Chapter 539: Military Alliance (Extra for everyone's monthly votes!)_1

The Dark Battles had a profound effect on Starship Earth, causing the people aboard to largely lose their traditional moral values.

The morals of the "New Humans" were blurred, stringent, and couldn't tolerate the slightest touch of color.

Jiang Yu believed that deep down, Zhang Beihai must have been clear about the fact that a large reason why the people on Starship Earth had changed like this was due to internal factors.

Such inner turmoil was something the people of the Solar System State, who had never experienced the Dark Battles, had never been through.

In the early years of the crisis, Jiang Yu had seen too many people without hope.

What's more terrifying than despair is having no hope at all.

It's the same for a society, if you push yourself too hard for too long, a misstep might lead to the collapse of the entire society.

Jiang Yu suggested, "Why don't we run a project together, bring over a group of people from the Solar System State to live here for a while, and let the people here see what life should look like."

But Zhang Beihai shook his head, "It's no use, I've been setting an example for many years, and not only did it not work, but it also made them think that this is a special cultural feature of Starship Earth."

He changed his sitting posture and said, "Instead of setting an example for them, it would be better to defeat the Trisolarans as soon as possible, and take down this huge mountain in their hearts."

Jiang Yu nodded, no wonder Chu Yan and Dongfang Yanxu were both so enthusiastic about the proposal for both nations to fight the Trisolarans together.

They too had become aware of this problem and their way of solving it was just like Zhang Beihai's.

For a child who is scared into autism by adults, reasoning with them isn't too effective, it might be better to just beat up that adult in front of the child, and perhaps that could alleviate the child's psychological pressure.

The two then discussed the engagement with the Trisolarans, with Jiang Yu full of confidence in the joint campaign they had initiated.

In the battle plans, Starship Earth played the role of the bait; there was no other option, the Solar System State was already strong enough that even if bait was thrown out, the Trisolarans wouldn't believe it.

After talking about weapons and war for a while, Zhang Beihai pointed at the food on the table, "Eat, otherwise it will go to waste."

Jiang Yu gave a wry smile and picked up a piece of synthetic meat, chewing it like it was wood.

Zhang Beihai had long gotten used to the food and wasn't very picky.

As he ate, he said, "Ever since my father passed away, at many times I've felt the gaze of my father."

Jiang Yu nodded, "I remember you mentioning this before."

"During the Dark Battles, when I was attacking my own people, I felt my father's gaze for the last time," Zhang Beihai said:

"I am too familiar with my father's gaze, this feeling cannot be wrong, it was as if my father was sitting right across from me.

"I consider myself to be a strict person, someone with independent judgment, but this sensation has always been something I couldn't understand.

"Until I heard about the hypothesis of consciousness in higher dimensions."

Hearing this, Jiang Yu was also stunned, "Are you saying, it might have really been your father's consciousness beside you at that time?"

Zhang Beihai did not continue to answer, he let out a long sigh before saying, "I also don't know.

"Could it be because I was too lonely, and that created the illusion that my father was beside me?"

He said, "I've been thinking all these years, what if it wasn't my illusion?"

The room was silent for a few seconds before Jiang Yu said, "According to Jiang Shiliu's guess, consciousness might exist in higher dimensions.

"But consciousness has a mutually beneficial relationship with a person's body; the body provides the energy needed for the maintenance of consciousness, while consciousness gives the body advanced thinking and logical capabilities.

"During the Dark Battles, it had been almost two hundred years since your uncle's death; if his consciousness really was following you, how was his consciousness maintained?"

"Or maybe Jiang Shiliu's speculation wasn't accurate,"

Zhang Beihai sighed, "I don't know."

Jiang Yu scratched his head, "Yeah, maybe we'll only understand at the moment of death.

"But by then, it'll be too late to tell anyone else what it was all about.

"Oh, right, before Teacher Luo Ji passed away, didn't he say he saw his wife coming to greet him?

"Perhaps at the moment of death, we'll see that our loved ones have already been waiting by our side."

Zhang Beihai smiled, "I hope so."

Talking about Luo Ji, who had just passed away, both men felt the years had flashed by.

There weren't many Common Era people still active today: Chang Weisi, Chief Ji, Shi Qiang, Rediaz, Luo Ji—one by one, familiar faces had disappeared into the river of history.

Speaking of these old tales, both regretted that Starship Earth had no wine; otherwise, they would have drunk themselves into oblivion.

The negotiations continued the next day, and everything went smoothly; it only took three days to officially sign the military alliance treaty.

They also signed a series of commercial cooperation agreements; Jiang Yu even agreed to sell some decommissioned Star Accelerators to Starship Earth.

Though they were gradually being phased out by the Solar System State as outdated, these devices were treasures to Starship Earth.

To a large extent, they could alleviate their current shortage of interstellar transport capacity.

After the treaty was signed, officers from both sides began discussing specific tactics.

Jiang Yu wasn't in a hurry to leave; when he had time, he'd chat with Zhang Beihai or accompany him to see some of the planet's exotic flora and fauna.

Zhang Beihai even took Jiang Yu out to sea to hunt this planet's marine life.

Then Zhang Beihai picked some edible ones, and together they made a barbecue feast.

Clearly, Zhang Beihai had done this sort of wild game cooking many times, which showed that the food on Starship Earth really wasn't friendly to Common Era people.

Jiang Yu also invited Zhang Beihai, in the form of a holographic image, to Jiang Que's wedding.

Jiang Que's wedding was simple yet warm; however, most guests did not expect to see so many prominent figures at the ceremony, which gave it an unreal feel.

But all good things come to an end, and Jiang Yu couldn't stay in New Boundary City forever.

In Galaxy Year 66, after spending nearly half a year on Starship Earth, Jiang Yu finally embarked on a new journey.

Zhang Beihai escorted Jiang Yu every step of the way, until it was time for Jiang Yu to enter lightspeed, and they had no choice but to say goodbye.

The two men held hands tightly; Jiang Yu could feel Zhang Beihai's reluctance to let go.

No matter how strong the old man appeared in his youth, as one ages, the heart tends to soften, especially when old friends gather knowing each meetup could be their last; they both cherished these moments deeply.

He said, "I'm planning to go into hibernation; I won't close my eyes in death without seeing the outcome of this united campaign."

If humanity were to fail? With him aboard Starship Earth, it wouldn't collapse.

"Alright," Jiang Yu smiled, "Keep living well. Humanity's future is so bright; we should go see it together."

After a few more words, they parted ways.

Looking through the porthole, Jiang Yu saw, against the dark background of space, Zhang Beihai's ship standing alone, making him increasingly melancholic.