"I don't understand what the Chairman means," Liu Tao said.
"Sigh, twenty-two years have passed in the blink of an eye." The Chairman rubbed his furrowed brow. "Looking back, it feels like it happened just yesterday..."
Liu Tao remained silent; he knew it was story time.
"Twenty-two years ago, something significant happened on Earth. We nations called it the 'Advent of the Gods'..."
"'Advent of the Gods'?" Liu Tao repeated the phrase.
"That's right! The 'Advent of the Gods'." The Chairman looked at Liu Tao. "That year was 1991. China wasn't considered strong yet; even some small neighboring countries dared to bully our overseas Chinese citizens wantonly. Our country endured it all. Then, one day in January 1991, violent crustal movement occurred in an uninhabited area of the Pacific Ocean, and a small island emerged overnight. Initially, it wasn't a big deal. It could have been treated as a geological miracle. But what was special was the tall pyramid structure standing right in the center of the island. Since it was in international waters, all nations organized research teams to investigate. China's representative was Dr. Nie Yun."
Liu Tao had a bad feeling.
"After two months of research, all countries realized something was amiss. They collectively signed an agreement never to publicize this event, agreeing to fair, independent development, with research findings belonging to each respective country."
"What exactly did they discover?" Liu Tao basically guessed, but couldn't be sure.
"Civilization!" Zhao Xiang whispered. "A true civilization. According to Nie Yun's report, the pyramid structure was a product of 4.5 million years ago, the ancestor of all pyramid buildings. Ancient inscriptions pointed to a lost civilization—Atlantis."
"The legendary empire?" Liu Tao was astonished.
"I had the same expression when Nie Yun told me, while he was brimming with excitement. Inscriptions found in the tower indicated that the Atlanteans were not native to Earth. They were forced to migrate here due to unavoidable natural disasters on their home planet. That was 4.5 million years ago on Earth, when most humans were still apes. With their advanced technology, they became gods on Earth, gods with absolute power. Arrogant, they needed worshippers, slaves to serve the gods, so they began selecting creatures for accelerated evolution. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, they chose humans. Some genetic modifications made our appearance similar to theirs. Gradually, we developed thought, social systems, but our highest belief then was them—the omnipotent gods. They gave us fire, houses, knowledge. But they seemed to discover that continued human evolution would lead us out of their control because humans possessed an innate trait they lacked—greed. Humans liked to reap without sowing; when they wanted something, they would plunder and kill, rather than learning and creating themselves. So, over twenty thousand years ago, they finally confirmed humans were a failed creation and decided to choose a new race to cultivate."
"Thus, they unleashed an unimaginably huge ion storm—which they recorded in inscriptions as the 'Seed'."
"13's SEED!" Liu Tao exclaimed.
"It's of the same nature, but the power is incomparable. Their 'Seed' was sufficient to destroy all living beings. Perhaps it was truly a massive joke played by the gods; their 'Seed' accidentally detonated on their homeland. Because the energy hadn't reached its peak, it only engulfed the entire island of Atlantis, leaving behind fragments and wreckage. The landmass that surfaced due to this crustal movement was not part of Atlantis, so it was preserved." Zhao Xiang looked at the dazed Liu Tao and continued, "This wasn't the end, but a new beginning. As research progressed, the teams from various countries discovered something terrifying. In the central interior of the pyramid..."
Zhao Xiang paused for a moment, waiting for Liu Tao to prepare himself. "...was their complete warship from when they landed on Earth—the 'Noah's Ark'! That's the name they gave it. Not an exaggeration at all. The ship's gene bank preserved the DNA codes of all creatures on Earth. They intended to truly destroy everything and then recreate everything using advanced cloning technology, just like the gods of legend. Not many knew about the Atlanteans' plan. When the research reached Noah's Ark, the leaders of various nations truly focused their attention there. Armies from different countries slowly gathered around the island. But bound by the prior agreement, no one dared to make a move. After all, nuclear weapons were still effective then, and pushing things too far wouldn't benefit anyone. They could only urge their national researchers to intensify their studies. The first result was STOPWAR—the nuclear suppression technology. The world was never peaceful again after that. Nations scrambled to research ways to escape the protective umbrella of nuclear threats. But Nie Yun wasn't very interested in this technology; he just handed it over to his subordinates to study."
"In 1993, two years after the island's discovery, the crust moved again, and the island began to sink. Personnel from all countries returned home with their two years of research findings. Later, the area became a massive vortex. No one knew how deep the warship sank, nor could anyone conduct research on it. Upon returning to China, Nie Yun sought me out first."
"I'll never forget that day; it was raining heavily. Although he had a car, he was soaked through. His expression showed no depression over the island's sinking; instead, he was like an excited child. Looking at me, he took out a sealed glass test tube and said: 'Look, I found God! I discovered the true God! It's an Atlantean fertilized egg! And this,' he then took out a white cylinder, 'the Seed of God! The seed that can give birth to everything and destroy everything! Our country will become the number one king of the world because of them!'"
Speaking up to this point, old tears fell from Zhao Xiang's eyes. "Because of his words, I went mad. I invested 10% of the national GDP annually to support his research. Actually, the reported total value each year wasn't accurate; probably the same for all countries. It was my and Nie Yun's mistake that brought disaster upon all humanity."
"Disaster?" Liu Tao was puzzled.
"Adam's birth was humanity's disaster."
"He is that fertilized egg?" Liu Tao's heart beat faster and faster. He didn't know if he could finish the conversation.
"That's right. He is an Atlantean from millions of years ago, pure alien bloodline, a person with the genes of God." Zhao Xiang wiped the tears from his face. "When he was born, I was incredibly excited because the abilities he displayed were too astonishing. A ten-year-old finishing high school curriculum is called a genius; in front of him, they're called mentally deficient. Two hours after birth, he learned the Chinese language and began speaking. Four days later, there was no language on Earth he didn't know. When his hand had the strength to hold a pen, he calculated the six cosmic velocity laws. I determined he was the messenger who would lead China to the throne of kings. But Nie Yun didn't think so. Ten days after Adam's birth, he started researching new gene combinations, completely handing Adam over to others to raise. He told me: 'Adam is a mistake, a product of God's punishment on humanity. He wants to research genes that can contend with God.' I just thought his research had turned him into an idiot, ignoring a perfectly good god and instead thinking of creating God's substitute. Because it was based on Adam's genes, it took less than a few months for the current 13 to be born. We were both obsessed with our own pursuits. To cultivate 13 to surpass Adam, he even established the 'School' to train 13 and selected a group of personnel to protect 13. The cruel training and harsh punishment system overturned China's consistent training principles. But I didn't intervene because his contributions to the country were too great. For eighteen years, I 'snatched' Adam from his hands and conducted elite education myself; while he stayed at the 'School', cultivating 13. Adam had always been an obedient, good child. Except for disappearing for a period during 13's graduation exam, he never disobeyed my orders. He absolutely wasn't like Nie Yun said, solely focused on eliminating humanity. When the Taiwan war broke out, we completely fell out. He made a bet with me: using 13—that replica of God—to make China the true king of Earth. The condition was, if he succeeded, Adam must be killed. I never thought a replica could possess such power. The bet was thus made."
"I have to admit Nie Yun was right, always right. The 'Seed' sown by 13 indeed gave China the feeling of being king for the first time in modern history, the feeling that no one dared to resist, no one dared to speak loudly. When Nie Yun asked me to honor the bet, I was lost. Because Adam told me: 'Have you seen the power displayed by my replica? He's actually completely inadequate. If it were me, I could unify the Earth.' Thus, a new dream filled my heart. Imagine: Qin Shi Huang unified China, so people remember him; Chairman Mao liberated the entire country, so people remember him; but I have done nothing. After a hundred years, everyone will forget that someone like me ever existed. The Atlanteans were right; human nature is greed. I desperately want to unify the globe, so that everyone, and all their descendants, will never forget my existence. I will become the greatest great man! So I betrayed my promise. I didn't kill Adam; instead, I treated him even better, began assembling the world-conquering army Adam spoke of—the Special Operations National Defense Force; appointed him as the army's commander-in-chief; sidelined Nie Yun according to his wishes, stripping your military power; forced Nie Yun to hand over the 'Seed of God' according to his wishes. But only recently, when Nie Yun was arrested by him, did I wake up. He had grown imperceptibly; he was no longer the obedient child from before; he had developed self-awareness. By the time I understood, it was too late..."
Zhao Xiang kept shaking his head. "The strength of the Special Operations National Defense Force has already exceeded controllable limits. They have branches around various military regions. Although the personnel numbers aren't large, if he wants to launch a coup, relying on the Special Operations' advanced equipment and elite soldiers, he could control the entire country."
"He dares!" Liu Tao slammed the table and stood up. "I don't believe the dignified Chinese soldiers, descendants of Yan and Huang, would listen to his rhetoric and launch a coup?"
"Liu Tao, you understand too little..." Zhao Xiang gestured for him to sit down. "The Special Operations personnel are all outstanding hawk faction members from various military units. As long as it's for the country's strength, what does a coup matter? And now in China, there are too many reasons for him to stage a coup. Take this incident, for example. If he just flashes this information in front of his troops, the charge of government corruption is enough for him to seize power and establish a new ruler."
"Is there really no way?" Liu Tao sat down.
"There is!" Zhao Xiang looked firmly at Liu Tao. "It's 13! He is the only one who can restrain Adam now!"
"13?" Liu Tao was confused.
"Although he is just a replica, he possesses something Adam doesn't—the 'Seed of God'—SEED! All fate now rests on him. As long as we let 13..."
"I understand what the Chairman means by telling me this. I will handle this matter immediately." Liu Tao saluted and quickly left the conference room.
Only the old Zhao Xiang remained. Looking at the bright lights, the old man only felt dimness.
How many more storms must China endure before finding stability...