The Mech Touch

Chapter 6523  Defending the Established Order

Ves narrowed his eyes as he faced his chief of staff.

The incidents that he witnessed so far were fairly minor, but they were merely a preview for the future.

For every demonic cultivator caught in the past few weeks, how many more managed to stay under the radar and continue to strengthen their powers in secret?

How many more weeks and months would pass until they became ten times, a hundred times or a thousand times more powerful?

If they managed to avoid getting caught after a few more years, they would soon gain the power to slaughter hundreds of thousands of people within seconds!

As long as they did not get caught, they might be able to destroy an entire city before a proper response force could arrive!

This was why the Red Collective took these early incidents extremely seriously. They invested an excessive amount of funding and resources into the Enforcement Department because they wanted to showcase extreme deterrence right from the start.

Demonic cultivation could never be allowed to gain a proper foothold in society!

Even though it would be impossible to eradicate this poisonous phenomenon entirely, diligent monitoring and brutal retaliation should cause many demonic cultivators to curb their excesses.

So long as they did not inflict damage to the point of destabilizing human society, their threat would remain contained.

As Ves read through a list that summarized all of the incidents that the Red Collective had detcted as of late, he became impressed by the sheer variety of demonic cultivation methods being practiced in secret.

However, one point stood out like a glaring signal fire.

"These guys… how did they get their hands on these strange and obscure demonic tomes?" Ves furrowed his brows. "It is not strange for a descendent from an old family to stumble upon a super secret cultivation manual in his ancestral library. However, most of the perpetrators that got caught by our enforcers are commoners who are not wealthy enough to have access to impressive legacies or competent enough to join any powerful secret societies. They are also predominantly third-raters."

"Ah, you have noticed that." Eliza Mo Ragadan said in an acknowledging tone. "We have a theory for that. The stories on how most of these demonic cultivators obtained their practice manuals vary considerably, but we think that is only a facade. The Secret Department has ascertained that there is likely at least two or more groups fanning the flames behind the curtain. Their victims are mostly third-raters because they are easier to manipulate. They are more naive and they are more eager to attain power. It is easier to set them up and ensure they will not be caught in a short amount of time because they are more likely to live in less developed settlements where they can avoid monitoring."

Ves suddenly realized what was going on. "These poor fellows are being treated as test subjects. The parties responsible for doing this are deliberately throwing many different demonic cultivation manuals in the direction of these lab rats. The likely goals for doing this is to observe the effectiveness of the demonic cultivation methods, the speed in which the cultivations of the test subjects grow, the dependence on talent and more. The masterminds may also be examining the effectiveness of the Red Collective's Enforcement Department. By observing our modus operandi, they can formulate targeted countermeasures to avoid our retaliation."

The projected assistant looked impressed. "These are remarkably thorough deductions. You have even guessed that the responses of our Enforcement Department is also a target of observation. While we have not been able to find hard proof that this is the case, the suspicion within the Secret Department is strong."

"If the Secret Keepers and so on have deduced this much, then they should have an idea of who the originators of this destructive scheme might be, is that correct?"

"Well, one of them is most certainly the Cosmopolitan Movement. They have the knowledge and they have the motivation to do so. The more radical cells that are still plotting red humanity's downfall want nothing more than to spread more chaos and instability across human space. The more our existing order is destabilized, the more room they have to maneuver between the cracks."

Ves made an unusual expression after he heard that. He found that he could understand the Cosmopolitan Movement's approach unexpectedly well.

It was because their approach was similar to what the Oblivion Gate Consortium was plotting in the Milky Way.

His role was reversed this time.

Back in the Milky Way, Ves and his family were the rebels who sought to tear down the hegemony of the Big Two.

They resorted to underhanded means to attack the support base of the MTA and the CFA because they were far too weak and outnumbered to attack them upfront.

Here in the Red Ocean, Ves and his clan had firmly aligned themselves with the prevailing authorities of human civilization. He even managed to occupy a high position in the Red Collective, which pretty much cemented his place in this camp!

Since Ves had become an integral part of the established order, it was in his best interest to protect and preserve as much of the current hierarchy as possible. It would be devastating if any of the Red Three started to crumble and lose power.

This duality made it so that Ves not only understood the position of the cosmopolitans, but also understood the purpose behind their current strategy.

The Cosmopolitan Movement was old and enjoyed a rich heritage, just like the Five Scrolls Compact.

While their goals were completely different from each other, it was inevitable for them to cross paths every now and then. The cosmopolitans definitely managed to accumulate a small collection of cultivation heritages. They only had to select the more destructive and dangerous cultivation methods in their library and selectively spread them around in order to sow chaos!

Wherever there were people, there were bound to be gullible fools who wanted to obtain lots of power no matter the cost!

Many of the demonic cultivation manuals were able to brainwash their practitioners to commit heinous deeds due to their poisonous content.

The very act of reading through the old scriptures would distort their minds and contaminate their thoughts with malice and irrationality!

Unless the unwitting victims possessed clear awareness of the dangers, strong willpower or a firm mentality, they could not escape the fate of becoming mentally polluted.

The resulting demonic cultivators were nothing more than raving fools whose weak minds and wills caused them to degenerate into slaves to their own impulses.

Ves and Eliza Mo Ragadan continued to discuss who else besides the Cosmopolitan Movement may be responsible for spreading these dangerous cultivation methods.

"The cosmopolitans traditionally harbor no special interest towards cultivation." Eliza told Ves. "Their primary motive is to weaken our civilization, so they are largely responsible for spreading reckless, flawed or incomplete demonic cultivation methods that deliberately cause their practitioners to go berserk after a time. While dangerous, we are confident that we can contain this threat. It is the other parties that we are concerned about."

Ves could easily figure out why. "Because they are more committed to demonic cultivation, is that right? It makes sense. The demonic cultivation methods spread by these masterminds are more stable, less destructive but no less malicious. They are excellent choices for people who want to practice them seriously without losing their rationality. In order to make sure that these high-quality demonic cultivation manuals are worth studying, it is best to spread them around and observe how their test subjects are faring with this forbidden knowledge."

This was 10 times more serious than what the Cosmopolitan Movement was doing.

The reason for that was because this hinted at the establishment of a secret organization that would soon amass a high concentration of power!

Once the tests had run their course, the hidden conspirators would collect and analyze all of the data before determining the best and most effective demonic cultivation methods!

When a large number of people started to practice them on a large scale, their organization would soon balloon in power and become a force that could no longer be dislodged with ease!

"Do you have any information about who they may be?" Ves questioned. "Could they be a part of the Terran Alliance or the Rubarthan Pact?"

"We initially suspected that to be the case, but our Secret Department has not been able to find any solid links. We are still taking this possibility into account, but we feel that the Terran and the Rubarthan colonial states are not responsible. At best, only a handful of groups or individuals may be involved."

"Could it be… the Five Scrolls Compact?" Ves mentioned the other likely possibility.

"Strictly speaking, we do not know, sir. It is a logical fit, but… the Red Collective can be considered a successor to the Compact. We have collected a large amount of fragments of their cultivation archives, and we are able to engage in much of their activities in the open since we are a legal superorganization. Anyone with an interest in cultivation and the power it holds is better off joining the RC than start an illegal shadow organization that can only scurry in the dark."

She was right. The Red Collective was an unimaginable superorganization to the old fogeys in the Milky Way. The MTA and CFA hated the Five Scrolls Compact with such vehemence that they actively suppressed any organization that had anything to do with systematic cultivation!

Fortunately, the Red Ocean was different. What could have turned into the Five Scrolls Compact in the new frontier instead became a much more benign Red Collective.

Unless the cultivators were truly depraved, there was no reason for them to prefer a persecuted shadow organization over the bright and shiny Red Collective!

Since Eliza was not able to confirm whether any remnants of off-shoots of the Five Scrolls Compact was responsible for spreading demonic cultivation methods, there was little point in talking about it any further.

They only needed to take into account that this secret shadow organization would definitely become a lot more threatening in the future!

The chief of staff soon switched to another topic.

"By the way, you have mentioned that I should inform you of any developments related to the greater spacetime bubble of Bridgehead One. There have been developments as of late."

Ves immediately corrected his posture. "Oh? Is it showing signs that it is falling apart?"

"Not quite, sir. The bubble still remains fairly stable, but we have been able to detect that significant changes have taken place inside. We are not able to observe what is taking place inside the spacetime bubble, but we were able to detect that the barrier surrounding the Bridgehead One System has drastically changed."

"Changed in what way? Did it grow smaller or bigger or anything?"

"No, the bubble maintained the same size, and it is just as impenetrable as before. Our observers and scanning equipment have detected fundamental changes in the operation of the spacetime bubble. We… believe that the Polymath and the other survivors trapped inside may have been able to alter the parameters of the bubble. This is a good sign. It shows that the red humans have not only gained a small control over their own cage, but that they are also able to change its rules. This is an encouraging sign that they may just be able to unravel the spacetime bubble from within, which is the most ideal solution."

Ves couldn't help but smile. The Polymath may be a gigantic egotistical madwoman, but he never doubted her competence.

So long as she put her mind into it, she should definitely be able to figure out a way to free Bridgehead One from its current trap!

The only question was whether she and her fellow helpers would be able to break open the bubble in time to help red humanity defend against the current offensive.

"Let's hope the Polymath prevails sooner rather than later."