Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Zhao Jingsi, now in his seventies, is a leading figure among Chinese scientists, highly respected for his virtue and talent.

Among the dozen or so middle-aged representatives attending the video conference were his students or people who had worked for him.

His words were more effective than those of Chen Xiao, the emergency response manager, which calmed everyone down and allowed the meeting to end quickly.

On the other side, the five members of the Huitian Group did not dare to stay too long at the emotional farewell ceremony in Mengjin Town.

I only spent an hour strolling around, tried some local delicacies, and then quickly returned to my accommodation.

The residence was still that middle school, called Ban Hong Middle School.

Today is Consciousness Day, January 20, 2047. The world regressed at noon. By the time the Return to Heaven Group arrived in the afternoon, the school had already been cleared out.

The vast campus was very peaceful at this time, and the bright moon hung high in the middle of the night, as if plunging the whole world into gentleness.

Even after entering the campus, Sun Fumin and Lu Xue were still chattering away, talking about the interesting things that happened at the matchmaking corner. The others listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a few words.

Everyone tacitly refrained from discussing work. Although Chang Niankong had many questions in his heart, he suppressed his curiosity upon seeing this scene.

In fact, during the one-hour event, he kept pestering Jiang Ning with questions, even though he already had a general understanding of Jiang Ning's abilities before joining the Huitian Group.

However, upon seeing Jiang Ning, he couldn't resist asking about everything again, down to the smallest detail.

Jiang Ning wasn't annoyed by this at all, and answered every question his new teammate had. At the same time, Jiang Ning was also very curious about Chang Niankong.

He was a memory genius with the ability to remember everything he saw. He had a successful career and family, but around the age of 30, he went to study Taoism.

Regardless of whether Chang Niankong achieved anything through his Taoist practice, his experience alone is intriguing.

During the event, when Chang Niankong was sharing his experiences and insights, everyone gathered around him.

Everyone sat around a table, enjoying grilled skewers and beer. In addition, Chang Niankong was easy-going, frank, knowledgeable, and had a good memory, so everyone quickly accepted this new teammate.

When they arrived at the student dormitory, Zhou Yunci was standing downstairs to greet them.

The local soldiers who were secretly escorting him along the way all quietly left when they saw Zhou Yunci appear.

"Did you all have a good time?"

"Hahaha, of course I'm happy!" Sun Fumin laughed. "I suddenly realized that if the world really can't be reversed, traveling the world with Xiao Ning is a good way out."

"You're just after the free food and drinks, so you don't have to spend any more money, right?"

After finishing her sentence with a pout, Lu Xue quickly ran over to Zhou Yunci.

"Political Commissar Zhou, this is some good food for you. Eat it while it's still warm. The chicken and rice porridge is delicious."

"Xiaoxue is so thoughtful!"

Political Commissar Zhou took the bag of food, opened it and looked at it with great pleasure. Then he closed the bag and looked at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow: "What is it?"

Political Commissar Zhou nodded.

Lu Xue quickly took the food bag back and said, "Political Commissar Zhou, let me heat up your noodles again; they'll taste even better." After saying that, she pulled Sun Fumin away together.

Su Mian, Zhang Jimin, and Chang Niankong also turned to leave upon hearing the sound.

Jiang Ning suddenly called out to them, "No need to leave, we're all family."

As he spoke, Jiang Ning put his backpack on the ground and stretched comfortably.

I just attended a farewell ceremony, and everyone else left their luggage at Luban Hong Middle School.

He was the only one who couldn't manage it; carrying a 30-pound bag, he was exhausted after those two hours of commotion.

The key point is that, just in case, we cannot delegate the task to others.

After putting down his backpack, Jiang Ning sat down directly on the steps at the entrance of the middle school dormitory, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

One minute later, Jiang Ning pulled out five grayish-white beads out of thin air.

The beads emitted a faint white light, seemingly blending in with the moonlight.

This was the first time Chang Niankong had seen this scene up close, and his pupils couldn't help but contract again.

When he received the bead that represented him, it felt slightly cool to the touch, just like a glass marble, and he was even more surprised.

Jiang Ning said wearily, "Take these for now! It's already past four in the morning, and everyone needs to rest later. To avoid any accidents, let's leave everyone here for now!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Fumin, Su Mian, Lu Xue, and Zhang Jimin all went to find their equipment.

Chang Niankong looked around and smiled helplessly. He simply sat down next to Jiang Ning and waited for their return.

Zhou Yunci didn't rush to speak; his equipment remained with him the whole time.

Since Jiang Ning said everyone should have a meeting here, let's wait until everyone arrives before we talk about it.

Before long, the four returned. They didn't care whether the ground was dirty or not, and all sat side by side on the steps.

Zhou Yunci coughed lightly: "The organization just held a meeting and deduced that our mission over the past month has been leaked..."

No one responded; they listened quietly to Zhou Yunci's story.

"So everyone must be careful over the next two days. Especially Jiang Ning, you absolutely cannot lose the quantum memory device. Even if necessary..."

Zhou Yunci didn't finish his sentence, perhaps he was pondering his choice of words.

Sun Fumin, sitting on the outermost seat and leaning against his backpack, smiled faintly at the sound: "What's there to be embarrassed about? Being Xiao Ning's target. You don't need to worry about it; I'll be with Xiao Ning all the time!"

Jiang Ning frowned upon hearing this: "Political Commissar Zhou, is it really that serious?"

Zhou Yunci smiled dismissively: "Actually, I didn't want to tell you. This country is our territory. I don't believe there will be any danger for the time being. It's just that according to regulations, I have to give you some breathing room first."

Jiang Ning nodded upon hearing this, got up, took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out for himself, and tossed it directly to Sun Fumin.

Sun Fumin grinned, took out one, and tossed it to Zhang Jimin. Zhang Jimin did the same, taking out one and tossing it to Zhou Yunci.

A new smoker and three old smokers got up and walked to the side, leaving only Chang Niankong, Su Mian, and Lu Xue on the steps.

Chang Niankong looked up at the group, paused for a few seconds, then stood up and naturally took a cigarette from the pack in Zhou Yunci's hand, and lit it with Zhou Yunci.

Zhou Yunci looked at him, his expression momentarily blank, but he didn't say anything.

Jiang Ning exhaled a puff of smoke into the night sky, turned his back to the crowd, and said loudly, "If Political Commissar Zhou is only going to talk about this, I think we can go back to sleep."

“That’s right…” Sun Fumin chimed in, “In the era of great regression, the thing we fear least is death. Speaking of which, I really want to experience it. I heard that people in Japan are going crazy with death.”

When Lu Xue heard the words "go crazy," she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. However, she noticed that Su Mian was watching her quietly, so she quickly sat up straight and waved her hand as if to disperse the smell of smoke.

"That's not it..."

After Zhou Yunci finished speaking, his expression was conflicted, and he hesitated to say something more.

Jiang Ning turned around and saw this scene, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Old Zhou, don't try that trick on me like Chen Xiaolai. Does that old guy have another mission for me?"

"Hey, Master Jiang is really good at predicting things..." Zhou Yunci's expression relaxed. "It's not a mission, it's just that the Beijing Aerospace City needs your help with a small favor, a small favor..."