Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 2: I thought it was a leak!
Binhai Agricultural College, Soybean Research Institute.

Director Xu Huan was elected as an academician twenty years ago and is known as the father of soybeans. He is now seventy-one years old, and in his own words, he is at the age where he should be working hard.

That day, the old man had just received a phone call and rushed to the research institute, accompanied by a group of staff members in uniform.

"What's going on here?"

"I'm not sure, maybe there's been some progress on the project?"

"If Professor Xu's project makes a breakthrough, the fate of the entire East will take a step forward, right?"

"Don't say what you shouldn't say, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

After more than ten minutes of whispering, Su Xun rode his bicycle to the entrance of the research institute.

"Hello, takeout orders are not allowed."

Su Xun froze, a wry smile on his face, realizing he had forgotten about that.

"Comrade, I'm here to find someone, not to deliver food."

"Everyone who wants to get in says the same thing." The security guard stepped forward, completely blocking Su Xun's path.

"This is a research institute. Ordinary people aren't allowed in. The people doing odd jobs inside are all graduate students!" The man spoke in a dialect, his tone was relatively friendly, but his actions left no room for negotiation. He stood like an iron tower blocking the entrance.

His demeanor doesn't suggest he's retired.

"It's alright, comrade, just let me wait here for a while. Someone should be coming to pick me up."

The security guard nodded. Seeing that the other party did not intend to force his way in, he did not make things difficult for him. He simply stood there guarding the spot and did not leave.

Su Xun fiddled with his phone and sent a text message. A moment later, he saw an old man with gray hair leading several people out of the building and quickly walk to the front door.

"Hey, Dean? You're ordering takeout too?"

"Why order takeout? This young man is here to participate in the research. Let him in quickly."

"Okay, I'll register."

"Thank you for your help." After writing his name on the record sheet, Su Xun followed Xu Huan into the research institute.

The security guard at the entrance was momentarily stunned: "Are the job market outside really that bad? Even graduate students have to deliver food?"

The group that entered the building did not hear his voice. Xu Huan introduced him to Su Xun: "This is Team Leader Zheng from the security department. He will participate in our conversation and may ask you some questions."

coming.

Su Xun felt reassured and glanced at the other person, realizing that he had actually seen this person before, but they weren't very familiar with each other.

This is also a survivor who has lived for a long time in the apocalypse, but it seems that he has not awakened any superpowers.

Even survivors without superpowers wouldn't have an easy time in the base, but the man in front of him, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, with a steady figure and sharp eyes, was clearly young, strong, and quite reliable.

"Hello, Comrade Su Xun."

The person on the other end extended their hand and directly stated Su Xun's name. Within ten minutes, they had figured out Su Xun's information based on the number, which could be considered a warning.

"Comrade Zheng Yuan, hello." Su Xun smiled slightly and shook the other's hand amidst the other's surprised gaze.

Xu Huan didn't mention Zheng Yuan's full name just now. For a security team leader to have his name called out to his face by a food deliveryman seems...

The team members exchanged glances, several interrogation techniques already forming in their minds.

This is no ordinary deliveryman; we must take strong measures!

To everyone's surprise, Su Xun spoke again: "Or rather, I should actually call you Lin... Hiss... Stop! I'm not saying anything more!"

Zheng Yuan felt a cold sweat break out on his brow. His hand instinctively tightened, squeezing Su Xun painfully from the sudden pressure. How many years had it been since he'd used that name? Not only was it absent from his cancelled household registration records, but it wasn't even in his own department's records anymore!

How did the other party know?

But being a seasoned security professional, Zheng Yuan kept a straight face with little change in expression. If the two hadn't been holding hands the whole time, Su Xun would have thought she had misremembered when he subconsciously tightened his grip.

"Looks like I should go back and write a self-criticism." Zheng Yuan said to Su Xun with a blank face, "There's no need to mention names that I haven't used in a long time; I've almost forgotten them myself."

He was somewhat relieved that it wasn't a more dangerous enemy who called out his name; otherwise, given his subconscious action just now, he would probably be dead by now.

Su Xun grinned, thinking to himself, "You haven't forgotten, you used up several decades after the apocalypse."

He didn't say this aloud, and followed the group to a room. The room was completely empty of furniture, with only three chairs and a table, clearly all brought in temporarily. Even the overhead lights had been removed. If it weren't for the good lighting, Su Xun would have suspected that these people would have used candles for illumination.

Zheng Yuan arranged for someone to stand guard outside the door, and then brought two people to accompany Su Xun and Xu Huan into the house. The two people stood behind Su Xun, while Zheng Yuan and Xu Huan sat opposite Su Xun.

"Due to limited resources, this room was temporarily set up, so please make do with it."

Zheng Yuan placed the voice recorder on the table and then took out the recorder.

"Now, let me ask the first question." Zheng Yuan and Xu Huan exchanged a glance: "How did you learn about Academician Xu's research project?"

It is well known that Xu Huan is conducting hybrid soybean experiments, but one of his current research projects, although stuck at a bottleneck, has already made a breakthrough.

It was an experiment to produce soybean seeds on a large scale with a yield of 1,200 catties per mu. Once completed, it would be enough to break the seed monopoly of the world's grain merchants. It was still kept secret for the time being.

Although Zheng Yuan felt that the leak of his name was a more worthy question, he still proceeded with the original plan step by step.

Su Xun looked at Xu Huan calmly: "You told me yourself."

The people in the room couldn't help but look at Xu Huan, who frowned and said, "That's impossible."

But he immediately remembered what Su Xun had mentioned about the love letter. No one knew about that except him; even his class monitor… his wife herself didn’t know.

"That's impossible. Unless I tell you when I'm about to die in the future, and you are reborn, I can't think of any other possibility."

The room suddenly fell silent.

Xu Huan and Zheng Yuan looked at Su Xun's expression and fell silent.

"Reborn?"

"I'm still thinking about how to say this," Su Xun said with some emotion. "But since you've all guessed it, I won't hide it anymore—yes, I've been reborn."

Zheng Yuan scratched his head, thinking to himself, "So it was a rebirth. I thought the organization had leaked information."

No way, it can't be a rebirth, can it?
He stared at Su Xun, and asked uncertainly, "Is the world going to be destroyed?"

Su Xun's eyes lit up: "How did you know!"

Could there be other reborn individuals? I really need to get to know them and see if they're acquaintances.

Zheng Yuan exchanged a glance with his team members and said helplessly, "This year there have been 217 people who claim to be reborn and predict the end of the world. You are the 218th."

Is that much?

Su Xun's first reaction was that this rebirth was actually a wholesale deal? But seeing Zheng Yuan's expression, he suddenly realized something.

"all fake?"

"It can't be said to be fake, at least not to these people themselves; they might think it's real."

Zheng Yuan shrugged. Perhaps the world and life of a mentally ill person are destroyed?
(End of this chapter)