Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Ruo Manni looked at the time when this trending post had exploded; it coincided with the peak attention period of the Youth Elite Competition, when there were a lot of people on the internet.

Over ten hours had passed since the post was made, and it had turned into a black-and-red post. Not only was it prominently displayed at the top of the Gus Empire’s trending forum, but it also spawned dozens of supporting posts that searched for evidence backing the black-and-red post, completely dominating the homepage of the Gus Empire’s trending forum.

Every person who entered the internet was inevitably exposed to these posts. Unless they were illiterate, they would be drawn in by the shocking and horrifying titles, and once they clicked in, they would find it hard to extricate themselves.

For a post to become this popular indicated that it had stirred up a storm among the people of the Gus Empire.

However, in the face of such a sensational and overwhelming trending topic, the Empire had neither deleted the post nor responded, which was a very intriguing stance.

People in the interstellar era understood that in situations like this, not denying something likely meant a silent acknowledgment. The Empire’s attitude would only provoke an even greater storm.

Ruo Manni felt that based solely on the Empire’s attitude, the black-and-red post was definitely a premeditated exposure event.

Thinking a bit deeper, the evidence of the stone hammer mentioned in the black-and-red post was something the public could not possibly obtain; it must have leaked from the military.

This video should be from a classified file. Why did it leak so easily, and why has the Empire and the military had no response afterward?

Thinking back to the absence of Hua Deqi, who has not shown up all day, and Hua Deyu, who was called away and has not returned, Ruo Manni couldn’t help but speculate whether this incident was planned by the Crown Prince.

Ruo Manni clicked on some of the trending posts and found that each one provided some new evidence, as if they were gradually releasing information to help viewers slowly accept the situation, preventing them from being overwhelmed all at once.

Little by little, a lie could become the truth if people talked about it enough; as long as internet users had patience and looked through each post, they would undoubtedly come to believe in this matter.

After reading those posts, Ruo Manni started browsing through the comments from internet users under the black-and-red post. Because the evidence was so compelling, many people believed it and expressed their deep concern, asking various questions about what they should do next.

Ruo Manni felt that these people had a relatively healthy, positive, and brave mindset. Faced with such a terrifying future, what they could think of was what they should do to save themselves; they were unwilling to simply await their fate without taking action.

However, there were also quite a few people who refused to believe that humanity could encounter such a disaster, resulting in various insults directed at the poster in the comments.

But the remarks and tone of those people conveyed that they were weak and powerless individuals venting their deep-seated fears through insults.

Ruo Manni believed that these individuals did not truly disbelieve; rather, they were unwilling to accept the truth. These people only wanted to escape reality, which was cowardice. It was surprising that there were so many such individuals in the interstellar era.

Regardless, Ruo Manni felt that the black-and-red post had successfully stirred up a significant wave. She couldn’t help but wonder where this wave was headed, what kind of results it would bring, whether someone was guiding it in a particular direction, and if this situation might spiral out of control.

The public believed that the content of the black-and-red post was true, and they believed that all of humanity would face a great disaster, a significant event related to the survival crisis of all humans in the Gumera star domain.

The policies of the crown prince required the cooperation of everyone, as individual power is limited; only through collective effort could a qualitative change emerge from quantity.

However, if things spiraled out of control and the populace became frightened, leading to riots, the crown prince’s efforts would be undermined.

Ruo Manni looked over the black-and-red post again, this time with a different focus. She easily noticed that the content of the post undoubtedly favored the imperial side.

The post cited examples of how the empire was willing to spend vast amounts of money and expend great effort to improve the cultivation levels of the entire populace, as well as what preparations they were secretly making for the potential upcoming war.

The cultivators of the Gus Empire were aware of how many cultivation resources they had received over the past four years that they previously could not access. There were various speculations in their minds about why the empire was doing this and what their ultimate goal was.

Ruo Manni noted that the black-and-red post categorized this matter as evidence, and in the comments on the post, everyone was unequivocally convinced about it.

The commenters unanimously believed that if there wasn’t such a significant crisis, the country would not spend such a large amount of money just to improve everyone’s cultivation levels.

At this point, Ruo Manni felt a sense of reassurance. With this recognition, although the revelation of this matter would cause panic among many people, the actions the empire had taken before would give them a slight sense of comfort amid the fear.

The public felt that the empire, based on its displayed attitude, wanted everyone to have the ability to face the impending great crisis, rather than abandoning them in private and leaving them to fend for themselves.

Ruo Manni could imagine that although the people would be dissatisfied with the empire for concealing things from the general populace, they would understand that the empire’s intention in keeping the information hidden was to prevent them from acting out of fear, rather than allowing them to fend for themselves.

Observing the reactions of the netizens, it seemed that once this matter came to light, the citizens would not have opposing sentiments toward the empire’s actions. Instead, it was more likely that, under the empire’s call, they would temporarily set aside their personal interests and work together to prepare for the impending war.

The more she looked at it, the more she suspected that this post was likely arranged and released by the crown prince, with these events being orchestrated behind the scenes.

The reasoning is quite simple: when that black-red post was first published, if the empire didn’t want anyone to see it, the National Security Bureau, which controls the entire national security system, could make that post disappear in an instant.

Let’s not even discuss human rights; the post wouldn’t have even had a chance to be published in the first place, so what evidence could be presented to complain? Besides, national security is the top priority.

As long as they say that the post endangers national security, who among those who haven’t seen the post and don’t know its content would come forward to protest?

So, is the crown prince beginning to lay the groundwork for his next plan and the implementation of new policies?

Is he planning to avoid informing the public about this great disaster until it’s too late, as was done in his past life?

To be honest, Ruo Manni also believes that suddenly informing the entire human population of the Gumera star domain about a catastrophic event that could lead to their extinction, without time for guidance and communication, would only cause panic and resistance, and would be of little use in the context of the war.

Now, with the series of strong nation and strong citizen policies implemented beforehand, the public feels that the empire already has a countermeasure in place to deal with this issue.

Citizens who feel they have a strong backbone will not panic too much upon learning about this matter, and society will not become chaotic; the public will only follow the country’s arrangements.

When the citizens realize that the significant changes in the nation are all due to the efforts of the crown prince, his prestige will gain unprecedented trust, allowing him to smoothly implement his new policies and strengthen the country’s power even more before the war begins.

Moreover, under the common premise of resisting external invading forces, the military will certainly do its best to heed the wishes of the imperial family. The crown prince can then select a group of elite star troops and train them according to his vision.