
"Later, the surviving shipgirls all underwent meta transformation, becoming the first members of the Ashes organization, turning against the Sirens."
"After the destruction of the Original World, the Sirens began traveling through the experimental worlds they created.
Once an experiment concluded, they would destroy that world. This also led to the emergence of many meta shipgirls…"
"What exactly is the goal of the Sirens?"
Lin Lan quickly recalled the game's storylines and settings in his mind.
Since he never paid much attention to the deeply hidden lore revealed by the developers, most of what he knew came from watching recap videos by Qiqizi during his spare time.
Because of that, he found himself confused and couldn't figure out why the Sirens were doing all this in the Orland United States.
The Orland United States was, after all, a weak entity that the Sirens could easily wipe out. Yet, they had played along with Orland in what seemed like a child's game.
And this game had already lasted nearly ten years.
Lin Lan didn't believe for a second that the Sirens were doing all this just for fun or sentimentality.
Could it be that the Sirens really wanted the Orland United States to become a nation that used cube energy and cube technology?
The question was, what benefit would that bring to the Sirens? What reason would they have for doing such a thing?
Lin Lan sighed deeply. If only Helena META were here.
As one of the earliest shipgirls to join the Ashes organization, Helena META must have known a lot of the Sirens' secrets.
But fortunately, whether it was this Western Continent Institute of Technology or the entire Western Continent in the near future, they would all be under his control.
Whatever the Sirens' purpose in granting Orland United States access to fake Wisdom Cubes might be, it was clear that using cube technology and energy was the inevitable path of development for Orland.
The only real concern was if the Sirens were to stop supplying the fake Wisdom Cubes in the future—it could deal a devastating blow to Orland.
But Lin Lan believed that the Sirens, having already provided fake Wisdom Cubes to Orland for so many years, wouldn't suddenly flip the table and quit the game.
What the Sirens wanted were experimental results, and from the looks of it, the final results were still a long way off.
"I'll have to put more focus on this Western Continent Institute of Technology in the future, at least strengthen control over it. The research institutes on the Eastern Continent too…"
"But the Eastern Continent Navy Department's source for fake Wisdom Cubes—I'll still need to investigate that when I head to the Eagle Union faction."
Lin Lan finally finished his thoughts, but only then did he notice that everyone around him had remained silent, quietly watching him.
Only now did he realize he had been lost in thought for quite a while.
"Oh, sorry, I kind of spaced out just now."
Lin Lan shrugged, offering everyone a calm smile. Then he looked at Tian Ming and said approvingly:
"You've done very well. The Wisdom Cube research is impressive. Keep up the good work."
Hearing Lin Lan's praise, both Tian Ming and Sun Xingxue breathed a sigh of relief.
When Lin Lan had fallen silent earlier, the two of them thought he might have been dissatisfied with their research results.
"By the way, where did your Wisdom Cubes come from? I remember the Navy Department strictly manages those—they're absolutely forbidden from being circulated."
As they resumed walking, Lin Lan turned to ask Sun Xingxue.
"Uh, I'm not too sure about that. Our Wisdom Cubes were delivered by the Tian'ou Group. There weren't many to begin with, and now there are only four left."
Sun Xingxue answered Lin Lan truthfully, while Tian Ming thought for a moment and suddenly spoke up:
"When I was with Battleaxe Arms, I heard the general agent Zhu Mobo in Dongyun City mention once that the Tianou Consortium of the Zhuhai Commerce Guild might have a stable channel for acquiring Wisdom Cubes."
"To develop cube-powered mechs, Battleaxe Arms frequently went to the Tianou Consortium to purchase Wisdom Cubes."
"Tianou Consortium again?"
Hearing this information from Tian Ming, Lin Lan narrowed his eyes.
The Tianou Consortium had been suppressing the Navy Department this whole time, yet still had a stable supply of fake Wisdom Cubes?
They probably used underhanded means to steal or plunder them from port commanders on the Eastern Continent.
As the strongest of the five major consortia of the Zhuhai Commerce Guild, Lin Lan had absolutely no fondness for the Tianou Consortium.
"No matter. From now on, the Western Continent Navy Department will supply you with enough Wisdom Cubes for your research."
Lin Lan said calmly to Sun Xingxue.
Whatever the Sirens' true aim was, the technology Orland could develop using fake Wisdom Cubes was very limited—it posed no threat to his shipgirls at all.
Therefore, Lin Lan decided to give a little push to Orland's cube technology research. It might even help draw out a flaw in the Sirens' plans and reveal what they were truly up to.
Besides, since he now fully controlled this Western Continent Institute of Technology, what was there to worry about?
As for whether the Western Continent Navy Department would approve, Lin Lan wasn't concerned in the slightest.
After all, just one thought from the Ironblood Witch August could cause more than half of the Navy Department's leadership to defect on the spot.
And according to his plans, he would soon be promoting a joint development between the Navy Department and the Tian'ou Group in the Western Continent.
If successful, then the Western Continent Navy Department's fake Wisdom Cubes would essentially become property of the Tian'ou Group.
In any case, providing the Institute with fake Wisdom Cubes would speed up the development of ship equipment.
The Navy Department would be more than happy to share them.
Hearing Lin Lan's promise to provide a large number of Wisdom Cubes, both Sun Xingxue and Tian Ming were visibly delighted.
"Mr. President, I—I wanted to ask you something… Is it true that the Tian'ou Group is forming an alliance with the Navy Department to unify the Western Continent?"
Sun Xingxue seemed very excited and could no longer hide what he was thinking, asking Lin Lan emotionally.
"Heh… Very soon."
To this elderly man's question, Lin Lan only replied with a faint smile.
He understood why Sun Xingxue was so moved.
After all, older Orland citizens—more or less—hoped the Navy Department, once the official government of Orland, could return to power.
In recent years, the consortia of the Zhuhai Commerce Guild—especially Battleaxe Arms, Goilia, and Noyadshin—had treated ordinary people rather poorly.
"Good, good, that's wonderful. If that happens, our research funding will finally be secured."
Hearing Sun Xingxue's words, Lin Lan keenly sensed something was off and asked with suspicion:
"Your research funding will be secured? Wait, did the Tian'ou Group withhold your funding before?"
Knowing the Navy Department was about to form an alliance with the Tian'ou Group, Sun Xingxue no longer had anything to hide. He said frankly to Lin Lan:
"Withhold? Mr. President, to be honest, we've never received any research funding from the Tian'ou Group at all."
"What? They've never given you any? How is that even possible?"
Lin Lan's eyes widened in disbelief, as if he had just heard something outrageous.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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