Starting as a Wallfacer, his defection to the Three-Body Problem shocked the world.

Chapter 297 Wei Cheng's Choice

Solar System: Ring World.

"This should be the last piece of the puzzle. Once Mercury is dismantled, the second phase of construction on the Ringworld will be completely finished."

Looking at the analysis results on the blueprints, Wang Miao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Wei Cheng, who was standing to the side, also stopped twirling his pen and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"After decades of work, the Ring of the World project is finally coming to an end."

This is good news for everyone.

Back then, so many people in the Earth Federation opposed the construction of the Ringworld, and it even suffered a guided attack by the Trisolarans. The Engineering Department bravely faced the risk of the Dark Forest Strike and managed to build this thing.

"The gravity index of all space cities is normal, and it is expected that the extraction of minerals from Mercury can begin next month."

"The engineering department has provided a clear relocation plan for the space city based on the gravitational changes during the extraction from Mercury. Now, we need the signatures of the various city halls before we can begin the extraction work."

Building a ring world would require dismantling all the planets in the solar system except Earth, and the specific engineering work would be akin to performing orthodontic treatment.

First, dismantle a planet, then calculate the gravitational impact based on the degree of damage. While excavating the planet, move the space city to a designated location to prevent the space city from colliding with the planet due to a deflection of gravity after the planet disappears.

It sounds simple, but in reality, every step is like dancing on a tightrope. The slightest deviation could cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

Fortunately, thanks to the tireless work of Wei Cheng and Wang Miao in the engineering department, this feat was accomplished.

Such a massive project is unprecedented in the entire history of humankind.

"What are your plans next?" Wei Cheng turned to look at Wang Miao beside him.

"What, what plan?"

"After the Huan World project is finished, the engineering department probably won't need the two of us for a while, right? At that time, are you really planning to stay in the engineering department and retire like Old Ding?"

Wang Miao continued working without stopping. When he heard Wei Cheng's question, he remained silent for a while before answering.

"The journey of a hundred miles is only half complete at ninety; as long as the project to circle the world is not finished, it is too early for us to say that."

"We have to think about the future. There's less and less we can help Lin Xuan anymore. Instead of continuing in this position, we might as well do something more meaningful."

As Wei Cheng spoke, he placed a paper invitation on the table and tapped it with his finger.

"The paper invitation sent by Ai AA. To be honest, the last time I saw one was at my classmate's wedding. I didn't expect this woman to be so romantic."

"The old-fashioned way of inviting people is just right for you, a person from the old era."

Wang Miao made a joke with a smile, but he didn't feel good inside.

He was not surprised that AiAA would recruit Wei Cheng. Wei Cheng was one of the key members of the engineering department and one of the few veterans who had followed Lin Xuan from the Crisis Era to the present day.

In terms of overall scientific research capabilities, Wei Cheng is not the strongest in the engineering department, but he is above average. If Xinghuan Group can poach him, it will be like adding wings to a tiger, and its overall strength will be raised to another level.

Therefore, it was perfectly normal for Ai AA to extend an olive branch to Wei Cheng, because he had received similar invitations before, but he had simply ignored them.

However, Wang Miao cared more about Wei Cheng's attitude than Ai AA.

Wei Cheng couldn't possibly be unaware of what Xinghuan Group meant to Dilian.

If Xinghuan Group really rises to prominence, it will directly threaten the foundation that Lin Xuan has built over the years, and even the authority of Dilian will be challenged.

Wang Miao looked at Wei Cheng, waiting for him to give him a reasonable explanation.

“It’s better to guide than to block. You and I both know the situation of Xinghuan Group. Compared to Dilian, they are smaller in scale and have abundant funds. Their research pressure is much less than that of Dilian.”

"On the other hand, the connection between the earth and the ground is so interconnected that it affects the whole body, and all scientific research work is hampered."

"I don't understand politics. I only know that according to my calculations, it's only a matter of time before Star Ring Group's technology surpasses Earth Alliance's, unless Earth Alliance takes extreme measures to control Star Ring Group. But if I may be frank, this method might have worked in the past, but now we are surrounded by powerful enemies. Star Ring is both a threat and a great asset."

Wang Miao neither confirmed nor denied it.

"I finally understand that saying. You can't stop me from going to someone better, can you? I completely understand if you want to leave, but what about Lin Xuan..."

"No!"

Wei Cheng shook his head at this moment.

"Professor Wang, you still don't understand what I mean. I'm not trying to take sides with anyone. I've said it before, I don't understand politics. I only know that if scientific research continues to develop like this, humanity will be doomed."

Wang Miao remained silent.

At this moment, he finally understood what Wei Cheng meant.

Looking at the disheveled man with messy hair in front of him, he couldn't help but bow deeply to him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't understand your level of understanding."

As Wei Cheng said, the rise of Xinghuan Group was inevitable.

Unless the Earth Federation uses its power to impose scientific research sanctions on it, but such an approach would be tantamount to cutting off its own arms.

But Lin Xuan didn't care; he had the ability and the courage to do so.

This can be clearly seen from Lin Xuan's attitude towards Xinghuan Group over the years. If he were in charge, Lin Xuan would still outmaneuver Ai AA, even at the cost of technological restrictions.

However, Wei Cheng did not want to make things difficult for Lin Xuan. In his view, whether it was Star Ring Group or Earth Alliance, the premise was humanity, and the struggle between the two sides was essentially an internal conflict.

So he made a bold decision to join Star Ring Group.

Since the rise of the Star Ring Group is inevitable, it should at least be kept under the control of its own people to reduce the probability of random events.

Star Ring Group was also aware of Wei Cheng's idea, but Ai AA still accepted it gladly.

AiAA's approach, seemingly inviting Wei Cheng, is actually a way of putting a safety statement on his own company.

Just like the Dark Forest Theory, people are not worried about how you are now, but about what you will become in the future.

Wei Cheng's visit to Xinghuan Group will greatly accelerate the company's development, but it will also clarify the upper limit of Xinghuan Group for everyone.

With this in mind, the relationship between Earth Alliance and Star Ring Group will not fall into an endless chain of suspicion.

But the price to pay for doing so may be a grievance that Wei Cheng can never clear his name for the rest of his life.

No one knows what his purpose was. All that everyone knows is that this old man, who had followed Lin Xuan for so many years, chose to betray Lin Xuan and seek another master less than a month after Lin Xuan left.

Wei Cheng accepted Wang Miao's bow without flinching; he was entitled to it.

It's just unknown when they will meet again after this parting.

Before leaving, Wang Miao saw Wei Cheng to the entrance of the engineering department and patted him on the shoulder, saying his last words before parting.

“Once upon a time, our China also had such a national hero. Back then, our country’s technology was still very backward, and in the end, he chose the same path as you.”

"Take care of yourself."

……

The project to encircle the world has made groundbreaking progress, impacting not only the upper echelons of society but also significantly improving the lives of ordinary people.

When Space City was first built, many real estate developers, fearing another attack on RimWorld, focused their property speculation efforts on Space City, resulting in housing prices in RimWorld not being as high as those in Space City.

In addition, Luo Congmin was also intentionally controlling the rise in housing prices in Space City, which made the businessmen think that they had understood the intention of the Earth Alliance and frantically raised the prices of Space City.

The "double reduction" policy is one of them.

When Luo Congmin served as Minister of Education, he proposed the "double reduction" policy, which aimed to simplify teaching pressure and increase teaching speed in order to prepare for a possible all-out war.

However, the current policy focuses more on banning after-school tutoring, which seems no different from before. But in reality, controlling after-school tutoring is more about controlling the possibility of educational resources flowing to lower-level schools.

Since ancient times, educational resources have been an important standard for classifying social classes. Whoever controls the allocation of educational resources controls the power of class distribution.

By blocking tutoring and linking educational resources to school district housing, housing prices can be controlled. By linking educational resources to staffing quotas, the number of military, political, and scientific research personnel can be expanded in a short period of time.

As housing prices in Space City rise, housing prices in the Ringworld decrease. Gradually, housing in the Ringworld becomes a necessity for ordinary people, while housing in Space City becomes an investment product for the wealthy.

This solved a century-old problem in one fell swoop!

That is, if RimWorld were to launch in the future, who should be taken away, and how many people should be taken away!

If Luo Congmin had clearly told everyone from the beginning that the housing quotas in the Ringworld were related to the future, without a doubt, the price of these houses would have been skyrocketed, making them unaffordable for ordinary people.

A large number of properties will be concentrated in the hands of oligopolies and capital, and ordinary people will have no chance of getting them.

However, this whole thing created a false impression by having the Earth Alliance subsidize the purchases, making the wealthy believe that the houses in Space City had a promising future and that the Ringworld project could be abandoned by the Earth Alliance at any time. With the government's deliberate guidance and advertising, Luo Congmin has fooled the whole world.

"No wonder she's the daughter of a Wallfacer; her ability to conceal things from the whole world is exactly like her father's!"

When the officials of the Earth Federation saw the news that the Ringworld had actually been completed, they were both crying and laughing.

Their president has never told anyone what he was thinking until now, when his true intentions have finally been revealed!

Luo Congmin's previous policy made real estate people incredibly wealthy, but now that the Huan World project is complete, she's making them spit out what they took in!

It's just a little trick that has fooled the capital. Sometimes it really makes people wonder if the group alliance formed by Xinghuan Group can really threaten Dilian.

As for some wealthy people who sell their existing properties in the "Ring World" area to speculate on real estate, resulting in their inability to leave in the future, Luo Congmin has actually provided a solution.

Aren't you rich?

Star Ring Corporation also has warp drive spaceships!

Isn't this just right?

Why don't you just buy a spaceship and come with us?

This surge in demand led to a boom in sales of Star Ring Group's warp drive spaceships, causing Star Ring Group's stock price to rise steadily over several days. As a result, the wealthy did not disappear; instead, a resource circulation among the wealthy was completed.

Just like the words her father gave her after she became president.

The essence of politics is to coordinate interpersonal relationships and resource relationships between groups. Before implementing any policy, we should not only look at the expected results, but also at what it can bring to each group.

The so-called art of emperors is actually the art of weighing and balancing.

As a ruler, you don't need to have outstanding abilities; all you need to do is to treat everyone fairly.

Although water may sometimes tilt to one side, by simply rotating the bottom of the bowl properly, resources can form a perfect cycle between different groups.

Each party can form a unique balance of power with the other.

However, some extremists, because Luo Congmin's policy caused huge losses to the company, began to form a killer squad to assassinate Luo Congmin's family in retaliation.

As for why he didn't just assassinate Luo Congmin, it's because she is still the president of the Earth Alliance. If the assassination of a president is discovered, not only the company, but the entire city's population could be implicated and their families wiped out.

Earthworms have to be cut vertically, and eggs have to be shaken until the yolks are broken.

But here's the funny part: Luo Congmin is still unmarried. Her direct relatives are Luo Ji, the Wallfacer, and Zhuang Yan, who hasn't appeared in years.

Even her personal secretary, Yu Tuan, comes from a family that consists of veteran members of the Earth Alliance.

What the hell is this?

The assassin organization simply gave up, casually killing some unlucky guy to complete their mission.

Anyway, Luo Ji hasn't appeared for so many years, who knows what he looks like now.

"So...you mean, this person is Luo Ji?"

The employer stared at the burly corpse on the ground, feeling as if his brain had gone blank.

"Yes, sir."

The assassin looked very serious.

"Since leaving his position as the Swordholder, Mr. Luo Ji has not appeared in public. It is perfectly reasonable for him to have changed in appearance."

The employer remained silent.

"I won't say anything else, but at least give me an Asian. How could Luo Ji be a black person?"

Assassin: ...

"Sir, if I told you that his skin was tanned from the sun, would you believe me?"

"I believe you!"