157. The Mouse's Dignity (Part 2)
"We can deploy on the moon now, or we can let them search for interstellar civilizations."
"Very well, let's temporarily not calculate the living costs of these 1.7 billion people. We'll treat lunar migration as a strategic mission. The moon is rich in helium; we don't lack energy. Let me do some math for you: every time we launch a spacecraft to the moon, ignoring the round-trip costs, it requires at least two 160-megaton hydrogen bombs. And with one trip, at most, how many people can we send to the moon?"
Rudolf looked at the other party and said:
"240 people."
"The thermonuclear weapon stockpiles of the four nations do not exceed two thousand. This space program can, at most, continue for 1,000 trips. Assuming no mistakes, at most, we can send 240,000 people to the moon."
"Two hundred and forty thousand people, while we have 1.7 billion laborers trapped on Earth."
Rudolf put the calculator aside, looked at President David Lin, and said:
"Do you understand, Your Excellency? This is an impossible task. Even if we exhaust all our nuclear bombs, we can only send 240,000 people to the moon. Even if we use modularized mechanical production, all we could achieve is leaving a spark of humanity on the moon."
"Instead of this, why don't we let go, enjoy the last moments of reality, and then calmly embrace extinction?"
"Our scientists have always been researching chemical hormones so that when the end comes, everyone can receive government-distributed hormones to stimulate their bodies and die joyfully without pain."
Rudolf didn't shy away from sharing this information because he knew that all four nations had similar plans.
David Lin was silent for a moment. With a cigarette between his fingers, he said nothing, his gaze fixed on a distant map.
After a full thirty seconds, David Lin spoke:
"Prince Rudolf, are the Red Arrows afraid of death?"
The question sounded like a provocation. Rudolf raised an eyebrow and said:
"If the Red Arrows were afraid of death, they would have given up on revenge long ago."
"If you're not afraid of death, why do you take such a pessimistic attitude in the face of Entropy Lord?"
David Lin took a puff of his cigarette, exhaled slowly, and without waiting for Rudolf to reply, continued:
"The Frost-Plated people have lived in either fear or poverty for the past few centuries. We are more afraid of death than anyone. But now, we finally live a good life."
"We ended the chaotic and corrupt history of the Mai Dewei government. We have embarked on a path of technology, strengthened our nation, and forged alliances. To me, humanity is no longer worthy of being our enemy."
David Lin leaned back in his chair, tapped the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray, and continued:
"The Red Arrow's obsession with revenge is understandable to the Frost-Plated people, and I ask you to understand our obsession with life. We must survive, and to do so, we must leave this planet."
"Then how do we deal with Entropy Lord? With our capabilities, it's impossible to fight back," Rudolf questioned. "In front of Entropy Lord, we're just sewer rats."
"A desperate fight."
David Lin said:
"Even if it means being crushed, the Frost-Plated people will bite a piece of flesh off Entropy Lord. Even rats have their dignity."
Hearing this, Rudolf realized there was more to David Lin's words. After thinking for a moment, he still couldn't grasp David Lin's plan and had to ask:
"What exactly is your plan, Your Excellency?"
"In the old Azure Star era, there was once a plan to drill through the Earth's core to create a tunnel directly connecting the eastern and western hemispheres. This would allow for a two-hour journey to the other side, greatly enhancing cultural exchange and global integration."
"Are you talking about the Star-Piercing Road?" Rudolf squinted. "One end of that railway is within Frost-Plated territory, but the other end has fallen into Tianhuan's hands. And in reality, that Star-Piercing Road hasn't even been completed."
"Of course, that road hasn't been completed. But the super AI systems left behind from the old era are all deployed underground."
David Lin said calmly:
"Because deep within the Earth's core lies Entropy Lord's abandoned mist. Calamity began spreading from there."
"What do you plan to do with the Star-Piercing Road?"
David Lin glanced at Prince Rudolf and said:
"Frost-Plated possesses a super-large Hadron Collider, a relic of the old era."
"We can place it near the Earth's core to create a small black hole. If we're lucky, the fusion-induced collapsing black hole won't be too large and will be just enough to destroy the entire core. The radiation heat from the black hole can also maintain our geothermal temperature."
"You overestimate the old era's technology. A micro black hole alone isn't enough."
Rudolf shook his head:
"Yes, this sounds much more feasible than the lunar seed plan, but even I, as a liberal arts major, know that a black hole created by a Hadron Collider cannot devour the molten iron of the core. Its mass isn't enough to maintain Azure Star's gravity. Most likely, it would behave like Tianhuan's mini sushi, disappearing in one bite. In the end, it might only slightly affect the Earth's gravity without causing any significant changes."
"One is certainly not enough."
David Lin looked at Rudolf:
"But if two Hadron Colliders are placed on opposite sides, the black holes they generate will consume each other. As they intertwine, the massive energy they produce can continually devour the material in the Earth's core. That should suffice."
"But where would the second machine come from?" Rudolf questioned. "This isn't just old-era technology; it's a system created with the help of alien civilizations. No nation is capable of building a second one."
"No, the second one already exists."
David Lin pointed to the other side of Azure Star:
"When Li Aozi caused chaos in Tianhuan, agents from Law III had already infiltrated and discovered that there's a Hadron Collider beneath Tianhuan's Hokutou Building."
Rudolf slightly lowered his head.
—The intelligence agency of Frost-Plated was surprisingly powerful.
Although Law III was notorious, its underwhelming performance over the past two years, whether in the Li Aozi incident or its downsizing after David Lin took office, didn't look promising.
This made Rudolf a bit complacent, thinking that Frost-Plated's days of intelligence dominance were over.
But now it seemed that Law III was still the world's most powerful intelligence agency. Law III's decline didn't mean other nations' intelligence departments had improved.
'The Red Arrows' intelligence capabilities are still lacking. We need to enhance our confidentiality levels.'
David Lin's words were also a deliberate display of strength.
Now, as the Frost-Plated Federation was still undergoing reform and development, everyone knew the federation's national strength was unstable. Deliberately showcasing Law III's capabilities was a way to impress the Red Arrows and prevent them from underestimating Frost-Plated.
At the same time, it was also a gesture indicating that David Lin also considered Tianhuan a threat, paving the way for the two nations to reach a consensus on this matter.
"In fact, Prince Rudolf, I've always had an idea."
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"In this era, sooner or later, we'll all step into space. One day, we old relics will be eliminated."
David Lin said:
"I think maybe humanity should form a truly unified body to completely and thoroughly govern the entire planet. Only then will we have the confidence to advance into the universe."
Since Azure Star's oceans had evaporated, the actual land areas of each nation were considerably large, including seabed areas.
Among the four nations, even the smallest, Zhengxu, was about the size of South America plus Australia.
Frost-Plated and Tianhuan were about the same size. Including their colonies, their total areas were roughly equivalent to the Eurasian continent.
The largest, the Red Arrows, had an actual area equivalent to starting from Denmark, circling the entire Arctic Circle, Northern Europe, Russia, the Pacific, and North America.