42: Chapter 42 Circumstances Create Heroes

Chen Mu looked at the 50 million views on the screen and clicked his tongue in secret.

Truly, times make the hero! First there was the Blue Star martial arts hero Thompson, and now there is the Blue Star strategist Sima Bei.

And the comment section was even more absurd; it was practically a giant praise fest for Sima Bei.

"This episode by Teacher Sima is truly the modern-day 'On Protracted War'."

"No joke, I watched it carefully three times and took notes on every original passage from the art of war that he cited."

"'When supplies are transported a thousand li, the soldiers will have hungry looks'—these eight characters are the original text from 'the art of war: Waging War'."

"He applied this to the scale of interstellar warfare, and the logic is airtight: any military operation is constrained by logistics, and the difficulty of logistics increases exponentially with distance. The Kuiper Belt is thirty to fifty astronomical units away from Earth; just a one-way trip takes over four hours."

"With a fleet of two million ships stationed there, the daily consumption of supplies is an astronomical figure. Teacher Sima is right; we don't even need to fight, we can just drag it out and wear them to death."

"This is why invaders throughout human history, from Napoleon to Hitler, ultimately lost due to their supply lines."

"Teacher Sima is the strategic thinker of this era."

"Professor of Physics at Carrington University: Let me add to Teacher Sima's physical analysis regarding 'striking while they are halfway across'."

"The Kármán line is at an altitude of about 100 kilometers. When a spacecraft decelerates from orbital velocity to enter the atmosphere, it indeed needs to pass through a velocity window, dropping from the first cosmic velocity to subsonic speed."

"During this process, the spacecraft's heat shield must face directly into the flow, meaning its attitude is locked and its maneuverability is almost zero. Moreover, this window lasts for a significant amount of time, potentially several minutes to several tens of minutes for a large fleet."

"Teacher Sima's idea of 'nuclear submarines launching a salvo of MIRV nuclear warheads' is physically entirely feasible. Because ballistic missiles can perform mid-course maneuvers after flying out of the atmosphere, and the alien fleet currently decelerating is just a group of stationary targets."

"This isn't science fiction; it's orbital mechanics."

"Teacher Sima is right. No matter how advanced the aliens are, can they be more advanced than humanity's five thousand years of war wisdom? I don't believe it."

"PhD student in International Relations: What shocked me most about watching Teacher Sima's video wasn't his military analysis, but rather how he discerned the underlying logic of Chen Mu's three proposals."

"He pointed out a point everyone ignored: Why does Guga Planet want to forbid humans from developing long-range space weapons?"

"Because long-range space weapons are the only means for humans to threaten the Guga Planet fleet. If humans are forever trapped in near-Earth orbit, then Guga Planet's deep-space strike capability will never be threatened."

"This is a strategic lockdown; using diplomatic agreements to lock down an opponent's technology tree is more efficient than destroying them on the battlefield."

"With just a folding fan, Teacher Sima explained the logic of imperialism clearly."

"Teacher Sima said at the end: 'What humans are best at is fighting in desperate situations. The more there is no room to retreat, the more ferocious they become. If you corner a species, its reaction isn't to kneel, but to turn around and bite you.'"

"This isn't military analysis; this is a philosophical insight into human nature."

"Hobbes said the natural state of man is 'a war of all against all.'"

"But Hobbes missed one point: when an external threat appears, the war of all against all instantly turns into a war of all against the external threat. Human aggression is internal friction in peacetime, but a resource in wartime."

"Chen Mu and their fleet made a fatal mistake: he thought the threat would divide humanity, but the threat united humanity. One hundred and ninety-one countries entering a state of combat readiness simultaneously—this has never happened in human history. Chen Mu achieved what the United Nations could not."

"Sima Bei Discusses Strategy: Friends! After the video was posted, my inbox exploded. The most common question in my DMs isn't 'Are the aliens afraid of nukes?' but 'Teacher Sima, if it really comes to war, what should we ordinary people do?'"

"This is a great question! It shows that everyone has moved from 'strategic contempt' to 'tactical attention.' To that end, I spent the night contacting seven retired military officers, three survivalist experts, and two insiders who used to run a B&B near Area 51, and together we launched this 'Seven-Day Survival' series of courses and equipment kits."

"Seven days later, the fleet might come, or it might not. But regardless of whether it comes, those who are prepared will always have a better chance of survival than those who aren't."

"Paid Column: 'Urban Street Fighting and Home Defense in the Context of Alien Invasion': Original price 1999, limited-time one-day price: 299 USD."

"2. 'Strike While Halfway Across' Co-branded Emergency Survival Kit (Limited to 10,000 sets). Price: 899 yuan/set."

"The first 100 users to place an order will receive an extra Officer Thompson sarcasm T-shirt as a gift."

"3. Blue Star Don't Panic Crowdfunding Plan: Target amount: 5 million USD. Please support us enthusiastically; every cent you donate could be a bullet that kills an alien."

"4. 1v1 High-end Consultation: Customized Alien Defense Solutions for Enterprises/Communities. Price: Negotiable (Starting at 100,000 yuan)."

"Sima Bei's Special Statement: 'I know some people will definitely curse me for profiting from a national disaster. But I have to ask: shouldn't my knowledge base be monetized? Seven days later, if the fleet doesn't come, the most you lose is 899 yuan; if the fleet does come, you might lose your life. Paid knowledge buys you the power of choice.'"

"Besides, I'm selling hope, while Chen Mu is selling fear. Hope is slightly more expensive than fear; that's very reasonable.'"

"Purchase link: Click the homepage showcase | Pinned in the comment section | DM the keyword 'Blue Star Don't Panic.'"

"Note: Survival kits are expected to ship within 72 hours, but due to the current tense global situation, logistics may be delayed. It is recommended to order as soon as possible. Prepare early, panic less."

------

Chen Mu saw this and placed his phone face down on the table: "Maya, this Sima Bei is actually much smarter than Thompson."

"Look at him; as soon as the traffic came, he started cashing in directly. He has the link to his paid column in the pinned comment, posted three fan group QR codes, and even has a product link floating in the bottom right corner of the video."

"Four hours after the video went live, he got 17.76 million in coin tips, and his affiliate commissions are at least seven figures. Seven days later, regardless of whether the fleet comes or not, I reckon this Sima Bei will already be financially independent."

Maya's hand holding the wine glass paused: "Thompson is not that kind of person."

"What kind?"

"He's not the type who cares much about fame."

Maya said: "Previously, the department wanted to award him the New York Police Department's Model Officer of the Year. You probably don't know this, but it's quite a big honor; it comes with a medal, a press conference, and a cash prize."

"He ended up refusing it!"