Three-body: The Most Competent Wallfacer in History

Shi Mingwei and Belinsky, although they were "rejected candidates" from the Wallfacer selection process, the standard of this selection was so high that only the First Wallfacer could be compared to it.

Even the two "rejected candidates" were among the elite in the Solar System State.

Governing a small star system with only a few hundred thousand inhabitants was a task well within their grasp.

Jiang Yu simply let the two take charge, but he instructed Shi Mingwei, "After you've arranged the reconstruction of Space City, check how the Enbo Star System was exposed."

Exposing a star system to the Dark Forest was a grave crime, and the instigator had to be severely punished.

After the call ended, Shi Mingwei immediately began his plan. He first had someone design the reconstruction scheme and had the Science Academy review it.

Shi Mingwei also ordered nearby human worlds to send ships to aid the refugees of the Enbo Star System and mobilized forces from the New Continent Star System to provide support.

However, this aid would take ten or more years, or even decades to arrive, and could not be relied on for the present.

When it became clear that there was no time to produce large energy systems, Shi Mingwei simply dismantled the main energy systems on the planet and transported them to space to equip two Space Cities.

As for the high-thrust nuclear engines, there was no shortcut; they had to be manufactured as quickly as possible.

To expedite progress, Shi Mingwei did not hesitate to dismantle any existing equipment or property in the Enbo Star System that could be used for the reconstruction, and then repurpose it.

The entire Enbo Star System was mobilized by Shi Mingwei, although some people had strong opinions about his methods.

They were mostly either shareholders of the monopolistic companies of the Enbo Star System or officials from the former Governor's Mansion.

Soon, a rumor spread across the Enbo Star System, claiming that the arrival of a Wallfacer invited the Dark Forest Strike.

This was not an unfounded accusation; the trajectory left by Jiang Yu's visiting fleet was nearly the sum of the Enbo Star System's prior trajectories, naturally increasing the risk of exposure.

Shi Mingwei immediately came out to debunk the rumor, "The Wallfacer first visited Starship Earth—why then didn't Starship Earth's star system suffer a Dark Forest Strike?"

A few days later, Shi Mingwei revealed the real reason behind the Dark Forest Strike: someone's actions in space caused a star to flicker briefly, revealing the existence of the Enbo Star System.

As a result, Shi Mingwei arrested a large number of the rumor-mongers and even had several executed, claiming they maligned the Wallfacer to shirk responsibility.

Suddenly, no one dared to speak Rashly anymore, and Shi Mingwei was quite satisfied with this outcome.

No matter the cause of the Dark Forest Strike, it was a time for unity and collective response. Those who were spreading malicious gossip and hindering progress had to be dealt with.

The executed individuals had only themselves to blame. Had there been significant progress in the reconstruction work, Shi Mingwei would not have taken such drastic measures.

Indeed, the supposed "actions in space that caused a star to briefly flicker, revealing the Enbo Star System" were fabrications concocted by Shi Mingwei as the reason for the exposure.

The investigation continued, but the special task force established by Shi Mingwei had yet to find out who exposed the Enbo Star System.

Six months later, the two refurbished Space Cities were nearly complete.

It was only then that Shi Mingwei reported to Jiang Yu, "After months of investigation, we can now almost confirm that it was not the people of the Enbo Star System who exposed their own system's location."

The task force checked all the departure records of the recent years and had Galaxy III examine the backend logs of all departing ships.

Every operation of the ship could be found in these logs, and no exposing actions were identified.

The task force also conducted a thorough investigation on the main planet of the Enbo Star System. There were basically only two methods for the star system to expose itself: either through gravitational wave broadcasts or by using the star to amplify radio signals.

In the Enbo Star System, there weren't many gravitational wave communication systems, and even fewer radio transmission antennas, so they weren't very difficult to investigate.

Galaxy III checked a massive amount of surveillance footage, and the special task force also conducted targeted interrogations of key personnel but didn't find anyone who had come into contact with these signal devices or engaged in any suspicious activities.

This was somewhat beyond Jiang Yu's expectations, "There are two other ways that could have exposed the Enbo Star System, one is the Trisolarans, and the other is other human worlds."

In the past, when various fleets embarked on interstellar voyages, they deliberately passed through detected Sophon Blind Zones.

But as to whether they had truly shaken off Sophon's tracking, no one could say for sure.

The New Continent Star System also had many people who knew the location of the Enbo Star System.

In the face of the Dark Forest, the Enbo Star System exercised basic caution; its location was not exposed to other Federal Star Systems.

And the New Continent Star System was careful enough that the locations of Starship Earth and the six Federal Star Systems remained classified information, accessed only when necessary for work.

The number of people who knew the exact location of the Enbo Star System wasn't very large.

Shi Mingwei analyzed, "It's hard to investigate the Trisolarans' side, but we can focus on investigating those in the know on Blue Maiden Star. If we still can't find anything, it's very likely the Trisolarans or another civilization has performed a cosmic broadcast targeting the Enbo Star System."

He paused and then said, "Theoretically, the likelihood of the Trisolarans is not great.

"Hmm, 53 years after taking cover, the Ninth Fleet reached the Enbo Star System, which was over a century ago.

"If it were Sophon from the Trisolarans, following the Ninth Fleet all the way here, why didn't it perform a cosmic broadcast in the previous hundred years but waited until now?

"Besides, Sophon could obtain the position of the New Continent Star System through a computer; we were already exposed a long time ago.

"Yet, we didn't experience a Dark Forest Strike, so I think it's unlikely to be the Trisolarans' doing."

Jiang Yu nodded, "You don't need to worry about the subsequent investigation; let the special task force prepare to hand it over. I'll have Number Three look into it."

This investigation wouldn't produce results in a day or two; half a month later, the refurbished Space City was running smoothly during its trial operation.

Under Shi Mingwei's organization, people began to evacuate in an orderly fashion.

Space City was slow; sixteen astronomical units was a considerable distance for it and required a departure half a year in advance.

At the moment Space City began to accelerate, many people looked out the windows at the planet of their birth and upbringing, and tears flowed.

Their homeland was about to be destroyed; before, everyone had been focused on escaping and hadn't felt much.

Only when it was time to leave did they feel the attachment to their homeland.

The buildings on the planet became the tombstones of this homeland.

Today, anything useful in the cities had been dismantled, after all, this planet was going to be completely destroyed in a future Dark Forest Strike.

Shi Mingwei prohibited bringing anything impractical, and then everyone realized that most things they cherished normally were of no use when faced with the Dark Forest.

Then people comforted themselves: As long as people survive, that's enough to build a new homeland.

Many suddenly realized that their thoughts and reflections had undergone a tremendous change.