Shen Long chatted freely, enjoying his time which he painstakingly earned from clearing levels in the dungeon. Shen Long, of course, was not aware of Earth's chaotic situation where his whole family and the entire planet were in great danger. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise for Shen Long, so then he can wholeheartedly commit to his training.
Shen Long didn't have any supernatural instinct either, so there was no way for him to find out. Although Daoist Fireblade promised Shen Long that he would keep an eye on Earth, he wouldn't spot anything out of the ordinary as everything happened within the planet. The essence of the Earth, just like before, would not permit any foreigner, regardless of cultivation level, to spy on Earth, as it was ought to protect Earth.
(Author Note: The essence of the Earth, as mentioned in the early chapters, prevent any foreigner from entering, until the planet is bound by an owner. Even though Daoist Fireblade originated from Earth, he was categorized as a foreigner due to the fact that he didn't ascend to an immortal in Earth, but somewhere else in the cultivation world.)
Ironically, it did the complete opposite. This barrier even shattered the very last hope of mankind. They couldn't depend on their godly cultivator, Shen Long, and it basically ruined the whole planet. Whether they could survive through this disaster depended on themselves. The power of mankind could not be underestimated either. Perhaps unity of all humans could lead them to victory in this unavoidable battle against machines and AIs.
Or, Shen Long could somehow reach peak-Demigod realm, and then Daoist Fireblade would undoubtedly send Shen Long back to Earth, preparing for his breakthrough on Earth. However, it would be nearly impossible for Shen Long to reach that stage since comprehension of the Daos could not be rushed. To breakthrough to an Immortal, one must master a Dao. Since Shen Long sought to walk down the path of Balance, this road would be even more arduous.
Meanwhile, on Earth, there was an emergency meeting, held in every country. This decision, however, wasn't planned or coordinated as all communication system had been shut down - thanks to the robots. The emergency meeting was lead by government officials, mainly discussing issues such as food shortages and their future plans.
The emergency meeting had surprised the public as they didn't expect the officials to be so amicable. Their charisma and confidence while leading the discussion were respected by the public, worthy of their ex-status as politicians. Even though they were also anxious about the situation, they were able to put away their worries, dealing with problems, instead of complaining and achieving nothing.
"Our biggest problem right now is that we are disconnected from the world. Being isolated will definitely have devastating effects as this war continues on. Only if we can find more allies, our chance of surviving will increase. Even though the robots said they won't exterminate all of us, I'm sure they won't be nice to us either." The official addressed the problem logically as he explained to the crowd.
"This is a war, and there's only one way for us to reclaim our planet, and it's to kill and destroy every AI and machine. All the technology and machines are gone now, and we are by ourselves. Since the industrial revolution, we have been overly dependant on these machines. We've lost our greatest innovation, and it is, without a doubt, going to be hard on us for the next few years, possibly decades, to survive. Are you willing to fight this battle for mankind, for humanity, for our dignity?"
The spirit of the citizens instantly rose up as their blood boiled. They were determined to survive, to fight it out with the robots, willing to sacrifice their all for this victory.
Government officials smiled bitterly, seeing that everyone felt more motivated. They knew how difficult this battle would be, and how unlikely that they would actually succeed in reclaiming Earth. Right now, they knew too little information, besides that their machines could, basically, instantly slaughter them all.
They may not even have a chance to fight, to retaliate. The situation was looking grim for humans, as it was extremely one-sided. The military power wasn't available to them, as these major buildings were all destroyed; it was impossible for them to train an army neither, as none of them had received proper training. The worst thing, they couldn't even manufacture any high-end weapons as they all required technology.
Since every factory was replaced with "Smart" machines and capital after the technology advancement, they really were left with nothing. Crafting swords and weapons wouldn't be any use against guns. Even if there were some professionals amongst the group, the materials were basically impossible to obtain, to make any firearm.
However, the most worrying issue was the upcoming severe food shortage. Food was limited, and it was basically impossible to find any new food source. Agriculture was impossible, especially there weren't any available land. To plant food, they must clear away the broken buildings, and implement many farming-specific procedures, to ensure that their crops could grow properly.
Even if they luckily found available land, and could implement irrigation system, time was also lacking. Farming required time, as crops couldn't grow instantly, even with the genetically-modified seeds and fertilizers. Thus, this situation had left the officials in plight as it seemed to have no solution.
The only thing they could do right now was to collect everyone's food. This way, they could have a better idea of the situation regarding food, and they could utilize this information to do some rough estimations. Although people were reluctant to hand out their food, everyone agreed at the end.
Hanwu Town, Beijing, China.
Shen Long's parents were both, fortunately, alive, though the situation was identical. The government official delivered a speech, collected their food, consoled them a little - basically what every other small group did. As the saying goes, great minds think alike. All these officials knew that this was the best they could do at this moment.
Since the unloyal citizens had all been killed by the mysterious AI and Kalea, all humans were united and determined to fight these battles. They suppressed their logical and rational side - analysing the situation and realising that this battle is unwinnable - and they chose to believe in themselves and listen to their leaders.
(Author's Note: Leaders refer to the officials, which unknowingly took up the leadership position as they instructed and lead the crowd.)
"We have collected 1258 units of food from you guys, and we have 72 people in this group. One unit of food will suffice for one meal. At war-times like this, we will only have two meals a day, as to minimize resources used. This would roughly last us nine days. Until then, if we still haven't figured out a method to solve the food issue, we will be in serious trouble." The group leader said, with a bitter smile.
"We actually have more food than you think, Leader Zhou." Shen Chun, Shen Long's father listened to the leader as he suddenly shouted, giving a suggestion.
Leader Zhou's eyes sparked with great interest as he swept his gaze across Shen Chun's body. Even though Shen Chun was just a middle-class worker, his demeanour was different from normal workers. It wasn't a sense of nobility, but rather... confidence and self-esteem. As they locked eyes, Leader Zhou could see his pride in his eyes, which was unfitting to the current situation.
Shen Chun's pride mostly stemmed from Shen Long's achievement, as well as his personality. Shen Long was the only cultivator, and he was well-respected by Earth citizens. It was unbelievable that one could actually cultivate, but Shen Long did it. Of course, Shen Chun would take pride in his son, and it was very normal.
The confidence, however, was from his personality, which was no different from Shen Long. He enjoyed fame and attention, so his acting skills exponentially increased in situations like this. Right now, he was acting like a historical scholar, as he was about to announce his legendary plan to the group.
Shen Chun received stares by everyone else, as they were all intrigued in his proposal.
"Please go ahead and tell us your plan!" Leader Zhou said modestly.
Shen Chun took a big breath as he lifted his hand as he spoke extremely slowly, making everyone anticipate for his words.
"Haha. Far from reach but near at hands. Sometimes, we often neglect the obvious. Think about the people who betrayed us. They must have food in their houses too, right? Since there was quite a number of them, we can just go into their houses and obtain some extra food effortlessly. Also, the shops near our town? These are all easy food sources!" Shen Chun said as he spoke in a "profound" way.
People almost spat a mouthful of blood upon hearing his words. Surely, he was right, and it wasn't a bad proposal, but they expected some better more strategic advice. Seeing his professional looks and his demeanour, everyone thought that he had a master plan in his mind... who knew that it would be this simple?
Genes. Shen Long and Shen Chun were definitely a family. Like father like son.