Perhaps it was the sudden exposure of Ren Zhong's ambition, rising from an outsider to become a new powerhouse, that shocked them. Or maybe the thoughts of the highest stakeholders hadn't yet escaped the turbulence of recent events; or they couldn't find an appropriate objection for the moment; or they were wary of Ren Zhong, who was still the Marshal of the army. After Ren Zhong made his statement, surprisingly no one spoke, and the scene fell into an eerie silence.

Ren Zhong had no intention of giving others time or space for private discussions, and continued, "As I mentioned earlier, this journey home will become very difficult. Even if the 'Net' can help us clear up misunderstandings with the Empire, it cannot influence the thoughts of the Ascendants, Pilgrims, and Spirit Demon Race. A complete colonial base with resources accumulated over a thousand years is enough to provoke covetousness." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"The inefficient Elder Council mechanism is sufficient for managing internal affairs on Source Star, but now we face the unknown deep space of the universe. Although the soon-to-be-repaired 'Net' will provide us with enough informational guidance, our memories and bodies have yet to experience such a journey."

"We are to undertake a voyage with a straight-line distance of four light years, and the actual distance remains unclear. After the final signal is sent out, our whereabouts will no longer be secret, and we may be threatened at any time by enemies of the Empire. The fleet will carry two billion people - that's two billion lives. Each ship will carry either two hundred thousand or thirty thousand people, not just one or two, nor one hundred. If accidents occur and are poorly handled, many will die."

"Therefore, within the expedition fleet, order must be reestablished, and there is only one choice. Let the most capable person have the greatest power. His commands must be executed with the highest efficiency and most thoroughly. He will bear the responsibility for the success or failure of the entire Tracker colonial plan and the lives of two billion people alone. I call this absolute centralization. And I, Ren Zhong, am undoubtedly the best and sole candidate."

When stating his full stance, Ren Zhong was actually reviewing his strategies all along.

He killed the old ice men, and also exposed the final alert of the Tracers to the whole universe, revealing the colony's existence.

The information was brief but clearly indicated that the colony had reached the final stage of migration and could be dispatched at any moment.

It seems like he committed a huge mistake.

But upon deeper thought, he had no choice all along.

The information he obtained externally was constantly updating.

When he first invaded the Tracers and began interrogating the old ice men, he didn't know about the "final signal," only that the Tracker Spaceship would self-destruct.

Later on, he switched tactics and, by disguising as an Imperial Apostle, discovered more information.

At that time, he learned about the "final signal."

But under those circumstances, Ren Zhong's judgment was that his best option was to use the Apostle identity to fake a "Holy Decree," thereby avoiding the next fifteen years of continuous killing and harvesting, achieving his goal by altering the old ice men's ideas and established strategies, and successfully preserving Source Star's population base until now.

However, his Apostle identity could not hold; if he relied on this deceitful identity to enter the Empire, it could not withstand scrutiny, leading to exposure, and the people on Source Star would inevitably be dealt with by the Empire's clearing squad, rendering his efforts futile in the end.

Therefore, the old ice men had to die, and he had to cover old lies with more lies to compose an impenetrable wall of falsehoods.

Ren Zhong even considered using Li Yang, letting Li Yang indirectly control the old ice men to weave lies from another perspective.

But later, after Sun Ai's resurrection and gradual restoration of the backup system within the 'Net,' Ren Zhong studied the mysterious race—Spirit Demon Race—carefully.

Li Yang's abilities were indeed very similar to those of the Spirit Demon Race, one might even say Li Yang was a wild-born Spirit Demon Race due to a lucky coincidence.

Yet, the Mechanical Empire has contended with the Spirit Demon Race for millions of years, often finding itself at a disadvantage, arguably the weakest and most miserable among the four human branches, to the extent that even leftovers like the Origin Planet, having been developed once, had to be re-served to lick clean. Yet, the Empire ultimately did not perish and has managed to endure. This indicates the Empire has ways to deal with the Spirit Demon Race.