"What?!"
Hope's eyes widened as he cried out.
Hansent's words had dealt him an immense shock!
Suspend construction of surface cities on Dawn Star?
No, that was impossible!
So far, counting the surface cities still under construction, Dawn Star had only six large Closed Cities.
That was nowhere near enough to accommodate the six billion humans still in hibernation!
Could it be... that human civilization was facing another crisis?
For a moment, Hope went deathly pale. His head buzzed incessantly, and his vision began to blur.
Beside him, Hansent was clearly startled by Hope's intense reaction.
His expression shifted slightly, and he quickly glanced to either side.
When he saw some staff in the distance casting puzzled looks their way, he hurriedly reached out and tugged hard on Hope's arm.
"Hey, buddy! Calm down!"
Hope turned his unfocused gaze toward Hansent.
Seeing that his companion still hadn't come to his senses, Hansent slapped his smooth forehead. "Good heavens..."
"At least let me finish!"
Smack.
The sharp sound of palm striking forehead brought Hope back to his senses.
"Wha... what do you mean by that?"
Hope frowned as an unpleasant thought crossed his mind.
He suspected he'd been tricked, and he had plenty of evidence.
Hansent gave a sheepish laugh and scratched his head awkwardly. "Trust me, I definitely wasn't lying to you."
"The Academy of Sciences really has slowed surface city construction considerably lately. And in the future, it may suspend construction altogether."
Hope shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, no. That's absolutely impossible!"
"If we build only six Closed Cities, where are those six billion people supposed to live when they wake up from hibernation?"
"Are we supposed to have them pitch tents and live out in the open?"
The corners of Hansent's mouth gradually rose into a mysterious,