Whispered murmurs filled the small room.
“Um, well, President, if we find Dr. Mortoff again, I’m afraid it’ll really bring him bad luck. “
At the Scientific Heritage Committee two days ago, Mortoff was awarded the title of Distinguished Senior Councilor, a doctorate from the Keruen Academy of Military Science, and several honorary medals.
In a normal world, or even in this era doing ‘normal’ things, this proposal would be completely fine.
But that’s precisely the problem—it’s a far too huge problem right now.
“Putting aside his proposal, I even think that in the next couple of days, we should send Mortoff and his team off this continent. “
Ying Renyu’s clenched hand stiffened. “President, do you mean to entrust Cheng Yunze’s team to take them to the ‘Rolling Sea’ to wait out the end of the world? “
Upon hearing the name ‘Rolling Sea,’ Yang Zicang pondered it for a moment but felt nothing particularly strange. A faint smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he shook his head and said,
“No. Mm… I’ll handle this myself. Tomorrow, I’ll take them away for two days. After that, since the conference proposal has already been put forward, I’ll leave the matters of finding the right people and preparing the testing grounds to all of you. “
His gaze swept across the room, over half of those present being exceptional “Chosen Ones ” who had sparked with radiant brilliance. Thus, Yang Zicang had no doubt they would carry out this task no worse than he would himself.
“Of course, there’s no problem with that. ” All present nodded in acknowledgment.
Only Zhao Anlong wore a faint smirk, his eyes fixed on the gaunt man. He was certain that Yang Zicang had ulterior motives. Claiming in front of everyone that he needed to escort the Mortav team away was nothing more than an excuse.
As the conversation about suitable candidates continued within the room, the corridor outside suddenly erupted with shouts and the sound of hurried footsteps.
“What’s going on? ” Bai Yuan pulled the door open to take a look. A young man in a black uniform down the hallway shouted in panic,
“Fire! Everyone, evacuate quickly! “
“What? ” The meeting attendees exchanged glances, then reluctantly set aside their gathering to step outside and see what was happening.
……
After finishing up, Dereiano wiped his sweat and asked Yang Zicang, “Should we continue the meeting? It’s almost five o’clock. “
Yang Zicang shook his head. “I’m going to the Misty Tenant Territory to see if there’s a reply to the letter I sent my friend. “
It had been over half a month since they last heard from Wager. So far, there was no sign of him in the Travel Inn, nor had he re-rented his room on the third floor. Yang Zicang was starting to worry that something might have happened to him.
Yang Zicang arrived at the tenant territory and had just reached the counter when the beautiful girl on duty recognized him.
“Big celebrity president~ “
Yang Zicang smiled. “You flatter me. Excuse me, may I ask… “
“There’s a letter for you~ ” The heavily made-up, golden-haired beauty handed over two letters.
Yang Zicang was overjoyed; the first one he noticed was from Wager.
Could the second one be from Kim Klassel?
He moved the top letter aside to check. The sender on the one below was still Wager’s crooked Chinese characters.
He sighed softly. “Thank you, ” Yang Zicang said, tearing open both letters. Then everything went black before him.
That guy…
——What the hell is going on in the hotel? Write me another letter once you’ve confirmed you’re safe.
There was another line below.
——Why are you flying around up there so fast? I couldn’t catch up even if I tried!
——Are you still coming back to Schwarfengrenz? Thanks to your good fortune, the head of the Haili family has practically put me on a pedestal. If you guys aren’t coming back anytime soon, I’ll just stay put over here!
“By the way, I’ve contacted many guerrilla warriors in the central region of the continent to help rescue the people. Our rescue target of two hundred thousand is now only about fifty thousand short. “
“Unbelievable… “
The young man leaning against the counter pressed his lips together, tapped the letter paper briskly in his palm, and turned his head to look at the lady inside.
“Do you have any more letters for me? “
“No more, sir. “
Yang Zicang thought for a moment. The last letter from Kim·Kleist was sent directly to the Steffen Congress. It would be troublesome to check now, but if he went directly to the Jisuo Mountains, he wasn’t sure if they would still be there.
“Lend me a pen. The recipient is this person. “
“Sure. “
After quickly writing it up and paying for the missing lifespan of one year, Yang Zicang walked back thoughtfully.
Suddenly, he overheard some discussions nearby about the Scientific Vein.
“Even when we’re dying, they still want to take statistics on what we’re developing. “
“Can we just casually talk about those things out there? Sigh, only here can we vent our feelings freely. “
On the row of burgundy wooden chairs against the wall, about a dozen steps away, sat two local Mutao residents, clutching water glasses and looking a bit hesitant.
“What aspects are you planning to develop? “
“Isn’t that obvious? Several scientists I know want to develop electronics and computing. The potential is the greatest there. “
Yang Zicang’s pace slowed slightly.
It was the hype generated by the Scientific Heritage Committee and that list, coupled with the Mortav team and the World Ark’s recent meteoric rise to fame, that sparked a grassroots wave of people wanting to develop new science before the doomsday…
“What? Me too, ugh. “
The man in the gray hat lowered his head and sighed, then, as if remembering something, said, “Hey, you haven’t said what you’re going to develop yet. “
“Hehe, I don’t want to research anything at all. The corpses of demons are red-hot right now, lots of organizations are buying them up on the down-low, trying to make armor out of them for when the end comes… “
“You’re not taking the science route at all? Everyone is scrambling for it… ” Their voices dropped even lower, until they were whispering secrets not meant for others to hear. “…You got any spare demon corpse armor? “
“No intention of taking a path that everyone’s competing for… ” Yang Zicang muttered under his breath, then raised his head to look at the two people sitting in chairs nearby: one puffing up his chest with pride, the other sprawled in a slumped sigh.
“A new path. “
He walked forward with just a trace of hesitation.
……
The Mortav team had already been gathered together.
Hearing that Chairman Yang Buchen was going to take them to take shelter, into safety until doomsday’s end, the courtyard of that castle-like villa piled high with luggage was filled with laughter and cheerful voices.
The one-armed Mortav stood tall and elated at the front of the crowd, basking in the compliments flowing around him from time to time. Now the whole world knew—never mind what others said—that come the terrifying doomsday all the commoners dreaded, he had a Fogfolk with top-tier operational capabilities arranging everything for him. How fast and grand life had become.
The sound of flapping wings came whooshing…
He looked up at the somewhat gloomy sky. A flock of birds from a distant place, gathered together, slowly flapped their wings northward.
“Wild geese, and… swallows. “
The car hummed as it approached.
“Chairman Yang is here. ” People crowded around. Suitcase after suitcase was loaded onto the truck.
……
An airship with a large gondola had already been modified and was parked on the outskirts of Krun.
But that was merely a diversion.
Several vehicles carried the group out of the city. The massive silhouette of the airship gradually came into view.
“So many deer. “
Just as the vehicles left the city, they saw a herd of cattle and sheep, along with wild deer of unknown origin mixed in, crossing in front of the convoy.
If not for the iron fence around the airship, the animals would likely have surrounded the gondola already.
After squeezing their way through, as the airship began to ascend, everyone still crowded by the portholes, looking down.
Accompanied by the calls of beasts, the procession seemed like a mottled wave of natural fur moving bit by bit towards the far end of the earth, much like the people forming a migration queue heading toward the nuclear blast zone.
“Some pasture must be having problems, perhaps. “
Yang Zicang thought of the Goatherd, but compared to the Black Sheep from last time, the scale of the animals below was much smaller. Moreover, they really seemed to just be passing through.
“President Buchen, will we be floating in the sky for the rest of our time? ” Someone turned back to ask him.
Yang Zicang smiled. “I plan to take you all to the Mist Sea. Some friends of mine have a small outpost over there. But we’ll have to wait until nightfall. “
“Huh? The Mist Sea, of all places? “
After a moment’s thought, the crowd understood. The Mist Sea was indeed the safest place, but it was merely a legendary ocean. If it weren’t for the Fogfolk who constantly appeared from the sea, no one would believe in the Mist Sea or the existence of the Fog Continent.
“The Mist Sea sounds nice. I’ve never been there before. “
“Let’s treat the coming time as a free trip. Ah, but to be honest, knowing that tragedy will befall the mainland, I can’t bring myself to be happy at all. “
“Can our families be entrusted to President Yang’s care? “
“I believe they’ll be safe and sound at home. “
The crowd began an animated discussion. Had it not been for their involvement in the Telvien Project, most of them, being original residents of Blacwëncrik, would have faced material shortages and the threat of potential unrest among refugees as the most pressing difficulties in the face of doomsday disaster.
The airship flew toward the Stradefn Ankavea area. The Telvien machine on board broadcast scenes from around the world, captured by the photographers on other airships.
— “We have great news to share with everyone. “
— “According to Mr. Jin Baiyun, spokesperson for the Golden Beak Legacy Project, the number of doomsday Iron Thistle Eruptions across our world has dropped significantly over the past two days. “
— “Our organization is currently working with renowned worldwide experts on the doomsday thorny vine specialists to confirm whether the Golden Cup Legacy Project has successfully succeeded in delaying the crisis of the apocalypse… “
This news caused an uproar among the people in the gondola.
Could this really be possible? However, if the outbreak of the End-Time Demon Iron Vine truly decreased at an abrupt rate—from the original hundreds per day to the current twenty or forty a day—then, though the crisis still exists, the possibility of withstanding the doomsday and preventing the extinction of all living creatures has indeed been lowered.
“Gentlemen. ” Everyone turned to see Yang Zicang standing behind them with his arms crossed.
After giving it some thought, he asked, “May I ask who the relevant computer experts among you are? “
……
By nightfall, Yang Zicang had amassed a large stack of design sheets detailing the principles of various computer-related objects.
Along with these were various computer-related design proposals written by this team after a full day of brainstorming.
Under the cover of night, everyone switched to a flying carpet and soared into the night sky. After moving away from the airship, a wailing wind howled down from the altitudes.
With a thunderous roar, the Demon Train appeared at a high altitude, hovering alongside the edge of the flying carpet.
Cheng Yunze, who hadn’t been seen for days, appeared at the entrance. He looked at Yang Zicang and said, “Your foreign friends are all ready. “
“I think it would be best if you help protect them after you’ve verified this matter. I’m worried something might go wrong. “
“Don’t worry, the manpower is all arranged. Plus, the island we’re heading to is relatively secluded. “
Cheng Yunze watched everyone board the train. Finally, he saw Yang Zicang hand a stack of papers over to him.
“I’m leaving these blueprints in your hands for verification. “
Cheng Yunze nodded, a faint light shimmering in his eyes. As he watched him turn to leave, Yang Zicang suddenly spoke up: “When this operation is over, I’d like to invite you to a place. “
“What? ” Cheng Yunze tilted his head slightly.
“Heh, the hotel where I’ve been staying. “
Cheng Yunze hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded, “Alright, I’m looking forward to it. “
Little Machao waved goodbye, and the train transformed into the wind and departed. As the surroundings fell silent, Yang Zicang immediately veered his flying carpet and shot toward the central region of the continent.
……
Edgar·King·Clyster took a piece of fruit from the pile on the table and walked to the wall, rinsing it under a small, fixed faucet tied with iron wire. He then distributed it among the few people in the room who had taken refuge from the mountainous floods.
Ma Shuo accepted the apple-like sweet-and-sour fruit and bit into it with a crisp crunch. Only then did he realize something and turned to look at a villager next to him who was preparing to cut a fruit with a knife.
“Uh, about that… ” He turned the untouched side of the fruit around.
“I’ll wash another one. ” King·Clyster, looking a bit weary, chuckled and turned back to wash another fruit.
This time, he first handed it to the Fogfolk who had saved the village from the mudslides and floods during this torrential rain disaster.
Even Ma Shuo and Yin Bo, fellow Fogfolk who, when caught in the flood, could not be seen for the roaring waters, were also sought out and brought back by this chivalrous man. Moreover, had it not been for him, the biologist Jean Ussy would surely have vanished without a trace in the surging current.
“I’ll just call you Crest then. Your full name is a bit of a mouthful for me, ” said the young man with soft facial features, taking the fruit and then the knife from a villager’s hand.
“Haha, you dark-eyed Fogfolk really do love giving us simplified names. You can call me Little Jin instead, if you like. “
Edgar Kim Crest took a piece of the cut fruit himself and gnawed on it, speaking through mouthfuls:
“Or Edgar is fine. The name Crest always makes me think of my kindly old father. When I was a child, in his benevolence, he would often use old man Crest’s walking stick and his belt to beat resolve into me. “
“Those are indeed memories worth cherishing. “
The wooden door was knocked upon. A sturdy farmer pushed it open, supporting the biologist as he shuffled in unsteadily, his arm in a sling bound around his neck.
Kim Crest quickly shifted his hiking pole out of the way to help Jean Ussy sit down on the old wooden chair.
Beside the table, one person was idly rubbing a selection of medicinal herbs in his hands.
“Is the botanist’s journey being sponsored by someone? ” one of them asked him.
“We have an association, ” the man said humbly. “They provide some travel funds to us registered, genuine scholars. But we also need to thank supporters like Head of the Xiang Family for helping us save a lot on travel expenses. ” He nodded in appreciation towards the sturdy villager**_”s smile at the door.
“The head of the household is a true noble. ” Edgar quickly smiled and handed over a piece of fruit, almost taking off his hat to pay his respects.
This kind of flattery, which came once or twice a day, greatly pleased the household head who was sheltering the refugees.
Moreover, he was also hoping that when these Fogfolk left, they would take his family away with them.
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