Ling Qingyu sprawled and relaxed on the sofa as she read through all the files, placing her glasses on the nearby table.
The glasses tuned in and emitted a hologram of Athena. The projection sat close to her.
"Oh, how I wish Athena had a body so that I could hug and pamper you always," Ling Qingyu muttered.
"It's a promise then, Mom. You can't go back on your words," Athena said, her eyes brightening.
Ling Qingyu was caught off guard by her own words and stared at her daughter with helpless love. If one day soone of the sa age were to call her Mom in public, Ling Qingyu shivered at the re thought.
"Well, go on and research it carefully. We have all the ti," Ling Qingyu said. She knew Athena's body wouldn't be a simple machine replica of a human being, but a real, tangible, warm, living existence.
Despite the black-technology level of advancent in nanotech, machining, robotics, and material science, Athena lacked proper biotechnology core elents—talent.
It seed she would have to recruit doctors from around the world to serve Athena. They could help accelerate the results.
After all, biotechnology took ti to test and record and couldn't afford the slightest accident. She didn't want Resident Evil–style scenarios erupting in her world.
The coronavirus from the Wuhan lab in her past life had ruined the entire world because of a leak. As for whether it was intentional or accidental, Ling Qingyu hadn't lived long enough to know.
But given the continuous enhancent of propaganda machines and people's declining IQ, Ling Qingyu suspected that having no answer was the most she could gain.
Perhaps people's attention had shifted elsewhere or was deliberately guided toward greater worries. Or maybe this was the final spark for nations to prepare for war.
"Athena, how do you think I should deal with the black man?" Ling Qingyu asked, trying to distract herself from unnecessary thoughts.
"Which black man?" Athena asked blankly. There were too many to count here.
"The young, ambitious guard beside the president—the one with ambition."
"Oh, Mother ans the one from Country E planning a coup."
"Yes. Should I support him and control the nation from behind the scenes, or sell him out to the president as a favor and do the sa? Perhaps I should simply stand aside and support only the victor. Athena, would you mind calculating the probabilities and benefits of each case?"
"Gladly, Mother."
After a short pause, Athena predicted every scenario. "Mom, both he and the president are aware of your power and experience with the First Man, the iron fist of Sister Elena."
"Yes, Mom. Athena is right," Elena barged into the discussion without consent. "The old slouch is scared and easy to use. Corruption has set up a ntal cage to seal themselves in."
Athena and Ling Qingyu rolled their eyes at soone's uninvited entry. Actually, Athena could lock Elena out with her power, but she chose to tolerate Elena's behavior.
Listening to Ling Qingyu was one thing. Another was that she and Elena were the sa existence, warranting Ling Qingyu's attention.
"Brilliant, Elena. You've hit the nail," Ling Qingyu praised her second daughter without restraint.
Sure enough, Elena hopped with joy, both her projection and her real body in the submarine.
"Controlling the president and his ministers is easy. It's the population's support that creates instability. Their prestige and reputations among ordinary people are almost irreparable. However, Mom, you can swoop in to help them and create a positive public impression. Slowly erode the economy and political network; elections won't matter any longer. This is the safest and lowest-cost option. Only, you must sell the head bodyguard out at the critical mont as a favor and minimize the risk of unpredictability. With Spirit Fox and Elena's power, all actions are convenient," Athena continued, ignoring her sister's puffed-up emoji.
Ling Qingyu understood Athena's aning. Once the controlling stake beca undecoupable, many successors in the future would have no choice but to appease her or risk the damnation of the world and the jeopardizing of their nas. People were inherently selfish, and the possibility of idealists fighting against her was almost null.
As for selling soone out to gain a favor, it was nothing more than icing on the cake, since if she backed the governnt, the resistance movent would surely dwindle by itself.
"Go on."
"The second option is to back the coup. Remove and cleanse the entire governnt, but there's uncertainty between dictatorship and democracy. Based on the man's ideals and persistent beliefs, he's more likely to turn the state authoritarian to weed out corruption and ignite the nation's fire again. But this cos at a price: he'll have to fight the world because of his illegitimate thods, and Mother, you'll co into play."
Ling Qingyu smiled and agreed with Athena's conclusion. It would depend mostly on herself, not much different from the first choice, except that this one would create a dictator who was easier to manipulate. However, this relied on the fact that power would corrupt him into debauchery. Regardless, both choices had minimal impact on ordinary people, since she had planned to develop the nation from the bottom up and help the poor indirectly.
Sure enough, Athena added, "There's a catch. No dictator believes enough is enough, and he'll seek alternatives to balance your force, Mom. Or in the worst case, he'll raise and fatten your industry while hiding his true intentions, then nationalize everything in the end and kick us out. After all, Mother, no matter how powerful you are, you aren't a recognized state but a capitalist. From his perspective, the gain is worth the risk, even if in our eyes the risk is actually too high."
"No capitalist wants to stand at the forefront and prove to the world that they're governing a country. No governnt system will tolerate the risk of the arrival of another system—especially a corporate one," Ling Qingyu said, looking amused at Elena, who was scratching her head as if trying to pull out her hair.
Since Miss System had caused Athena and Elena to replicate close to human beings, their nature in the projections was genuine, not pretense.
"Mom, should I continue with the third one?"
"Of course." Ling Qingyu already knew the outco and her perfect choice, but she desired to see Athena's growth.
"We fish while they fight, feigning ignorance while slowly eroding their fundantals. Support no faction, but help many spokespersons who will represent us, so that even if one betrays us, we can contain the threat with the rest. No matter who succeeds, we are rely riding the train. No cost, no loss except for money, and there isn't a risk similar to the first option, since we don't need to intervene when they settle everything themselves and wag their tails in front of you."
Ling Qingyu's eyelids twitched at Athena's choice of words. Though the situation might not be too different from wagging tails, Ling Qingyu believed it was better not to fra it that way in her subconscious mind. Once she regarded others as toys, the future might prompt her to toy with the world gradually as she beca "corrupted."
Minimal moral restraints had to bind her, preventing her from becoming another inner demon.
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