Chapter 28 Changes in the World Structure_1

"Time waits for no one!" Cao Ge sighed.

If he could not accumulate a considerable amount of money now, he would be stranded once the crisis era arrived.

Logic was a stark example, being one of the most powerful people in the world, yet constantly controlled by others.

Why? Because everything Logic had was given to him by the United Nations; he had nothing of his own.

Although the Wallfacer Project granted him unparalleled power, it also came with restrictions. The Project's guidelines mandated that his actions comply with the law; otherwise, the United Nations had the right to restrict him accordingly.

On the contrary, there was another example, Cheng Xin, an ordinary technical employee. Despite her creativity, in a world like Trisolaris, talent was uncertain. Yet, this average office worker, who had no influence over the political landscape, could, because of a windfall, eventually possess the ability to decide the fate of human civilization.

Cheng Xin had nothing but money, yet this allowed her to make elites like Thomas Wade bow before her.

Therefore, if Cao Ge still wanted to complete his mission, he had to have his own power base, one that completely obeyed him, just like Cheng Xin's Star-ring City.

Cheng Xin's example tells us that even if we are good for nothing, continually making the wrong choices, even if humanity is destroyed because of it, she could still escape aboard the only lightspeed spaceship in the world.

What Cheng Xin needed to do was simply find a reliable person for her immense wealth, like Thomas Wade in the original story.

As long as she found the right person, she could do whatever she pleased, and she would never die in the end.

That is the power of money—or, rather, resources.

It was because Logic had no money that he met such an unfortunate end in his later years.

Humanity would not thank him for his contributions; they would only regard him as a tyrant.

Cao Ge did not want to become Logic. Whether or not he could change the fate of mankind in the end, he wanted to be the master of his own fate, not like Logic, coerced and pushed around by public opinion.

............

Around five o'clock, Cao Ge slung his bag over his shoulder, left the company, and drove home.

However, he only stayed at home for fifteen minutes, then grabbed another bag, got back in the car, and drove to a combat gym in the city.

Cao Ge had been practicing Free Combat for almost a month now.

Ever since Shen Yufei threatened him with a knife that time, he had been considering this idea.

He had not trained before because of instability, but after the Second Red Coast Base was destroyed, Cao Ge began.

The reason he wanted to learn a fighting skill was to prepare for possible dangers that might arise in the future.

In this world or others, having extra skills is always beneficial.

Although the ETO in this world had been weakened by the government crackdowns, it still existed.

Going to other worlds, who knew what dangers he might encounter.

Therefore, learning a fighting technique would be extremely helpful in enhancing his survival skills.

Moreover, mastering a skill was not difficult for Cao Ge; he only needed to learn the basics, and then he could use the system to enhance it.

He was studying combat diligently now, preparing himself for his journey through other worlds.

After all, his life was his own to control. He didn't know if, after traversing to another world, he would be able to come back to life if he died, but he guessed it was highly unlikely, as this was not a myth.

So, in addition to practicing combat, Cao Ge planned to visit Da Shi in a few days to learn about shooting.

After all, he had plenty of money. As long as he learned the basic use of firearms from Da Shi, he could then easily find a shooting club to practice his shooting.

Cao Ge, who left work at five, trained at the combat gym until eight before driving home.

Cao Ge's current life was somewhat different from what he had imagined it would be.

But there was no choice; he must endure for now during the early stages of entrepreneurship, and think about other things once things were on track.

His current identity as a young scholar and a small business owner was dime a dozen in society and completely useless.

Oh, and he had an advisory position in science with no real power.

His influence on the outside world was limited to the gaming industry on the internet. Besides that, he could not influence any of the projects that the world's nations were currently engaged in or about to carry out.

The future belonged to politicians.

The influence of politicians would reach its peak.

To the government, small business owners like Cao Ge were dispensable.

Cao Ge had no ability to influence the direction of the world.

He needed to change this situation; he needed a voice.

But such influence could not be obtained with the small amount of money he had, or rather, not just with money. He had to turn his money into chips he could count on.

Otherwise, no one would listen to him.

But he did not want to become someone like Logic.

Cao Ge wanted to gain influence through his own strength, not because of the Wallfacer Project.

For power gained through the Wallfacer Project would ultimately be lost because of it.

After Cao Ge got home, he opened the fridge and made himself a sumptuous dinner. After dinner, he sat in the living room, watched television, and passed the idle hours.

He had spent the past couple of months this way.

Because, aside from this, he could find nothing else to do.

After watching TV dramas for about half an hour and feeling drowsy, he went back to his bedroom.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, eight months went by.

............

It was a cloudless sunny day.

Cao Ge sat in his yard, basking in the sun.

As predicted earlier, in May of this year, governments around the world began revealing to their citizens that the Trisolarans were about to invade Earth.

The world then descended into panic, and subsequently, governments announced the formation of the Planetary Defense Council, coordinating societal resources to build defensive forces against the Trisolarans who would arrive in four hundred years.

In the following three months, governments began to consciously adjust national economies. Investments in the entertainment sector significantly decreased, while sizable funds flowed into space exploration and military defense research.

Cao Ge's gaming company, in such an environment, struggled to survive and finally stopped game development a week ago, retaining only a small part of the staff to operate those few popular games.

Galaxy Science and Technology entered an era of major layoffs and expansions.

Layoffs were for the planning departments, while expansions focused on hiring high-tech personnel.

Cao Ge had decided to enter the communications field, start researching the next generation of smart devices, and gradually become a company specializing in artificial intelligence research.

After half a year of business, Cao Ge's net worth had reached 1.5 billion.

Just as Galaxy Science and Technology was transitioning, Cao Ge was also about to begin his journey through worlds.