In the following period, as Zhang Xiangming "defected", "Tianyu Charity Canteen" became increasingly popular, with more and more employees and their families coming to eat.

Thanks to Lin Lele's tireless efforts, everyone became increasingly eager to visit the "Tianyu Base".

The enthusiasm of everyone caught Chen Yu somewhat off guard.

Logically speaking, these highly educated individuals should not be so easily swayed. Even with the endorsement of Lin Lele's grandfather, Lin Hong, it would be impossible for so many people to "betray" the Academy of Sciences in such a short period of time.

Keep in mind that this has only been 10 days, and more than half of the people at the Academy of Sciences are already showing signs of being "lured away" by Lin Lele.

This is simply illogical. It would be understandable if it were just a group of ordinary people, but these are people who have received higher education, including some top scientific and technological elites and academicians of the Great Xia Academy of Science and Technology!

However, after an unexpected turn of events, Chen Yu finally understood the reason behind it.

It is rumored that the Academy of Sciences did not implement food rationing because they were stingy or trying to save food, but because their reserves were already very low. The emergency food warehouses, which should have been full, only had a thin layer of stock.

Such rumors are not baseless; they have some basis in fact.

According to everyone, the reason why the granary was empty was not due to corruption or anything like that, but rather a peculiar coincidence.

A week before the extreme cold disaster struck, a rare rainstorm flooded all of the science institute's inventory, damaging most of its food supplies and rendering them inedible.

Normally, such a loss wouldn't be a big deal for a well-funded science and technology institute; they could simply replace it with another batch of grain.

However, just as they finished processing the damaged food, they encountered a global electronic equipment malfunction, which prevented the food from being replenished in time.

Afterwards, in order to prevent the electronic equipment from malfunctioning again and causing an accident, Da Xia decided to take a safe approach and halted all production and transportation activities nationwide.

As we all know, three days later, the extreme cold disaster swept in with unexpected speed, covering the entire planet Blue Star with a layer of frost overnight.

Thus, the Academy of Sciences' plan to replenish its emergency reserves completely failed.

It is logical and well-founded, and people have no choice but to believe it. No one who lives here is a fool; they can tell the difference themselves.

It is precisely because of this that the senior management of the Academy of Sciences has never "denied" the matter from beginning to end, but has only repeatedly emphasized that there is enough grain in the granary to sustain everyone for a long time.

Then they turned around and implemented food rationing for everyone, and the result was obvious.

However, everyone here is smart enough to know that complaining is pointless at this point; it will only create unnecessary chaos and hasten the collapse.

Against this backdrop, with abundant resources and the endorsement of the respected former dean Lin Hong, it was obvious which side everyone's hearts were leaning towards at the "Tianyu Base."

It's not that everyone is afraid of death and would bow down for a meager living, but rather that they all know that such persistence is meaningless. Rather than waiting to die here, they would rather go to the "Tianyu Base".

The instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm is the instinct of all living beings; if one can live, who would want to die?

Moreover, many of them are top scientists trained by the country. They are worthless if they die. Only by surviving can they create value for society and fight for a glimmer of hope for humanity.

It is precisely because of all these factors that everyone is so enthusiastic about the "Tianyu Base".

…………

Just when things were looking up and Chen Yu was preparing to send people to the "Tianyu Base" to transport the new members, a sudden piece of news struck like a bolt from the blue, shattering the delicate balance between the "Tianyu Base" and the Academy of Sciences.

The team, led by Qi Heng, the head of the Armed Forces Department of the Academy of Sciences, who went out to find supplies, is already on its way back. According to the soldiers who returned ahead of time, the Armed Forces Department has made great progress this time. They not only brought back 100 tons of grain, but also found a large grain depot, which means that supplies will be plentiful from now on.

The news caused an uproar among the staff and their families throughout the science and technology park. Those who had been eager to join the "Tianyu Base" to pursue their careers began to hesitate, and their inner balance began to shift subtly once again.

After all, who would want to risk going to a place with an unknown future if they could stay in their familiar environment?

No matter how well Lin Lele describes the "Tianyu Base," it is ultimately just one person's opinion.

At least, what they could be certain of was that the research environment of the "Tianyu Base" was absolutely incomparable to that of the Academy of Sciences.

As a key national institution, the Academy of Sciences has gathered the most advanced scientific research equipment and talents. Its research atmosphere and resource accumulation are far superior to those of a so-called "base" built by an emerging private entrepreneur.

This has become a lingering doubt in the minds of many people.

Chen Yu understood the implications of this situation.

He knew, of course, that his "Tianyu Base" could not compare with the Academy of Sciences in terms of talent reserves or scientific research resources. That's why he was thinking of moving everything from the Academy of Sciences to the "Tianyu Base".

However, the promising situation was shattered at this moment.

If he hadn't experienced the smooth sailing beforehand, Chen Yu's mindset might not have fluctuated so much. He could have even spent several months infiltrating the Academy of Sciences and slowly poaching people.

But just when he was about to smoothly acquire the Academy of Sciences, this unexpected turn of events was hard for him to accept.

He was even considering whether or not to resort to force.

However, he only thought about it. The armed forces department of the Academy of Sciences was not to be underestimated. Their equipment was no less than that of ordinary local troops.

Although he still has many high-end weapons in his extradimensional space, there are probably not many people in his huge "Tianyu Base" who can use those weapons. Moreover, he is now thousands of miles away from the "base" and only has about 100 "militiamen" under his command. It would be unwise to have a conflict with the armed forces.

To regain the Academy of Sciences' "voice," a completely new plan needs to be devised.

After all, we are all civilized people and we should be reasonable.

With this in mind, Chen Yu immediately convened a small meeting with Lin Lele and others, ordering them to observe the situation for the time being, put aside the promotion of "Tianyu Base" for now, and avoid any conflict with the armed forces.