The whole weird world is waiting for me to go to heaven

Chapter 975 Two Golden Crows (Twenty-Two)

In early August, the Golden Crow Relics in Zhengjia Village.

Lin Yue and Long Yingxue were carrying folding chairs and notebooks as they walked into the depths of the underground palace, which was already crowded with people.

The two silently got off their chairs in the last row, and then, like everyone else, craned their necks to stare at the image projected on the wall.

The reason we're here is because the air conditioning in the makeshift hospital is malfunctioning, and the maintenance personnel said they wouldn't be able to come until tomorrow morning.

In the sweltering summer heat, it's unbearable without air conditioning.

Fortunately, there is also a natural ice cellar—the underground palace of the ruins.

Moreover, it can accommodate so many people and has such a large empty wall for projection, making it perfect.

Although it's not a very auspicious sign, everyone works down here every day and has long since become indifferent to it.

As for what bad things might be in the underground palace...

We're all incredibly resilient people. Compared to the swarms of mosquitoes and the sweltering heat of a southern summer night, what's a little fear in the underground palace?
The projection that everyone is watching right now is not a movie, but a live broadcast of a seminar.

Of course, if Lin Yue and Long Yingxue had a choice, they definitely wouldn't watch such a dull thing; they'd rather watch a movie or TV series.

Long Yingxue was also thinking that today was the premiere day of the fantasy drama she had been longing for.

Unfortunately, the senior students sitting in the front row insisted on watching the live broadcast, saying that their advisors had also participated in the conference and they wanted to observe, learn, and understand the cutting-edge discoveries together.

This made Lin Yue and Long Yingxue roll their eyes.

First of all, the theme of this conference is "new energy revolution", which doesn't seem to fall within the scope of archaeology. I really don't understand why so many professors and experts in archaeology were invited to participate.

Secondly, their mentors were not qualified to attend this high-level academic conference held in the First Empire.

Actually, if Lin Yue and Long Yingxue hadn't been found to be "highly resilient" individuals, with their undergraduate degrees from Qingyang University, they probably wouldn't even have had the opportunity to participate in the excavation of the Golden Crow ruins.

This Golden Crow Ruins is too special. It is said that people who are not highly resilient can easily be affected if they go deep into it, and may even experience mental disorders.

The archaeological teams of the First Empire serve as a cautionary tale.

I heard that many people ended up in mental hospitals after returning to China, and Professor Shen Zhiyu has even disappeared without a trace.

This deterred many professional researchers who were eager to explore this supposedly most complete and abundant ancient site.

Later, the Archaeological Institute of the Eastern Empire requested a nationwide selection process, with no restrictions on school, academic qualifications, or gender; anyone majoring in archaeology could apply.

Since they couldn't find jobs anyway, Lin Yue and Long Yingxue saw that their classmates, even graduate students and doctoral students, were applying, so they followed suit and submitted their resumes.

Once selected, you'll be a full-fledged researcher, so why not give it a try?

However, I didn't expect that although the interview and written test were not difficult, almost like going through the motions, the "resilience test" eliminated 99.9% of the people.

They were admitted in a rather haphazard way, becoming researchers at the Jinwu Relics, a position many of their classmates envied, which was a lucky accident that solved their employment problem.

Even more surprisingly, their performance in the underground palace far exceeded expectations. Not only did they not feel uncomfortable, but they became calmer the deeper they went, and even had the illusion of "coming home".

The professor even went so far as to allow them to participate in inscription interpretation work, a task that was originally reserved for intermediate researchers and above.

However, deciphering these ancient inscriptions is no easy task.

Although the two knew this was a great opportunity, and that if they did well they might become the professor's students, the scroll full of lines and totems that looked like celestial script seemed like a tangled mess to them.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, my senior classmate Su from Qingyang University handed me an article.

"Coincidentally, there's a new paper in 'Frontiers in History' that should be able to help you solve your problem."

The two read it, and the title of the article was very simple and direct—"A Preliminary Interpretation of Inscriptions on Ancient Relics".

Such questions either indicate that the author is a complete novice who doesn't understand the topic, or that the author is so confident that they don't even bother with packaging.

At first, the two thought the author was being too boastful, but upon closer inspection, they became increasingly shocked—the article systematically analyzed the meanings and carving rules of many common inscriptions, and many of the patterns were exactly the same as those they had seen in the ruins.

What a good thing!

With a mixture of gratitude and curiosity, the two glanced at the author's signature and were surprised to see a familiar name—

"He Tao?" Lin Yue asked, puzzled.

"And... Liu Sheng?"

The first name is familiar, but the second one is completely unfamiliar.

However, because of the latter name, and the fact that the author didn't mention the school, the two of them inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's just a coincidence of names," Lin Yue said, not particularly concerned.

"Haha, yeah, I was so scared. I thought the He Tao we know could write such an article."

In short, this is like a pillow sent to someone who's sleepy.

The two quickly thanked Senior Sister Su and wanted to treat her to a meal as a token of their gratitude, but Senior Sister Su always made excuses that she was too busy. They didn't know if she was disgusted by their kindness, so they gave up and abandoned their attempt to win her over.

Thanks to this article, they finally got some clues, and by following the analysis, the progress of interpreting the inscriptions accelerated significantly.

The two were determined to use this article as a breakthrough to study it thoroughly and try to make a name for themselves in front of the professor, hoping that they might actually be able to secure a place in the graduate program.

Unfortunately, before they could report their findings, the professors stationed at the excavation site all left, seemingly to prepare for this symposium.

Although only a few scientists were present at the conference, the live broadcast actually covered major research institutes, bringing together top academic resources from around the world, making it an unprecedented event.

It was because the supervisor left a loophole that researchers still at the excavation site were given the opportunity to participate in an online meeting so they could observe and learn.

This was a rare opportunity, and even her colleagues, all graduates of prestigious universities, were intently focused on the projector. How could Lin Yue and Long Yingxue dare to stand out? They immediately put on a focused look as well, even pulling out their notebooks and adopting a serious study posture.

However, while staring at the screen, they suddenly saw a somewhat familiar face flash across the camera, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

The exclamation sounded particularly abrupt in the otherwise quiet audience seats of the underground palace, drawing disapproving glances from the surrounding colleagues.

Lin Yue could only point to the projector and stammer as she explained:

"I think I saw one of our roommates inside."

Upon hearing this, some people looked away with a "that's nonsense" expression, while others asked with interest:
"Roommate? Also an undergraduate?"

"right……"

This immediately drew a few low snickers.

"Are you kidding me? Undergraduates can attend conferences of this level?"

"Even my advisor wasn't qualified to participate."

"Even our dean can't get in!"

"Only academic titans are qualified to attend this kind of conference in person!"

"You two haven't gone down into the underground palace too many times and gotten possessed, have you?" Someone who couldn't stand seeing the two of them get the recognition said sourly.

"Pah, pah, pah, don't talk nonsense like that here."

"We're resilient enough!" Lin Yue said, her face flushed.

Thinking of the various rumors about the Golden Crow Ruins, Senior Sister Su frowned and whispered, "You two should go out for some fresh air."

Lin Yue wanted to argue further.

Long Yingxue shook Lin Yue's hand, signaling her to stop talking, but suddenly her eyes narrowed, and she stared intently at the projection:

"It's her! It really is her!"

Everyone was taken aback and looked at the projection.

The camera focused on a young girl's face, a close-up that lasted only two seconds, enough for everyone to see clearly.

"He's really young." "Is he really your roommate?"

Lin Yue and Long Yingxue felt a strange sense of pride at this moment, and nodded in unison:
"Of course!"

"But how did she get here?"

"By the way, didn't you say that one of your roommates got into Professor Shen's graduate program?" A senior student who was familiar with Lin Yue and Long Yingxue suddenly chimed in.

This is exactly what the two of them usually boast about.

But it's a bit awkward to talk about it now.

Before anyone could answer, a fellow doctoral student from Qingyang University, Senior Sister Su, interjected in a cool tone:
"Of course not, that person is long dead."

As soon as she finished speaking, the senior sister who had just spoken froze, and her gaze towards the two of them instantly became complicated.

Senior Sister Su smiled enigmatically and continued, "Isn't this the one appearing on camera the one you spread rumors about, the one who killed her roommate... her name is Tao, right?"

The air solidified instantly.

"Did he kill your roommate?"

"Spreading rumors?"

Whispers echoed through the underground palace, and gazes burned like fire upon Lin Yue and Long Yingxue.

Their faces flushed and paled in turns, and they stammered as they spoke:
"We...didn't know the truth back then..."

"Yes...we just misunderstood..."

"Misunderstanding?" Senior Sister Su sneered. "If the police hadn't issued a clarification later, you would have almost ruined someone's life."

Lin Yue and Long Yingxue then realized why this senior sister Su was so cold to them. At first, they thought she looked down on their academic qualifications, but now it seemed that she must have known the inside story to be so cold.

But some people don't care about these messy gossips; they're just curious: "So why is your roommate here? Is she really good at archaeology?"

Lin Yue's face finally darkened, her initial sense of pride turning into a strange resentment. She gritted her teeth and said:

"What's so great about her? She's not even an archaeology major!"

"So it's physics?" someone asked, thinking about the theme of the conference.

"How is that possible? She majored in Federal Languages!"

“Oh, that makes sense then. She’s probably going to work as a translator, right?” a senior student said.

"Translation?" Long Yingxue couldn't help but say sourly, "Which of those professors there doesn't know the Commonwealth language? I bet her parents pulled some strings to get her in, just to broaden her horizons."

Upon hearing this, everyone simply smiled knowingly.

Although it was obvious to everyone that Lin Yue and Long Yingxue had a grudge against that "He Tao," this explanation seemed reasonable at the moment.

Otherwise, it's really hard to explain why an undergraduate student could attend such a high-level international conference.

The conversation drifted aimlessly amidst lukewarm laughter until the senior student from Peking University in the front row finally couldn't take it anymore and suddenly shushed her:
"The meeting has started, be quiet!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the underground palace fell silent.

On the projection screen, a middle-aged woman slowly walked from the side of the stage.

Wearing a meticulously tailored dark suit, she walked with steady, unwavering steps, and even the wrinkles on her face looked as if they had been carved out with a knife, straight and hard.

Everyone recognized him and was immediately shocked:

"Isn't this Professor Shen!"

"So it was her who convened the meeting?"

"New energy? And archaeology? What's the connection between these?"

"I heard she disappeared after returning to China, I never expected her to reappear!"

"Heh, what disappearance? You're probably just too embarrassed to show your face, right? To commit such a disgraceful act as robbing a neighboring country's cultural relics in broad daylight, if it were me, I would never show my face again!"

"That's right! She's a thief!"

"But academically, she is still worthy of respect..."

"But that doesn't erase the fact that she wanted to steal what belongs to us!"

"But look at this conference now, even our country's top scientists are vying to attend, which shows that all this talk of stealing or not is nothing compared to absolute academic excellence!"

"Moreover, it is estimated that the higher-ups already know who convened this conference, yet they still allow our scientists to participate, which shows that they are preparing to turn the page."

"Alas...this is the tragedy of the nation."

"This is a matter of overall national strength! If we had warships..."

"But new energy concerns the whole world, there's no need to be so narrow-minded..."

"You make it sound so easy. When a country is on the verge of collapse, what's the point of talking about all of humanity?"

"You've got it backwards..."

Just as the argument was escalating and even the senior from Peking University was too late to fall silent again, Shen Zhiyu finally stood up in the projection.

She spoke without any expression.

The words, however, exploded like a thunderclap:
"I'm sorry, I might... be going to destroy the world."

The air suddenly stopped.

The entire underground palace was completely silent, as if even the static from the projector had suddenly become jarring.

The venue was completely silent.

"What does it mean?"

Someone, without warning, broke the silence.

At the scene, almost everyone had the same question on their minds.

Only the scientists from the First Empire, while shocked, slowly lowered their heads, seemingly unable to face reality, clearly already aware of the situation.

Professor Zhou from Pyeongkyo University slowly raised his hand.

"Professor Shen, please explain your meaning clearly."

At this moment, Shen Zhiyu suddenly chuckled.

The laughter was clear and cold, not particularly harsh by itself, but in this tense atmosphere, it felt like a knife scraping against glass, sending chills down everyone's spine.

Besides, her face isn't really suited to smiling.

While everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, she slowly fell silent.

He raised his eyes and glanced at the audience.

"Did I scare you?"

"Look at your expressions, they're hilarious!"

"However... I'm telling the truth."

She paused, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Unless you can solve this model."

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant display screen behind him, which occupied almost the entire wall, suddenly lit up, and a dazzling array of mathematical models appeared, densely covering the entire interface.

(End of this chapter)