Monsters Are Coming
Chapter 296 - 135: Rule Divine Pillar, Human Clan Meeting_4

Chapter 296: Chapter 135: Rule Divine Pillar, Human Clan Meeting_4

In a corner of the city’s eastern district, the sprawling complex from above looks remarkably like a miniature model of Earth.

The central building is the council hall of the Human Clan Federation, where representatives from major cities of the Human Clan Federation are gathered.

Within the conference hall, each conference seat has a flag representing its city, and the walls are adorned with slogans and principles from the founding of the Human Clan Federation.

Years ago, inside this very building, the first joint government of the Human Clan Federation was established, with all participants pledging to strive for the ascension of the Human Race.

This is how the city got its name "Ascension".

The conference hall is grandly laid out, featuring a podium, speaking seats, and audience seats, with the podium positioned at the center, the inner circles of the first and second rings being speaking seats, followed by audience seats.

As they pass through the entrance adorned with the Earth emblem symbolizing the Human Clan Federation, attendees gradually arrive.

Representatives from various major cities, military representatives, and other core personnel take their seats at the speaking area, while their team members sit at the audience seats behind.

The meeting will commence in half an hour.

The federal chief, chosen by vote from the representatives of the major cities and federal congressmen, steps to the podium.

His name is "Bai Chen," a former military man who participated in the mechanical war and achieved notable war merits. At nearly 80 years old, he stands on the stage, as tall and straight as a pine, exuding an aura of authority and dignity, with eyes so deep and bright they seem to see through hearts. The natural wrinkles between his brows appear as badges of years, recording past trials and tribulations.

He glanced at the attendees and spoke in a deep tone:

"Before this meeting begins, you should all have received the documents I’ve sent. Let’s cut to the chase and move directly to the main topic."

"This meeting involves shutting down all networked devices, using local networks for support... Based on investigations from the past two months, we can confirm one thing: Dark Land appeared in two versions, one of which requires purchase through legitimate Moon Eclipse Clan channels or gaming platforms connected to those channels, while the other is a cracked version circulating on the internet."

"After analysis by the think tank, this cracked version is believed to have originated from within the Moon Eclipse Clan, as no other racial forces besides the Moon Eclipse Clan possess the ability to bypass the Dark Land’s surveillance by the Star Network’s AI."

"Here, I reiterate the three possibilities described in the document."

"The first speculation is that there is a factional conflict within the Moon Eclipse Clan, leading to the release of the cracked version."

"The second possibility is that the Moon Eclipse Clan top-tier aims to seize the highest authority from the Star Network, using the cracked version to weaken the Star Network’s influence and monitoring. This can be understood as the cracked version possibly being a Dark Land not monitored by the Star Network, yet this analysis presents many unexplained reasons, which I will mention later."

"The third possibility is...."

"Which of these three reasons is the truth, we do not know. Other possibilities that we have not listed may still exist, but these are all internal affairs of the Moon Eclipse Clan, which we have no right to interfere with or concern ourselves over."

"The main focus of this meeting is the series of strange behaviors by the Moon Eclipse Clan recently."

As he spoke, Bai Chen looked down at the manuscript on the podium, then raised his head to continue:

"According to the report by Wu Gui, the number 3 supervisor of the Earth Alliance Human Clan Office, we obtained inexplicable intelligence that the Moon Eclipse Clan actually voluntarily requested to engage in currency exchange with us, which appears extremely unreasonable."

"Prior to this, Wu Gui had submitted intelligence suggesting that the Moon Eclipse Clan inquired about how many players within the Human Clan Federation were downloading cracked game qualifications. These two matters seem linked, but we cannot find the connection."

"First, the Moon Eclipse Clan is very concerned about how many cracked qualifications have been acquired by Human Clan players; second, the Moon Eclipse Clan seeks a large amount of our currency."

"All of this may be related to the leak of cracked qualifications; regarding this issue, I want to inquire about the city administrators present: do you have any information related to the Dark Land cracked version in the cities you manage?"

After speaking, Bai Chen looked at the various city representatives seated beside him.

At this moment, the speaking seat of Yelan City lit up with a green light, drawing everyone’s attention:

"Mr. Chairman, I am here to report a recent investigation revealing an abnormal situation."

"Please proceed." Bai Chen nodded.

The Yelan City administrator nodded, then picked up a tablet on the table, automatically connecting it to the conference room’s network before retrieving a document.

Suddenly, the projector lights on the ceiling flickered, creating a light screen image before the meeting attendees, displaying a data report.

"This is a recently compiled foreign exchange transaction report, showing several recent exchange expenses in Yelan City under my administration, with the trading counterparts being Fish Harbor City’s the Gills Fish Clan and Abyss Fish Clan, marked by Intelligent Brain due to high-frequency and small-amount trades."

"Initially, I didn’t see a problem until the personnel responsible for reviewing the transaction records reported to me, having retrieved transaction records from other cities, and discovered similar phenomena in many cities, consisting of high-frequency exchange expenses to the Gills Fish Clan and Abyss Fish Clan, yet each transaction lacks corresponding revenue records, indicating these transactions are unilateral expenses, not purchases of seafood from the Abyss Fish Clan and the Gills Fish Clan, thus classifiable as virtual goods transactions."

"To clarify the specific situation, I retrieved the virtual transaction information of these exchange personnel and found that their online shopping records and exchange expenses were unlinked, with amounts not matching, basically able to determine these transactions were virtual game expenses, in-game purchases of game goods, followed by exchange expenses given to players from the Gills Fish Clan and the Abyss Fish Clan."