Chapter 481: The Moon
"The distance between Earth and the Moon is still too close," someone said, filled with worry, during the meeting.
Forced to pioneer the barren Moon, they naturally harbored a belly full of resentment, but deep within them, there also lurked an unshakeable, inexpressible dread.
Although it now seemed that the madman had entered a state akin to hibernation or deep slumber, concealing Earth along with himself in darkness, they still worried that at any unknown moment, he might awaken once more, becoming everyone's nightmare.
"Among those present, who among you is confident they can step into the seventh-stage tier within ten years?" Joseph Lee, the Co-Speaker of the Human Federation, asked directly at the meeting.
Chen Bo, seated nearby, gently shook his head.
"Highly unrealistic," Shi Hua Chong's projection also offered his opinion.
...
Joseph wanted to understand the possibility of confronting Earth's power, but unfortunately, almost no one present was very interested in revealing their true circumstances.
"Hehehe, give me another thirty years, and there might be some hope," only Edward Teach, perpetually wreathed in black smoke, declared his situation without the slightest concern.
...
After the various six-stage powerhouses had successively declared their stances, Joseph generally understood the current situation, realizing that the equilibrium maintained in the short term would not significantly change.
Unconsciously, he also let out a sigh of relief.
For if another seventh-stage tier truly emerged, the Human Federation would very likely face a situation of single-entity dominance once again.
In the most extreme scenario, a high and mighty dictator would appear, just like what had happened on Earth before.
Many at the meeting held quite contradictory views on the emergence of seventh-stage power.
As the group possessing the strongest powers in the world currently, on one hand, after witnessing higher-tier powers capable of crushing everything, they profoundly realized that the Human Federation's internal structure absolutely required such power to resist the immense pressure from Earth.
But on the other hand, they also worried about a repeat of the tragedy, because individuals possessing such power would certainly be far more dangerous than the first nation to create nuclear weapons back then.
The emergence of a great dictator, apart from benefiting him and his direct lineage, did not align with the interests of the vast majority of others.
Especially within a loose regime like the Human Federation, which had been temporarily established due to external pressures.
"Since that's the case, I have a proposal." Joseph lightly tapped the table, took a deep breath, and said, "I suggest that the Moon, which is the planet we are currently on, be transformed into a planetary fortress."
As soon as he spoke, many instantly froze, but they did not immediately voice their doubts; instead, they waited for Joseph to provide a reason compelling enough to persuade them.
He was no madman; proposing such a radical idea required sufficiently solid grounds, otherwise, it would be a severe blow to the prestige of the Speaker's position.
"Humanity's future lies in space; I believe no one here disputes that," Joseph began.
"While the Moon possesses abundant metallic resources like iron, titanium, and aluminum, and a large amount of helium-3 for thermonuclear reactions, its resource richness in other aspects still pales significantly in comparison to Earth."
"If we remain confined here, we would struggle to even build a space fleet large enough to embark on an expedition to Mars."
After being forced into space, the Human Federation had reached a near-universal consensus that expanding into space was humanity's destiny, and it also became the central focus of the Federation government's future work.
And exploiting the technological gap to crush civilizations on other planets within the solar system before they could develop was the policy decided by the upper echelons.
Engaging in a deathmatch with a civilization of comparable strength was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous endeavor.
In comparison, the strategy of using aircraft and artillery against cold weapons, achieving zero casualties while effectively "bullying" lesser opponents, naturally served the interests of the entire race better.
"Therefore, I propose that the Moon should be transformed into a semi-colonial, semi-military planetary battle fortress, with civilians relocated to live in subspace or within the Moon's interior."
"That way, when we wage war, we can directly maneuver the Moon base to the vicinity of an enemy planet, eliminating the need to expend our already scarce resources on building interstellar fleets to transport attacking soldiers across hundreds of millions of kilometers."
"According to your idea, is our Human Federation to transform into an interstellar nomadic civilization?"
"One could indeed view it that way. This star-filled void is too vast, and we still lack sufficiently high-speed, large-scale transportation technology. Becoming an interstellar nomadic civilization would ensure our unity," Joseph stated with righteous solemnity.
For a fleet that has traveled hundreds of millions of kilometers away, with the current technological level of the Human Federation on the Moon, there is simply no good way to guarantee the loyalty of its personnel.
At the same time, such an incredibly long transport distance also cut off the possibility of logistical supply; the fleet would have to resolve all issues independently. In that case, it would be better to bind their homeworld to them and bring it directly into battle.
It was precisely for these reasons that Joseph ultimately put forward such a suggestion.
...
"I believe it's feasible."
"Seconded."
...
After a round of discussions, the various avatars present largely agreed with Joseph's perspective. Of course, deeper down, there was another reason no one wished to voice aloud — escaping Earth.
Although not all of them had heard the phrase "accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger," staying next to a madman capable of destroying heaven and earth still felt incredibly insecure.
Today, he could kick everyone who defied him to the Moon; tomorrow, who knew, he might send them all to their deaths.
More than one person had already experienced such nightmares: from the pitch-black, shadowy Earth, an boundless hand would unexpectedly extend, instantly tearing the Moon into four pieces.
"If there are no other questions, a formal vote on this resolution will be held in a week..." Joseph concluded.
...
"How long have I been walking?" Bai Mo, who had been traveling along the strange passage, had already forgotten how much time he had spent moving through this chaotic space.
The twisted and ever-changing space periodically tore and fragmented his body, but it was meaningless; in the very next instant, it would recompose itself into its original form.
The greatest drain while traversing the passage didn't come from his body's regeneration, but from Bai Mo's continuous testing of his high-dimensional vision ability.
His conventional divine sense was significantly limited within the twisted space, often perceiving fragmented and distorted images. Only by activating his high-dimensional vision scan could Bai Mo fully perceive everything around him.
Overlapping, distorting, collapsing... various fragments of images were reassembled by his high-dimensional vision, making him seem to glimpse a hint of the truth related to the essence of spirit qi.
But it was only that tiny shred of a clue; the full truth might still be very far away....
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