The people on the other end were clearly startled to hear this.
"Some higher-ups actually fled to Antarctica to take shelter?!"
Zhang Tianyuan sipped his water and said mildly, "We can't be sure yet. It's only a possibility."
The higher-ups from "2012" asked, "Then, President Zhang, what do you have in mind?"
"We need to rescue the scientific expedition members in Antarctica. Ideally, we should also stop by other countries' research stations and see whether any of their higher-ups are inside."
"If there are, we can have them cooperate with us in directing rescue operations in their countries.
That would help the Mutual Aid Society's work, and it would also help us relocate refugees to No. 2 Spacetime later. We can help them put all the dangerous things away in advance."
The people on the other end understood at once.
Zhang Tianyuan meant for them to help go over there and collect scrap!
Although the apocalypse in No. 2 Spacetime had happened over a year ago, that did not mean the military equipment there was unusable.
Quite the opposite. Just over a year of neglect was nothing to modern facilities. The military equipment there could probably be put back into service with just a little maintenance.
If they left the matter alone now, once the refugees were moved over, some ambitious schemers might well set their sights on that equipment.
After all, those things were free for the taking.
The people in the "2012" spacetime saw the refugee relocation issue clearly. They could not possibly keep watch over billions of refugees and prevent them from leaving a particular location.
There would certainly be plenty of refugees roaming the desolate continents, and the smarter someone was, the more likely they would be to venture out.
If those people really got lucky, or had their brains switched on, and found their way to a secret base where they picked up a big mushroom, there would be trouble.
The higher-ups immediately realized that this would be a serious problem in the future.
"We understand. Rest assured, President Zhang. Our Mutual Aid Society First Branch will give you our full support. We're already on our way and will reach the shelter soon to discuss this with you in person."
The call ended.
The higher-ups from "2012" knew they would have to greatly increase the number of personnel sent to No. 2 Spacetime.
They took out a map of No. 2 Spacetime.
Drawing on the experience of their own spacetime, they quickly singled out several countries where every last piece of scrap had to be recovered-the other four rogues.
Every other country could be left alone, but all the equipment in these four countries had to be gathered
up.
Otherwise, who knew when they might be served a mushroom feast...
"Notify the army, navy, and air force, as well as the research institutes in every field. Have them immediately free up a group of well-rounded personnel familiar with both technology and theory, ready to deploy at any time."
"Also, have the core observatories around the world sent back any updates?"
"No, but the astronomy department sent new information while you were on the call."
All the higher-ups' hearts skipped a beat.
"What information?"
"They just observed a solar storm on the surface of the sun-
the largest and most intense ever recorded!"
They sucked in sharp breaths!
The higher-ups exchanged glances.
They all remembered Zhang Tianyuan's earlier prediction.
Earth's apocalypse would begin with solar storms!
"President Zhang, we just received word that the largest and most intense solar storm in recorded history has erupted!"
The moment they arrived at the shelter and the two sides met, the higher-ups from "2012" brought it up.
Zhang Tianyuan froze briefly, then understood.
The apocalypse in "2012" began with sustained solar storms causing neutrino mutations, after which the new neutrinos heated Earth's core, causing the tectonic plates to shift.
It was already May 2009 in "2012." By his reckoning, it was about time for the first stage to begin.
"Have you detected any abnormalities in the core or neutrino mutations?" Zhang Tianyuan asked.
The higher-ups shook their heads. "Not yet. We're already urgently pressing them for results."
"I suspect the neutrino mutations haven't happened yet," Zhang Tianyuan said. "You don't need to be too nervous. We just need to follow the original plan."
He had barely finished when the secretary outside knocked and entered, bringing the astronomy department's latest update.
"Just three minutes ago, we observed another solar storm. This one broke the previous storm's records in both scale and intensity."
"..."
The room immediately fell silent.
The higher-ups from "2012" looked even more anxious.
They were no longer in any mood to discuss Antarctica or collecting scrap.
Zhang Tianyuan could only work with them on refining the details of the great evacuation plan while waiting for them to emerge from their anxiety.
Over the next four days.
The global astronomy community focused its attention on the sun overhead.
In just four short days, the records for solar storm intensity and scale were broken a full seven
times!
And besides the terrifying solar storms that kept breaking records, countless small and medium-sized solar storms were occurring in rapid succession at an unprecedented frequency.
Every one of these signs proved that something was wrong with the sun.
For a time, people in many parts of the world were gripped by unease.
Apocalyptic rumors even began circulating in Western society, with many people believing the sun was about to explode.
As a result, official agencies in other countries had no choice but to address the issue directly.
"We believe the sun has entered an abnormal period. Its activity is more intense than before, even somewhat beyond our imagination.
"But everyone can rest assured. Solar storms generally do not have much impact on Earth. In fact, this will help us gain a deeper understanding of the sun..."
China's astronomy department merely issued a seemingly calm response: "We are investigating the causes of the sun's abnormal activity and its possible effects." It paid no attention whatsoever to the end-of-the-world rumors sweeping the West.
Yet beneath that calm surface.
The entire astronomy department was already stretched taut. Observatories, experts, and scholars across the country were all assessing the sun's condition.
Meanwhile, the core observatories China had previously scattered across the globe switched from reporting once a day to once an hour.
Disaster evacuation drills across the country were taken a step further, unfolding as mass campaigns to ensure that the evacuation procedures became deeply ingrained in everyone's minds.
Behind the scenes, the nationwide evacuation plan had already been completed, while the spacetime railway's design was being rushed forward with burning urgency.
Unseen, the entire country's mainspring had been wound as tight as it could go.
But compared with China's outwardly relaxed yet inwardly tense situation.
Other countries remained oblivious to what was about to happen.
They merely wondered why China had suddenly started putting so much effort into disaster drills...
It really made no sense.
Across the ocean.
Satnam, who would originally have been the first to discover the coming apocalypse, was celebrating with his good friend Adrian over drinks in his apartment.
Thanks to that mysterious expert, after they had added China's name to their project proposal over and over, the project Satnam and Adrian had applied for had actually been approved!
Adrian, an associate researcher, had become the project's deputy director, with the authority to recommend researchers for the project.
This meant that Satnam would be joining the project on his recommendation.
The two grown men clinked their glasses happily, spilling beer everywhere.
"Cheers! To our wonderful future!"