A Colossus rushes in at the start

Chapter 39 This world is too dreamlike

If you had the chance to go to a world without exploitation, oppression, or class distinctions, would you go?

If there were such a world, where you would become a "god" who could grant any wish, never having to worry about poverty, food, clothing, shelter, or transportation, never having to fear illness, and never having to be a subservient person trampled underfoot by others, where you could do whatever you wanted, would you be willing to give up everything and go there?

If you had a choice where you could achieve the happy life you truly desire without having to struggle endlessly every day and face fierce competition, what would you choose?

In the past, if anyone asked such a question, the Banner people on Bratan would just think that the other person was a little bit crazy.

But now, this very issue is truly before them, forcing them to make a choice.

All of this is because of the "love and dreams" proposed by the Babel bee swarm.

By using biotechnology to connect the brain and using hormones and other chemical substances to regulate and influence the five senses, swarms of bees can construct one or more illusory worlds. In the reality of those illusions, the swarm can satisfy all of that person's needs, since illusions do not require many resources to be generated.

Of course, the satisfaction is all illusory, but if a person is immersed in that illusory reality from birth to death, from his personal perspective, it may not be an unrealistic one.

……

At the interstellar airport on Bratan, a group of Banner people gathered at the entrance, while opposite them was a group of heavily armed soldiers.

The heavy individual armor and the large firearms with a caliber equivalent to half a human face all exuded a dangerous aura, sending chills down one's spine.

However, the Bannermen gathered there were not afraid. The Bannerman at the front tried to force his way past the soldiers' blockade, but was grabbed by the arm and could not break free no matter how hard he struggled.

"Let me go! Let me through! I want to be the one to answer the call of the Babel swarm!" Banner angrily pounded on the metal arm that was holding his arm.

However, his behavior was meaningless; it served no purpose other than letting others know that he was angry.

The soldier inside his individual armor earnestly advised, "Wake up! You'll only become food for those swarming bees if you go!"

"So what? We'll get eaten wherever we are! It's all the same!"

As he spoke, the Banner man struggled even more angrily, shouting, "Let me through!"

The soldiers, clad in individual armor, are now in a dilemma: their orders are to avoid harming the group and minimize bloodshed.

However, given the current situation, it's impossible to avoid bloodshed.

If possible, the soldiers would rather go to the battlefield than continue this blocking mission; it was simply too disgusting for them.

Amidst the noisy and bustling environment of the Banner people, a faint sound of something cutting through the air could be heard.

As time went on, the sound of something cutting through the air became more and more distinct, attracting the attention of everyone present.

All eyes converged as a small spaceship approached from a distance. After the small spaceship came to a stop on the tarmac, a Banner stepped out of it.

Anyone with a discerning eye could immediately recognize the man's identity; he was the general they often saw in the news, the one in charge of the planetary defense system.

Knowing his identity, the group of unruly civilians readily made way for the general to pass.

The general stood opposite the soldiers and then ordered, "That's enough, let them pass."

"Yes, General!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the soldiers saluted the general in unison and then cleared away the roadblocks set up at the entrance to the interstellar airport.

The Bannermen who had been waiting at the entrance for a long time surged towards the various spaceships at the airport like wild horses.

Seeing this crazy scene, the secretary accompanying the general showed a hesitant expression.

"General..."

The accompanying secretary hesitated, but ultimately didn't ask any further questions.

The general said, "Ask me any questions you may have."

"Is it really a good idea to let them pass like this?" the accompanying secretary asked.

The sudden change in the Babel bee swarm, preaching "love and dreams," did not lower the secretary's guard; instead, it made him feel that there was a strong sense of conspiracy involved.

The accompanying secretary simply couldn't believe that the Babel bees were acting out of goodwill.

What kind of love and dreams can a bloodthirsty and brutal bee swarm talk about with others?

What kind of interstellar joke is this?

"This is the governor's order," the general replied calmly, watching as large spaceships departed the planet from the interstellar airport.

After leaving the atmosphere, these spaceships will move toward the planetary life forms left behind by the swarm of bee-like creatures in this star system.

Following the general's gaze, the accompanying secretary also looked at the rows of spaceships taking off and couldn't help but sigh, saying, "I don't understand why the governor would issue such an order."

The general explained, "The reason isn't as complicated as you think. No matter who is the governor, they really have no choice in the current situation."

With the Tower of Babel swarm pressing down on them, and despite the swarm's promises that they would never attack infected planets, who can guarantee that they will never actually attack?

Below them were unruly commoners who, after hearing the beautiful illusions of the world touted by the Tower of Babel bees and reflecting on their own suffering in the real world, were naturally willing to risk their lives to defect to the enemy.

With such a pincer attack from above and below, would changing the governor really make things better?

The accompanying secretary cautiously inquired, "Can you discern the purpose behind the Babel bee colony's actions?"

The general then chuckled and said, "How could I possibly tell? I'm not a swarm of bees. Maybe they really are doing these things out of love and dreams."

……

Lu Shang asked within the swarm network, "How many people have been contained so far?"

"4311, not many people," the planetary being in charge of the matter replied.

Lu Shang wasn't as dissatisfied as the planetary creatures expected. He calmly said, "No rush. I anticipated that not many people would be willing to accept containment at the beginning."

"Now that the seeds have been sown, time will make it increasingly difficult for them to suppress their impulses," Lu Shang said.

The planetary creature, only half-understanding, couldn't help but ask, "And then?"

Lu Shang looked puzzled and said, "And then? What else is there? Once the plan reached that stage, the war between the Swarm and the Star River Alliance was over."

"???" The planetary creature was stunned for a moment, completely baffled by the logic behind this.

"I don't understand."

Lu Shang said, "I've said before that we should make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible."

"Those aliens who are willing to be accepted into our camp are naturally our friends."

"When 99% of a civilization are our friends, does the attitude of the remaining 1% even matter?"

What Lu Shang did was to immerse all the main civilizations of the Star River Alliance in a beautiful illusion.

Once this is achieved, the Star Alliance will no longer pose a threat to the hive.

Since history is created by the people, the progress of a vast interstellar civilization is naturally inseparable from the contributions of each individual to the collective civilization.

So, what if Lu Shang used technological means to seize control of the "people" of the Star River Alliance?

(End of this chapter)