Chapter 245 - 199: Mars Base, Information Pollution

"The Shen Zhou Permanent Lunar Base has been successfully established. After successfully verifying the ecological cycle, we began large-scale immigration..."

"In just two years, the population of the Shen Zhou Lunar Base surpassed twenty thousand! We also achieved preliminary energy self-sufficiency! After all, the Moon’s surface has abundant fuel for nuclear fusion.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, nuclear fusion research was a success... sometime around the late ’30s or early ’40s? You can look it up yourself! It’s not like it’s sensitive information anyway.

And nearly limitless Energy can solve over ninety-nine percent of the problems of surviving in outer space!"

"..." Chu Bamboo rubbed his temples. ’Can’t you be a little more responsible?!’

"Using the biological research institute left behind by Guan Qianyu, I secretly began cultivating Moon Grass!

I put several safeguards in place. I don’t believe that under these circumstances, it could be discovered by outsiders, spread, and lead to genetic problems."

"In the year ’57, the Mars Base was successfully established! I discovered something terrifying... but I can’t tell you the details."

"??" Chu Bamboo was completely baffled.

"Don’t be angry, don’t curse me, and don’t even think about crossing timelines to slap me! To be precise, it’s not that I can’t tell you... it’s that I can’t know either!"

"You’ve probably guessed it by now. It’s a problem of information contamination!

Originally, based on our experience with the Moon Base, we directly implemented a templated extraterrestrial base design and even moved over three hundred residents in one go...

But, in just two days, the immigrants, for reasons unknown—whether they touched something or learned some piece of information—all died!

At first, we thought it was another disease similar to avian flu. We were even curious as to why something like that would inexplicably appear on Mars.

Could Mars also be hiding ancient viruses?

However, as the death toll continued to climb, and the deaths even began to spread to Earth... what kind of virus could possibly travel across such a vast expanse of space?

Furthermore, before they died, their bodies would become extremely deformed! That... that’s how I realized that death was spreading through acquired knowledge... which led me to deduce and confirm that this was information contamination!

And when I leaked this information... the uproar it caused among the higher-ups of various nations was unimaginable!"

Chu Bamboo’s pupils contracted sharply. "..."

’Information contamination, it started at this time?!’

Chu Bamboo thought to himself, ’Wait! Did an alien civilization detect that Earth had landed on Mars and create this information contamination? Or was the information contamination already latent on Mars, only to be unearthed now!’

He considered one possibility after another. ’If it’s the latter, can I speculate that a flourishing civilization once existed on Mars? No, it’s also possible that the Transcendent humans of the Ancient Era once came to Mars! Their extinction might even be related to this information contamination!’

After all, if a prosperous ancient Cultivator civilization once existed on Earth... there must be a reason for its demise!

After closing his eyes and pondering for a long time, Chu Bamboo rubbed his face and continued to read.

And then...

"In the year ’60, despite our best efforts to contain the Mars crisis, sensitive information still leaked to Earth from time to time.

Except for my homeland and the Cyberpunk Society I control... large numbers of Shoe Sect forces have risen in the societies controlled by the White-headed Eagle, Europe, the White Elephant, and even Celestial Net.

The spread of this information can cause ordinary people to become beings similar to zombies, or perhaps other types of entities...

I’m now starting to suspect, could the true nature of the avian flu have been contamination and monsterization? I even went so far as to dissect the corpse of an avian flu patient for this reason... and I found that their blood could not be used as a resource for Cultivation!

Of course, I later checked and found that these contaminated people couldn’t be used as resources for Cultivation either... Perhaps it’s because they don’t even qualify as being in the First Realm? So, while I have my suspicions on this front, I have no proof.

The trouble is that these unscrupulous Shoe Sect organizations dare to know anything, while we, the truly powerful, don’t dare to know! Even when we have the means to find out.

Ultimately, left with no other choice, the nations reached an agreement to curb the spread of this dangerous information at all costs!

The power of the Federal Security Council was also greatly enhanced as a result."

A dazed look came over Chu Bamboo’s face. ’Is this the origin of the world’s religification?’

Information crisis... Information crisis!

Chu Bamboo mulled over the term, his heart heavy. ’For Earth’s civilization, which has already entered the information age... this is like being repeatedly stabbed in the kidneys!’

"January of ’61, with the help of Z and Celestial Net, we barely managed to suppress the problem! As an addendum, although Z is already an artificial intelligence, it remains in a disguised state. Celestial Net doesn’t appear to be an AI at present."

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’Oh, crap. Now Celestial Net and Z are allies!’

Chu Bamboo wanted to say something, but stopped. Then he wanted to speak again, but couldn’t. Finally, his face twitched. There were too many things to roast, he didn’t even know where to begin...

"May of ’61, we, my homeland, the White-headed Eagle, and Celestial Net all built bases on the Moon... Under the intense competition between us, the total population of the four bases has already surpassed one hundred thousand!

And yet, I, and even the other leaders, only felt a suffocating pressure.

The information contamination within Earth’s civilization is growing more and more severe! Even with our best efforts to suppress them, the religious organizations continue to expand... on average, dozens of new Shoe Sects are founded every day.

You could even say that if it weren’t for the help of Z and Celestial Net in controlling the information flow, human civilization might have already imploded!

And in terms of outward expansion, Mars, one of the most crucial stepping stones for humanity to venture beyond the Solar System, is now in a state that has effectively sealed humanity within the Solar System!

More importantly, we can’t determine whether other planets have the same problem!

Is the Moon even truly safe?

This seemingly safe situation on the Moon—could it one day be suddenly and completely shattered?

Nobody knows, but we have all prepared for the worst!"

"I’m paying close attention to the Golden Dawn, and what puzzles me is... the Golden Dawn is also terrified of the information contamination from Mars, and even supports the blockade!

I always thought that the extraterrestrial force behind the Golden Dawn was responsible for all this... but based on the attitude they’re showing now, it seems that’s not the case?"