Chapter 138: Chapter 138: A Highly Efficient World
For civilizations undergoing the Civilization Trial, the greatest despair lies not in the absence of even a glimmer of hope, but in not knowing how to struggle at all.
In the end, they can only wait for their demise amid pain and cries, until they become numb to it all.
Yes, there might indeed be a possibility for them to pass the Trial, but such a possibility is incredibly slim, probably lost before they themselves were even aware of it.
Despair spread continuously within the silent hall.
Emperors are so helpless in such situations.
Until a scholar responsible for astronomical observation shakily raised his hand.
“Your Majesty, those stars in the sky, those civilizations, is there any chance they could save us?”
With just that one sentence, suddenly, everyone’s gaze turned to this man.
Larry’s previously lifeless eyes finally began to flicker.
“Have you discovered something?” he asked hoarsely.
Seeking help from other civilizations had already been proposed by some.
But those stars hung high in the sky, utterly unreachable, and Al’s system mall had no power to travel the vastness of space.
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Even just to send a message, just to cry for help, seemed like an unrealistic wish under such a vast distance.
“I, I’m not sure,” said the astronomer, the pinnacle of his field in the entire civilization, his voice trembling, “Yesterday, Observation No.3 in the north of the Imperial City spotted an unidentified flying object below the night sky, above the clouds. It definitely isn’t technology we possess; it’s very possible they have already arrived, at least one of the civilizations up there has come!”
If this message had appeared before the blizzard, it would have sparked fear and vigilance in everyone.
An empire with an imperialistic agenda never regards its “neighbors” with kindness.
That was the reason the astronomer didn’t dare to report it immediately.
But now, this message caused every heart to tremble.
A civilization able to cross the vast distances from the stars above to their world must be stronger than them. In face of such power, their despair might not amount to anything!
Even if it meant paying a price, even sacrificing everything, it could be the last hope for the whole civilization, including everyone here!
“Contact them! Contact them!” Larry’s voice trembled at first, but by the second shout, it had risen again, “Use radio or whatever useful thing in the mall to send a distress signal!”
He wasn’t sure of the newcomers’ intentions; it could be another crisis, another disaster.
But for a civilization already on the path to extinction, nothing could be worse than the current situation.
Any change, especially a massive one, would be the only path left to take!
So, a few hours later, Shen Hao also received the news.
“Asking for help?” Shen Hao wasn’t surprised by this outcome, “It seems the conclusion is correct, they really can’t hold on, even if the blizzard has just begun, it’s enough to drive them to despair.”
For a civilization, it is essential to see the nature of competition among multiple civilizations in this Trial clearly.
Seeking help from unknown competitors can only be because they have reached a desperate point.
Even if the others refuse, or if they’re indeed more vicious, more brutal demons, there’s still a sliver of hope, better than immediate extinction.
“According to our current observations, their biggest problem isn’t the cold, but food,” Dong Gong said, “There are large areas of freshly-planted food that have been destroyed by the cold wave. Some cities report a large number of individuals dying from starvation, even more than those dying from the cold. Moreover, social order has collapsed, industry has halted, and many people die in the struggle for food… Our sent observers have actually been quite shocked.”
Shen Hao could picture that scene.
The end of a civilization is like all the hells of the world appearing together.
Not just externally, but internally as well.
However—
“Think about the people who have died in our civilization,” Shen Hao said without any falter in his voice, “In just a few months, the death toll in our civilization has approached three hundred million. There is no mercy in the face of the Civilization Trial. The only reason for us to help them is if we can secure greater benefits for ourselves.”
“Yes,” Dong Gong agreed, clearly very aware of this.
“What’s our food situation?” Shen Hao asked further.
“Not bad,” Dong Gong said, “The cold wave and blizzard have caused significant damage to food production, but the Civilization Trial began in winter anyway, and the last Blood Demon War didn’t cause much harm to our food. The reserve food we currently have is enough to last the whole world for more than two years—enough time for the food industry in the Underground City to recover.”
Shen Hao had brought out many civilian-related technologies from the Level 17 Mall.
Among them, quite a few were related to food production.
Intensive hydroponics, synthetic meat, starch production technologies, even edible cell culture…
Food wasn’t an issue to worry about in this Trial.
“Then we can proceed with the trade in an appropriate manner,” Shen Hao nodded. “Have someone make a detailed assessment to see what can be done without impacting our own situation.”
“Yes,” Dong Gong responded.
The blizzard continued, but they had found their path.
That was the Underground City project!
Three days later, the scale of the blizzard finally began to wane. Outside of the core areas, the surface temperature covered by the snowstorm ranged from minus ninety to minus one hundred thirty degrees Celsius.
This temperature had surpassed the average daily temperature in Antarctica and was unsuitable for most people to survive. As expected, most areas of Japan, the most severly affected country, had been frozen over by the sea.
The death toll primarily came from those in Japan who hadn’t been evacuated in time.
In addition, the city wind wall project had been proven to provide only marginal protection. Although the massive wind wall had blocked the direct assault of the blizzard, the cold wave had still penetrated into the cities. The average temperature inside had dropped to around minus sixty to seventy degrees Celsius, and survival was only possible with ample electricity and advanced cold-proof technology.
After thorough comparison, the Global United Front in a public meeting, officially announced the disaster resistance plan!
It was primarily the Underground City project, supplemented by the wind wall project.
The Great National Construction had officially begun!
Following the preparations made earlier, the whole world started to function rapidly and efficiently.
…
Li Tao was an ordinary man in his thirties from the Eastern Country, with a wife and two children, not yet in their teens. After the Global United Front announced the start of the grand construction campaign on TV, he nervously refreshed his cell phone.
“It’s here, it’s here, we got it!” exclaimed his wife suddenly.
“Where?” Li Tao quickly looked over.
“Three options: kindergarten school, protective suit factory, food processing plant.”
“Choose the kindergarten,” Li Tao said without hesitation. “You were a teacher before, and besides, being with the children will definitely be safer.”
“But the kids are in elementary school.” Li Tao’s wife looked worriedly at their two children.
“We have no choice. The spokesperson said it, we need to minimize transport as much as possible, so centralized management is the only way. The family will definitely be separated, but isn’t the internet still working? We can video call the kids after work every day.” Li Tao, seeing his wife’s teary eyes, hugged her sympathetically.
He, too, didn’t want to separate from his family.
But the spokesperson had made it very clear, all workplaces had to be centrally managed to maximize production efficiency.
What’s more, outside temperatures had already dropped to minus twenty degrees Celsius. It was impossible to return home every day as before.
At that moment, Li Tao’s cell phone also displayed a notification.
Again, there were three choices.
“Underground City construction worker, transport vehicle factory, building materials factory.”
Li Tao made his choice almost the instant the first option appeared!
“You got assigned to be an Underground City construction worker?” Li Tao’s wife saw the content on the phone, her expression instantly complex with excitement, worry, and even fear. A mixture of emotions overwhelmed her, and she just held Li Tao tightly.
Construction work was the most dangerous, but it also awarded the most contribution points!
Contribution points could be used to exchange for the first residential spots in the Underground City!
The publicly available information from the Global United Front was very clear: the Underground City project was the safest, and through the live broadcasts on the internet, they had seen the conditions inside the An Yuan Underground City clearly!
Outside, the blizzard raged, and temperatures had plummeted to minus one hundred degrees Celsius, yet the average temperature inside the An Yuan Underground City still managed to remain above ten degrees!
Everyone believed that entering the Underground City meant safety!
“Good thing I still have some strength in me,” Li Tao said, only feeling excitement. “I felt I could be selected the moment they asked for a photo! I have reached the Second Level in cultivation!”
Underground City construction work was a crucial job of intense physical labor.
Physical fitness had to meet the standard.
Taking a photo with a cellphone was the most basic and simplest form of screening.
Unless further examination revealed any major illness, or if one’s Cultivation Level was falsely reported, one was essentially guaranteed selection.
Of course, some found this relatively dangerous and wanted to choose other jobs.
Nowadays, everyone had three job assignments to choose from, which were determined based on one’s conditions, past work experience, personal applications, and were processed by the intelligent AI.
It goes without saying, technological advancements could greatly increase the efficiency of a civilization’s operations. If it were the Siti Civilization, they could not achieve such a rapid and precise mobilization of the majority of people in a short period!
