Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Chapter 45 Collection

意识日2047年2月15日，农曆2046年腊月29日。

The world turned back at around 10:20 a.m. that day, which was the last day of the Spring Festival travel rush and the busiest time for major markets.

Sun Fumin woke up in a daze and found himself settling accounts with guests.

"Aunt Hua, why are you giving me money? Take whatever you like!"

After Sun Fumin finished speaking, he walked out the door and saw Sun Lingmin standing on the road in a daze. Obviously, he should have been wandering around the village that day, and the sudden rewind had not yet allowed his memory to fully synchronize.

He saw Sun Fumin and smiled habitually, "Boss Sun, what did we do on this day in history? I have absolutely no recollection of it."

Who knows?

Sun Fumin looked around at the various New Year's gift boxes neatly stacked under the shed, and only vaguely remembered that these two days were the busiest time of the year for business.

Sun Lingmin took out a cigarette, lit it quickly but didn't smoke it. He just held it between his fingers and slowly looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

"Sigh~ It seems that even if I were to live another life, there would be nothing exciting about it."

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted? All you'll have left in your life is sex and playing mahjong..."

"Pah! So vulgar, you're so vulgar..."

Sun Lingmin burst into laughter as he spoke.

……

This was Sun Fumin's first time riding in a helicopter, and a military helicopter at that—the domestically produced Z-20.

At first, he was very excited and kept asking questions, but he soon found that the soldier who picked him up was a taciturn man who would only answer one out of three questions. In addition, he was tied to his seat and could not see what was happening outside, which made him feel very bored.

An hour later, Sun Fumin landed and learned from those around him that he had arrived at Xinzheng Airport, the provincial capital.

Led by staff, Sun Fumin first boarded a jeep, and after a five-minute drive, transferred to a large commercial airliner.

After boarding the plane, Sun Fumin discovered that apart from a few staff members, the plane was empty, and the only person who had accompanied him on board was the middle-aged soldier who had silently escorted him all the way.

Sun Fumin then realized that this large plane was specially prepared for him!

As for where he was going, he didn't know.

The people around him were all acting mysteriously, which made him even more curious about the journey ahead.

……

Meanwhile, at Shanghai Airport, a domestically produced large passenger plane marked Z921 has already taken off.

Aside from essential staff, the only people on the plane were Zhang Jimin, Su Mian, Lu Xue, and a Bichon Frise named "Milk".

Lu Xue boarded the plane with a bewildered expression, feeling quite uneasy.

The first person she saw in the aisle was a short-haired woman standing on tiptoe to put her luggage down. She had a beautiful profile and a slender figure. Most importantly, she was wearing a blue and white checkered hiking outfit, which, combined with her neat short hair, made her look very stylish.

Lu Xue felt that the short-haired woman looked familiar, but she couldn't remember her for a moment.

Just as I was considering whether to say hello, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses walked in from behind, carrying a briefcase in one hand and pulling a suitcase in the other.

The other person was dressed very formally, wearing a well-fitting black suit under a down jacket, and with his neatly combed slicked-back hair, he looked very mature and composed.

"Zhang Jimin?"

Lu Xue looked surprised and asked tentatively.

Zhang Jimin adjusted his glasses, stopped, and saw that Lu Xue also looked surprised. He then smiled, put down his suitcase, and stepped forward to extend his hand.

"Hello, my name is Zhang Jimin. I remember you, you're Jiangning's neighbor."

"Hello, hello, my name is Lu Xue! Mr. Zhang, I know you too..."

"No need to be so polite. I'm older than you. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Zhang."

"Are you Zhang Jimin?"

Hearing a noise coming from the cabin door, Su Mian glanced past her long-haired daughter standing a few steps away in the middle and looked at the middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

"It is indeed I!" Zhang Jimin took a few steps forward and extended his hand again. "May I ask your name..."

"Su Mian!"

Su Mian reached out and shook hands lightly, then extended her hand to the long-haired girl beside her, "Hello, Su Mian."

"Hello, hello, I'm Lu Xue!"

Lu Xue quickly put down the dog cage she was carrying and shyly reached out her hand.

After shaking hands, Lu Xue slowly widened her eyes and looked at the woman in front of her seriously again.

He has short hair, is rather thin, and has sharp eyes.

"It's you, Senior Su! I remember now, you're Principal Su's daughter. I'm also a student at Liming University..."

Upon hearing the name Principal Su, a hint of unease flashed in Su Mian's eyes.

"I never expected to run into Senior Su here."

Seeing that she had met an acquaintance, Lu Xue's tense mood relaxed a lot. She looked at Su Mian and suddenly realized, "That makes sense. It's normal for someone as outstanding as Senior Su to receive an invitation from the Huitian Group laboratory."

"Well……"

Su Mian gave an awkward smile, momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond.

Before boarding the plane, she still believed that her father must have been the one to get into the "Return to Heaven Group" laboratory, and that he must have pulled strings for her.

But now, seeing Zhang Jimin and Lu Xue, who claims to be a junior, I'm a little confused.

"Is this Tianzu some third-rate lab? Dad really didn't pull any strings this time..."

Su Mian brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at the two of them scrutinizingly.

"Do you two know where we're going?"

Zhang Jimin smiled modestly and told everyone to put their luggage away before they started talking.

Two minutes later, the three of them were sitting in the first-class section of the plane. Zhang Jimin looked at the two of them sincerely and said, "Where exactly are we going? I don't know. I only know that Jiang Ning invited me."

"Jiangning..."

Su Mian was even more confused when she heard this. The image of Grandpa Jiang's son, who had been the subject of much online discussion recently, flashed through her mind, but then an image of a man with a terrible hairstyle quickly appeared in her mind as well.

"Yes, yes, I was also invited by Jiangning!"

Lu Xue looked excited, but after she finished speaking, she looked surprised.

"I never imagined Jiangning would have the capability to set up a laboratory. And I'm just a university student; I don't even know if I can be of any help."

"Jiangning?"

Unable to contain her confusion any longer, Su Mian asked directly, "Is it Grandpa Jiang's son, that Jiang Ning?"

"yes!"

Zhang Jimin nodded, his voice steady, his face showing little emotional fluctuation, only the composure of an adult.

"Miss Su seems confused. Perhaps you don't know Ning Zi?"

"Ningzi?"

Upon hearing this, Su Mian saw Lu Xue looking at her curiously and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"I do know someone from Jiangning, but I don't know if we're talking about the same person."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jimin and Lu Xue exchanged a glance, not quite understanding the meaning of his words.

After the three of them briefly introduced themselves, the first thought of the other two was, "Oh, we're all acquaintances."

One is a friend and colleague of the other, and the other is a neighbor. From a social perspective, both have intricate connections with Jiangning.

I suppose Su Mian is one of them.

But Su Mian's words surprised the two of them.

Seeing their surprise, Su Mian hesitated for a moment before quickly recounting her acquaintance with Jiang Ning…

After the three of them reintroduced themselves to each other about their relationships with Jiang Ning, Zhang Jimin pushed up his glasses and concluded:

"So, one of you is a student majoring in neuroscience, and the other is a master's student in computational neuroscience, while I am just a sleep research expert who is good at statistical analysis of data."

Su Mian and Lu Xue nodded.

"Besides me, none of you have much contact with Jiang Yuan?"

The two nodded at the same time again.

"That's strange..."

Zhang Jimin rested his chin on his hand and muttered to himself, "What exactly is this 'Return to Heaven' group researching? Why is their configuration so strange?"