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Chapter 356: Chapter 356: Intelligence Convergence

For this reason, Chen Xuan specially went to chat with the elders at the base, asking about their memories of that war.

According to the official narrative, he was "not yet born" when the war broke out, so he didn’t have to worry about being suspected no matter how straightforward his questions were. At most, he could add that he had an interest in history, coupled with a reward of some Credit Points, which was usually enough to keep the elders talking endlessly for an entire afternoon.

As an ordinary citizen of Jiang City, they actually didn’t know much about organizations like the Dimensional Limit Mechanism or the Evangelical Association; all they knew was that it seemed like ability users suddenly appeared around the world overnight, followed by conflicts between ability users and ordinary people, as well as various exaggerated criminal incidents involving abilities.

But Chen Xuan noticed one detail.

Not one of them mentioned the "New Century Nuclear Cloud."

Although it was labeled with the "New Century" moniker, it actually happened in the year 2030... Lin Qing had mentioned during casual conversation about the harm of illegal ability users, that a British nuclear submarine undergoing maintenance at Mao Port was controlled by an ability user, and then launched strategic missiles at major cities in the United Kingdom, ultimately resulting in a tragedy with over six million deaths.

The impact of this event was huge, and it paved the way for the later intervention of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism in societal security issues.

In a sense, it was a super-sized 911.

As one of the memories of the era, anyone who lived through that period could never forget this incident.

However, all these elders claimed that there was no nuclear cloud.

When the world was truly shrouded in the terror of a nuclear strike, that was already in the era of the full-scale confrontation between the Dimensional Limit Mechanism and the Evangelical Association.

Chen Xuan shared this information with Honglian, and her initial reaction was much as he had expected, "Six... six million deaths?"

"Yes, and that was with five out of six missiles being intercepted. But it seems that this part of history has already been rewritten; none of the elders have any special impression of 2030."

"You should have told me sooner." Honglian appeared unsettled, murmuring to herself for a moment before suddenly lifting her head, "This event probably hasn’t entirely disappeared, but has been postponed!"

Chen Xuan exchanged a glance with her and immediately knew they were on the same page.

The ability user who caused the New Century Nuclear Cloud is most likely a member of the Evangelical Association! He should have taken action in 2030, using mind control abilities to seize control of the nuclear submarine, but due to some unknown historical changes, he’s been lurking until twenty years later. By the time the conflict between the Dimensional Limit Mechanism and the Evangelical Association escalates, he will have become the key figure in determining the outcome.

Thinking this way, it suddenly doesn’t seem impossible that the Evangelical Association would gain control over a large number of nuclear weapons.

Then why was it postponed?

"Because the Mechanism itself weakened..." Honglian muttered after a moment of silence, "It is no longer that unbeatable titan that Miss Lin described!"

Chen Xuan thought the same.

In Lin Qing’s era, the Mechanism didn’t even have a worthy opponent; its split was caused by internal factors, and even so, the faction that split off was still suppressed by the company and never gained the upper hand until the fall of the Crystal Palace.

The rebel force Lin Qing described was more like a guerilla team, lacking the power to directly confront the Mechanism.

As for the Evangelical Association... it probably would have long since been crushed by the Dimensional Limit Mechanism.

But historical nodes have changed.

The Mechanism lost its Jiang City division, equivalent to losing its Asia-Pacific base... and not only that, they also lost the Five Rings Machinery Factory and the Botanical Garden erosion zones, which were material losses. The reputational loss was even greater, with scandals exposed, defeated by the Wanderer, and the media backlash from Beitian Academy severely shaking its status in the ability user community.

This has a certain "The Qin lost its stag, and the world chases it" implication—if the Dimensional Limit Mechanism is not qualified to be the sole controlling body over ability users, then other parties or organizations will undoubtedly make their moves.

Now it seems, the Evangelical Association has become that competitor.

"How did it come to this..." Honglian found it hard to accept this fact, "We shook the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, only to bring about an even greater disaster?"

"Larger disasters are still up for debate; at least humanity hasn’t gone extinct yet." Chen Xuan reminded with a cough.

One world is dominated by the Mechanism, where, aside from rebels like Lin Qing, there was almost no dissent, and most people lived their lives until the Crystal Palace descended from the sky. The other is a post-great war world of the Mechanism and the Evangelical Association, rampant with nano-living bodies, where humans can only survive by staying hidden, but extinction is still a long way off.

Which world is better depends on the perspective; the answer differs accordingly.

For Chen Xuan, his thoughts were close to Lin Qing’s initial intention: they indeed saved the world. The only difference between them is that he does not accept the result of Lin Qing disappearing.

"But the war resulted in the deaths and injuries of over a billion people..." Honglian displayed a touch of confusion in her eyes, "Doesn’t this prove that the ’Limit’ is a necessary measure? Without constraints, who can guarantee illegal ability users wouldn’t cause even greater destruction?"

In Chen Xuan’s mind, an answer emerged, "Prosthetics."

"Prosthetics?" Honglian was slightly shocked.

She was surprised because... the other party had said that the Mechanism intended to use prosthetics to seal abilities, meaning this answer was the choice of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism.

Would they rebel against the Mechanism and yet continue to use its methods?

"The Mechanism’s ultimate solution to the rejection of prosthetics is nanobots, and the misuse of nanobots leads to catastrophic crises. If we can eliminate the nanobots, prosthetics themselves are not the issue," Chen Xuan analyzed.

Currently, the widespread use of prosthetics indeed lowers the likelihood of ability users awakening; Liu Shuyue also mentioned that prosthetics, as artificial external objects, hinder the flow of Spiritual Qi, essentially cutting off the path of cultivation, suggesting there might be some causal relationship between the two.

Moreover, universal prosthetics would greatly enhance overall human combat readiness; even an ordinary office worker would have a fighting chance against an ability user when equipped with standard self-defense prosthetics, significantly deterring ability users from wanting to commit atrocities.

Coincidentally, the entry-level prosthetic eye now produced by Walter Company is a version that doesn’t require nanobots.

"Wonders have such effects?"

After listening to Chen Xuan’s explanation, Honglian suddenly saw the light, "No wonder Xiao Canong was able to apply for support from the Arbitration Court at headquarters! It turns out the Mechanism had long planned to capture all the wonders of that world!"

"Exactly, if these wonders fall into the hands of the Mechanism, the consequences would surely be unimaginable." Chen Xuan nodded, "This indirectly proves why they have weakened so visibly. Compared to the future known to Lin Qing, the Mechanism in this world has lost too many advantages."

She felt a sense of relief, "Fortunately... headquarters probably only realized that wonders contained incredible power, but hadn’t yet considered them a deciding factor. Otherwise, the Mechanism would have spared no effort in planning this operation, and we along with Beitian Academy would have been doomed."

Chen Xuan agreed with this viewpoint. If the Dimensional Limit Mechanism had thrown all their resources into this battle in Jiang City, then he would have had no other option but to flee.

With a viable plan in place, the confusion in Honglian’s eyes quickly dissipated. After pondering for a while, she said, "I will find a way to investigate who this Evangelical Association ability user really is... If possible, we should try to prevent this war from happening."

"...Chen Xuan?"

Seeing no response, Honglian called out again.

"Ah... well, it is indeed necessary to find out this person’s whereabouts," Chen Xuan snapped back to reality, "Originally, he would have caused the nuclear submarine incident in 2030, which means he must have been alive in 2026. Lin Qing also mentioned he joined an extreme environmental group, so you can start from there."

People can be found first, but trying to prevent a large-scale conflict between the Mechanism and the Evangelical Association... might significantly alter history again, right?

This time Lin Qing hasn’t completely severed her ties with the shop; it’s already a stroke of luck. If there’s another drastic change... can she still be found again?

Once Room 202 checks out, he would completely lose contact with Lin Qing; perhaps in a new future, Lin Qing might not even be born.

Such a change is not what Chen Xuan hopes for.

He must find her quickly.