Chapter 260: People After the War_1
Desperation pervaded the entire human world!
When Jiang Yu went to inspect the rescue of the residents of Jupiter City, an injured mother grabbed his hand and asked him whether she should commit suicide with her two children to avoid being cruelly tortured by the Trisolarans?
This was a temporary hospital. It used to be a luxury mall.
The luxury goods had been thrown into the garbage heap, and soldiers had used air cushions to set up temporary beds on the ground.
The injured were generally civilians affected by the shockwave of spaceship debris. In places directly hit by warship debris, the emergency life support systems could not deploy space suits in time, and people were sucked into space along with the flames of the explosions.
Because they entered a vacuum in a very short period of time, even minor explosions had ceased, leaving only a cold environment.
Therefore, those who could appear in this temporary hospital were suffering from falls and collisions, along with crush injuries sustained while trying to flee, among others.
Most injuries were caused by the panicked crowd, but fortunately, there was no gravity here, so there were no serious stampede incidents.
People trampled to death were certainly more numerous than those killed by explosions, or the cold and lack of oxygen of the vacuum state.
Jiang Yu glanced at the rows of injured people and said to the weeping mother in front of him, "The more desperate the times, the more we must showcase the courage of humanity!
"Raise your children well! Send them to the military!
"Humanity has not lost yet! I will fight to the death with the Trisolarans!
"As long as I am here, humanity will not be annihilated! Ladies and gentlemen, follow me and carve out a bloody path for humanity!"
In the early years of the Crisis Era, the existence of the Trisolarans plunged human order into complete chaos!
Because of that experience, Jiang Yu wanted to start spreading the idea of a last stand before complete chaos ensued.
From Jiang Yu's perspective, if the despair of humanity was employed properly, it could also be a tremendous aid for his plan!
The saying "Desperate troops will prevail" holds that since we have reached an impasse, we might as well give it our all and try to break through this dead-end!
Jiang Yu did not expect the PDC Government or the three fleets to have the courage to continue fighting to the death with the Trisolarans, so that courage had to come from him to empower humanity!
The strategy of broadcasting Jiang Yu's every action live throughout the Solar System State indeed played a role in stabilising the people's hearts.
Many people crying out in despair suddenly remembered when they saw Jiang Yu's resolute gaze and face; they still had the Wallfacer to rely on.
In the two centuries before, the Wallfacer had never let them down.
Before the interception of "The Waterdrop," Jiang Yu had given everyone a warning, yet they chose to betray the Wallfacer and stripped him of his power.
Many people began to blame themselves, but even more were hoping that Jiang Yu could quickly give them new hope.
Meanwhile, people in Jupiter City, Taishui City, and other space cities in Jupiter's orbit, after a brief despair, woke up as if from a dream and began to evacuate to the satellite colonies.
Compared to the horrors of the Uranus Battlefield, the attack on Jupiter City made the terror of space battle more visually felt.
According to incomplete statistics, in just over two hours, Jupiter City suffered over three million deaths, most of them civilians.
At this point, no one naively spoke of war conventions that prohibited attacks on civilians with the Trisolarans.
"The Waterdrop" attacked without restraint, making people realize this was a fight for survival, and no one would provide them with reason.
The massive casualties made people understand that only land-based colonies were safe, hence the massive flight of refugees.
Jiang Yu didn't stop anyone nor criticize anyone; besides maintaining order, he shared the value of going against the current.
But that was all; in Jiang Yu's eyes, those who were fleeing now had been scared out of their wits by "The Waterdrop," and keeping such people around would only cause trouble and be a burden.
For many, this would be a major decision in their lives, whether they were scared out of their senses or just pretending to be. Jiang Yu wouldn't force them.
While calming the residents, Jiang Yu dispatched all of the Solar System State's small warships, taking advantage of the chaos to begin controlling the other fleets.
…
Waking from a long sleep, Zhang Beihai saw the time and was surprised to find he had slept for fifteen hours, possibly the longest he had slept other than his two centuries of hibernation.
At this moment, he felt reborn. After a careful examination of his inner self, he found the source of this sensation.
He was now alone.
In the past, even when suspended in the boundless space, he never felt alone, as his father's eyes were watching him from the unknown.
This gaze was always there, like the sun during the day and the stars at night, and had become a part of his world.
But now, his father's gaze was gone.
It was time to go out.
Zhang Beihai opened the hatch, ready to face the angry crowd, countless condemning and disdainful eyes, ready for the final judgment.
No matter what he would encounter, the rest of his life would be peaceful.
The corridor was empty.
In the end, Zhang Beihai found a square formation composed of fleet soldiers in the circular hall.
The captains saluted him one by one.
"Asian Fleet 'Blue Space'!"
"Solar System Federal Fleet 'Q-16'!"
"North American Fleet 'Enterprise'!"
"Asian Fleet Supply Ship 'Blue Whale'!"
…
In the end, Dongfang Yanxu saluted Zhang Beihai, "'Natural Selection'!
"Senior, the eight interstellar warships that you saved for humanity, which are now all of humanity's space fleet, are now under your command!"
At this time, Dongfang Yanxu did not yet know that 'Bronze Age' and 'Quantum,' with Ding Yi's reminder, had managed to escape from the Uranus battlefield.
She also knew only that Jupiter City's naval port had been attacked by 'The Waterdrop' but was unaware of the dozen warship formations sent out by Jiang Yu.
Due to the one-sided nature of the combat at the Uranus battlefield, she assumed all of humanity's interstellar warships had been destroyed.
After listening to the captains' reports on the war, Zhang Beihai said, "Tight formations were an unforgivable mistake, the rest were within expectations.
"Comrades, you must all understand the reality we face: we can't go back!"
Amidst their complex expressions, Zhang Beihai did not breathe a sigh of relief; instead, he grew heavy again.
His father's gaze appeared once more in the unseen, and Zhang Beihai felt his scrutiny.
Zhang Beihai thought to himself, Yes, Dad, you really can't rest, it's not over, everything continues.
Following that, the meeting came to an end with the establishment of Starship Earth.
Zhang Beihai said to Dongfang Yanxu, "Come, let's take a look at the gift the Wallfacer Jiang Yu left for me!"
Although he knew Jupiter City, where Jiang Yu was, had been attacked, he wasn't worried about Jiang Yu's safety; subconsciously, he believed Jiang Yu could not be taken down by such minor disasters.
He would not die before completing his mission!