229: Chapter 229 A Display of Power: A Global Defense Parade
The lingering echoes of the reckoning had not yet fully dissipated, yet another unprecedented event was already being prepared behind the scenes.
At the first global strategic meeting of the post-reckoning era, when Lin Mo proposed holding a "Global Defense Parade," a brief silence fell over the chamber, followed by enthusiastic applause.
"It is time to let everyone see what we have gained in exchange for all our sacrifices," a representative from the Moon Base said excitedly.
"And more importantly, to let that fourth guy see," another military commander pointed to the dim light on the celestial star map, "that we are not lambs waiting to be slaughtered. We have strength, determination, and a will to stand united!"
Lin Mo nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over every face in the room—some excited, some solemn, some expectant. "The parade is not for showing off, and certainly not for intimidation. It is a way to demonstrate our civilization's resilience and cohesion to all of humanity, to that 'Scavenger' observing us, and to the entire universe. We want them to see that, after being baptized in blood and fire, humanity has not only survived but is standing taller and holding on tighter."
He stood up, his voice firm and decisive: "The parade is scheduled for three months from now, to be held simultaneously at 'Ark' City, the Moon 'Guanghan Palace' Base, and three major cities on Earth. It will be broadcast globally. Let every human see with their own eyes the strength we have forged together."
Three months later.
This day was permanently recorded in the annals of human civilization.
On Earth, from east to west, from north to south, people in all time zones gathered early in public squares, community centers, or through the immersive live broadcast of "Kunlun-Education," waiting for this unprecedented grand ceremony.
In "Ark" City, the massive viewing platform was filled with representatives from major global alliance zones, families of fallen soldiers, and distinguished figures from all walks of life. Lin Mo, Elder Chen, and all members of the GDA Supreme Council stood solemnly on the main platform.
Behind them was the starry sky that had once been the site of brutal battles. At this moment, bathed in the sunlight, countless newly built warships and defense platforms were floating silently, like a silent forest of steel.
And further away, the dim core of the fourth "Scavenger" still hung there, like an eternal, silent spectator.
The parade officially began.
First to enter the field of view was the phalanx from the Earth Orbital Defense Platform.
Dozens of the latest "Thunder Department-II" orbital cannons passed slowly in front of "Ark" City in neat formation. Their massive barrels reflected a cold light in the sun; each one was capable of destroying any city from the old era with a single shot. Following closely behind were hundreds of miniaturized "laser interception platforms" and "electromagnetic pulse arrays." They were as flexible as a Bee Swarm, responsible for weaving the final, impenetrable defense net when enemy attacks arrived.
The viewing platform erupted into the first wave of enthusiastic applause.
Next came the garrison fleet from the Moon "Guanghan Palace" Base.
Twelve "guang han - destroyer class" ships sailed slowly from the dark side of the moon in a standard diamond formation. Their hulls still bore the traces of repairs from the last battle, but those mottled scars were now the most dazzling medals. Every ship carried a moving story; every crew member had defended their post with their life during that brutal defensive war.
"Salute!" The voice of Moon Base commander Wang Lei was transmitted through quantum communication to the ears of every crew member.
All warships fired ceremonial guns simultaneously. That silent yet soul-shaking gunfire bloomed in the void, like a sky full of stars offered to the fallen.
On the viewing platform, countless eyes reddened.
Earth, one of the three main venues—the former Dragon Kingdom, Capital City.
A huge floating viewing platform hovered above the city, with millions of spontaneously gathered citizens below. In the sky, a massive formation consisting of 100 "Xuan Niao" aerospace fighters was performing extremely complex and dazzling stunts, pulling colorful smoke trails symbolizing unity and hope through the blue sky and white clouds.
In the cockpit of every "Xuan Niao" sat a hero pilot who had returned from the Moon battlefield. Li Rui, the young man who once worried he would lose the instinct to cry for his daughter, was now steadily piloting his fighter, passing over countless upturned faces. There was no fear in his eyes, only pride.
His daughter was currently sitting in the first row of the viewing platform below, wearing small earmuffs, tilting her head, and waving the small GDA flag in her hand desperately.
The shadow of the fighter plane glided gently over her.
"Ark" City, the parade continued.
The most shocking phalanx finally appeared.
These were the first practical results of the "pegasus" project—ten "Xingtian" class biological-mechanical fusion mechs.
Their appearance was between humanoid giants and combat fortresses. The silver-gray "keystone-1 type" alloy skeleton was covered with a layer of living biological armor that emitted a faint shimmer. That armor could automatically repair, regenerate, and even change its local form during battle to adapt to different battlefield environments. The core of the mech was a pilot cabin reinforced by the "Prometheus" project, where the pilot was deeply connected to the mech through a neural interface, man and machine as one, like a giant from mythology.
They walked heavily past the viewing platform. With every step, the metal floor of the viewing platform trembled slightly. Those flowing biological armors shone with a strange luster in the sun, as if they were creations from another era.
The viewing platform erupted into deafening cheers. In those cheers, there was surprise, pride, and infinite longing for the future.
Next was the prototype ship of the "sower" project—"Hope."
It did not join the formation but floated alone in the center of the parade area, allowing everyone to clearly see its streamlined hull, which resembled a giant seed. On the surface of the hull, countless precision instruments and sensors flickered slightly, housing the most precious gene bank of human civilization, cultural databases, and AI cores capable of "sowing" new civilizations in distant galaxies.
The appearance of "Hope" made the cheers subside temporarily. Everyone watched the Ark silently, which carried the last hope of humanity, and complex emotions welled up in their hearts—uncertainty about the future, and even more, a firm belief in the continuation of civilization.
Lin Mo walked slowly to the podium in the center of the main viewing platform. His gaze swept over the powerful fleet, the silent mechs, the Ark carrying hope, and finally, it fell on the countless eyes staring at him on the viewing platform.
His voice was transmitted to everyone's ears through the quantum network:
"Today, we stand here, showing our strength to each other, to the world, and to that endless starry sky."
"But I want to tell you that true strength does not lie in the muzzles of these steel giants, not in the alloy armor of those mechs, and not even in the gene bank of 'Hope'."
He paused, his voice becoming lower but more powerful:
"True strength is here—"
He raised his right hand and pressed it against his chest.
"In the hearts of everyone who has given sweat, tears, and blood for this home. In the heroic souls of those soldiers who will forever remain in the starry sky. In the moment when we, as a civilization, learned to unite, learned to forgive, and learned to find hope in despair."
"The fourth 'Scavenger' is still watching us. It is waiting for a response, waiting for an answer. Perhaps that 'gardener' will never appear, perhaps that 'test' never had a standard answer."
"But today, we want to give it, and the entire universe, an answer that belongs to us—"
Lin Mo clenched his fist and raised it high, his voice resounding through the universe:
"Human civilization does not need a savior! We are our own 'gardener'! We write our own future! We control our own destiny!"
"For Earth! For humanity! For the endless sea of stars!"
"Roar—!!!"
Cheers like a mountain landslide and a tsunami erupted from every corner of the Earth, from the silent base on the Moon, from the distant outpost on Mars, from every warship, every mech, and every person's chest!