Crisis Warning

As Yang Lan stared at the flashing red alert on the screen, her coffee cup felt slightly warm under her fingertips.

Outside the window is Shanghai in the year 2110, with traffic streaming along the suspended lanes like a glowing stream. No one notices that, five light-years away, the Oort cloud is being stirred by an invisible gravitational hand - it is the aftermath of the collision between the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the "galactic halo reshuffle" that astronomers have warned about for two hundred years is finally approaching the solar system.

"The orbital deviation rate has exceeded 30%, and the comet group with the number 734 is expected to enter the inner solar system in 4 years." The synthetic voice of the AI was uneventful, but it instantly froze the air in the command center.

Yang Lan is the chief observer of the "Starshield Project", a globally established early warning system that should have detected the threat ten years in advance. However, this gravitational disturbance was ten times more violent than predicted by the model, and the comet that had been sleeping in the Oort cloud for billions of years rushed towards the sun like a glass bead that had been knocked over.

Five minutes later, the person in charge of the entire "Starshield Plan" monitoring center organized a remote conference, which directly connected with several key leaders located in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia.

After the monitoring results were presented, the conference room was immediately filled with an uproar, and a sense of fear overwhelmed everyone. The news shocked all the participants.

The news quickly spread among the high-ranking officials of various countries. The chaotic scene inside the testing center seemed to be disconnected from the world outside the window.

The streets were bustling with traffic, everything was in order, and there was not a single sign of abnormality.

Soon, the top leader of the Asian Chinese region announced that what would happen in four years would be classified as the highest state secret, and no one was allowed to disclose it to others. At the same time, the national development strategy for the next four years was adjusted, with the reserves of food, fresh water, energy, and medicine placed at the forefront.

At the same time, similar meetings were also held in the highest administrative institutions of other countries.

In a short span of time, leaders from various countries scrambled to make urgent arrangements for domestic affairs, while simultaneously beginning to consult with top leaders from around the world on plans to establish a global defense system.

Half a year has passed, and the Asian Chinese region has introduced a series of policies, known only to government insiders, to reduce the import tariffs on energy, food, minerals, pharmaceuticals, and other items to zero. The deployment involved in these policies is carried out by the state, and relevant departments have been established to allocate national human, material, and financial resources to acquire these basic materials from around the world.

At the societal level, the government has also unveiled new policies that strongly encourage and support the domestic production of energy, minerals, and pharmaceuticals. Farmers engaged in rice, wheat, oil, and grain cultivation in rural areas are provided with substantial economic subsidies every year.

The news was met with cheers from farmers across the country upon its release, as it was a good thing that had never happened in many years.

After learning this news, the elderly farmers in the village became more energetic than before.

Many young people who work far away from home have also had the idea of returning home to farm.

Households with more land can earn significantly more in a year with the national subsidies than they would by working outside, and they don't have to travel far away. Their elderly and children can also be taken care of at home; households with less land can also earn a considerable amount of money by contracting out their land for a year.

Of course, some people who have some understanding of economics have also started to think about it.

"The state is providing such substantial subsidies to industries such as mining, agriculture, and medicine, which are fundamental to our economy. Could it be that something significant is about to happen?" This is the thought that pops into the minds of a small group of people in China after seeing the policy.

At the same time as a series of policies were introduced in the Huaxia region, countries in the North American region dispatched military vessels through the Indian Ocean and arrived in the Arabian Sea, preparing to enter the Yamal region from the port of Asia and be intercepted by the Zamar armed forces. The two sides entered a state of intense confrontation, and related news was continuously reported around the world.

In a rented house on the outskirts of Longcheng City, G Province in Northwest China, a young man in his early 18s lies on a single bed, deep in thought.

"I'm quite busy at home. I wonder if my mom can come and cook for me," Wang Qiang muttered to himself.

Since coming to the city to study, Wang Qiang has been renting a house outside the campus for two and a half years.

He moved into the dormitory of No.3 High School right after being admitted, and stayed there for about half a year before moving out to rent a house on his own.

In each dormitory room spanning a dozen square meters in the school dormitory building, there lived seven or eight people. Due to the noise from the large number of people, as well as the poor food in the dormitory canteen, which not only left them hungry but also quickly drained their funds, Wang Qiang moved out for these reasons.

Through a friend's introduction, he found a rental house on the hillside opposite the school, which is not far away. The environment and hygiene of the courtyard where the rental house is located are quite good, and the landlord is also very nice.

With half a year left before the college entrance examination, Wang Qiang plans to have his mother from the countryside cook for him for six months, so that he can have a good rest and spare more time to prepare for the exam.

Although I knew my mother might not be able to come due to the busy household, after some hesitation, I still wanted to give it a try.

When Wang Qiang returned to his hometown at the weekend and took the opportunity to talk to his mother during dinner, she apologetically said to him, "Xiaoqiang, you know the situation at home. Your father has gone to work on the construction site, your sister is still in school, and I'm the only one who cooks and washes clothes for them. No one takes care of the crops in the fields. I also want to cook for you, but the situation in our family doesn't allow it!!!"

"Mom, I know. I was just saying it casually. I can stick to it for another half a year," Wang Qiang said with a smile, trying to comfort her.

Dongdongdong!!! Dongdongdong!!!

While Wang Qiang, his mother, and his sister were having dinner, someone knocked on the door.

"It's already past 8 PM, why is someone still knocking at the door!" said Wang Qiang as he stood up and walked towards the door.

The person knocking on the door heard someone inside opening the door and urged, "Why didn't you open the door after knocking for so long? Is it always this difficult to open the door in your house?"

Wang Qiang knew it was the village chief just by hearing his voice.

"Here it comes!"

Creak! The door opened.

"Uncle, it's you! What's the matter at this late hour?"

"Is your mom at home?"

"Sure, let me take you there."

The two of them walked through the courtyard and arrived at the kitchen together.

"Mom, the village chief is here."

Wang Qiang's mother was eating dinner with her daughter when she heard the village chief arrive. Her heart tightened, her eyebrows slightly twitched, and she stood up.

"Ah, it's the village chief! What's the matter coming at this late hour?" Wang Qiang's mother said with a smile.

"I came to inform you about the road repair." At this moment, the village chief also arrived at the kitchen door and glanced at the Mantou and a plate of potato shreds on the kitchen table while speaking.

"Village chief, have you eaten? If not, have some from my house." Wang Qiang's mother took out a pair of chopsticks from the drawer of the kitchen cabinet and handed them over.

"I ate when I came," the village chief said, waving his hand.

"You said you want to build roads, but where? I've never heard of that," Wang Qiang's mother asked after putting down her chopsticks.