Reborn Before the Apocalypse: My Backing is the Nation

Chapter 26 Hope (3rd update, please continue reading)

Jiang Yang remained silent in response to Gu Changshan's reply.

If we're talking about time... there are still 88 hours left. At the current verification rate of 16 samples per hour, we can still verify about 1400 million formulas.

Jiang Yang nodded slightly and didn't ask any more questions.

Time continued to pass slowly as Jiang Yang continued his studies.

On the eighth day of the doomsday cycle, the radiation formula experiment yielded no results, and the same was true on the ninth day.

On the morning of the tenth day, Jiang Yang opened his eyes as usual.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Zhou Yu was already waiting there, having prepared Jiang Yang's breakfast. However, she seemed somewhat downcast and nervous today, only snapping out of her reverie when Jiang Yang called her name.

"You're here? Eat up."

After quietly finishing their breakfast, the two returned to the command room.

"Still no results?"

When Jiang Yang asked the question, Zhou Yu also raised her head, staring at Gu Changshan with hope and nervousness.

Gu Changshan's expression remained calm and resolute as always, as if no matter the outcome, it could not stir any emotion within him.

At this moment, there was no indication of whether the outcome was good or bad from his face.

He gently shook his head: "No."

Zhou Yu's vision dimmed instantly, and she looked completely lost and dejected.

There are approximately 16 hours left until the end of the world, and there are still about 250 million formulas available for testing before then.

However, if the previous tests of more than 20 million formulas failed to hit the correct target, the probability of the remaining 2.5 million formulas hitting the correct result is self-evident.

"How could this be?"

Jiang Yang murmured, "We're not aimlessly trying to crack a password like a supercomputer."

"The information I brought from my previous life roughly outlined the type of radiation and its approximate energy. With this data, we only need to experiment with about 4000 million different formulas in total. We've already tested 2000 million... and we haven't found anything at all?"

From a probabilistic standpoint, the probability that the 2000 million formulas that have been verified so far have hit the correct result is 50%.

But there is another obvious problem: the correct formula cannot exist alone.

For example, suppose the correct formula is composed of 16 particles with energies a, b, c, etc. Then, this radiation cannot have special lethality only when it exactly meets the standard; if it deviates slightly, it will only have normal lethality.

The difference between the correct and incorrect formulas is not so obvious.

A more likely scenario is that the correct formula has sufficient lethality, while a slightly off-target formula will also have a lethality that exceeds the normal level, but is slightly less than the correct formula. In other words, even a slightly off-target formula will exhibit unique characteristics that differ from the normal formula.

Therefore, the formula that we need to find is no longer just a specific one, but a "group" that includes the correct formula.

This group likely possesses a large number of recipes. If they find a recipe with destructive power exceeding normal levels, their own scientists will immediately detect the signs, continuously refining and optimizing it until they ultimately discover the absolutely correct recipe.

Suppose a population of 100 is distributed among a total of 4000 million samples. Then, half of them, or 2000 million samples, are randomly selected. What is the probability that each sample contains at least one member of the population?
Jiang Yang quickly arrived at the final result after a brief estimation.

Even considering that the population may be clustered, that is, densely distributed in a certain area and none in other areas, and taking into account the various accidents and errors in our experimental process, the final probability must be as high as 90% or more.

That's why Professor Lu Zhaoming said there was "great hope," and that's why the country invested so many resources and mobilized so many people in this area.

In fact, the research team initially estimated that they would find the first anomaly when the formula had been verified to approximately 1000 million doses. So why haven't we found anything yet?
"What did Professor Lu say?"

"Either we were just incredibly unlucky and happened to miss the right recipe, or... we were wrong from the start."

Gu Changshan calmly looked at Jiang Yang: "There is no such thing as a so-called correct formula. The real reason why low-dose radiation causes acute radiation sickness is based on other principles."

"The key issue is that we lack the relevant theories to guide our experiments."

Jiang Yang shook his head: "Since there's no result, I'm heading to Doomsday Base Seven today. You should go too."

"Yes."

At this moment, Jiang Yang had already sentenced human civilization to death in this lifetime.

Theoretically, there was still a sliver of hope, but reason told Jiang Yang that there was no hope left, and he had to prepare for a new cycle.

It's cruel, but that's reality.

He suddenly recalled the huge screens he had seen in the command center, the millions of people behind those screens who had worked tirelessly to requisition, design, and modify the particle accelerator, and the enormous resources the entire country had invested in it.

Now it seems that all of this investment has been wasted.

"No, these investments will not be in vain."

Jiang Yang silently told himself, "In the next cycle of life, these investments will help our country and civilization avoid a wrong direction, save a lot of time, and give us a greater chance to overcome the apocalypse in the next life."

A dozen minutes later, the convoy heading to Doomsday Seven Base had already set off.

Sitting in the back seat of the car, Jiang Yang looked out the window and saw that the streets outside were still bustling with traffic.

The sidewalks were bustling with people, and shops were filled with customers coming and going.

An atmosphere of bustling prosperity and tranquility.

"At least people in this generation don't have to end their lives in fear of doomsday prophecies."

To be able to complete this life without knowing or being aware of it is a kind of luck.

Ahead of the convoy was a small park.

Jiang Yang said to the driver, "Stop ahead, I need to get some fresh air."

"Yes."

The convoy stopped by the roadside, with dozens of plainclothes guards disguised as ordinary pedestrians following at a distance. Jiang Yang and Zhou Yu got out of the car and walked slowly along the park path.

Having lived in the underground base for nearly ten days, this was the first time Jiang Yang had experienced sunshine and fresh air.

Looking at the children playing, the elderly chatting, and the teenagers playing ball, Jiang Yang felt as if he had been transported to another world.

The nationwide mobilization of the previous ten days seems to have left no trace in the world of ordinary people.

Beside him, Zhou Yu remained silent. It wasn't until Jiang Yang stopped by the railing of the small lake and gazed at the scenery on the opposite shore that Zhou Yu uttered her first words of the day in a low voice.

"Jiang Yang, is there really no hope for us?"

(End of this chapter)