A series of articles and reports came out overnight. Some expressed concern, some made light of the situation, and plenty tried to console and motivate themselves.
But regardless, Hook Moon's disappearance had caused a huge uproar around the world.
The most immediate consequence was that the major powers' space agencies were forced to suspend their "lunar missions" before they had even begun. At the same time, the state of war readiness that had spread across nearly the entire planet was lowered by one level. The major powers resumed their rivalries after only a few days' pause, while fighting continued to spread among the smaller nations.
People suddenly realized that this "interlude" had not affected the world as much as they had imagined. Or rather, its effects were all difficult to notice—
The capable nations all chose to speed up their space programs, eager to investigate what had happened.
Countries began investing heavily in weapons and military equipment.
Riots fueled by panic or the spread of inner wickedness began erupting in major cities around the world. Some people who had already been wasting their lives sank even deeper into self-indulgence, while those who were independent and self-reliant forged ahead with even greater determination. Most people, meanwhile, were unaffected.
Canned food, hardtack, and bottled drinking water began selling out in supermarkets. The governments tried their best to suppress the panic, only to discover that fabricating lies was the best way to dispel rumors.
The course of technological development had clearly veered off its original track.
An Yang put down his phone and went upstairs.
The villa didn't have many rooms, but it didn't have few, either. Ji Weiwei had gone to sleep beside Xiao Qian. He had been pent up for more than half a year, and his heart was itching with