Did the world end today?

Chapter 388 Orientation
On the other side, the White House.

An elderly man with white hair sat in the meeting room, while opposite him sat the core decision-making team, including the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Interior.

In his hand was a progress report on the Los Angeles CKC fusion project.

Even he, a hardline leader who constantly spouts "MAGA" and once considered another country his greatest enemy, had to admit that the report's contents made such a project truly "great again."

In front of the display screen, a young staff member is giving a detailed and intense presentation on the project.

Judging from his expression, even he himself had doubts about the authenticity of the report.

"According to the reports sent back by the on-site construction team, the basic civil engineering work has been completed 6 days ahead of schedule and is currently on standby."

"Because we did not set a 'pre-emptive margin,' other equipment and materials have not yet arrived."

"Now, the on-site command has put forward two plans."

"First, all construction workers should rest and wait on the spot, while the equipment should be delivered as quickly as possible within 3 days."

"Second, construction personnel will continue to be transferred to Dezhou to carry out basic civil engineering work for the second CKC crystal fusion power station, and equipment transportation will proceed as originally planned."

“We believe that the first option is too risky – in fact, we have seriously insufficient experience in the transportation of large items, and blindly shortening the construction period could lead to uncontrollable consequences.”

“If an accident like the ‘bridge crash’ were to occur, the progress of the entire project would be completely slowed down, which would be a loss.”

"So rather than letting us take risks ourselves, we should let this experienced team take on more responsibility."

"After all, we can still handle the dispatch from Los Angeles to Texas."

"Large equipment doesn't need to be transported; it can be procured directly from Texas."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man in front of him suddenly raised his hand.

"You mean, they completed the civil engineering work in less than a week?"

"Yes."

The aide nodded slightly, then explained:

"This part of the work is not very technical, but we have to admit that they did a great job."

His words silenced the old man.

great?

It's more than just great.
As a president with a background in real estate, he understood all too well what it took to complete a mega-project.

The coordination of personnel and equipment, the comprehensiveness and meticulousness of the plan, and the efficiency of on-site dispatch and emergency response.
These elements are all indispensable.

The United States at this stage no longer possesses such qualities.

The last time he could recall completing a project with such efficiency was back in the late 80s when he was young.

That was the last era in which this country shone brightly in the field of large-scale engineering, and since then, that brilliance has faded for decades.
He let out a heavy breath, thought for a moment, and then replied:

"Let's choose the second option."

"We cannot afford to fail—our time is too limited."

"Sorry, sir."

After he finished speaking, the Minister of the Interior suddenly spoke up:
"I think this is actually an opportunity."

"We will eventually have to break free from their restrictions. If we rely too much on the teams and technology they provide, it will actually be detrimental to our future development."

"And, our time doesn't seem to be so limited."

"After all, we still have 18 years."

"I'm not talking about the time until the end of the world."

The old man waved his hand and said:
"I'm talking about how long it will take before we're completely left behind by them."

As soon as he finished speaking, the conference room fell silent.

He then continued speaking:
“Listen, you always tell me, sir, this is an era of alliances.”

"But can any of you tell me that we will all be able to successfully ascend to a higher dimension before the end of the world?"

"Don't joke around! Dimensional ascension is not a scam! But it's no small matter, and our decision is definitely not as simple as throwing a bag of trash out the door!"

“You all have sufficiently high authority, you are intelligent enough, you are the most intelligent people in the world, no one can compare to you, no one understands dimensional ascension better than you!”

"You should also know what those 'dimensional upgrade solutions' we've already seen represent!"

"Tell me now, is it possible to achieve dimensional ascension?"

"No one, no one can guarantee me that."

"The only thing you can guarantee is one thing—that at least some of the people will be able to achieve dimensional ascension."

"Can you guarantee that we will be among those who ascend to a higher dimension?"

"Actually, no."

"Therefore, we must be fast, we must be faster than them. We cannot afford to make mistakes; we need to cherish everything we have already achieved!"

"This is the plan!"

As always, he delivered a passionate speech.

But it seemed that no one in the entire conference room truly understood what he was trying to express.

Looking at the puzzled gazes around him, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I mean, they've already started the 'Limiter Array' program, right?"

"This plan is the key to achieving a higher dimension."

"I think we can no longer fall behind in this area."

Not falling behind is a simple goal.

But how easy is it to achieve?

“We must know what the border really means before they do.”

"We must build the first piece of the puzzle before they do."

"This will bring us back to the poker table, and only when we're at the table do we have a choice."

"Regardless of the final outcome, at least..."

"We will not be the ones who are abandoned."

".clear."

The Minister of the Interior nodded slowly.

Then he asked:
"So, what do we need to do?"

"It's very simple."

The old man stood up.

His figure was already showing signs of hunching, and his face was full of fatigue.

But his eyes were not cloudy at all.

"This is a competition."

“And competition requires taking risks.”

“We are not trying to start a cold war – no one would be stupid enough to start a cold war at this time.”

"We just want to reclaim our rightful place through fair competition."

"Therefore, we must be more radical."

"We must have our own limiters."

This is an order, not a request.

"All right."

"That's it."

"I think our conversation has gone on long enough."

"Next, we will discuss how to obtain such a 'limiter'."

The formation of the alliance does not mean the demise of ambition.

Just as Zhang Liming predicted, faced with increasingly difficult problems, the world is quietly heading towards another form of division.

Such a division is not drastic, and perhaps in the eyes of some, it is simply a form of "beneficial competition."

Only those who have personally experienced the process of division know that when cracks begin to appear, crisis lurks in the shadows. However, humanity, which has not yet truly achieved "omniscience and omnipotence," has not yet realized the consequences of division.
-
Lin Xu, of course, would not know.

At this time, he was busy preparing for the "personality cloning" technology.

The number on the bracelet has returned to "1". It has been a full five days since I last entered the bracelet world.

The energy recovery rate was getting slower and slower, and Lin Xu didn't know what this meant.

The only thing that's certain is that his chances are getting slimmer and slimmer.

In the foreseeable future, every opportunity to enter the world of fitness trackers will become increasingly precious.

He must obtain as much information as possible.

This time, if he were to enter again, he would have to obtain everything related to "personality cloning".

Sitting in his office, Lin Xu wrote down all the questions he wanted to ask Jiang Xingye in his notebook.

This includes methods of cloning, risks, and specific usage of Ayana, the "lighthouse."

After reviewing everything, while his memory was still clear, he gently touched the bracelet without the slightest hesitation.

Consciousness was instantly drained.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already on that familiar grassland.

"Lin Xu".

Jiang Xingye was standing opposite him, with a relaxed expression on his face, as if his expectations had been fulfilled.

"You're still here."

"This proves that you have indeed not fallen into an irreparable disaster because of the 'boundary' issue you mentioned last time."

"Is everything going smoothly?"

"So far, things are going very smoothly."

Lin Xu nodded slightly, then quickly explained:

“We have essentially reached an agreement with that special ‘probe,’ who has provided us with a great deal of detail about the boundary defect.”

"But the problem is, we are facing a paradox."

"We cannot effectively utilize the boundaries until they are fully resolved."

"Without effectively utilizing the boundary, we have no way to analyze the boundary."

"The only solution is to use its ability to modify real-world conceptual information through boundaries to help us understand this flaw."

"But the problem is, we don't trust him."

“You really shouldn’t trust him.”

Jiang Xingye nodded slowly.

"To hand over absolute power to an individual who has a history of misconduct is an extremely risky thing to do."

"Regardless of his motives, the fact that he did not choose the common interests of humanity the first time he entered the higher-dimensional world proves that he is not trustworthy."

"Your choice is correct—but how do you intend to solve this problem?"

"It's very simple."

Lin Xu replied:
"That's why I came here."

"We want to use Ayana to replicate Qin Shizhong's personality."

“If the replication can be completed, Ayana can easily use her ‘intuition’ to reach the boundaries like Qin Shizhong.”

"Therefore, we need your technology."

"Our technology."

Jiang Xingye was stunned for a moment.

"You mean, the technology for directly 'personality editing'?"

"Yes."

"This is risky."

Jiang Xingye frowned and said:
"We have advanced to the later stages of high-dimensional technology in personality editing."

"At that time, we had many different options to choose from."

"Whether it's modifying or 'enlightening' through a high-dimensional outpost, or directly 'copying' in a low-dimensional world using more complex but more realistic methods, it has a very high tolerance for error."

"But you can't. You don't have a stable high-dimensional outpost, and your technology is also insufficient to directly modify personality in a low-dimensional world."

"--If you were given enough time, you could certainly do it too."

"But you can't wait, right?"

"Yes."

Lin Xu nodded emphatically.

Jiang Xingye's answer was slightly different from what he had expected.

At first, he thought that this personality editing technology was developed based on the characteristics of "butterflies" or "pollen".

But now it seems.
That doesn't seem to be the case?

This means that one cannot simply use one's own abilities to obtain the answer.

That's trouble.

If this is truly a solution that requires a long period of trial and error and development to arrive at, then it has significance.
It will naturally dissipate.

He frowned as he looked at Jiang Xingye, who took a deep breath and then spoke:
"The only way is to use a higher-dimensional channel."

"High-dimensional passage?"

Lin Xu's eyes lit up instantly.

If we can utilize high-dimensional channels, does that mean this problem is not unsolvable?
This answer was within Lin Xu's expectations, but he still didn't know how Jiang Xingye's so-called "utilizing high-dimensional channels" would actually work.

He looked directly into Jiang Xingye's eyes and continued to ask:
How to use it?

“Ayana is the key.”

Jiang Xingye replied:

"First, we can confirm that the Ayana you mentioned, like the Ayana in our world, is a kind of 'high-dimensional anchor point'."

"Her inherent characteristics allow her to stabilize in higher-dimensional spaces and expand her personality by continuously absorbing information from higher-dimensional channels."

"The key to absorbing information is to 'see the information'."

"Have you conducted a comprehensive analysis of Ayana's personalities? Do you know how she identified those personalities and absorbed them into her 'body'?"

"No."

Lin Xu shook his head, then said:

"But this is exactly what we want."

"Time is limited, so let's get straight to the answer."

"clear."

Jiang Xingye paused slightly, then said:

“In countless worlds, the specific manifestations of countless lighthouses are slightly different.”

"However, her basic principles are largely the same."

"She must first ascend to a higher dimension, and then the lighthouse must traverse all the time she can reach."

"She has to trace back along the flat surface of the sea until she finds that unusual 'collection of information' on the surface."

"Then, she will guide those information sets toward her."

"And when that information is incorporated into her collection, she will package and merge each individual collection, ultimately making it her own 'independent personality'."

"Now, you need to give her a specific personality."

"Then, the crux of the problem becomes clear."

"That is"

"Direction."

(End of this chapter)