Yama Rising

"Do you think the impact of the new energy resource will be greater, or if the impact these consortiums have on our national economy will be greater?" Archimedes asked with a smile, even though his teeth were gritted tightly. "How shameless of the Cathayan Underworld's researchers… There must be a problem with their report, perhaps even one that's impossible to resolve! They're currently trying to seize control of the tempo of this press conference because they know that scientists are the drivers behind societal development, but there's no way they're ever going to become the rulers of society!"

"Isn't that all the more reason to point this out?" Aristotle turned toward the seated Qin Ye with a cold expression. "Are we just going to allow them to fool everyone like this?!"

A wry smile appeared on Archimedes's face as he said, "You have to realize that we're not just scholars anymore. You've been granted three administrative regions, I've been granted four, and both of us have shared extremely intimate ties with Thanatos and Hypnos. In our current situation, we have to think for our nation, first and foremost. I'm certain that there are holes in the Cathayan Underworld's new energy resource, and that these holes are quite significant. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a hurry to conclude the first segment of the presentation. However, from the Argosian Underworld's perspective, wouldn't it be better to let them continue? Why don't we let all of the world's scholars slowly uncover the truth that the Cathayan Underworld is trying to hide? Once that happens, their reputation in the academic world will be swept to the ground. If you point this out now, it won't have much of an effect. At the very worst, the Cathayan Underworld will admit that its research and development still aren't complete, but is that an issue in the academic world? No, there will even be some scientists thanking the Cathayan Underworld for opening their eyes to these ideas and for making the effort to use King Yanluo's Seal to dissect the most fundamental layer of Yin runes. In this situation, we simply can't win!"

He took a deep breath, then continued, "Hence, I'm asking you to sit and watch. The academic world is an extremely pure realm with no gray areas, and it's exactly because of this that all falsehoods will eventually be weeded out and be met with the utmost contempt. They're in such a hurry to complete this press conference because they need to present a significant achievement to the world in order to return to the international stage, isn't that right? Just wait and see. Once everyone returns to their senses after the conclusion of this press conference, the Cathayan Underworld will be completely banished from the academic world!"

He gestured to all of the scientists present as he concluded, "There are close to 200 recipients of prestigious scientific awards here, and they hold countless patents between them. According to the international laws of the underworld, they have the right to shut down these patents to any parties that they please. Without the assistance of so many physics-related patents, even if the Cathayan Underworld is already on the verge of discovering the new energy resource, it really is yet to be seen who's going to actually discover it first in the end!"

Aristotle calmed down before casting a derisive gaze toward the two people on the stage.

In his eyes, these two weren't worthy of being called scientists. They had completely abandoned their integrity in allowing their King Yanluo to read out the second part of the presentation in their stead!

Were they not aware that from this day onward, they were going to become public enemies of the international academic world?

No one would want to communicate and exchange ideas with them, and once word of their unscrupulous deeds spread around the world, no one would want to become their student. Furthermore, the Cathayan Underworld would never be able to sign any research and development agreements as no one would want to work with a bunch of scam artists.

While it was true that they desperately needed to make their voices heard upon first returning to the world stage, but they were paying far too heavy a price to do this. Did they think that the Argosian Underworld, which had already seen through everything, wasn't going to inform all of the other scientists of its observations?

The attitudes of the Yin spirits present in the venue had undergone a complete 180-degree turn.

The fervent scientists were now completely disinterested and aloof, while the consortium and national representatives, who were just about to nod off a moment ago, were lapping up "Lu Ban's" every word.

The netherfire in their eyes had risen up to several meters in height as they looked on with rapt focus.

Qin Ye cleared his throat and continued, "All we're missing is just the electron. When we discover electrons, it'll take no more than a year for the Cathayan Underworld to complete the new energy resource. We don't need to think about how to generate electricity or how to use the new energy resource as there's a ready-made model waiting for us to reference in the mortal realm! The first people to master the new energy resource would become the gods of energy in the underworld! Everyone, all you need to do is reach out and take the relevant blueprints from the mortal realm, and the underworld will experience a period of growth, the rate of which has never been seen before!"

Maria was completely rooted to the spot, then turned her gaze toward Khilok.

Following their deaths, some scientists chose to continue pursuing research and knowledge, but there were also ones like her who decided not to continue down this endless path, choosing to become advisors for consortiums instead.

As an advisor, she was well aware that consortiums didn't care about technical specifications at all. Instead, they only cared about what could bring them more wealth and influence. During a press conference like this, what the scientists wanted to hear were equations, statistics, and data. That was what they thought academic press conferences should be like.

However, what "Lu Ban" was doing was talking about how the new energy resource could benefit the world as if the resource itself already existed!

Weren't they supposed to be discussing whether the new energy resource actually existed? If it didn't exist, then all of these hopes and aspirations would all be pointless illusions!

"Maria." A voice suddenly snapped her out of her train of thought, and she turned to discover Khilok looking at her with a contemplative expression as he asked, "What do you think?"

Maria raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Khilok smiled as he explained, "What do you think of what Mr. Lu just said about setting up infrastructure like the electrical networks in the mortal realm in advance in preparation to welcome the new energy resource?"

Maria pursed her lips before replying in a cautious voice, "Mr. Khilok, no established modules have been presented yet, and all of this is just speculation!"

Khilok raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Oh?"

"All of this is just speculation! There's nothing concrete to support it! They haven't shown us anything to prove that their new energy resource exists, and all they're doing is painting a picture for what the future could look like!" All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Maria, and she concluded, "They're making a false equivalence!"

Khilok smiled as he asked, "But haven't they already discovered proton Yin runes? In contrast, electron Yin runes are supposed to be easier to discover, aren't they? I think even if they don't have the new energy resource completed now, it'll appear within the next few years."

"Your Excellency!" Maria's voice spiked up with alarm as she said, "The fact of the matter is that it still hasn't appeared yet! It still hasn't been discovered, and it's yet to be seen whether it even exists in this current timeline! Due to the inability to prove the theory of Yin Yang supersymmetry, we'll never know if electron Yin runes exist in the present or only in the past!"

Khilok's smile faded upon hearing this.

He watched Maria with a meaningful gaze for a few seconds before a smile returned to his face as he said, "That may be true, but I'm still very intrigued by all of this."

Maria was in utter disbelief upon hearing this.

Is this man insane? Why is he so interested in something that may not even exist?

However, unbeknownst to her and all of the other scientists present, this was the difference between scientists and business people.

The scientific world was one that was black and white with no acceptable compromises, but the lines were far more blurred in the business world. As long as the reward was significantly alluring, there would always be organizations willing to invest massive sums of money despite the risks.

If this gamble paid off, the investing parties would receive unfathomable rewards!

It wasn't like they hadn't done similar things in the past. If one had a feasible blueprint and could convince people of its potential, they would definitely be able to secure massive investments to the tune of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Hence, the logic and mindsets of the two parties of scientists and businesspeople were simply incomparable.

All of a sudden, Röntgen ceased in his note-taking as he raised a hand to interrupt the presentation.

He sat on his chair in a slightly dazed manner, then combed his fingers through his hair as he watched Lu Ban with a complex gaze. "Mr. Lu, are you actually a scientist?"

Lu Ban looked straight into his eyes and replied, "I am a scientist and researcher of the Cathayan Underworld."

"In that case, you should display the integrity and precision expected of a scientist!" Röntgen rose to his feet with a steely expression as he said, "The new energy resource hasn't appeared yet! After the conclusion of the first part of your presentation, I immediately sensed that something was amiss, but I didn't think of it right away at the time. Just now, I realized what was wrong: you bypassed another hypothesis! I'm referring to another one of the 10 biggest unsolved problems in physics, the proton lifespan hypothesis! The one who proposed the hypothesis is the great physicist, Albert Einstein, and even though he couldn't make it to the press conference due to the situation on the new continent, that doesn't mean you can just ignore his ideas!"

Another shift in attitudes took place.

The eyes of all of the scientists instantly lit up, while the representatives of the top 10 consortiums looked on with tightly furrowed brows.

Röntgen paid no heed to that as he continued, "Inside a nuclear core, a proton can be converted into a neutron. However, free protons are stable and have unlimited lifespans. In 1974, the SU5 grand unified theory was proposed by Howard Georgi and Sheldon Glashow, in which electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces are merged into a single force. According to this theory, protons are unstable, and their lifespans are estimated to be roughly 10^30 years. At the same time, various theories were proposed. For example, protons are theorized to be able to automatically derive charge quantization, thereby resulting in all charge values being integer multiples of e/3. This also explains why there is less antimatter than matter in space, thereby providing leads for space exploration. It was also theorized that protons themselves are unstable, but that cannot be confirmed as we are currently unable to closely observe protons. You proclaim that you've managed to produce the most fundamental proton Yin runes, which is feasible given the ability of King Yanluo's Seal. However, all Yin runes must face the problem of dissipation followed by condensation. In electric generators, this will result in mass power outages and even complete electric equipment malfunction, the consequences are impossible to predict! Also, we're not even sure whether these proton Yin runes abide by the mortal realm's SU5 grand unified theory, so how could you possibly release such a ridiculous conclusion right now?!"

Zu Chongzhi's face was heavily flushed, and his hand was trembling slightly as he stroked his own beard.

Never had he been criticized so harshly before, but this was a bitter pill that he would simply have to swallow.

On the day that the new energy resource cast its radiance over the entire world, all would be redeemed!

"Mr. Wilhelm." Right at this moment, a benevolent voice rang out, and one of the representatives of the 10 consortiums, a portly Yin spirit wearing antiquated noble robes, stood up with a smile as he said, "This is a press conference, so shouldn't it be displayed to all of the people who wish to see it?"

Röntgen turned around and was just about to issue a retort, but was forced to immediately swallow his words.

The man who had just spoken was Wantoni, the director of the Blue Forest Consortium's development and investment department.

At the same time, he was also the number one financial backer of Röntgen's research laboratory.

The meaning behind his words was very clear: you may not want to hear this, but we do!

Qin Ye heaved an internal sigh of relief.

The tempo was back under his control.

This was what was going to ensure that he could constantly control the tempo of the press conference. The scientists present definitely couldn't support entire research laboratories on their own, particularly not physics experimentation laboratories. Everyone knew just how much money it cost to run such laboratories.

As long as the financial backers of these scientists wanted the press conference to proceed at this current rate, then that dreaded first part of the presentation would never have to be re-explored!