Chapter 270: Deadly Artwork_1

The resolution by the PDC and Fleet International to cancel the Wallfacer Project was already regarded as the most foolish decision in history.

This was also an important reason why the PDC and Fleet International were so eager to reinstate the Wallfacer status of Luo Ji and Jiang Yu.

If their actions weren't quick enough, all of the people's dissatisfaction would vent on the governments of the PDC and Fleet International.

As long as Jiang Yu and Luo Ji's Wallfacer status was restored, the people's dissatisfaction would transform into hope for the two Wallfacers.

At the hearing where the Wallfacer Project was cancelled, Jiang Yu had said that he would only "come out of retirement" once Asia was in his pocket.

At the time, all the representatives thought it was a joke, and didn't take it seriously.

Now that Jiang Yu was suddenly serious about it, the bitter sweetness of it could be partially understood by looking at the troubled expressions of Bai Pingjun and Ai Wei, who didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Bai Pingjun deliberated, "Giving Asia to the Solar System State, this, this might be..."

Ai Wei cut in, "It might be difficult to meet this condition. If you could lower your demands, maybe we could still negotiate."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll reluctantly lower my demands!"

He straightened up, "I demand a lease of two hundred square kilometers around the Desert North Farm to the Solar System State.

"Additionally, I want 'The Dark Forest'!"

Ai Wei quickly said, "That range would include Beijing. Could it be shifted northward?"

"That's fine, as long as it's connected to the current Desert North Farm." Jiang Yu paused before adding, "This is my final concession."

Ai Wei sighed with relief—northward meant Mongolia, a country that no longer had much presence, and giving its land to the Solar System State wouldn't raise any objections.

Then Ai Wei asked, "What is 'The Dark Forest'?"

Jiang Yu said, "You can go back and look it up yourself."

Ai Wei nodded.

Jiang Yu added, "Hurry up and report back, and give me an answer quickly!"

...

Jiang Shiliu left Mars, not heading directly to Earth, but first went to Guanghan City to awaken Thirty-Six.

Thirty-Six, upon hearing about the recent events, didn't seem surprised, "I have to say, I foresaw humanity's failure two hundred years ago. You won't say I'm wise after the event, will you?"

"No," Jiang Shiliu sighed, "the disadvantage of humanity was obvious, I had also anticipated it long ago; I just didn't expect that humanity's armed forces would be foolish enough to go to their deaths!"

Thirty-Six remarked, "Actually, everyone isn't that foolish. A long time ago, they already thought of the best way to fight the Trisolarans: the Wallfacer Project!

"Command of this life-and-death struggle must be in the hands of a few, because there's no time for discussion or compromise in such a war, nor can one afford to hinder oneself. It's about a fight to the death with the concentrated effort of the entire race.

"Sadly, humanity is so forgetful."

Jiang Shiliu also heaved a long sigh, "Come with me to Earth, I need your assistance."

Thirty-Six was startled, "Has Jiang Yu given you a new task?"

Jiang Shiliu nodded, "I have imagined many of the Trisolarans' high-end weapons, but never thought of anything like 'The Waterdrop'.

"But for some reason, I always felt like Jiang Yu already knew the details of 'The Waterdrop'.

"Do you know? The topic he had me research after he woke up from hibernation might be the only way we have to deal with 'The Waterdrop' now."

Thirty-Six half-reclined on the hospital bed and asked with some curiosity, "Tell me about it."

Jiang Shiliu smiled, "I can't tell you now. Jiang Yu has instructed me to visit Luo Ji and explain the plans of the Solar System State to him. By then, you will naturally know."

Thirty-Six smacked his lips, "That's really not interesting."

"Huh? Why don't you call him Father Jiang Yu anymore?"

Jiang Shiliu gave a wry smile, "I just can't bring myself to say it. If we're talking about age, he's even younger than me."

Thirty-Six laughed, "Is this a break-off of the father-son relationship?"

But Jiang Shiliu shook his head, "As long as I still carry the Jiang surname, that won't happen."

Three days later, Jiang Shiliu personally piloted a spaceship, taking Thirty-Six to Earth.

Nowadays, the travel time from the Moon to Earth had been significantly reduced. Departing from Guanghan City, it took roughly fourteen hours to reach Yellow River Station, or one of the several spaceports on Earth.

The spaceship the two were on was an "Earth-Moon Unified Model" spacecraft, which allowed travel without the need for transferring to a shuttle. By simply applying to a spaceport in advance, one could enter the Earth's atmosphere from a designated position.

This type of spacecraft was specially designed for short trips between Earth, Moon, and Mars. Because it had to take off from Earth, the spacecraft was not large and not capable of long-distance space travel.

However, once this model was launched, it quickly became a favorite among Earth's wealthy businessmen.

With such a spacecraft, there was no need to squeeze into the passenger ships at the spaceport with ordinary people. It became a symbol of their status.

The spacecraft that Jiang Shiliu was piloting had been disposed of at a low price by a rich businessman. The deterrent of "The Waterdrop" made many people dispose of their space-related assets.

More people swore they would never go to space again.

At first, no one wanted these things until they dropped to rock-bottom prices. That's when Jiang Yu instructed to buy up this kind of product or assets on a large scale.

Although Jiang Shiliu didn't understand the purpose behind Jiang Yu's actions, he knew that following the Wallfacers was always the right decision.

So, he used his savings to buy this spaceship and renamed it "Light Feather."

If Jiang Yu hadn't already snapped up all the planet-class spaceships first, Jiang Shiliu would have considered taking out a loan for a planet-class spaceship that could travel to the outer planets of the Solar System.

After leaving the Moon, Thirty-Six discovered from the computer-generated virtual course, "We're not going directly to Earth?"

Jiang Shiliu laughed, "I bought this spaceship precisely to see 'The Waterdrop' with my own eyes."

Thirty-Six nodded, "I'm pretty curious too."

Now only the Solar System State's passenger ships were still operating, but apart from the Solar System State's officials on duty, no one else was willing to go to space.

If Jiang Shiliu and Thirty-Six had taken a passenger ship to Earth, the pilot would have stayed well away from "The Waterdrop."

If one wished to see The Waterdrop, they had to pilot their own ship there.

"The Waterdrop" was currently between Earth and the Sun, about 40,000 kilometers from Earth.

"Light Feather" traveled to within about 20,000 kilometers of "The Waterdrop," where intense electromagnetic pulses emitted by "The Waterdrop" caused malfunctions with the spacecraft's electronic equipment.

While putting on his spacesuit, Jiang Shiliu said, "We can only go manual from here on. I estimate that a little further ahead, all electronic devices will fail.

"At that time, the life support system will also collapse, and even manual operations that require just a few electronic components probably won't withstand 'The Waterdrop's' electromagnetic interference.

"However, at the spacecraft's current gliding speed, in over forty minutes, we should be able to skim past 'The Waterdrop,' and in a little more than three hours, we should be able to leave this area of intense electromagnetic waves.

"How about it? Do you want to take the risk with me?"

While putting on his spacesuit, Thirty-Six laughed and said, "We've come this far, what's the point of turning back now?"

So, thirty-eight minutes later, "Light Feather" passed close by "The Waterdrop."

Jiang Shiliu and Thirty-Six were pressed up against the porthole, watching the exquisitely beautiful artifact silently hovering there.

Its spherical head faced the Sun, reflecting sunlight as if it were aflame.

Who could have imagined such a beautiful object has already ended more than three million vibrant lives.