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

Chapter 303 The Vanished Gift (4k)

The next morning, Shi Qiang took a helicopter and found Luo Ji, who was covered in dust and dirt.

"Damn it, you ran all the way from District 1 to the border of Districts 4 and 5, crossing five or six Pacific Oceans. What are you doing here?"

"Da Shi, why did it take you so long to find me? I'm starting to suspect that you really were ravaged by the dinosaurs."

"Brother Luo, your ability to fart has improved quite a bit since you became a cultivator."

Luo Ji chuckled.

Shi Qiang grabbed Luo Ji and pulled him up.

"In the middle of the night, I think I heard Luo Qing's voice, and the other dinosaurs heard it too. What happened? What did you do to make Luo Qing sit on Earth and transmit his voice directly to the Great Ring?"

I chatted with him for a bit, nothing much.

Luo Ji spoke to Shi Qiang, downplaying the main points and casually mentioning some information about Karl.

Shi Qiang frowned, carefully considering Luo Ji's words.

Even though this veteran detective was already quite knowledgeable and had spent all his time with Luo Ji, what hadn't he seen—dinosaurs, mushrooms, and so on?
Even ghosts have been seen on the Emperor's Banner near the Wallfacers' Courtyard.

(Note: After the Truth Altar Incident, the Emperor's Banner became the permanent flag on the outer plaza of the Wallfacers' compound. The red national flag, the blue ball flag, and the golden banner stood side by side, hence the compound plaza was also known as the Three-Colored Plaza.)

Initially, the Emperor's Banner contained only the 'souls' of a thousand or so scientists. Later, Luo Qing opened the Entry Channel: those who made significant contributions to the world and died unnatural deaths (such as assassination or car accidents) would have their remnant souls absorbed into the Emperor's Banner and have their lifespan extended for 10 to 200 years.

The remnant souls within the Emperor's Banner can move freely within a certain range, possess the ability to communicate, are visible to the human eye but invisible to the sophons and recording devices, do not react to any physical entities, and can fulfill the emotional communication needs between relatives and friends. After the 'life extension' period ends, the remnant souls will be uniformly uploaded to the digital world.

Although Luo Qing personally denied the existence of the underworld and reincarnation, stating that the Emperor's Banner was a compensation measure for those who died unexpectedly, and that the remnant souls living within it would lose many earthly pleasures and were not in a heavenly realm, humanity undeniably witnessed the "soul." Influenced by this, the Luo Qing cult attracted a large number of followers, solidifying its religious position.
But Shi Qiang, who had seen ghosts before, was still shocked by Luo Ji's remarks.

"You mean... there are six Earths in the universe?"

“No,” Luo Ji denied, “There is only one Earth. According to Karl, within a range of 200 light-years, there are 5 other Earth-like planets besides Earth. Including Earth, there are a total of 6. Let’s just name them all Earth 1, Earth 2, and Earth 6.”

"Which Earth is that?"

"According to Karl, it's sixth."

"Ranked last... and then what? What does the dinosaur mean by that?"

Luo Ji explained everything Karl had described to Shi Qiang.

What kind of retirement civilization is this? What kind of retirement civilization has given birth to life on six Earths? What kind of refugee spaceship is this from the first Earth?

Humanity is currently focusing all its attention on the Trisolaran fleet and the Trisolaran system, and has not paid any attention to other directions.

In fact, if humanity knew the direction of that old-age civilization or the direction of the refugee spaceship, the light cone telescope on the large ring would most likely be able to find them.

But searching the vast universe with a telescope without knowing the specific direction is even more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

After listening, Shi Qiang asked Luo Ji a question: "According to current scientists, the Earth is at least 50 billion years old, and life first appeared 38 billion years ago, then began to evolve naturally... Humans evolved on their own, so what does that have to do with that so-called 'old age civilization'?"

Luo Ji sat dejectedly on the grass and explained to Shi Qiang, "According to the dinosaurs, about four or five billion years ago, that old man civilization selected six planets within a range of 200 light-years that he believed were easy to support life. Then, he scattered meteorites rich in complex amino acids onto these six planets... This planted the seeds of life."

Shi Qiang spat, "Just because you throw in some amino acids doesn't mean you're the ancestor of humanity. What a load of rubbish! If I throw some bacteria onto Mars, does that mean I'll become the ancestor of Martians billions of years from now?"

Luo Ji nodded: "Theoretically, that's really the case. According to the current hypothesis of the origin of life, small organic molecules formed from complex amino acids have the opportunity to form complex large organic molecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids. These large organic molecules further assemble into primitive life forms with rudimentary metabolic and reproductive capabilities... Isn't that the ancestor of life on Earth?"

Shi Qiang denied it: "Then life on Earth may not necessarily be related to that old man's civilization. Although I don't understand the origin of life, I know that the atmosphere and ocean of the primitive Earth, over tens or hundreds of millions of years, could have generated organic molecules through complex chemical changes. Monkeys can type out the complete works of Shakespeare by typing on a keyboard, so why can't the Earth roll out amino acids by rolling dice? I don't want the Earth to have another ancestor on its head."

Luo Ji sighed helplessly: "Regardless of whether Earth has ancestors or not, that old thing is coming to the solar system to retire... This is what the dinosaurs said. Humans still don't know this information. I'm going back to Earth to talk to the chairman of the United Government about this and have him inform Fleet International."

Shi Qiang didn't understand: "That's not right. According to what you just said, this old man was kicked out of the First Earth, and besides the old man, there are also many refugees from the First Earth... Why are they coming to the Solar System? Aren't there four other 'Earths'? Why aren't they looking for the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Earths? Why are they looking for us?"

Luo Ji said helplessly, "That's because my second, third, fourth, and fifth brothers are all dead..."

Shi Qiang was shocked.

"How did you die?"

"They've revealed their location..."

"What location?"

"The location of the star system..."

"What does this have to do with their demise? Why would they die if their location was exposed?"

"This is the theory I've been researching all along. After talking to the dinosaurs, my theory has been completed with the final piece of the puzzle. Da Shi, do you want to hear it?"

"I don't want to listen to anything with that gloomy look on your face."

"why?"

"I still want to fall asleep tonight, but I have a feeling that after hearing this, I might not be able to sleep for a month."

"Sleeping with a dinosaur?"

"Screw you! Those two female dinosaurs led me to the human rest area to avoid disturbing your meeting with the dinosaur leader. What do you take me for, some Indian guy?" "Tsk." Luo Ji chuckled.

Shi Qiang resisted the urge to punch the wallfacer.

"If you don't want to know, fine. You'll find out someday. I'll make my theory public sometime, and Luo Qing will come out of seclusion to support me. It's time to put the brakes on humanity."

"As for this conference, let it go ahead. It won't have much impact. Humanity still has that much time."

...

Starport.

"Commander Qian, what are your thoughts on the upcoming exercise?"

The commander of the Asian fleet asked Qian Mengjian, who was standing beside him.

Both men were from the Common Era. The commander of the Asian Fleet undoubtedly knew this former NATO commander, or at least he had seen him on the news quite often. However, Qian Mengjian did not know this ordinary political officer from the Space Force.

Two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. The change in their identities made the temporary commander of the European fleet somewhat emotional. In response to the question from the commander of the Asian fleet, Qian Mengjian said, "The exercise is a good opportunity to demonstrate human military strength. The dinosaurs have been subdued, and those mushrooms have been incorporated into the fleet. I believe that as long as we can create a psychological deterrent against the Trisolarans, this peace talk will go much more smoothly."

"And you, President Grant?"

Both Qian Mengjian and Grant noticed that the commander of the Asian fleet liked to use their former titles. These titles weren't particularly sarcastic, so Grant only frowned slightly. The former US president replied calmly, "I think this exercise is rather pointless. Gathering 4900 star-class warships together is dangerous in itself. Instead of conducting an exercise, it would be better to conduct a docking visit to the Trisolaran fleet."

The commander of the Asian Fleet chuckled: "It seems that both new commanders have great confidence in the current Solar System Fleet."

“Only a confident army can win battles. Since the Asian Fleet has inherited the mantle of the Eastern army, I think it should agree with this, right?” Grant said with a sharp edge.

The commander of the Asian fleet shook his head: "You've got a concept wrong. Belief and confidence are two different things."

"But at least, an army with unwavering confidence in victory is much more likely to win than an army corrupted by escapism, isn't that right?" Qian Mengjian asked with a smile.

"Escapeism has been contained, and there will be no more escapes. Commander Qian can rest assured about that." The commander of the Asian Fleet looked at the 4900 stars that were maneuvering. Those stars were in the [Forward 1] state, practicing formations for the three major fleets.

To achieve the most stunning visual effect, 4900 star-class warships are arranged in an unprecedentedly dense formation, almost equivalent to a Soviet-style military parade during the Cold War. The relative distance between the warships is almost one after another.

"Fortunately, we discovered it early enough. Although Keiko Yamasugi is a wallbreaker of ETO, she inadvertently helped the Solar System Fleet eliminate a hidden danger. Hines' actions were really too risky." Grant said with a smile.

Qian Mengjian also said, "Simply holding a military parade as a deterrent is not enough. In the Common Era, the reason why the United States was able to maintain absolute global dominance from the end of the Cold War to the beginning of the Crisis Era, even leading to a crisis of macro-fusion confrontation, was because of its unparalleled military power. Only by launching a military operation similar to the Gulf War can the Trisolaran world be subdued. Therefore, I suggest that after the interstellar military parade and peace talks, a fleet should be dispatched to approach the Trisolaran system in a combat posture. If necessary, a limited strike can be launched to promote peace through force."

The commander of the Asian Fleet said helplessly, "Commander Qian, this is not the early 21st century anymore."

“Force is always an extension of the power of discourse, and I agree with Commander Qian’s point of view,” Grant said.

He thought that the temporarily suspended Commanders Vitalis and Serantin were radical enough, but he didn't expect that their temporary successors would be even more radical... but he could understand it.

Qian Mengjian, having emerged from hibernation, still retained the strategic thinking of two centuries ago, while Grant, as the US president during a period of great decline, had witnessed the near-annihilation of the human world and naturally harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Trisolaran world.

"Gentlemen, underestimating the enemy is unacceptable," the commander of the Asian fleet corrected. "We must prevent cognitive biases and not be misled by our own strength, lest we underestimate the differences of our adversary. The Trisolaran civilization and we are two completely different modes of existence. To try to understand and deal with them using our habitual way of thinking is the greatest danger in itself. This is different from the dinosaurs, who, after all, originated from Earth and had a similar way of thinking to humans, but the Trisolaran civilization is not like that."

The commander of the Asian fleet said, "At least, we can't manufacture sophons yet, can we?"

"Can Zhizi be used as a fleet?" Qian Mengjian chuckled lightly.

"It would take their main fleet at least two light-years to reach the solar system," Grant cautioned.

As the three commanders were conversing, five dazzling meteors suddenly appeared in the deep starry sky. They were the escort fleet that was decelerating at full power. The output power of the nuclear fusion engines was much brighter than that of the fleets in the advanced state of maneuvering formation, so they were particularly conspicuous.

Five star-class warships are about to escort the droplet into Jupiter's orbit.

They were not participating in the exercise; their only responsibility was to guard the droplet and ensure that the small object would not explode in a manner similar to matter-antimatter annihilation, thus damaging the distant fleet.

Humans are still very cautious.

In fact, the possibility that the detector was filled with antimatter is virtually zero; mass testing indicates that the substance was ordinary matter, not antimatter. However, antimatter is the most powerful weapon that humanity has ever comprehended and witnessed, and we must prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Both Qian Mengjian and Grant had no objection to this; it's always good to be cautious.

The commander of the Asian fleet took a deep breath, the metallic air of the starport filling his lungs.

"Gentlemen, I've been wondering, is the Wallfacer's plan really a mistake? Taylor, Diaz, and Hines—all three Wallfacers assumed the future was destined for defeat. Their efforts in the Wallfacer project have proven this. Of course, I hope I'm overthinking it; a powerful solar system fleet is more than enough to crush any invading enemy."

As you both know, I was once a citizen of the Common Era and have been exposed to some defeatist ideologies. Even my former superior, General Chang, was not a staunch victor. For two hundred years, dozens of thawings and hibernations have repeatedly spurred my ideological transformation, until today. I hope that humanity's future truly follows the bright and promising path shown by the fleet. However… historical experience tells me that the world is materialistic and will not change according to our belief in victory.”

The commander of the Asian Fleet looked out over the starport at the deep cosmic backdrop and the 4900 bright stars.

Qian Mengjian said, "I believe you are overthinking this. If the Trisolaran fleet moves to the solar system, I believe the human fleet may be defeated. However, Colonel, we still have 200 years, 200 years before the Sophons blockade us."

Grant's attitude was much clearer: "Gentlemen, let's first clarify the quality of the 'gift' the Trisolarans have given us. If it's of high quality, then it can be developed for another hundred years or so. If it's just an ordinary probe, then there's really nothing to worry about. Let's go, the alien guests are mostly seated, it's time for us to go."

As soon as Grant finished speaking, the three fleet commanders simultaneously received a message from the direction of the Kuiper Belt, delayed by dozens of hours.

[Frontline report: The planetary-class carrier group has deployed 85 oil-film nuclear warheads, creating an airspace equivalent to 1700 suns, completely covering all conventional paths of the remaining probes' pre-programmed trajectories. Monitoring data shows that no target features were detected after the nuclear warheads detonated, and the remaining 9 probes have deviated from their intended orbits, leaving no trace and demonstrating a highly stealthy disappearance.]

The commanders of the three fleets stopped in their tracks almost simultaneously.

(End of this chapter)