Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A month later.
Most of the personnel and equipment on the migration spacecraft Blue Space were transferred to the surface of the planet Walf.
A coastal region.
Standing on a rock wall that was 100 meters high, Mu Yunhua looked down at the development base built on both sides of a freshwater river as it buzzed with activity.
She listed to the whoosh of the sea breeze.
Mu Yunhua wore a protective suit. A trace of concern could be seen in the expression of her eyes.
“Will things really be OK if we go on like this? Can we proceed with construction with peace of mind?”
Why did she always feel a faint sense of uneasiness..? Even though there was no trace of development on this planet, it had huge amounts of resources.
Most of the crew were full of laughter and energy, imbued with motivation and bright positivity. But she never felt optimistic. Large, dark clouds hovered in her mind.
“What are you worried about, Captain? You seem a little depressed these days. Can you talk to me about it?”
A voice came from behind, and a handsome and elegant man walked towards her.
Bai Shengqi.
He was the head of her guard detail, and had always been beside her, protecting her. He was also her most trusted confidant and companion.
After years of working together, the two found they had harmonious feelings on many issues.
“Is our decision a bit hasty? We can’t stake all our resources and future on an undeveloped planet.”
“Resources?”
Bai Shengqi looked at his feet and said, “No matter how you look at it, there are way more resources that are lying untapped in this planet. The delegates’ choice must be correct.”
“But they didn’t take into account the time and cost needed to transform this planet. 60 years,” Mu Yunhua said with a low voice. “It will take at least 60 years, with the full investment of all our manpower and material resources, to complete the initial phase of environmental transformation and build a perfect ecosystem. We have no extra energy to do other things.”
“This includes the development of more advanced technologies and building a powerful fleet to defend our security. It also means that we have essentially no defense ability for at least sixty years.
“By putting all our resources and energy into a vast transformation project, we’ll be entrenched in a long period of minimal defensive ability. If we encounter an attack by a powerful enemy aggressor, what can we do to resist?”
This was what she was worried about. After all, time was time. They could not spend decades on something that was not the most urgent task under the threat of other unknowns.
“Captain, I think that the transformation of the planetary environment, strengthening of military defense, and the research and development of advanced technologies can be done simultaneously. They will not seriously interfere with each other… There should not be too many issues with this development route.”
Bai Shengqi thought that the majority view, in most cases, was still largely reasonable. Moreover, it was the most efficient in execution.
Mu Yunhua’s expression sank. “The problem is that we don’t have that many people—Only 100,000 survivors. They are a population bomb that will need as long as 20 years to propagate… we won’t have enough people for at least thirty or forty years. How will we balance the three tasks of planetary environment transformation, scientific research, and the construction of defensive forces? It would be great to just complete even one of those jobs.”
“Robots. We can use robots in large numbers.”
“Have you forgotten the profound lesson we learned from the ‘reboot’ virus?”
“Uh…”
Bai Shengqi’s mind blank. He finally understood the concerns of Mu Yunhua.
He also finally realized why he felt that something was off.
The order of the tasks could be wrong. Compared with life and death, it seemed that the transformation of the planet’s ecological environment was not the highest priority.
The most urgent task was having a sufficient level of self-protection. There was no doubt about this.
“Then… what should we do? Is there any possibility of changing course?”
“Let’s take things one step at a time. It’s okay to build the immigration base first. It won’t take up too much time. We’ll make adjustments later.”
After all, when one arrived at a new home, it was necessary to build a cozy and comfortable settlement. This was called stabilizing the masses and boosting morale. With these two elements in place, everything that followed would be easier.
…
Back on Earth.
Recently, a major event caused heated discussions among the public.
The online virtual game Galaxy Era, which had been running for 30 years and still had more than one billion players to date, released a major version update. The main updates were as followed.
The game’s realism had been increased to 99.99999999%.
In-game process rate was only 3.3 times that of reality. That meant that a day in reality was equivalent to 3.3 days in the game.
An all-out war system had been initiated, and various alien forces had appeared on the scene.
Finally, the ultimate reward model had been published online. Xing Hai Technology’s core assets were split into 200 billion portions, corresponding to the 200 billion star systems in the game. The more star systems a player occupied, the more dividends they were awarded.
The above updates put all of the players into a state of excitement.
The reward model in particular attracted everyone’s attention and was the focus of discussion.
“The company has to put their hard-earned capital into this?”
“Although it’s only the dividends, and not all the rights, the benefits generated each year are still very impressive.”
“Xing Hai Technology’s core assets are worth more than 100 trillion, and the annual profit is about 2 trillion yuan. If you occupy a star system, you can get 10 yuan in dividends every year. If you occupy 100, you can get one 1,000… …So, if you take down 10,000 star systems, that would, more or less, be enough to support your family.”
“Huuu… I got excited for nothing. The total amount is considerable, but the per capita amount is peanuts. In fact, it’s just a crumb.”
…
In the residential apartment of a certain neighborhood in a certain city.
“Honey, I think this is a good opportunity.”
Li Dong, with the appearance of a middle-aged man, held a transparent news panel in his hand and spoke in the direction of the kitchen. He was actually over fifty years old, but he looked just above. His eyes were alert, and he was still full of energy.
“I don’t agree with your thoughts.”
His wife, Mu Wanqiu, came out carrying a bowl of soup. Because of her proper maintenance, she looked less than 30 years old. Her skin was smooth and fair, and her figure was lithe and well-rounded. Donning the clothes of a housewife, she exuded the charm of a mature woman.
But the expression on her face was not too positive. “It’s time to give up on that game, and find a stable job immediately! I have been married to you for more than 20 years, and you have been immersed in that game for all of that time. Your income becomes less and less with each passing year. Even this house is just a bonus for having a third child. Our third and youngest will be going to a private university very soon. Most of the tuition and living expenses will have to be borne by the student. Do you have the money?
“Our eldest daughter just graduated from college, and her job search in Shanghai remains unsuccessful; we have to transfer her some money. Our second takes after you; he shuts himself in his room all day long, addicted to virtual games. The burden of this family is all on me!”
The more she spoke, the angrier she felt. Mu Wanqiu glared at Li Dong. “Work. Immediately go find a job, and quit that game. You must take up your responsibility to this family! Hmph! How did I fall for your sweet nothings all those years ago and marry you?”
This…
Looking at his tearful wife with her endless complaints, Li Dong felt quite depressed.
Was he that terrible?
