Did the world end today?

Chapter 279 You're Not Simple

After explaining everything to Ayana, or more precisely, Aishwarya, Lin Xu's remaining time was down to its last few seconds.

His consciousness quickly faded, and he then fell back onto his body in the lounge.

Lin Xu sat up in bed, feeling more invigorated than ever before.

New world!
He saw a new world, and this new world was exactly what he envisioned humanity should be like when facing the end of the world.

It doesn't necessarily mean gritting your teeth and forging ahead with a ferocious expression, filled with despair and suffering.

It can also be about moving forward with a relaxed, open, and energetic attitude, carrying a sense of mission.

Which method will get you there faster?

That's not necessarily true.

The human species is inherently designed to find a balance between "stress" and "release".

This thing is like a normal distribution function, moving to the right along the X-axis. As the pressure increases, the efficiency improvement will show a "high at first and then low" state.

The final output will be directly linked to efficiency.

Therefore, perhaps this solution is the best solution.

After getting out of bed, Lin Xu walked to his desk, opened his notebook, and wrote down the latest clues.

First, the world of the Alliance era chose a path of laying the foundation first and then exploring fundamental theories. Although no large-scale breakthroughs in fundamental theories have been achieved by 2029, it is foreseeable that the level of fundamental theories in this world will be greatly improved in the next few years.

[Secondly, the Correctors organization led by Zhang Liming has not been completely eradicated, but its influence has been greatly weakened. Judging from the fact that they need to use direct attacks to obstruct the Tombstone project, they have basically lost their influence at the top level.]

Third, He Qijun may be the key to unlocking Ayana. It's not that you need to unlock Ayana first to find He Qijun, but rather that you unlock Ayana by finding He Qijun.

After writing down the three clues, Lin Xu paused subconsciously.

The third clue was one that I had always overlooked.

Even the direction was wrong.

But actually, this is a very simple thing, so why couldn't I think of it?

Ultimately, it was because he was too deeply influenced by Zhang Liming that he subconsciously ruled out this option.

Zhang Liming.
His dominance was so strong that he himself thought no one could rival him.

But in reality, is He Qijun really weaker than him?
No.

He's a ruthless person who would spend a full four months calibrating his time perception by silently counting. Compared to Zhang Liming, his willpower is even stronger.

In the struggle for "personality," a stronger will may be more useful than a smarter mind.

perfect!

The next time I enter the bracelet world, I should see an "unlocked" Ayana.

Lin Xu raised his wristband and glanced at the numbers on it.

Unfortunately, what he saw was a flashing "1".

The energy expenditure was only slightly excessive.
But even this small amount prevented him from re-entering that world for a short period of time.

But that's okay, twice a day is actually enough.

Let's give it another chance, we can use it tonight or tomorrow!
At this point, it was already 11:30 a.m.

Time for lunch!
Although I had just eaten breakfast not long ago.

But the important thing about lunch wasn't the lunch itself, but having lunch with Jiang Xingye and her parents.

After all, I'd already missed dinner with them because I slept so soundly; it would be really impolite to miss lunch too.
Thinking of this, Lin Xu quickly packed his things, went out to greet Qin Feng and Qi Yuan, and headed towards Jiang Xingye's office.

After knocking and entering, Jiang Xingye was still busy at her desk. Lin Xu leaned closer and saw that she was writing a supplementary report on the Tianmen project.

She wasn't a "professional" in the true sense, but by using her identity as a pollen, she possessed a lot of "fragmented" key information.

This further means that every piece of advice she gives is actually crucial.

At the very least, it's the technical team that makes certain trade-offs and considerations.

In addition to the information brought by "pollen", Lin Xu noticed that there was also a feasibility report next to her.

I picked it up and flipped through it. The contents of the report weren't complicated; it could be summarized in one sentence.

"How to implement the equipment deployment for the Tianmen project in the lowest possible cost?"

The entire report was very professional.

Or to put it more accurately, it's extremely pragmatic.

She introduced some potential future technological concepts, such as space elevators born from the materials revolution and new launch methods born from the development of gravitational interference technology.

In summary, all her ideas and designs are based on only one word:

save money.

Saving money means saving resources.

She really grasped the core idea very early on.

In the face of the apocalypse, conserving resources is truly a top priority for humanity.

Being able to complete a task with minimal resource consumption and maximum efficiency means having more resources and time to invest in other projects.

This is of paramount importance to the development of the entire world.

"really not bad."

Lin Xu looked down at Jiang Xingye, who put down his pen, looked up, and cautiously covered his collar, asking:
"What's good about it?"

"Can't you think straight for once?"

Lin Xu was both amused and exasperated.

"I said your feasibility report was good—what's wrong, are you that scared?"

Jiang Xingye stuck out his tongue.

"I'm really scared now, I still feel a bit unsteady when I walk."

"Ha, the weak."

Lin Xu extended his hand to Jiang Xingye.

"Let's go have dinner with your parents."

"Which restaurant did you book? You're not going to eat in the cafeteria, are you?"

Do you think I'm that stupid?

Jiang Xingye rolled his eyes.

"The administrative team helped arrange it; we're going to a mansion."

"We can just tell them it's home-cooked food, and that would be acceptable."

Do you think your dad will believe that?

Jiang Xingye shrugged.

Whether he believes it or not is the National Security Bureau's business, not mine.

"Anyway, he won't say anything carelessly, and we will arrange basic confidentiality training for them later."

"Why worry about that? We just need to make sure they are well taken care of."

"Besides, they're going back tonight, so there's nothing wrong with treating them to a nice meal, right?"

"That's true."

Lin Xu didn't say much.

The two walked out of the office together, got into the pre-arranged "private car," and headed straight for the hotel where Jiang Xingye's parents were staying.

The four met downstairs at the hotel and then headed straight for the mansion.
Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of the mansion, which was arranged by the administrative and logistics staff.

At first, Lin Xu was worried that such an arrangement might be too flamboyant and illogical, so as to arouse Jiang Huai's suspicion.

However, once he arrived at the destination, he immediately felt relieved.

This was not the kind of "luxurious" private club he had imagined.

It was just an ordinary old house on the banks of the Qinhuai River.

You might ask how special it is, but it's not really.

After all, there are quite a few old houses like this along the Qinhuai River, and some of them have even been converted into guesthouses.

But you say it's really just an ordinary old house?

It's clear from some of the hidden arrangements that it's not simple.
-
But Xu Jing didn't care about that.

She kept dragging her husband around to take pictures, capturing every flower in the small garden, the goldfish in the pond, and even a tiny floral window on the door. According to her, since she'd come all this way, and her future son-in-law was paying for her travel expenses, she definitely wanted to take lots of photos to show off to her best friends.

Lin Xu and Jiang Xingye naturally wouldn't disturb her enjoyment, and only invited them to sit down in the courtyard after the food was served.

"This place is really nice—how did you find it?"

Xu Jing asked:
"It's not a private club, is it? I don't see any other guests."

"Home-style cooking".

Jiang Xingye answered without changing his expression or skipping a beat:

"The owner is a wealthy person. He opened this shop partly to earn some money for the maintenance of the old house, and partly just to pass the time."

"I knew it!"

Xu Jing nodded repeatedly.

"Hey Lao Jiang, which one do you choose, this one or this one?"

Jiang Huai leaned closer to Xu Jing and looked at her, then replied helplessly:
Are there any differences between these two?

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Xu couldn't help but laugh.

In fact, the same conversations often occurred between him and Jiang Xingye.

He didn't know the difference between the many photos Jiang Xingye took and the many clothes he chose; in his eyes, they were all the same.
Lin Xu and Jiang Huai exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing a helpless smile that only men could understand.

The cold dishes were already on the table, and the group ate and chatted.

Jiang Huai asked Lin Xu:
"I heard from Ono that you don't smoke or drink. Do you have any other hobbies?"

Other hobbies.

Lin Xu frowned subconsciously.

Does destroying the world count?

Traveling to another world to fight, cause big explosions, and pilot a spaceship...
However, he certainly couldn't say this to Jiang Huai, so he could only reply:

"Actually, I don't have any other hobbies. I just read books, watch movies, and keep up with the news."

"so."

A cryptic expression appeared on Jiang Huai's face. After a slight pause, he continued to ask:
What kind of news do you usually read?

Ok? !

Lin Xu immediately became alert.

The flavor of online politics!
Sure enough, whenever two men get together, this is almost always the topic of conversation!
He coughed and replied:
"I read everything, but I pay more attention to the technology field."

"Too."

Jiang Huai nodded thoughtfully.

"You're in this industry, so it's normal for you to be interested in technology."

"Speaking of which, have you seen the recent news?"

What are your thoughts on the discussions surrounding future infrastructure development?

Future infrastructure?

Lin Xu thought he would ask some sociological questions, but he was surprisingly professional right from the start.

As expected of someone who had worked in a design institute before, they still retain some of the characteristics of a technical talent.

However, this question was not difficult for Lin Xu to answer.

After thinking for a moment, he answered:

"In fact, many people now believe that once nuclear fusion and room temperature superconducting technologies are implemented, large-scale infrastructure construction, such as road and bridge construction, will be rolled out on a large scale."

"But I think this is the least likely thing to happen."

"The reason we need a lot of roads and bridges is essentially to pursue a higher efficiency of energy exchange between regions."

"For example, we need to input the city's surplus energy into the surrounding areas, and at the same time, we need to input different kinds of energy from the surrounding areas into the city."

"But after the advent of nuclear fusion, for a long time to come, our energy production will actually be in surplus."

"Since there is an excess of energy, it is impossible for it to be invested in large-scale infrastructure projects with low immediate returns."

“Low-altitude transportation may become the mainstream, and road and bridge infrastructure will continue to decline until the trend of energy surplus is reversed.”

After Lin Xu finished speaking, Jiang Huai laughed and said:

"It's a bit presumptuous of you to say these things to my face—I used to work in road and bridge engineering."

"Why do you think we won't invest resources in roads and bridges? This is something that benefits the present and future generations, so why wouldn't we do it?"

Lin Xu shrugged.

"That's how it used to be."

"But the future is not like that."

"Humans have lived on the ground for millions of years, but it is very likely that in a few years, humans will be living in the air."

"Then what's the point of building bridges and paving roads?"

In fact, Lin Xu's experience came entirely from the worlds he had lived through.

In the three "large worlds" we have experienced so far, and countless "small worlds" during the Alliance era, not a single world has chosen to "stay on the ground".

Humanity has dreamt of flying for far too long.

When they actually start to touch the sky, who will still look down?
Both the large-scale deployment of EVTOL in the future and gravitational interference technology are actually related to this.
Seeing that Lin Xu spoke with such certainty, Jiang Huai on the other side did not refute him any further.

He clicked his tongue in amazement and shook his head, then said:
"Xiaolin, you're really something else."

"Although I don't know what you do for a living, you are so different from your peers."

"You said you don't have any special hobbies, so obviously you don't need to smoke, drink, or socialize."

“But your position is not low—you see, there is no middle ground here.”

"There is actually only one answer that can satisfy both 'not low status' and 'no need for socializing' at the same time."

"His status is exceptionally high."

"Furthermore, given your understanding of the infrastructure and construction industry, most people wouldn't be able to give you such an answer."

"This is not a matter of 'knowledge,' it is a matter of 'vision.'"

"Your vision is truly insightful and comprehensive."

"Tsk, our Ono, could it be that she's trying to climb the social ladder?"

His words were clearly a test for Lin Xu, but Lin Xu was once again shocked by his keen insight.

After a slight hesitation, Lin Xu ultimately chose to avoid the question and answered indirectly:
"There's no such thing as trying to climb the social ladder."

“She is not my appendage, nor is she merely my future wife and the mother of my children.”

"She is my comrade-in-arms, my comrade, and my most important support."

"I can rest assured that."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xingye secretly scratched Lin Xu's palm with his finger under the table.

On the other side, Xu Jing and Jiang Huai were also all smiles.

This answer is perhaps better than any answer he had previously considered.

"Eat! Eat!"

"We're heading back this afternoon, so you can pick up your marriage certificates here yourselves!"

"We'll take care of the arrangements."

The atmosphere at the dinner table immediately became harmonious.

Lin Xu picked up his chopsticks, intending to take some food.

But at that moment, his security device suddenly started vibrating.

"Excuse me, I need to reply to a message."

As he spoke, Lin Xu stood up, turned slightly to the side, and took out the secure device.

Meanwhile, a message had already been transmitted from the secure machine.

The content of this message is not complicated.

"The time crystal is becoming unstable. We are considering organizing an emergency high-dimensional adaptation experiment and need your advice and permission."

(End of this chapter)