Zhang Tianyuan glanced at Tong Wenshi.
Tong Wenshi smiled at him.
He looked at the old man with the buzz cut, whose reaction was the same.
He immediately understood what the two were scheming.
Zhang Tianyuan said to Tong Wenshi, "You mean you don't want foreign refugees settled in your country?"
Before Tong Wenshi could speak, the old man with the buzz cut beside him cut in.
"We think that if we're going to relocate the entire global population in the future, building entrances and exits only within our country definitely won't work. We simply can't accommodate everyone, and we'd only end up wasting precious time."
Zhang Tianyuan immediately understood what he meant.
The more people lived in a smaller area, the greater the strain on its resources would be.
Their country was large, but compared to the world's seven billion people, it was still too small.
If they really moved all seven billion people into their country in No. 2 Spacetime, even the vast supplies remaining in the cities wouldn't be enough.
Of course, Tong Wenshi and the higher-ups from "2012" certainly had a few other little considerations, too.
Take Tong Wenshi, for example.
Merging with their counterpart in No. 1 Spacetime was already the worst outcome he could accept.
At least both sides shared the same language and ancestry, didn't they?
They could even unlock the achievement of becoming the first cross-spacetime nation.
But if they let billions of foreigners from No. 1 Spacetime come over, what if those people got comfortable and refused to return to No. 1 Spacetime to rebuild their homes when the time came?
Their No. 2 Spacetime had ready-made high-rises and factories, and people could go zero-dollar shopping whenever they wanted. Who would want to return to the wasteland of No. 1 Spacetime to rebuild?
Wouldn't it be sweet to simply squat there and refuse to leave?
Those consequences were no joke.
If Tong Wenshi did that, he would probably leave a name that stank for ten thousand years in both spacetimes!
The higher-ups from "2012" also knew this was possible. In fact, it was practically certain to happen.
So they weren't particularly willing to let foreign populations into their country's counterpart in No. 2 Spacetime either.
After all, the country here in No. 2 Spacetime shared their name. It was a brother nation.
They hadn't even considered scheming against this brother themselves, so how could they let a bunch of outsiders in to ruin it?
They themselves would have to return to rebuild their homes. What right did those foreigners, who were only saved thanks to them, have to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor in No. 2 Spacetime, illegally seizing vast amounts of its legacy by brazenly refusing to leave?
In their dreams!
So on this matter, their two spacetimes
had already reached a consensus without needing to discuss it.
This was their shared core interest in dealing with outsiders, and it absolutely could not be infringed upon.
"All right, I think I understand what you're thinking." Zhang Tianyuan also thought that would be inappropriate. "Then let's find somewhere else in No. 2 Spacetime for the foreign populations taking refuge."
One of the higher-ups from "2012" cautioned, "To ensure stability, it would be best not to spread them out too much, so they don't have room for development or strategic maneuvering.
"Also, we can't let them control excessive amounts of weapons or vehicles. Otherwise, they'll either start fighting among themselves or relocate en masse to other countries in No. 2 Spacetime, like cuckoos taking over magpies' nests."
The official specifically added, "The countries sharing the names of their original nations would probably suffer the most..."
Zhang Tianyuan thought it over and felt that things really could develop that way.
So he had Tong Wenshi bring over a map of their spacetime, and immediately spotted a good location-
"Let's go with Africa."
"Find a decent spot and have them bring some food and tools themselves. Then they can farm there for a few years and do some hunting on the grasslands. After that, it'll be time to come back and build their new homes."
Tong Wenshi looked it over and thought it was a good choice, too.
"Africa really is a good place. It can ensure their survival while also ensuring they won't live lives of unrestrained extravagance."
The "2012" side also expressed its satisfaction.
"Africa lacks an industrial foundation, and its living facilities are relatively backward. Even if they harbor any ambitions, we can snuff them out immediately."
"Then it's happily settled!"
Meanwhile.
Across the ocean, Dr. Satnam, who was staying up late writing a project proposal, had no idea that he would most likely be sent to Africa to farm and hunt in the future.
He was still working hard to secure a new job for himself in this beautiful country.
The project proposal he was writing was being prepared for his friend Adrian.
As long as the project was approved, Adrian could become a key member, allowing him to recruit Adrian into the geology department.
"In recent months, a wave of exploration has swept through the geophysics community. Scientists from a certain major country have visited deep caverns all over the world, installing detection equipment inside..."
In this proposal, although the project he hoped to undertake
was completely different from the one back home, nine out of every ten sentences Satnam wrote mentioned that country's name.
If that country's name were removed, over ninety-five percent of the sentences would become malformed.
Satnam hadn't wanted to write it this way, but he had no choice. His and Adrian's project applications kept hitting brick walls. If this continued, he would soon run out of money.
So Satnam could only adapt and put his mind to work.
An expert had taught him this trick.
Supposedly, it could greatly improve his chances of success.
He decided to give it a try.
With the future resettlement of foreign populations resolved, the rest of the meeting's discussions became much easier.
Often, Tong Wenshi would say, "We need this, and this much of it," and the higher-ups from "2012" would reply, "Will that be enough? Let's give you ten times more!"
Tong Wenshi didn't stand on ceremony, and the old man with the buzz cut's side wasn't stingy either.
Aid agreements kept coming together at rocket speed.
Yin Hongda's report had also been submitted. After discussions, on the very day Tong Wenshi concluded the aid negotiations.
Yin Hongda received a notice from his superiors:
"Next, prepare an additional reserve contingent of five hundred thousand as the third deployment, primarily workers from various industries, prioritizing the restoration of heavy industrial capacity in No. 2 Spacetime."
"Additionally, begin designing construction plans for a clustered tube railway and trains with ozone disinfection, in preparation for relocating the entire population."
Zhang Tianyuan looked over the preliminary engineering plan.
The so-called clustered tube railway with ozone disinfection, in plain terms, meant building countless sections of enclosed tunnels, with a Spacetime Tunnel kept open for extended periods in the middle.
When trains responsible for relocating the population returned from No. 2 Spacetime, they would have to stop inside ozone-filled tunnels for gas disinfection before proceeding out.
The advantage was that it could kill any KV Virus the relocation trains might carry, leaving no corner untouched, and prevent the virus from taking root and sprouting in the "2012" world.
And the drawback was-
This was undoubtedly an enormous, time-consuming, labor-intensive undertaking, almost equivalent to building a vacuum-tube train line.
And the most critical issue was what would arise during its later implementation. The slightest inadequacy in disinfecting people, trains, or various items could bring the KV Virus back.
The workload would reach unimaginable proportions.
Even Zhang Tianyuan sighed. "This is a brute-force method."
"But faced with the apocalypse and the KV Virus, we have no other choice."