Chapter 347: Crisis on Earth

As the brief three months Du Qiu mentioned elapsed, the alien invasion fleet still remained elusive, and the people on Earth began to grow increasingly restless.

Online, theories ran rampant. Some mainstream Western media even used newspapers and interviews to feign free speech while covertly brainwashing the public with ridicule, accusing Dream Technology of orchestrating a vast conspiracy.

“Dream Technology claimed there was an alien invasion. Now that the predicted time has passed and the fleet is nowhere to be seen, they’re nothing but liars!”

“Dream Technology is Earth’s Judas—they selfishly abandoned us!”

“Hey, did you know that with volcanic ash covering the sky, our telescopes can’t determine if Dream Technology has a fleet? Maybe they left the Solar System ages ago.”

“Actually, if an alien fleet really came to seize Earth, perhaps their technology could clear the volcanic ash from the atmosphere and restore sunlight. We might just be saved.”

“I don’t care about the rest—if aliens arrive, I’m surrendering!”

……

Most of these bizarre, defeatist remarks came from the once-arrogant Western nations, now seemingly stranded on a doomed Earth.

The enormous gap between their high ideals and the rising death toll left the Western public unable to uphold their formerly lofty standards, as if they’d lost all independent judgment and were being swept along by media hype.

As Earth’s environment worsened, a second fracture zone rapidly formed. In Yindi, most islands sank, leaving only Kalimantan Island.

Some Yindi residents refused to believe the islands could vanish, resulting in a loss of 30 million lives. The survivors clung desperately to life on Kalimantan.

Although the island was vast, it too was ecologically devastated by a sudden influx of tens of millions of people.

As the second fracture zone crept eastward, a series of volcanic eruptions hurled even more ash into the atmosphere.

This compounded the atmospheric pollution caused by the massive Yellowstone eruption. Thick clouds blocked out the sun, killing countless plants and, in turn, decimating herbivores and shattering the ecological chain.

In the oceans, several famous warm currents were disrupted by the twin fracture zones and underwater volcanic eruptions, as rising mountain ranges threw their courses into disarray.

This accelerated global climate change, with temperatures plummeting far beyond expectations. The Northern Hemisphere, poised for summer, began to feel the chill of winter.

Regions near the poles—Northern Europe, Rus Country, Africa, and others—were already cloaked in snow, fully plunged into winter.

Dream Technology had long ceased production and distribution of consumer goods, leaving its intelligent mining robots with only their initial stock. This meant that no country’s underground shelter construction could keep pace with the population.

Underground shelters dug by nations were always reserved first for officials and the wealthy, leaving ordinary citizens in ever-deepening despair as global food supplies dwindled.

In this climate, some people vented their anger, and with the media’s influence, the blame was squarely pinned on Dream Technology.

After all, only Dream Technology’s staff and their families had managed to evacuate Earth, escaping the looming conflicts of the Solar System.

It’s human nature to recoil at inequality rather than mere scarcity. When everyone else is left behind but Dream Technology’s people flee to safety, it’s enough to incite fury.

In some countries, Dream Technology branches or direct stores closed following the staff evacuation, with only a few still operating with robotic assistants.

At that point, vandals began targeting these outlets, and the local military and police merely pretended to enforce martial law, ignoring orders to shoot on sight.

Worse still, some nations deliberately portrayed Dream Technology as a company led by the Chinese, shifting all the blame onto China.

In Western countries, attacks on Asians grew increasingly severe.

Some African nations, swayed by Western media narratives, believed that the Chinese had provoked natural disasters and attracted aliens, leading them to expel Chinese residents.

With Dream Technology having entirely evacuated Earth—not to mention the departure of Security Department agents covertly stationed in various nations—the company’s intelligence on Earth plummeted.

Furthermore, as Star Ocean withdrew from the Solar System along with the Heaven Realm, Earth’s internet monitoring was abandoned, sending Dream Technology’s intelligence capabilities to rock bottom.

However, families of the Chinese gamers recently recruited from the Dream World game by Dream Technology had been relocated onto a newly built Heaven Realm II spacecraft.

These individuals, still connected to Earth’s internet via satellite, naturally became aware of these sordid developments.

Before long, anger erupted among the crew of Dream Technology’s new fleet, with many sending requests to their superiors to punish certain countries.

These requests were swiftly brought before the busy Du Qiu.

“Old Song, has the crew’s morale really deteriorated this much?”

After reviewing the news, Du Qiu summoned fleet deputy commander Song Yuanting for an explanation.

Song Yuanting’s face was grim; he hadn’t expected that at a moment when the alien invasion fleet might break through at any time, Earth would be embroiled in such a blame game that severely undermined crew morale.

“Yes. These guys are shouting that internal security must come before fighting aliens. They even claim that instead of confronting the aliens, we should first eliminate those nations or individuals who harbor hatred towards us.”

These former gamers hailed from all walks of life—though most were university students.

Before, they had only sought thrills and achievements in the game; now they were truly manning a massive battleship, especially those operating its weapons.

Having witnessed firsthand the overwhelming power of these weapons during live drills, they regarded annihilating a nation as a trivial matter.

Du Qiu shot Song Yuanting a glance and asked, “Were any of these remarks documented?”

Song Yuanting tensed and quickly replied, “They’re just idle chatter. Who would remember who said what? Besides, their loyalty to the company isn’t strong, so it’s best to downplay this…”

Du Qiu stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, “Since we don’t have a list, randomly select a group and deploy 10 escort vessels to form the Earth Escort Fleet.”

They will provide a protective umbrella for all Dream Technology’s allied nations and deliver punitive strikes against any country or individual that offends our allies.

Any media outlet that has slandered our company must apologize to Dream Technology; henceforth, all press releases must be approved by our PR department.

Any national leader involved in opposing Dream Technology must be decapitated!

Impose comprehensive sanctions on the ten countries most aggressive in shifting blame—specifically, cut their food supplies by 30%!

Du Qiu’s words left Song Yuanting utterly stunned. He had never expected Du Qiu to adopt such an extreme suppression stance.

“Boss, won’t this harsh crackdown turn the citizens of those countries completely against us, making them our enemies?”

Du Qiu sneered, “Old Song, as a military commander, mercy isn’t one of your qualities.

Those nations that shift blame onto us and brainwash their citizens are, in fact, nurturing our enemies.

If we don’t act decisively now, by the time everyone is brainwashed and turns against us, our suppression measures will be futile.

By the way, for the ten countries facing a 30% reduction in food supplies, the top ten nations that express gratitude and praise for Dream Technology will have their food supplies restored.

I want the entire world to know that only by uniting behind Dream Technology can people continue to have food on their tables.

At that moment, Du Qiu suddenly asked Song Yuanting, “Who do you think is most suited to command the Earth Escort Fleet?”

Without hesitation, Song Yuanting blurted, “Rin Feng!”

The moment the name left his mouth, he realized it might be improper and quickly added, “He was formerly the head of the Emergency Logistics Department’s rescue team and saved countless lives around the world.

He knows many countries well and is extremely decisive—it’s a perfect fit for the role.”

“Old Song, you’re such a troublemaker.”