176: Chapter 176 The War Is Coming

"Just this? I had the same idea. I've played that game too. It's great, absolutely wonderful! Integrating leisure, gaming, scientific research, and work—developing the service industry is simply fantastic!"

"That's good. I'll send some staff to coordinate with the officials and aim to launch it next month! Officer Zhou, what you wanted to discuss wouldn't happen to be about this as well, would it?"

"Not exactly. Right now, things abroad are a complete mess, and there's a plague spreading. There's a lot of pressure on the borders, with a large number of illegal immigrants entering Xia Country every day. I'm in a difficult position regarding how to handle them!"

Gao Yuan understood. With such a long border, defense alone wouldn't be enough. It was better to channel the flow than to block it!

Since everyone wanted to enter, they were currently deterred by Gao Yuan's combat power and didn't dare to force their way in. However, if they only focused on defense, perhaps in a few months, the remaining forces from around the globe would unite to attack Xia Country. That wasn't what Gao Yuan wanted to see; even with a Space Warship, he couldn't protect every single citizen of Xia Country.

Furthermore, he had a Chinese City in Luzon, Nanyang—Jakarta!

"Officer Zhou, it's better to channel the flow than to block it!"

"Indeed. What are your thoughts?"

"Screen for a specific category of people to let in—only young people between the ages of 20 and 35 who possess a specialized skill! Those proficient in physics, chemistry, or mathematics would all do. Also... I think giving birth should count as a skill! I believe that in a few years, Xia Country will be the only one left on Earth. In that case, our numbers would still be too few, wouldn't they?"

Zhou Zhengli immediately understood. Gao Yuan intended to sweep up all the STEM elites and women of childbearing age from abroad!

That would work too!

"And another thing: to enter Xia Country, they must speak the national language and take a Han name! They must abandon all their beliefs! Right?"

"Correct..."

Zhou Zhengli glanced at Gao Yuan. With this classification, without these young elites, it would be difficult for the children and the elderly alone to cross those desolate borders! Moreover, by entering this way with legal status, anyone with even a glimmer of hope would certainly not choose to enter illegally. This would divide the potential illegal immigrants!

"Haha, President Gao is right. I think giving birth should indeed count as a skill!"

This global immigration plan was thus decided amidst casual conversation.

Now, Gao Yuan could devote himself entirely to the construction of the space elevator and the Moon Base.

Days passed, one by one...

In the Future World.

The Development General Administration and the Human Federation ended their standoff and began their war.

Gao Qiu and Su Muyan had one final conversation before the war; neither of them wanted it to come to this.

However, when views on the future are irreconcilable, war becomes the only way to convince the other side.

And war is ultimately a battle of resources.

At this moment, Gao Qiu sat in his chair, with Su Muyan's virtual projection in front of him.

"Old Su, stop this! Come back now, and we can still be partners. You can still be the Secretary-General!"

Su Muyan sneered, "Gao Qiu, is there any point in saying this now? You stabbed me in the back. This policy wasn't set by me; it was the basic strategy established by our ancestors. If we don't keep humanity domesticated and let everyone know the truth, there will always be accidents. By doing this, aren't you afraid of retaliation from the 'Masters'? We only have one chance. If the next breakout fails, only destruction awaits humanity!"

"Old Su, it's been centuries. What's the difference between living such a lingering life and being dead?"

Gao Qiu's expression remained indifferent.

"Now that you've done this, I'm the one bearing all the blame while you've become the hero who saved humanity. Gao Qiu, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"The Development General Administration has indeed gone too far over the years, monopolizing almost all power!"

Hearing this, Su Muyan immediately jumped up in anger.

"Struggling for power and profit is normal. When you used political maneuvering to seize power back then, I didn't do anything to you, nor did I use underhanded tactics. I knew your Gao Family had been plotting in secret, but I thought the worst that could happen was my stepping down! Gao Qiu, who would have thought you'd lead all of humanity into the abyss! You've crossed the line!"

Su Muyan was furious now, getting angrier the more he thought about it!

"Old Su, I'll say it again: it's better to fight to the death than to sit and wait for the end!"

"'Masters' are everywhere. Do you think your actions can escape their surveillance?"

Gao Qiu smiled.

"You still don't understand. We are test subjects. If we don't make a fuss and just live according to the rules, we lose our meaning as test subjects. Continuing like that would also lead to destruction! Now that we're causing a stir, the Masters actually won't move against us! Do you understand? A test subject must act like a test subject!"

Behind Gao Qiu's words was a hidden meaning: as long as he didn't cross certain boundaries or plot to escape the Solar System, they were safe.

Su Muyan was stunned upon hearing this.

Indeed, humans were test subjects, just like sheep raised on a farm. As long as the sheep didn't harm the farmer or try to escape the pen, even if they fought every day within the pen, it wouldn't bring about disaster; instead, the farmer would be quite happy to watch the show.

"See, once I put it that way, you understand! Right? If I hadn't made a fuss, do you think humanity might have been wiped out long ago?"

Su Muyan frowned; history cannot be based on hypotheses.

However, Gao Qiu's words did have some merit.

But Su Muyan was unwilling; he was also doing it for humanity, yet now he bore a massive amount of infamy.

"Gao Qiu, stop talking. If you were in my position, what would you do?"

"If I were in your position, I would probably have occupied Earth by now, and a high-pressure, dictatorial new world would likely have been formed!"

Hearing this...

Su Muyan burst into loud laughter.

He was still too kind.

"In that case, there's nothing more to say. If you win, you take the Development General Administration. If you lose, I'll try my hand at being a dictator!"

"Come then! Humanity has been without war for too long; we've lost our fighting spirit!"

Gao Qiu said.

"See you on the battlefield..."

...

As the call was disconnected, the image of Su Muyan in front of Gao Qiu flickered a few times before dissipating.

Gao Qiu's gaze remained fixed forward.

"War..."

There were also many miners on Mars, and Mars actually controlled the Asteroid Belt as well; after all, Mars was much closer to the Asteroid Belt than Earth was.

Furthermore, minerals on Earth could not be mined, so only extraterrestrial planets could be exploited. However, the Moon had reached its limit and could no longer be mined.

With Mars now occupied by Su Muyan, Gao Qiu could not bypass Mars to mine minerals on Jupiter. Therefore, the choices left for Gao Qiu were actually only two: Venus and Mercury.

However, the natural conditions on Venus and Mercury were much harsher than those on the moons of Mars and Jupiter.

Additionally, Gao Qiu was currently having difficulty even resettling Earth's residents; where would he get the surplus resources to arm the Heavenly Army?

The main force of the Heavenly Army was on Mars.