Chapter 316: When Chaos Meets Cosmic Intrigue

The governments of North and South America have gone underground, while the Caribbean coasts overflow with refugees, spiraling into anarchy!

European countries announce they can no longer shoulder the influx of American refugees and ban entry for anyone from the Americas!

South American nations have closed their borders, trapping vast numbers of refugees in Colombia as conditions worsen!

The Global Health Organization warns that the deteriorating plight of refugees could very well pave the way for a super-virus’s resurgence!

Nations are appealing to Dream Technology to unlock space exploration technologies!

Dream Technology reveals plans to launch personal Mars properties—each standard suite priced at 1000 Gene Coins!

……

Amid swirling chaos in the headlines, the catastrophic year 2022 finally draws to a close.

Over the past year, Japan and several Central American countries vanished without a trace.

Now, the United States is mired in anarchic chaos; those on the surface no longer heed the directives of a government hidden in underground bunkers.

In an era when humanity has reached the stars, nature’s overwhelming force leaves everyone in deep awe.

Yet when the New Year’s bells rang, not all the anticipated hope turned out to be bright.

Due to continuous eruptions at Yellowstone, the entire United States now has no arable land; the collapse of this once-grain-rich nation has sent food prices soaring worldwide.

With countries banning food exports and driving prices even higher, major food-importing nations are in a frenzy—until Wheat Group announces increased grain output at a 15% discount compared to market prices.

In an instant, global grain prices begin to drop.

Just as people marveled at the identity of this mysterious Wheat Group…

A report by Luxu She lifted the veil on Wheat Group’s enigmatic operations.

“It turns out that Dream Technology isn’t merely a pioneer in space exploration—it’s set on monopolizing our food supply!”

The article exposed that Dream Technology is the major stakeholder behind Wheat Group, with many grain varieties in 2022 accounting for a quarter or more of global production.

With the entire United States shrouded in volcanic ash, Wheat Group’s output is predicted to reach half of the world’s supply.

Dream Technology Vice President Liu Sichen told reporters, “Don’t worry about food prices—so long as Wheat Group produces grain, prices will remain steady.”

“I hereby announce that Dream Technology will build space farms to double the production of all Wheat Group’s grains, fruits, and vegetables within a year, reaching self-sufficiency for the entire world.”

This news left nations both elated and terrified—elated that the global food crisis might be resolved, yet fearful that a harsher climate would force the world to depend solely on Dream Technology.

It means our lifeline is now completely in the hands of Dream Technology.

Meanwhile, as the Western world crumbles amid civil war and disaster in the United States, lacking strong leadership, they are forced to bow their centuries-old pride before a supercompany like Dream Technology.

Public sentiment shifts entirely in favor of Dream Technology, lauding its vital role in stabilizing international food prices and the unprecedented technologies it provides.

Even demands to force Dream Technology to share its space exploration tech have vanished—as if they never existed.

For the first time in history, Earth feels truly harmonious.

At that moment, Du Qiu isn’t in Heaven Realm Space City but soaring over the Martian Jellyfish Nest region.

Du Qiu’s exclusive Ultra-Wyvern Aerospace Flyer, twice the size of a Wyvern Fighter, packs even more potent weapons and energy systems.

Of course, its interior comfort and advanced communications are top-notch as well.

Dream Technology is currently rolling out a quantum communication network spanning the entire Solar System. Once breakthroughs in quantum computing occur, the complementary quantum communication technology will be finalized.

They are accelerating this deployment and marketing this cutting-edge communication system to help nations build a new Internet centered on quantum networks.

Individuals like Radack in the United States once aimed to cultivate rival tech companies within a closed market, but that era is long gone.

By 2023, most global electronics, mechanics, and internet tech companies have fallen under Dream Technology’s influence.

These companies are either forced into bankruptcy or pivot to developing applications based on Dream Technology’s core patents.

Each year, they pay varying patent fees to Dream Technology—a ‘magic tax’ that many firms are happy to pay.

After all, if you’re paying the ‘magic tax,’ it means your company is doing well.

In these turbulent times filled with relentless disasters, any company that manages to survive is an achievement.

“Sir, the rescan indicates that at 8000 meters below ground, there’s a huge cube whose shell resembles that of the Heavenly Garden built by the Pleiades.”

Star Ocean’s voice echoed through the command room of the dedicated aircraft.

Inside were not only Du Qiu but also Dream Technology’s Mars Commander Wu Xinghuo, geological expert Hoffman, and Dr. Ding Shaoqiu, head of the Pleiades research team.

It was Hoffman’s exploration team that discovered this anomaly.

Wu Xinghuo summoned a Wyvern Fighter and used its super-magnetic imager to scan the area—the resulting images excited him immensely.

After all, he had seen the Heavenly Garden up close, even charting and dismantling it; he was well acquainted with such cube structures.

Before any excavation began, Wu Xinghuo reported his findings to Du Qiu.

Looking at the terrain images, Du Qiu suddenly recalled having seen this scene in his dreams—could the buried cube be functioning like the vanadium-titanium magnetite on the Moon, amplifying a signal?

Instantly, Du Qiu set aside his research and flew from Heaven Realm Space City to Mars.

After reviewing the super-magnetic scan images from the dedicated aircraft, he confirmed that the setup was orchestrated by the Pleiades. Perhaps with a crystal pillow, he could connect to distant, dreamlike alien machinery—indeed part of the Pleiades’ design.

Yet he couldn’t fathom: if the Pleiades establish an unconscious transmission line from here to the Pleiades and then extend it beyond the dark zone to another galaxy…

This project seems overly ambitious, especially since the dark zone is a no-go area for the Pleiades—so how does the signal cross over accurately to locate the galaxy harboring the machines?

Regardless, this newfound discovery must be thoroughly explored and studied.

Previously, some devices from the Heavenly Garden were handed off to various project teams for research, but Du Qiu also assembled a dedicated research group focused on the Pleiades.

The group is led by renowned biologist Dr. Ding Shaoqiu, who has a profound interest in cosmic life.

In his fifties, Ding Shaoqiu wears a sharply tailored dark blue nano-spacesuit that exudes energy and determination.

Since he’s inside the aerospace fighter, his transparent helmet need not be removed.

“Boss, I struggle to understand why the Pleiades would bury a cube here. Do you have any theories?”

Ding Shaoqiu’s question hinted at his belief that the Boss was more familiar with the Pleiades—after all, their language is eerily similar to the programming language the Boss created.

Having studied the Pleiades for so long, he had never dared ask—until today, when his curiosity got the better of him, albeit subtly.

Du Qiu chuckled and retorted, “What, you think I should have a theory?”

Once asked, Ding Shaoqiu no longer held back, saying, “I believe you’ve inherited some Pleiades knowledge, which gives you a unique insight into them.”

Wu Xinghuo had long suspected as much, and upon hearing Dr. Ding’s question, he too was curious about how the Boss would respond.

“That’s right. I did receive some Pleiades technological insights, but I know little about their society—perhaps even less than what your team has surmised.”

【Confirmed! Boss truly acquired alien tech knowledge! A chosen one indeed!】 thought Wu Xinghuo excitedly.