Chapter 478 Ultra-low Temperature! Heavy Snowfall! Heavy Rainstorm!
Amidst the gazes of the stunned group of intellectuals, Su Mo smiled as he waved his hands. His figure gradually faded out from the virtual s.p.a.ce.
Due to the limitations of the robot body, those who wanted to conduct their research had no choice but to remain inside the virtual s.p.a.ce.
Unfortunately, this meant that their time…
Was limited!
Once the research started, the matter conversion engine would need to be dismantled in order to study its inner components.
At that point, the electrical supply of the entire s.h.i.+p would have to rely on the emergency battery that they had brought from the Expeditionary Army base.
Considering that the energy reserves would also have to sustain the virtual s.p.a.ce, which exhausted a significant portion of energy, the gla.s.s box and other necessary systems, the research could at most be conducted for eight hours before being forcefully shut down.
“After so long, who would have thought that we would have to race against time again.”
“Let’s just hope that the next three disasters aren’t that brutal. Otherwise…”
“It would be difficult to survive the days ahead!”
Su Mo had stayed for too long in the virtual s.p.a.ce. When he abruptly returned, he felt detached from reality. He sat on the stool as he watched the machine that was still operating.
At that moment, Su Mo even thought about using survival points in the place of everyone’s research to forcefully drive his plan forward.
However, he was reminded of the complex situation that he would soon have to face.
He stood up and brushed off that thought. Then, he took a few staggered steps before finally walking out firmly from the temporary research compartment. “Greetings, Shelter Leader!”
Bounce!
As he ascended to the first floor of the lower deck, he was greeted by a few villagers that he b.u.mped into.
Once the villagers realized that it was Su Mo, they instantly stood at attention and raised their hands to salute Su Mo.
“That will do, Sun Zhaoli. You can forgo the formality on our s.h.i.+p.”
The nine villagers stood in line as they saluted Su Mo, who responded and patted the shoulder of their leader. His footsteps did not stop as he continued his way up to the main deck.
However, the man who Su Mo patted was fl.u.s.tered. He mumbled to himself, “Shelter Leader still remembers my name.”
“Eh, did you guys notice that Shelter Leader looked slightly depressed.”
“You’re right. I thought that it was weird too.”
“The next three disasters will be announced soon, and the situation certainly is not optimistic. We had better make early preparations.”
“What preparations?”
“What else? We need to work our hardest. Unless you’re thinking of running away, which is impossible!”
As Su Mo’s figure slowly faded into the distance, the few men began to chatter.
Regarding the announcement of the next three disasters, the villagers too felt the tension and a sense of an invisible pressure.
This was despite being sheltered under Su Mo’s protection.
Deep in the ocean.
The votes for the disaster were about to be cast.
Countless victims of the disaster had stopped what they were doing previously and started making preparations.
They were excited but, at the same time, they were also terrified.
The magnitude of the disasters would be diminished by 80% deep in the ocean. Even so, this did not mean that they could sleep peacefully without worries.
Meteors from the skies, or even the volcanoes erupting; such disasters would annihilate them even if the magnitude of the disaster was reduced by 80%.
“Perhaps the reason that the game shut down the World Channel was because my influence among humankind was growing.”
“If I could speak to all humans, then this vote would be meaningless.”
“I could rally them, and the voting results would change because of my actionsand thoughts.”
Currently, Hope One was not far from the New World.
Su Mo returned to the main deck.
As Su Mo looked into the distance, he could vaguely make out the outline of the sh.o.r.e in the distance.
They would follow this outline for ten or more hours, and reach the nearest point to disembark and journey to the location he had selected.
If they disembarked from that point, based on their pace of travel, and once they received the Pioneer t.i.tle for reaching the New World, they would only need a day and a half to reach the territory they had transferred to.
“Brother, are we about to reach the sh.o.r.e?”
Su Mo was at the bow of the s.h.i.+p; his mind filled with various thoughts. As if waking him from his reverie, Su Chan’s playful voice suddenly came from behind him.
He turned around, and his face had an expression of affection on it.
“Yes, we’re about to reach.”
Su Chan was delighted. “Wow. That means we can build our own house, plant our own fields, and build a city that belongs to us!
“Right, we can also start our very own farm. I will shepherd the animals and watch them graze. I’ll make sure each one of them is fat and strong!” “If dad and mom were to come over and see how accomplished you are now, they would be very happy!”
Weaved into her words…
Were Su Chan’s hope for the future.
Her words startled Su Mo, as the confused thoughts in his head began to unravel and dissolve.
Once upon a time, Su Mo had the same vision for his territory and the future of the wasteland.
He wanted walls that were impregnable—that would fend off any enemies that tried to attack them in the night.
He wanted to speedily advance the development of their technology. In the future, technology would bring hope to people to strive forward on this doomsday wasteland.
He wanted hundreds of acres of fertile land. Autumn would be filled with the smell of a bountiful harvest and ripe grain.
He wanted a livestock farm. The animals would leisurely roam around, and there would be an endless stream of milk and eggs for everyone.
He wanted buildings that would tower over them. No one would ever freeze from the cold or faint from the heat.
He wanted a warehouse filled with weapons that allowed him to do as he pleased.
He did not know when but, in Su Chan’s words, Su Mo suddenly found his feet again.
What he had originally intended for, and what he had strived for, had changed!
His days now were spent in front of his desk. Every night as he laid down, all that filled his mind were thoughts of tussling with the foreign races; how to struggle against the game; how to plot and scheme against others; and how to fight for more advantages for his territory.
Attack, invade, defend, and counterattack.
Even when Su Mo was studying, he was inclined toward studying knowledge about technologies that could be quickly employed in combat.
Earlier, when Su Mo stood at the bow, his mind was also occupied with his pursuit to speedily upgrade the combat strength and potential of the base. He was thinking about ways to fight against the foreign races.
Am I doing the right thing?
Su Mo looked at Su Chan’s face as his heart confronted itself.
Soon afterward, an answer automatically appeared in his heart.
“Definitely. When we reach our territory, I will build you a big farm and big houses for everyone. We will have prosperous fields and strong walls.”
“At that point, I will ensure that everyone can sleep peacefully and wake up to happiness!” He nodded his head solemnly
Rarely did Su Mo’s eyes beam with such seriousness.
This seriousness coaxed a smile out of Su Chan.
“You promise?”
“Yes, I promise!”
Six o’clock in the afternoon.
Su Mo, who was seated in the conference room, punctually opened the game panel and tapped into the blinking disaster voting panel.
He had discarded his earlier nervousness and had regained his composure.
Around him, there were more than ten members of the leaders.h.i.+p team. However, they were in a completely different state compared to Su Mo.
Some could not repress their anxiety and were fl.u.s.tered.
Some were apparently calm and composed, but were s.h.i.+vering so much that it was as if they suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
Chen Shen was no exception. He was talking big gulps of water; his body was tense as the veins on his arms were visible.
They were about to reach the New World.
The first disaster would completely decide the development path of Hope Village and was the source of their nervousness and tension.
Other than Su Deben, who was in control of the robot body, and Su Mo who sat composed in the middle, the rest were all in a state of uneasiness.
Gradually, as the time pa.s.sed by, everyone began to enter and check their game panels.
As expected, their gasps of exclamations could be heard one after another.
Zhang Long: My G.o.d, why do I feel like the scale of disasters has reached another level? This is too terrifying. It really doesn’t matter which of the three disasters come first. It will still be a harsh ordeal for us either way.
Liu Neng: There are twenty-three more days until the next disaster. Taking into account the time needed to move and settle into our territory, we won’t be left with more than twenty days to prepare. How are we supposed to survive the disaster with such little time?
Qi Qin: Weather that reaches negative forty degrees. Has the game gone mad? Does it think that our skins are as thick as the foreign races, that we can run about like them in the snow?
Chen Shen: It’s not easy. Look at the other two disasters. Why do I feel like these disasters were intentionally created for us? The disasters on the list seem to all be targeted at limiting the development of humans.
Based on the game’s previous announcement, the new disasters now had three magnitudes, which were minor, medium, and major. The humans would need to collectively vote for the order in which those disasters would occur.
The intervals between disasters would be in descending order; in contrast with the ascending order of the disaster’s magnitude.
If they chose a minor disaster, then the next disaster would descend 7 days after everyone successfully submitted their votes.
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Iff they chose a medium disaster, then the interval would be fourteen days.
The most dangerous of the three was the major disaster. If they chose this disaster, then the interval would be twenty-eight days.
In total, they would have forty-nine days in between all three disasters!
Logically, the optimal selection given the humans’ current situation would be to start off with a minor disaster, as they needed to bide their time to develop.
At the same time, they could prepare and acc.u.mulate items and resources for the upcoming medium and major disasters.
This was the most logical and scientific option that would keep casualties and damage to a minimum.
Unfortunately, the game had better plans in store.
When setting these rules, the game had obviously considered this. Hence, what seemed like the best course of action was a honey trap laced with “poison”.
The game had perfectly segregated the humans in the New World and those in the Deep Ocean World.
(There is still 00:13:35 left before voting for the disasters commences!]
[All players, please read the following voting rules in detail. Anyone who disobeys rules will be punished and there will be no opportunities to submit an appeal.]
(First: The voting session this time has been designed to ensure absolute equality for all partic.i.p.ants. The partic.i.p.ants are all from the human race. All foreign races or other living beings shall not in any manner manipulate or attempt to partic.i.p.ate in the voting. If any non-human living being is involved in any of the following, the perpetrator will instantly be annihilated: Restricting a human being from voting, forcing a human being to vote, deceiving a human being into voting, and et cetera. Any human beings that partic.i.p.ate in such actions will lose all future voting rights and be permanently banned from using the game panel and all its related game functions.]
(Second: For this voting session, every adult human will receive one vote and every underage human will receive half a vote. After the votes have been cast, you will not be allowed to change your vote. Your casted vote is final and absolute.]
(Three: Changes in rules regarding blank votes. The detailed changes will be announced once the disaster has begun.]
[Four: Changes in rules regarding disaster resistance. The detailed changes will be announced once the disaster has begun.]
[…]
[All rules and explanations are subject to the game’s discretion. Any further changes made will be announced to everyone.) [Code: 001. The three disaster options for this voting session are:]
[Minor disaster: Rainstorm (Unlocked)]
[Disaster description: Rain is the spirit of all things. Through a rainstorm, living beings can better understand the path ahead.]
(Disaster scope: Global}
[Disaster magnitude: New World: 800 millimeters of rainfall per day, Force 10 winds; Deep Ocean: 6000 millimeters of rainfall per day, Force 12 winds.]
[Disaster duration: 72 hours)
(Medium Disaster: Heavy Blizzard (Unlocked)]
[Disaster description: A timely snowfall. This snowfall will not only extinguish all life, but also carries the hope of a new spring.)
[Disaster scope: Global]
[Disaster magnitude: New World: 500 millimeters of snowfall on the first day, decreasing snowfall after the first day, Temperature: -15 degrees celsius; Deep Ocean: 1000 millimeters of snowfall per day, Temperature: -25 degrees celsius.]
[Disaster duration: 168 hours]
[Major disaster: Extreme Cold (Unlocked)]
[Disaster description: In the extreme cold, those who can survive will appreciate and understand the preciousness of life.]
[Disaster scope: Global]
[Disaster magnitude: New World: Temperature: -40 degrees celsius; Deep Ocean: Temperature: -65 degrees celsius] [Disaster duration: 120 hours]