Chapter 105: Relocation Complete
Chapter 105: Relocation Complete
The first group selected to move back to the surface from the Underground Shelter Cities totaled two hundred million people.
Partners of those selected were automatically granted relocation rights too.
Around two hundred sixty million people would become the first residents to leave the Underground Shelter Cities and resettle on the surface.
This seemed like a large number, yet when spread across the current 225 Surface Cities,
each city averaged only just over one million new residents.
Compared to the planned final capacity of twenty million per Surface City,
this initial settlement felt somewhat sparse in the already-built, functioning residential areas.
Still, as these people formally began returning from the Underground Shelter Cities to the surface,
life finally started truly stirring within the Surface Cities once more.
…
When the names of the first group returning surface-ward were drawn,
inside every Underground Shelter City, just like when humanity had first migrated underground,
the grand migration of Human Civilization began anew, unfolding with immense momentum.
However—the move underground had been marked by uncertainty about the future, dread of the Doomsday Crisis, and hurried anxiety along the journey.
This time, leaving the Underground Refuge City for the surface,
people mostly felt anticipation and excitement, like seeing the blazing sun after days of rain.
The only nervousness felt like a case of “home-approaching unease”—a familiar yet strange flutter in the chest.
The Strong Artificial Intelligence from the Brain Intelligence Project, as requested by the Negentropy Research Institute,
added Underground Rail Transit routes connecting every Underground Shelter City to the surface.
Those who secured the first relocation permits gradually received messages from the Urban Intelligent System notifying them they could depart.
Leaving homes occupied for over a decade in the Underground Shelter Cities,
people inevitably felt nostalgic.
“…Wonder if anyone else will move into my place down here later.”
“Lived here so long… feels bittersweet leaving all this familiarity. But honestly? I hope we only come back as tourists someday.”
Online, people sent such messages to old friends.
Aboard the Underground Rail Transit trains linking the shelters to the surface,
these days saw every seat filled with returnees.
Before departure and during the initial journey,
excitement ran high. Eager, even hyper individuals chatted animatedly about their surface plans.
The cheerful mood had strangers in the same carriage talking together.
On most trains, though,
as they neared the surface, a quietness settled over the passengers.
Maybe it was that “home-approaching unease,” emotions tangled too thick for words. Or maybe they just stared too intently at the passing world outside the windows to speak.
Upon arriving surface-side and exiting the Underground Rail Stations,
many paused in the open-air plazas outside.
They simply stood bathed in sunlight, gazing at the ordinary sky and the city built upon the land, their eyes distant, almost dazed.
Though “day-trip” permits back to the surface had existed before the Surface Cities were built,
only a tiny fraction compared to the over two hundred million now migrating had gotten them.
For most, this was their first time stepping onto the surface since entering the Underground Shelter Cities over a decade ago.
In that first moment back, everything felt unreal, like lifetimes had passed.
Many felt intense joy mixed with an unstoppable swell of sadness.
Above ground,
as returnees flowed into the Surface Cities’ living districts,
passengers finally filled the automated smart cars humming along pre-launched routes.
Diners powered by Intelligent Machinery welcomed actual customers once more.
Some emerging from the shelters settled in the nearest Surface City.
Others set out on journeys toward their true homes.
After all, during the initial migration underground, not everyone had entered the shelter linked to their original city.
Many now returning chose to resettle in rebuilt Surface Cities closer to their pre-crisis hometowns.
Likewise,
old friends were often sent to different shelters back then.
While online connections were restored swiftly after the Doomsday Crisis began,
real in-person reunions had to wait till this surface return.
Some welcomed friends unseen for a decade in their new city.
Others, after settling in, traveled to another city for that long-awaited meeting.
Reunited after over ten years apart—separated by the Doomsday Crisis—many old friends just stared silently at first.
Eventually, they’d simply clasp each other’s shoulders, murmuring,
“We’re finally back on solid ground.”
With the first group surfaced, a second, then a third wave soon followed.
The Smart Industrial Zones within Surface Cities grew steadily more complete, and construction of new living districts accelerated rapidly.
Naturally, the intervals between the second, third, and subsequent relocation batches steadily shrunk.
During this time,
both the real world and the Human Civilization’s online spaces buzzed constantly.
News agencies, led by Huaxin News Agency, continuously updated the relocation progress.
Those already surface-side eagerly shared snippets of their new lives online.
“…Back topside! Living quarters feel like the shelter ones. Tried sunbathing on the balcony today. My home service bot cut me off after just half an hour. Gotta say though—sun’s way fiercer than before!”
“…Met up with an old pal today. So much to talk about.”
“…Dang it, mocking me ’cause I’m still stuck underground! Save some sunshine for me! I wanna bake till my skin PEELS!”
The mood online grew undeniably lighthearted.
No one needed reminding—people sensed it clearly. The shadow of the Doomsday Crisis,
truly, began clearly fading away once the migrations to the surface began in earnest.
Finally, time reached the end of the year 299.
Winter, Year 299.
As continuous waves of people moving back from underground began living normally in the Surface Cities,
the construction of all 225 giant Surface Cities, thanks to the era’s massive industrial power poured into them,
was finally completely finished.
The living districts within each Surface City were almost fully developed.
The inter-city rail links between the various Surface Cities,
relying on SW281 material, saw extensive new Superconducting Maglev Train lines built.
The average speed of these Superconducting Maglev Trains stayed steady at about 900 kilometers per hour, further reducing travel restrictions between the Surface Cities.
By this time, besides running smoothly and orderly under Intelligent Programs and Strong Artificial Intelligence,
the Surface Cities were also gaining a lively feel as more and more people chose to live there permanently.
By this time,
after many waves of people moving back to the surface,
the permanent population living above ground had almost caught up with the number inside the Underground Shelter Cities.
By this time,
there was no more need to select “the next batch” of people to return to the surface, like before.
Huaxin News Agency, with authorization, released a new announcement.
“…According to information from the Negentropy Research Institute and related plans.”
“At present, all 225 Surface Cities have completed this phase of construction.”
“Simultaneously, after multiple sustained relocation phases, the total permanent population now residing in the Surface Cities has reached 1.8 billion.”
“Relevant research teams at the Negentropy Research Institute confirm that the full-scale relocation plan can now begin.”
“…Therefore, effective immediately, we will commence the collective relocation of all remaining personnel from the Underground Shelter Cities to the Surface Cities.”
“All individuals currently residing in the Underground Shelter Cities who wish to return to the surface are requested to prepare accordingly.”
“If you wish to continue living in the Underground Shelter Cities, please submit your application immediately upon receiving this announcement to your local Underground Shelter City’s Urban Intelligent System.”
“According to the Negentropy Research Institute’s plan, we aim to complete the final collective relocation program from the Underground Refuge Cities to the Surface, ideally before the Spring Festival.”
After this announcement,
both online and in the real world, the atmosphere became increasingly buzzing with excitement.
For the vast majority of people, this was definitely exciting news.
“Whew, finally time to move back to the surface! I heard there are fish in the ocean again? I need to go see for myself then!”
“Come on up, friends! I’ve been living on the surface for almost a year now. Gotta say, life topside really is much better!”
“The Surface Cities are bustling now. I went to a shopping mall yesterday – packed with people! Intelligent Robots were scrambling everywhere.”
“Studied at Lingchuan University for nearly a year now… lying by the university lake after classes, just watching the sunset feels amazing.”
“Almost there… my move back to the surface is tomorrow. Already have my service robot packing my bags.”
…
At this point,
the plan for migration back to the surface from the Underground Shelter Cities, developed by the Negentropy Research Institute, reached its final sprint towards completion.
Everything within the Surface Cities was prepared to receive the remaining population from the Underground Shelters.
Purely moving the leftover people underground back to the surface presented virtually no real challenge to Human Civilization anymore.
Strong Artificial Intelligence coordinated the Underground Rail Transit below ground, surface transport above,
and traffic within the Underground Shelter Cities with extreme efficiency.
Batch by batch, people were swiftly transported from the Underground Shelters to the surface and assigned to various districts within the Surface Cities.
Unlike the earliest waves returning to the surface,
people now had plenty of exposure to information about life in the Surface Cities.
Faced with already bustling and thriving Surface Cities, they needed little time to adjust and naturally blended right in.
In the end,
the entire resurfacing plan perfectly met the Negentropy Research Institute’s expectations.
Before the arrival of the next year’s Spring Festival,
it declared the complete success of the Human Civilization resurfacing plan.
Finally,
the vast majority of people in Human Civilization had returned to the surface, living, studying, and conducting research within the rebuilt Surface Cities.
The leadership of the Negentropy Research Institute, considering various factors, moved last,
relocating back to the surface from the various Underground Shelter Cities after the general populace had moved.
Ultimately, the Negentropy Research Institute decided that its main body, including Research Institute 011 and the Energy and Power Research Institute, would remain situated in Lingchuan City.
Naturally, other research institutes and teams previously distributed in different Underground Shelter Cities
also didn’t all return to Lingchuan City at this point. Instead, they remained stationed in the Surface Cities corresponding to their former underground locations.
After all, with current transportation and communication methods, collaboration between different teams of the Negentropy Research Institute remained quite manageable even across different cities.
However, unlike the time before the Doomsday Crisis,
the Institute’s locations were no longer hidden or secretive.
Because, by then, besides a few extremely twisted individuals, there were basically no organized, systemic enemies left for the Negentropy Research Institute to worry about.
Many things that once required secrecy simply lost their need for classification once almost the entire civilization stood united.
Furthermore,
the Underground Shelter Cities didn’t completely shut down after this.
Industrial clusters that didn’t need to move out remained operational within them,
and the transportation links connecting the Underground Shelters to the surface stayed open.
A small number of people voluntarily chose to keep living in the Underground Shelter Cities.
Their choice was respected; once Medical Robots confirmed their mental state was normal, they were allowed to stay.
After all, traveling between the Underground Refuge City and the surface via Underground Rail Transit took less than twenty minutes.
For people, the most important thing was never specifically about returning to the surface. It was about having the choice to live somewhere besides underground.
It could be said,
even after the relocation plan, the Underground Shelter Cities were not completely erased from Human Civilization.
They simply no longer constituted the entirety of it, but a much smaller part.
Perhaps,
before long, these Underground Shelter Cities might even become tourist destinations.
…
That year,
following the population recovery plan initiated after the Doomsday Crisis, starting in Year 284,
by the time Humanity completed the move back to the surface, the total population of Human Civilization had grown
from 2.2 billion immediately after the Doomsday Crisis ended,
back up to 3.7 billion.
In terms of recovery post-Doomsday Crisis, Humanity’s population base truly bounced back very fast.
And as the collective desire cherished since the Doomsday Crisis – the return to the surface from the Underground Shelters – became reality,
a full sixteen years later,
Human Civilization had finally, and decisively, overcome the Doomsday Crisis brought by Asteroid 2801!
…
Before the Spring Festival that year,
the leaders of the returned Negentropy Research Institute, heads of its various institutes, Qin Yu, and other key figures from the Civilization gathered once more
for the largest meeting held up to that point.
At this meeting organized by the Negentropy Research Institute,
some major decisions were made.
The Negentropy Research Institute’s previously led surface resettlement plan had been Humanity’s response to the past Doomsday Crisis.
With that response to past disaster concluded,
it was natural to turn attention towards the future of Human Civilization.
These decisions pertained to Human Civilization as a whole, and also to the Negentropy Research Institute.
The proceedings of this Negentropy Research Institute meeting
were largely conducted openly.
People were quite certain
that the decisions finalized at this meeting would shape the future of Human Civilization.
And so,
under the gaze of countless people, watched by the entire civilization,
the Negentropy Research Institute authorized Huaxin News Agency to release several announcements.
It was also confirmed that the Head of the Negentropy Research Institute, Academician Qin Yu, would address all of Human Civilization via a live broadcast to announce these matters.