Chapter 335 "Ark" Project

Upon his return, Big Tooth boasted about his wisdom with a smug look on his face, not hiding his disdain for Lin Sen, who was renowned as the god of human strategy. "Lin Sen is nothing special after all!" he said.

Shui Wa listened and couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed. They had been together for more than seventy years, yet he hadn't realized that Big Tooth was actually quite clever usually. Why did he become such a simpleton at the crucial moment?

Cautiously, Shui Wa reminded him, "Mr. Big Tooth, I mean, is there a possibility that this is also Lin Sen's calculation?

"Actually, pushing away from the Moon is something humanity should be more concerned about. You didn't need to volunteer to give technology to humans. That should also have been your bargaining chip in the negotiations.

"So to say, in this negotiation, if you wished to have your generation ships enter the Solar System, the bottom line for humanity should have been just requiring you to provide ordinary Planetary Engine technology."

Shui Wa didn't really want to remind Big Tooth, but he knew that Big Tooth would surely come to understand the crux of the matter on his own.

At that moment, Big Tooth immediately snapped back to reality, realizing he might have been really fooled by Lin Sen. Lin Sen intentionally started the conversation with the Trailblazer of the generation ships, then moved on to Planetary Engines, and casually directed his attention to the Moon, making him think he needed to protect it.

Though it was all idle chat, the ultimate goal was the Planetary Engine, and what's more infuriating was that he was the one eagerly offering the technology to Lin Sen.

For the first time, Big Tooth experienced the prowess of a Spirit Master, unconsciously following the path Lin Sen had laid out for him.

Big Tooth had an epiphany, "Damn it, I was calculated by Lin Sen this time. Next time I must win back."

"But why would he do that?"

Shui Wa consoled him, "Actually, you might not have been calculated at all. I always feel that humanity's negotiating bottom line wouldn't be so low.

"The Planetary Engine technology is probably not enough to get humanity to allow your entry into the Solar System.

"Lin Sen is right, this technology isn't of much use to humans.

"Although I don't know Lin Sen's plan, you have already achieved your goal."

Big Tooth nodded, reflecting, "You're right, that's exactly it. I just didn't think so much about it just now.

"As long as we enter the Solar System, everything will be up to us.

"As long as that result is achieved, we needn't care about anything else.

"So when I threatened a little, Lin Sen let us into the Solar System, which got me too excited.

"I was actually holding back my laughter just now. Lin Sen is too easy to fool, I couldn't let them see my excited expression.

"I didn't expect I was the one being fooled, but I just haven't figured out where yet."

At that moment, Shui Wa couldn't help but picture a comical dinosaur struggling to hold back laughter, which brought a bit of color to his own face as well.

Big Tooth continued, "Anyway, since our goal has been reached, what does it matter if we give them the upgraded Planetary Engine technology?

"In the face of absolute power, they can't change anything. We just need to be more careful in the next negotiations.

"It seems the Trisolarans didn't lose unjustly. Lin Sen is indeed an opponent worth taking seriously."

Big Tooth, however, was not one to dwell on things for too long.

Shui Wa nodded, saying, "Yes, and I suggest you learn some facial expression control. With your wisdom, you surely won't be fooled by Lin Sen next time."

Upon hearing this, Big Tooth laughed, "Indeed, I need to practice controlling my expressions.

"If it wasn't for my poor control of facial expressions, I could have calmed down and thought more, and I would probably have been able to discern Lin Sen's intentions.

"Lin Sen is indeed worthy of our attention."

If Shui Wa hadn't possessed such strong ability to control his expressions, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold back his laughter. Big Tooth, aside from his appearance, was actually quite endearing.

This made Shui Wa feel much better. He had been constantly worried about humanity being destroyed by the Trisolarans, then worried that after barely resisting the Trisolarans, they would be invaded by the Dinosaur Civilization.

Perhaps the Dinosaur Civilization didn't intend to exterminate humanity, but who could tell?

The Trisolarans also intended to annihilate humanity with gentler methods at first but eventually decided to resort to violence.

Now, seeing the performance of the Dinosaur Civilization, Shui Wa was almost not worried for humanity anymore.

Humanity faced countless times more despair against the Trisolarans than they did against the dinosaurs, and humanity survived. How could they make such a basic mistake? There's only one possibility—everything is part of the plan.

Has the Dinosaur Civilization not considered that, no matter what technology was exchanged, as long as humans ultimately allowed them into the Solar System, many outcomes were already determined?

Perhaps the Dinosaur Civilization never grasped the essence of trading; in the balance of deterrence, there's only probing, no trading, and all trades are also probes.

Dinosaur civilization had failed to see humanity clearly and had greatly underestimated human civilization. This arrogance would seal the fate of dinosaur civilization.

Furthermore, Shui Wa had always been guiding Big Tooth, allowing humanity to make contact with dinosaur civilization, and even engage in trade, all for the purpose of gathering more intelligence.

It could be said that Shui Wa was openly acting as a spy within the enemy camp, much like Yun Tianming.

But Shui Wa was different from Yun Tianming, who may have truly defected to the Trisolarans. Shui Wa felt no loyalty to the Swallowers, considering Big Tooth at most as a friend, but even this friendship was negligible in the context of civilization.

Shui Wa's warning to Big Tooth was because he understood that with Big Tooth's intellect, as long as he calmed down, he would definitely understand the key issues. Warning him earlier was more likely to help Big Tooth let go of any reservations.

Studying emotive arts was also a way to keep Big Tooth occupied, for when idle, he might overthink. Additionally, once he learned, he would want to practice, and any communication with humans would result in a significant leak of intelligence, which humanity would certainly be able to exploit.

Afterward, Big Tooth also reported the situation in detail to the king of the Dinosaur Empire. After a thorough discussion and weighing of options, the king of the Dinosaur Empire eventually agreed to the outcome of Big Tooth's negotiations.

This negotiation was essentially a game of chicken; whoever took the first step would gain the upper hand. Entering the Solar System was that critical first step, and it was apparent that dinosaur civilization had gained the initiative in this game.

As for the exchange of upgraded planetary engine technology for the opportunity to enter the Solar System, they did not care how many technological breakthroughs humanity would achieve or what dangers it might pose to them.

In their view, human civilization was at most Level 1.1, and such technology was not something that humans could easily master, especially since this technology seemed to be of little use to humans.

If humans indeed devoted a lot of time and resources, they might be able to research it in a few centuries, but they would never reach the maturity of dinosaur civilization.

However, perspectives within human society differed regarding this trade. Regardless, there was a common understanding that they should entice the spaceships of dinosaur civilization into the Solar System at all costs.

The goal was to capture a wild specimen of dinosaur civilization with minimal sacrifice, potentially taming it into something domesticated, though the thought was somewhat unsuitable for children.

There were also differing opinions within humanity, mainly concerning the potential underestimation by Lin Sen, fearing that this might cause the dinosaurs to become suspicious and not dare to enter the Solar System, thus backfiring.

And just as the dinosaurs had considered, such technology was of limited use to humans and was not a theoretical frontier technology but an applied physics one.

This type of technology could eventually make a breakthrough given enough time to validate and practice; there was no need to waste it here.

Nonetheless, the Solar System Alliance's joint council meeting still approved Lin Sen's proposal.

Firstly, humanity had unconditional trust in Lin Sen. To this day, he had never missed a significant decision, and his judgment and insight had been proven in many critical events.

Moreover, it was Lin Sen who first guessed the identity of dinosaur civilization. If the average person could figure it out, it would be impossible for Lin Sen not to.

Secondly, they believed it was necessary to push away from the Moon, which might also be part of Lin Sen's other plans. Currently, the goal of humanity was to deceive dinosaur civilization into entering the Solar System, at which point they would not be able to escape.

The transformation of the Moon was almost kept secret from other powers in the Solar System Alliance and was solely entrusted to Wallfacer International.

This also involved the new plans of the Wallfacers.

Additionally, through the crisis presented by dinosaur civilization, the human governing elite had realized that the "Ark Plan" needed to be accelerated.

Luring the Dinosaur Empire into the Solar System would establish a balance of deterrence, but it also resembled a Sword of Damocles hanging overhead, threatening to fall at any moment.

This balance was extremely fragile; once broken, humanity would have to face the choice of escape. That moment would be critical for the execution of humanity's "Ark Plan."

Essentially, humanity's "Ark Plan" was a plan for the escape of all of humanity.

In preparation, the human rulers had done much work, such as controlling the growth of the human population.

With the Elixir of Life being less than two centuries old, a significant portion of humanity had already aged. The Elixir had not greatly extended their lifespans, and these individuals had gradually grown old over the years.

At the same time, the lower strata of society were not overly eager for longevity.

Experience had proved that the wish "to ensure that the labor and value of every member of humanity are fully respected" was nearly impossible to fulfill.

Hope is always precious, and as the flickering flames of hope in the lower classes dimmed, many individuals without the ties of family or loved ones chose euthanasia.

Although human society was highly advanced, the brilliance of civilization could not reach every corner.

Today, the entire population of human civilization added up to less than 36 billion, and the goal of the "Ark Plan" was to lead all humanity, the global species gene banks, and all human cultural heritage, on an escape for the entire species.

Another core focus of the "Ark Plan" was the research and production of the Curvature Engine.

Nowadays, human settlements were increasingly dense, and even some Space Cities had adopted dual engines, both conventional propulsion and curvature engines.

During regular travel, they used regular engines; in the face of major crises, they would choose to escape at the speed of light.

What people didn't realize was that the Space City they relied on for survival was increasingly becoming an ark. To call this the Ark Plan might be inappropriate, more accurately, it was the human packaging plan.