Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

As Li Zhou's voice faded.

The reporters in the audience began to take notes.

Li Zhou switched to the next screen.

Regarding the accusation of concealing advanced cultivation techniques, I would like to clarify one point—cultivation is not something that can be achieved overnight.

"After the apprentice level, everyone needs to choose a different cultivation path based on their own aptitude. Without systematic and professional guidance, ordinary people will not only achieve half the results with twice the effort when they attempt to cultivate at the first level, but in severe cases, it may even endanger their lives."

"The Dawn Group has partnered with the Extraordinary Administration Bureau to establish a tiered cultivation system. Advanced cultivation techniques will be gradually unlocked as cultivators reach the corresponding level and will be gradually incorporated into the education system."

"Currently, the average cultivation level of practitioners worldwide is still at the apprentice stage, and less than one in 100,000 people have truly reached the threshold of the first level. What we are doing is gradually opening up, rather than deliberately keeping it closed."

The third screen transitions to a set of data charts and a global map, displaying monitoring data on changes in spiritual energy concentration.

"Finally, there's the claim that the resurgence of spiritual energy is related to the Dawn Group."

Li Zhou glanced around.

There are currently two versions of this claim.

"First version: The resurgence of spiritual energy was triggered by the Dawn Group."

"I would like to ask the person who made this claim to answer a question—how could a private company trigger a global change in spiritual energy concentration without any precedent, technological accumulation, or theoretical basis?"

"The Reiki revival is a global natural phenomenon, and there is a wealth of data from independent third-party organizations to prove this."

"The Dawn Group was aware of the potential changes before the spiritual energy revival and made preparations accordingly."

He paused for a moment, and the screen switched to the next image—an overview of the internal R&D timeline of the Dawn Group.

"Second version: Dawn Group knew in advance that the spiritual energy revival would occur, so there was 'contact' between them. I admit that we did predict that."

"This prediction is based on seven years of research by the Dawn team, but it is by no means any supernatural force."

"But prediction and manipulation are two different things."

"A meteorologist predicting a typhoon does not mean he created it. Shuguang Group is simply a company that foresaw weather changes in advance, nothing more."

The audience fell silent for a moment.

Li Zhou did not give the reporter time to ask questions immediately.

"From the very beginning, Dawn Group chose to make its cultivation methods, its cooperation with the Extraordinary Administration Bureau, and the construction of its tiered system public."

"Everything we do is traceable and verifiable."

He stepped back and pointed at the big screen.

  

"But those who hide behind anonymous accounts and create panic using carefully crafted template rhetoric—"

"Can they disclose their data sources?"

"Can they reveal their identities?"

"Can they disclose their motives?"

As the three questions echoed throughout the hall, everyone fell into a deathly silence.

Li Zhou looked at everyone present, his expression returning to calm.

"I've finished speaking. Now, let's begin the questions."

The first reporter raised his hand: "Mr. Li, I saw the research and development timeline you just announced. Did Dawn Group already have a complete cultivation system before the spiritual energy revival?"

"A complete spiritual energy cultivation system only truly took shape after the revival of spiritual energy," Li Zhou responded.

"Our research began in 2019, but that was just a theoretical model and experimental verification. The real cultivation system will only mature after the spiritual energy is restored—when the concentration of spiritual energy in the air reaches a threshold, the theory can be put into practice."

"It's like we had rocket theory before we landed on the moon, but the fuel technology was still at the initial stage. Only when the fuel and technology were in place could these things be realized."

The second reporter stood up: "Mr. Li, will the identities of the R&D team members be released to the public?"

"For security reasons, the R&D team members requested anonymity. Their contributions have been recorded in the internal archives of Dawn Group, but their names will not be made public."

A foreign journalist chimed in: "Mr. Li Zhou, some people are questioning the high degree of similarity between the core theories of the three cultivation methods and ancient alchemical texts from the Western Continent Federation..."

Li Zhou glanced at the reporter, and before he could finish speaking, he waved his hand to interrupt him.

"The 'ancient alchemical texts' you mentioned is a blog post published in August 2020."

"The author is a PhD in physics from the Western Continent Federation. In the article, he put forward a concept about 'energy conversion'—without formulas, data, or verifiable methods."

"The manuscript from Dawn Group in 2019 already contained a mathematical model of spiritual energy circulation, calculation formulas for meridian paths, and complete test records."

"Each manuscript has a timestamp and R&D record, which can be traced back to a specific date. All document numbers and search methods have been published on the official website of Shuguang Group."

"The two are separated by a year and a half, and the depth of their content is worlds apart. To say that Shuguang Group plagiarized that blog post is like saying that Space Shuttle plagiarized a child's paper airplane."

A low murmur arose from the audience.

The press conference lasted for nearly an hour.

Li Zhou answered more than a dozen questions, including those about the safety of cultivation techniques, the opening time of advanced cultivation techniques, and the cooperative relationship between Dawn Group and the Extraordinary Administration Bureau.

Each answer is accompanied by specific data and verifiable time points.

He was rarely silent, but each pause was perfectly timed so that the previous words would fall into the reporter's notebook, neither appearing to be delaying nor deliberately avoiding anything.

At the end, he stepped back and bowed slightly: "Thank you all for coming."

He didn't say anything more, turned around and walked off the podium.

The sound of camera shutters clicking filled the air.

---

Inside the study of Xiaoqingshan Villa.

Shen Bai turned off the live stream and leaned back in his chair.

Xiao Cheng has already synchronized the global public opinion data after the press conference—the percentage of positive comments has rebounded from 30% yesterday to 60%.

Are there any other accounts in China involved in spreading misinformation?

"Yes, I have locked down thousands of active accounts. There are several middlemen behind them who are online trolls who have received funds from overseas."

"Organize it and send it to the Extraordinary Management Bureau so they can handle it."

"receive."

"What's the public opinion like in the Western Continent Federation?"

"After the press conference began, discussions about Dawn Group on the Western Continent Federation's social media platforms increased by 200%, and the percentage of positive comments rose from 15% to 35%."

Xiao Cheng paused for a moment.

"In addition, just now, a new topic of 'Shuguang Group fabricating evidence' has appeared on several mainstream social media platforms. The wording is highly consistent, and the operator is still that public relations company called 'Grey Fox'."

Shen Bai remained silent for a moment.

"Xiao Cheng, hack into their system and get evidence of their manipulation of public opinion."

"Okay, give me some time."

"Furthermore, we need to investigate the capital relationships behind them and the evidence of illegal and criminal activities by related personnel, including tax evasion, money laundering, commercial bribery, etc. We need to find all those involved in illegal activities."

"After obtaining the evidence, send it to Lilith and tell her to implement the ninth backup plan. You will cooperate with her in carrying it out."

"receive."

Shen Bai's gaze fell to the window. The night outside was deep, and the city lights in the distance flickered.

"The meaning of dawn has never been just about guarding the cracks. Since some people don't want peace and quiet, let them know—"

"This road is blocked."