Everyone in the square listened in silence. Some even shed silent tears.
The population of 1.4 billion had plummeted to 700 million. The loss of half the population meant that everyone present had lost loved ones.
They recalled the past few years: struggling in despair, digging and building Underground Cities beneath the earth where no daylight reached, holding on through days without any hope in sight...
That was not history, but the recent past, still vivid in their minds.
"Daddy, I want my daddy! I finally grew up, but I can't see you anymore! Waaaah..."
The voice came from an unidentified little girl.
Her crying immediately struck a chord with the crowd, and sobs gradually began to spread.
"My daddy was a great hero who fought the Demon Clan! I'll always miss him!" a child said loudly.
"I miss my mommy and daddy too... Waaaah."
Elder Zhao saw it all and took every sound to heart. His eyes grew moist as well.
He collected himself before continuing:
"In just three short years, we have gone from the brink of extinction to where we stand today."
"There has been pain and laughter, despair and hope, sacrifice and passion!"
"Even when we knew the road ahead was a dead end, we never gave up!"
"We built a vast Underground City Cluster, mastered interplanetary portals, gained land of our own on the Terra Continent, won the friendship of Terra's various races, and gained the World Tree!"
"Our technology has advanced rapidly as well. We now have powerful robots and mecha, antimatter weapons capable of fighting Demon God-level beings, the Planetary Engine Plan to push the entire Blue Star out of the Solar System, and fully automated Universal Factories!"
"All of this once existed only in science fiction films."
"Now, it has become a