Chapter 218: To Yao Du

Lilith's meticulously staged "wedding dress farce" sank into Qin Feng's bottomless depths like a stone into a deep pool, failing to stir even a ripple of the expected reaction. The New Era's internal circles remained indifferent, and Qin Feng himself didn't even deign to comment. This complete, condescending disregard frustrated Lilith—proud and fiery—as much as any angry rebuttal or scornful mockery ever could.

Yet Lilith, who had brought Pandora to its current stature, was no ordinary adversary. After successive setbacks, she swiftly adjusted her strategy. Since direct overtures, indirect provocation, and even coercive public opinion campaigns had all failed, she would now target the "force" Qin Feng—or rather, the New Era—could not avoid.

This "force" was the increasingly tight and complex web of intertwined interests between the New Era and the outside world, especially with several major powers and large multinational entities. The New Era was not a completely isolated island; it needed external markets, certain scarce raw materials, and cooperation and exchange in some non-core technological fields. Severing these ties entirely would benefit neither the New Era's development.

A few days later, an exquisitely crafted, meticulously worded Invitation Letter arrived via official channels at the New Era's external liaison department. The sender was the Global Sustainable Development and Frontier Technology Forum (GSDTF), a high-end non-official forum jointly initiated by multiple international premier academic institutions, Foundations, and major corporations. Held annually in different cities, the forum aimed to explore humanity's shared challenges and technological solutions, with participants typically including national leaders, top scholars, and business titans—of the highest caliber.

This year's forum was scheduled to take place in Suicheng, a major international metropolis in southern Dragon Country, known as Yao Du. One of its key agenda items was "Near-Earth Space Development and Future Resource Utilization," which inevitably involved the New Era's publicly disclosed space projects and the technological paradigm shifts and cooperation possibilities they generated.

The forum's organizing committee formally invited Mr. Qin, founder and supreme decision-maker of the New Era, to attend and deliver a keynote speech on the relevant topic.

This invitation was reasonable and represented the de facto recognition by the international academic and industrial communities of the New Era's status. To outright refuse would not only make the New Era appear overly closed and arrogant, but also risk missing an opportunity to somewhat guide the discourse, project its image, and even screen potential partners.

The external liaison department marked this Invitation Letter as "high priority," appended background analysis and recommendations, and submitted it to Su Wenqian.

Su Wenqian carefully reviewed all materials, confirmed the forum's background and agenda settings held genuine value, and noted that while the Pandora Group was one of the forum's sponsors, it was not the dominant force. She submitted the report along with her preliminary analysis directly to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng skimmed through it quickly, his gaze pausing briefly on the words "Suicheng" and "near-Earth space development."

He naturally saw the possible hand of Lilith behind it, attempting to engineer a "natural" meeting setting. But what concerned him more was the forum's agenda itself and the weight of its participants. This was indeed a window—a limited one—to showcase the New Era's ideals to the outside world, observe reactions, and even seek out "tools" in specific fields.

"Reply to them—I'll attend," Qin Feng said, his tone flat. "The speech topic will be 'The Cornerstone of Interstellar Civilization and Its Ethical Boundaries.'"

"Understood, sir," Su Wenqian replied, then asked, "Shall I have Lei Dong immediately draft the security and escort personnel plan?"

"Mm." Qin Feng nodded. "You'll come with me."

"Understood," Su Wenqian said, unsurprised. As Qin Feng's most capable assistant, she was inevitably required to accompany him to important external exchanges and ideological presentations.

The news spread quickly.

The announcement that Qin Feng would personally attend the Yao Du forum sent ripples through international circles. This was one of the rare public appearances by the enigmatic leader of the New Era. Countless eyes instantly turned toward Suicheng.

At Pandora's headquarters, Lilith's violet eyes reignited with determined fire. She swirled her wine glass, gazing out the window toward the sky over Yao Du, a seductive smile curling at her lips.

"Finally… willing to crawl out of your turtle shell?" she murmured. "Now that you're in my domain, the rules of the game won't be entirely yours to set."

She pressed an internal comm button: "Notify the team—activate the Second Plan. I want to give Mr. Qin a… memorable 'welcome gift' in Suicheng."

Meanwhile, inside the New Era, Lei Dong's security team operated at peak efficiency. In response to Suicheng's complex environment and potential threats—especially from Pandora—a highly detailed security plan, including multiple emergency evacuation protocols, was rapidly drafted and preliminary personnel deployed. Su Wenqian began mapping the forum schedule, background profiles of key attendees, and potential questions Qin Feng's speech might provoke.

The entire New Era, like a precision instrument, shifted into another mode of tense, orderly operation triggered by its leader's departure.

Several days later, a specially modified New Era aircraft, escorted by four fighter jets, took off from the Sea City-State, slicing through the sky, steadily heading toward the bustling metropolis of Suicheng, known as Yao Du, in southern Dragon Country.

Inside the aircraft, Qin Feng closed his eyes, resting as if merely attending an ordinary meeting.

Su Wenqian sat beside him, final-checking the itinerary details.

Lei Dong, via encrypted channel, confirmed final preparations with the advance security team already in Suicheng.

A storm was coming, yet the sky over Yao Du remained calm, its tranquility hiding beneath the bustle.

But everyone knew: with Qin Feng's arrival, that calm would soon be shattered.