Jing Mingqiu's original intention was to eliminate Saloyan Primo, thus avoiding further trouble, but Gus misunderstood and thought Jing Mingqiu wanted to seize control of the world with him.
Having just forged an alliance, Gus did not want to fall out with Jing Mingqiu at this moment. He pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
"You are right, having only one country can indeed effectively prevent casualties caused by war and other factors. Coincidentally, the United States is the world's number one power, and its current president is someone I control."
"Since that is the case, why don't we cooperate and help the United States annex the entire world?"
"The United States?" Jing Mingqiu was stunned for a moment, realizing that Gus had misunderstood his intentions. To avoid arousing suspicion, he deliberately spat with great disdain.
"Gus, having the United States unify the world, are you trying to reduce the global population by eighty percent? Do I need to recount the past glories of the United States for you?"
When Gus had chosen to cooperate with Saloyan Primo, he had already studied American history. He knew that to preserve more humans as commodities, the United States was not the most suitable target; China would have been more appropriate.
However, China was too far away, and Jing Mingqiu had clearly been operating there for some time. It would be difficult to gain any advantage by acting rashly. Thus, he deliberately played dumb.
"My friend, China has a long history and unified governance, making it easy to lose control. I think a fragmented United States, with its checks and balances, is more suitable."
Hearing him say this, Jing Mingqiu became even more contemptuous: "A country with checks and balances and endless internal strife, even if they unify the world, what's the difference from not unifying?"
"That was in the past," Gus immediately retorted. "Under my management, the United States can definitely be the most suitable for human survival, allowing more valuable humans to live."
For a time, neither could convince the other, so they made a bet. Without using force, Jing Mingqiu would support China, and Gus would command the United States, to see which country developed better and had more people surviving.
To make the act convincing, before leaving, Jing Mingqiu deliberately walked up to Saloyan Primo and gave him a kind smile.
"In ancient China, there was a torture called Lingchi, where one would first be caught in a fishing net, and then the flesh would be cut off piece by piece with a small knife."
"Saloyan Primo, watch your mouth. If any information that shouldn't be spread gets out, I guarantee I will make you personally experience what it means to wish you were dead!"
After speaking, Jing Mingqiu strode away, leaving behind a trembling and collapsed Saloyan Primo, his face pale.
After leaving the United States, Jing Mingqiu rushed back to China as quickly as possible to discuss countermeasures with the top leaders.
"Boss, here's what happened..."
After Jing Mingqiu laid out everything that had just happened, he analyzed: "Gus's words not only prove that there are many different civilizations outside Blue Star, but also that the outside world generally leans towards order."
The top leader's expression was solemn: "This is indeed good news, but we cannot let our guard down. According to that alien Gus, there are many ill-intentioned individuals outside."
A top expert in sociology and psychology added with a smile: "Boss, where there is darkness, there is light. If the outside world were completely peaceful, that would be truly troublesome."
"Indeed," the top leader nodded slightly. "Every civilization has its own interests and culture; it's impossible for everyone to be harmonious. We are lucky to have encountered an era of relatively peaceful cosmic civilization."
Speaking of this, the top leader changed the subject: "Mingqiu, you just said you made a bet with that alien, on which country would develop better and be more suitable for human survival, to decide who would become humanity's sole superpower?"
Jing Mingqiu scratched his head: "I originally planned to find an excuse to eliminate the US president and prevent him from babbling and causing unnecessary trouble. But no one expected that alien to misunderstand my intentions and think I wanted to contend for control with him."
"I simply played along and diverted his attention to improving human survival rates. This way, in the short term, although there will still be many covert probes, the surface should usher in a period of peaceful days."
"Mingqiu," the top leader said earnestly, "lies will eventually be exposed. Gus will discover your true identity sooner or later. What are your plans then?"
Jing Mingqiu shrugged indifferently: "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. It's not that I can't defeat that guy now; it's just that he wants to drag humanity down with him if he's defeated, which makes handling him a bit troublesome."
"Give me more time. Once China's technology advances, not to mention his already damaged spaceship, even if he brings an entire fleet, I can easily deal with all of them."
Seeing Jing Mingqiu's confidence, the top leader did not press further but steered the conversation back to the bet.
The Minister of Agriculture stepped forward and presented his thoughts first: "Professor Jing, there are many natural disasters in this world, all caused by meteorology."
"Just like the cold snap not long ago, a sudden cold snap brought temperatures below zero, resulting in zero harvest in the entire Qing Province and heavy losses for farmers. In ancient times, this would have been a year of severe cold, a great famine, and cannibalism!"
"Also, the typhoon 'Dragon King' currently raging in the Pacific is heading towards China. For safety, all coastal operations have been forcibly terminated before its arrival, and all vessels must seek shelter in harbors."
"However, even so, based on past experience, once the typhoon makes landfall, the entire coastal area will suffer severe damage. Setting aside economic losses, typhoons almost always cause casualties when they pass through."
...
After listing a series of meteorological disasters, the Minister of Agriculture looked at Jing Mingqiu with anticipation.
"Professor Jing, your weather controller, besides creating adverse weather for attacks, can it also eliminate these disastrous weather phenomena and ensure that China enjoys favorable weather and abundant harvests?"
"The wind rises from the end of the duckweed, and the waves form from the ripples. To eliminate these meteorological disasters, it's very simple, just cut them off before they gain momentum."
"As for the meteorological disasters that have already formed, we can create counteracting weather. A cold snap can be met with a heatwave, and a typhoon can be countered by another typhoon moving in the opposite direction with equal intensity, canceling each other out."
"However," Jing Mingqiu paused here, "these are very crude methods. The meteorological system is far more complex than you imagine. Just like a typhoon, besides its extreme destructive power, it also plays a role in transporting moisture."
"If we rashly eliminate all typhoons or reduce their intensity, it could lead to a significant reduction in rainfall in many inland areas of China, triggering widespread droughts."
After listening to Jing Mingqiu's explanation, the Minister of Agriculture was extremely anxious: "Professor Jing, is there really no solution?"
"Yes, but it's very difficult!" Jing Mingqiu's eyebrows shot up. He activated the holographic projector built into the mecha, projecting a world map before everyone...