Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 108 Digging a Hole on Mercury

"The Caesar you failed to hunt down has appeared. He has come to the Center of Faith and received the first thought imprint. He is now a staunch victor."

Someone said to Luo Qing.

"Oh, it's nothing, it happened more than ten years ago, let bygones be bygones. Anyway, those Trisolaran rebels have already received their due punishment."

"The PDC chairman asked me to ask you, do you need to deal with Caesar?"

"No need. Didn't they say he's become one of the victors? He's one of us now. I trust Dr. Hines."

"Okay, I will convey your attitude truthfully."

...

A few months later, the Hines went into hibernation.

The Center of Beliefs and the Thought Imprint Project were a complete success. The two stayed in a small courtyard in Kyoto for a while before heading to the hibernation base in Antarctica.

“Honey, it’s so cold here,” said Keiko Yamasugi.

Hines gripped his wife's hand tightly, and a rich warmth enveloped her.

"Huizi, promise me, no matter what the future holds, we will move forward together."

“But where is the front?” Keiko Yamasugi asked.

“No matter which way you go, you’re moving forward,” Hines said, looking at the endless rows of hibernation pods before him.

...

Crisis Year 21 (2028)
The UN Planetary Defense Council's Wallfacer program hearings are discussing the testing of a stellar hydrogen bomb.

Due to the breakthrough in computers, Radiaz and Hines were awakened at almost the same time. However, unlike Hines, who quickly completed the thought imprinting, Radiaz's stellar nuclear bomb project underwent a long period of preparation. It was not until Hines had completely gone into hibernation that Radiaz completed all the preparations for the plan.

Hines's plan progressed so quickly, thanks in no small part to the efforts of his wife, Dr. Keiko Yamasugi, who worked tirelessly for eight years.

Rediaz is no good; he lacks a wife as capable as her.

After waking up, he had to do everything himself, which naturally took up a lot of time.

At this hearing on the Wallfacer Project, only one person remained in the Wallfacer's seat.

That was Luo Qing. He sat there alone, his gaze fixed on the direction of Radiaz, seemingly lost in thought.

Rediaz stood at the center of the report, surrounded by representatives from various countries scrutinizing him, as well as Garnin, the current president of the Security Council.

These scrutinizing gazes made Diaz very uncomfortable. Apart from the gentle gaze of the elderly Kalinin, the other gazes gave him the illusion that he was not the Wallfacer standing in the Union Building, but a clown in the center of the stage.

Radiaz snorted and began his report.

Garnin listened quietly from the podium. This elderly Russian had lost count of how many times he had served as the rotating chairman of the PDC, but he knew this was his last term. His record in the PDC was longer than that of Sai.

If it weren't for the fact that Sai devoted most of her energy to Project Star and Project Monument to Humanity, she might have been able to remain in that position a few more times at her age.

However, Garnin still envied Sai. He believed that being the rotating chairman was definitely not a good job.

As Radiaz reported on the wall-building project, representatives from various countries gradually gained a systematic understanding of Radiaz's work.

The first stellar nuclear bomb had an explosive yield of a staggering 35 billion tons, which is about 70 times the yield of the Tsar Bomba, the largest hydrogen bomb in human history during the Cold War. Because the explosive power of this level of stellar nuclear bomb far exceeds the redundancy limit of the surface environment, air-burst and underground test detonation are not feasible. The only place left to conduct the explosion test is one place.

space.

Furthermore, low Earth orbit is not feasible, as testing such a large-yield nuclear weapon in low Earth orbit would cause global electromagnetic interference; it must be conducted further away from Earth.

But Rediaz put forward a condition that was intolerable to countries around the world.

"I requested that the first star-shaped nuclear bomb be detonated on Mercury; this is part of the plan."

“That’s impossible.” The American representative slammed his fist on the table in rebuttal. He was exhausted. Why did these Wallfacers always have to come up with some shocking and unconventional plans?

Can't you just do something normal?
After the technology of the Earth-Moon spacecraft matured, and after a year of development, the hybrid spacecraft technology based on propellantless radiation propulsion and propellant propulsion made great strides. In just one year, human footprints expanded from the Moon to Mars.

The United Nations flag, representing Earth's civilization, was planted on a second planet outside of Earth a few months ago.

Mars has been incorporated into human territory.

Landing on Mars is not the same as landing on Mercury. Mars is the closest planet to Earth, while Mercury is much farther away. Moreover, because Mercury is so close to the Sun, the high temperatures and solar winds pose a greater challenge to the spacecraft. With planetary spacecraft still in their infancy, landing on Mercury is no easy feat.

If Radiaz's plan had simply involved dropping nuclear bombs on the surface of Mercury, it would have been barely acceptable to the nations. But this madman, Radiaz, actually demanded that humanity drill a hole in the surface of Mercury and then drop a stellar nuclear bomb into it.

Conducting underground nuclear tests on Mercury!
This far exceeds the technological means currently available to humankind.

Amid numerous questions, the Russian representative stated: "Mr. Diaz, you should be aware of the limits of current human technology. Digging ultra-deep wells on Mercury and conducting underground nuclear tests is not a technology that humanity can achieve at this stage; it will take at least 10 years, or perhaps longer. If you just want to hear a bang in space, I suggest you drop a stellar nuclear bomb on Mars or Venus; that seems much easier."

"No, we must conduct stellar nuclear experiments on Mercury. If this plan takes 10 years, then I can wait."

"You should go into hibernation as soon as possible," the American representative urged. "I sincerely hope you can sleep for a few more years."

Radiaz slammed the microphone down on the table, and the sound system in the hall immediately emitted a persistent, shrill buzz, which caused most people to instinctively cover their ears.

“I told you that it was part of the plan. Don’t try to fob me off with hibernation. As for the current technology, it’s more than enough to dig super-deep wells on Mercury. It’s just that the resource investment will be greater, and I’m afraid you’re unwilling to spend that money.”

The Chinese representative pulled out a stack of food coupons from his pocket: "Comrade Diaz, if we put in all our efforts, then humanity does indeed have the ability to dig a hole on Mercury. But please note that our people have already started using this thing. If we go to great lengths to complete your plan, then we can now announce the start of the 'Great Depression' era in advance, and people all over the world will go hungry while paying for your plan."

The British representative added, "And I really don't see the point of dropping a nuclear bomb on Mercury."

The Japanese representative said, "Compared to Mr. Rediaz, Dr. Luo Ji, who casts spells at the sun, and Dr. Hines, who manipulates people's minds, they all seem much more amiable."

The French representative mocked, "A person with heliophobia wants to drop a nuclear bomb as close to the sun as possible."

It's well-known that Radjaz suffers from phobias, but no one has ever used this phrase to satirize the Wallfacer before, but today, the satire has surfaced.

Rediaz slammed his fist on the table in anger: "I knew it would be like this. You will strictly restrict my actions. If that's the case, then what is the point of my existence as a Wallfacer? Is it merely to satisfy your goal of selecting a Wallfacer from Asia, Africa and Latin America to achieve a superficial fairness?"

Galning's aged voice came through: "Mr. Rediaz, this is not because I am prejudiced against you, but your plan does indeed consume a huge amount of resources. The resources you consume even far exceed the total of the other four Wallfacers. This is unfair to the other Wallfacers and has exceeded the limits of the Wallfacer plan."

Facing Galnin, Rediaz was still respectful: "Chairman, it is true that I have consumed a huge amount of resources, but as we all know, my plan overlaps to a great extent with the mainstream defense plan of the Planetary Defense Council. For example, the stellar nuclear bombs I need will also be an important part of space defense operations in the future. With the two combined, the actual amount of resources I have consumed will not be too much."

"Oh, how many Stellar-type nuclear bombs do you need?" the U.S. representative asked.

"I don't know, it depends on the outcome of the stellar nuclear bomb exploding on Mercury, but the number is not expected to be small."

"Approximately how much?"

"Maybe a million?" Rediaz said uncertainly.

“A madman.” The American representative said calmly, turning to the podium: “Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the United States, I request that his Wallfacer status be revoked.”

Garnin shook his head with a wry smile.

Despite Diaz's continued arguments, the representatives from various countries remained adamant that completing the plan to drill an ultra-deep well on Mercury was virtually impossible given the current global economic crisis.

Therefore, even though Radjaz took off his boots and banged on the table frantically, none of the seven permanent members of the council relented.

"Excuse me, can I interrupt for a moment?" Luo Qing had witnessed the entire farce.

The room fell silent instantly, everyone silently thinking the same thing: 'You've finally given your opinion!'

"Radiaz, is digging ultra-deep wells on Mercury and conducting stellar nuclear bomb tests a necessary part of your plan?"

Rediaz hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay.” Luo Qing nodded. “It’s settled then. We’ll dig a hole on Mercury and drop the nuclear bomb in.”

Chairman Garnin immediately said, "Professor Luo Qing, the discussion among the representatives of various countries just now was not without reason. Humanity's current technology and resource allocation can hardly withstand such a major upheaval."

“I know, that’s why I’m in charge of this.”

Under everyone's gaze, Luo Qing said lightly, "I'll take that nuclear bomb to Mercury, dig a hole, and bury the nuclear bomb there. You can just send a planetary-level spaceship to help record the data. This way, we won't delay Mr. Radiaz's plan, and we won't waste human resources."

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew...that's great!" someone exclaimed.

Luo Qing's expression suddenly turned suspicious, and his gaze swept over the representatives of the seven countries.

"Why do I feel like you guys were just putting on an act for me? Waiting for me to step in and help you out?"

"No, no, absolutely not." The representatives from various countries all avoided Luo Qing's gaze.

All three chapters are complete (though there are still many flaws; I'm posting this now and will revise it later. I'm still working hard to write the missing chapters).
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(End of this chapter)