Chapter 157 Earth Changes
The temperature in the institute is constant all year round, and you can hardly feel the difference between winter and summer. When Rong Yuan stood on the rooftop and breathed in the air with a biting chill, he clearly felt the existence of winter.
It snowed a little yesterday. If it were in the city, the snow would have been swallowed up by the endless flow of vehicles and people. Only in such a remote mountain area can you see the vast expanse of white snow. Looking down at the ground, except for a few footprints, it is all clean and pure white snow.
He exhaled a breath of white air, watching it gradually blow away in the cold wind, and Rong Yuan's heart was stirred for the first time in a long time, with some inexplicable expectations. He knew that he could see the results more clearly and accurately through Noah's monitoring, but at this time, he just wanted to quietly feel the arrival of that moment.
There was a crunching sound of feet stepping on the snow behind him. He also took a deep breath and said, "Why are you running to a place like this in the middle of the night to blow the cold wind?"
Rong Yuan asked back: "Then why did you come here?"
Jin Nan let out a long breath and asked, "Is it now?"
Rong Yuan said: "After the machine is running, the detection is during this period."
Jin Nan was silent for a long time, then said: "I don't know how to describe my feelings now. I hope you can succeed, but I also hope your test results are wrong."
"It's easy to understand. If I am wrong, there will be many unavoidable casualties in the future; if I am right, there will be many casualties immediately." Rong Yuan said coldly.
"We took a lot of precautions." Jin Nan said, looking in the same direction as him. It was more like he was comforting himself than refuting Rong Yuan's casualties. Then he sighed quickly and said, "But there must still be a lot of victims, right?"
"We are not gods, and it is impossible for us to save everyone." Rong Yuan changed the subject and asked, "I heard that Ning Shiming has been captured by you?"
"Yes, but he committed suicide during the transfer." Speaking of this, Jin Nan felt frustrated again. He said, "Also, although the note was found, we found a photo he took in advance on his phone. He may have sent this photo to anyone, and we don't know how many people have learned this secret."
"Can't we just make it public?" Rong Yuan said lightly.
Jin Nan smiled bitterly and said, "You make it sound simple, but it's not that easy. The higher-ups have a lot of considerations about this, and someone like you who is just doing research probably won't understand."
——Why don’t I understand? If I didn’t understand, I wouldn’t have let Ning Shiming get the message and send it out.
Rong Yuan thought to himself.
In Jin Nan's cognition, he always thought that Rong Yuan was a pure scientific researcher. He studied unsolved problems, created things that had never existed, and solved the mysteries of the world. These were all his hobbies. He had no intention of understanding the complex human heart and the even more complex politics. This kind of purity sometimes makes people laugh and cry, but it also makes people feel very relieved to trust him.
A real scientist might be like this, but Rong Yuan is not. This is just an image he painstakingly created. From more than a year ago to now, he has cut off all unnecessary contacts, and after entering the institute, he has almost severed all interpersonal relationships. He only has a slightly favorable eye for Jin Nan, and everyone believes that this is because Jin Nan once risked his life to save him. Rong Yuan successfully erased most people's previous influence on him and established a new image in their minds, making everyone in the institute and the top leaders of the Sugar Country believe that he is taciturn, not good at speaking, not good at interpersonal communication, aloof and arrogant, and has no desire to talk to people with lower IQs than him - in other words, he has nothing to say to anyone, and is so withdrawn that people can't help but worry: if he doesn't have an IQ as willful as his personality, how can such a person survive in this cruel world.
——Well, in fact, these impressions are basically the true portrayal of Rong Yuan, he just exaggerated it a little bit. No one knows that if Rong Yuan wants to, he can easily please anyone. Even without the all-pervasive monitoring assistance of the intelligent brain, he can see at a glance what most people want, like, and hate. He just doesn't want to do it.
The reason why Rong Yuan deliberately left a loophole, allowing Ning Shiming to steal the note and realize its importance and escape, was for the current result - when the secret is no longer a secret, it cannot be covered up, and the only thing to do is to find a way to maximize the benefits.
The strict protection of the institute by the Sugar Country made Rong Yuan feel assured of his own safety, but also gave him a new worry - when the giant in the basement was successfully researched, would they allow countless people in other countries to suffer in order to keep the secret? Doing so might be in the interests of the Sugar Country, but not in the interests of Rong Yuan. His original intention of cooperating with the country was to use the country's huge influence to help him gain more merit points. So he wanted a spy to come to him, to let him get top-secret information, and to spread the news, so that the Sugar Country would not cover it up, and the most people could be rescued.
The two of them were silent for a while, each with their own thoughts. Jin Nan said, "Also, I have to say goodbye to you. Things here are settled, and we have received a new mission."
"Then... I wish you peace and success." Rong Yuan said.
When he spoke, he always gave people a nonchalant and perfunctory feeling, but Jin Nan could hear the hidden sincerity in it. He smiled and said, "I'll lend you my good wishes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Nan's eyelids twitched and he suddenly felt a palpitation.
There seemed to be a slight jump under my feet.
He looked towards Rong Yuan as if seeking confirmation, but was shocked to see the snow piled up on the treetops in the distance falling down, the ground rising and falling slightly as if breathing, and he could feel a clear shaking under his feet.
Rong Yuan looked into the distance. He could not see where he was, but the tragic scene of crying everywhere and displacement seemed to appear before his eyes.
…
"Ah - Xixi, I love you! Xixi -"
Under the open-air stage, countless girls were shouting at the top of their lungs, and the waving glow sticks formed a dazzling sea of stars. The speakers set up everywhere carried the slightly panting singing of the star on the stage who was jumping and dancing all over the place. Some people were humming along with him, while others had tears in their eyes, not knowing what they were crying for.
Today is probably the happiest day for the citizens of Yuanhai City. Most people in Tangguo may not have heard of this small city located in a high-altitude mountainous area. But today, a nationally renowned large-scale variety concert was actually chosen to be held in their city. Many celebrities took the stage, including new generation stars like Wu Xi who are popular in Asia, as well as many classic veteran stars. People of all ages will definitely be able to find names they are familiar with and love among them. The exquisite and luxurious production is far beyond what it has been before, especially since the concert is held in the wilderness and the ticket price is negligible. Even if you don’t buy a ticket, you can watch it from a distance.
On this day, not only in Yuanhai City, but also in several neighboring provinces and cities, many people who heard the news came out with their families, old and young, to watch the show. The officials and leaders of Yuanhai City were also very considerate. No matter what department they were in, they all had a holiday so that they could enjoy this feast that was more lively and grand than the Chinese New Year. Some people who originally did not plan to attend went because they received free tickets and thought they would go anyway.
But they didn't know that after they left, trucks drove into the empty streets, towns and villages of Yuanhai City, and countless soldiers in green uniforms searched house by house. Once they found people still staying at home, they would take them away for various reasons.
Ding Zhuangbo lay on the roof and watched the green military truck drive away again. Only then did he dare to stick his head out. He looked around and saw that there was no one around. He kicked up the people hiding around him one by one: "Get up! Get to work!"
The chubby Li Degang covered his butt and said, "Brother, why did those soldiers take all the people away... Isn't this...not right?"
"Who knows what they are thinking! I just ask you one thing, do you want to follow me in this great opportunity to make a fortune?" Ding Zhuangbo asked sternly.
Li Degang was still a little worried, but he didn't dare to go against Ding Zhuangbo. He nodded and said, "I... I'm just talking..."
"Okay, stop talking nonsense." Ding Zhuangbo interrupted him impatiently, "Now the whole city is empty, you can break into any house you want, just follow our plan and visit all those spots. Have you memorized all the places?"
"Remember it." Several people responded excitedly in unison.
"Well, let's go." Ding Zhuangbo nodded with satisfaction and walked downstairs first. The people behind him followed quickly. Only Li Degang looked back at the direction where Junka left, feeling uneasy.
…
As soon as Wu Xi walked into the simple backstage, a bunch of people surrounded him. Someone put a thick down jacket on him, and someone stuffed a hot water bottle into his hand. His manager Liu Jie held Wu Xi's cold fingers and said distressedly: "They are too abusive. Our Xixi is so worthless now, but he has to perform on an open-air stage in the middle of winter at minus 15 degrees Celsius. Look at how frozen his hands are!"
Wu Xi shook his head and said gently: "Sister Liu, don't say it, everyone performs like this."
Liu Jie shut her mouth, but her eyes were still full of hatred. Several assistants were busy wrapping Wu Xi up like a dumpling. A girl hurriedly opened his coat and stuck two warming patches inside. Wu Xi let everyone toss him around, and advised, "Don't bother. I'm not too cold. Have you eaten yet?"
"Eat, eat, eat it all. You don't need to worry about us, just take care of yourself!" Liu Jie said unhappily.
Wu Xi shut up obediently. A few minutes later, he was put into a warm lounge, wearing furry earmuffs on his head, holding hot cocoa in his hands, and stepping on a wooden foot warmer. While Liu Jie asked the makeup artist to remove his makeup, she complained that the program organizers didn't know where the funds had been diverted. The lounge prepared for them was actually a makeshift board house that was not cold-proof at all. If the heater was not turned on for half a second, people would freeze to death.
As they were talking, a man suddenly opened the door and brought in a gust of cold air. This man was indeed the organizer that Liu Jie had complained about. Liu Jie quickly shut up, looking a little uncomfortable. Wu Xi stood up in his slippers and said with a smile, "Director Yu, what's the matter?"
Director Yu looked very anxious, and he didn't seem to have heard what Liu Jie said before. He frowned and looked at Wu Xi's current outfit, and said hurriedly: "Don't remove your makeup yet, you may be needed later."
"Still going on stage? Didn't we agree that there would only be one show?" Liu Jie asked first.
"We also said that the specific arrangements will depend on the situation." Director Yu waved his hand impatiently and said, "If things go wrong, you won't be able to rest for the whole night. Anyway, you should be prepared first. I will notify you in advance if there is any need."
Liu Jie wanted to argue, but Wu Xi grabbed her hand. The tall and handsome man shook his head at her and replied with a gentle smile: "No problem, Director Yu. Just give me ten minutes to prepare."
Director Yu's icy expression softened, and he nodded hastily, saying, "That's good."
Seeing Director Yu leave without even saying anything and without even closing the door, Liu Jie was so angry that she almost cried. She said in a trembling voice: "Director! What a lousy director! He's just an errand boy in the Propaganda Department. He asked you to change the schedule, to perform in the dead of winter, and to add more programs at the last minute! Who does he think he is? He 's so bullying..."
Wu Xi shook her hand and soothed her softly, "Sister Liu, it's okay. You know that this show is very expensive, and it's very well watched. There are many big names involved. It's a good thing that I can appear twice in it."
Liu Jie was so distressed that tears came to her eyes after hearing what he said. She wanted to scold him but couldn't bring herself to do so. Finally, she said helplessly, "You are the only one with a bad temper..."
Wu Xi smiled, but there was a hint of worry in his expression - he always felt that this time it seemed that more than just a few officials were trying to gain political achievements, and there was really something wrong.
…
Ding Zhuangbo pried open a safe and smiled as he looked at the piles of red old man hair inside. Several of his accomplices rushed to stuff them into their bags. Wu Xi put on makeup again and asked the makeup artist to do his hair while he was practicing the next piece in a low voice. Jin Nan and Rong Yuan were silent.
In one of the most important study rooms in City B, an old man sat at a dimly lit desk, waiting for the phone to ring; Director Yu looked at the tired audience with a worried look, wondering whether he should make adjustments to the program in his hand; teams of soldiers boarded the military trucks, and at the same time, they forcibly dragged the last group of people who were unwilling to leave their homes onto the trucks; the well water suddenly gurgled , and the fat pigs in the fence suddenly jumped up and knocked over the fence with strange cries, and a flock of birds flew up, and the crows almost dyed the sky black; several foreigners in a foreign land checked the time, and almost at the same time looked at a photo in their hands -
First row of numbers:
【365 1057 010385】
36.5 north latitude, 105.7 east longitude, January 3, magnitude 8.5.
In the early morning, 2:13:57.
At this time that is destined to go down in history, there was a loud bang outside the inland Yuanhai of Tangnei. Two huge mountains collided with each other fiercely, and boulders fell like an avalanche. The ground cracked into countless deep and shallow gullies, and a small county town slid diagonally downhill as if sitting on a skateboard.
——Just as Rongyuan's seismograph buried deep underground had detected two weeks in advance, at this time and in this place, the largest earthquake in recent years in Sugar Country occurred. The magnitude was 8.5, the intensity at the epicenter was 12, and the scope of impact was unprecedented. Even coastal cities 2,000 kilometers away felt the shaking.
