The Shatterdome Base has been bustling with people and supplies coming and going these past few days, making it quite lively.
Old Pan and Mako Mori stood on the sky bridge at the top floor, quietly looking down.
Below is the Crimson Typhoon, which was sent back from San Francisco and is being pushed back to its cabin by a mobile guidance station.
It was the only one of the four mechs that participated in the operation, besides the Pangu, to "survive" and continue fighting.
Besides it, although Cherno Alpha was also sent back by Zhang Tianyuan, its body was severely damaged after being subjected to the high pressure of the deep sea and the attack of the monster.
Furthermore, this mech belongs to the first generation, with outdated technology, and is beyond repair.
Therefore, after Old Pan and his team decided, the Cherno Alpha will be sent to the museum to become the only complete mech there.
Other artifacts accompanying it will be various mecha parts unearthed from the Oblivion Bay.
These "remains" that survived the bloody battles are used to commemorate the history that has passed.
" Mako," Old Pan suddenly spoke, though his eyes remained fixed intently on the Crimson Typhoon moving below, "My era has ended..."
Mako Mori looked at her adoptive father in surprise, only to find that he seemed to have aged a lot in an instant. His once straight back was now slightly bent. The man slowly took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood flowing from his nose.
She immediately understood everything, and lowered her head. "Thank you for your hard work, Father."
Upon hearing the word "father, "Old Pan paused slightly, then smiled and said, "Don't be sad. Although my era has ended, your era has just begun, and your stage is even wider."
"PPDC becoming Support Team No. 0 is not its demise, but its rebirth."
After expressing his feelings, Old Pan didn't forget to ask, "How far along is the design of the small mecha?"
"89%, almost done. All we need to do is optimize the individual sensory connections."
"Has the industrial chain caught up? Small mechs couldn't possibly be built in that magical way like the Pangu."
"Workers and machinery from North America are being transferred here..."
"The improvements to the Pangu?"
"It's already started. We've found the original design team, and they'll be working together at the Moyulan Base."
Old Pan nodded and then began asking about other things, all of which were related to the base.
Half an hour later, after reviewing all the matters, he finally felt relieved. He patted Mako Mori on the shoulder, nodded, gave her a smile, and silently turned and left.
"Father, where are you going next?" Mako Mori asked, watching Old Pan's retreating figure.
Old Pan paused, turned around, spread his hands, and smiled mischievously, "I don't know, maybe an old bone like mine will go and keep Alpha company."
"Anyway, don't worry about me. I've lived for decades; I know more about life than you do..."
As he spoke, blood started flowing from his nose again. Old Pan quickly turned around and covered it, no longer looking at his adopted daughter. He simply waved goodbye with his back turned and soon disappeared from Mako Mori's sight.
Mako Mori turned around blankly, stared at the base for a moment, and then left the top floor and returned to the ground.
As soon as she came down, she saw Tendo Choi frantically trying to soothe a wailing baby, with a blonde woman beside him helping to play with the infant.
Mako Mori then remembered that today was an open day event, and these should be Tendo Choi's son and wife.
She greeted Tendo Choi with a smile. This man, who was usually busy with work, had no time to spare because of the child's antics. He nodded hurriedly and then lowered his head to comfort the child in his arms.
Continuing past the base, the Wei Brothers, who suffered the least injuries, were already playing basketball as usual. Sasha and her husband, who had just been discharged from the hospital, were in wheelchairs, still holding a speaker and blasting strange, upbeat music...
The Herc were also brought back. They couldn't stand being in the hospital and preferred to stay at the base. Their beds were pushed into the lobby, right next to each other, heads facing each other, talking about something.
Many things in the base have changed, yet it seems like nothing has changed at all.
With a sigh, Mako Mori found Zhang Tianyuan and handed him the documents she was holding in her arms.
"President, this is the latest recruitment plan."
Zhang Tianyuan took it.
Mako Mori also walked over and began to explain:
"We plan to rebuild the Mech Academy at the Moyulan Base. The first batch of students will be selected primarily from this timeline, with an estimated number of thirty..."
After listening quietly to the entire plan, Zhang Tianyuan finally offered his suggestion:
Let's change it to 300; that's too few people. The neural computing power standard can be relaxed a bit; not everyone needs to meet the standard to pilot a large mech.
Small mechs, like the Boxer in the second movie, don't require much neural computing power; even a teenage girl could handle them.
Mako Mori nodded, indicating that revisions would be made.
Zhang Tianyuan continued, "I will inform the other branches about the student selection process and have them participate as well. The selection will be based on merit."
"You only need to be responsible for recruiting personnel within this timeline."
Mako Mori continued to nod and wrote down these opinions.
After explaining his opinions in detail, Zhang Tianyuan glanced at the time, remembered that he had other things to do, stretched, and then opened the Spacetime Tunnel.
On the other side of the tunnel was a desert.
The raging wind whipped up sand and dust, which flew straight at people's faces.
But right there in this vast desert, a group of people and vehicles gathered.
Zhang Tianyuan was noticed as soon as he appeared, and someone immediately brought him a mask and a scarf.
"Is this the nuclear weapons base?" Zhang Tianyuan looked around to make sure he hadn't come to the wrong place.
This is the Legend Spacetime; he came here following Tong Wenshi's coordinates.
As for the purpose, it was naturally for the nuclear bombs that were intended to be delivered to the Precursors.
According to previous communication, Tong Wenshi would be waiting for him outside the base in No. 2 Spacetime where the nuclear bombs were stored.
However, the surrounding area was flat, with no buildings in sight, making him wonder if he had come to the wrong place.
Or rather...
Is it underground?
Zhang Tianyuan turned his gaze to the ground, trying to find some clue.
At this moment, Tong Wenshi, who was standing nearby, spoke up.
"That's right, this is our base." He pointed underground. "The nuclear weapons are currently stored underground."
As he spoke, Tong Wenshi had someone open the ground, and a dark hole quickly appeared.
The group walked down the stairs from the entrance of the cave for more than three minutes before finally entering the nuclear weapons base. They then put on protective suits, passed through multiple checkpoints, and gradually entered the nuclear bomb storage warehouse.
Ding!
The staff turned on the headlights, illuminating the spacious area, then pointed ahead and said seriously:
"Chairman, these are the nuclear weapons we've gathered."
What lay before me were truly a series of "eggs".
These nuclear warheads, removed from missile warheads, were now completely encased in a thick lead shell, obscuring their true appearance.
The person in charge of the nuclear weapons elimination program standing nearby stated that there are currently ten such nuclear arsenals in the world, which contain all the nuclear warheads recorded before the apocalypse, and are jointly guarded by No. 2 Spacetime.
"These nuclear bombs can still be detonated, right?" Zhang Tianyuan asked.
The person in charge nodded without hesitation. "The detonator has been removed; we just need to put it back."
"Hmm, let's take one with more power then..." Zhang Tianyuan's eyes swept across the warehouse, and he immediately spotted the largest one, which was taller than him.
"Which one is the most powerful?"
"Yes, according to calculations, its yield is around ten million tons of TNT equivalent. It was a previously abandoned experimental missile and had no delivery capability."
Zhang Tianyuan's eyes lit up, "That's it!"
The Precursors will surely like it.
A yield of ten million tons is already considered powerful in an era where nuclear weapons are becoming increasingly miniaturized.
A bomb with a yield of 50 megatons, like the Tsar Bomba, would have to be specially manufactured and ready for immediate use to be possible.
Seeing that Zhang Tianyuan had already placed the order, the warehouse staff did not allow everyone to stay any longer and instead asked them to leave.
"We need about a week to restart this nuclear bomb. Once the work is complete, we will report back to our superiors..." the person in charge said.
Zhang Tianyuan and Tong Wenshi exchanged a few words of advice about safety, then left the base again, using the Spacetime Tunnel to jump back to their base in the south.
It is currently October in the Legend Spacetime, and the sun is still shining brightly in the southern sky, making the weather hot.
While drinking iced water, Zhang Tianyuan inquired about the recent situation in the Legend Spacetime from Tong Wenshi, and suddenly asked about a group of people:
Where is the scientific expedition team we rescued from Antarctica?
Tong Wenshi asked, "Does the chairman mean Station Chief Liu Chunshi and the others?"
Zhang Tianyuan nodded. He still remembered the station chief of No. 1 Station who was so excited that he couldn't help but shed tears after seeing them in Antarctica.
Tong Wenshi didn't even need to look through the documents; he only pondered for a few seconds before quickly stating the expedition team's destination.
"Because our spacetime has been..."
Research on climate and polar regions has not yet resumed, so after Station Chief Liu and his team returned, we offered them two directions—
One option is to stay in China, studying while taking on some projects to the best of my ability; the other is to continue academic research, but in No. 3 Spacetime for further studies.
"I see."
Zhang Tianyuan pondered for a moment, then took a sip of water.
The Wandering Spacetime is now recognized as the world with the richest meteorological experience and research among all time-spaces; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a meteorological mecca.
Therefore, meteorologists from various times and places gathered there.
"So it seems Station Chief Liu went to the Wandering Spacetime's Dimension for further studies?"
"Yes, besides him, quite a few other researchers made the same choice..." Tong Wenshi quickly stated the destination of the entire research team before asking, "Did the chairman mention them because of something?"
He glanced at the date.
"If needed, it's October now, and I remember Station Chief Liu reported a few days ago that he was back on vacation."
You're back?
Zhang Tianyuan didn't remember opening the tunnel connecting No. 2 Spacetime and No. 3 Spacetime a few days ago.
But he immediately realized what was happening.
"Did he come back from the communications tunnel?"
"Yes, we submitted the documents before..." Tong Wenshi found a document and handed it over, "Part of that communication tunnel has now been temporarily converted into a time-space border to facilitate the movement of certain special personnel."
Zhang Tianyuan took the document and immediately understood what was going on.
When he was promoting spacetime communication before, he said that No. 2 Spacetime would become the connection center for communication and transportation in all spacetimes.
So soon after, he fixed a tunnel connecting all timelines to No. 2 Spacetime, and then let each timeline do its own thing.
Tong Wenshi and his team clearly didn't want to wait too long, so they simply paved a road next to the communication lines to meet temporary transportation needs, and even began to pilot import and export trade of goods in preparation for the future.
This matter concerns the use of Spacetime Tunnel, so there must have been explanatory documents given to him beforehand.
However, Zhang Tianyuan is usually too lazy to look at them...
Because any message delivered to him in written form could not possibly be urgent.
For truly urgent messages, such as a major invasion of No. 2 Spacetime No. 3 Spacetime, Tong Wenshi would immediately call him frantically through system communications.
Speaking of this, Zhang Tianyuan rubbed his temples, recalling the piles of documents he had accumulated in several offices across different time periods...
It's time to get a team to handle them.
The Mutual Aid Society's direct administrative organization needs to be expanded; at least a few people need to be brought in to review documents and have some tea.
However, that's not the most pressing issue right now.
After learning about the whereabouts of Liu Chunshi and other former Antarctica expedition team members, Zhang Tianyuan answered Tong Wenshi's earlier question:
"We recently detected a new spacetime, and we might need to conduct scientific research in the Antarctica of that spacetime. I thought about it for a while before remembering Station Chief Liu and his team."
The disaster in the Day After Tomorrow Spacetime will begin with the melting of the polar regions, and if they want to persuade the locals to cooperate after they arrive, they will need to conduct on-site scientific research in the polar regions to obtain sufficient evidence.
For the Antarctica scientific expedition, Liu Chunshi from Legend Spacetime was the best choice.
Although the meteorological research in the Wandering Spacetime is the most advanced, their timeline may not even have Antarctica anymore, and even if it does, its climate would have become disordered within a few decades.
The entire universe of "2012" is about to undergo a massive migration, so it's not convenient to disturb them at this time.
As for the Pacific Rim Spacetime, polar scientific expeditions ceased long ago due to the continued economic downturn.
Needless to say, the Finch Spacetime expedition team has been back from Antarctica for over a decade.
In this situation, Liu Chunshi and his group are the most suitable.
These people lived in Antarctica for over a year, and the timelines of the Legend Spacetime and the Day After Tomorrow Spacetime are very close, differing by only about ten years. The conditions in the two polar regions can be compared, allowing for a more direct comparison of where things might have gone wrong...
Of course, this task cannot be accomplished simply by sending Liu Chunshi and his men.
Other timelines will certainly need to contribute manpower and resources to varying degrees.
Saving other timelines and extending a helping hand to them is the Mutual Aid Society's duty.
Upon hearing about the discovery of a new dimension, Tong Wenshi, sitting opposite him, immediately perked up and said he would inform Liu Chunshi of the news. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "President, what are the specific details of that dimension?"