Chapter 3038: A Single Thought of Crossing Domains, Suddenly Feeling the Heavens and Earth Widen

As for the Illuminati, they are actually just an internal conflict of the Main Plane; when viewed from an inter-domain perspective, what conflict cannot be bridged?

Of course, one cannot rule out the possibility that the Illuminati would rather destroy the Main Plane than achieve their own ideals.

However, Xia Duo's consideration of introducing Pulitatisi was not just a casual thought, but something he was genuinely considering.

Things like Prophecy still require a certain basis in reality; it is impossible to conjure out of thin air a future that is completely unrelated to reality.

To the high-level prophets of the Illuminati, the Holy Golden Dragon Empire is an unprecedented and massive interference factor; once those prophets learn of the existence of the Holy Golden Dragon Empire, they will inevitably be unable to exclude this interference.

Judging by their ultimate goal of altering the Time Line and having the Ailan Civilization dominate the present world, the existence of the Holy Golden Dragon Empire is the greatest obstacle.

To use a theory from Earth as an analogy, it is roughly this—

In the past, the current Time Line of the Main Plane and the Time Line where the Ailan Civilization unifies the Plane were in a state of superposition, but the current Time Line had a much higher probability of existing, at least over ninety percent.

Furthermore, this probability was centered on the Ailan region of the Main Plane, and the further out one went, the higher the probability became.

This is also the reason why the Illuminati must get as close to Ailan as possible when performing the Time-Involving Ritual.

Originally, in the past, the Holy Golden Dragon Empire and the Main Plane had no substantial connection at all; the only connection might have been that Saville had once been there, which would not have had much impact on the state of the Main Plane.

If the Illuminati's theory of altering the Time Line is correct and their ritual succeeds, then because Saville had a connection with the Holy Golden Dragon Empire—which the Illuminati absolutely cannot change—it would actually be equivalent to reserving a spot in the new world.

In the new world shaped by the Illuminati, Saville might be a Demon Descendant who also happened to stay in the Holy Golden Dragon Empire for four years for some reason.

It is just that there might not be anyone else in the new world.

If we amplify Saville's situation, suppose the Holy Golden Dragon Empire came to the Main Plane, or rather, developed a strong connection with the Main Plane, then is it still possible for the Illuminati to change such a reality?

I am afraid the possibility of the Time Line where the Ailan Civilization unifies the Plane existing would infinitely approach zero.

As for what exactly constitutes a strong connection, Xia Duo is not sure either, but he can be certain of this—letting the high-level prophets of the Illuminati know about Pulitatisi and the existence of the outer domains will inevitably increase the difficulty of them performing the Time-Involving Ritual.

This is probably also a way of flipping the table!

……

Additionally, Xia Duo has also considered directly destroying or controlling Ailan. On a practical level, doing this is actually not difficult; after all, Ailan is such a large target that if one really wanted to destroy it, no one would be able to guard against it.

But the consequences of doing so might not be something he is willing to accept.

This is actually the fundamental reason why it is hard to be a good person; a bad person does not need to consider too many consequences, as long as the actual profit on the books outweighs the cost, they can pull off the job.

Although Xia Duo has never considered himself a good person, he does have his own bottom line; he has his own set of principles regarding what can be done and what cannot be done.

If one really discusses it, he can confidently say that the bottom lines of the various countries in the Main Plane are not as high as his, which is also the belief that supports his actions in this Magic world, which is different from Earth.

Similar to the existence of a Dao heart, as long as his belief does not collapse, he will always be able to stick to his bottom line.

But not destroying Ailan does not mean he cannot control Ailan; at the very least, attempting to control Ailan can also make the Illuminati jumpy, as the final Time-Involving Ritual will almost certainly be chosen to take place in Ailan.

If Ailan is controlled by Xia Duo or more heavily regulated by the Alliance, the difficulty for the Illuminati to perform the Time-Involving Ritual will likewise greatly increase.

……

Between controlling Ailan and exposing Pulitatisi, Xia Duo is more inclined toward the former. Although the latter would likely have a better effect, the Seven Cities Council would probably not easily agree.

Even if doing so might be more beneficial to the Main Plane, it might not be beneficial to Netheril. Although other councilors are also members of the Main Plane, they might not appreciate his gesture; it would be good enough if they didn't curse him.

This is actually the conflict between collective interest and individual interest; relative to the entire Main Plane, Netheril can only be counted as an individual.

And relative to the entire Netheril, Xia Duo and other councilors are also individuals.

Things beneficial to the Main Plane, Netheril might not be willing to do, because this would harm Netheril's interests. Things beneficial to Netheril, the councilors of the Seven Cities Council might not be willing to do, because this might also harm their personal interests.

The real world is just this complex; without the ability to transcend one's group or transcend reality, it is best not to harbor delusions of being able to reconcile everything; one must always have a preference.

Between the Main Plane and Netheril, Xia Duo has temporarily chosen Netheril. Of course, the future him might not make the same choice when encountering a similar situation.

"Do not seek to govern if you are not in that position" is the teaching of the sages from his homeland, and Xia Duo can only consider the overall situation as much as possible within the scope he can grasp; if he cannot grasp it, then he will first do what he can.

If he were currently the Speaker of the Seven Cities Council and also the actual head of the Northland Alliance, he would one hundred percent choose to make Pulitatisi public. Doing so would not only completely resolve the threat of Time-Involving Magic but could also be used to integrate other forces of the Main Plane, steering the development of the Main Plane into the fast lane.

But unfortunately, he is not, and he will not be for a considerable time in the future.

However, that does not matter; his influence is also growing day by day, and since his Territory also needs to develop, he can fully afford to wait.

……

After several considerations, Xia Duo finally decided to start by controlling Ailan. Of course, "control" here does not mean actual occupation and rule over Ailan, but rather forming enough regulatory power over Ailan to force the Illuminati to reveal their flaws.

Although doing this might not completely eliminate the Illuminati, as long as he can drag it out until next year or the year after, he can at least reduce the threat of Time-Involving Magic to the extreme.

Now the only thing he lacks is a reasonable opportunity to intervene in Ailan without being suspected by the Illuminati.

Xia Duo originally thought this opportunity might be relatively hard to find, but he did not expect that only a few days had passed since he made up his mind to intervene in Ailan, and this opportunity was delivered right to him by the Ailan side.

Alliance Headquarters, Psionic Network Research Center.

Xia Duo sat behind his desk listening to his assistant Charles report on the Ailan authorities' forced collection of Computing Power Pool user subsidies, and he kept feeling a sense of unreality, as if the heavens and the earth were all lending him their strength.

After Ailan became independent, it lost the support of Siluwende. In order to maintain the people's livelihood and development in the region, it had spent a large amount of funds. Now that it suddenly had an Artifact like the Computing Power Pool that could send money, how could it not make use of it?

And so, the situation that Charles reported occurred—

Forced collection of Computing Power Pool user subsidies.

Of course, according to the Ailan authorities, the Computing Power Pool subsidy is also counted as a Mage's income and needs to be taxed, and it is not a small amount either.

But in reality, there is currently no such thing as personal income tax in the entire Elf World of the Main Plane. The Ailan authorities not only created a new tax category but also set their sights on the Computing Power Pool.

Not only can Xia Duo intervene, but any Elf Mage with a name can intervene; otherwise, if the Ailan authorities really succeed in this personal income tax matter, other countries will follow suit nine times out of ten.

This is not just a problem of the Computing Power Pool subsidy, but all other income could potentially be taxed.

Xia Duo does not know how the Ailan authorities came up with such a thing; it is simply too advanced. Perhaps there is intervention from the Illuminati, but if such an opportunity delivered to his doorstep were missed, it would be too much of a pity.