Chapter 12: Password
There are 30 minutes left until midnight at 12 o’clock.
In the hall, the staff were silently busy, while some people led by Sun Changhe sat beside Jiang Yang, forming a circle.
In a daze, Jiang Yang even had an illusion, as if he were gravely ill and about to die, and the people around him were relatives and friends coming to see him off on his final journey.
But it seemed he was indeed about to die. Not only him, everyone was going to die.
Sensing the solemnity and gravity in the hall, Jiang Yang turned to look at Sun Changhe beside him: “Elder Sun, shouldn’t you give me a password, or something like a code?
The kind where as long as someone contacts you and says this password or code, you can immediately fully trust me, skipping all verification steps.
That way, we can save at least five days of time and start work a bit earlier.”
Sun Changhe showed no tension or fear before the impending apocalypse: “We’ve already prepared it for you, but we can’t tell you yet.
And even with this password, it’s impossible to achieve the effect of immediately gaining the nation’s full trust just by saying it.”
Jiang Yang checked the time and found 27 minutes left until midnight: “Oh?”
Gu Changshan spoke on behalf of Sun Changhe: “This password involves a core national secret. It will only be told to you when the apocalypse truly arrives.”
Jiang Yang fell silent.
He knew that although the nation had always acted on the principle of “treating the apocalypse as real,” up to this moment, the national level had not fully confirmed the reality of the apocalypse and the cycle.
Just as that saying goes, unless the apocalypse truly arrives, no evidence can fully prove the truth of this matter.
“Even if you tell me now, it wouldn’t matter.”
Jiang Yang felt somewhat helpless: “If the apocalypse really comes, it will naturally be useful. If the apocalypse doesn’t come, I don’t think I can leave this base before I die, so this secret naturally won’t be leaked.”
Gu Changshan said in a low voice: “This isn’t about distrusting you. It’s… the system.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Jiang Yang nodded: “However, even this password can’t make you trust me immediately and save verification time?”
Sun Changhe smiled faintly: “That kind of thing doesn’t exist in this world.”
“Yes. According to our comprehensive simulations, this password can compress the subsequent verification time to within one day. This is already the ideal result; it can’t be shortened further.”
“One day… alright.”
Jiang Yang lay back down, quietly staring at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting far away.
“What has the world become like in these past few days? Today is the day the prophecy says the apocalypse arrives…”
Gu Changshan gave a definitive answer: “Very chaotic, but still within control. If the apocalypse ultimately doesn’t come, we can ensure the situation is quickly stabilized without major losses.”
Zhou Yu interjected: “As far as I know, your prophecy has also caused a huge reaction abroad. Our nation is fine, but abroad… heh.”
A spark of curiosity arose in Jiang Yang’s heart: “What’s the situation abroad now?”
“Just as you think.”
“The foreign countries haven’t negotiated with us? Demanding we disclose the truth, hand over the prophet, and so on.”
“How could there be none…”
“Comrade Zhou Yu.”
Gu Changshan interrupted Zhou Yu’s words, still in that steady and calm voice: “Please rest assured, Comrade Jiang Yang. Apart from extraterrestrial factors, we have absolute confidence in ensuring your absolute safety.”
Two absolutes in a row made Jiang Yang truly feel that unshakeable will as firm as a mountain.
Sun Changhe said: “It’s our nation’s fortune that Comrade Jiang Yang was born here.”
He looked up at the time and said: “Time’s almost up.”
“Yes.”
Gu Changshan acknowledged, turned around, and beckoned to the back, upon which two people wearing white coats, looking like doctors, walked over.
Each carried a white briefcase, placed it on the table, and opened it, releasing a puff of cold white mist.
The two doctors silently took out a syringe each from inside.
Sun Changhe looked at Jiang Yang: “These are some medicines with strong pain-relieving and calming effects.
According to you, when the apocalypse arrives, the human body will suffer unimaginable pain, which might affect your memory, so some medicinal assistance is needed. These medicines also take time to take effect, so they need to be injected now.”
Jiang Yang was psychologically prepared for this. It was originally part of the plan.
Only… two needles?
One for himself, and the other for whom?
As if seeing the question in Jiang Yang’s heart, Sun Changhe smiled: “The other needle is for me.
I need to confirm whether the apocalypse has truly arrived within no more than two minutes before it descends until near death, and tell you that password. So… I also need to remain absolutely calm and composed.”
After explaining to Jiang Yang, Sun Changhe stood up and went to another seat beside Jiang Yang.
In front of that seat was a screen with data constantly jumping, and a button beside it.
“Outside this base, we have also placed control test points at over 800 locations including the seabed, lake bottom, mountain interior, high altitude, low altitude, and so on, where people are also under the strictest monitoring by life monitoring devices.
If personnel at these 800 locations all show signs of nearing death, combined with data from multiple monitoring points in multiple cities, I can make the final judgment on whether the apocalypse has truly arrived.”
Smiling as he spoke, Sun Changhe extended his arm: “Inject it.”
The two doctors silently stepped forward and injected the liquid medicine into the arms of Sun Changhe and Jiang Yang respectively.
The cool liquid medicine entered his body; at first Jiang Yang felt nothing, but soon a “floating away” sensation came.
He could still clearly feel his body and all the sensations in various parts: the slight pain at the needle, the slight tightness of the electrode pads, the softness of the mattress beneath him, and so on.
But his consciousness seemed to have ascended to a higher level beyond the flesh, becoming an observer watching his body’s sensations without being affected by them in the slightest.
He also “observed” the smile on Sun Changhe’s face, Gu Changshan’s usual calmness, the gloom and solemnity on Lu Zhaoming’s face, and the grief and tension on Zhou Yu’s face.
He seemed to truly feel that vast intelligence network extending countless “threads” like a spider web across the entire world.
And at this moment, he was like the spider that wove this great web, sitting at the center, perceiving any breeze or movement from anywhere.
