Chapter 236: Look How Awesome You Are_1

After Jiang Yu left the conference room, it immediately burst into a flurry of activity. Having the Wallfacer's documents at their disposal would grant them a significant advantage in the upcoming negotiations.

It was unlikely that they could get the three major fleets to implement the agreement, but they could certainly press for some concessions.

Currently, Fleet International was essentially divided into two camps, one being the PDC Camp, which extended from the PDC and included the three major fleets.

As the late-comers, they had no choice but to band together against the preemptive federal fleet.

The other camp was, of course, the federal fleet.

For decades, both camps had been frantically constructing warships, all in hopes of widening the power gap between them and their adversaries.

Unfortunately, the gap in strength had never become substantial. Although the PDC camp had more ships, they were subject to a three-way command, which actually put them at a slight disadvantage compared to the Solar System State's fleet.

This delicate balance had been maintained for decades, and thankfully due to this fragile equilibrium, Jupiter had been spared from becoming a battlefield.

As politicians realized the vast resource reserves of Jupiter, the struggle for control, both overt and covert, had already commenced.

The reason a war had not yet broken out was simply that no one was confident in their victory.

Amidst the heated discussions, Gu Cheng came back to his senses. After briefly entertaining his colleagues, he mentioned that he was feeling tired and wished to rest for a bit.

When he returned to the room that had been assigned to him, memories of his father's last moments surfaced in his mind.

Gu Cheng remembered his father, gasping for breath in his final moments, admonishing him, "Only by following, following the will of the Wallfacer, can we, can we succeed in the end!

"Think carefully about all the Wallfacer's deeds, and you will see, you will find he always acts correctly at the right time!

"The Wallfacer isn't just great because of his aura; he is truly great, essentially great!

"Don't continue too far down the wrong path!"

When Gu Cheng was a child, his father was a very wise man. However, as Gu Cheng pursued his education and encountered many new ideas, his father's beliefs gradually became outdated and rigid.

By the time Gu Cheng's father passed away, he had already become a Governor, and to him, the Wallfacer was by then nothing more than an overly cautious man from the past.

At that time, Gu Cheng thought that if the Wallfacer were to awaken and see humanity's achievements, he would surely find his past caution laughable.

He had already prepared his argument to persuade the Wallfacer to relinquish his power: "Would you feel comfortable in your college years letting someone from the year 1900 govern the nation?"

Gu Cheng believed the Wallfacer was intelligent and would understand after hearing this argument that he was indeed someone with an antiquated mindset.

Yet, seeing the calm and effortlessly composed Wallfacer today, Gu Cheng couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

After several minutes of solitary deliberation, he decided to quietly pay a visit to Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu lived in a building that seemed no different from the rest, where most of Yinghuo City's officials were said to reside.

As Gu Cheng stood at the entrance to Jiang Yu's residence, he began to regret his impulsive visit.

He had overlooked a crucial issue: This was Yinghuo City, where the Wallfacer was revered and unlike in the various cities on Jupiter where he held the top position, here he was second in the hierarchy.

This visit had not been arranged in advance, nor had there been any prior notification. If Jiang Yu felt like being difficult, he certainly wouldn't see him.

However, having come all this way, he decided to proceed and see what happens. As his entourage was about to approach the door to knock, the building's main door suddenly opened.

Number Three emerged in a leisurely manner, saying, "I've been waiting for you for a while. The Wallfacer said that as soon as you arrived, I should bring you to see him immediately."

Gu Cheng nodded and followed Number Three inside.

Inside the door of the building, two armed robots stood guard.

Their angular exteriors showcased a robust mechanical aesthetic, and their sturdy limbs were undoubtedly concealing a considerable arsenal of weapons.

Mounted on the robots' backs were plasma guns.

Although it was called a "gun," due to its enormous size, it could only be mounted on a J75 or a small attack ship.

The plasma rifles carried by the two robots behind them seemed to have been modified, and these models of armed robots were also something Gu Cheng had never seen before; they could actually carry such heavy items!

Seeing these two robots added an extra layer of concern for Gu Cheng.

After all, this was his political rival's territory. To ensure his own safety, he had brought a team of armed robots to his meeting with Jiang Yu.

This military strength was sufficient to ensure his security in conventional conflicts until reinforcements could arrive.

After all, this trip to Yinghuo City was accompanied by an entire legion and over a hundred warships.

If there were a military conflict, a continuous stream of armed forces would be able to support him within half a minute.

A coup required the appearance of a coup; if they were easily arrested by Number Three, it wouldn't be a coup—they'd have traveled eight hundred million kilometers just to hand themselves over.

However, the robots following Gu Cheng seemed less sturdy in build compared to those here, and there were also significant differences in their outer casings, mechanical design, and so on.

If a conflict occurred, whether his team of robots could hold out until the reinforcements arrived was unclear to him.

Gu Cheng also thought about the authority on artificial intelligence, Jiang Shiliu, who had always stayed on Mars; perhaps the robots here were much more advanced.

The more Gu Cheng thought about it, the more apprehensive he became. He decided it was better not to linger in such a dangerous place. Just as he was about to tell Number Three he would visit Jiang Yu later, Number Three stepped aside: "We've arrived."

As he spoke, Number Three opened the door, and Jiang Yu, who was looking at documents on a handheld computer in the living room, glanced at Gu Cheng: "I would have been disappointed if you hadn't come."

Gu Cheng braced himself and entered the room: "Business is business, but in private, I am after all the junior and it is only right that I come to visit."

Jiang Yu did not rise to greet him but turned off his computer screen and pointed to the sofa opposite: "Take a seat."

He raised the computer in his hand: "We used computers like this back in our day, today's computers are simply smaller."

Gu Cheng smiled, "Not only smaller but their computing power has increased by many times."

Jiang Yu waved Number Three away, and upon closing the door, Gu Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Was this the prelude to a fight?

Jiang Yu continued, "When quantum computers become widespread, you can boast to me then."

Gu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he had been overthinking it. If Jiang Yu had really intended to use force, the hotel where he was staying would have already turned into a battlefield.

After composing his thoughts, Gu Cheng said, "Perhaps quantum computing is a technology that cannot be applied in practice."

Jiang Yu lit a cigarette for himself: "How's that?"

Gu Cheng had only seen such tobacco-rolled cigarettes in documentaries; the smell was somewhat pungent, but on the second whiff, he thought it wasn't too bad.

He explained, "Many technologies are theoretically sound but difficult to apply in practice, like dark matter, which is supposed to exist in theory.

"For decades, the scientific community has tried so many methods and not collected any dark matter.

"Now, most scholars believe that dark matter only exists in theory and not in reality.

"The situation with quantum computers is probably similar to that of dark matter; feasible in theory but impractical to operate."

Jiang Yu frowned and asked, "Is this your personal opinion or the consensus? Have you forgotten about Sophon?"

Gu Cheng smiled again: "Modern historians, through research on the early years of the crisis, have concluded that your generation was so shocked by the discovery of extraterrestrial civilization that you demonized Sophon.

"Modern people believe that Sophon doesn't possess so many formidable functions, and perhaps Sophon itself was just a figment of some terrified individuals at the time.

"After all, only a very few can attest to the existence of Sophon, mostly ETO members.

"The technological barriers we encounter might just be the 'ceiling' of universal laws. The highest technology in the universe may well be no more advanced than this."

Jiang Yu laughed in spite of his irritation: "Look how confident you are. Why don't you put your hands on your hips while you're at it?"