Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 440 - 438: Evil Freedom

Chapter 440: Chapter 438: Evil Freedom

"Forty years after the ’Sakura’ appeared..."

The last lunar probe had not changed the essence of the world. The popularity of the Sakura did not change due to the Moon landing; it merely attracted a small group of astronomy enthusiasts who settled in East Sea City, which was already a decent achievement.

The phenomenon of East Sea City standing in opposition to the rest of the world had not changed either.

It did not make sense to cause collective shame among humans.

How long could this shame last? A day, two days, a month, or two months? Could collective shame be transformed into motivation? If humans were to change anything because of shame, they would no longer be humans.

Over the years, Zhang Yuan had been quietly leading his team in manned space engineering, his greatest goal being to send astronauts back to the Moon, and even to restart the operations at the Moon Base.

Life had been very tough, or rather, it had never been this tough before.

The first minor goal was to send people into low Earth orbit around the Earth.

The second minor goal was to send people to the Space City in geosynchronous orbit. The Space City, located 36,000 kilometers from the surface of the Earth, had been steadily rotating around Earth and had some machines that could be activated.

These two minor goals had been achieved in the past few years, and after gaining some experience, the final major goal was to land on the Moon.

These years had been very tough; robots would help produce various components, but the drawings and equations all had to be handled by Zhang Yuan himself.

There was a scarce reserve of relevant talent, and constant ridicule from outsiders persisted; the society did not have things like salaries to offer, everyone was working on this project driven by passion.

But then...

An unfortunate event occurred.

This time, the manned space rocket failed to launch!

Four astronauts turned into a blazing fire and vanished into the distant sky, all within just one minute! It seemed as though one could hear the astronauts’ desperate cries in midair.

Zhang Yuan, who had been watching from the observatory, fell to the ground, overwhelmed by the immensity of the disaster—so immense it was unbearable. The slightly improving Space City of East Sea City was inevitably struck by a devastating blow!

Zhang Yuan had been lying in bed for three days, not because he wasn’t strong enough, but because he clearly knew what the failure of this rocket launch meant.

Several relatives cried incessantly by his sickbed, thinking that Zhang Yuan was about to die... or rather, that all their plans had died within that minute.

"Ha ha, they failed, they finally failed!"

"Even their ancestors didn’t want them to go to the Moon."

"I knew it, they could never succeed!"

Corresponding to this, was the tsunami-like gloating and mockery from the outside world. When one does not make an effort, witnessing the efforts of others can also be a torment. This group of people had been eagerly waiting, and finally, they were presented with this heaven-sent opportunity to mock, some even saying those astronauts "deserved it," "died a good death!"

Faced with such widespread slander, East Sea City was clouded with gloom, filled with doubt, fear, and distrust among the citizens, leading to questions about the worthiness of Space City’s work.

The former heroes of East Sea City became the targets of scorn, and had it not been for the protection of robots, Zhang Yuan, lying on the hospital bed, might even have been beaten to death by mobs!

A large number of astronauts left amid fierce slander, with even their friends and family not supporting their continued work.

They had originally committed themselves to their careers with passion, but after this disaster, their passion dissipated, and naturally, so did their unity.

The engineers, enduring their pain, conducted an investigation for half a day and shockingly discovered that a certain screw had not been tightened, and the person responsible had already fled, the whole incident reeked of a conspiracy...

The heavy blow had turned Zhang Yuan’s hair white overnight. After rising from his sickbed, he sat back in his office and stared blankly, secretly blaming himself for not being more meticulous in his recruitment and not being more cognizant in his work.

"I’m sorry."

Since the Moon rover had successfully landed, it indeed attracted many talented individuals from around the world. However, human plans are no match for nature’s, and with the explosion, all efforts had been in vain.

...

In the forty-second year, in just two years, the population of East Sea City had declined by 30%!

The city had suffered the backlash of populism. Populism required someone to lead, to constantly hammer down on others in order to gain a sense of superiority. But now, with the failure of the manned space program, the heroes had fallen from grace, and naturally, the people’s spirit had dispersed. Many of the original residents simply left the city, which had lost its luster.

Due to the rapid decline in population, many small-time opportunists from other cities saw their chance. They were calling for people from other cities to move into East Sea City en masse.

Once these newcomers outnumbered the local population, they could amend the laws through voting, removing "Sakura" from the list of banned substances.

Thus, the "regional advantage" that the East Sea people were proud of naturally vanished.

Zhang Yuan had no choice but to shift his focus to this issue, re-engaging in the ideological struggle.

But this time, it was much more difficult than before. The public no longer trusted him, Zhang Yuan, the chief designer of the space engineering project.

...

In the forty-seventh year, as the number of outsiders increased, so did the internal conflicts in the city—fights, brawls, and ever-increasing violations of the law, which had been unimaginable in the past.

In fact, these people were purely here to cause trouble; they just wanted to eliminate the last city on Earth that banned "Sakura" with their votes, that was all.

Zhang Yuan never imagined that human nature could be so evil—perhaps they thought they were the righteous ones?

To let more people enjoy more happiness?

The vote had already been initiated three times, but this time, the number of outsiders "joining the excitement" was so overwhelming that it could no longer be stopped.

A robot’s announcement read as follows: [According to the results of this vote, the number of votes in favor was 513,453, abstentions 40,998, and against 40,988. "Sakura" will be removed from the list of Category B banned substances... its composition is...]

The vote passed, the law was amended, and robots would no longer restrict humans from using "Sakura." Some irrational, angry local citizens began setting fires and smashing things, only to be arrested by robots and thrown into jail.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Yuan could only step forward and call for everyone to rationally accept the final outcome.

"Ladies and gentlemen... Maintain self-respect and self-love, even if the law does not bind us, we can still bind ourselves."

However, the real truth was... the situation was beyond control,

Zhang Yuan actually did not believe in so-called self-discipline.

It was too difficult.

The few companions who followed Zhang Yuan also stood by, crying, wiping their tears, and trying to accept the final truth.

On the street corners, crowds celebrating the freedom granted by "Sakura" formed long lines, fervently cheering, shouting loudly, proclaiming the full arrival of an era of personal freedom.

They shouted loudly, "The last evil city has also welcomed true freedom!"

Freedom!

In contrast, there was a small group of quiet weepers, unnoticed and uncared for by anyone.

...