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

Chapter 197 Beer Hall Speech

London's underground city.

As times progress, human cities are becoming more three-dimensional, and this three-dimensionality is particularly evident in underground cities.

By the year 200 of the Crisis Era, there were 120 underground cities worldwide. These 120 underground cities became the economic and cultural centers of mankind, the crystallization of human civilization's technology, and housed a population of approximately 600 million.

The New York City Underground is one of the first 12 underground cities to be built. The London Underground is built 5000 meters underground, with a city diameter of about 60 kilometers and an average height of 1,000 meters.

In the Trisolaran underground city construction technology, the Trisolarans' 'high-electric structure' technology (a strong molecular structure combined by electromagnetic force, which has extremely high strength when electrified and can support huge weight) provided strong support for the underground city. This is also the main reason why the underground city is so huge and the ground does not collapse.

The domes of the underground city are almost all supported by electromagnetic beams and columns made of this 'high-voltage structure' technology.

To make full use of underground space, the underground city has formed a unique forest city structure.

The underground city's architecture resembles a giant forest, with houses hanging like leaves on "branches," while the "trunks" are used to install elevators and other structures, allowing residents to easily access the surface.

Apart from the small nuclear fusion sun, the 'sky' of the underground city consists of holographic projections covering the high dome, simulating scenes such as blue skies and white clouds.

The underground city's transportation mainly consists of maglev flying cars. The [long-distance wireless power supply technology], which was mastered in Crisis Era 74, has filled the entire underground city with almost "unlimited" power.

The entire underground city is equipped with a massive Faraday cage formed by electrostatic shielding, within which almost all electronic devices can be wirelessly powered.

So much so that when the hibernators of the past two years first encountered this technology, they mistakenly believed that they had entered an era of unlimited energy, and for a time, they mythologized the technological level of this era.

This is not a good sign.

However, most of the hibernators were able to recognize reality after undergoing unified technological literacy training by the United Government.

Maglev flying cars, for example, fly using wireless power supply technology, rendering traditional gasoline-powered cars obsolete. Of course, these maglev flying cars also have limitations. On the ground, due to the limited range of wireless power supply technology, maglev flying cars can only fly within cities. Once they leave the outer ring of a city, the flying car will have to land on the ground and move on wheels. If they go further away, they will be stranded due to power shortages.

This is why most people in the new era prefer to stay in underground cities with unlimited energy, while the post-22nd century elderly and hibernators from the Common Era prefer to stay on the surface.

Looking up at the sky, besides the maglev flying cars that are always "moving", you can also occasionally see air buses. The principle is the same, and these buses mostly exist as public transportation facilities.

However, the transportation facilities in real underground cities are not like these. Among the 120 underground cities in the world, there is a huge underground rail transit network. These transportation networks are not highways in the traditional sense, but are similar to traditional railways in the 21st century.

These rail transit networks consist of vacuum electromagnetic acceleration tunnels, similar in principle to electromagnetic railgun technology. A super maglev train can fly at hypersonic speeds in these ring-shaped acceleration electromagnetic loops, with a normal maximum speed of Mach 60.

It only takes half an hour to drive from New York's underground city to Beijing's underground city, but most of that time is spent decelerating and accelerating.

Compared to traditional air routes at the beginning of the Crisis Era, this technology allows people on one side of the earth to reach the other side within an hour, making it a true transportation technology that can turn the earth into a 'global village'.

In comparison, cities on Mars, Venus, the Moon, and even vacant cities on Mercury are far behind Earth.

The magnetic ring track acceleration train technology has also greatly facilitated the movement of people from different countries. Since visa policies ended with the establishment of the coalition government, the coexistence of different ethnic groups, races, and countries has become the norm in the new era.

In this melting pot of coexistence, the influence of traditional nations is gradually weakening as national consciousness, racial consciousness, and class consciousness are dismantled, while the voice of the Earth United Government is becoming increasingly powerful.

Getting back to the point, after Luo Qing and Ding Yi bumped into Wade, who had been thawed from the Crisis Era 197, while squatting on the curb, the three of them quickly hit it off and decided to find a beer hall for a good drink.

Luo Qing, Ding Yi, and Weide.

The three men hailed a Didi Chuxing ride. Ding Yi, a Xiantian martial artist, was the driver, while a Nascent Soul cultivator and a mid-stage Acquired martial artist sat in the back seat. Amidst cheers and shouts of enjoyment, the three arrived at the tavern indicated on the navigation.

"It was so much fun! I love the cars here. I never thought my C1 driver's license would still be valid after 200 years," Ding Yi said, still feeling exhilarated.

Among them, Ding Yi looked the oldest. Having been thawed several times, Ding Yi is now 76 years old. In comparison, Wade still looks like a middle-aged man. As for Luo Qing, there is no need to say anything; he still shows no signs of aging.

In reality, Ding Yi was the youngest of the three (Wade was born a year earlier than Ding Yi).
Luo Qing disguised himself slightly to avoid being spotted by the ubiquitous Puritans, and the three of them walked into the tavern arm in arm.

Engaging with the world is one of the compulsory courses for cultivators. Saving the world can wait; having a good time bragging with your buddies is the most important thing.

After finding a seat at random, the robot waiter I had imagined did not appear. Instead, a girl with freckles on her face walked over. She was wearing an old-fashioned apron and carrying a paper menu. She walked up to the three of us, took out a pencil, and began to scribble something with great seriousness.

"Warm a bowl of wine, and bring a dish of..."

"Stop, stop, stop! Bring a dozen beers!" Ding Yi urgently stopped Luo Qing's singing.

Wade, on the other hand, sat to the side with messy hair and long stubble, seemingly out of place in the hotel environment.

"You three are from the Common Era, right? The beer is just what your era tastes like. What else would you like besides that?"

"Give me some peanuts or something," Ding Yi said skillfully.

"Okay, is there anything else you need?"

"You decide, order all the dishes on the best-selling list at Gongyuan."

"Okay." The waiter wisely didn't bother them any further. The vast majority of people in this restaurant were from the Common Era. It was a common understanding in this society that people from the Common Era were rich and wealthy. Many shops that imitated the Common Era were opened in this way, including the beer hall where he worked.

Watching the waiter's departing figure, Luo Qing felt a sense of familiarity. This freckled waiter at the tavern... why did he look so familiar?
Wait a minute, isn't that... Luo Ji's son's godmother?
Almost 200 years later, they're still working as waiters here?
"This is fantastic! A retro beer hall, even though it's set in the Common Era. I've only been awake for three days, but I'm already fed up with all those ubiquitous screens and advertisements. People from this era have turned every flat object into a screen, even the walls of the room are giant screens. I'm so annoyed. And those messy service robots, wearing human skin but speaking machine language, it's all so incongruous... It's much more comfortable to interact with real people. By the way, who's paying? I haven't had time to unfreeze my assets yet."

Ding Yi was excited and talkative. He looked at Luo Qing, then at Thomas Weld, and shouted again, "Who's paying?"

Wade awkwardly touched his nose and lowered his head to avoid Ding Yi's gaze.

The hardships here are beyond what outsiders can understand.

Ding Yi then noticed that Wade seemed to still be wearing the free clothes he had been given when he thawed from hibernation, which were already quite worn, and he seemed to have lost his radiance.

“I’ll take care of it. Shanqing’s bank account is with me. He’s made a lot of money over the decades.”

As Luo Qing spoke, he took out his phone (also a retro-style product, designed specifically for hibernators), found Wade's bank account, and transferred 10 billion yuan to him. He then found Ding Yi's account and transferred 10 billion yuan to him as well.

The purchasing power of the currency in circulation under the coalition government is roughly the same as that of the US dollar in the early 21st century; it is still quite valuable.

I don't know where Shanqing got so much money from, but the account balance has a full 12 zeros.

Since the three met, Thomas Wade had been very quiet. He felt the vibration in his pocket, took out a tattered retro phone, and after seeing the transfer information, gave Luo Qing a grateful smile.

He probably hasn't had a very good time these past three years.

Hypatia brought beer to the three of them. She obviously didn't recognize Luo Qing and the others, but Luo Qing called out to her, "Waiter, I can tell you're also from the Common Era. When did you thaw?"

“Oh, am I that obvious? I was thawed in Crisis Era 192 and have been living here for 8 years.” Hypatia gave Luo Qing a standard smile.

"Married?"

Luo Qing's words were quite straightforward.

"No, no," Hypatia waved her hands repeatedly. "I have no interest in people from the new era. No one from the Common Era has caught my eye yet; they all dislike me because I'm unmarried and have a child." What a fine "unmarried and have a child" thing, still eyeing Luo Ji and his wife's son?

"What about your child?"

“He’s still in hibernation… He’s a bit special. I plan to work here a little longer to save some money, and then transfer it to his account once his account is unfrozen.” Hypatia smiled shyly.

Luo Qing waved her off.

"You recognize her?" Ding Yi noticed this very keenly.

"Yes, I recognize him. He's a member of ETO, but he hasn't done anything wrong."

"Oh~" Ding Yi smacked her lips.

Luo Qing stood up and, amidst Ding Yi's repeated exclamations of "No, no!", poured beer for both him and Wade.

"Director Wade, you were unfrozen in 197, and you were in hibernation as an official hibernator at the time. How come you're so strapped for cash after three years? Hasn't the United Government taken care of you? And shouldn't your assets have been preserved under the protection of the Hibernator Act? What's going on?"

Although it was rarely mentioned earlier, Wade and Luo Qing were actually quite familiar with each other. On the one hand, as one of the initial hundreds of Wallfacer candidates, Luo Qing had specifically learned about Wade. On the other hand, after Luo Qing became a Wallfacer, during the annual performance reviews in the first few years of the Wallfacer Project, Wade, as a member of the Wallfacer Project Committee, also listened to Luo Qing's entire presentation. Therefore, the two had many exchanges, both publicly and privately.

Wade downed the counterfeit German beer in one gulp, a touch of color returning to his withered face, and his voice became a little hoarse.

"This has nothing to do with the United Government; it's my own problem. When my personal assets were first unfrozen, they had accumulated tens of millions over 180 years of compound interest. But at that time, I was the victim of a telecom fraud targeting hibernators... They tricked me into believing that I could become a crew member of a star-class warship by investing in its construction. I had just awakened and wasn't fully clear-headed, and I had a strong desire for the current space warships... So I was scammed, and I was basically bankrupted. Those damned beasts, they had already conducted psychological research on me and used tricks to exploit my psychological weaknesses. I'm going to find an opportunity to kill them."

Luo Qing: “…”

Ding Yi: "..."

Luo Qing poured him another full glass of wine.

Ding Yi asked, "But you were in hibernation as an official PDC staff member. Even if you were deceived, the United Government shouldn't just abandon you, right?"

“I did manage it, but the money couldn’t be recovered. Scammers these days are very clever. They basically don’t transfer money through public networks where MOSS exists. They use private networks… People these days know that private networks are full of scammers, but I didn’t have any experience back then. Sigh.”

Wade sighed, then downed his drink in one gulp. Under the influence of the alcohol, his face began to flush. With the effects of the alcohol, he continued to tell the two men, “The United Government told me that the Strategic Intelligence Bureau of the Planetary Defense Council was completely abolished back in Crisis Era 56. There is no similar position in the new era, and even if there were, someone like me who is out of touch with the times would not be able to take over. They have arranged some clerical work for me, such as being the curator of a museum or something.”

These were all very good positions, but I wasn't interested and politely declined them. They said that as a citizen of the Common Era, it would be difficult for me to establish myself in this society without the help of a united government. I didn't believe them at the time and decisively resigned.

Then I wandered for three years. During those three years, I traveled to various places and came to realize many of the limitations and ills of this era. I tried my best to do something useful in this new era, but I failed. In my most difficult times, I even thought about selling myself into a brothel..."

As Wade spoke, his eyes reddened.

Luo Qing and Ding Yi remained silent after hearing this.

“Well, it’s not that bad.” Ding Yi also poured Wade a full glass of wine: “The basic supplies in this era are pretty good, and it’s quite friendly to us hibernators, although I’ve only been awake for three days myself—well, I really don’t know much about this era, your experience scared me.”

Luo Qing said, "I also learned a bit about brothels from Shan Qing. During the dinosaur crisis, sexual attitudes were extremely open. Mass sexual activities existed in every city, and even developed into regular patterns. Even the Hehuan Sect didn't go that far... But, Wade, you're probably not suited for this kind of work."

Luo Qing looked at Thomas Weider, who was disheveled, dirty, and even somewhat smelly, and said.

“No, you don’t know, my current image is incredibly attractive to them. People these days are sophisticated, and they offered me a very high price… If it weren’t for the pride I still have, I would have sold myself into their arms long ago.” Wade smiled bitterly.

Luo Qing and Ding Yi exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other.

After finishing his third beer, Wade poured himself a fourth and a fifth, finishing a five-liter draft beer in no time.

Hypatia sent some more over.

His alcohol tolerance was clearly not very good. The beer here was very strong, and Wade's strength was only at the mid-stage of the Acquired Realm, the same level as the old men and women on the street. He didn't have any internal energy yet, so he started to sway a little.

“Professor Luo Qing! Dr. Ding Yi!” Wade still used their old titles. He said, “Don’t be blinded by this era. I was initially amazed by the beauty of this era, but I soon discovered that this beauty is superficial!”

Wade's voice was loud, especially when he mentioned Luo Qing, which attracted a lot of attention. However, Luo Qing was currently using illusion magic, so none of the acquired martial artists in the room could see it.

The majority of people here are from the Common Era, and their love of joining in the fun is on full display as they all look this way.

Vader, seemingly oblivious, continued, emboldened by the alcohol:

“You who face the wall, you must know… I stand on this land, which was watered with the blood and dignity of mankind. Behind me, the blood of countless people brought the world to a golden age. Behind me are America, the Soviet Union, France, England… It is an era forged in the struggle of countless people, an era with tremendous vitality, an era of rationality and not debauchery.”

Luo Qing had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Wade had shifted his focus from Luo Qing and Ding Yi to the other people present, all of whom were staring intently at him.

Wade's head was spinning, but his mind was exceptionally clear. He continued speaking:
"Friends, look around us—these new humans in the birth factory, defining us—those who awoke from the frozen earth—as backward and stubborn. They say we don't understand the blessings of the 'new era,' that we cling to the broken rules of the Common Era like we're guarding tombstones. They, they even look down on those who don't participate in their imparty."

The people at the next table gripped their glasses tightly, while Hypatia's hand, which was wiping the bar, froze in mid-air.

Vader abruptly stood up, the chair he knocked over scraping the floor with a jarring sound, his piercing gaze sweeping across the faces of every person in the city.

"Friends, you might say, 'Wade, times have changed; only by adapting can we survive.' That's true; survival is an instinct etched into human genes. But I want to tell you, there is something more important than adaptation in this world: the bottom line of 'what makes us human.' Even in the face of the Trisolaran crisis, even in the face of the dinosaur crisis, humans should adhere to this bottom line. Humans should have animalistic instincts, but not unrestrained animalistic instincts. People should keep moving forward, forward, forward, forward by any means necessary, not by any means necessary for pleasure!"

Even the slow-witted Ding Yi realized something was wrong; Wade seemed to have drunk a bit too much.

Someone chimed in during the brief silence, "Yeah."

"well said!"

"Damn it, I've had my eye on those new girls for a long time. They actually tried to drag my wife and me into imparty. What a bastard."

Wade watched them silently until they quieted down again, then he continued in his highly persuasive voice:

"Fellow countrymen, how should we build this so-called new era? Thanks to the efforts of the United Government and the insightful people in the Solar System Fleet, humanity is making progress step by step. But while these insightful people are working hard, what about those who only know how to indulge in pleasure and decadence?"

These new humans, all they know is to cower in underground cities, engaging in one shameless, tireless imparty after another? People of the Ages, we must open our eyes and see clearly: beneath the prosperity of this era, how much rationality is being eroded by revelry? The United Government ignores this, so what about us?

Wade's tone gradually rose, and he changed his way of addressing everyone repeatedly.

"Comrades, humanity needs to rebuild consensus. We awaken with memories of the Common Era, which means we carry the mission of our past. The people of this new era are like overgrown children, blinded by technology. We must make this era realize that there was once a group of people who, in the darkness of an era of crisis, upheld humanity's tomorrow with reason and dignity! We are the ones who truly possess that human spirit! The real people!"

The crowd in the beer hall fell completely silent, holding their breath as they listened to Wade's voice resonate in their ears.

"Of course, we are not fighting for anything, nor are we seeking any so-called preferential treatment, nor do we need more money. We are fighting to change the present, to fight for the spirit of our time. We are not ancient people from 200 years ago; we are participants in a new era, we are people of the Common Era who have never yielded!"

"I think the world shouldn't be like this."

Vader's gaze swept over all the people present, his tone sorrowful and profound:
"It's time for us to make some changes."

(End of this chapter)