The crowd below churned like a pot of boiling water, but Tong Wenshi seemed not to hear them as he calmly laid out his plans:
"I believe many of you saw the Mutual Aid Society's convoy yesterday. Their equipment and the equipment our country previously used belong to two completely separate systems."
"This means that behind President Zhang and his companions stands a powerful nation in a parallel spacetime, one willing to lend us a helping hand, with immense industrial and military strength. They have even developed a vaccine for the KV Virus."
"That nation has the same name as ours, the same language and writing, and even its history and culture are exceedingly close to ours."
"Just yesterday, after meeting with President Zhang and his companions, I received an invitation to become a member nation of the Mutual Aid Society. As long as we formally join the Mutual Aid Society, establish a branch, and shoulder the obligations of a member nation, our counterpart in another parallel spacetime will spare no effort to help us."
Tong Wenshi clenched one fist. Though his hair was withered and his eyes weary, he still burst with tremendous strength and conviction:
"With their help, we will no longer need ten years of preparation. We will soon see our loved ones again, and we will hear babies crying once more; we will return to our cities, we will return to our factories, we will reclaim our land, and we will bring this unparalleled crisis to an end!"
The forty thousand people below stared blankly. There was no denying that Tong Wenshi's words expressed their deepest desires.
But that did not mean they would believe in this so-called Mutual Aid Society.
People often said that the masses were blind.
That was not necessarily true.
If Tong Wenshi had spoken about parallel spacetimes to just one person, that person might have believed him out of deference to his authority.
But there were over forty thousand people present. To persuade forty thousand people at once, what was said onstage had to be a matter of common consensus, such as deep national grievances, or a scientific truth such as Newton's laws.
Otherwise, it was simply impossible.
"A scam!"
"Fucking idiots-you actually believe this..."
"This is a doomsday cult!!!"
The crowd below erupted into complete uproar...
The advance team members felt that this was far too difficult.
The people behind them were looking at them strangely again...
Zhang Tianyuan spotted Bai Xu returning to the meeting venue.
He had brought several virologists back with him, including Xi Lei, the virology team leader, who was also carrying the KV Virus
data Tong Wenshi had passed along.
"President, what happened?" Bai Xu asked as soon as he returned.
Zhang Tianyuan took the hard drive containing the virus data from Xi Lei and said, "It's fine. Just a minor situation."
Then he patted Bai Xu on the back. "In a moment, I'll take some of the people here back to your spacetime. That's the only way to make these people truly believe in the existence of our Mutual Aid Society.
"Bai, you stay here and help this spacetime establish the Mutual Aid Society's Second Branch. Every survivor in this spacetime must sign an application and join the Second Branch."
Taking in the atmosphere, Bai Xu nodded woodenly.
"Do your best. This is the organization's test for you!"
Zhang Tianyuan offered him one last word of encouragement.
Then he told Xi Lei and the others to get ready, while also signaling Tong Wenshi onstage with a gesture.
Tong Wenshi understood, and his speech entered its final stage.
Tong Wenshi took a deep breath, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"Under the preliminary cooperation agreement I have reached with the Mutual Aid Society, I will shortly lead a team, along with the pregnant women in our settlement, through the Mutual Aid Society's Spacetime Tunnel to a parallel spacetime, where we will discuss cooperation with their leaders..."
Looking at the crowd below, which had become a pot of porridge in its chaos, Tong Wenshi knew his approach had been radical.
If he had not personally seen Zhang Tianyuan "slap" out enough application forms to cover an entire table last night, he certainly would not have chosen this approach.
Besides, if he did not do this, recruiting members for the Mutual Aid Society branch in their spacetime would probably require a long period of groundwork.
Since he had chosen to throw his lot in with Zhang Tianyuan, he naturally could not drag his feet over the tasks Zhang Tianyuan assigned him.
Only by completing his tasks quickly could he earn his superior's regard.
The pregnant women below were in turmoil. They finally knew why they had been seated at the very front for this meeting.
While Tong Wenshi was speaking, the team led by those four young cadres in their thirties had already come over to ask what they thought.
They told the women plainly that if they went along to the other parallel spacetime, they would receive the best care, and the conditions for childbirth would be far better than in the settlement.
Moreover, the KV Virus did not exist in the other spacetime. After their children were born, they could receive the KV Vaccine there before returning with their mothers
Most importantly, if they had no objections, they did not need to do anything. They only needed to remain seated and wait.
This made many of the wavering pregnant women consider giving it a try.
If they just sat in their seats and did nothing, surely they could not get scammed?
Seeing that not a single pregnant woman had left her seat, Zhang Tianyuan was very satisfied with the four young cadres' work.
Letting these pregnant women give birth in this spacetime would mean disregarding their lives and those of their unborn children.
So naturally, it would be best if all the pregnant women in the settlement could return with them to "2012" to rest and recuperate.
Seeing that everything was ready, Zhang Tianyuan stood up again.
After hearing Tong Wenshi call out, the agitated crowd at the back quieted somewhat.
For the moment, their eyes turned toward the speaking platform.
With that, Zhang Tianyuan, the only person standing directly in front of the platform, also came into their view.
Zhang Tianyuan put an arm around Bai Xu's shoulders and said, "We'll head back first, then. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be back very soon."
"I'll do my best to assist the comrades in this spacetime." Bai Xu had also adjusted his mindset. He stepped back to join the other advance team members and waved goodbye.
Zhang Tianyuan waved back, then opened the system panel.
He selected the world "2012."
He set the destination to the original entry point.
"Open the spacetime gate."
The next second.
Bai Xu felt his vision go dark as all the light was swallowed by the space before him.
When he blinked again, Zhang Tianyuan, the many pregnant women, and even the entire wooden speaking platform in front of him were gone...
"The president and the others have gone back!"
Bai Xu turned to look at the forty thousand people, who had likewise fallen into a daze, and said to the advance team members beside him:
"Now it's time for us to get to work!"
"2012"
A flash of black light swept through the shelter.
Many people and objects appeared out of thin air in the square from which they had previously departed.
The staff monitoring the site around the clock immediately pressed the red buttons beside them, sending electrical signals through the cables.
The next second, alarms rang throughout the shelter.
The signals traveled all the way to several offices far, far away from the shelter, lighting up indicator lights on the desks-
Someone had returned from a parallel spacetime!