Chapter 152 Out of the Deep Valley_1

Crisis Era, Year 70.

Forty-two years had passed since the start of the Great Trough, and the climate in most parts of the world had been restored to its pre-Trough state, but the desertification of the land had not been improved and instead had become even more severe.

Humanity had officially emerged from the Great Trough. The original timeline had this happening in the 80th year of the Crisis Era.

The Earth's environment greatly improved, and resources were abundant, freeing the development of human underground city societies from constraints.

The 15 years of the Great Contestation Era were marked by societal change and competition for dominance among the underground cities.

During the struggle for dominance among the underground cities, the use of unconventional weapons was avoided. The main reasons were that the era prioritized defense over offense and also related to threats from the Moon Base.

The underground cities were frantically bolstering their defenses, to the extent that even various burrowing missiles and high-yield bombs could not pose a significant threat.

With the restrictions from the Moon and the threat of the Trisolaran crisis, the relationships among the underground cities became extremely subtle and tense, convoluted and complex, and the decision-makers understood that they could not recklessly launch a war that would annihilate a city.

The decision-makers of the underground cities faced unprecedented challenges, including political, military, economic, cultural, and scientific aspects... comprehensive planning was required in all areas.

Politically, this included controlling the lifeblood of the economy, dissolving cultural cohesion, leveraging political decision-making, and manipulating digital authoritarianism...

Militarily, this involved special infiltration, information manipulation, strategic deterrence...

Small-scale high-intensity warfare had always been the mainstream in this era, with information warfare and all-round deterrence making the military competition among underground cities more intense and complex.

The most critical aspect was the social transformation of the underground cities, where various ideologies and concepts collided and merged.

This period was full of uncertainties, without any fixed norms. Political restructuring, economic turmoil, cultural innovation, and societal changes—no one knew what tomorrow would bring.

During this process of continuous merging of underground cities and profound societal changes, numerous distinguished individuals emerged like dazzling stars in the night sky.

With their exceptional intelligence, extraordinary talents, and firm beliefs, they became the chosen elites of the era.

They were able to promptly recognize new situations and problems within the societal changes, make accurate judgments about the situation, and devise practical policies and measures.

Not only could they adapt to the trends of the times and grasp the pulse of the times, but they could also lead the era, accurately predict the direction of its development, and inject new energy and vitality into societal transformations.

They were the leading figures of the era and the most precious and cherished treasures of human civilization.

As for technology, this period was also known as the "Golden Age" of technology.

The various technologies of the underground cities broke through in all aspects, and the Moon's control over Earth was increasingly diminishing. The Moon's acquisition of technology from the Earth could no longer be exchanged with a mere amount of resources.

Although the level of development on the Moon was still far ahead of Earth, years of reliance on Earth's technology had gradually fostered complacency. When faced with technological bottlenecks, they often threw the problems to Earth, seeking solutions.

While the underground cities were limited by resources, their spirit of innovation and determination to overcome difficulties never diminished. Instead, their predicament sparked their creativity.

Furthermore, as the underground cities merged, seemingly unrelated technologies began to infiltrate each other, yielding unexpected results.

Intersections of various technologies emerged incessantly, bringing a continuous flow of innovative power to Earth's technology. This tech fusion not only brought the underground cities closer in cooperation but also led Earth's technology to a super-explosive development stage.

For instance, the combination of self-healing materials (memory metal) and quantum intelligent materials, which had extremely high adaptability and durability.

Even the Moon harnessed this technology through various means, enhancing the protection of their space battleships by several dozen times.

The theory of space battleships needed reevaluation. The maximum speed of Moon Base space battleships had reached 12% of the speed of light, surpassing the maximum speed of the Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet.

The maximum speed is just a theoretical value, a reflection of the overall survival capacity including the materials needed for the battleship's energy. In reality, it's impossible to travel at this speed, and the usual maximum travel speed is a few thousandths of the speed of light.

In terms of weapons, the current Directed-Energy High-Energy Particle Beam Weapons have an effective attack range of up to 10 astronomical units, and Directed-Energy Laser Beam Weapons can reach effective attack distances of up to 7 astronomical units.

The hulls of the battleships also grew increasingly massive, with the Moon's latest 10th-generation "Emperor" class battleship measuring 1024 meters in length, 440 meters in width (disc diameter), accommodating 1500 crew members, with a full-load weight of around 2.2 million tons, and having six large controllable nuclear fusion engines that could provide up to 40G of thrust when at full power.

The Deep-Sea Acceleration Fluid was also successfully developed, and humans could withstand tremendous acceleration pressures. Thanks to advancements in intelligence and lightweight materials, the "Emperor" class battleship's volume increased nearly sevenfold compared to the first-generation battleship, but the tonnage and personnel allocation did not increase as much.

This class of battleship also represented the new breakthrough in space fleet technology for the Moon and indeed all of humanity.

In the Crisis Era, just 70 years of time brought technological achievements that undoubtedly gave humanity boundless confidence.

Although no one in this era underestimated the Trisolaran Interstellar Fleet, they no longer felt an utter despair about the future.

Despair stemmed from the understanding of both parties, and the people of the era clearly understood that the speed of the warships didn't represent everything.

The Trisolarans had entered the next tier of technological development, just as the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, humans couldn't possibly threaten the Trisolarans technologically.

However, humanity also understood that the threat to the Trisolarans was never about technology, "stones" in human hands could still "smash."

...

After 70 years of crisis, the Earth Alliance finally formed with Country C taking the lead.

There were many reasons why Country C emerged victorious in the great struggle:

On the one hand, at the beginning of the great depression, they withstood the strongest of natural disasters, and subsequently dispatched a large number of workers and military personnel for global grain transportation.

Grain transportation was fraught with difficulties, most areas were in ruins and devastated, with roads and bridges almost completely destroyed, and countless unknown dangers lurking on the surface. It was the countless vanguard teams that risked their lives, venturing into unknown regions and discovering viable routes.

After simple road reinforcement, the grain convoys gradually set off. These convoys traversed mountains and rivers, overcoming numerous obstacles, delivering truckloads of grain all over the world, and countless most beloved people were sacrificed in the process.

The people in the Underground City felt immense gratitude and respect for Country C's grain transportation. They affectionately called this transport team "Red Angels," bringing them hope and salvation for survival.

On the other hand, while transporting grain to all the Underground Cities, they also took control of grain distribution, and their influence and control penetrated every aspect of the Underground City, becoming an indispensable force for social stability and operation of the Underground City society.

In the social system of the Underground City, they had become an indispensable presence, and their decisions and actions directly affected the future of the Underground City.

Of course, these were external advantages, but what truly mattered most were Country C's tenacity and social morals.

A nation born of hardship, their history is an epic filled with challenges and struggles, and their people exhibited an indomitable spirit, ultimately showing resilience and vitality during the severe tests of the era. Their system had been honed through the trials of time.

During the great depression, their system further evolved and improved in practice, avoiding risks of societal polarization due to the pursuit of maximizing resource utilization.

Holding on to principles, they didn't forsake the responsibilities they were obliged to carry out in the pursuit of these ideals.

In the torrent of history, only strong adaptability and vitality, embracing and upholding responsibility, could carve a path for the continuation and salvation of civilization.

In times of crisis, responsibility was all there was.

...

Thus, Lin Sen's Island Plan also came to an end, a plan that, except for the Future Intelligence Office, didn't even appear by name anywhere else.

Yet, this plan had influenced the human world for 40 years and laid the foundation for the future of humanity for thousands of years to come.

The execution of the plan was intricate and complex, involving delicate balancing of diverse interests and the brilliant use of various strategies, each decision like walking a tightrope.

Even for the School of Future History, with its social development models, predicting and influencing was limited amidst such a complex and intertwined social backdrop.

Especially during the phase of Underground City coalition struggles, on the one hand, they needed to cleverly create contradictions to spur parties to compete more rapidly and intensely;

On the other hand, they had to prevent the outbreak of large-scale wars, since losing control and causing large-scale wars would make Lin Sen unquestionably the greatest sinner in the history of civilization.

The Future Intelligence Office, this mysterious and powerful entity, acted as the silent manipulator behind the scenes, quietly observing every subtle change in Underground City society.

They did not directly intervene in the development and changes of the Underground City; every society had its unique operating principles and internal dynamics. But they carefully guided at the critical junctures of social transformation.

The implementation of the Island Plan was anything but smooth sailing, every step was filled with uncertainty and risk, like dancing on a wire.

How could becoming a savior be easy? What made Lin Sen think he could surely save the world?

Lin Sen was just an assistant, a guide, the true saviors of humanity were themselves.