349: Three-year countdown and the "Homeland Renovation Plan"

Three years.

When Wen Youyi announced this deadline at the general assembly, the hall fell silent for a few seconds before erupting like a pot of boiling oil.

"Three years? Just three years?!"

"Does that mean the Creation Heavenly Court will be knocking on our door in three years?"

"Then why are we still farming and building houses! We should pack up and run!"

Panic spread like wildfire. After all, the vast majority of those present had barely escaped from the pastures of the Creation Heavenly Court with their lives. The terror of being raised like livestock, of being harvested at any moment, was already etched into their bones.

"Quiet!"

Wen Youyi tapped the table—this time using the master key. The crisp resonance made everyone's heart jolt.

"Run? Where can we run? 'hope' can hold one hundred thousand people, but can it hold the farmland we've just reclaimed? Can it hold the houses we've just built? Can it hold everything we've invested in this land over the past three years?"

He looked around at the faces filled with terror, anger, and despair.

"Besides, even if we run, how long can we run for? Wandering in the star sea for a lifetime? What about our children? Our children's children? Are they also to live a life of displacement and precariousness forever?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing some people's impulsiveness, but also plunging more people into deeper confusion.

"Then what do you propose we do?"

A Loose Cultivator stood up, his voice hoarse.

"We can't win in a fight, we can't run, are we just waiting to die?"

"Waiting to die?"

Wen Youyi smiled, not a bitter smile, but one filled with sharpness, almost a provocative smile.

"Who said anything about waiting to die? Three years is indeed not enough for us to turn New Homeland into an impregnable fortress, but it is enough for us to do one thing—"

The holographic screen behind him lit up, displaying a 3D map of New Homeland. The map was marked with hundreds of light spots, some deep in the forest, some in the heart of the mountains, some even on the seabed.

—Turn New Homeland into a 'hedgehog' that even the Creation Heavenly Court wouldn't dare touch easily.

The venue fell silent again, this time with a silence filled with confusion.

"A hedgehog?"

Zhao Iron Pillar scratched his head.

"Boss, you mean... make this place so prickly they won't dare take a bite?"

"That's roughly the idea,"

Wen Youyi nodded.

"We will definitely lose in a head-on collision, but we can make the 'cost' of occupying this place so high that the Creation Heavenly Court cannot accept it. It's like you're starving and want to eat, and there's a delicious meal in front of you, but there's a bomb connected under the plate—what would you choose?"

The metaphor was crude, but effective. Quite a few people started nodding.

"What specifically are we doing?"

Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his glasses, already in technical analysis mode.

Wen Youyi brought up the memory database query interface opened by the memory aggregate: "In these three years, we need to do three things. First, establish a 'memory pollution defense network' covering the entire planet. The memory aggregate underground has agreed to help; it will release a gentle, controllable memory field that covers the entire surface of New Homeland. Any Creation Heavenly Court unit that enters this field will be subject to continuous mental interference—at best, consciousness confusion; at worst, false memories will be reverse-implanted, turning them into our 'spies'."

A collective intake of breath echoed through the hall.

"This... isn't this the same thing the Heavenly Soldiers encountered back then?"

Yun Zhi frowned.

"Won't that be too dangerous? What if it gets out of control..."

"That's why it's 'gentle and controllable',"

Wen Youyi explained.

"The memory aggregate now has the self-positioning of a 'bridge'. It won't attack indiscriminately, but will act like an immune System, targeting only intruders with the energy signature of the Creation Heavenly Court. Moreover, we can monitor and adjust it at any time through the interface established by Silver Thorn."

He paused.

"Second, utilize the technology in the Star People knowledge base and memory library to establish 'environmental weapon Systems' throughout New Homeland. Not traditional artillery or missiles, but... making the environment itself a weapon."

The map on the screen zoomed in, showing a close-up of a forest.

"For example, in this 'Silver-Blue Forest', we can use genetic modification so that the trees release potent hallucinogenic spores when attacked; we can introduce special microorganisms into this river that will multiply frantically upon detecting spirit net energy, clogging the enemy's energy circuits; we can even deploy 'space fold generators' in the atmosphere to make the enemy's jump exit deviate from the predetermined coordinates, sending them straight into a volcano."

This idea was so wild that even Senior Brother Zhang was stunned.

"Is it... technically feasible?"

"Thirty-seven civilizations in the memory library have used similar environmental defense Systems,"

Wen Youyi pulled up several cases.

"Although specific implementation requires adjustment, the principle is sound. And we have Silver Thorn—symbiotic civilizations are best at integrating with the environment; having it as a technical consultant is perfect."

"What about the third thing?"

Mu Wanqing asked.

"Third,"

Wen Youyi's gaze deepened.

"In these three years, we must do everything possible to improve ourselves. Not just cultivation, but the 'resilience' of the entire civilization. We must establish a complete education System so that every child—regardless of their background—can learn knowledge; we must improve the medical System so that everyone can be treated; we must develop agriculture and industry to achieve self-sufficiency; and we must... establish a truly fair social System that can unite everyone."

He looked at the faces of different races and backgrounds in the audience: "Why is the Creation Heavenly Court powerful? Not just because of technology, but because they have turned their entire civilization into a highly efficient 'machine'. To oppose them, we cannot be a scattered pile of sand. In these three years, we must turn ourselves into a highly efficient whole—but not a machine, rather a... 'living organism' with flesh and blood, warmth, where everyone can find their place."

The speech was long, but every word struck at people's hearts. Panic was gradually replaced by a heavy sense of responsibility.

"So,"

Wen Youyi concluded.

"These three years are not three years of waiting for death, but three years of risking our lives to build. It will be bitter, tiring, there may be sacrifices, there may be failures. But at least, we are fighting for our own future, not sitting around waiting to die."

He paused, his voice rising:

"Now, vote. Those who agree with the 'Homeland Renovation Plan', raise your hand."

After a brief silence, the first hand went up—it was Zhao Iron Pillar. Then came Senior Brother Zhang, Mu Wanqing, Wang Wu, Aila, Luo Chen, Yun Zhi... The Elders of the Qingyun Sect hesitated for a moment, then also raised their hands. The Loose Cultivators looked at each other and raised their hands one by one. On the Yao Race side, Mountain Roar Lord grinned, waved a large hand, and all the Yao Race representatives raised their hands. Madam Liu from the Mortal community raised her hand tremblingly, and the simple farmers and craftsmen behind her all followed suit.

Finally, it passed unanimously.

In the following days, New Homeland entered an unprecedented 'wartime construction state'.

But interestingly, this state was not oppressive; instead, there was a strange... vibrant vitality to it.

Before dawn every day, the camp would bustle with activity. Cultivators no longer just meditated, but divided into small groups: some went into the forest to collect Silver-Blue leaf samples (for hallucinogenic spore research), some went to the river to extract microorganisms, and some prospected for locations in the mountains suitable for installing space fold generators. The Yao Race used their racial talents to assist in modifying the environment—Tree Demon Elder Muxin even volunteered to modify a forest into a 'living maze' where any intruder would lose their way.

The Mortals were not idle either. Under the technical guidance of Senior Brother Zhang's team, they began large-scale reclamation of farmland, planting improved rainbow potatoes and star rice—these crops were not only high-yield but could also absorb harmful energy from the soil, in turn nourishing the land. Craftsmen were busy manufacturing various strange equipment: the 'energy signature scanner' designed by Aila, the 'spirit net simulator' provided by Yun Zhi (used to test defense effectiveness), and the 'environmental coordination device' improved with the help of Silver Thorn.

Education was not left behind either. The temporary school was expanded into a real school, and the teachers, in addition to the original old scholars, included several Cultivators and Yao Race members who volunteered to teach. The curriculum was diverse: mathematics, physics, and biology were mandatory basic subjects; cultivation theory and Yao Race legacies became electives; there were even 'Interstellar Civilization History' and 'Basic Space Navigation'—the textbooks came from the memory library.

The most interesting part was the adjustment of the social System. Under the pressure of the 'Hedgehog Plan', the original disputes reduced. The contribution point System, optimized by Silver Thorn, became much fairer: contributions from farming, research, teaching, and even mediating disputes all had relatively reasonable quantitative standards. The council met every week to discuss practical problems, and the efficiency was so high that even Wen Youyi was surprised.

Of course, there were plenty of problems.

In the first week of environmental modification, a big joke occurred. Several young Cultivators were responsible for releasing 'energy-sensitive microorganisms' into a small stream, but they accidentally poured too much, and the entire stream turned bright pink the next day, bubbling away. The animals drinking downstream started dancing a bizarre dance, which lasted for a full day before they returned to normal.

"Test failed," Senior Brother Zhang wrote in the report, "Microorganism dosage needs to be precise to the milligram level. Also: suggest researching an 'anti-dance vaccine', just in case."

Another time, the Tree Demon Elder tried to make a forest "learn to camouflage", but the trees misunderstood the command and disguised themselves as... giant carrots? Green leaves with orange "trunks", looking like a cartoon farm from afar, making the passing Yao Race cubs drool.

"Instructions need to be clearer," Elder Muxin reflected, "Plants understand 'camouflage' differently than animals."

But these little episodes made the tense atmosphere much more relaxed. Everyone discovered that transforming their homeland wasn't all grim and bitter; it could also be quite fun.

Three months later, the first result appeared: the 'memory defense field' covering ten kilometers around the camp was successfully tested. Silver Thorn made several targets simulating Creation Heavenly Court energy and placed them in the field. A few minutes later, the targets started behaving abnormally: some spun in place, some talked to the air, and the most exaggerated one started reciting a love poem written by a poet three hundred years ago—clearly injected with irrelevant memory fragments.

"Interference effect meets the standard," Aila announced, "but the precision needs optimization. We cannot accidentally injure friendly forces."

Six months later, the first 'weaponized forest' modification was completed. Senior Brother Zhang led a team to conduct a live-fire test, putting several automatic combat Puppets inside. As soon as the Puppets entered the forest, the Silver-Blue trees immediately released a pale purple spore mist. The Puppets' movement speed slowed significantly, their programs started to glitch, and finally, they all squatted on the ground and started... counting leaves?

"Hallucinogenic effect is good," Senior Brother Zhang recorded, "but the effect on purely mechanical units is limited. Suggest combining with electromagnetic interference."

When a year had passed, New Homeland had changed drastically.

The originally simple camp had now become a fully functional small town. Neat residential areas, schools, hospitals, workshops, markets, and even a small park. Farmland had expanded threefold, and food reserves were enough to support them for two years. The forests, rivers, and mountains surrounding the town were all equipped with various hidden defense facilities.

More importantly, the hearts of the one hundred thousand people truly began to think in one direction. People no longer distinguished between Cultivators, Mortals, and Yao Race; when meeting, they would greet each other with "How many points did you contribute today?" or "How is your group's spore improvement progress going?" Even the Blood Fiend Old Demon and Mountain Roar Lord were slapping each other on the back and calling each other brothers because they cooperated to create a "poisonous miasma - hallucinogenic dual trap".

Wen Youyi stood on the newly built observation tower in the center of the town, looking at this flourishing land, feeling deeply moved.

Three years ago, they were still a group of disheveled fugitives, wandering in the Universe like frightened birds. Now, they had a home, a goal, and... the courage to fight.

Countdown: Two years.

"Boss," Zhao Iron Pillar climbed up the observation tower, holding a freshly roasted, fragrant rainbow potato, "Try this, the newly improved variety, it's very sweet."

Wen Youyi took it and took a bite; it was indeed sweet.

"Iron Pillar, do you think we can win?" he asked suddenly.

Zhao Iron Pillar grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: "I don't know if we'll win, but I know that even if we lose in the end, those bastards from the Creation Heavenly Court will have to break a few teeth if they want to chew on our hard bones."

He looked at the second layer of the defense circle being built in the distance, his voice rough but firm:

"Besides, we fought our way out of the Ranch World, took down the Star Devourers, made friends with alien bugs, and now we're working with a bunch of dead people's memories... what kind of situation haven't we seen? If the Creation Heavenly Court comes, they'll have to ask the hoes in our hands if they agree first!"

Wen Youyi smiled and patted Zhao Iron Pillar's shoulder firmly.

Yes, every step of their journey had been carved out of the impossible.

Three years later, no matter what comes.

New Homeland will not bow its head easily.

Because living here is a group of people who have long been accustomed to treating "impossible" as a daily occurrence—Resisters.

(End of chapter)