"What major disaster?" Zhou Tao asked.
The soldier, unperturbed, found a seat and explained in detail, "This disaster originated from President Zhang's early warning, combined with our geological observations."
Zhou Tao sat down as well, took a small sip of the soup, and listened quietly. Besides him, there were many other drivers around him who were also interested in what the soldier was saying, and they all listened patiently as well.
"Current observations indicate that the Earth's core temperature is rising rapidly in our timeline, and the immense heat conducted from the Earth's depths has begun to melt the crust."
"Plate structures that originally took tens or even hundreds of millions of years to form are now being rapidly destroyed by rising temperatures, making the Earth's crust increasingly unstable, and the probability of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions is gradually increasing globally."
After this conversation, Zhou Tao realized the seriousness of the situation.
The earth's crust is melting; how can this not be serious?
This sounds no less daunting than the Ice Age they are about to face.
The moment Zhou Tao had this thought, he knew he was wrong, and terribly wrong at that.
Because the soldier immediately said the next sentence:
"According to predictions, the brewing of this disaster will reach its peak in December 2012, at which time we will face a catastrophe of apocalyptic scale."
"The six major tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust— the Pacific Ocean, Eurasia, Africa, Americas, Indian Ocean, and Antarctica plates—will completely loosen. They will sway and shake under the impact of energy from the Earth's core, colliding like high-speed car crashes..."
Zhou Tao's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "The Earth's crust, tectonic plates... they can collide?"
The reactions of others around him were not much different.
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
"If tectonic plates collide, wouldn't that cause a magnitude 10 earthquake?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
At first, they approached it with the intention of listening to a story, but now they don't know what to feel.
On the other side, the soldier sighed helplessly.
"I would prefer there to be some exaggeration, but based on our current simulation results, a magnitude 10 earthquake would be considered mild."
"Once the energy in the Earth's core is fully converted and released, it will be enough to cause earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher in all locations around the world, and will also trigger unprecedented global tsunamis. At that time, the Earth will become a boiling cauldron..."
The soldier briefly explained the simulation results that have already been made public.
Even in the best-case scenario, the result would be the complete extinction of the global population; no one could survive a massive global flood.
After hearing the soldier's story, everyone around fell silent.
Zhou Tao looked up at the bright sun in the sky and suddenly shivered. Everything seemed to have returned to fifteen years ago, to that apocalyptic moment filled with cries and wails, chaos and fear.
The fear and hatred of the sun returned to the hearts of all the drivers once again.
They empathized with this soldier and with the people of this time and space.
We have all suffered from the harmful effects of the sun.
"So what are you going to do?" someone finally asked.
"Since you already knew in advance, you must have some defensive measures in place, right?"
"If you really don't know what to do, you can try following our car back?"
The soldier smiled and thanked Zhou Tao and the others for their kindness.
"Don't worry about us, everyone. We received a warning from President Zhang two years in advance, and people from our timeline have already begun to temporarily relocate to No. 2 Spacetime through the Spacetime Tunnel."
"According to the plan, everyone in our timeline will be temporarily relocated to No. 2 Spacetime. Even within our own country, the nationwide relocation will begin next month, in 2011."
"Once we relocate, any earthquakes in this time and space will be irrelevant to us."
Upon hearing that this timeline would not suffer large-scale casualties due to the disaster, Zhou Tao and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Having experienced the apocalyptic catastrophe, they never want others to go through the same thing; it's definitely not a good thing.
Moreover, these people share the same language and culture as them, making it even more unbearable.
"It's good that your timeline has a solution; that way, you won't repeat our mistakes."
"You guys are lucky; you received the disaster warning in advance..."
As they talked, they couldn't help but marvel at the migration plan involving billions of people across the entire timeline, but...
Without realizing it, they completely came to believe in the Mutual Aid Society and the existence of parallel universes.
The soldier smiled slightly. Having gone on several missions with the Mutual Aid Society, he also felt that he was very lucky in this timeline.
He remarked with emotion, "If it weren't for the Mutual Aid Society, most of us ordinary people probably wouldn't even know what was happening when the apocalyptic disaster struck."
Incidentally, he also mentioned Thomas on the other side of the strait.
Ten months have passed since the doomsday prediction was announced. Many of the decisions made by the other side at that time have lost their confidentiality value after being abandoned, and most of them have already been leaked.
This includes the Atlantis Ark Project, which was ultimately chosen by Thomas.
They secretly built approximately nine enormous arks, then saved fewer than one million people in the apocalyptic flood...
The plan was met with widespread criticism the day it was revealed. It wasn't until Thomas personally apologized and reiterated his commitment to the Mutual Aid Society's time-travel plan, completely abandoning the Ark Project, that the public's anger gradually subsided.
"Looking back now, if it weren't for President Zhang's early warning and the provision of the Spacetime Tunnel to communicate with No. 2 Spacetime... in our timeline, perhaps only those who could board the Ark would have the right to survive..."
"The emergence of the Mutual Aid Society has completely changed the fate of countless people in our time and space."
The soldier breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes filled with joy.
Having traveled to other timelines, he knew he had already walked a path of life and death.
Without the Mutual Aid Society, he, his family, friends, and everyone he had ever met would likely not have survived.
Zhou Tao and the others couldn't quite understand the Ark Project's thought process, but the Mutual Aid Society's time-space migration plan suited their tastes much better.
After finishing their meal, the two people from different time periods chatted casually about everything under the sun, from the heavens to the earth and from history.
Soon, the people of Finch Spacetime had a basic understanding of the "2012" timeline. Some middle-aged people, like Zhou Tao, even recalled their childhood and felt that this timeline was just like their childhood.
Once upon a time, they were also born in the 2000s...
The break lasted until the afternoon.
Zhou Tao dozed off for a while, and then received his task.
They travel along the national highway to a city in the south, load specific abandoned supplies onto a vehicle, transport them to the port, and then load them onto a ship. Once the ship is full, they set sail to return to their own time and space.
Before they set off, they also received ration cards.
"These are the electronic cards we receive in our current timeline. Insert the card into the machine to check your total available supplies. You'll need them for food and shopping. Keep them safe. There are supply stations along the way; you can manage on your own."
Zhou Tao thanked the soldier and solemnly accepted the three cards from him. One side of the exquisite cards featured the Mutual Aid Society's flag, while the other side was printed with their personal information and the national flag.
He flipped to the side with the Mutual Aid Society's flag, stared at it for a long time, and felt a strange sense of emotion.
This flag changed the fate of this timeline towards its end; I wonder if it can change their fate as well?
"Let's go, we need to set off too."
After reflecting on his experience, Zhou Tao handed the two cards to the other two people in the car. The old man and the young man were eating cantaloupe they had brought from the dining area, making sucking noises as they ate, their cheeks bulging out like two hamsters.
Zhou Tao shook his head as he looked at him, but a faint smile crept onto his lips.
He started the car, looked at the bright sun in the sky, and as his thoughts returned to what they had just been thinking, he suddenly realized that their fates had actually begun to change.
The Pacific Rim Spacetime.
Zhang Tianyuan was standing outside the Moyulan Base.
After Ning Jihua chose this location to build " Pangu " last time, even the name of the base coincided with that of the movie. I wonder if he had already planned it in advance.
Mo Yulan is completely different now compared to when she came a month ago.
A month ago, this place was a desolate area with only a few newly built roads.
A month later, a tall building had sprung up out of nowhere.
Zhang Tianyuan looked up.
A building 180 meters tall stood before him, completely enclosing the Pangu, which had been built by the system.
This is the main structure of the base, the cabins where the mechs are parked and maintained. It's hard to imagine that such a tall building...
It was actually built within a month.
Taylor, who followed along like a shadow, even wondered if the base, like the mechs inside, was built automatically without human intervention.
Ning Jihua personally explained, "This base has only completed its external structure so it only has partial functionality; further construction and improvement are needed."
Hearing this, Taylor suddenly felt that the world had returned to normal.
It took a month to build a large outer shell.
This is still within his acceptable range.
Ning Jihua led the way, guiding Zhang Tianyuan and the others inside. Various paint markings were visible everywhere in the base, along with a large number of tools neatly piled on the ground, clearly left behind by the construction team.
The most eye-catching item, however, is the Pangu in the base.
The last time I came here, the Pangu was just starting construction.
Everyone stayed on site for several hours, but the project didn't make much progress.
And now let's try again.
The Pangu is nearing completion.
The enormous mech stood in the very center of the arena, with beams of light shining through the windows in the wall, directly onto its upper body.
The gold-red paint job, the design mimicking human muscles and bones, and the two stripes of paint on the face give the mecha a majestic yet somewhat fierce look.
Simply standing still, it is like a mechanical giant, conveying a shocking sense of oppression and power to all creatures that see it.
Above the mecha, many specks of light, like dust, drifted toward the still-damaged giant axe behind it. This holy light-like scene brought it one step closer to "godhood".
"It's simply a perfect work!" As one of the designers of Pangu, Mako Mori looked at her masterpiece with a mesmerized gaze.
Her adoptive father, Old Pan, and the many mecha pilots and crew members who followed behind him couldn't help but exclaim that they had witnessed a miracle.
This is the first mech in human history to exceed 100 meters in height.
Furthermore, it utilizes small-scale controlled nuclear fusion as its energy source.
The technology is at least three eras ahead of current mechs.
After admiring the enormous mecha in front of him, Zhang Tianyuan opened the system panel and glanced at the time displayed on it.
There's still half an hour until the mech is completed.
"We can start preparing now; we'll be finished in half an hour."
"Yes!" Mako Mori and the others, who were still in a daze, immediately nodded and began preparations in an orderly manner.
Their purpose in coming here is to measure the total neural computing power required to operate the Pangu on-site, which is the fastest and most accurate method.
Only after obtaining the necessary neural computing power can the Drift System of the Pangu be modified in a targeted manner.
While there is still time, the technical team moved in various equipment and transported it to the aerial walkway. Once the mech is completed, testing can begin immediately.
During this time, everyone else could only watch from the sidelines.
Zhang Tianyuan then chatted with Ning Jihua and Taylor, taking the opportunity to learn about the recent situation in the Pacific Rim Spacetime.
Especially considering Taylor's previous miscalculation, what will be the ultimate fate of the revived mecha industry?
Whenever this topic came up, Taylor became a completely different person, her face filled with worry, as if she knew she was going to die tomorrow.
Seeing his expression, Zhang Tianyuan understood.
This guy is probably doomed.
No wonder he got stabbed a month ago, and now he's come running back here like a puppy.
Thinking of this, Zhang Tianyuan specifically recalled the car Taylor had taken when he came over.
It's an armored car.
Thankfully, it seems he doesn't need help yet.
"Restarting the mecha industry was a beautiful misunderstanding. We just wanted to help the Mutual Aid Society with some of the work... and everyone agreed, not just me. But now they want me to shoulder all the responsibility alone..."
Taylor spoke in a dejected tone, yet maintained his composure while also appearing pitiful, glancing intentionally or unintentionally at Zhang Tianyuan as he spoke.
Zhang Tianyuan simply nodded indifferently, as if he didn't understand.
On the contrary, Ning Jihua, who was standing next to her, was very interested. Before Taylor could finish crying, he smiled and took the initiative to speak.
"I regret what happened to you. As you said, it was just a misunderstanding, but I must admit that your actions have disappointed many people. So perhaps we can communicate a bit; I might be able to offer some assistance to your mecha industry..."
m.