172: Chapter 172 It's all Gao Yuan's fault

"I want to eat dumplings!"

Lin Mei smiled, but her eyelashes were wet with tears.

"Alright, I'll make them right away! You're such a big girl now, aren't you ashamed... By the way, do you like Gao Yuan?"

"Mom, why are you bringing this up again?"

"You're not a child anymore; it's time to start a family!"

...

That day, rumors spread throughout Muza that Gao Yuan had obtained spells taught by immortals. Those previous black technologies were actually immortal arts, and now he could even directly resurrect people.

Gao Yuan didn't explain. He had Zhang Baiyi explain to each victim's family that their loved ones were actually robots, even though they looked almost identical to before on the surface.

But robots would never age or get sick!

Over time, everyone would likely understand.

What Gao Yuan didn't know was that as time passed and those robots showed no signs of aging, the claim that he knew immortal arts became even more unshakable. After all, if it wasn't immortal arts, how could a person not age?

Gao Yuan didn't know these things right now because Black Fish Technology was in trouble.

At first, only a few people were mocking Gao Yuan online.

But with the arrival of global famine and war, international trade was almost cut off.

This led to severe overcapacity in Xia Country, with massive amounts of industrial goods piling up in warehouses and many people losing their jobs.

Although the state guaranteed basic rations for everyone, it is hard to transition from luxury to frugality. Xia Country had developed rapidly before, and a whole generation had enjoyed the dividends of the era's progress.

Now, factories were closing, and many businesses were seeing their operations shrink.

Within just one month, the unemployment rate reached 50%.

Although the domestic situation was still better compared to the wars and famines abroad.

But people's hearts always demand improvement; stability can be maintained even by just keeping the status quo, but if there is a decline, any regime will inevitably face chaos.

This was the current state of Xia Country...

Moreover, an article was circulating online: "Is Black Fish Technology a Hero or a Disruptor?"

Over the past six months, Black Fish Technology had frequently appeared in the public eye, with various black technologies that were eye-popping.

From the fire-and-water-resistant Constant Temperature Clothing to the brainwave-controlled wrist machine, and the Life-Sustaining Base Fluid that cured all ailments! The space bus that could fly to the heavens and dive into the earth! Every single one was an era-defining product.

Now, thermal power plants were all being phased out, replaced by Nuclear Fusion power plants! Previous lithium batteries were also being phased out, replaced by Black Fish Technology's card batteries. Black Fish Technology's Construction Insects could make buildings "grow" out of the ground. Everything seemed so beautiful, but in this world, fortune and misfortune are intertwined; beautiful things are often actually poison.

Black Fish Technology was flourishing, its momentum unstoppable!

But who could have known how much blood and tears lay behind this?

Behind Constant Temperature Clothing was the decline of an entire industry: the cotton farmers at the source, the spinning mills, weaving mills, and garment factories in the middle. The clothing stores at the retail end, as well as industry-related fashion designers, clothing e-commerce, logistics, and packaging plants.

Constant Temperature Clothing was indeed very good, but at what cost? It was the collapse of related industries involving tens of millions of people.

A massive number of low-end industrial workers were forced to be laid off.

The same was true for the wrist machine; the assembly lines in the OEM factories were empty, and the mobile phone stores were deserted! Life-Sustaining Base Fluid hit a large number of medical enterprises even harder; hospitals were like ghost towns, doctors became laid-off workers overnight, and people sighed in medical equipment factories.

Up until now, every time Black Fish Technology launched a new product, an industry involving tens of millions of people headed toward decline: the clothing industry, the medical industry, the mobile phone industry, and now power plants, construction sites, and battery manufacturers...

At a conservative estimate, Black Fish Technology had caused at least two hundred million people to be laid off.

And our country's labor force currently does not exceed 500 million people!

Black Fish Technology alone had caused over 40% unemployment!

Add to that Black Fish Technology causing trouble all over the world—destroying America's aircraft carriers, destroying Neon, destroying the Israel, and rashly initiating the process of reclaiming Taiwan Island—leading to a devastating blow to our country's global prestige and a plummeting international image. It could be said that our current lives are all thanks to Black Fish Technology!

A few days ago, Black Fish Technology demonstrated a heaven-defying technology on the Moon Base called 3D precision printing. It looked really cool and full of sci-fi flavor; it was a technology that integrated collection, smelting, design, and manufacturing.

But after watching it, I broke into a cold sweat. If Gao Yuan promotes 3D precision printing technology within Xia Country, then all our manufacturing industries will face total destruction. When that time comes, it won't be him who loses his job, but you, me, and all of us!

So, if there was a choice, I would rather Xia Country didn't have Black Fish Technology. That way, the world could still function normally! And we would all still have jobs!

That's all there is to it!

This article caused a huge sensation online.

It led many people who were struggling in life to start resenting Black Fish Technology.

With so many people, all kinds of characters emerged.

Following the smashing of Black Fish Technology stores in America, a storm of boycotting Black Fish Technology also appeared within Xia Country!

When Zhang Baiyi placed this article in front of Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan took a glance and sighed; it had come after all.

When productivity becomes extremely developed, this situation is inevitable.

The main problem now was that while Gao Yuan was increasing productivity, he hadn't developed new demands.

"Old Gao, stores have already been smashed! How should we handle it?"

"Recruit personnel to protect the stores!"

"And then?"

Zhang Baiyi asked.

"Then do as you see fit! I need to be alone for a while!"

Gao Yuan walked into his office.

His single-minded desire to lead the entire Xia Country to soar was actually just wishful thinking. With the technology of the Future World, so much labor wasn't needed at all, so all the lower classes would be kept like pets!

Was he going to follow that path too?

No, if he did that, the result would most likely be no different from the Future World.

If so many people weren't needed, and they were all to be penned up or directly disposed of, it would be better to just go to Mars and build a base himself.

Now, only two paths lay before Gao Yuan: one was to increase new job positions so that everyone could work stably and live happily; the other was to detach himself from Earth and only maintain cooperation in top scientific fields.

Zhang Baiyi knocked on the door from outside.

"Old Gao, what are you doing? Open the door!"

"Don't do anything stupid!"

"Do you actually fucking believe it? Didn't we also add hundreds of thousands of jobs?"

Gao Yuan heard him, but he felt he had been deceiving himself all along. Compared to the disappearance of hundreds of millions of jobs, a few hundred thousand were simply not worth mentioning.

"Old Zhang, let me be quiet for a while, okay? Tomorrow, I will definitely give you an answer!"

Zhang Baiyi looked helpless and ran out...

Half an hour later, Bai Moyu and Lin Mei were both dragged to the office by Zhang Baiyi.