I, Superman, the Supreme Commander

500 meters underground at the National Academy of Sciences, a honeycomb base.

[Identity confirmed: Alicia Marcus. ]

【Authorization approved! 】

The alloy automatic door opened, and behind the ten-meter-wide door was a huge hall with an area nearly as large as a football field. The dome was forty to fifty meters above the ground, and the space was very open.

Rows of huge metal walls, running through the ceiling and the floor, are neatly spaced in the hall like the bottom plate of a honeycomb.

The wall is divided into countless honeycomb hexagonal grids, which are filled with modular high-performance servers. Star-like indicator lights are dotted all over the gray-black wall surface, like stars shining in the deep universe.

Within the giant wall of servers, hundreds of drones are flying around.

They are robots controlled by an artificial intelligence system, responsible for maintaining this complex and huge computer matrix.

The tens of thousands of servers in the hall form a supercomputer system whose performance exceeds the total of all computers ever made by mankind.

At this point, the equipment is nearly completed.

When Alicia Marcus walked in, she saw a handsome man in a blue-black uniform carrying a module weighing dozens of tons, his eyes emitting lasers, welding it to a server wall under construction.

"What an amazing efficiency..." Alicia whispered to herself.

Although she had seen it many times, she was still shocked every time she saw this man using his super powers to build things.

After welding the module, Zhang Hong slowly descended from the air and stood in front of Alicia.

"Long time no see, Alicia. Do you have any good news for me?"

Zhang Hong smiled faintly.

Alicia nodded slightly.

"Yes. All the 100 volunteers have undergone memory transfer surgery. All the operations were successful, and no abnormalities were found."

Zhang Hong nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. We can start the second phase now. We will open 1000 places. The rest will be arranged in the third phase."

"Don't worry about the number of machines. I have already prepared them for you."

Alicia kept looking at Zhang Hong while he was talking. She noticed that Zhang Hong was a little absent-minded and seemed to be thinking about other things.

"open……"

When there were no outsiders around, Alicia would call Zhang Hong like this. She said softly, "Don't bear all the pressure alone. If there are any problems, we can share them together."

【Especially if you share this with me...】

She added silently in her mind.

Alicia looked directly into Zhang Hong's eyes with a burning gaze, and there was something more than worry in her eyes.

Zhang Hong smiled, avoided her gaze without leaving any trace, and looked at the supercomputer system that was being built nearby.

He said calmly: "What you are doing now has already helped me a lot. The rest, I have to face alone."

"Don't worry, I have everything under control."

After knowing each other for so long, Alicia knows that Zhang Hong is a gentle person on the surface, but actually very stubborn inside. He is very opinionated about the things he believes in and will not be easily shaken.

She knew that since Zhang Hong was unwilling to talk more, it was useless to ask further. So she looked at the huge computer system with Zhang Hong and asked casually, "What is this?"

“The future of humanity.”

"..."

Well, another secret that cannot be told.

Alicia rolled her eyes silently, paused, and changed the subject: "You haven't appeared in public for a long time. Tomorrow is the 100th day of the founding of the Republic. Do you want to attend the commemoration?"

"It's been 100 days... Time flies. Okay, I'll be there."

"Nothing, go ahead and do your work. I have to continue working too."

Zhang Hong waved his hand, indicating Alicia to do as she pleases, and flew back into the air to continue building his super device.

A hint of sadness flashed across Alicia's eyes. She stood there and watched Zhang Hong work silently for a while, then left silently.

The moment the laboratory door closed, Zhang Hong paused and a look of guilt appeared on his face.

He sighed softly and continued to devote himself to his work.

The next day, the government held a grand celebration to celebrate the 100th day of the founding of the Human Republic.

The activities include a military parade, a procession and exhibition, a gala, and a three-day holiday for the whole nation, with free food and drinks provided by the catering industry across the country.

The people were jubilant and the whole country was celebrating together. They were very happy. The last time the atmosphere was so warm was the first few days after the founding of the country.

Zhang Hong also made a speech on television, announcing that he would provide free memory transfer surgery to all citizens, promote a national quality improvement plan, and pass legislation at next year's general assembly to make memory transfer and genetic optimization a basic right and obligation of citizens.

It was also announced that the country will take a series of strong measures to promote population growth and economic recovery.

……

Alan has been very happy and in high spirits recently.

After undergoing the memory transfer surgery, he unexpectedly obtained the qualifications to apply for an official job. After easily passing the assessment, he gloriously became a transport plane pilot for the Wehrmacht field forces.

Not long after, Alan participated in a large-scale blind date event organized by the government and met a gentle, considerate, fair-skinned and beautiful kindergarten teacher.

The two hit it off and fell in love at first sight. They soon developed into a romantic relationship, and then naturally had sex and got engaged.

Happiness came so quickly that Alan felt like he was dreaming.

The woman admired his talent and knowledge very much, and was proud to be a military wife.

Only Alan himself knew that he had no talent at all a month ago.

It was all because of that magical machine and the gift from the great commander that made him what he is today.

Thank the Republic and praise the President!

This weekend, Alan brought his girlfriend to Old John's farm.

"Hey, Papa John. I brought my wife over to see you guys."

"Hello, Father John, my name is Jessica, and I'm a teacher at Morning Star Kindergarten."

"Girl, you are so beautiful! You have made great progress. Don't treat girls badly in the future."

“Jessica, if this kid bullies you in the future, tell me and I will definitely help you get justice!”

"Dad, what are you talking about? Am I, Alan, that kind of person?"

"That's impossible to say."

At the dinner table, old John and Alan and his wife were having a great time, just like a family.

Old John looked at Alan and felt very relieved. In fact, Alan was like his son to him.

Old John and Alan's families all died in the disaster that year. They met by chance in the same survivor group. After going through countless life and death hardships, they became like relatives and friends.

"Dad, thank you for the hospitality. Next time I come to see you, I will definitely bring a single aunt with me and introduce you to a companion!"

"piss off!"

After sending away the giggling and frivolous Alan, Old John closed the door, and the huge farm suddenly became quiet.

An irrepressible feeling of loneliness and sadness suddenly surged into old John's heart, and his cloudy old eyes were immediately covered with tears.

He was so happy just a moment ago, but now he couldn't help feeling sad. Alan's happy look reminded him of his deceased wife and his children who died tragically.

[It would be great if they were still alive...]

Old John went upstairs, locked himself in the bedroom, and tremblingly took out a stack of yellowed photos from the drawer.

A few minutes later, the sound of a man sobbing could be heard in the room.

……

Central lakeside, the President's office building.

Zhang Hong was standing on the second-floor balcony, wearing a dark blue suit, a typical civil servant attire.

He rarely appeared in this office building built specifically for the commander, but today was an exception.

Because the high-tech equipment he developed at the Hive has been completed, he gave himself a day off to rest.

Alice, Claire, Alicia, the veterans who had followed him the longest, were invited here as personal friends to attend his evening party. A group of people drank and chatted on the balcony to keep in touch.

"What are you thinking about?"

A charming figure in a red evening dress walked slowly and gracefully and handed the champagne in her hand to Zhang Hong.

"Thank you, Alice."

Although the appearance is 99% similar, Zhang Hong can still tell at a glance whether the one coming to chat with him is Alice or Alicia.

The red dress Alice wore today was very similar to the one she wore when she first appeared on the big screen, and it perfectly brought out her slender and graceful figure.

Zhang Hong looked at it with admiration, then turned his head to look at the night sky ahead.

He swirled the orange-yellow champagne in his glass, pondered for a while, and said softly, "Alice, do you know how many orphans there are in this country?"

"It should be 485, if I remember correctly..."

"No. It's 5796, more than half of the country's population."

Zhang Hong turned his head and looked at Alice seriously.

"Children, young people, old people. Half of our country has no parents, no children, no spouse. Their entire families have died in that terrible disaster, and they are left alone to live."

Alice was immediately moved, and she could instantly empathize with the heaviness behind Zhang Hong's words.

"Do you know what is the biggest obstacle to our realization of the revival of human civilization?"

“It’s the population.”

"The Republic now has nearly 100 million people, but only half of them are able to reproduce."

"Only one quarter, to be exact, because only women can get pregnant in that half."

"Even if one baby is born each year and all the babies survive, the country can only increase its population by 2500 per year."

"It takes time for a child to grow up. People's childbearing age is limited. How many children can citizens of childbearing age have now?"

"In the old days, the world record for annual population growth was 5%. Let's assume ours is 10%. So how many people will we have in 10 years?"

"Less than 3 people."

“What about 20 years from now?”

"Less than 7 people."

"Even 100 years from now, there will only be 1.2 million people."

“It will take us 80 years to return to the old peak of 120 billion people.”

"This is still an ideal assumption. Considering the birth rate and death rate, the actual time required will only be longer than this."

"It will take at least hundreds of years."

"How many hundreds of years does mankind have? It has only been two hundred years since mankind went from feudal ignorance to modern civilized society."

"In just two hundred years, human society has undergone five industrial revolutions, bringing about earth-shaking changes."

"And then it took less than a decade for humanity to nearly destroy itself."

Zhang Hong stopped talking and glanced around sharply.

At some point, everyone had gathered around him, listening to him quietly.

Zhang Hong looked at the crowd and said solemnly: "I think that mankind should not wait so long at great risk. Humanity should and can achieve revival in our lifetime and reach a level that surpasses the civilization of the old era!"

"Our country, which only has 10,000 people, cannot be called a civilization. It can only be regarded as a spark of civilization."

"It's fragile, so fragile that it only takes a small accident, a natural disaster or a man-made disaster to end it."

"Comrades, we cannot be blinded by the peace and comfort we see now. Humanity has not yet completely escaped the danger of extinction!"

“That’s what I’ve always worried about.”

After Zhang Hong finished speaking, he stopped and observed everyone's reactions.

Everyone was shocked, worried, and confused.

But they all looked at him firmly with eyes full of trust and unreserved support.

After knowing everyone's attitude, Zhang Hong said word by word seriously: "Next, I will take some radical and even some people's view, outrageous and even evil measures to accelerate the revival of human civilization."

"I hope that no matter what, you can continue to believe in me, stand with me, and keep working hard with me."

"Please, everyone!"

After saying this, Zhang Hong bowed sincerely to everyone.

"I believe you!"

Alicia and Alice stood up and spoke excitedly almost one after another.

"Me too!"

"I believe you too!"

Everyone came forward and spoke loudly with excitement.

Finally, everyone's shouts merged into one common voice.

"For the revival of mankind!"

"Follow the commander till death!"

In the crowd, Alicia's beautiful eyes shone with a strange light as she stared at the man in front of her with great enthusiasm. She felt that Zhang Hong's image had become extremely glorious and tall.

She had remained single because she had her heart set on this man, and now she finally understood why he had been avoiding her feelings intentionally or unintentionally.

It turns out that what is in his heart is great love for all mankind!

Alicia suddenly felt ashamed deep inside.

【I am too selfish.】

[I actually want to monopolize his affection alone...]

At this moment, Alicia realized.

From now on, I will no longer be troubled by love affairs.

Because she decided, like this man, to devote all her love to the noble cause of fighting for the liberation of all mankind.

Perhaps this is the best way to love this man.

Becoming his like-minded companion...that would be a unique romance in the world, right?

Thinking of this, Alicia felt relieved.

Zhang Hong had not expected that his unintentional heartfelt words would have such an effect.

He accidentally escaped from the entanglement of a certain woman.

Later, when Zhang Hong noticed this situation, he felt a little disappointed, but more relieved.

After all, the only reason he got together with Alicia was because of his lower body thinking.

There are many reasons why they can't be together.