"Hello? Academician Lu! Well, well, what a pleasant surprise. Have you finally finished your seclusion?"
The director's office at the Science and Industry Bureau.
Director Li had been reviewing documents at his desk when Lu Zhou's unexpected call came in, much to his delight.
For one thing, Lu Zhou had suddenly ended his seclusion, which surely meant he had made progress in his research. For another, it had been a long time since Lu Zhou had called him of his own accord!
Yet just as he perked up, ready to hear what Lu Zhou needed his help with, the tone on the other end of the line sounded a little off.
At least, it was not quite what he had imagined.
"Before we get into anything else, what exactly is going on with those prehistoric ruins on Mars?"
"...What do you mean, what's going on?"
The question left Director Li completely bewildered. Holding the phone, he wore a confused expression, unable to process it for a moment.
Realizing that his wording might have caused a misunderstanding, Lu Zhou took a deep breath, rephrased his question, and continued.
"...All right, let me put it another way. During these past few days while I was in seclusion, why was information about those Martian civilization ruins and extraterrestrial civilization suddenly made public?"
"Oh, that's what you mean." Understanding dawned on Director Li's face. He leaned back in his office chair and said with a smile, "That's a rather complicated story... Besides, didn't I tell you about it a little while ago?"
Lu Zhou: "???"
What the hell?
When had he ever told me that?
When no response came from the other end for a long while, Director Li grew a little embarrassed. He coughed softly and offered a reminder.
"Don't you remember? It