Chapter 246: The Final Hearing_1

The remainder of Jiang Yu's voyage was enriching, as he refrained from making further contact with astronomers to inquire about intelligence on other planetary systems in the vicinity.

It was the final moment, better to be cautious.

When he had left Earth, it was still Crisis Year 204, and now it had become Crisis Year 205.

As the massive Jupiter took up most of his view, Jiang Yu finally reached his destination.

Gazing at the storm-ravaged Gas Giant Planet through the porthole, Jiang Yu suddenly felt a deep reverence for space.

It was too vast and too powerful.

The Jupiter Colonies, now home to roughly one hundred and sixty million humans, seemed as insignificant as dust compared to it.

There were two types of Jupiter Colonies. One type was built on the moons of Jupiter, with a structure and scale quite similar to that of Yinghuo City and Guanghan City.

The other type of colony was constructed within the space of Jupiter Orbit.

Jupiter City, Jiang Yu's destination, was the largest city in Jupiter Orbit.

From a distance, it resembled a massive steel ring, with many portholes on the inner side emitting white light, making it look like a halo in the dark space.

On the "ring"'s exterior laid a circle of space docks, nearly half of which were military docks, the other half a mix of cargo and passenger docks.

Nowadays, Jupiter's military docks were filled with many warships, their presence resembling steel thorns growing on the outer edge of the steel ring.

As he drew near Jupiter City, the ring grew so large it even eclipsed Jupiter itself.

The "steel thorns" turned into titanic steel pillars, as the warships themselves spanned several kilometers in length.

Jiang Yu marvelled at the greatness of human strength; no wonder modern people all thought they could utterly crush the Trisolarans—such an immense steel structure was indeed awe-inspiring!

Modern people had forgotten the deterrence of Sophon, easily misled by such superficial might.

The spaceship entered the space dock, where docking technology had now advanced to the point where the dock's connectors would directly latch onto the spaceship's hatch.

People on the spaceship could simply open the hatch and enter the dock, no longer needing an airlock chamber.

Supply and refueling for the spaceship were also completed via the connector, and only for maintenance or parts replacement would it be necessary to enter the hangar.

Jiang Yu entered the dock through the inside of the connector where Gu Cheng and Ai De, among others, were already awaiting his arrival.

As Number Three said, they still performed some superficial courtesies.

Gu Cheng, using the indoor micro-thrusters attached to his waist, moved forward to shake hands with Jiang Yu: "Welcome to Jupiter City."

Then he asked in a joking tone, "Wallfacer, do you think the Trisolarans could build this city hailed as a 'miracle of space'?"

Two months of travel had acclimatized Jiang Yu to the weightless environment, and he had practiced using the indoor thrusters. He skillfully counterbalanced the reactive force from shaking Gu Cheng's hand with his thruster.

He smiled and said, "The Trisolarans couldn't build this."

Several people behind Gu Cheng intentionally let out a laugh.

Jiang Yu continued, "Their entire planetary system has only one planet – resources are too scarce!

"Abundant resources have always been our greatest advantage."

Gu Cheng didn't display the dismissive attitude that some of the higher-ups did toward Jiang Yu, and he sincerely smiled as he said, "Having seen Jupiter City, have any of your previous views changed?"

Jiang Yu shook his head, "No, unless you tell me you have created a Sophon, then save your big talk."

Behind Gu Cheng, a woman with graying hair said, "Please don't judge the current world with the stubborn perspective of your era!

"Sophon might have existed before, but they have long since been obsolete. For over a century, no one has seen a Sophon!"

Jiang Yu sighed, "The achievements you've made are indeed comforting, but that's as far as it goes.

"Let's not talk about this issue anymore. The Trisolaran Probe will arrive in the Solar System in a little over a month, and then we'll see what conclusion it brings."

Ai De smiled and said, "We hope that the Wallfacer will honor the earlier agreement when the time comes."

Jiang Yu glanced at him, "You should also prepare to face your own fate."

Many senior officials shook their heads in disappointment; many of them had grown up idolizing the Wallfacer.

However, the words and actions of the Wallfacer had caused their idolized image to crumble.

Leading the way, Gu Cheng said, "I have some bad news. You are to attend a hearing initiated by the PDC and Fleet International in three days."

Jiang Yu nodded, "I know. The final hearing for the Wallfacer Project, right?"

"You actually know?" Gu Cheng was taken aback. How had the information been leaked?

But he didn't delve deeper, considering that there were still some forces willing to serve the Wallfacer.

Gu Cheng continued, "The PDC and Fleet International both think that with the arrival of the Trisolaran probe, the Wallfacer Project should be canceled!

"Your status as a Wallfacer will also be revoked."

As he spoke, Gu Cheng watched Jiang Yu, but Jiang Yu's reaction was a disappointment to him.

There was no surprise, nor disappointment, just a cold laugh.

Jiang Yu laughed coldly, "Over a hundred years ago, the agreement I signed with the PDC countries was in my own name, not as a Wallfacer.

"Will this hearing affect my upcoming role as the 'Supreme Commander' of Fleet International?"

Gu Cheng cleared his throat, "Of, of course it won't.

"Our Solar System Federation still supports you as our Wallfacer, it's just that the Wallfacer Project has been canceled."

Jiang Yu glanced at Gu Cheng, "Didn't you already cancel it a while ago?"

Gu Cheng smiled awkwardly, "Oh, and, because there is currently over a forty-minute signal delay between Jupiter and Earth, you'll only be able to hear the decisions of the hearing; you won't be able to voice any opinions."

This was a scenario that everyone was pleased to see; the other Wallfacers were easy to deal with, having just woken up from hibernation and completely out of touch with the modern world, their project teams had long been disbanded.

But Jiang Yu was different. Although his actual power had dwindled, he was still an influential figure.

If Jiang Yu opposed the decision to cancel the Wallfacer Project at the meeting, the PDC would have a tough time dealing with it.

Jiang Yu waved his hand dismissively, "I know, I can't be bothered to argue with those fools!"

...

Three days later, Earth, United Nations Hall.

Seated in the back row, Heinz's holographic window suddenly lit up, and Heinz greeted Logic, smiling on the hospital bed.

Keiko Yamasuki sat expressionlessly beside him, responding to Logic's greeting with only a slight nod.

This Keiko Yamasuki felt somewhat unfamiliar to Heinz.

Ever since she awoke, she hadn't spoken a word, the once affectionate bond gone without a trace; Heinz wasn't even sure if the person beside him was still his wife.

After announcing the start of the meeting, the rotating chairperson spoke, "Representatives, in this session, we shall make the final vote on Proposal No. 649 raised during the 47th joint session of this year.

"Before reading the proposal, I must convey a warning from Wallfacer Jiang Yu from Jupiter, well, I'm not sure it can be called a warning.

"Wallfacer Jiang Yu says, hahaha..."

At this point, the rotating chairperson seemed unable to restrain a laugh.

He took a deep breath, getting his emotions under control before continuing, "Wallfacer Jiang Yu says to everyone: Now that they've revoked his Wallfacer status, he'll only continue as a Wallfacer if Asia is given to the Solar System Federation."

Many representatives present burst out laughing, except for the representatives of the Solar System Federation who sat with glum faces, to them, the Wallfacer was truly a troublesome figure!

The laughter lasted for more than ten seconds before the rotating chairperson cleared his throat and continued, "I will now read the content of Proposal No. 649: In the two years following the emergence of the Three-body Crisis, the United Nations Planetary Defense Council formulated the Wallfacer Plan, which was unanimously approved by all permanent member states and executed the following year."

During the chairperson's pause, people seemingly remembered the joke Jiang Yu had just made, and many could not help laughing again.

Heinz, having observed all this, sighed deeply and thought to himself: Our era has ended, why does Jiang Yu bother with all this?