Chapter 177: Moon City_1

Di Fengyi appeared clearly more composed and reserved than before, though his appearance hadn't changed much—in fact, he looked even more spirited than he did eight years ago.

Di Fengyi also reported, "The 'Dark Forest' research group has been disbanded."

Jiang Yu was startled, "Such valuable research has been canceled?"

With a helpless smile, Di Fengyi replied, "Ever since the discovery of the Tianshan Ruins five years ago, none of the teams' research work has made any progress.

"At the same time, the joint team from America and the European Union successfully measured the weight of the 'Dark Forest.' The weight report indicates that it should be solid, since its mass exceeds that of any metal at the same volume.

"As for the discovery in Tianshan, because it featured only some simple murals without any symbols of an advanced civilization, many researchers have concluded that these paintings were likely abstract works created by ancient people using their imagination.

"The above are the investigation results disclosed by the project group to the principal member countries of the PDC. I heard that the key reason for disbanding the research group is because with our current means, we simply have no way to deal with the 'Dark Forest.'

"Thus, the higher-ups believe it's better to halt this line of research and restart it when conditions allow.

"Since you were the head of this group, I've managed to secure an opportunity for you to hear the summary report. Tomorrow, Wu Zheng and Pei Yunqi will bring the relevant documents to give you a briefing."

Jiang Yu nodded, "Humanity's initial stage of resistance against the Trisolarans, which was also the most romantic phase, is coming to an end. Projects that cannot yield results in the short term will also quickly vanish.

"Also coming to an end is the golden age of the Wallfacer Project."

Speaking of this, he suddenly smiled, "I'm afraid that from now on, even showing the documents I've been issued won't get me the green light as easily as it did a decade or so ago.

"In the future, we must have new deployments and new work priorities.

"Hmm, let Zhao Yun come by in a couple of days too. I want to understand the new developments in human society from them."

Then he asked, "How is Moon City doing?"

Di Fengyi answered, "Under Burton's management these years, Moon City has always been humanity's largest extraterrestrial colony.

"The permanent population of Moon City has reached over eighty thousand, plus several thousand transient residents."

Jiang Yu then asked, "How much higher is their standard of living compared to Earth? What is the main composition of the personnel like?"

"Much higher," Di Fengyi said with a smile, "Burton has always been very clear about your purpose for building Moon City. Once Moon City became self-sufficient, he put in a lot of effort to improve the quality of life there.

"Now, the Moon Cities built by other countries can't even come close to ours in terms of living quality."

Jiang Yu nodded, "Public support isn't just about paying lip service. People need to see tangible benefits and feel a sense of superiority, so they can have a strong sense of belonging to Moon City and continue to support us."

Di Fengyi said, "This is the philosophy we have always been implementing."

He paused and added, "As for the personnel composition, it can roughly be divided into two parts. One part is represented by scientists like Bil and Gu Zhize.

"The unique conditions of Moon City have attracted a large number of scientific talents. Now Bil's team has more than three thousand research personnel.

"His team's research direction has shifted from solely colonizing the Moon to all aspects of extraterrestrial colonization.

"Especially with the success of the Mars Explorer, Moon City has become the largest manufacturer of Planetary Spaceships.

"Apart from research staff, most of Moon City's residents are your supporters. This is why you still have so many supporters.

"The other two Wallfacers hardly have any supporters left, not even Rediaz, who essentially only has the support of his own country's population."

"And your supporters can have the opportunity to live in Moon City, which is a tangible benefit. That's why the scale remains massive."

"Burton's management team is responsible for planning everyone's work and life. Over the years, under Burton's leadership, they have built the Moon Amusement Park, Space Club, Moon Park, and other entertainment facilities. They've actively developed lunar tourism.

"Since other moon cities lack these projects, lunar tourism is now very popular.

"There's also our own mineral company. Our moon city is the only one with a comprehensive base industry, and in the current era of constructing moon cities, we've made a fortune.

"Most of these profits have been used for our cultural companies and the scientific research of Moon City. A small portion has been allocated to projects like the Greenery Plan and the Super Soldier Plan."

Di Fengyi sighed, "The funding for these projects has been reduced year by year. Without the investment from Moon City, they wouldn't have been able to achieve their current results."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "Wasn't the establishment of Moon City meant to solve financial issues?"

Di Fengyi continued in a lower voice, "Belle's Moon City has also seen certain development and has started to channel funds into our Moon City."

Then he resumed his normal tone, "There's another small matter. For the upcoming itinerary, I suggest letting Number Three accompany you. Over the years, he has been a dedicated worker and his capabilities are outstanding. He is already qualified to be your assistant."

On the surface, Jiang Yu appeared to have only one assistant, Di Fengyi, but he actually had a secretariat, with Di Fengyi serving as the director.

Eight years ago, Jiang Yu had arranged for Number Three to be placed in the secretariat.

Jiang Yu was startled, "What about you?"

Di Fengyi said, "Last year, I went to Moon City to discuss with Burton the changes in our strategic goals under the current situation.

"This change is not too urgent. Burton hopes to report the details to you. If you agree with our plan, I might have to work on Mars."

Jiang Yu nodded without asking further, "Okay, have Number Three come over tomorrow."

The next day, Number Three brought Wu Zheng and Pei Yunqi to the hospital room, reporting the research findings of the "Dark Forest" group to Jiang Yu.

Number Three still looked exactly the same as he had eight years before, unchanged. He asked Jiang Yu's parents to rest in the conference room first because the investigation into the "Dark Forest" was still confidential.

Wu Zheng had truly begun to age, not only was his hair white, but wrinkles were also forming on his face.

To Jiang Yu's surprise, Pei Yunqi didn't seem to have changed much, still wearing those black rimmed glasses and dressed somewhat carelessly. However, his previous vigor remained, still lending him a rather energetic appearance.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Number Three drew the hospital room's curtains and helped Pei Yunqi turn on his portable multimedia device.

Pei Yunqi briefed, "Following the clues from the Heifang Relic Site, it took us six years to finally locate the origin of the Heifang people at the Tianshan Ruins.

"Since the era is so remote, we only found some skulls and metal artifacts around the ruins whose functions are unidentifiable.

"The only valuable thing is the mural we discovered at the ruins."

While speaking, he projected an image onto the wall of the hospital room using the multimedia device.

The image was of a mural, seemingly painted in a dry cave, and it appeared to be more aesthetically pleasing than those found at the Heifang Relic Site.

The mural in the photo Pei Yunqi provided depicted stars of different sizes and three rectangles.

Pei Yunqi explained, "We've compared the positions of the stars and they roughly correspond to the positions of stars from ten thousand years ago.

"This mural indicates that the 'Dark Forest' originates from the direction of Sirius, and that three 'Dark Forests' arrived in the Solar System!"