At eight in the evening, Suroma officially held a press conference in the main hall of the parliamentary building.
The conference was chaired by the Senate, with the most respected Senator Dodge sitting in the lead spokesperson position, yet King Bruce’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
This conference was being broadcast worldwide, and reporters and foreign affairs personnel from Human Consortium countries were present. As soon as it began, someone asked where Bruce was.
“King Bruce has been unwell these past few days and is unable to attend this press conference,” Dodge said. “I, as a senator, will preside in his stead.”
Those present murmured at once, all feeling something was off.
When the “array action” plan was announced successful earlier, Bruce had attended and appeared in excellent health.
Moreover, human Ascendants rarely fell ill unless affected by the Rules or infected by some acute, severe virus.
The medical community had already studied this, concluding that as Mind Power increases, Ascendants’ overall physical quality improves, including immunity. This significantly raises their resistance to ordinary viruses.
Now Bruce claiming illness and not showing up was obviously a brush-off, and naturally incited dissatisfaction.
The senators heard the unrest from the audience and looked somewhat embarrassed.
They too felt Bruce’s absence from the press conference was outrageous, but if the king insisted he had matters to attend to, there was nothing they could do.
“Everyone need not worry. Even if King Bruce is too ill to attend, the questions the world cares about regarding the ‘array action’ will be answered today,” Dodge said.
After he finished, an explanatory slideshow appeared on the large screen behind him, and the crowd began taking photos.
“Please look. This is the detailed information we compiled, which I will use to explain the whole sequence of events.”
The images outlined the entire “array action” plan process, from proposal to the actual selection of participants.
One unavoidable name appeared in the middle of it all: Joiessen.
“After the ‘Haisheng Ascends Bright Moon’ rule was released, like other Human Consortium nations, we worked hard to find countermeasures to prevent Bright Moon from ascending to its end.”
“With meticulous deployment, it was our submarine, the Goddess of Fortune, that first located Bright Moon and revealed its position to the Human Consortium.”
“After that, the First Research Institute’s dean, Joiessen, based on Andrew’s item, the Carrier Array, proposed the ‘array action’ plan.”
Joiessen’s portrait and his outstanding resume appeared on the big screen.
It was clear he had been a leading academic figure in peacetime, having won multiple scientific awards. After the Rules era began he repeatedly offered counsel and contributed significantly to Suroma’s response strategies.
“I believe everyone here knows that after the Fire Thief’s arrival, Suroma’s First Research Institute was specifically tasked with studying the Doomsday Rules and developing countermeasures, functioning similarly to Beixing’s Countermeasures Research Office.”
“Therefore, the institute maintained a database of many Ascendants’ items and ability information in Suroma, which is how Joiessen was able to discover Andrew quickly and base the array plan on Andrew’s item effects.”
As Dodge spoke, his expression became much more solemn and his tone deepened.
“The original intention of this plan was to save the world even at the cost of sacrificing some Ascendants. To avoid outside accusations, Suroma dispatched more than one third of the sacrificable participants itself, which shows we were not passing the cost onto other countries.”
“However, no one could have predicted what followed…”
Dodge’s tone shifted, and indignation surfaced in his words and expression.
“Because Hu Yilei was the plan proposer and also dean of the First Research Institute, and because he trusted me, His Majesty the King and the Senate granted me limited authority to take full responsibility for matters related to the plan.”
“But while I was promoting the plan, a foreseeable yet still shocking situation occurred... many Ascendants who had been selected regretted their participation and wanted to withdraw from the plan.”
“To join a plan that was essentially a death sentence—even a noble sacrifice—many resisted. Especially those Ascendants with high Mind Power who had come this far would naturally have second thoughts and back out. That is human and understandable.”
The audience nodded in agreement. Although Dodge was older, his voice carried strength and emotional weight, drawing listeners in.
“However!” Dodge abruptly raised his voice, anger showing, “no one expected that Joiessen, fearing too many withdrawals might stop the plan, would take a desperate gamble and secretly collude with the Fire Thief Cult’s Your Holiness, having him use his ability to control those Ascendants and force them into the plan!”
The crowd emitted a low murmur at this revelation.
No one would have imagined the Fire Thief Cult was involved in this matter.
“Your Holiness used mental control to stop those Ascendants from withdrawing, ensuring they all participated. In that way, the plan would proceed as scheduled, and upon success Joiessen would be hailed as a hero and receive honors and rewards.”
“But he miscalculated. On the day the plan executed, the Ascendant ‘Shadow’ from Beixing intervened earlier and stopped Bright Moon from ascending.”
“This completely threw off Joiessen’s arrangements. If the plan was halted, the Ascendants who had been mentally controlled by Your Holiness would eventually be discovered, exposing his conspiracy!”
“Driven by greed for credit and reward and by fear of his scheme being revealed, after hearing that Bright Moon had stopped ascending, Joiessen stubbornly went ahead.”
“He first lied, claiming he had orders from superiors to deceive the observers into providing the coordinates of the power source that stopped Bright Moon, then coerced Andrew to use his item to fire a high-energy laser at those coordinates!”
“His objective was to eliminate the people who had prevented Bright Moon’s ascent, and by activating the array device cause the deaths of those thousands of Ascendants, thereby covering up the crimes he had committed.”
“After the incident, he deceived those above and below, telling the Senate and the King that the mission was a complete success, while threatening the observers present at the scene, warning that if they revealed the truth everyone would die.”
“Not everyone obeyed. The brave observer Gill tried to expose him, but Joiessen discovered this and secretly had Gill captured and brutally executed. To ensure no mistakes, he then conspired to murder several other observers...”
“Only Andrew, the item holder, complied because he preferred comfort and did not want to lose his heroic status and the privileged life that came with it. But Joiessen still distrusted him and placed the assassin ‘Black Widow’ near him, secretly ordering that if Andrew tried to leak anything she was to eliminate him.”
At this point, a video played on the large screen behind Dodge.
It showed Joiessen driving and picking up Black Widow, then taking her to Andrew’s villa.
When the video ended, the entire press conference fell silent.
Dodge’s presentation had laid out the entire sequence of events in clear, indisputable detail.
Joiessen clearly had motive and his actions fit criminal logic, but from a global perspective the whole affair still felt bizarre.
A reporter from Beixing raised his hand to ask, “Mr. Dodge, if what you say is true, this was all Joiessen acting alone with no involvement or orders from the Senate’s higher-ups?”
Dodge answered, “Yes. The Senate had no knowledge of Joiessen’s criminal acts. We were equally shocked and outraged when we learned the truth.”
The Beixing reporter pressed on: “How did Joiessen even contact Your Holiness of the Fire Thief Cult? Why would he help him?”
Dodge said, “Perhaps Joiessen should explain that himself.”
With that, several security officers led Joiessen in through a side door. Reporters rose and snapped photos.
Joiessen sat shamefaced at a table arranged like a makeshift dock for questioning, hands clasped on his head, shoulders trembling, looking utterly disgraced.
Dodge said, “Reporters and diplomatic personnel, you may ask him questions directly. After our guidance, Joiessen has deeply realized his wrongdoing and is willing to confess everything to make some amends.”
Questions were then asked in succession.
The Beixing reporter who had questioned Dodge first asked Joiessen the same question.
Joiessen answered in a low voice, “I—Because I was dean of the First Research Institute, I had access to many Ascendants. The Fire Thief Cult is based in Fahe, adjacent to Suroma, and often kidnapped Suroma’s Ascendants in secret... During one investigation I happened to learn an internal contact method used by the Fire Thief Cult, so I managed to get in touch...”
The Beixing reporter: “Why did Your Holiness help you?”
Joiessen: “We struck a deal. He helped me with this, and I... I would act as an internal informant, leaking some internal Suroma intelligence to him.”
A reporter from the Xisiya Empire asked, “How did you coordinate exactly? Why didn’t those Ascendants notice what you were doing?”
Joiessen: “We used the guise of medical exams to trick the Ascendants into testing. Then Your Holiness controlled them one by one; the Ascendants couldn’t resist.”
Chaos erupted.
People shouted and cursed openly.
“How vile!”
“What a monster, to do something like this!”
“He must be killed!”
The scene was already this intense in the hall, and the global audience watching the live broadcast was even angrier.
On every streaming platform the barrage of comments filled with abhorrent curses, as if the viewers wanted to drag Joiessen’s ancestors out and whip them alive.
No wonder people were filled with hatred. After hearing everything, they felt the things Joiessen did were beyond human.
He had killed so many Ascendants from various countries and almost harmed Shadow, who had quietly risked himself for all humanity. He had endangered global safety for his own benefit.
“Everyone, I understand your feelings, but please remain calm and do not disrupt the conference,” Dodge said to soothe the riled crowd.
When the audience quieted somewhat, another reporter asked Joiessen, “Was this all your doing? Representatives from Human Consortium countries are present here now. If you were acting on orders, speak. Otherwise death is the only thing you face!”
Joiessen, with tears streaming down, said, “It was all me. I know I have committed an unforgivable crime. I would never falsely accuse others.”
Someone directly questioned Dodge: “Joiessen was only a research institute dean and yet could orchestrate such a massive plot without the Senate knowing. Was he coerced or mentally controlled?”
Dodge replied sternly, “Please do not make baseless accusations. The Senate entrusted Joiessen with authority because of trust, and that trust has cost us the tragic deaths of many high Mind Power Ascendants... But you are right that the Senate failed in oversight, and we will reflect and correct that.
As for claims that Joiessen was mentally controlled or brainwashed, that is nonsense. It is public knowledge that ‘Shadow’ eliminated the Fire Thief Cult’s Your Holiness some days ago. With Your Holiness dead, how could he have controlled Joiessen? Such abilities are extremely rare worldwide.”
Dodge paused, then looked directly into the camera and spoke seriously.
“Regarding ‘Shadow’, I want to thank you and apologize via this broadcast. Previously you issued a statement we did not believe, and that was our mistake. I thank you because you eliminated Your Holiness and exposed the truth, avenging Suroma’s and other nations’ countless victims... On behalf of Suroma, I express sincere gratitude and we are willing to offer you substantial compensation.”
At this very moment,
In a certain place in Antu City, Guan Tong watched on a screen as Dodge faced the camera with a sincere expression, offering thanks and an apology. He showed no expression on his face.