231: Chapter 231 Building Public Support: Unity After the Crisis
Inside the "Ark" city council chamber, the prolonged applause finally subsided.
Lin Mo stood on the podium, his gaze sweeping over those excited faces—there were representatives from the former North American Affiliated Zone, their eyes rimmed with red; there were veteran politicians from Europa, nodding slightly at him, their eyes devoid of the scrutiny of the past; there were technical experts from the Moon Base, clenching their fists as if silently taking an oath; and there were those who had forged deep friendships through the work of the "Truth and Reconciliation Committee," people from opposing camps who now stood side by side.
Outside the window, the dark core of the fourth "Scavenger" still floated silently in the starry sky. Its light seemed a little brighter than before, as if recording the most profound transformation within human civilization.
Lin Mo turned and looked at the huge holographic screen—the final data of the global referendum was scrolling in real-time.
87.3%.
This was not a cold number. It was the sound of billions of hearts beating together, the proof that countless families, after experiencing fear, separation, and sacrifice, still chose to believe in the future.
He spoke slowly, his voice no longer impassioned, but deeper than any manifesto:
"Three months ago, we stood here and judged the deepest sins of an era. Today, three months later, we stand here again to put the final full stop to the end of that era."
"Some asked me, why launch the charter revision immediately after experiencing a rebellion? Why not wait for the wounds to heal, wait for time to dilute everything?"
He paused, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls of the council chamber, through the alloy armor of the "Ark" city, and landing on that azure planet:
"Because wounds can only truly heal after they have been thoroughly debrided. Because time will not dilute everything; it will only make the rot deeper and the festering sores larger. We choose to do it today, while the blood has not yet fully dried, using the sharpest knife to excise the tumors that could make us terminally ill again."
"And you," his gaze swept over everyone present, over the countless eyes watching him through the live broadcast, "with 87.3% of the votes in favor, told me, and told each other—we did it."
Applause rang out in the council chamber once again. But this time, the applause was deeper and more powerful, as if it had erupted from the marrow of everyone's bones.
Three days later, Earth, former North American Affiliated Zone, on the edge of the ruins of New York.
The area where the "Freedom Day" manifesto had spread most widely and where public sentiment had been most volatile had now become a "model zone" for global reconstruction support. Engineering teams from major affiliated zones were using the most advanced 3D printing technology to build new residential areas on the ruins destroyed by the aftershocks of space distortion.
Huge "Xuan Niao" class transport planes roared overhead, dropping tons of building materials. On the ground, hundreds of engineering robots busily shuttled back and forth, precisely assembling those materials into houses, roads, and public facilities. And on the outskirts of the construction site, thousands of local residents were spontaneously lining up to deliver water and food to the engineering teams.
An old man with gray hair tremblingly carried a large bucket of freshly brewed coffee and handed it to a sweating engineer from Europa.
The engineer took the coffee and said "Thank you" in broken English.
The old man shook his head and replied in equally broken Chinese: "It's only right. You are helping us rebuild our home; what is this bit of coffee?"
The engineer was stunned. Beside him, an engineering team leader from the Dragon Kingdom walked over and patted the old man on the shoulder with a smile: "Old John, your Chinese is improving fast."
Old John grinned, revealing a few missing teeth: "My granddaughter is learning, so I'm learning along with her. She said she wants to work on the Moon in the future and deal with people from all over the world. As her grandfather, I can't hold her back."
The engineering team leader laughed heartily and turned to the Europa engineer: "Hear that? This is the future of our GDA. The next generation knows from a young age that the Earth is one village and humanity is one family."
The Europa engineer smiled too. He tilted his head back, gulped down a large mouthful of coffee, put his helmet back on, and turned to walk into the forest of steel that was rising.
Above the ruins, a new home was rising from the ground.
Moon, "Guanghan Palace" base, biomaterial cultivation factory.
Wang Lei stood inside the newly restored factory dome, watching the genetically optimized plants stretching their tender green leaves in the nutrient solution within the restarted culture tanks. Three months ago, this place was almost completely destroyed by the "Scavenger" purification probe. Three months later, it was more advanced and more perfect than before.
"Commander Wang, the trial results for the second batch of 'lunar soil-biological composite materials' are out." A young technician ran over and handed him a report, "The performance is 17% higher than the first batch, fully meeting the armor demand standards for subsequent models of the 'Xing Tian' mecha."
Wang Lei took the report, glanced at it, and nodded with satisfaction: "Good work. Notify Earth that we can start receiving the first batch of mass-produced materials next month."
The technician did not leave immediately. He hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Commander, I have a question... Those insiders who poisoned the refinery, where are they now..."
Wang Lei looked at him with a calm gaze: "Some are serving sentences in labor camps on the far side of the Moon, and some have been sent back to Earth for continued reformation. Why, do you want to visit old friends?"
The technician shook his head quickly: "No, not that. I just... they almost ruined all our hard work, and I hate them. But now..." He scratched his head, "A few days ago in the base cafeteria, I saw a former 'Freedom Day' participant who had finished his sentence and chose to stay here to continue working, helping a new engineer debug equipment. He worked very seriously and very hard. I... I don't know how to face him."
Wang Lei was silent for a moment, then patted the technician's shoulder: "Then don't say anything, don't think about anything. Look at what he does, not what he says. Time will give you the answer."
The technician nodded thoughtfully and turned to leave.
Wang Lei looked up through the transparent protective layer of the dome at the dark light spot of the fourth "Scavenger" floating beyond the direction of Earth. It remained silent and cold.
But for some reason, Wang Lei suddenly felt that there seemed to be a trace of... warmth in that light spot?
He shook his head, cast this absurd thought out of his mind, and continued to immerse himself in his busy work.
Mars, Luowo Base, former "avengers" fleet wreckage research area.
Kelson was wearing a gray labor camp uniform, standing in a strictly isolated laboratory, facing the wreckage of an "avengers" fighter jet that had been dismantled into pieces. On his wrist, he wore a special electronic monitoring ring; any abnormal behavior would trigger an alarm.
But he didn't care. His entire attention was drawn to the pile of cold metal fragments in front of him.
"Kelson, how is the decoding progress of data module No. 3?" A voice came from behind.
Kelson didn't even turn his head: "68% complete. The core logic of 'nemesis' is more complex than I imagined, but its flaws are also more obvious—it relies too heavily on the preset 'threat-elimination' model and lacks the ability to self-iterate and evolve. If we can fully parse this flaw, it will be of great help to our future design of safer AI systems."
The person who spoke walked to his side; it was the GDA scientific research supervisor in charge of the project. He looked at Kelson's focused profile, a flash of complex emotion in his eyes.
"Do you... really not hate?" he asked suddenly.
Kelson's hand paused. He turned slowly, looking at this former "enemy," and a bitter smile tugged at the corners of his mouth:
"Hate whom? Hate myself? Hate McCarthy? Hate Craig? Or hate the era that led me down this path?"
He lowered his head, looking at the cold monitoring ring on his wrist: "I used to think that hate was a power. It allowed me to ignore all ethics, disregard all consequences, and pursue so-called 'extremes.' But later I discovered that hate is not a power; it is poison. It doesn't corrode others; it corrodes me."
He raised his head and looked out the window at the red, desolate Martian landscape: "The moment the 'avengers' were killing each other, I looked at them as if I were looking at myself. Swallowed by my own madness, destroyed by my own flaws. At that moment, I finally understood what Consultant Lin meant by the 'power of ethical constraints.'"
He turned around and continued to work, his voice as calm as if stating a fact:
"I don't ask for forgiveness, and I don't expect to be accepted. I just want to use the time I have left to make up for the things I did wrong, one by one, with my expertise. Even if I can only make up for a little bit."
The research supervisor was silent for a long time, finally nodded, and turned to leave.
In the laboratory, only Kelson and that pile of cold metal fragments remained, along with countless pieces of crazy and twisted data being decoded bit by bit.
Earth, former Dragon Kingdom, Beijing, community square.
On the huge holographic screen, highlights of the "Global Defense Parade" were playing. When the "Xing Tian" class mecha walked past the viewing platform with heavy steps, cheers erupted in the square.
Li Rui's daughter, Xiaoxuan, was sitting on her father's shoulders, waving her little hands excitedly. Beside her were countless children like her, their eyes sparkling with longing for the future.
"Daddy! Daddy! Look, that's you!" Xiaoxuan suddenly screamed, pointing at a "Xuan Niao" fighter jet streaking across the screen.
Li Rui smiled and gently pinched his daughter's little cheek: "Yes, that's Daddy. Is Daddy impressive?"
"Impressive!" Xiaoxuan nodded vigorously, then asked, "Daddy, will you go to war again in the future?"
Li Rui was stunned for a moment. He looked up at the clear sky, at the "Ark" city floating in synchronous orbit that could only be vaguely seen from a specific angle, and at the fourth "Scavenger" in the distance, eternal like the stars.
"Daddy's mission in the future is not to fight anymore," he said softly, "It is to protect. To protect you, to protect Mommy, to protect all the children like you, so that you can grow up safely and go see the starry sky that Daddy has seen."
Xiaoxuan nodded as if she understood, then suddenly pointed to the sky and shouted excitedly: "Daddy, look! Stars!"
Li Rui looked along her little finger. That was a star that was particularly bright in the evening sky. It was not a star; it was the "Ark" city, it was Lin Mo, it was the home guarded by everyone who had paid for this starry sky.
He smiled and held his daughter a little tighter.
In the square, the cheers continued.
"Ark" city, Lin Mo's office.
Su Xiaowan pushed the door open, holding the latest public opinion poll report. A faint smile on her face, she walked to Lin Mo's side and placed the report in front of him.
"Take a look. The changes in these three months are much greater than you imagined."
Lin Mo picked up the report and opened the first page. On it were strings of data, and behind the data were trend analysis charts generated by "Fuxi".
Public support index for the GDA: 97.2%, a record high.
Personal trust in Lin Mo: 98.7%, also a record high.
"Post-liquidation era" social stability index: 99.1%, almost eliminating all unstable factors.
Number of people participating in "Kunlun" world public affairs discussions: an increase of 340% compared to before the rebellion, with the increase from the former North American and Europa affiliated zones being particularly significant.
The item that moved Lin Mo the most was an additional report from the "Truth and Reconciliation Committee": Among all former rebels participating in "labor camp" reformation, more than 70% showed a sincere willingness to repent during their sentences and proactively requested to stay in arduous positions to continue serving after their sentences were completed. And their attitude toward the GDA and Lin Mo gradually shifted from initial hostility and suspicion to silence and acceptance, and in the end, more than half of them even wrote the word "thank you" in the questionnaire.
Lin Mo closed the report and was silent for a long time.
Su Xiaowan said softly: "This rebellion was originally intended to tear us apart. But what it ultimately achieved was to let everyone see that without unity, there is no future. Those who were once wavering now stand firmer. Those who were once doubting now choose to believe. Even many who once participated in the destruction have found a new direction in the ruins."
She walked to the window, stood side by side with Lin Mo, and looked at the endless starry sky outside the window:
"This is the human heart. It can be bewitched, torn apart, and pushed into the abyss. But as long as you give it a strong enough reason, a firm enough direction, it can pull itself back, and even become more solid than before."
Lin Mo nodded but did not speak. He just quietly watched the dark core of the fourth "Scavenger". It still floated there, still silent.
But for some reason, Lin Mo suddenly felt that its light seemed brighter than at any time before.
It was a kind of light that could not be quantified by data, a light that transcended logic.
As if saying: I have seen it. I have recorded it. I am... waiting.
A smile, one he didn't even notice himself, tugged at the corners of Lin Mo's mouth.
"Public sentiment has coalesced," he said softly, "Now, we can truly begin to face that final 'test'."
Su Xiaowan turned her head to look at him. In his eyes, she saw the starry sky, saw the future, and also saw a soul more determined than ever before.
She gently held his hand.