What happened in Academy City was no longer just Noldrei's business.
Given the private dealings between Noldrei and Otto, everyone had gained a certain level of understanding of Noldrei's "secret political maneuvers."
His methods were impressive, but his audacity was truly something else. Noldrei seemed to have never even considered the possibility that Otto might backstab him. It was a level of clandestine political dealing that the old Welt would never have dared to attempt.
Otto had the nerve to say it, but Noldrei had the nerve to actually do it.
So now, even Welt Yang, who had become the number one producer of Stigma-powered Battlesuits, had to drop everything he was doing and come question Noldrei about the situation.
Noldrei had made this deal with Vitas publicly, so he naturally had nothing to hide from Welt.
Upon seeing Noldrei, Welt got straight to the point. "Why did you agree to Vitas's deal? Do you have another plan? I've thought about it for a long time, and I still can't understand why you would allow the human gene tree to be used as a bargaining chip."
Noldrei looked at Welt and asked, rather surprisingly, "Old Welt... is it possible that you're the only one who has come to ask me this?"
Welt pushed up his non-existent glasses, only then remembering that he was also a modified human. Glasses were something he had decisively abandoned long ago, having kicked the habit to accommodate the Stigma-powered masked battlesuit he had created.
"No, I'm asking you precisely because I understand you. The others don't ask because they trust you. I'm asking because I trust you, too. You've gambled the future of humanity on your opposition. Therefore, I must adopt this attitude to learn more about your 'Proliferationism'."
"It was precisely because Otto repeatedly worked behind the scenes to undermine the human tower you designed that he earned the right to speak with you as an equal. Back then, I didn't understand Otto, just as I didn't understand you."
Otto was indeed the first person to grasp Noldrei's thinking.
But Otto was a radical. A man like him would never accept the future Noldrei had designed for humanity.
Otto only opposed Noldrei because he knew it would earn Noldrei's approval, and he could gain personal benefit from it.
Welt Yang, however, was different. He had his own political ideals and aspirations.
That was why Welt was so baffled when he learned Noldrei was considering allowing the Venusian civilization to be revived. He even suspected Noldrei might be looking for another civilization to replace Earth's.
Noldrei thought for a moment and asked, "Old Welt, let me ask you, as someone from a background of capitalist industry: how do you use the products you control to guide and manage your consumers?"
Welt replied without hesitation, "I understand how to use products to guide and control consumers. Anyone who's been on the internet can grasp parts of it. It's nothing more than coordinating the production end with public opinion to shape people's demands. But how can an issue like that be compared to a deal with the Venusian civilization?"
Welt didn't think Noldrei was talking nonsense, but he didn't believe the Venusian civilization was as useless as Noldrei claimed.
That was a civilization that could support 12 billion people and fight the Honkai up to the Herrscher of Corruption.
There was no reason to believe Venus was truly that much worse than Earth. Academy City had merely gotten a few years' head start with the advanced technology from Noldrei's hands; it didn't necessarily mean it had already surpassed Venus.
"Old Welt, old Welt... think again. Is there something off about how you're considering our position?"
Noldrei's increasingly calm expression made Welt realize that his own standing might be misaligned.
He looked at Noldrei with a grave expression and said bitterly, "I... I think I understand now. The interests of Earth's civilization, the interests of Academy City, and the interests of the Kaslanas are not truly aligned."
Welt Yang finally understood the subtle point, as clearly as Noldrei had hinted.
He had seen enough conflicts between nations on Earth to be keenly aware of the subtle differences in various contradictions.
For Proliferationism, the existence of the Venusian civilization wasn't a bad thing; in fact, it was a good thing for its expansion.
"You plan to replicate the Kaslana Stigma results? You even want to create a civilization of 12 billion people with extremely high Kaslana bloodline purity?"
Welt offered an answer based on his own speculation.
Clearly, Welt had grasped the ingenious use of "substitutes" within Proliferationism.
"Correct. Just as the interests of the Venusians and Sa are not aligned. To maintain her position as a slave master, Sa chose not to immediately revive her own civilization. Meanwhile, Kiana Kaslana, as the Mother of Stigma—a key figure for the centralized imperial power of geneticism—has her own interests."
"The interests of a centralized geneticism power naturally conflict with the interests of Earth's civilization. With the willpower of 12 billion readily available members of a backward civilization, these people will gradually become staunch supporters of the Kaslanas under the influence of the Kaslana Stigma's will."
"Otto could only clone empty shells, most of which were defective material, completely incapable of birthing a proper life force. To put it bluntly, he just cloned a bunch of people in a vegetative state."
Noldrei calmly laid out the cruelest aspect of Proliferationism.
"But with the combination of the gene tree and the Kaslana bloodline, things are different. We can correct this error, allowing more consciousness to be infused into these clone-like bodies through the will of the Stigma. And because of the Honkai ICHOR factor, we don't have to worry too much about genetic diseases."
"So what do we get? We get a Kaslana Stigma collective of 12 billion people. The introduction of their collective intelligence will further strengthen the power of the Kaslana Stigma group."
"In another sense, it truly forges a Kaslana genetic royal family."
Welt's head ached just listening to it. The situation was even more troublesome than he had thought.
If Earth's civilization were isolated, then according to Otto's design, as long as the production of Stigma-powered Battlesuits continued to expand, the imperial authority of the Mother of Stigma would be carved up by granting power to enfeoffed Stigma organizations.
But in reality, Earth was not an isolated civilization. Venus was an equally excellent backup option.
The last heir of the Venusian civilization, "Sa," was actually not qualified. The one who could truly negotiate with Noldrei was her agent, Vitas, who had clearly grasped the key conflict.
Vitas's approach to handling the Venusian civilization was more akin to human society. As an "agent," she retained the memories of when "Sa" still considered herself human.
Welt had reminded himself more than once that Noldrei referred to his own position as "Emperor."
Yet, he still subconsciously forgot this dangerous fact.
What... should he do now?