Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 8 Passed
Although he was saying goodbye, Feng Zhengze still asked Su Xun many questions before leaving. As soon as he left, more old men surrounded him.

These usually revered scientific giants now acted like students, asking all sorts of questions, the most frequent being about the specific details of the new materials Su Xun had previously provided.

Given the time constraints at the time, Su Xun only recorded some general frameworks. Many of the new technologies involved were extremely complex and complicated, and could not be explained in just one or two pages.

They said they wanted to set aside time for rest, but the academicians only stopped when someone came to tell them to go to their office, still reluctant to leave.

Su Xun didn't complain about them. These people were all quite old, yet they were so enthusiastic. He was happy to keep them company. If groundbreaking technologies like room-temperature superconductivity could be implemented before the apocalypse, it would greatly help the entire disaster preparedness work.

That night, the faculty and students of the College of Agriculture saw the military vehicles that had been parked there all day leaving the research institute one after another, not knowing who had come or who had left.

For most people on this planet, the world goes on as usual.

An online meeting was held discreetly.

The attendees were all members of the ASEAN Council and Feng Zhengze from the Secretariat.

Each of these people has important matters to attend to, and they don't always get together except for a few specific dates and important occasions.

"That 'reborn' has already gone to the base. When will Director Shao arrive?"

On the screen, a refined-looking man with graying temples replied, "It'll be soon. Luckily, this time it's not going to the west. If all goes well, we should arrive by tomorrow morning."

"Hard."

The leader looked at Feng Zhengze and asked, "What's your impression of him after actually meeting him? What are the opinions of the experts who went with you?"

"Very calm, very rational, and very pragmatic." Feng Zhengze gave this assessment: "Experts in facial expressions, psychology, and interrogation have all observed him. Unless his worldview has completely deviated, he should not have lied about this matter."

"Regarding this specific event, several academicians offered some conjectures, but ultimately rejected them all. The catastrophe described by this person is something that humanity cannot currently understand; it cannot be verified or disproven."

"Couldn't they even detect the slightest sign?"

Feng Zheng shook his head: "Before the apocalypse, Su Xun was just an ordinary person. He had limited access to information and couldn't provide any useful information in this regard. At least in his judgment, this apocalypse was completely unexpected."

"The think tank assessed the credibility of this matter, and several academicians also conducted a final round of questioning with this resurrected comrade to confirm the completeness of the technologies he presented."

"The conclusion here is that even if the other side's predictions about several future events have not yet been confirmed, at least science does not lie."

"Those technologies are real and existing, and quite mature and complete; they are definitely not products of today."

The times are very different from what they were decades ago. The most advanced technologies cannot be developed by a few individuals or even a few small countries in isolation.

Without a robust and comprehensive system in place, attempting to seize the pinnacle of human technology is nothing short of a pipe dream.

ASEAN spends astronomical sums on scientific research every year. If they can't solve a problem, outsiders might have a seemingly feasible idea, but they will never be able to produce any real results.

"So the final conclusion is that this could be a cosmic astronomical catastrophe without warning?"

"Yes."

After everyone had processed the information for a while, the leader tapped the table lightly and asked another question that everyone was very concerned about.

"So, this apocalypse is not malicious, but just a natural disaster, not an invasion by some alien civilization?" "That's right." Feng Zhengze smiled bitterly: "When we were working on that alien invasion contingency plan, some scholars already raised objections, believing that it was impossible."

"The universe is too vast. Extraterrestrial civilizations that can travel such a long distance to Earth would need to spend tens of millions of years on the journey. If they possess the technology to skip this stage, then humanity would have no way to resist them."

Feng Zhengze's tone inevitably carried some resentment, as the ASEAN Secretariat was actually involved in formulating these plans, and he had argued about this issue with several council members.

The commander smiled helplessly and said, "It's better to be prepared. This plan still has some aspects that we can refer to now."

Feng Zhengze nodded and said, "Based on the current intelligence, the think tank believes that the current situation requires the activation of a contingency plan at least on the level of a full-scale nuclear war. This matter needs to be voted on."

"We cannot follow the war plan exactly. Even if human civilization has been sentenced to death, we still have at least one last month to live."

Some have pointed out: "The current international situation is already very serious. If a nuclear war is really triggered, humanity may be destroyed in the war before the end of the world even begins."

"Even without nuclear war, social unrest is not conducive to the preparations for the end times. Our fundamental task is still to ensure the operation of society."

Feng Zheng agreed with their point of view, saying, "We will come up with a new plan as soon as possible, and we will need the support of the disaster recovery office in this regard."

Shao Xuezhen said, "Please rest assured, Secretary-General, I will get to work as soon as possible."

The commander asked, "When will we land on the moon?"

"Around noon tomorrow."

After a moment of contemplation, he finally made the decision: "Then let's wait for confirmation from the other side before starting to implement the relevant contingency plans. Raise your hand if you agree."

Four voted in favor, and three abstained. There were no impassioned speeches or heated debates.

In a calm atmosphere, this plan, which was about to shake the world, was thus adopted.

"Then there's another question, about the west..."

"Of course we still need to inform them; this isn't just a matter for our family."

The few people present were not curious about this choice. The fate of the world is intertwined, and the two sentences hanging on the city wall were not empty talk.

However, they still had questions about the timing and manner of the notification.

"Indeed, we can't be too hasty." The commander thought for a moment and then said thoughtfully, "Let's wait until we activate the contingency plan."

Although everyone present already knew the news, they still found it hard to believe every time they heard it.

The leader shook his head: "The situation is constantly changing. Once we activate the contingency plan, all the signatory countries will face enormous pressure. Under this external pressure, their internal conflicts will be temporarily alleviated."

"Tsk."

Even if they could have guessed this move, the few people who participated in the meeting still couldn't help but feel disappointed.

This chapter was censored by several hundred words, so it might look a bit strange. I've tried my best to fix it, lol.
There's nothing we can do about this topic. If you don't want to be affected by it, you can read the updates sooner, as it takes a while for the content to be submitted for review.

(Author, your roundabout way of asking me to read this is somewhat laughable.)
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(End of this chapter)