"Humans are inherently both good and evil. The media today has failed to fulfill its duty of praising good and condemning evil in many ways. In fact, many films, television dramas and other public industries, in order to maximize profits, disregard moral bottom lines, infinitely amplify the ugliness of humanity, and prefer to whitewash the truth, thus subtly influencing generation after generation."
As she spoke, Xiaocao became excited. "Look at movies and TV dramas nowadays, even some TV programs. How many of them can't escape the themes of infidelity, third-party interference, and gold-digging! They are amplifying the ugliness of human nature, yet they still portray those who are materialistic, harmful, and sell their dignity as innocent and kind. In many TV dramas, the third party is portrayed as an angel, arousing great sympathy from the public."
"This is a negative example with an extremely bad influence. The moral decline of the entire society is closely related to the entertainment industry and media organizations. The current propaganda direction is wrong and unhealthy!"
"Yaoyao, everyone dislikes South Korea, but you can't deny it. South Korea does a better job than our country in this respect. At least in their movies and TV shows, the characters are terrified of immoral things, and they criticize them through dialogue and behavior. As a result, those who break morals are often condemned, which is a positive way to promote social morality. It's different in our country. Nowadays, you can hardly find such works. It's incomparable!"
"Even in the United States, which is what everyone remembers, look at Tiger Woods' cheating scandal a few years ago. He was condemned and criticized by the whole society, and the person involved was punished morally and financially. If this happened in China, it would just be laughed off now. Look at the people involved in those scandals and other scandals. Aren't they doing just fine now? People who corrupt social morals are too easily tolerated in China."
"So let's get rid of these people quickly. I've collected a lot of information. Many of these people have problems. Let's eliminate them and give society a clean environment."
Lin Yao was stunned. He was considering how to use his faith power to strike at "Morning Mist," but Xiao Cao was talking about something else entirely. What did all this have to do with anything else?
“Little Grass, I was thinking about how to use this power of faith to fight against ‘Morning Mist’. Why are you talking about this? Things are already chaotic enough. Those actors, directors and so on are all public figures. There are also many media workers whose social influence is too great. Doing this now will only make things worse.”
"Isn't that the same thing!" Little Grass said dismissively. "People without faith lose the power to control their own destiny, while people with faith will mobilize all their strength for their beliefs and concentrate it on their established goals. Their knowledge, abilities, and inner world will be enriched and improved, thereby promoting the development of individuals and society."
"That's theory. In reality, only sincere faith can truly unleash a person's potential. Perhaps it's some kind of mysterious power, just like how Buddhists, through their sincere prayers and worship, imbue the incense and Buddha statues in temples with some kind of mysterious power. Isn't the 'King of Tai Sui' so big and powerful precisely because it has gathered the power of countless believers in Nanyue over thousands of years? Otherwise, how could there be such a large 'Tai Sui'!"
"What I mean is, you can analyze this power of faith from the perspective of social phenomena, and then grasp it, just like the resentment we encountered at the Nanjing Memorial Hall. Isn't that a kind of condensation of willpower?"
Xiao Cao's words startled Lin Yao, causing large patches of snow to fall from his body, revealing his chin and neck. They stood out starkly in the white world.
"Alright, stop thinking about it. Let's go back first. Everyone's really looking for you."
"No, I need to think about it first." Lin Yao refused. "For now, we have enough 'Sesame Pills'. We'll eventually have to fight 'Morning Mist' to the death. Let them handle it for now. If anything important comes up, you can contact Zuo Jun. Anyway, you're used to using my identity, so he won't be surprised."
"Oh... alright then... whatever you want..."
Xiao Cao stopped insisting. She could understand Lin Yao's stubbornness. If the "Morning Mist" wasn't eliminated, everything else would be meaningless.
...
Snow continued to fall from the sky, endlessly, occasionally mixed with cold rain, followed by freezing.
Lin Yao was completely submerged in a meter-thick layer of ice and snow, with only a small bulge of about fifty centimeters rising from the endless white expanse.
The pandemic has been brought under control in this region affected by extreme weather events that have swept the globe.
The extreme cold kept people indoors as much as possible, which greatly curbed the spread of the virus. In addition, the "cocktail" treatment package provided by Minhong continuously boosted the immune systems of non-members. The novel plague virus with incomplete mutations was gradually eradicated because it no longer had a breeding ground for new infections, thus ending this global panic.
The same was true in London, England. However, due to the limited supply of medicine provided by the government, the threat of the plague was completely eliminated after a month of severe freezing weather. But when the death toll was counted door-to-door afterward, it shocked the world.
In Greater London, which includes the City of London and 32 London boroughs, the plague killed a staggering 1.78 million people!
The exact number after the tens of thousands is no longer important: 1.78 million! This is perhaps the highest number of deaths in a small area in human history. Even large-scale battles would not have resulted in such an astronomical number of casualties. In an instant, Britain was filled with grief, the whole of Europe mourned in empathy, and the whole world was plunged into a mood of mourning and fear.
The death toll in China is not high. According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the total number of deaths in the country reached 13,227, far less than the number of deaths in London. This is nothing short of a miracle, considering that China is the origin and source of the outbreak.
Although the Chinese people habitually ignore the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, ignorant people abroad believe the figure, which has drawn unanimous criticism from governments of all countries except the United States, with condemnation and regret filling the entire international community.
Due to the pandemic, all international flights and sea and land transportation were suspended, dealing a fatal blow to all import and export-related industries in China. Many people with assets worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars were plunged into the brink of bankruptcy or forced to close down overnight, with the loss of foreign trade exports reaching US$372.1 billion. This figure continues to grow.
The value of foreign trade imports was also zero, which triggered a sharp drop in the domestic economic situation. The losses of related enterprises even exceeded 1 trillion US dollars. Domestic steel, electronic products, other agricultural and sideline products and daily necessities were severely affected, which in turn led to a certain degree of price increases and inflation.
International trade worldwide was completely disrupted during this period. China’s huge losses did not affect its international economic status. All countries strictly controlled their borders to prevent any people or livestock from entering, so as to prevent the spread of the terrifying plague into their countries. As a result, the world economy fell into a severe depression. Countries such as the United States, which mainly relied on imports for daily necessities, suffered particularly severe social impacts from this lockdown. People all over the world were “returned to the pre-liberation era” and truly lived in misery.
At the same time, because of the survival crisis, this severe economic setback did not cause serious social problems. Everyone worked and lived in a basically orderly manner under the overall planning of the state and with the cooperation of the people.
The two months of the New Year passed in an atmosphere of forced smiles, with people eagerly anticipating the restart of a better life, not only in terms of the economy but also hoping that the climate would return to normal.
Min Hong's work remained intense and busy, but during this period she suddenly suffered a reputation crisis. This was because Xiao Cao had used Lin Yao's identity to issue an order to Yi Zuojun in advance, adding a large number of entertainment stars, entertainment companies, media reporters, media companies, social commentators and others to Min Hong's blacklist. The storm that was triggered was unprecedentedly fierce, and it also made the Chinese people witness the power of the media for the first time.
At this moment, Lin Yao was still in the snow and ice, enduring the bitter cold like a lifeless statue.
On March 15, 2016, International Consumer Rights Day, Lin Yao woke up.
"Little Grass, how long have I been in seclusion?"
"More than two months," Xiaocao replied with great surprise.
"Oh, it's been so long." Lin Yao's tone was somewhat calm. "I've come to understand 'faith power' a little. Now we can decompose this power from the 'Sacrifice Pill' into a force similar to spiritual power, which should be able to act on the human body. We need to do some experiments."
"ah!"
...
Zhongnanhai, the familiar small reception hall.
Lin Yao sat in the familiar chair, looking at the old man in front of him whose brows were furrowed into a deep frown.
The old man had served two terms as chairman, and it was time for him to step down. However, in these extraordinary times, the government could not afford any risks, so he was allowed to continue serving as chairman until he smoothly handed over power to the next leader.
Time waits for no one. Despite the "Life-Giving Pill" provided by Lin Yao, the heavy state affairs and the day-and-night toil still caused the elderly man, who was over seventy years old, to have graying temples. His condition changed every day, and the traces of time became more and more obvious.
"Lin Yao! Why are you causing trouble at a time like this?!"
The chairman suddenly launched an attack, his voice full of energy, which startled Lin Yao, who was deep in thought, and made him look up, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Stability! We need stability! We can't afford any more turmoil. We just brought the situation under control nationwide, and you suddenly caused such a huge incident without warning!"
"I always have to clean up after you! Don't you have any sense of responsibility at all!"
"Ah... oh." Lin Yao immediately understood what the chairman meant; it was the trouble caused by Xiao Cao.
During her seclusion, Xiaocao issued an order to abandon a large number of entertainment stars and media personnel. Minhong carried out the order well and cut off the supply of medicines, which caused a chain reaction that made the whole society unstable instantly.
People in these industries are all masters of hype, and the energy they unleash when their lives are at stake is enough to give even the President of the country a headache. That's why Lin Yao was summoned to Zhongnanhai immediately upon his appearance.