Chapter 267: The Animals that Went Ashore and the Fish that Did Not_1

Zhang Beihai spoke again in the video communication: "…I can feel it too, that I'm different from you now. This feeling happened suddenly."

"It might have been the moment I pressed the attack button, or the moment I realized that the dark battle was inevitable, or perhaps when I felt adrift and had to face this dark universe."

"In any case, there was an instant when I knew I had changed from who I used to be."

He fell silent for a moment before continuing, "I'm curious, did those containers you sent me really contain a self-destruct system?"

"You can give me an honest answer, I still have a few hours before I get on the 'Blue Space' and I'm currently alone in my room."

He let out a somewhat helpless sigh: "I was about to retire, but it turns out I have to keep working, I might have to bear the spiritual pillars of the new world in the future!"

Jiang Yu rubbed his face, genuinely smiled, and said, "Reply to Colonel Zhang Beihai."

The communications officer said, "The recording device is on, please speak!"

"First, I want to congratulate you on your transformation, even though it brings a heart-gouging pain!" Jiang Yu said:

"But where in the world does transformation occur amidst laughter and joy? To transform, you always have to give up something!"

He took a sip of water and cleared his throat before continuing, "As for the self-destruct system in the containers, I think you've already guessed it, that was just a lie I told to protect you."

"At that time, we were on a tight schedule and there was no time to install any self-destruct system."

"You should remember a popular phrase from when the Wallfacer Project first started: 'Always be skeptical of what comes out of a Wallfacer's mouth.'"

Jiang Yu stretched lazily: "Speaking of which, you've made three history-making decisions, each of which must have been tough, right?

"You deserve a break now, I suggest you hibernate on the 'Blue Space', handing over daily management to Chu Yan and Dongfang Yanxu.

"Hibernate a little longer, and maybe we'll have a chance to meet again in the future."

After the video communication was sent, Ai Qi, who had been by Jiang Yu's side, lamented: "Who would have thought that the newly formed Starship Earth would suffer such a fierce internal strife!

"From now on, Starship Earth will be denounced by all of humanity!"

But Jiang Yu shook his head: "You still don't understand, this isn't an internal strife, but a choice to become New Humans!

"As for the denunciation, do animals living on land care about the opinions of fish in the water?"

Ai Qi looked surprised: "You, you seem to always have a positive evaluation of their actions, but none of our starship fleets have experienced such fratricide!"

Jiang Yu laughed: "Living within the bounds of human civilization, you won't understand the situation that Zhang Beihai and the others are in. When only survival and death are the choices left, any decision they make shouldn't surprise us.

"As for our starship fleets, their roots are still in the Solar System State; for most of them, they are simply carrying out the Wallfacer's mission right now.

"Let them travel further out, and only when the Sun becomes the size of an ordinary star will they understand the future they are facing.

"The fleets closer to their destinations are probably all right since they should have enough fuel, but I can't say the same for the ones farther away.

"What I foresee is that these fleets will also engage in such dark battles, completely severing ties with the Solar System.

"After all, once they have landed ashore, keeping in touch with their fish kin serves little purpose; they might even have verbal disputes. It's better to pretend not to recognize each other."

Ai Qi frowned slightly: "Does that mean, as long as one leaves the Solar System, this kind of thing will eventually happen?"

Jiang Yu pondered for several seconds before saying: "At least it's different from staying within the human civilization of the Solar System. Democracy, individuality—all that is nonsense then!

"Everything is aimed at survival."

Ai Qi sat in silence for a while, and it wasn't until more than ten minutes later that he asked Jiang Yu: "What is the ultimate purpose of all human activities?

"If progress must come at the cost of abandoning many morals, is it worth it? Is such progress correct?"

Jiang Yu glanced at Ai Qi: "Don't be influenced by the idea of universal love; the 'Dongguo Clan' is just a part of humanity hijacked by its own morals!

"Know this, so far, we have not found anything like universal love or morals in the universe; we might as well consider all of that wishful thinking by humanity.

"You also need to understand that 'The Waterdrop' has already invaded the Solar System, and our survival is in question; we have no time to talk about morals.

"Also, when you have time, read human history. Has human progress ever occurred without casting aside existing moral concepts?

"To a primitive person looking at our modern society, they would certainly think we have abandoned all noble morals because of the way we exploit each other."

Jiang Yu paused then added: "Furthermore, don't obsess over right and wrong.

"Now that you're in the Solar System, follow the mainstream moral views of humanity, but don't completely negate the moral views of Starship Earth just because of your subjective opinions.

"Because you aren't in Zhang Beihai's position, you have no right to judge."

Ai Qi nodded and quietly sat with Jiang Yu, waiting for Zhang Beihai's reply.

After more than three hours, Jiang Yu finally received Zhang Beihai's response: "Hibernation is a good idea.

"I have a little more than an hour before I go to the 'Blue Space'.

"I guess the mainstream world of humanity won't accept our actions once they find out what's happened here, so we're preparing to shut down the remote communication system.

"Goodbye, Wallfacer.

"I'm not worried about your safety, even though the Solar System is now a land of despair, but if you want to leave, no one can hold you back."

Jiang Yu took a deep breath: "Goodbye, Colonel Zhang Beihai!"

He zoned out for a while before rubbing his temples and saying, "Alright, now that the issue of Starship Earth is resolved, we need to attend to our own matters.

"Gu Cheng and the others will be back soon; we must be fully prepared.

"Oh, and please contact You Ze on Earth for me, I have a task for him."

…

On Earth, You Ze found most of the people he saw in the underground city resembling walking corpses.

They sat dejectedly by the road, some crying, some laughing.

High above, a wealthy man laughed maniacally: "It's all useless, all useless!" while throwing down luxury goods, jewelry, and gold bars to the ground below.

Many below were hit by the falling objects, bleeding from their heads, but as if they had lost all sensation of pain, they simply moved to a place where the high-rise debris couldn't reach them and continued to stare into space.

Some were even knocked out cold with no one to attend to them, as if everyone's soul had already left their bodies.

A month had passed, and the chaos on Earth continued unabated.