Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 56 Pacific Cooperation—2015 (Two-in-One) (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
"Take a look at this notebook."

Luo Qing tossed the notebook in his hand to the NATO Supreme Commander in front of him.

The NATO Supreme Commander glanced at it and said, "A very simple marching sketch, so simple it's almost abstract."

Luo Qing also saw the lines and arrows that were a mix of pencil and pen strokes, and nodded.

The NATO Supreme Commander put his notebook aside: "But it basically matches the Trisolaran rebel offensive in the Jura Mountains campaign. Where did it come from?"

Luo Qing: "Yesterday, I met a man in Mirror Wall Canyon who claimed that the ETO female lieutenant was his sister in the Allied Forces. It was really interesting."

NATO's Supreme Commander smiled and said, "You just let such a high-ranking member of the ETO go?"

"It's pointless to capture her. If we don't get rid of Zhizi, ETO will keep selecting new high-ranking officials. Don't you think so, Zhizi?"

Zhi Zi floated opposite the NATO Supreme Commander and Luo Qing, printing out a simple geometric emoticon:

:)
The expression flashed by in an instant.

Ignoring the mischievous Zhi Zi, the NATO Supreme Commander asked Luo Qing, "You seem to have spent the night in the Jura Mountains last night?"

Luo Qing nodded wearily, lying back on the leather sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling: "I never believed in the saying 'the dead become ghosts, and ghosts become spirits' before. In my hometown, the only thing that can be called a ghost is the primordial spirit whose body has been destroyed. If you can catch up with and kill the primordial spirit, then that person is completely dead and there will be no ghost. But last night, I changed my mind."

"You saw those quantum ghosts, didn't you?"

Luo Qing glanced at the NATO Commander-in-Chief and said, "General Qian, you seem to know a lot."

The commander-in-chief smiled but said nothing.

Luo Qing sighed, "I saw it, but only for a moment. If I didn't have complete faith in my vision, I would have thought I was hallucinating. The ghosts weren't just people; the tanks and armored vehicles also turned into quantum ghosts. They were eerie blue and shimmering, indistinguishable from living beings, but after I glanced at them, they died completely."

"That's not how it works," the NATO Supreme Commander said solemnly.

"It's collapse, not death. They still exist. From a quantum mechanical perspective, people who are resonated into a quantum state by ball lightning actually have two parts: an existence state and a destruction state. When the existence state overwhelms the destruction state, they will be visible; when the existence state is overwhelmed by the destruction state, they will disappear. And the observer effect will greatly accelerate the collapse of the probability cloud towards the destruction state."

The commander-in-chief paused, then said, "But no matter how the state of existence collapses into the state of destruction, the state of existence will not completely disappear; it will still exist and will exist until the end of the universe."

"General, you know a lot."

The Commander-in-Chief said, "Dr. Ding Yi's paper is completely open to the public and anyone can read it. I have been interested in physics since I was a child."

"Once the state of destruction overwhelms the state of existence, will they forever be unknown to reality?"

“Not exactly.” The Commander-in-Chief shook his head. He walked to the window, where flowers were blooming in full glory beneath the snow-capped mountains. “Dr. Ding Yi once said at the end of his treatise on the quantum field: the process of death is the process of becoming a weak observer and then a non-observer. When a person is a weak observer, the probability cloud of the quantum ghost collapses towards the destruction state more slowly. At that time, the dying person can see a brilliant world where people have lived together throughout the ages.”

"After all, it's not just ball lightning that can create quantum ghosts."

Throughout history, have we shared this one lifetime?
Luo Qing, a veteran of the cultivation world, was deeply shocked.

Holy crap, according to this logic, all people and things that have ever existed in this world will be 'immortal' in the quantum realm?

...

Pentagon E-Ring Conference Room
A large piece of electronic glass is embedded in the center of the round conference table, and a contour map of the Pacific Ocean is projected on the electronic glass, with nearly three hundred virtual ships floating quietly on the map.

It is worth noting that seventeen national flags were arranged around the round table in order—from the Stars and Stripes to the Chinese national flag, from the tricolor flag to the Union Jack, and even the flags of Germany and Japan.

It's not unusual for these flags to appear at the United Nations, but it's quite intriguing that they also appeared at the Pentagon.

The air conditioning in the room was too cold, but the attendees' minds were burning with excitement.

A U.S. Navy vice admiral tapped the table lightly: “Gentlemen, there are three days left until the scheduled start date of the ‘Pacific Coordination-2015’ military exercise. Although we had a minor incident in Geneva two days ago, the trouble there has been resolved, and now we need to focus our attention on this exercise.”

"Is it resolved?" A French general scoffed. "I heard that the Trisolaran rebels obtained a batch of macro-atoms that can be used for macro-fusion?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the attendees subtly changed.

The fusion deterrence caused by the Pacific crisis in 2005 was not unfamiliar to these generals; it was far more frightening than the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Cold War [1].

The U.S. lieutenant general nodded: "That's right. The enemy has only launched one successful particle collision experiment. Therefore, the number of macroatoms that the enemy can obtain is quite limited. It is not easy to select macroatomic nuclei with a large enough internal macroscopic structure that are specifically designed to kill organisms from the limited number of macroatoms."

“But it’s still a potential problem,” said a Japanese Self-Defense Force officer.

"I have never denied that." The U.S. lieutenant general shook his head. "Let's focus on the military exercises. The joint command system that we've spent so much time building is not an invitation for you all to play a game of chess at the Pentagon."

"Before formulating a specific action plan, please read the detailed information about Professor Luo Qing that you have in your hands."

"Who provided this information?" the Russian representative asked, shaking the paper.

"The one facing the wall."

"He's really honest."

A young and handsome British major general exclaimed, "Based on his self-proclaimed capabilities, this is an asymmetric warfare exercise."

“It’s asymmetrical; we are the weaker party.” The French general who started it all teased, “I suggest everyone come to the Jura Mountains on the border between France and Switzerland to look at your reflection. There’s a canyon there that’s a hundred meters wide, several hundred meters deep, and six kilometers long. He carved it out himself, and the walls are so smooth they can be used as a mirror.”

"I really don't know what the purpose of this exercise is. Is it to show the Wallfacers their power to all mankind?" A South Korean threw the intelligence report in his hand on the table and rubbed his face in great distress.

"He said it's part of the Wallfacer Project, so we just need to cooperate. Why think so much? Don't forget, although we know this cultivator, and the residents near Jura Mountain are almost familiar with him, there are still 70 billion people who know nothing about him. They still think the special effects in movies have improved again!"

Soon, everyone had a clear understanding of Luo Qing's strength. According to Luo Qing's own description, let alone the cobbled-together UN First Fleet, even if all the world's navies were placed in the vast Pacific Ocean, Luo Qing could still sink everything that could float in the Pacific within ten minutes.

Even a piece of wood.

The U.S. lieutenant general chairing the meeting glanced at the only Chinese representative present and asked, "Colonel Jiang, what is your opinion?"

Jiang Xingchen, former captain of the aircraft carrier "Mount Everest". He was currently writing something in his notebook with a silver fountain pen, his voice exceptionally clear through the scratching sound of the pen tip cutting across the paper:

"The final joint command structure will follow the previous structure, with the Chinese and Russian fleets commanded by their respective commanders, the fleets of Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada and Singapore integrated into the US command system, and the UK, France and Germany coordinating the European fleet."

An Indian representative slammed his fist on the table and asked, "What about us?"

Jiang Xingchen said expressionlessly, "As a member of the Commonwealth, I suggest you follow Britain's lead."

“We refuse,” the British representative said hastily.

In this small conference room at the Pentagon, there was an atmosphere that couldn't help but chuckle.

The U.S. lieutenant general gestured with his hand: "India is also a major power, and like Russia, it can act on its own and does not need to share a command system with other countries."

These words reassured the curry-smelling general, who confidently declared, "Our Vikrant carrier fleet is no weaker than any other fleet." The others nodded perfunctorily.
A Canadian naval captain said, "In response to Senior Colonel Jiang's supplement, I suggest dividing the exercise area into three operational zones, without a single overall commander, with each zone led by its respective country."

“That won’t do. The division of responsibility zones is itself a point of contention.” The U.S. lieutenant general interrupted, “Let’s do it Jiang said: the UN First Fleet will be divided into four sub-fleets, each led by a commander from a different country. Whoever fails will be held accountable.”

“General,” Jiang Xingchen’s voice, like lukewarm water, permeated the conference room, “please tell them the specific rules of this exercise first.”

"it is good."

The U.S. lieutenant general stood up, his imposing figure pressing forward, an inexplicable sense of oppression enveloping the attendees: "This exercise will be recorded and broadcast live in its entirety by our spy satellites. At the same time, a large number of speedboats and several reconnaissance aircraft will be present as frontline reporters. Unlike past exercises, this is a live-fire war, and it will be broadcast live globally, with an estimated 40 billion viewers watching online."

The Japanese Self-Defense Force officer gave a wry smile: "This is a battle royale game; let's see which fleet survives to the end."

An Australian general looked at him with disdain: "Where is your Bushido spirit?"

"They were wiped out by the World Anti-Fascist War," the Self-Defense Force officer said bluntly.

The German general standing nearby covered his face and remained silent upon hearing this.

The U.S. military will continue to say: "Unrestricted shore-based fire support is permitted for this exercise, except for nuclear weapons, and all conventional weapons are allowed to participate in this exercise."

The Russian asked, "Intercontinental ballistic missiles will also work?"

The U.S. lieutenant general replied, "Just don't bring nuclear warheads."

The Russian said, "What should I do if I want to bring it?"

The generals gave him a big thumbs up.

The U.S. lieutenant general added: "In the first ten minutes of the exercise, Wallfacer Luo Qing will appear at the coordinates of 30° North latitude and 160° West longitude. His evasive maneuver range will not exceed a radius of ten kilometers, and he will not retaliate. During this period, we will have the best opportunity to defeat him."

Luo Qing stood on the sea, looking like a wild boss.

"Defeat him? He didn't even lose a drop of health. He's an invincible target." Someone said.

"This is the most interesting part of the live TV broadcast. I'm very curious about the public's reaction. I want to see what they think."

"What if we accidentally blow him up?" This was the question asked by the Indian general, and the meeting room erupted in cheerful laughter.

The U.S. lieutenant general urged the room to quiet down, saying, "Considering the Wallfacer Luo Qing's mobility, I suggest that powerful nations with the resources try to use hypersonic missiles or electromagnetic railguns to strike him."

Sensing the gaze of the U.S. lieutenant general, Jiang Xingchen remained noncommittal.

"And what about in ten minutes?" the young and handsome British general asked.

The U.S. lieutenant general began in a relaxed tone: "He will begin to retaliate."

“OMG…” One military staff officer’s legs went weak.

"Of course, in order to prevent the 'United Nations First Fleet' from losing too badly, the PDC imposed a restriction on Mr. Luo Qing: Luo Qing's counterattack against the First Fleet must last for more than an hour."

"Killing someone with a slow knife is even better."

The meeting room was filled with the smell of smoke, which grew stronger and stronger. Everyone was feeling a bit depressed. Nobody liked to lose face in front of a global live broadcast, but it was part of the plan, and they had to make the mistake.

The French general broke the silence, "I recall that there was intelligence suggesting that the ETO was trying to seize command and control of the 'United Nations First Fleet' and attempted to kill Luo Qing?"

The British general said, "The Pentagon's remote command system has been reinforced with firewalls, but given the existence of the Sophon, all encrypted command may be meaningless."

The U.S. lieutenant general seemed quite relaxed, after all, he had just visited Mirror Canyon with the NATO Supreme Commander the day before. The sheer awe was beyond human imagination; one could only truly appreciate it by experiencing it firsthand: "The ETO can injure Wallfacers with those scrap metal pieces; they're quite capable."

"Sigh." An Italian officer, who was hardly noticeable, spoke up: "I'm really curious, what's the purpose of this exercise? Is it some kind of performance art by cultivators?"

"Don't overthink it, my friend." The Greek representative glanced at the Italian next to him: "This is the first real Wallfacer plan he has implemented since taking office, and we must all support him firmly."

“That’s right,” the U.S. lieutenant general chimed in. “At least our president is becoming a huge fan of his. I suspect that the three aircraft carriers he sponsored were used for his idol-chasing with public funds. I’ll get people in Congress to impeach him—damn it, one of those carriers was my old flame from fifteen years ago when I was captain.”

The Three-Body Problem game.

"Hundreds of macroatoms, not a single one is released targeting living organisms?" Caesar asked incredulously.

King Wen of Zhou: "Unfortunately, no. And we cannot guarantee that even if the macro-atomic structure that targets ordinary organisms exists, it will not threaten Luo Qing. The Lord says: Luo Qing's body structure still conforms to human standards, but it is protected by an incomprehensible energy. In other words, only by finding macro-atoms that target this special energy to stimulate macro-fusion can we effectively kill him."

Caesar asked, "Then what about all the hard work I put into building the Large Hadron Collider?"

Queen Victoria said, "You're quite diligent."

Caesar raised his Roman sword and thrust it at Queen Victoria.

Pope Gregory's scepter blocked him: "Caesar, calm down."

"Your Holiness, my sister died in this attack."

Pope Gregory said, "I know that she died from ball lightning, and according to quantum mechanics, she is either alive or dead."

This statement clearly did not comfort Caesar.

Finally, Qin Shi Huang intervened, interrupting Caesar's feigned grief and indignation: "Calm down, comrades. There is one thing that is still worth affirming. The macro-fusion project can still proceed. The technology brought by the Lord allows us to complete the collision of a large number of macro-atomic nuclei in a short period of time. We still have a considerable number of macro-atomic nuclei whose microscopic structure has not yet been explored. Therefore, we can stimulate all macro-fusion to go all in—this is a high-stakes gamble, like winning the lottery."

"And if you fail?" Caesar asked coldly.

"Prepare for a full-scale attack from the PDC and the cultivators, and be prepared for the organization to fall apart."

"Perhaps it will succeed?" Pope Gregory said, stroking his chin.

"That would be even better. The last variable before the destruction of human civilization will be eliminated, and the world will belong to the Trisolarans."

Qin Shi Huang raised his bronze sword high and, taking advantage of Pope Gregory's inattention, stabbed Queen Victoria to death. He then raised an eyebrow at Caesar.

"I've helped you vent your anger. Please continue to command the next steps."

[1] The Sino-US Pacific War, see *The Three-Body Problem Prequel: Ball Lightning*. This book does not depict this war, but it does show a standoff: specifically, Dongda University uses its macro-fusion technology as a deterrent, leading to the Allied forces' premature withdrawal. Therefore, the actual Pacific War did not break out. The adaptation of this plot in this book is not without reason. Although *The Three-Body Problem* uses the same worldview as *Ball Lightning*, the society depicted in *The Three-Body Problem* is not post-war and shows no signs of war; this can be seen in various details. Liu Cixin likely simply used the *Ball Lightning* background for convenience.

(Regarding updates, excessive updates during the new book period can negatively impact recommendations. The default is usually 4k chapters (2 chapters), but I generally aim for around 5k. After the book is officially released, it will consistently have 8k chapters (3 chapters), striving for 10k per day. This book will be removed from the new book rankings early Monday morning; I hope to break into the top seven before that happens. Thank you so much for your monthly votes! Orz)

Also, there won't be any filler content. The exercise content will be covered in one chapter tomorrow, as it involves a crucial plot twist and is part of the plan.



(End of this chapter)