Chapter 263

This interview was edited into the news and played repeatedly within the Foot-Basin Chicken.

Meanwhile, another kind of change was quietly taking place.

In the Shibuya district of Tokyo, a residential building damaged by the war.

Three days ago, this place was still a ruin, but now...

"Make way! The cement truck is here!"

Two Giant Spirit engineering mechs were at work; their mechanical arms precisely hoisted prefabricated wall panels, while another mech welded the steel structure.

Below the building, the original residents lined up to register.

"Yamamoto family, originally lived in room 302, right?" The Longguo staff checked the list.

"The new room is 502, ten square meters larger than the original, with a private bathroom. Take your keys."

"Th-thank you..." Mrs. Yamamoto took the keys, unable to believe it, "Is it really... free?"

"Free. But you have to sign an agreement not to sublet or sell it within five years. Just live well."

"I will! I will!"

She ran to the new building, looked up at the structure that had already reached the tenth floor, and tears streamed down her face.

Similar reconstruction projects were launched simultaneously in seventeen major cities including Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.

Longguo's engineering mechs built a building in three days and repaired a road in seven.

Even more critical was the infrastructure.

"Xuanming Power Grid connection complete!" The power company engineer tested the equipment on the street, "Starting today, the electricity price in this area is reduced to one-tenth of the original!"

"Tap water purification system upgrade complete! Direct drinking water standard reached Longguo Level 1!"

"Fiber optic network installation complete! Internet speed increased to gigabit, free for the first three months!"

These improvements to people's livelihoods were made into a special report titled "New Life, New Beginning."

In the report, a Foot-Basin Chicken high school student said to the camera: "My family's monthly electricity bill used to be 20,000 yen, now it's only 2,000."

"With the money saved, Mom said she would buy me a new computer... Longguo's computers are cheap and easy to use."

The reporter asked: "So how do you view Longguo now?"

The high school student thought for a moment: "At least... they keep their word. They said they'd lower prices, and they did; they said they'd build houses, and they did."

At the end of the report, the host concluded:

"When the madmen are judged and the lies are exposed, people will ultimately choose a tangible life."

In the evening, at the Longyin Control Center.

Chen Guang stared at the "Social Risk Assessment System" interface of Torch Dragon-3.

The screen displayed the screening results for all captives and Foot-Basin Chicken public officials; a total of 230,000 people were listed for a "three-year observation period."

"The screening criteria are three: whether they participated in the attack, whether they incited hatred, and whether they embezzled war reparations," Chen Guang reported.

"The current pass rate is 71%; the remaining 29% will be continuously monitored, and if there are any issues, they will be tried at any time."

"What about the 70% who passed?" Feng Yan asked.

"They can live normally, but their political rights will be restricted. They cannot hold public office, organize rallies, or assemble for five years, but they can work, do business, and receive education."

Wang Hao muttered on the side: "This is even more lenient than how we treated traitors back in the day."

"Times have changed," Zhao Kaiyuan's holographic projection said, "What we need now is stability and development, not endless revenge."

As they were talking, Li Yang sent a video communication back from Tokyo.

He stood on the roof of a newly built residential building, with the city under the sunset in the background.

"President, the reconstruction progress is faster than expected. Also... there's a new situation."

"Speak."

"The young people of the Foot-Basin Chicken have started to spontaneously organize study groups." Li Yang pulled up a few photos.

In the classroom, dozens of young people were learning Chinese; the textbook was Longguo's "Modern Chinese."

"They say they want to integrate into the new era."

Feng Yan smiled: "This is a good thing."

"There's even better news," Li Yang paused, "On social media, the number one trending topic in the Foot-Basin Chicken is currently..."

He cast the screen over.

On the homepage of the largest social platform in the Foot-Basin Chicken, the most prominent entry was:

#Being a Longguo citizen seems pretty good#

Clicking into it, the popular post was written by an ordinary office worker:

"I used to have a monthly salary of 300,000 yen, rent was 100,000, electricity was 20,000, transportation was 30,000, food was 50,000... the remaining 100,000 had to be saved for retirement, I didn't dare to spend anything."

"Now: the monthly salary is still 300,000 (but converted to 15,000 Long coins), rent dropped to 50,000 (because Longguo came and built many new buildings), electricity is 2,000, transportation is the same, food... Longguo-produced food is cheap and delicious, 30,000 is enough."

"I calculated it, I can save 50,000 more every month. I can buy a new car next year."

"And public safety has improved; the streets are full of Longguo police mechs, robberies and theft have basically disappeared."

"So... being a Longguo citizen, it really seems pretty good?"

The comments below were mixed:

"But we lost our country..."

"What is a country? Can you eat it?"

"At least I dare to go out at night now."

"My daughter speaks Chinese more fluently than Japanese now..."

"The history teacher said in class today that those right-wing elements were sinners of the old era, and we are all new-era Longguo people who must look forward."

Feng Yan finished reading and remained silent for a long time.

Then he said: "Notify the highest level."

"The conditions for the establishment of Sakura Province are ripe."

At eight o'clock that night, the highest meeting of Longguo passed a resolution:

Effective immediately, the original Foot-Basin Chicken territory is designated as Longguo's "Dongying Special Administrative Region," with a three-year transition period, after which it will be officially upgraded to Longguo's "Sakura Province."

The moment the news was announced, the world was in an uproar.

But within the Dongying Special Administrative Region, the reaction was unexpectedly calm.

In street interviews, most of the public said:

"I guessed it a long time ago."

"Anyway, we can't win, might as well live a good life."

"At least the electricity bill is cheaper..."

And within Longguo, the number one trending topic became:

#Welcome Sakura Province compatriots#

The accompanying image was a photo of cherry blossoms in full bloom, with small text below:

"From now on, the mountains and rivers are unified, and there will be no more war."

Late at night, at the Longyin cafeteria.

The core team was rarely all present; even Zhao Gong sent a holographic projection back from the Moon Base.

Feng Yan raised his teacup: "Using tea instead of wine, a toast to these three days."

"A toast to the trial," Li Yang said.

"A toast to the reconstruction," Chen Guang said.

"A toast to... finally being able to sleep soundly," Wang Hao yawned.

Zhao Kaiyuan smiled: "The one we should toast most is technology—without Torch Dragon-3, the trial wouldn't have been so smooth; without engineering mechs, the reconstruction wouldn't have been so fast; without the Xuanming Power Grid, people's hearts wouldn't have been so easily won over."

"So," Zhao Gong puffed on his pipe, "those of us who do technology have also done something right."

Everyone laughed.

While laughing, Chen Guang suddenly said:

"Torch Dragon-3 just updated the deep space monitoring data."

Everyone quieted down.

"The brightness of Proxima Centauri has dropped by another 0.3% in the past twenty-four hours."

"The Harvesters' propulsion speed is constantly increasing."

Feng Yan put down his teacup and looked at the starry sky outside the window.

"Internal troubles have been quelled."

"Next—"

He said softly:

"It's time to prepare for war with all our might."