"To be honest, before coming here, we didn't really believe in time travel..."
As he said this, Wei Ding coughed twice, looking somewhat embarrassed. The other members of the delegation reacted in various ways, some touching their hair or noses, others quietly shifting their gaze.
What Wei Ding said was indeed the truth, and he was being somewhat tactful. It wasn't that they "didn't quite believe" him; they didn't believe a single word of it at all.
In the Finch Spacetime, the Mutual Aid Society was not widely publicized, and most people were completely unaware of it.
This included their delegation. Before being selected, none of the ten members knew anything about the Mutual Aid Society, not even a hint of anything unusual.
One can imagine that upon hearing about organizations like the Mutual Aid Society, their instinctive reaction would be that someone was fabricating stories and that there was a huge conspiracy behind it.
If they hadn't actually ended up in a parallel universe, they probably would never have believed it.
Even so, Wei Ding and the others did not let their guard down; they continued to examine everything that happened in this time and space with a skeptical attitude.
This attitude only began to ease after they gained a deeper understanding of the situation in this time and space, and incidentally, after conducting an on-site investigation before the heavy snow and ice caused it to freeze over.
Because they discovered that this space-time was indeed real, not a set or a prop; the people and the city here were incredibly real.
If it weren't for the weather experts from the Mutual Aid Society constantly saying that a major disaster was about to occur here, they would have thought this time and space was their hometown from a dream.
This era, before information technology fully took off, was exactly the same as it was decades ago...
Zhang Tianyuan didn't care about Wei Ding and the others' suspicions, and smiled slightly, "This is quite normal. Our Mutual Aid Society been established for some time now, and has gone through several time-space trials. In the process, we've become accustomed to all sorts of situations."
"Your thinking is perfectly normal in our eyes."
Even so, Wei Ding still felt somewhat embarrassed.
But I can't keep quiet about it.
Because this is the truth, and only by telling the truth can we bring the two sides closer together.
If he were to start by praising the Mutual Aid Society, it would only appear polite and insincere, and the conversation would only make the two sides more distant.
Sometimes, exposing your embarrassing moments in front of others isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Wei Ding touched his nose and said, " The Mutual Aid Society's affairs are indeed unbelievable. We only gradually came to believe it after witnessing it firsthand over this period of time, and now we have no doubts."
"We've been watching the weather forecast a lot lately and lamenting that if it weren't for President Zhang and the strong support from various timelines, the future of this timeline would probably be a living hell."
The praise that followed the exposure of his embarrassment seemed all the more genuine, reflecting Wei Ding's true feelings as well as those of the other members of the delegation.
Although they still have differing opinions within the group regarding the Mutual Aid Society and this rescue operation, they all agree that the Mutual Aid Society saved a large number of people in this timeline.
Zhang Tianyuan nodded and smiled. He could tell whether the other person was telling the truth or not; after all, the experience gained over several time periods was real.
Instead of delving deeper into this topic, he changed the subject and started talking about the Finch Spacetime.
In Wei Ding's timeline, although the solar storm has passed, there are still threats of ice ages and toxic gases in the future, and the Earth's oxygen content may also change.
In this situation, the earlier you start preparing, the more people will be able to survive in the future.
In all timelines, Tan Mingda's actions are top-notch. Despite ozone layer depletion, he managed to save the lives of over a billion Chinese people, and incidentally transformed houses into factories and farms, not only saving lives but also sustaining them...
To achieve this level is already the pinnacle; no one could possibly do better under those circumstances.
Faced with such a group of ambitious and hardworking people striving for survival, Zhang Tianyuan didn't want them to encounter any major crises in the future.
However, the problem now is that the Finch Spacetime has become a bit too independent.
Although Elder Tan accepted the help from the Mutual Aid Society and other timelines, and made some corresponding actions and dispatches, they actually remained outside the Mutual Aid Society system and held a clear wait-and-see attitude.
The Mutual Aid Society branch over there is now...
The fact that it was never truly established and that he never attended any internal meetings is proof of this.
The decade or so since the disaster has instilled in them a habit of relying on themselves for everything, while also instilling a vigilance unique to post-apocalyptic societies.
They don't yet have enough trust in the Mutual Aid Society, even though the Mutual Aid Society has already expressed goodwill.
Zhang Tianyuan's initiative in inviting the delegation was also intended to prove to them that the Mutual Aid Society had no ulterior motives.
Now that they've come to understand the situation, the results are clearly good. Wei Ding and the others, as outsiders, observed almost the entire operation of the Mutual Aid Society, which should give them enough evidence to make their judgments.
At the end of the conversation, both sides agreed on a time to return to the Finch Spacetime. The delegation members all felt they should return as soon as possible, so they decided to return in three days.
Watching Zhang Tianyuan's figure disappear into the distance, Wei Ding returned to the conference room and let out a long sigh of relief.
He gathered the remaining nine people together and said:
"Alright, everyone should have some thoughts on this these past few days. Before we go back, let's discuss them."
After a moment of silence, someone spoke up, " The Mutual Aid Society and this President Zhang have indeed not lied to us. From what we have seen and heard over this period of time, their organization can indeed mobilize a large amount of manpower and resources."
"According to publicly available information in this timeline, the main supplies in their shelters were transported directly from other timelines, saving them a lot of trouble."
A woman nodded in agreement. "Although this chairman is young, he is clearly very prestigious and has a lot of influence in other timelines. I think those people who came from No. 3 Spacetime are all directly under his command."
"Isn't this stipulated in the Mutual Aid Society's charter that rescue missions are commanded by the Mutual Aid Society's headquarters?"
"No, you've forgotten. I deduced that the Mutual Aid Society headquarters is a very weak organization. Since we arrived here, have you seen anyone else claiming to be from the Mutual Aid Society headquarters besides this President Zhang?"
These words immediately made everyone else fall into deep thought.
They recalled carefully and found that this was indeed true; apart from President Zhang, they had not seen any other people from the Mutual Aid Society headquarters during this period.
"So, it seems the Mutual Aid Society headquarters really doesn't have many people..."
They were unaware of this before, and only realized it after being reminded.
Wei Ding confirmed the woman's statement. "This assumption should be correct. Even President Zhang's assistants are from No. 4 Spacetime."
Logically speaking, if a leader of another organization encountered this situation, it would be almost certain that the person had been sidelined...
"But throughout the entire rescue operation, I observed that President Zhang always had the final say, and even when others offered suggestions, they were very tactful."
Everyone nodded in agreement; it was something they had all witnessed firsthand.
Wei Ding and the others exchanged glances; they all understood.
This situation demonstrates that President Zhang effectively wields considerable control, or at least influence, over the various Mutual Aid Society branches...
This made everyone a little undecided again.
Someone raised the question, "I saw in the previous agreement that they would not interfere in our internal affairs. How credible is that?"
Wei Ding thought for a moment and replied, "In my opinion, this is still credible. During this period, apart from rescue operations, the Mutual Aid Society has indeed not significantly interfered in the internal affairs of this spacetime."
"Furthermore, when the Mutual Aid Society with various timelines, it will inevitably cause all sorts of impacts. I don't think we should be too demanding about that."
After thinking about it, everyone agreed that this viewpoint wasn't entirely without merit.
Complete non-interference in internal affairs does not mean that there will be no impact on the internal affairs of various timelines.
On the contrary, organizations like Mutual Aid Society are bound to have a huge impact in any time and space, which is normal.
If they demand that the Mutual Aid Society erase even this kind of influence, then they probably need to erase themselves first...
However, some people still have doubts.
"I heard that the Mutual Aid Society's rescue efforts in North America are paid; after the rescue operation is completed, they have to deliver supplies worth tens of billions to No. 3 Spacetime."
The question had barely been raised when someone immediately disagreed, "I think this is reasonable. They haven't joined the Mutual Aid Society yet, so naturally..."
Mutual Aid Society are therefore not obligated to support their rescue operations.
Moreover, they had repeatedly sabotaged the deployment and implementation of the asylum plan, consuming a significant amount of resources from various countries. If it weren't for their meddling, perhaps this asylum plan would have been even more successful!
The speaker kept a straight face, especially when talking about the absurd behavior of the other side, where he was clearly suppressing his anger.
Upon hearing Becker's behavior brought up again, everyone, including Wei Ding, frowned.
Becker not only disgusted people in this timeline, but also deeply disgusted them, the onlookers from other timelines.
They live in a world where everyone is united in their efforts to rebuild after a disaster, and given their values, they simply cannot accept that such people exist in the world.
Climate change has already caused such a huge uproar worldwide, yet Becker and his team are still turning a blind eye, and not only are they turning a blind eye themselves, they're also trying to blind the public...
The result of this closure was the loss of one hundred million lives.
Both Wei Ding and the other delegates felt extremely regretful about this.
"As for paid rescue services," Wei Ding sighed, glancing at the others, "I personally think it's reasonable, and I even think they're actually making a huge profit."
"I heard that Captain Wang Lei's rescue team directly rescued more than a million people and indirectly protected the lives of hundreds of millions more. They are still evacuating survivors to safe locations."
"If you calculate it that way, it means a few thousand dollars saved a person's life!"
"Is a human life not even worth a few thousand dollars?"
Wei Ding tapped the table, thus defining the nature of the matter.
Rescue efforts are also an economic matter, especially large-scale rescue operations in countries outside of Mutual Aid Society. If this is required to be free, then probably no one will dare to join Mutual Aid Society in the future.
Furthermore, the Mutual Aid Society's internal rescue efforts are meant to be repaid. According to regulations, after the rescue operation concludes, the recipient must negotiate payment to the Mutual Aid Society and the aid provider.
So there's nothing wrong with this matter; at most, Zhang Tianyuan was just a little too eager to collect the payment this time.
But isn't this all for Grant and the others' benefit?
After all, they probably, and perhaps, wouldn't want to be sent to the engine nozzle and enjoy VIP treatment, right?
Time flies; three days pass in the blink of an eye during the busy the Day After Tomorrow Spacetime.
Zhang Tianyuan met with Wei Ding and his group one last time before sending them back to the Finch Spacetime.
After Wei Ding and the others returned, they were immediately summoned to Elder Tan's office to report on their various experiences in the Day After Tomorrow Spacetime.
Each person submitted a written summary as well as an oral presentation.
Throughout the process, Elder Tan and the others listened quietly, letting Wei Ding and the others do their thing, only occasionally raising some questions.
It took the ten people most of the day to recount their experiences over the past period in detail.
"So, with the support of the Mutual Aid Society, No. 6 Spacetime has gradually stabilized?"
"Yes, by the time we returned, the storm had subsided, and all countries had begun arranging follow-up work. Although the climate there is currently entering an ice age, the most difficult period may have passed."
Tan Mingda turned to look at his two partners, who were also deep in thought. They nodded at him after noticing his gaze.
"We understand the situation over there. Thank you for your hard work these past few days. Go back and rest now."
Tan Mingda watched Wei Ding and the others leave, then turned back and said, "It seems we were judging them by our own petty standards. These people were deliberately chosen to be the most suspicious."
Even they had to acknowledge the actions of the Mutual Aid Society in No. 6 Spacetime, which suggests that what President Zhang told us earlier was probably true.
Sitting in his office chair, Liang Zhengping hummed in agreement. "So, what should we do next?"
"Let's continue to work on establishing branches of the Mutual Aid Society, and also prepare for the new era."
"While Mutual Aid Society could launch a large-scale rescue operation, I don't think we need that kind of service. In comparison, that Economic and Trade Organization is what we need much more."
"The underground city that No. 3 Spacetime mentioned before, which they would support us in building, needs to be expedited. Also, we need to thoroughly inventory our resources. We currently lack both favorable timing and location; we can only rely on ourselves..."