193: Chapter 193 The Nationwide Immigration Craze: Earth is Too Crowded

Tianhai City, Western Suburbs Spaceport.

This place was once a desolate Gobi Desert, and later, a mysterious military restricted area.

But now, it is the most crowded, noisiest, and most maddening place in the whole world.

That black nano-cable reaching straight into the clouds looked like a divine ladder connecting to heaven; every ten minutes, a massive cabin would soar into the sky accompanied by a humming sound, disappearing into the clouds.

The plaza was packed with people.

"Don't push! Everyone, damn it, stop pushing!"

Supervisor Li Guoqiang was wearing a brand-new security uniform, holding a megaphone in his hand, standing on a high platform and shouting until his throat was parched.

This former timid university counselor was now puffing out his beer belly, his face glowing with the high spirits that come from holding great power.

"Line up! Do you know what lining up means?"

"That guy in the Armani! Don't think you can cut in line just because you're rich! Here, money makes you a grandson; having a ticket makes you the master!"

The crowd below churned like boiling porridge.

Among them were wealthy people who had sold off their family assets, college students harboring dreams, and even farmers dragging their families along, ready to go to Mars to farm.

"Supervisor Li! Please make an exception!"

A fat man wearing a gold chain waved a check in his hand, sweating profusely as he squeezed forward: "I bought a villa in Zone A! I am a distinguished homeowner! Let me go up first!"

"Homeowner?" Supervisor Li Guoqiang sneered, his expression looking exactly like it did back when he used to confiscate students' prohibited electrical appliances.

He pointed to the empty VIP lane nearby: "Homeowners go that way! That's for facial recognition! Why are you squeezing in here with people holding standing tickets? Showing off how fat you are?"

The fat man was rendered speechless by the retort and scurried off toward the VIP lane.

A burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.

In this era, property deeds on Earth were no longer worth anything.

Only the electronic ticket to Mars in one's hand was hard currency.

Even the trends in the matchmaking market had changed.

Right at the tail end of the line, a young couple was staging an extremely realistic breakup drama.

"Let's break up." The girl shook off the boy's hand, her face full of determination.

"Why? Xiaoli, I even bought a house in the city center for you! A 180-square-meter flat!" The boy cried with a mournful face, still holding the property deed in his hand.

"City center?" The girl rolled her eyes, pointed at the faintly visible red starry sky above, and spoke with a tone of disdain, as if looking at a bumpkin: "Your house is on Earth—does it have an oxygen circulation system? Does it have an anti-gravity mattress? Does it have an AI butler?"

"It has none of those?"

"Then what future are you talking to me about?"

The girl pulled a printed reservation slip from her bag and waved it in front of the boy: "I just met a guy who lays bricks at Chenxing Technology. Even though he's just an excavator operator, he has a Mars household registration!"

"Our future children will be taking exams for Mars University; you can keep your Earth school district housing... for raising pigs!"

After saying this, the girl walked away without looking back, leaving the boy in a disheveled mess in the wind.

The people around them not only didn't sympathize, but instead nodded in agreement.

These days, if you don't have a ticket to Mars, even a dog wouldn't date you.

On the other side of the spaceport.

A group of blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners, who once walked with their heads held high, were now squatting on the ground like refugees, looking longingly at the entrance.

They were wealthy individuals from the Eagle Nation and other Western countries. Under the dual blows of Photonic Chip and biotechnology, their assets had shrunk by more than half. Now, for that last ticket to escape the "Old World," they had to lower their noble heads.

"I beg you, sir." A financial tycoon who once called the shots on Wall Street was now grabbing Supervisor Li Guoqiang's pant leg, begging in broken Chinese: "I am willing to donate all my wealth! Just give me one ticket! Even a cargo hold will do!"

"My family has a hereditary disease; only the air on Mars can save me!"

Supervisor Li Guoqiang looked down at him, feeling incredibly satisfied. Once upon a time, these foreign masters could walk sideways in the Dragon Country. Now?

"Sorry, Representative Smith." Supervisor Li Guoqiang pulled his pant leg back and dusted it off, his face filled with official indifference: "According to Mr. Jiang's regulations, foreign personnel who want to board the ship must first pass the 'Dragon Country Culture Exam' and 'Political Review'."

"Besides…" He pointed to the sign next to him that read "Special Contribution Lane": "We don't care about your assets. But if you are willing to go to the Western Suburbs construction site and lay bricks for three months, and perform well, perhaps we can give you a chance to get a number."

"Lay bricks?" Representative Smith was stunned. He looked at his well-maintained hands, then at the sky-piercing cable in the distance. Finally, he gritted his teeth and nodded fiercely: "I'll do it!"

"I'll go lay bricks right now! As long as you let me go to the sky, I'll even shovel dung!"

Watching this group of former elites scrambling to grab hard hats and gloves, Supervisor Li Guoqiang shook his head with a sigh.

"This world has really changed." "Our Earth… is indeed too crowded."

...

Just when Earth was in a state of jubilation, with everyone dreaming the dream of interstellar migration. 380,000 kilometers away. On the Far Side of the Moon, at the Chenxing No. 1 Base. The atmosphere here, however, was eerily quiet.

Inside the command center, various instruments were operating silently, monitoring the movements of the entire Solar System. Jiang Chen was not there. He was over on Mars, inspecting the renovation progress of new real estate developments.

In the base, there were only a few cyborgs on duty and Zhao Gang, who was dozing off.

And in that "snack warehouse" piled high with various rare metals and high-energy ores, Hill, who should have been feasting, suddenly stopped her movements.

"Snap." The half-eaten titanium alloy rod in her hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound. The little girl did not pick it up.

Her large purple eyes, which were originally clear and contained only "food" and "Daddy," suddenly lost their focus. Deep within her pupils, the precisely meshed golden gears began to spin frantically, so fast that they were almost sparking.

A fear originating from the depths of her ancient genes, similar to a beast's intuition, instantly enveloped her entire body.

"Ugh…" Hill clutched her chest and let out a painful moan. She sensed an aura. A cold, disgusting, and destructive aura.

It was just like that dark force from tens of thousands of years ago that had completely wiped out the civilization of her creators.

"No…" Hill stood up trembling, her little face deathly pale; she didn't even care about her favorite metals anymore. She stumbled toward the communication console, her fingers trembling as she pressed the red emergency call button.

"Beep—beep—" The communication connected. On the holographic screen appeared Jiang Chen's face, smiling as he looked at the sunset on Mars.

"What's the matter, daughter? Did you run out of snacks? Daddy will have someone send you…"

"Daddy!" Hill interrupted Jiang Chen. Her voice was sharp and shrill, carrying an unprecedented terror, and even a hint of crying: "Stop eating!" "Come back quickly!" "They… they have caught our scent!"

Jiang Chen froze for a moment, the smile on his face instantly solidifying: "Who? Who caught our scent?"

Hill looked up. Those purple eyes stared fixedly at the deep starry sky, as if piercing through the endless darkness, seeing a group of hunters closing in.

"Those… monsters that eat stars." "They… are coming!"