Siegel paused for only a moment before continuing.
"Raising the alarm now would only give them another opportunity to attack all of you and us."
His words weren't entirely false, and spoken with such gravity, they sounded all the more sincere.
In response to Clyne's words, the silence from the Atlantic Federation representatives, including the Minister, and the Eurasian delegates continued.
Though humiliating, what Clyne said did make sense—after all, if they were to be honest, they would have been half-doubting anyway.
And at present, the situation was clearly spiraling further out of control than they had imagined.
This was hardly the time for such discussions.
According to the intelligence they had just received from outside contact, they were not yet out of danger.
If reinforcements were too slow and the remaining Blue Cosmos remnants broke through, they would be in serious trouble.
"Then, Mr. Chairman, you must have brought others with you, right?"
The East Asian representative finally asked the question that everyone else was most concerned about at that moment.
If the attack had a follow-up, and those terrorists from who-knows-where barged in without regard for anything, they would likely still lose their lives.
"They are already on their way. And as all of you have seen, Blue Cosmos's atrocities not only involve us Coordinators but have also slipped beyond your control."
Siegel Clyne said methodically.
His gaze subtly shifted toward the East Asian representative, somewhat surprised by the other's apparent act of playing along with him.
But having help was a good thing.
He had come here to say these things, and also to clear away the last of the suspicion hanging over him.
If he had deliberately arrived late, they might have suspected that Siegel had orchestrated the whole affair himself.
But by participating and facing the same danger alongside them, everyone would be in the same boat, and they would naturally be more willing to listen to his words.
For that purpose, Clyne had truly staked his very life.
"Hmm..."
Under Siegel's words, everyone present couldn't help but nod along.
This included not only the Atlantic Federation but also the other two Council Nations and United Nations personnel.
But at this moment, under the threat of death, they all felt genuine fear toward Blue Cosmos's actions.
Seeing that he had taken control of the situation, Siegel continued.
"The choices we can make are few. We could, of course, bend to their will and become their puppets."
"But I believe that all of you, having come here under immense pressure, are people who firmly uphold your own principles."
"Of course, the future we want may not be the same, and the interests we represent may also differ."
"But I believe that the future we all hope for is definitely not the one Blue Cosmos and those behind them want."
That was only natural—otherwise, Blue Cosmos wouldn't have chosen to blow them all up here together.
Even the Minister no longer held much real power in his hands.
"..."
Those who heard this did not answer immediately, their faces all grave.
Clearly, these were all old foxes who wouldn't immediately open their hearts to Siegel from a different camp.
But in their minds, thoughts were churning like a stormy sea.
Siegel's heartfelt words had truly struck a chord with everyone present.
Although they did indeed want to extract benefits from PLANT, they also did not want war.
In their view, matters that could be resolved through politics did not need to escalate into war.
The most practical point was that war did not serve their vested interests.
Now Blue Cosmos was flipping the table. Assassinations—once there was a first, there would be a second.
If they didn't want to become prey on someone's plate, they had to take the initiative to strike.
As for Siegel, he had said all he needed to say. Though he couldn't read their intentions, he felt somewhat relieved inside.
He certainly didn't think his words alone could make them betray the Atlantic Federation and join PLANT.
That kind of thing only happened in dreams.
For now, he had planted a seed in everyone's hearts.
These people would be the foundation for leading negotiations in the more distant future.
As for the near future, they could also provide certain intelligence.
After all, war was about to break out.
This attack was destined to cause turmoil among the civilians of both sides—but this time, it was different. What they were about to fight was a war against terrorism.
"We in PLANT do not intend to declare war on the Council Nations. We only intend to declare war on the terrorist organization, Blue Cosmos."
"Blue Cosmos is a common threat to us all, a cancer on all of humanity, and it must be eliminated."
"As for negotiations on the details, for the sake of all humanity's common development, we are willing to make relative concessions."
Siegel's voice rang out with conviction, sounding so powerful in this dimly lit venue.
It also plunged everyone present into deep thought.
Siegel's meaning was clear.
They simply wanted to take down Blue Cosmos, and then they could naturally negotiate slowly afterward.
As for how to negotiate, that was a matter for later.
If an ordinary high-ranking official from the Atlantic Federation were here, they probably wouldn't agree.
After all, Blue Cosmos was already deeply intertwined with the Atlantic Federation—it was a massive interest group.
Saying they wanted to declare war on Blue Cosmos was essentially no different from declaring war on the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations.
But the people before Siegel were different.
They had no direct connection to Blue Cosmos.
Otherwise, Blue Cosmos wouldn't have come to bomb them.
And whether it was to survive or to seize the many legacies left behind after Blue Cosmos was struck down, they were all tempted by Siegel's words.
Blue Cosmos represented many companies behind it. If they were truly struck down, then no matter where in the future, there were bound to be many vacancies.
Those were tangible interests.
And seeing the politicians on site showing not a trace of emotion on their faces, Siegel didn't mind.
They were all old foxes—any politician with basic professional competence wouldn't wear their expressions on their faces.
But he knew their mindset, knew they were absolutely tempted.
And what he needed to seize was exactly such an opportunity.
With their help, his side wouldn't be completely declaring war on the Atlantic Federation.
Although the final result would most likely still be a firefight with the Atlantic and Eurasian militaries, at least they would have the moral high ground.
And his goal would be achieved.
Just as Siegel was thinking this, the silence in the room didn't last long. Soon, the stone outside the conference room door was blown open by an explosion.
Several beams of light from flashlights landed on everyone in succession.
"We are the ZAFT special task force. You are all safe now."
With the leading Chiora's words, the hearts of everyone in the venue that had been hanging in suspense finally settled completely.