Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 51 A Bitter Taste of North America

The secretariat also had a heavy workload recently, so Feng Zhengze did not stay at the base for long and left in a hurry after saying only a few words.

This was not a sign of disregard, but rather a delegation of more decision-making power to Su Xun and Qin Chang. It was only then that Su Xun realized that Qin Chang was Feng Zhengze's old subordinate.

After he left, Su Xun brought some work to discuss with Qin Chang.

"What stage is the fusion reactor project at? Is it on time?"

Whether or not the apocalypse comes, nuclear fusion is a very significant milestone. Qin Chang has obviously paid close attention to this matter. He said, "The two fusion reactors in Sichuan and Bazhou are still some way from completion, and they may not be truly completed by the time of the Great Cataclysm. But the one in Luzhou is progressing very smoothly, and we may even be able to see its live broadcast of being lit up ahead of schedule."

"That's great." Su Xun said with great emotion. Regardless of whether the fusion reactor can be used in the apocalypse, at least for humanity, this is a solid step forward.

As he once said, the superhumans themselves are the most advanced scientific research achievement after humanity came into contact with spiritual power, and nuclear fusion, such a cutting-edge creation of the civilized era, is enough to bring great inspiration to high-level superhumans.

Putting that matter aside for now, Su Xun asked, "How's the balloon drop project going?"

"This is going very smoothly. Balloons, airships, resource boxes, and related supplies have all been mass-produced, and we may now be in a stage of overcapacity."

"...Okay, good. What about the explosives we were planning to send to Southeast Asia? Have the arrangements been made?"

"There's definitely no problem with production capacity. As for transportation and resettlement, the comrades in the General Secretariat are still negotiating with them."

Needless to say, Su Xun knew that this matter would face considerable resistance. It would be an exaggeration to say that they could cover Southeast Asia with these explosives, but they would definitely have more than enough to plow through the major cities of several countries.

"Time waits for no one. It will take a long time to set all these things up. Is there still time?"

Qin Chang shook his head: "Don't worry about that. Currently, only the large-scale transportation on the surface hasn't started yet. In fact, our convoy started moving when the first batch of explosives left the warehouse. We have already completed one-third of the total plan, and they are all in relatively remote areas. As soon as the negotiations are over, our trains can set off immediately and complete the rest within two days."

"Is that so? What reason did we give? They just let us through like that?"

"Private trade, aid, relocation, and perhaps some of the excuses that the transportation companies themselves have come up with."

The usually serious Qin Chang shrugged: "Anyway, we just need to leave these explosives there until the 15th. The destination doesn't matter. If the truck breaks down, runs out of gas, or the driver goes missing, causing the cargo to be delayed, it's none of our business. If we want to deal with it, we can do so on the 16th."

"..."

"In the end, the fact that the other side is blocking our bulk transportation is just for show for domestic public opinion. They also need to give an explanation to their own people. As for what we really want to do, they will not stop us, and are even happy to cooperate."

"The current pace of negotiations is actually the result of mutual discussions between the two sides. After all, we are allies, and we should try our best to respect and understand each other's difficulties. As long as enough time is allocated to complete the plan, these details can be discussed."

Upon hearing this, Su Xun fell silent for a moment, feeling as if he had become a great power, forcing the other side to open its doors with powerful ships and cannons.

He shook his head violently.

What are you talking about? How could we be considered a superpower? We are doing this to prepare for the future of all mankind.

What's with these ships, cannons, planes, and logs? They're clearly an important force for maintaining regional peace and stability!
After flipping through the plan in his hand, Su Xun felt that everything was almost done, so he took out another report: "The domestic plans are mostly in the later stages and final stages, but we need to pay attention to some situations abroad."

"How is our food procurement plan in North America progressing?"

Qin Chang didn't seem to pay much attention to this issue. He contacted the staff in the secretariat directly and received a reply shortly afterward.

"We're still in talks, but many farmers on the other side have already started harvesting their winter wheat."

Su Xun nodded: "Once we start harvesting, our plan will be accomplished."

When this question was raised, Qin Chang frowned slightly: "Is this method very effective?"

A week ago, Su Xun proposed a plan to entrust the Grain Storage Group to negotiate with North American world grain traders in preparation for purchasing this year's new wheat production in North America.

The other party initially quoted a rather high price, intending to wait for the grain storage group to lower the price. However, there were signs of wavering within the Eastern region, which made many farmers sense something unusual, and many began harvesting new grain overnight.

Su Xun pondered for a moment and replied, "It's effective, but soybeans and corn in North America have already been planted, so the overall effect is not expected to be significant unless we can go to North America and irrigate all their fields with herbicides. Otherwise, the formation of natural disasters will be difficult to contain."

In the previous life, North America experienced a major catastrophe because of this year's climate problems, which prevented many wheat crops from being harvested. However, this did not actually lead to food shortages for the survivors—or rather, the reason for their food shortages was not due to this.

However, no one expected that a group of mutated birds would become active as a result. They kept feeding on the wheat left in the fields and later caught up with the ripening of soybeans and corn.

North America produces hundreds of millions of tons of soybeans and corn. Around this enormous production, these mutated birds gradually grew and eventually became a catastrophe-level existence.

Of course, there were many other circumstances, coincidences and twists and turns behind this, but in later studies, everyone generally agreed that these North American crops played an indispensable role.

Thinking of this, Su Xun shook his head: "In fact, destroying the other party's crops may not necessarily prevent natural disasters from occurring. It is an ecological niche. Even if the original tenth-order natural disaster does not occur, the vacant ecological niche will be occupied by a new natural disaster."

"If we only weaken the existing natural disasters, it might trigger a chaotic battle among several powerful beings who are qualified to occupy the positions of natural disasters."

The war between ninth-tier transcendent beings is equally devastating, and the survivors in North America may not fare well in the future.

But Su Xun didn't take it to heart; it was just a bad time, not a real natural disaster.

Even natural disasters, if they can be mitigated, are of great significance to all of humanity.

In this kind of problem, North America can only suffer, since they are the beacon of humanity.
Ironically, the cultural wasteland of North America lacked even the foundation to breed a catastrophe-level existence. The mutated bird flock that eventually occupied that land stole the name of the Mayan wind god, calling itself Kukulkan.

What's even more ironic is that the colonists, who once slaughtered the Native Americans with guns and viruses, were ultimately suppressed by the natural disasters bred by Native American civilization, remaining buried in the ruins and unable to show their faces.

Things change, and it's truly hard to say.

(End of this chapter)