Elo slightly quickened his pace of speech, a hint of deep contemplation flickering in his eyes:

  “Why me? Luck? A coincidence? I don’t believe it.

  Out of 8.5 billion people worldwide, could my luck really be that extraordinary?

  Moreover, the system doesn’t necessarily have to choose a human as its host.

  Plants, animals, microorganisms, even rocks, sand, or smartphones could potentially serve as hosts.

  So why, of all possibilities, was it me?”

  He swept his gaze across the room, his voice calm yet firm:

  “This isn’t coincidence, nor is it luck, and it certainly isn’t some so-called miracle.

  This is inevitability. There must be some unavoidable connection between me and the system.

  The system could only choose me; there was no other possibility.”

  The room fell into a profound silence as everyone lowered their heads in thought.

  The Prime Minister nodded slightly, his tone steady: “That makes sense.”

  Vian stared intently at Elo, her tone urgent:

  “What does the system say? Have you communicated with it at all?”

  Elo made no attempt to avoid the question and responded directly:

  “I have communicated with the system. It told me that I have to find these answers myself.”

  He paused slightly, a hint of helplessness creeping into his tone:

  “The system said that I need a reason to embark on my journey, and it has faithfully executed my will.

  It has given me plenty of reasons—whether it’s the limitations of life force or the search for my own secrets, any of these can serve as reasons.

  And if these reasons are not enough, it will create more reasons to compel me to act.

  Perhaps it will be a crisis in the Ark Little World, or perhaps some other threat—in the end, I really have no choice.”

  Elo’s gaze shifted to the Prime Minister, his expression complicated:

  “The ten thousand survivors, even Alaya, are nothing more than reasons to the system—reasons to force me to set out on my journey.

  When you can no longer provide the motivation for the journey, the system will allow me to end life-sharing.

  By then, it will be the moment we part ways.

  Until that time, no matter how much I wish to terminate life-sharing, the system will not agree.

  It does not serve my superficial thoughts but the desires buried deep within me.”

  He swept his gaze across the other six cabinet members, a bitter smile appearing on his face:

  “What my true wish is, I believe you should understand it better than I do.

  If five years of time has not been enough for you to figure this out, then in the system’s eyes, you are undoubtedly failing in your duties.

  If you cannot fulfill your responsibilities, the system will consider you worthless.

  And as for the consequences of being deemed worthless—I believe you are well aware of them.”

  The Prime Minister raised his head, his tone resolute: “Your Majesty, we understand…”

  Elo raised his hand to stop him, his expression complex, as if something deep within him had been painfully stirred.

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  “There’s no need to say it out loud. Spare me a little dignity—it’s enough that you understand it yourselves.”

  The Prime Minister acknowledged with a nod, a flicker of complex emotion passing through his eyes.

  He looked at Elo—the Emperor of the Human Federation, a thirty-year-old adult…

  Yet at this moment, he appeared more like a child trapped in his own world, stubbornly refusing to grow up.

  Elo’s mother sat quietly to the side, saying nothing, though her expression was unusually complicated.

  Elo took a deep breath, calming his emotions before continuing:

  "After understanding these circumstances, the essence of the system and its relationship with me become easier to deduce.

  Although there is no solid evidence, my intuition tells me that things are likely as follows—"

  As he spoke to this point, everyone held their breath, afraid to miss a single word of what he was about to say next.

  "A long, long time ago, the system and I were one and the same. At that time, it must have been my prime.

  For some reason, I decided to separate a part of myself.

  I can roughly guess what those separated parts were:

  My power, my wisdom, my divinity, and more. Those things became the system.

  What remained is the current me—a normal person who has lost all extraordinary traits."

  Hearing this, although they still had doubts on a rational level, their intuition told them—this was very likely the truth.

  "I don’t know why I made such a choice back then, but I am certain of one thing:

  At that time, I believed this was the best decision for myself, and furthermore, I had absolute confidence in controlling the system.

  For certain reasons, I have established a set of rules for the system, and it will operate according to these rules.

  I know what you’re thinking: Could there be loopholes in these rules? Could the system betray me?

  But honestly, do you really think I was a fool at the height of my prime?"

  At this point, everyone had their answer—of course, he couldn’t have been an idiot.

  "I don’t know exactly how powerful I was at my peak, but it’s safe to say:

  I was virtually omniscient and omnipotent, perhaps even beyond the ‘God’ defined by human civilization.

  The rules I created might have loopholes, but exploiting those loopholes would require reaching the same level of ability I had back then.

  More importantly, the system isn’t an ordinary AI—it contains my divinity, wisdom, knowledge, and more.

  Under these circumstances, even if a loophole exists, it would be immediately fixed.

  And when necessary, the system will return to me, and we will become one.

  At that time, I will reappear in the form of my prime."

  Elo's gaze grew increasingly sharp, as if piercing through everything.

  “Tell me, when that time comes, will I still be myself?

  Think about it—can mere humanity truly suppress divinity?

  And all of you, in the eyes of a god, how much meaning and value do you really hold?

  Do you really wish to test the Judgment of the Divine and have your fate ruled by a god?”

  The room was completely silent, except for the faint sound of the Scribe’s pen gliding across the paper.

  “So, discussing whether the system might betray us is pointless under the current circumstances.

  If a problem does arise, we can address it together when the time comes.”

  The Prime Minister lowered his head in thought, his expression showing deep agreement with Elo.

  Elo then shifted his tone, his words carrying a clear warning as he sought to emphasize the severity of the issue:

  “The government can draft some contingency plans, but how much value will those plans really have?

  Alaya explicitly stated that even speculating about my origins could lead to its own destruction.

  Under such circumstances, your so-called contingency plans may not only be meaningless but could also trigger disaster.

  Remember, Human Federation citizens can be revived after death, but what about others? Can they be revived too?

  So think carefully before you act. If problems arise, you must bear the consequences.

  And those consequences include my trust and goodwill toward the Human Federation government.”

  Elo looked sincerely at the Prime Minister, genuinely hoping they wouldn’t do anything foolish, because he didn’t want to harm others on his account.

  "I’ve made myself very clear. If you still insist on doing so, then all I can say is that you’ve brought this upon yourselves."

  The Prime Minister listened intently to Elo’s words, fully understanding why Elo had said them.

  With a heartfelt tone, the Prime Minister responded:

  “Your Majesty, I feel incredibly fortunate to have a leader like you.

  I firmly believe you will be a wise and benevolent ruler who deeply cares for his people.

  This is not mere flattery but a genuine sentiment from the bottom of my heart.”

  Hearing the Prime Minister’s words, Elo shook his head helplessly:

  "Be it good people or bad, neither you nor I have a choice. Let's do our best together."

  The Prime Minister immediately stood up upon hearing Elo’s words, his tone firm yet respectful:

  "Your Majesty, we will follow your orders."

  His movement prompted the other cabinet members to stand as well. The six of them rose almost simultaneously, bowing their heads in solemn deference.

  Elo watched their actions and waved his hand gently, his tone calm:

  "Sit down, please. There’s no need to be so formal."

  The cabinet members quickly returned to their seats in unison, their movements precise yet still tinged with restraint.

  Elo nodded slightly before turning his gaze to Vian.

  Vian said nothing, but her expression said it all: she clearly disagreed strongly with Elo’s decision to reveal the system.

  Elo sighed inwardly, knowing he had to convince her.

  He knew that if this matter wasn’t handled properly, any turbulence in the future situation could very likely lead to an unprecedented purge within the Human Federation.

  The list for that purge would inevitably include the ten people present:

  One Prime Minister, six cabinet members, one royal secretary, and two royal guards.

  This Damocles’ sword hanging over their heads would make everyone uneasy.