50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 556 Looking Back, History Provides the Answer

The total population of the Java Islands is currently around 2 million, with the Javanese and Sunda peoples making up the largest proportion.

Of these, 45% are Javanese, 12% are Sunda, and only 5% are Chinese.

Java is the largest island in Java and the largest gathering place for the Javanese and Sunda peoples.

Java Island covers an area of ​​13.22 square kilometers and has a population of 1 million, including more than 8000 million Javanese and more than 1200 million Sunda people.

Decades ago, these two ethnic groups created a nightmare for the Javanese Chinese, and the subsequent restrictive laws were all derived from this.

As long as the dominant status of these two ethnic groups remains unchanged, it will be extremely difficult for the Chinese in Java to gain a dominant position.

This problem has been troubling him for a long time, and he still hasn't come up with a good way to solve it at its root.

However, he recently recalled a sentence he had heard in his previous life, and it inspired him.

That saying is: There's nothing new in this world; everything is just history repeating itself.

If he cannot find a solution to the problem, he can seek answers from history.

So, in what periods of history were there any methods other than killing to quickly reduce the population?

Actually, there are quite a few.

In the 2nd century AD, the Antonine Plague killed one-third of Rome's population, approximately 5 million.
In the 6th century AD, the Plague of Justinian (bubonic plague) killed one-third of the inhabitants of Constantinople.
In the 14th century, the Black Death (plague) killed about 25 million people, representing one-third of Europe's population.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Great Plague of the Americas (smallpox) killed approximately 2900 million Native Americans.
In the 19th century, a global cholera pandemic killed 3800 million people in India, and the total number worldwide was incalculable.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Spanish flu infected 10 billion people worldwide and killed nearly 4000 million.
Historically, only two events have been able to cause large-scale population decline: war and viruses.

Cases of population decline reaching tens of millions are rare, except for the two world wars and global pandemics; history has already pointed him in the right direction.

Sun Zhiwei was not a soft-hearted person. He looked back at the smoke-filled Jakarta as if he were looking at a city of sin.

At this moment, he discovered from the space that a force was rapidly approaching from both the east and west sides of the port. It seemed that Jakarta's last free exit was finally about to close.

Without further thought, Sun Zhiwei pulled out a speedboat, boarded it, and headed out of the harbor.

His next stop was to collect ammunition.

In this day and age, besides Western countries, only Russia has the capability to conduct research on deadly viruses.

Because research on those deadly viruses requires a laboratory with the highest level of biosafety, namely a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory.

Laboratories of this caliber are not readily available everywhere; they require not only sufficient technology but also are exorbitantly expensive to build.

Moreover, having a laboratory is not enough; there must also be a way to collect samples of various deadly viruses.

For example, the smallpox virus.

In 1979, with the widespread vaccination against smallpox around the world, smallpox was essentially eradicated. The World Health Organization of the United Nations held a celebration ceremony to commemorate this achievement.

In the same year, laboratories around the world agreed to destroy smallpox virus samples or send them to the CDC laboratory in the United States or the VECTOR laboratory in Russia, the two highest-level biological laboratories, for preservation.

On December 9, 1979, members of the Global Smallpox Eradication Certification Committee signed the certification in Geneva. From that day forward, except for the CDC in the United States and the VECTOR laboratory in Russia, smallpox was confirmed to have been eradicated.

The two countries where the laboratories that retained the virus samples are located also pledged that their purpose in retaining the smallpox virus samples is for research and development of related vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests.

So that people can be protected from smallpox should it be used as a biological weapon in the future.

That sounds nice, but the reality is that both sides are wary of each other. They don't trust each other, so they simply keep a copy for themselves to keep each other in check.

In theory, if Sun Zhiwei wanted to obtain smallpox virus samples, he would have to go to either the CDC or the VECTOR laboratory.

Of course, this is only apparent.

There's a saying that goes, "You shouldn't have the heart to harm others, but you can't be without the heart to guard against them."

In reality, not only do Russia and the United States distrust each other, but other countries are unlikely to completely trust each other either; everyone wants to keep some options open.

Currently, there are still many smallpox virus samples that have been secretly preserved in various laboratories around the world.

Since the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated in 1980, most countries around the world have stopped routine smallpox vaccination.

Since last year, my country has also stopped routine smallpox vaccination programs.

As these children who were not vaccinated against smallpox grow up, the immune barrier against smallpox gradually disappears, and the smallpox virus will once again become a deadly weapon.

Such a terrifying thing, if you don't even have the original sample, after you are attacked by the virus, the time it takes to quickly develop a vaccine again will be enough to cause a devastating blow to your country.

Smallpox is the only virus that humans have confirmed to have eradicated. Many other deadly viruses that once ravaged the world still lurk in the corners of the world and may make a comeback at any time.

After ranking all known viruses, Sun Zhiwei couldn't help but marvel at the incredible resilience of human life.

Throughout history, humanity has been decimated by various viruses generation after generation, yet the total population continues to grow.

Look at the mortality rate of the deadly viruses surrounding us today.

艾滋病毒（死亡率100%）、狂犬病毒（死亡率100%）、埃博拉病毒（致死率90%）、马尔堡病毒（死亡率88%）、霍乱病毒（死亡率70%）和鼠疫病毒（死亡率60%）、H5N1禽流感病毒（死亡率53%）、登革热病毒（死亡率50%）。

If you encounter any of these human killers, then congratulations, you've started the Russian roulette of life.

In Sun Zhiwei's mind, the virus's mortality rate was not the only criterion for choosing a weapon; the combination of "high virulence, easy transmission, and no cure" was the weapon he needed.

In modern society, viruses that fit this characteristic include Marburg virus, Ebola virus, H5N1 avian influenza virus, and so on.

Other viruses, although they have high mortality rates, all have specific transmission routes. As long as precautions are taken, infection can be reduced or even avoided immediately.

For example, the rabies virus is very difficult to contract unless you are bitten by a cat or dog.

Now there are vaccines that can be injected within 24 hours. Although the mortality rate is 100%, they are no longer a major threat to humans.

(End of this chapter)