Bai Zhongqi sat by the window of the train, resting his chin on his hand, looking at the scenery outside the window that was too blurred to even cast shadows.
This was a trackless magnetic levitation supersonic train (TMALST), which had become even more popular than airplanes as a mode of transporting for both short and long distances. By building ground stations, a magnetic field was formed at low altitude to lift hundreds of tons of the train and propel it at high speeds of Mach 1.5 through the air. This technology had caused a sensation as soon as it was introduced into China. Naturally, any technology that Iridium Star brought to Earth was sensational.
Originally, the country had been discussing the economic integration of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, but now, with the advent of the trackless magnetic levitation supersonic train, from the Imperial Capital to the Magic Capital had become a one-hour living circle. In the central areas of China, people could even live in one city and work a thousand miles away in another city.
Earth was becoming smaller.
Xiang Fei, now the Secretary-General of the Star Alliance government, full of ambition, talked with Bai Zhongqi about the current construction plans of the Star Alliance, "Originally, we used high-speed rail to construct the belt and road of the Eurasian Land Bridge, but now we have the trackless magnetic levitation supersonic train, the plan has been revised, and we are now incorporating it into the Star Alliance's global economic development strategy. Building TMALST costs significantly less time and only a fraction of the cost of building high-speed rail, one ten-thousandth to be exact. The Star Alliance decided to start construction from both ends in China and Europe, and then meet in the regions of Western Asia and Central Asia."
Bai Zhongqi smiled slightly but did not speak. He had known the kind of impact TMALST would have from the moment he introduced it to the Star Alliance. The Star Alliance by now was a well-coordinated entity, with tariff-free trade largely realized. Star Alliance, by substantially subsidizing developing countries, such as providing massive amounts of food and other life supplies to impoverished African nations and re-establishing high-tech industries in the previously developed countries, ensured that virtually all nations accepted this new economic order.
China, with its far largest economic scale and the most extensive and advanced industrial scale, was the greatest beneficiary amongst them. However, because the necessity of international comparison had lost its meaning, China's most significant role now was to provide tremendous economic productivity to the Star Alliance after its rapid technology advancements in Iridium Star technology.
Bai Zhongqi had originally set up a massive industrial base on Spratly Island, yet after eight months, the industrial productivity of mainland China had once again surpassed that of Spratly Island, becoming the most important production area of the Star Alliance outside the orbital factories.
Xiang Fei felt incredibly exhilarated about the tremendous achievements the Star Alliance had made in less than a year, but he could not hide his concerns about the imminent war. The more they built, the more they had to lose, and the more they feared the risks.
"Your Majesty, nowadays, the expansion plan of the Universe Army of the Star Alliance is also stretched thin. Although we have acquired nearly three hundred warships in a short time, this scale is still nothing compared to the first wave of Teizene's invasion fleet. What's more troublesome is that our rate of training crew members is not keeping up with our shipbuilding speed. Our crew members are mostly inexperienced rookies, while our adversaries have invaded countless civilizations, are we truly able to defeat our enemies?"
The thoughts of Xiang Fei actually represented those of many people on Earth at the time. The more educated, wealthy, and prestigious groups felt a huge disparity in the strength of the war, whereas the larger population of middle and lower-class citizens remained more optimistic about the war.
When Bai Zhongqi boarded the train, he noted that his transport was not a special train; only six carriages were reserved for him. The rest of the carriages were filled with regular passengers. When the ordinary passengers saw Bai Zhongqi boarding the train, they crowded to take photographs, and many clapped and cheered.
Compared with eight months ago, people's living standards had significantly improved. Fewer people had to exhaust themselves for survival, allowing more people to work moderately and enjoy a better quality of life. Although the destruction of old industries had led to a large number of unemployed, the Star Alliance government and the Chinese government quickly arranged these people for resettlement or to take up newly distributed professions.
People felt life had become more convenient, the world was unified, and the Earth had grown stronger. This might have been partially due to propaganda, but the direct experience of the people was overwhelmingly positive, leading them to be generally optimistic, believing Earth could defeat any enemy.
Bai Zhongqi's eyes shone brightly, his demeanor was subdued, and he spoke to Xiang Fei, "Our enemies, coming from the Danlu Interstellar Cloud, will still take several months to arrive. And by now we have already completed twelve large shipyards, and we will continue to build new ones. We currently have over 100 shipyard units, and in just one month, we can form a task fleet with significant striking power. By the time Teizene's first big fleet arrives, our fleet might be slightly smaller, but not by much.
As for the matter of the crew, I am not worried either. Our crew members are growing rapidly. Moreover, Iridium Star warships do not necessarily require human operation; if necessary, I can command hundreds of warships in battle."
The young man in front of him appeared calm and collected, sometimes seemingly too ordinary, but now and then, Xiang Fei was reminded that every piece of equipment of the Star Alliance was controlled by this man with an incomprehensibly powerful ability. With the Supreme Command in place, the Chancellor of Iridium Star was an omnipotent god of the Star Alliance.
Daring maneuvers during the previous Supernova Explosion, him and his assistant Zero – merely one man and an AI – managed to pull off a heroic mission rescuing the crew aboard the Richelieu.
"One wonders how many within the Star Alliance believe in certain victory because Bai Zhongqi is their leader," Xiang Fei thought to himself.
Getting a group of people to follow one person requires the person to be recognized for their capability, coupled with having a strong charismatic personality. However, people of Earth follow Bai Zhongqi in entirely another manner. Although he appeared as human, people preferred to regard him as an extraordinary, god-like figure.
And increasingly, like the people of Iridium Star, more people from Earth were embracing this view.