In the Pacific Ocean, 90 nautical miles east of Mauritius, the Explorer cruise ship is swimming above the sea.

This modified cruise ship has never crossed the shore since three years ago, and all it undertakes is impossible for it to dock in any regular port.

It is the headquarters of the Hermes organization. It is from this cruise ship that Bruce Conn issued a series of cruel and decisive orders, which caused a major blow to many surrender groups, including the Natural Sect in the world, and even official organizations.

Many people want him to die, but of course, many people want him to live.

Therefore, he could only maintain the operation of the Hermes organization in this way. As long as he was still on the high seas, as long as he did not step into the territory of any country, and according to tacit balance and tacit understanding, no one would attack him.

But today, after receiving news from China, he felt that his authority was challenged.

Under his nose, the group called "Ark" that Hermes organized split actually skipped him and began to use Hermes' resources to manipulate public opinion, and had already had a significant impact worldwide.

And he himself didn't even know the purpose of these actions.

This was a major negligence, but Conn did not think it represented his own failure--Hermes involved too many affairs, which occupied a lot of his energy and left him with no time to take into account internal management work.

But that doesn't mean he's not good at such a job.

He is a sociologist, and what he is best at is management of people - perhaps sometimes, this kind of "management" will be quite tough and direct.

In a small reception room on Explorer, Conn was having a significant conversation with two of the most core members of the Hermes organization. If you look back from the future, people may find that it was this conversation that ended the era of the unification of the Hermes organization, started the organization, and even the entire world.

But now, everyone thinks that this conversation is just an internal review and reflection.

"So, now it's basically certain that the leader of the Ark is a person code-named Columbus, but we have not yet grasped his specific identity."

“How long does it take to confirm your identity?”

Kangen asked with a frown.

"We need to check from bottom to top, and their confidentiality measures are not too strict--in fact, they always believe that our goals are consistent, but they have chosen another technological development route."

"What is certain is that Jess, Pidlov and Minsen are all part of the Ark organization, among which Jess and Pidlov are my direct subordinates. They are very loyal, but because of some wrong consciousness, they did not report to me in time."

"If we can open a breakthrough from them, we can touch the top members of the Ark organization within about a week, and we will likely catch the so-called 'Columbus'."

"But what I'm worried about now is whether it will cause a sharp rebound if we take compulsory measures against them? Our organization is likely to be divided as a result, and its execution and influence will be greatly reduced."

Hearing his words, Kang En nodded slightly and then said:

"Tisolation division is inevitable, or it is not a kind of division, but purification."

"According to current intelligence, the so-called "consciousness upload" technology promoted by the Ark organization has a precursor to escape, which is something we absolutely do not want to see. In order to avoid this sign, we should kill them in the cradle at all costs - even a civil war is at ease."

"Is this really necessary?"

The man opposite said hesitantly.

"Why isn't it necessary?"

"...... They just want to survive, you know, every attempt should be encouraged in the face of such a major crisis, what if they are right?"

“They can’t be right.”

Kang En said firmly.

"If they were choosing other routes, like the antimatter bomb direction proposed by my old friend Shidjeff, then I would never be able to suppress them."

"Even if I know that this plan is slim, I will encourage them to give it a try."

"But the consciousness upload is different. This is a completely abandonment of position. As carbon-based organisms, land, air and sunshine, we are the basis of our survival. If we give up these things, we will never be able to regroup again."

"Compared with the crisis of adjacent dimensions, the technology they chose is a bigger crisis, because they ask us to give up the attributes of being 'human', and the most powerful and reliable foundation of the creatures like humans."

"So, we can't compromise."

"All right......."

The man sighed long. He was not completely convinced by Conn. However, he had a feeling of Conn in front of him that far exceeded trust. This emotion was like the Crusader to the Bishop, the Guard to the King, the Soldier to the King, the Soldier to the Queen.

Out of such emotions, he was willing to implement Kangen's strategy without fail, even if the strategy has not been proven to be correct.

After a moment of pause, he continued:

"So, where should we start? In addition to confirming the list of members of the Ark?"

Kang En took a deep breath of the cigarette that was about to burn out in his hand, and then spoke:

"First of all, we need to confirm what they are going to do this time--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I doubt that their action this time is still related to consciousness upload technology--but I don't know where they are going to start."

"It's true. This is the first time we have had direct and close contact with them. It takes more time to figure out their operating logic."

The man replied in agreement.

Kang En pondered for a moment, then asked:

"I heard that they found the farmer who survived the neighboring dimension invasion in Iowa? Is this news accurate?"

"Accurately, Thomas went to find the man. He was a member of the operation team and was responsible for operations in North America. Later, he was transferred to the logistics department for work due to injury. I know him very well. He... is a good person."

"Okay, then the strategy is clear. Since they have found the farmer, it proves that the farmer is very important to their follow-up plan. What we need to do is very simple, just clean him up."

"Cleaning it out? Even notifying the lover? But Thomas..."

The man wanted to say something, but Conn interrupted him directly.

"You can try to communicate with Thomas first. However, this communication must be based on our complete control of him. If he shows any tendency to be unwilling to cooperate or return to the Hermes organization, I think you should know how to do it."

Hearing Conn's words, the man nodded in pain. He and Thomas were not very close friends. When Thomas had accepted his command as a capable subordinate in several previous actions, he also showed extremely high qualities and admirable spirit of sacrifice in those actions.

Now, because of the different routes, he is likely to order the other party to be "cleared" by himself, which is not an easy thing for him to make up his mind.

Kangen noticed the man's expression, but he didn't say much. He was a leader. As a leader, he knew very well that the most important thing at this time was not to show the care and feelings of his subordinates, but to adhere to his tough principles.

So he just continued to speak coldly:

"Thomas and the farmer are just the first step, and after we have found out the list of members of the Ark, we will likely have to do a deeper cleanup."

"We have so many resources in our hands, most of which come from the officials of various countries that support us. We must not allow these resources to be wasted on escapism - neither will the officials allow them."

“So, we have to show our attitude.”

"And the only way to show our attitude is war."

"There is a saying in China that is called 'a hero cuts off his arm'. When you can't save an arm, you have to cut it off."

"And now, it's time to swing the knife."
Chapter completed!