Chapter 1025: Decree of Sanctions (1)

As scientists, they were well aware that the process of creating something from nothing was far more difficult than reducing something to nothing!

The Prometheus plan essentially involved creating something from nothing. Prior to hearing what Qin Ye had to say, perhaps they would've thought that there was a chance for the Prometheus plan to catch up. After all, the Cathayan Underworld had never excelled in the field of physics. If Archimedes was right in that the Cathayan Underworld only had a small lead, then the chances of the Prometheus plan succeeding weren't that low.

However, things were completely different now.

The Cathayan Underworld had a far more significant lead than Archimedes speculated! Outsiders to the scientific disciplines like Qin Ye wouldn't be able to grasp just how difficult it would be for the Prometheus plan to catch up, but as leading scientists, their instincts were very sharp, and they were certain that there was no way that the Prometheus plan would be able to catch up even if it really did manage to recruit all of the world's leading scientists!

"What do you need us to do?" Volta asked in a cautious manner as countless thoughts surged through his mind one after another.

Qin Ye replied in a serious voice, "The energy resource conference will run for a total of three days. I'm guessing that one of three possible outcomes is going to arise. Number one: everyone pretends as if nothing ever happened. This is basically impossible. You should be even more acutely aware than I am of the fact that Archimedes and Aristotle have stopped being pure scientists long ago. They lean more toward politicians now, and fighting for political power on the international stage is a basic instinct for politicians. Number two, they'll use all of the scientists present at the conference to exert pressure upon us, forcing us to make our new energy resource available to the entire world. However, they should be aware that we're playing by the rules."

Volta nodded in response, and he could already sense what was about to come, but he still asked, "What's the third possibility?"

A cold smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he replied, "They'll still pretend as if nothing ever happened, but during the closing ceremony in three days' time, they're going to strike by imposing intellectual sanctions upon us! How do we tell which one of these options they pursued? That's very simple."

Qin Ye crossed his legs and folded his hands over his own stomach as he said, "It won't be difficult to know who has met who during the next three days. If they begin to request meetings with scientists on a large scale, then they'll definitely attempt to impose intellectual sanctions upon us during the closing ceremony."

He leaned forward slightly as he looked into the two scientists' eyes with an earnest expression. "What I want you to do is refrain from casting your votes when the sanctions are first proposed. There's no way the new energy resource can be developed without incorporating the patents owned by the three of you. Rest assured, I haven't played any tricks on this matter in the Heavenly Dao Contract Scroll. At the end of the day, everything is up to you. If you don't cast your votes, the Cathayan Underworld will release monthly progress reports on the new energy resource. In addition to that, your names will also be included in the list of deputy architects!"

Volta and Faraday's eyes lit up in unison as they stared intently at Qin Ye.

The temptation here was enormous!

They were both renowned scientists in the mortal realm, but after coming to the underworld, the majority of scientists failed to replicate their past glory.

The pursuit of science was a never-ending journey to climb to the next tallest peak. However, due to the drastic differences between the mortal realm and the underworld, they were unable to even find the next peak, so they didn't know what to pursue.

However, an opportunity had been presented to them now.

"Your decision today will decide whether three new names will be attached to the monumental project that will usher in a new era." Qin Ye gently patted the two scientists' hands with his own hands as he urged, "Consider this offer carefully."

The sincerity of the Cathayan Underworld was on full display here.

After that, Qin Ye stood up to depart. There wasn't much time left of the 30-minute break, and he had to return to the conference hall.

Right as he was about to exit the room, Faraday suddenly raised his head and said, "Yanluo Qin, if you win in the end, how do you plan to profit from the new energy resource?"

Qin Ye's footsteps faltered, and he slowly turned around to look directly at the two scientists. He then stared at them in silence until the two of them were beginning to feel rather uneasy and were instinctively pressing their backs against their chairs for a sense of security, and only then did a mysterious smile appear on his face.

"The patent usage rights will be shared with the entire global academic world. All scientists can have access to the patent free of charge to be used personally or for their laboratories. As for the patent fees..."

He paused momentarily before continuing, "All architects involved will get a share."

After that, Qin Ye closed the door behind him and departed for good this time. All of a sudden, he had an epiphany, and this epiphany allowed him to stand at a higher vantage point and see things more clearly!

"Your Excellency." Zhao Yun was waiting at the corner, and he quickly followed along behind Qin Ye. "How did it go?"

"Some things have occurred to me just now," Qin Ye replied. "As for exactly how everything is going to progress, we'll know very soon."

Right at this moment, the melodious chime of the clock rang out again, signaling the recommencement of the energy resource conference. It was also a declaration that both sides had already bet their chips, and there was no going back.

At this moment, inside the conference hall, several raised hands had just been put down.

"That's truly quite a surprise..." Archimedes said in an expressionless manner. "I didn't anticipate this to be the outcome..."

Aristotle said, "You've already made your decision, and there's no going back now!"

"Rest assured," Rntgen replied with a wooden expression. "I won't regret my decision regardless of the outcome."

After that, several of the scientists in the room vanished on the spot in unison as gusts of Yin wind.

The melodious chime of the clock rang out, and Archimedes heaved a forlorn sigh. "The higher we climb, the more difficult it becomes to climb higher. Every time, there's always a reason why we can't back down. We're like a pair of antelopes attacking each other with our horns until one side is pushed into the abyss."

Aristotle said in an expressionless manner, "The situation may seem perilous, but I'm confident that we will emerge victorious on this occasion!"

All of the scientists returned to their seats one after another.

Perhaps they could sense something, but for some reason, everyone was extremely quiet. All of the scientists took fleeting glances at the death gods at the front of the hall before immediately looking away, and even as Archimedes gave another address and officially announced the recommencement of the conference, there was no mention of the Cathayan Underworld. Furthermore, no one found this to be strange.

The figurative scent of gunpowder was wafting through the air, and it was as if everyone was afraid that opening their mouths to say something would lead to them choking on the acrid scent.

Their reactions arose from a sense of instinctive fear.

Something's about to happen...

A scientist looked around with an uneasy expression before finally settling his gaze on the front of the hall.

The death gods at the front were quite calm and collected, but he could sense that this place was about to become a battlefield soon...

"Please give a warm round of applause to Mr. Rntgen, who is about to deliver his report on his new research into Yin rune fluoroscopy!"

A flurry of applause immediately rang out, and Qin Ye also joined in just for the sake of it. After that, the first day of the conference concluded without a hitch.

The schedule of the energy resource convention was as follows: there was going to be one day for the opening ceremony and all of the reports, another day for group discussions, and half a day for the closing ceremony and an address on the future outlook. Following the conclusion of the first day, Qin Ye and Zhao Yun immediately returned to Qin Ye's room. Standing in front of the window, Qin Ye had released his consciousness in full force as he stared at the front entrance of the Skeletal Sailboat in an absentminded manner.

"What are you looking at, Your Excellency."

Qin Ye offered no reply and continued to stand in front of the window. Half an hour later, a burst of commotion suddenly rang out at the entrance of the hotel, and a group of over 20 Yin spirits emerged.

A cold smile appeared on his face as he finally broke his silence. "Looks like a storm is coming. You asked me what I was looking at, right? I'm looking at how the Argosian Underworld is going to react. As expected, politicians simply don't know how to back down. Do you think they gathered all of those scientists at once just to enjoy a meal together?"

This was clearly a rhetorical question, and Zhao Yun didn't even bother to offer a response.

"They've made their move... Even though we've made it clear to everyone that we're acting within the constraints of the law, they've still decided to plot against us." Qin Ye made his way over to the table and poured out two glasses of wine, one of which he handed to Zhao Yun. "After tonight, there are going to be group discussions for the entire day tomorrow, and the day after that will be the closing ceremony. This is a timeframe of only around 30 hours, and they don't even have enough time to wait for new orders from Athens, yet they still chose to strike. Why is that? What's given them the courage to do this? This has always stumped me i the past, and I even thought that perhaps this conference would conclude in a sedate and peaceful manner. After all, we've caught them completely off guard here, and it's very normal for them to make a mistake in their panic. However, a question raised by Volta and Faraday made me realize where they're driving their confidence from."

He took a sip of wine, and the rich liquid slid down his throat as he stared at his glass in an absentminded manner while swirling the wine around in circles. "Do you think scientists are rich?"

Zhao Yun's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he nodded in response after a brief moment of contemplation.

They were definitely rich.

In the underworld, scientists had full ownership over their own patents, so all of them had to be extremely wealthy.

"That's where you're wrong," Qin Ye said with a faint smile. "They are extremely poor! Their patents are only useful in very specific areas in high-level scientific research, and that's because most of the patents they hold are from the mortal realm! As a result, many of their patents are rendered redundant in the underworld! For example, for a high-grade underworld emissary, they can forcibly use Yin jade to replace electricity, just like how we were doing international broadcasts in the past! These patents are impossible to promote to the entire world. If they're not fit for civilian use, then how much money can these patents possibly make them? That's not even taking into account the fact that it's very expensive to conduct scientific research and development! I'm willing to bet that there aren't even many millionaires among them!"

Zhao Yun opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Qin Ye raised a hand to cut him off as he said, "I know what you want to say. You want to say that there's been no detailed investigation into this subject matter, right? Indeed, there's no concrete evidence, but if there's one thing I know, then it's the mindsets of politicians! If these scientists really could earn exorbitant income from their patents, would the governments not intervene? Politicians are heartless leeches! There's no way they'd pass up opportunities like that if they existed!"

Take the QR code patent of the mortal realm as an example. If that patent hadn't been made available completely free of charge, national governments would've definitely intervened!

With a population of over a billion, even if each person only paid one cent through scanning QR codes every day, that would still be an income of over ten million! There was no way that the national governments wouldn't pounce onto such a lucrative product!

"Also, they have financial backing from consortiums. If their patents really were prevalently used, they wouldn't need to have financial backing! Every single scientist would be a vault on legs! General Zhao, do you know what Archimedes's trump card is now?"

Zhao Yun was silent for a few seconds before casting an admiring gaze toward Qin Ye. "You're saying that if we don't develop the new energy resource, the entire world would turn a blind eye, and high-grade underworld emissaries wouldn't care at all. Without backing from those in power, these scientists haven't been able to make any progress during the past few centuries. Hence, all of them are desperately hoping that we would develop the new energy resource and usher in a new era for them!"

Pursuit of science and the truth? Benefitting the people and the entire world? What a load of bullshit! At the end of the day, what they wanted was money!

Only after a new energy resource was developed would their mortal realm patents be applicable to the underworld, thereby allowing them to earn exorbitant incomes! That would allow them to research whatever they wanted!

Without money, they were puppets to their financial backers, forced to do their bidding rather than pursue their own passions!

This was the source of Archimedes's confidence and what all of the scientists wanted!