Working as a consultant in the Ultra Universe

At this time, the Earth's population is estimated to be around 40 billion. However, Gu Chen said that his conversation with Inas involved 80 billion people, which clearly means that the number of people underground is as high as 40 billion, basically on par with the number of people on the surface.

And this is just the total population of Inas's subterranean people. The Earth is so big, who knows how many other subterranean groups live beneath the surface?

Furthermore, according to the exploration results of the underground exploration team of Asamayama Nature Reserve, many monsters, either sleeping or active, live underground.

It is conceivable that, as time goes by, humanity's understanding of the Earth will continue to deepen, while at the same time it will shatter and reshape people's worldview time and time again.

Upon hearing Gu Chen's words, Inas's gaze almost froze on Gu Chen.

Immediately afterward, a sense of doubt welled up in Inas's mind.

She then shifted her gaze from Gu Chen to Nishida Jiro and the others.

However, this did not dispel Inas's doubts; on the contrary, it intensified them.

So she simply asked directly, "Why can I see their hearts, but not yours?"

Upon hearing this, the underground people who knew the inside story immediately looked at Gu Chen with curiosity, while Nishida Jiro and the others were startled by Inas's words.

What does it mean to see their hearts? Does this subterranean queen have special abilities like X-ray vision?

"Then what can you see?"

Gu Chen raised an eyebrow. Queen Inas's abilities were somewhat similar to Gatham's, both belonging to the telepathic type.

However, compared to Inus, Gatham's ability is more outstanding because she can hear what others are thinking, while Inus cannot; she can only judge the identity of others by looking into their minds.

"I can't see anything at all. This is the first time I've ever seen something like this. Are you not human?"

Inas shook her head, her eyes filled with even deeper wariness.

The most terrifying enemies are often those that cannot be understood.

"What nonsense are you spouting?! What makes you think the consultant isn't human?!"

Before Gu Chen could respond to Inas's words, Sakata Jiro had already shouted at Inas.

Upon hearing this, Inas immediately looked at Sakata Jiro, and the underground people immediately pointed their weapons at him.

The actions of the people underground also drew the attention of Nishida Jiro and the others, who immediately raised their weapons, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.

Conflict seemed imminent.

"Alright, put down your weapons. We're not here to create conflict, but to clear up any misunderstandings between us."

Seeing that the situation was deteriorating, Gu Chen immediately spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Inas didn't say anything, but she slightly raised her hand.

Upon receiving the signal, the underground people also lowered their weapons.

“Inas, I understand you. Your group also fled underground to live because of the Ice Age many years ago. So, in essence, we are compatriots. In that case, we can completely avoid killing each other, can’t we?”

Seeing this, Gu Chen then spoke to Inas.

"However, the infighting has already begun. You surface humans are constantly mining oil, gold, and silver, and extracting large amounts of groundwater resources, which has caused the strata to collapse. As a result, the underground world where we subterranean people live has begun to tilt and will completely collapse in two years!"

Inas rebuked her sternly.

"That's because we don't know about the existence of you subterranean people, and you haven't taken the initiative to show up and communicate with us about such things. Apart from our Earth Defense Force, most humans are completely unaware that there are fellow human beings like you living on this planet."

Faced with Inas's accusations, Gu Chen immediately offered an explanation.

Finally, he countered with a question: "And why are you so certain that the collapse of the geological strata will occur in two years?"

"As far as we know, intense geological activity such as strata collapse usually shows some signs before it erupts to its most violent stage."

"However, we know nothing about this, and the geological observatory has not found any relevant information."

Inas nodded slightly and said, "That is indeed the case under normal circumstances, but in the year two years from now, the planets will be in a row."

Aoshima Ichiro was taken aback and subconsciously said, "In a row? You mean the nine stars aligned?"

Inas glanced at Aoshima Ichiro and confirmed, "Yes."

"Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—the nine planets of the solar system—will align in a straight line."

"The planets will align in a row, and this will happen in two years."

"The gravitational pull of the planets in a row interacts, which invigorates sunspot activity."

"As a result, winds containing charged particles will blow toward the Earth."

"As a result, the airflow becomes turbulent, the sky and earth crack, causing abnormal atmospheres and major earthquakes."

"In that case, the already tilted underground will collapse."

Inas's statement, if placed in the real world, would not be accepted by mainstream scientific views and has been verified by science multiple times.

However, the Showa universe is not the same as the real universe. In this world, a alignment of nine planets might actually trigger violent geological activity on Earth.

After listening to Inas's words, Gu Chen continued, "So you launched an artificial satellite and created a total solar eclipse in order to escape to the ground with your compatriots before the day when the planets align, right?"

Inas readily admitted this, saying, "Yes, in order to create a world without light, we will continue to launch more missions until darkness completely surrounds the entire Earth."

Upon hearing this, Sakata Jiro couldn't hold back any longer and roared, "What a joke! Do you know how serious the consequences would be if the entire Earth were completely enveloped in darkness?!"

"Without sunlight, the Earth's overall temperature would drop sharply, and the ecosystem would face shock."

"If this had continued any longer, the Earth would have entered a global ice age."

"The Earth will then become an extremely cold, dark, frozen planet!"

"A world without photosynthesis, with depleted oxygen, and with the atmosphere nearly gone!"

"A desolate world where surface life is almost completely extinct, and only a very small number of microorganisms might exist in the deepest parts of the earth!"

Scientists have conducted numerous simulations regarding this hypothesis, and Sakata Jiro, out of interest, had also looked into it, thus immediately understanding the potentially serious consequences of Inas and her group's actions.