Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 549 - 546: Strike Wave

Chapter 549: Chapter 546: Strike Wave

Three men make a tiger: one man can be rational, but when there are more, herd mentality arises.

A worker who had drunk a little too much seemed to have remembered something at this moment, a sharp glint in his eyes as if he imagined himself as a 20th-century worker exploited by capitalism.

Someone who was playing games during a break also put down his phone because all his teammates had logged off...

Yes, why? Why do this!

Who can endure this life that runs nonstop like a motor?

Why us?

The sacrifice of one generation for the future of civilization is a crime to that generation!

The sanity that had been maintained for a thousand years broke down at this moment, even though the entire plan would be completed in just over four hundred more years.

But four hundred years is far too long, long enough that their very breath had stopped.

Keeping humans forever rational is indeed a vain hope.

"Strike! Strike! Strike!"

More and more people raised their hands, chanting loudly, joining the marching crowds.

The government troops were helpless against the tide of marchers. This was not a riot; it was impossible to arrest everyone and throw them in jail, nor could they be forced to work. These people were slowly becoming the overwhelming majority of the entire civilization. Police and soldiers were merely trying to maintain order to prevent any violent incidents.

Even among the crowds of marchers were their friends and loved ones!

Everyone knew the consequences of a strike, but what could be done if everyone went on strike together?

Wherever the tide went, strikes sprang up. Yes, there was no need for riots or anything else. Merely stopping their work was enough to make the entire government collapse!

...

Wang Haifeng listened apprehensively as his new girlfriend casually mentioned the word "strike," and his face turned pale.

He felt that this beautiful and lovely girlfriend might not be suitable for him on a soul level.

"No, absolutely not! If we stop our work, the Planet Engine could easily malfunction. If too many fail, won’t that spell doom for us all?!"

"Hey, don’t overthink it. It’s just a probability of malfunction. Are you really willing to spend your entire life with this thing? Can you see the end of the project? We’re just fighting for more time off. What’s wrong with that?"

"We have Virtual World Technology and two Mother Ships. There are so many ways to handle this. Why doesn’t the government use them?"

The girlfriend paused, then continued, "And if we strike for a while, the entire industrial chain won’t collapse immediately, but we need to show the government our power!"

"Dictatorship has no good outcome! They must hear the voice of the people."

After a long silence, Wang Haifeng followed his girlfriend out of the room. Through the long-range function of his Power Armor, he saw interstellar spaceships flying chaotically in the sky, possibly because there was no one to direct them; they didn’t know where to stop.

Some were military spaceships, already arranged in defensive formations.

He loudly said, "How are you going to accomplish your demands? Do you have a specific plan?"

These military spaceships weren’t meant to target their own people but served as a warning to the Tos Civilization—potentially threatening—not to get involved in human internal affairs.

The manufacturing industry chain of the Planet Engine, while mostly automated, was bound to slow down without the maintenance by workers.

"In the end, you need to fight for your rights, the rights you deserve!" his girlfriend said coldly, "You’re such a coward, always hesitating. Let’s break up!"

Wang Haifeng remained silent for a while before replying, "Alright, let’s break up."

With differing values, there was really nothing to discuss. Then the girl began to pack her things and left the room with a suitcase in hand.

Breakups were just that simple in this era.

"People are so fragile."

Wang Haifeng sighed deeply. He suddenly heard his communicator beep and then a large doll-fish’s face popped up on the screen. Their construction site bordered the area managed by the Tos Civilization, and there was considerable communication between them. Sometimes when they were too busy, they’d even supply each other with spare parts and resources.

"Mr. Wang Haifeng, what’s going on over there? It seems like there’s some chaos," the large doll-fish said somewhat urgently.

Although there was a slight friction between the high-ranking officials of both sides, the mood among the civilians remained fairly harmonious. It wasn’t easy to befriend these large doll-fishes, but once a friendship was established, they turned out to be incredibly loyal and reliable.

"Oh, it’s nothing. Just a minor issue. Don’t worry, it won’t delay the project," Wang Haifeng said, feigning composure.

Deep down, though, he hoped that the higher-ups would resolve the issue soon.

Otherwise, relying solely on the automated robot systems, mistakes and malfunctions were bound to increase. Then it would be impossible to keep things under wraps.

Wang Haifeng inwardly admired the deep roots of the Tos Civilization, not just because the Tos People lived long lives, but also because they had more AmiBa Points!

Eventually, the interstellar trading market would send more Curvature Spaceships to transport their population away.

Because of this, the Tos Civilization could maintain a high population state. A larger population meant higher productivity. They didn’t need to endure an aging population like Humans, work overtime for long periods, and then gradually reduce their population, thus avoiding major problems.

"The Human race had only leased two measly Transport Ships from the interstellar trading market, while the Tos People had leased six. Just this alone, the difficulties the two sides faced were worlds apart... Sigh."

Then, he made a call to the highest leader he could contact, but the call went unanswered. He tried a lower-level leader, and this guy actually told him to join the strike and fight for his rights!

"You’re an idiot if you don’t see this. This is the best opportunity for us to fight for our interests!" the man on the phone exclaimed.

"The government doesn’t want to use Virtual World Technology, so the best solution is to expand the population, then use our Mother Ship to transport a batch of the population to other planets! Isn’t there still more than four hundred years left? Even if we fly slowly, we can still travel one light year! Eventually, we can start a new life on other planets!"

"Let the next generation handle all the work!"

"Those who want to stay can stay; those who don’t can leave with us!"

What awful ideas!

Wang Haifeng slumped to the ground, not knowing what to say.

The strike lasted for 7 days, during which the relations between New Human Civilization and Tos Civilization visibly deteriorated. The Tos People were not fools; upon noticing the problem, they urged the Human side to quickly resume work.

If the Humans ran away, the Tos People would have to double their production, which was impossible to achieve in the short term. Even if they managed, they wouldn’t be able to transport everyone.

Various external and internal affairs exhausted the upper echelons of the New Human Government.

Eventually, under tremendous pressure, the upper echelons of the New Humans yielded. With no better solutions available, they could only promise to increase the population and quickly amend the laws to urgently produce more people.

Then, once these people grew old enough to work, a portion of them would be allowed to leave.