Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Does Chapter 35 really make sense?

After examining the finished product, Su Xun asked, "So, is there anything I can help you with?"

The old professor placed several stone slabs, or rather, several storage devices, and took out some documents to hand to him.

"The storage device has been manufactured, but there are two aspects we need your advice on."

"First, we need a safe container to store it in, so that it can last long enough in the complex environment after a major catastrophe. Second, we need to find a safe enough place to store it."

"We have some ideas, which have been compiled into documents. You can take a look at them first."

Su Xun quickly flipped through the materials in his hand, somewhat puzzled: "Can we only take out five sets of this?"

"Yes, after all, it's a new technology that needs to balance storage and preservation time, and it's still in the exploratory stage. This is all we can prepare before the cataclysm."

"However, we also have secondary preservation methods made of materials such as stainless steel and special plastics. Although these media record less content and some do not have enough preservation time, the advantage is that they can be deployed in a saturated manner, exchanging quantity for survival, and may eventually survive longer than the original material."

Su Xun understood and first pointed out several ways to store the data.

"I can't judge the two launches to space and the moon, and I don't know much about the deep space environment either, but I think it's worth a try. Based on our future observations, we haven't found any major changes in those places."

If it weren't for the fact that most humans and materials couldn't break through the gale layer, Su Xun's superhumans in his previous life might have also considered going to deep space to find another way out.

Moreover, the zombies' thirst for flesh and blood has never disappeared. If a large number of survivors escape, they will definitely be intercepted by high-level zombies. However, they will not care about the escape of a few strong individuals, and can even be said to be quite lenient towards them.

In fact, some people have done this. After reaching the seventh level, superhumans can enter space without the help of rockets or other means and live there for a long time. After that, many people chose to leave alone and never returned.

Su Xun despised the behavior of these people. Many people, including himself, looked down on this act of abandoning their homes and compatriots, regarding them as deserters.

Or, to use a more common term in the post-apocalyptic world, they are escapees.

Of course, these people are ultimately a minority. The consequences of leaving Earth are not necessarily good. The scale of the universe is too vast. Even extraordinary beings may find it difficult to find a suitable place to settle before their lifespan ends. Even if they do find one, the situation there may not be better than on Earth.

Those who make this choice are essentially exiling themselves into an endless, empty cage.

After reviewing the remaining plans, Su Xun frowned: "There are some things that can be adjusted in all three of them."

"Placing it on Mount Everest is not safe. Superhumans can go up there, as can mutated beasts. Some beings like to settle on high mountains, let alone the world's highest peak, where there are palaces built by high-level beings. Putting things there will most likely result in damage."

"But even zombie beasts are rare on the plateau, so if you find an inconspicuous place to put it, it won't be so easy to damage it."

"Don't worry about the one that's being sent to the polar regions. Just put it in Antarctica. Although there are powerful mutated beasts in Antarctica, they're not interested in rocks. The Arctic is the home of the tenth-tier calamity Satan. When the calamity awakens, nothing can escape its fate."

Humanity's most widespread beliefs gave rise to two calamities: Satan, the blasphemy slumbering in the Arctic Ocean, and Lucifer, the fallen calamity lingering in the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately, the so-called Lord has not appeared; otherwise, the title of a tenth-order calamity might no longer be that of a false god.

Su Xun tapped the paper in his hand and said, "For the same reason, it would be best to change the location of this one in the Pacific Ocean. All four oceans are affected by natural disasters, but the one that mainly affects the Borneo Ocean is Mahisha on the subcontinent. We can consider deploying it to the south of it."

The group noted down Su Xun's suggestions and then asked him how to design the boxes to store the stone slabs.

Su Xun glanced through the sketches they had brought, pointed to one of them and nodded: "This is generally fine, but what's the plan for putting uranium-238 in it?"

“We referenced the Travelers’ Golden Record approach, which states that the half-life of uranium-238 decaying into plutonium-239 is over four billion years. If extraterrestrial travelers or the next civilization do appear in the future, we can use this to estimate the current time.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary.” Su Xun shook his head: “What difference does it make between ten thousand years and one hundred million years for a civilization that has already perished? All that’s needed on the tombstone is to leave a name. Whether they died yesterday or a thousand years ago, the living don’t care. To them, the dead are dead.”

"Radiation is a form of energy, and things that release energy will attract the attention of higher beings. I don't think it's worth taking that risk for something meaningless."

The people present nodded: "We'll discuss this further. Is there anything else we should be aware of?"

Su Xun thought for a moment: "It's nothing, but you can consider the temperature and pressure of each placement environment. Adding another layer of superconducting material to the gold lining of the box might form a structure similar to a Faraday cage, which could improve the protection against large fluctuations in spiritual energy."

Superconductors, hailed as the perfect metal, are still a fairly useful material even in the psionic environment after the Great Cataclysm. This pinnacle of human science can also prove its value on another technological path.

After discussing some details, the group packed up and left. Su Xun watched their retreating figures and sighed softly.

Every time I talk to people from the Firestarter project, I feel particularly heavy-hearted.

On April 26th, the moon was barely visible, and a few dark clouds stretched across the sky. Su Xun glanced at the distant stars.

Being part of the Sun Chasing Project team, our goal is to pursue that unattainable hope and render the most pessimistic preparations useless.

Perhaps one day, when humans who have mastered extraordinary powers once again venture into the vast universe, they may one day catch up with the set of stone tablets that were launched into the dark depths of space.

Just as Su Xun was about to rest, he received another message.

"Advisor Su, our exploration team that we sent out earlier successfully found uranium deposits on the plateau based on the coordinates you provided!"

The visitors were very excited. The plateau has never been considered a place rich in uranium reserves, so this discovery can be said to have greatly increased ASEAN's strategic reserves.

Su Xun wasn't surprised, since these were things he had seen in the future. He asked, "What about the gold mine? Has a gold mine been discovered?"

"Not yet," the man replied, "but the exploration team is close to the target location, and we should receive news by tomorrow at the latest!"

Looking back, I realize I haven't been managing the pacing very well lately. Sigh, when I'm reading, I'm constantly urging for more updates, but when I'm writing, I'm racking my brains trying to figure it out.
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(End of this chapter)