Did the world end today?

Chapter 405 The Doomsday Process
"The secondary disasters are not over yet."

Inside the rear command post, Zhang Liming, looking exhausted, put down the report in his hand and said to Bai Mo beside him:

"It has been proven that low-entropy dust can indeed suppress the spacetime curvature oscillations caused by the disorder of the high-dimensional overflow edge rules, but this suppression is not 'cancellation'."

"To be precise, it's like throwing a handful of sand into boiling water."

"Its occupancy can quickly stabilize the violently vibrating molecules around it, but that's about all it can do."

"We cannot maintain the presence of low-entropy dust, especially not in higher dimensions."

"This means that such repressive measures are destined to be short-lived and limited."

"It can't even be used on a large scale - low-entropy dust is the only material we've found so far that is so expensive to produce that it could cripple our other development programs."

"If we invest our productivity in dust production, we might indeed be able to suppress the secondary disasters caused by the overflow of higher dimensions, but that also means..."

"We must abandon all other plans."

"Including the Limiter Array program."

After Zhang Liming finished speaking, Bai Mo nodded silently.

Just now, she and everyone here went through a truly humiliating escape.

The thunderstorm that fell from the sky did not spread along the edge of the high-level overflow area, but appeared suddenly across the entire wasteland with random probability.
-
Even thousands of kilometers away in South America, a plasma storm disaster was reported simultaneously without warning.

This proves that the area is still within the "probability influence zone" of high-dimensional overflow, only the probability has been reduced to an extremely small degree.

Even a very small probability does exist.

In fact, it is far higher than the probability of a "natural disaster" occurring under normal circumstances.

In fact, the secondary disasters caused by the high-dimensional overflow have spread globally, and it is only a matter of time before larger-scale and more catastrophic events occur.

It's no wonder that Zhang Liming expressed such strong concern about this thunderstorm.

If, as before, the higher-dimensional overflow manifests only as a disaster similar to a "hurricane," then humanity can completely control the disaster with extremely limited resource allocation.

But once the "thunderstorm" phase begins, everything changes.
Bai Mo let out a heavy breath, and then said:

"No matter how much productivity burden there is, low-entropy dust remains the only way for us to control the oscillations of spacetime curvature."

"We must find that balance in the distribution of productivity."

"As long as secondary disasters can be contained within a limited range, and as long as the limiter array is completed, everything will be different."

"At least by then, we will have more options."

"Even within this region, we can initiate corrections directly from a higher dimension, thereby suppressing rule changes at the edge of the higher-dimensional overflow."

"That's a rather distant goal."

Zhang Liming waved his hand, interrupting Bai Mo's narration.

He understood better than Bai Mo that solving low-dimensional problems through "dimensional ascension" was far more complicated than most people thought.

Even if one can ascend to a higher dimension, the ascendant who acts as a pioneer does not have the ability to "make his words become law".

He cannot change the world with a simple "spell" like a butterfly.

Instead, what he has to do is find the right string among an infinite number of strings and then pluck it in the right way.

Clearly, at this stage, humanity has not yet mastered either the strings themselves or the method of plucking them.
Zhang Liming subconsciously stroked the pendant on his wrist, and a thought that had been suppressed for a long time resurfaced in his mind.

Perhaps I should really consider ascending to a higher dimension.

Butterflies alone are not enough.

He needs an assistant, an assistant who truly understands higher dimensions.

And for me, it's actually quite suitable.

but.
"report!"

Zhang Liming's thoughts were still swirling in his mind when a man's voice suddenly came from the entrance of the command post.

He turned around and saw a disheveled man walk in.

The person who came was indeed Chen Qin. His hair had been burned and curled by the high temperature of the plasma, and there were also clearly visible burns on the back of his bare hands and neck. Fortunately, these wounds were not too serious.

"Come in."

Zhang Liming nodded to Chen Qin, then asked:

"How are the casualty statistics coming along?"

"Not small."

A hint of heartache flashed in Chen Qin's eyes.

"It has been confirmed that 47 of our personnel have died, most of whom were base security personnel, a small number of on-site researchers, and 4 construction workers."

"In other aspects, the U.S. reported 403 casualties."

"Including 260 military personnel, 20 researchers, and the rest are all civilians."

"civilian??"

Zhang Liming stood up in surprise, and then asked:

"How could there be civilians here??"

"The thunderstorm did not extend beyond our previously designated outer warning zone; the most affected area was only the core area. Where did these civilians come from in this region?"

“Fanatical pilgrims”.

Bai Mo chimed in, answering from the side, while Chen Qin nodded and said:
"That's right. According to the US, these civilians are all fanatical pilgrims."

He exhaled heavily, his muscles tightening the skin on his neck, and the sudden pain made his body tremble.

"These people purchased a large number of anti-infrared camouflage equipment on their own, bypassed the guard posts set up by the US on the perimeter, and reached the core area."

"When they discovered it, these civilians were less than 10 kilometers away from the dangerous boundary of the higher-dimensional overflow."

"After the arrests were carried out, all of these individuals were temporarily detained within the Ranger camp, which was responsible for perimeter security."

"They intended to report it, but it seems there was a deviation in the reporting procedure."

"Then, they were all lost in this thunderstorm."

After he finished speaking, Zhang Liming and Bai Mo both gasped.

It’s over.

That was the only thought that popped into their minds at that moment.

To put it bluntly, the deaths of more than 120 civilians are not a significant loss in the face of such a massive disaster.

In particular, these more than one hundred people lost their lives because they illegally crossed the military restricted area.

The problem is, they died at the perfect time.

They were first taken control of by the Rangers, and then destroyed by the thunderstorm.

The US absolutely cannot suppress this news.

It's even possible that the news has already spread at this moment.

Such a message would trigger a public opinion storm that would be equally disastrous.

Thinking of this, Zhang Liming immediately spoke up:
"Bai Mo, you need to be prepared."

"Your work has come."

Bai Mo nodded without speaking. But at that moment, she had already mentally rehearsed what was about to happen many times over.
Jinling.

On the large screen in front of Lin Xu, news headlines were flashing by one after another.

"A major safety incident has occurred in the High Dimension Overflow Area in Nevada, and accountability mechanisms have been activated."

"Natural disaster or man-made disaster? Should this disaster have been avoided?"

"Analysis of the causes of plasma storms: A detailed explanation of 'probability distribution'."

"Are we still safe? Is this disaster a repeat of the Geneva attacks, or a new death knell?"

"A disaster that should have been avoided: the bizarre inefficiency of so-called democratic systems."

Looking at the news report in front of him, Lin Xu let out a long sigh of relief.

Then, he turned to Jiang Xingye, who was also staring at the screen, and said:
"The response to this countercurrent was quite swift."

"However, the results are not necessarily very good."

"Bai Mo chose the one that caused relatively less damage—or rather, the one that, in the short term, had relatively stronger carrying capacity—from two different directions."

"It's clever to shift anxiety from the end of the world to people, systems, and the official administrative capacity."

"But from another perspective, it's nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst."

"Drinking poison to quench thirst?"

Jiang Xingye shrugged.

"I don't think it's like drinking poison to quench thirst."

"Several arguments in these reports are accurate and effective."

"For example, the most typical example is the bizarre inefficiency of the democratic system—don't you think this is actually one of the most pressing problems we need to solve at this stage?"

“Everyone knows that in a post-apocalyptic context, we need a stronger core decision-making body.”

"But because of the inertia of so-called democracy, most Western countries dare not take this step."

"Taking this opportunity to take this step now is actually beneficial for us."

"Isn't it better than just admitting that this incident is beyond our current capabilities and control?"

"If we do that, all the groundwork we laid beforehand will be for nothing."

"Public confidence is very fragile. Although we can eventually rebuild confidence, the situation will not be the same as it is now."

"really."

Lin Xu answered softly.

The report that Jiang Xingye mentioned was also one that he himself paid close attention to.

The content of this report is very simple; it merely dissects the difficulties faced by the current mainstream Western system from the perspective of the "inefficiency trap."

Its focus in firing the shot can be summed up in one word.

"The excessive division of power."

When power is excessively fragmented, no single entity will have absolute power over any single matter.

The most typical example is that in this case, there were disagreements not only between the military and the state government, but also between the state government and civil society organizations.

Environmental organizations demand consideration of the local ecological environment, labor organizations demand consideration of the interests of local workers, and the legal system demands respect for the rights of landowners.
These organizations retained veto power, and although most of the "veto proposals" were rejected after China's strong intervention, the security zone ultimately appeared incomplete, loose, and even riddled with problems.

To put it bluntly, this is the real reason why those civilians died in the thunderstorm.

Pointing out this point and using it as a fulcrum for attack might indeed give our side a greater initiative in subsequent work.

Thinking about this, Lin Xu nodded thoughtfully.

White ink
She is indeed quite perceptive.

To date, the role played by the Countercurrent Working Group has long since gone beyond simply "dismantling theocracy."

It has become a symbol of change and progress, and whenever it appears in the public eye, it often represents an unquestionable authority.

Lin Xu only hoped that such authority could last a little longer.

This should continue until I am truly able to stand in the spotlight.

He stood up and waved his hand gently, and the image on the screen immediately changed.

One by one, points of light gradually illuminated, and each point of light represented the efforts being made by all countries and organizations around the world to contain this terrifying high-dimensional overflow.

On Lop Nur, small-scale limiter verification projects are still underway.

Its purpose is not merely to build a system that allows people to "ascend to higher dimensions," but more importantly, to eliminate risks for the Nevada limiter project through this verification with extremely low lead time.

Deep beneath the Arctic Ocean, several submersibles are attempting to utilize the high-pressure, low-temperature environment beneath the sea surface to find newer, lower-cost solutions for manufacturing low-entropy dust.

If they succeed, humanity will be able to control secondary disasters more easily.

Meanwhile, in geosynchronous orbit, the largest "space dock" in human history has begun construction.

The structure of this dock is actually quite simple, consisting of several giant engineering satellites connected together. However, once completed, it will give humanity the ability to build spacecraft directly in a spaceport.

Such capabilities are, in fact, a prerequisite for humans to leave Earth and use Akubieri technology for large-scale space colonization.

Lin Xu scanned the light spots one by one, and the percentage numbers next to the light spots clearly showed the progress of each project.

After reviewing the progress of all the key projects, his eyes gradually darkened.

He has already reached a conclusion.

Although I don't want to admit it, this conclusion...
The outlook is not optimistic.

"We cannot escape or avoid the secondary disasters brought about by the overflow of higher dimensions."

He opened his mouth and said:
"For a long time to come, we may have to live with disasters."

"I know."

Jiang Xingye clenched his fist.

"If it weren't for the Americans"

"This was an inevitable event."

Lin Xu waved his hand to interrupt Jiang Xingye.

"High-dimensional overflow was bound to happen sooner or later. Even without this accident, we would have faced the same problem after the limiter array was built."

"Their early action has only pushed us into a more urgent, but also more dynamic, situation."

"Therefore, there is no need to investigate who is responsible."

"It doesn't make sense."

"The most crucial thing now is that we must acknowledge the disaster."

"We must acknowledge that this is not the end, from hurricanes to thunderstorms; there will be many more unpredictable disasters in the future."

"the most important is"

"We must admit that we have, in fact, entered the process of doomsday."

"This is actually not a bad thing."

(End of this chapter)