Chapter 1501
Glimmer
Chapter 1501 Glimmer
The Silver Moon people attacked the Loess Plateau from the front.
Lin Fan and Antonio arrived relatively quickly; nearly a third of the land at the far end of the loess plateau had not yet been affected.
Most of the injured were concentrated in the middle two-thirds of the area. After Lin Fan's treatment, no matter the extent of their injuries, they recovered quickly and were able to move freely again.
But healing the body is easy; healing the mind is difficult.
When Antonio brought the last wave of survivors over, he saw Xingchen offering a spirit offering to Lan Bingru with one hand, staring blankly at the ruins.
"How are you?" he asked. "Is the wear and tear significant? Do you need to rest?"
Xingchen slowly shook his head: "It's nothing, I just feel that this world..."
“It’s awful, isn’t it?” Apollo said, walking beside her. “When I first arrived, I thought there was no worse place in the world. Now it seems there really is…”
After saying that, he realized it was inappropriate and chuckled to himself, "That's a truly hellish joke. But that's reality. How is she?"
Lin Fan looked down at Lan Bingru.
"That's good. She has a solid foundation. It will be over once her energy reserves are depleted. It will take some more time."
"Then how about we find a different place for her to consolidate her cultivation?" Apollo put his hands on his hips and looked around. "After all, this place... tsk..."
Xingchen looked back at the sea of heads behind her, and saw that their eyes held nothing but pain, sorrow, fear, unease, and bewilderment.
"Is that all left?"
“That’s all there are.” Apollo turned around. “I didn’t count them exactly, but there are probably at least eight or nine thousand, if not ten thousand.”
So many people, packed tightly together, yet not a sound was made. As quiet as an open-eyed corpse.
Xingchen remained silent for a while.
"On a planet, the number of surviving races is less than the number of college students."
“…” Apollo paused for a moment, then sighed, “At least the flame was preserved. Look at these people, most of them are young and strong. They multiplied later… never mind, why am I saying this at a time like this?”
He is right. From the perspective of social structure, the minimum effective population reproduction threshold for humans is around 1500 people to ensure healthy and safe reproduction for thousands of years without inbreeding and decline.
Moreover, that's a normal situation with a complete age structure, including both the elderly and the young.
Most of the elderly and infirm are unable to survive until rescue efforts, while the population in the Loess Plateau is mainly composed of young and middle-aged people.
From a data theory perspective, a larger number of relatively strong young adults would be beneficial for the reconstruction, military development, and reproduction of the Loess Plateau region in the later stages.
But in this current situation, these people have just lost their parents, partners, children, and relatives...
Antonio wanted to say this was a good thing, but to say it with absolute rationality at this point was indeed too cold-blooded.
"So what do we do now?" he turned to Xingchen and asked. "Are we just going to keep guarding it like this? I mean, is there any official management coming to take over?"
“Silver Moon City?” Star replied.
"Then forget it." Apollo shrugged. "Those guys are no good now. Or should we take them to Graystone?"
“So many people, can they really abandon all this?” Xingchen turned her head, glancing at the ruins and the corpses scattered everywhere. “Are they coming to Graystone with us? Besides, they have nowhere else to go in Graystone. The Graystone orcs will still dislike them. You can’t expect Adrian to step in, can you?”
"Him?" Apollo scoffed, hands on his hips. "I've seen through him too. He's just a profit-driven bastard. Whether we accept him or not depends on whether these people are useful. What use are they? Are they going to offer themselves up for sale? They might as well stay here."
“But this place is no longer suitable for survival,” Xingchen sighed. “The barrier is gone. No one on this planet has any goodwill towards them. I used to think that the barrier restricted the development of the Yellow Earth People, but now it seems that it might be a kind of protection.”
As long as their beliefs and stances remain unchanged, the Silvermoon Orcs' madness could recur at any time.
In the end, the perpetrators might become Graystone Beastmen, or even Crystal City Beastmen. But the only constant will be the victims, the powerless Yellow Earth People. "Then what do we do?" Apollo spread his hands. "We can't possibly stay here to help them develop their own consciousness and become stronger, can we? It's not that I lack compassion, but that's not something that can be done in three or five years. Besides, this is Anniemo, and there are so many Beastmen here."
The rescue is simple, but what happens after the rescue?
If you just wash your hands of it, what difference does it make whether you save them or not?
It's manageable. But how?
The formation of a social system is a very long process.
The people of Huangtu have become accustomed to being oppressed and relegated to the bottom of society. Even if Lin Fan and Antonio were to teach them to be strong and independent now, it would be a difficult process.
Regardless of how long it will take the loess people to learn, are those orcs just going to stand by and do nothing?
Lin Fan also felt a headache coming on.
Cen Fangyuan should be most skilled at this kind of thing.
No matter how skilled Cen Fangyuan is, he cannot interfere with the sovereignty of another star.
Their initial act could be considered a heroic act, helping Anniemo quell the riot, but any further intervention would change the nature of the situation...
“They have to develop it themselves.” Xingchen pondered for a long time. “We’re setting up a piece of land on another planet and guiding its inhabitants to develop it according to our own will… Don’t you think that sounds like a colonial scheme?”
“That’s right.” Apollo nodded. “Even if the Anniemo agrees because of Qiansui, their reputation will be ruined once the news gets out into the interstellar space… Speaking of which, if Qiansui agrees to be their Beast God, wouldn’t the Anniemo become our territory… Ouch!”
"What are you thinking?" Xingchen withdrew her hand. "A colony has a bad reputation, but taking over an entire planet isn't bad? Anniemo is a level three civilization. If he discovers the true situation of Lanxing, wouldn't that be like inviting a wolf into the house? Besides, is Qiansui the kind of person who can stand being restrained?"
Apollo covered his forehead with both hands: "Okay, I was just saying. So what do we do now? We can't leave, we can't stay... What is that?"
At the entrance to the loess area, several tiny points of light appeared and flickered.
"Good grief, the Silvermoon people are here again, huh?" Antonio laughed in exasperation. "Fine, fine, let me deal with you. Baby, just stay put and don't move."
Apollo took to the air, chattering incessantly as he went, saying he would do this and that to the Silvermoon people.
Once it landed, there was no sound at all.
Lin Fan watched from afar as the engine lights behind Apollo remained motionless, assuming that with his abilities, he wouldn't encounter any danger. But as time went on, he became less certain.
Just as I was about to ask, Antonio's excited voice rang out.
"Baby, guess who's here?"
Who's here? Surely it's not Cen Fangyuan, is it? Antonio is overjoyed.
Before Lin Fan could answer, Antonio revealed the answer himself.
"Those guys from Adrian's place, the ones who passed us the notes, they've arrived!"
Those servants who had been instilled with a rebellious spirit by Adrian went through a period of painful struggle after realizing that Adrian had used and abandoned them.
After reuniting with the survivors brought back by El, and learning that the Loess District was in distress and that the two powerful mechs were also human, he suddenly realized that it's better to rely on yourself than on others.
To achieve true strength, we must start with the Loess Plateau itself.
So, while Adrian was busy cultivating relationships with the wealthy upper echelons of Graystone and couldn't pay attention to them, they took advantage of the servants' convenience, grabbed whatever they could, and drove the little train that Lin Fan and the others had ridden in to the Loess District.
However, once inside, the car couldn't move, so they had to get out and walk with the lights on. The uneven terrain caused the lights to flicker as Lin Fan and the others saw them.
Their arrival was like a timely rain, instantly freeing Lin Fan and Antonio from their predicament.
With awakened consciousness and more advanced insights, no one is more suitable to lead their compatriots and rebuild their homes than people from the Loess Plateau.
Amidst the ruins, the embers of fire still burn.
The voice of the people of the Loess Plateau officially begins from this moment.