Chapter 1457: Leaving the Mountains (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
What does it mean to say "the creatures here should behave themselves"?
In the future built on the promise of "a glimmer of hope," what did the Lord encounter? Was the person lying in that coffin truly the Lord?
Why do all the civil and military officials in the court have such blue faces and fangs?
The moment he awoke from his dream, a thousand thoughts nearly overwhelmed Chu Yao.
He didn't even have time to put on his wooden clogs, going barefoot to find Shen Tang. He didn't even care about the pain in his feet until he saw the living, breathing Shen Youli, at which point his heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled. Chu Yao, losing his composure, gripped Shen Tang's wrist tightly: "My lord!"
"After all, it hasn't happened yet, and there's still time to salvage the situation." Wenxin Wenshi's little bit of strength was like a tickle to Shen Tang; it didn't hurt her, but it was just enough to let her know Chu Yao's inner unease. She gently patted the back of Chu Yao's hand and said softly, "Didn't all the crises we saw before, which were 'turned into opportunities', resolve themselves one by one? This time will be no exception."
What Chu Yao said was truly horrifying.
Shen Tang had no choice but to be extremely vigilant in dealing with the situation.
“Wu Hui, tell me the details of ‘A Glimmer of Hope’. Believe me, there’s no obstacle in this world that we, as ruler and subject, cannot overcome together.” Chu Yao wouldn’t let go, so Shen Tang could only use her toes to hook a stool for him to sit on. She then had someone call the military physician to examine Chu Yao’s soles; the blood mixed with gravel and mud was truly heartbreaking. “Can’t you not believe me?”
Chu Yao subconsciously replied, "How could I not believe it?"
He watched as his lord created countless miracles over the past decade, and the existence of his lord himself was the greatest miracle! If even she couldn't believe it, Chu Yao didn't know how to break this deadlock.
"Trust me, then listen to me and sit down."
The military doctor came over and gave Chu Yao's soles a simple cleaning and applied medicine.
The news brought by Chu Yao was too shocking and explosive, and Gu Chi and the others were distracted. They no longer cared about Kang Shi's dream.
Shen Tang also had her doubts—Kang Shi said that in his dream, he saw living dead people spreading diseases by biting, and then Chu Yao's "A Glimmer of Hope" foreshadowed a "plague" with a very high mortality rate that was about to break out in the capital Fengluo and other places. This was no coincidence!
Both clues reminded Shen Tang of the zombie virus that broke out at the end of the last human civilization, as their characteristics were too similar.
Shen Tang's true feelings clearly reached Gu Chi's ears.
Gu Chi's heart skipped a beat, and his fingers left marks on his palm.
The zombie virus that wiped out the last human civilization?
During the great battle with the Northern Desert, Gu Chi unexpectedly glimpsed Shen Tang's dream, witnessing the fall of a civilization within it. The dense, surging army of zombies left a deep impression on him.
Even Gu Chi, who didn't really believe in gods and Buddhas, couldn't help but secretly pray in his heart, "Please, please, please don't let it be a zombie virus!"
In the last human civilization, seven or eight hundred million people were reduced to a few small creatures, living in cramped quarters and barely surviving. How much more so in today's world? All told, the mainland population is less than two hundred million.
However, it seems that what he fears most is exactly what happens to him.
Chu Yao explained in detail the warning given by the "darkness and light" scenario.
They didn't overlook a single detail.
After the explanation was finished, everyone fell into a long silence.
Kang Shi gasped: "What Wu Hui saw in his dream seems similar to what I've been dreaming about these past few days. Perhaps there's some connection between the two? But there's one thing I really can't understand: what plague has affected the entire court? And you're saying the emperor is also in trouble? If the emperor, with his power, is in trouble, are there any survivors in this world?"
Where did this plague originate?
Can we nip it in the bud before it gains momentum?
Gu Chi murmured, "Perhaps..."
Kang Shi turned his head to look at him, his ears perked up: "Maybe what?"
Gu Chi forced a smile: "Perhaps in the midst of 'a glimmer of hope,' the master is not in trouble, but disappointed."
If the "zombie virus" from the last human civilization has truly resurfaced, what does that mean? It means that human civilization, in its internal strife, twice chose mutual destruction—or perhaps the party that released the virus didn't initially intend for mutual destruction, but rather cleverly used it as a weapon to defeat the enemy, naively believing themselves to be the ultimate winner, only to be outsmarted by their own cleverness…
I fell into the same trap twice.
Even a god would become disheartened, wouldn't he?
Gu Chi was wallowing in self-pity when Shen Tang threw a peanut at his forehead. She snapped, "Gu Wangchao, this is blatant slander! Be careful, or I'll take you to the Ministry of Justice! Don't you know what kind of person your master is?"
Disappointment is simply the weak shirking responsibility.
She, however, would use every means at her disposal to make things the way she wanted them to be. If once didn't work, she'd try twice; if twice didn't work, she'd try three times; four times, five times, six times... even countless times. A person's life is but a hundred years, but she had plenty of energy and time!
If she abandons the project before achieving her goal, there's only one possibility: she's out of control and can't get up from her bed.
Peanuts don't hurt, but they can dispel Gu Chi's suspicions.
He chuckled, "It's Chi's fault."
Kang Shi was unaware of the intricacies involved; he only knew that the most urgent task was to prevent it from happening in the first place. Since he knew that a "plague" was about to break out in Fengluo and other places, the first priority was to stop it, while simultaneously dispatching doctors and herbs from various regions to prepare in advance.
Save the living dead if you can, kill them if you can't!
Not only do medical personnel need to be in place, but military forces also need to be in place.
"...Fengluo is densely populated, so we need to evacuate and relocate people in advance. This strange disease is spreading rapidly, so we need to suppress and seal it off first, and then treat it. If treatment fails, we must exterminate them; we cannot be lenient!" Kang Shi's thought process at this moment was strangely similar to that of the people in the central region.
If it can't be cured, just lock down the city!
To contain the pathogen in one place and prevent it from spreading further.
It's better for some people to die than for everyone to die.
Kang Shi weighed the current situation in his mind and said heavily, "The troops in various military prefectures are insufficient, and the allied forces in the central region have suffered several major defeats at our hands. They are now severely weakened and the possibility of a counterattack is slim. My lord, should we withdraw the troops in the southwest?"
The main force cannot be easily mobilized.
If we make even the slightest noise, the enemy might discover us.
The southwestern troops that Kang Shi mentioned were the elite troops that Shen Tang had assigned to Cui Xiao and Cui Zhi to guard against a surprise attack on the southwest by the central allied forces.
This elite force hasn't been put to use yet, and the Allied forces in the central region may not even know of their existence. Mobilizing them to reinforce the garrisons in various regions is the safest course of action. He angrily pounded his knee, gritting his teeth: "It's just that it's hateful that we don't know the source of this strange disease!"
If only I had known.
Gu Chi: "How could I not know? Aren't the Central Allied Forces one?"
Kang Shi was taken aback: "You mean them?"
He had suspected the enemy might be behind it, but he quickly dismissed the idea: "How could it be them? If it really was the Central Allied Forces, shouldn't the strange disease be breaking out in the Central Continent now? I haven't heard of anything like this happening anywhere in the Central Continent."
The phrase "A glimmer of hope after despair" foreshadows a future event that will occur soon, within six months. The fact that Fengluo has been reduced to such a state in just six months, turning the world into a living hell, indicates that the source of the disease has already emerged. Can the Central Allied Forces remain indifferent?
Gu Chi added, "There are several denominations within the Pantheon."
The Central Division and the Central Allied Forces largely overlap.
The central branch controls the vast majority of the resources within the Pantheon, including the "zombie virus" sample treasured by the inner society. Gu Chi doesn't know how the inner society has managed to preserve this thing for thousands of years, but he's certain there's something they've done!
"...No, what exactly do these people want?"
The Pantheon's branches recruit only the elite, with entry requirements based on intelligence and talent; those who don't meet the standards aren't even considered for admission. While it's impossible to say the central branch has captured every intelligent person in the central continent, those who get in aren't fools. Don't they understand the danger of getting burned? Surely not?
"Use this to fight us?"
Both civil and military officials in Kangguo were infected; it's hard to believe these people could escape unscathed.
"Didn't they think about what would happen to themselves?"
What's the difference between this and suicide?
"What a bunch of fools who harm others without benefiting themselves!"
Kang Shi was so angry that he was about to speak incoherently, and he had a bellyful of foul language he wanted to say, but he could only swallow his anger because his superiors and colleagues were present.
Gu Chi chuckled: "They're used to being arrogant."
It's also possible that the Allied forces in the central region were prepared to fight to the death. The opposing side was a bunch of reckless lunatics who were capable of anything. Encountering such an opponent was incredibly unlucky!
Shen Tang closed her eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.
She needed to reassure everyone, so she gave Gu Chi and the others a confident smile: "You can also look at this on the bright side. The fact that the Central Allied Forces have resorted to such a risky tactic proves that they've run out of options and have been pushed to the brink. It's precisely because they've broken down and can't see any hope of winning that they've lost their minds and made a series of foolish moves..."
Once this hurdle is overcome, the Allied forces in the Central Region will be doomed!
Gu Chi echoed, "Yes, that makes sense."
Shen Tang wasn't one to sit idly by and wait for death. Knowing that such a crisis was about to erupt, he naturally wanted to prepare in advance. First, he would adopt Kang Shi's suggestion to mobilize 50% of the troops in the southwest, while simultaneously imposing martial law on the border to prevent spies from the central region from taking advantage of the situation. The most populous cities would be given special attention, and all available medicinal herbs would be mobilized. Doctors would be recruited from the populace to be on standby at any time. As for the idea of evacuating the population from various places in advance, Shen Tang hesitated.
It's not that I don't want to do it, it's that I can't.
This era is not like the previous human civilization; it's impossible to transport hundreds of millions of people in a short time. The available means of transportation are extremely limited, slow, and inefficient. Mobilization efforts are massive, often taking months, and could give the enemy an opportunity to exploit.
Furthermore, what reason could be used to transfer the person away?
In a while, the crops in the fields will be ripe for autumn harvest.
How many families will starve if they miss this year's harvest?
If she didn't disclose the information, there would be a huge wave of opposition from the bottom up, leading to a boycott; if she did disclose the information, it would cause even greater panic, and forces that were already opposed to Shen Tang would resurface, taking the opportunity to amass wealth and harm people, and civil unrest might even break out in various places. Therefore, she was also undecided.
Everyone remained silent, not daring to make a sound to disturb them.
After Shen Tang had sorted out her thoughts, Gu Chi mentioned someone: "Young Master Ji Mo is skilled in Gu magic. Perhaps he can use unorthodox methods against unorthodox ones?"
Gu Chi hadn't forgotten that in the master's dream, the people of the previous human civilization seemed to believe that the master's bloodline could resist the zombie virus, so they imprisoned and tortured the master. After years of research, they still couldn't figure it out, and instead used the master's sample to create a batch of special bloodlines.
Ji Moqiu might know something.
Shen Tang closed her eyes briefly: "Call him over."
When Ji Moqiu arrived, the marks from lying on her side were still visible on her face, her sparse hair was sticking up in a mess, and she still looked sleepy.
Once he understood the whole story, he instantly came to his senses.
Gu Chi saw a mixture of speechlessness and expected helplessness on his face: "Did you foresee this, Young Master Ji Mo?"
"I didn't know beforehand, but I'm not surprised that this happened." Ji Moqiu couldn't help but mutter a few words about the Heavenly Dao to himself, "Humans are favored by the Heavenly Dao and are born intelligent, but their lifespan is not very long. They like to do infinite feats within their limited lifespan."
Those immortal species don't like to move around much.
Having a long lifespan, one is never in a hurry to do anything.
"Humans are energetic and love to court death, which is a characteristic of this race. They are also forgetful, forgetting the pain once the wound heals." Moreover, the current human race doesn't remember the pain of the destruction of the last human civilization, making their recklessness even more unrestrained. Ji Moqiu said with a hint of helplessness, "The only lesson humans can learn from history is that they never learn from history. Looking at the records, it's nothing but cycles, always repeating itself..."
Gu Chi: "Isn't the High Priest human?"
"I am not."
Gu Chi awkwardly touched his nose.
Ji Moqiu realized that the people he had cricketed were all human, and wisely made amends: "However, this is also one of the reasons why Heaven favors the human race. Even though the human race has gone astray several times, Heaven is reluctant to abandon them because other long-lived species are too lazy, arrogant and ignorant. Who wouldn't like the human race's vigorous vitality and the spirit of creating miracles countless times?"
It's perfectly normal that Heaven favors the human race.
Though their lifespan is short, they can shine with boundless brilliance within their limited lifespan.
This is something that other immortal species cannot match.
Kang Shi pressed further: "Does the Gentleman of Jimo have a solution?"
Ji Moqiu countered, "Minister Kang, do you believe in miracles? Humanity has faced dire straits time and time again, but it has also created miracles to save itself time and time again. Without prior knowledge, we might be caught off guard and lose everything, but if we know in advance, we can simply respond to each move as it comes."
Kang Shi: "..."
Gu Chi was speechless for a moment, then couldn't help but chime in with a sarcastic remark: "...What's the difference between this and asking me if I believe in light?"
He wanted to believe in miracles, but the current predicament couldn't be solved by believing in miracles. Why was Ji Moqiu also resorting to the tricks of a charlatan, saying a little and hiding a little? What was even more ridiculous was that Ji Moqiu actually started to think seriously, his expression more serious than ever before.
"The difference is that Gu Yatai believes that light will not attract Ultraman, but he believes in the medical practitioners, and there is hope for the future. Medical practitioners are born to save lives and heal the wounded, and the Temple of Healers was opened to treat the suffering and diseases of the world." The Temple of Healers has been open for many years, and the glimmer of hope has always been in the hands of the human race itself.
Humanity brings despair with its own hands, but it will also create hope with its own hands.
He laughed and said, "The doctor is far more powerful than people like Bill."
The sacred land of mountains and seas, the Hundred Schools of Thought, and the Temple of Medicine will be opened only after the Temple of the Mohists, which should give you a sense of its significance.
Ji Moqiu's voice, though soft, possessed a gentle strength that miraculously calmed the anxiety in everyone's hearts, sweeping away the gloom in their minds. Shen Tang composed himself and had someone fetch the Imperial Seal: "Pass on my order: if a 'plague' breaks out, all matters of the royal court shall be handled with the medical department as the priority!"
(=￣ω￣=)
In the last human civilization, the zombie virus was the end; in this human civilization, its emergence heralds the beginning of a new chapter. The Mohists represent technology, the medical school represents medicine, the military school represents violence, the Legalists represent order, and the Confucianists represent humanities and history (???). The medical school embraces life in the face of death, believing that saving lives and healing the wounded is creating hope... Therefore, the key to determining the outcome of the battle between Kangguo and the Central Plains lies with the medical school.
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