Chapter 109
"ha?"
Xu Manwen suspected that she had heard correctly and asked again: "You want to take Zhang Hezhi out to look for meteorites, and why?"
"Well, this is a long story," Lu Shiyu said, having lost count of how many times he had recounted the story about the meteorite. After a hasty explanation, he said, "So I'd like to submit a request to the base commander to ask her to allow us to take Zhang Hezhi away for a while."
Xu Manwen sneered, "Who do you think you are? You're just borrowing money and treating us at Dawn Base like tools?"
Lu Shiyu hurriedly explained: "That's not what I meant, it's just..."
Xu Manwen waved his hand and said, "Come on, even if what you said is true, it's not worth it for Dawn Base to choose to stand on your side."
"Why?"
Xu Manwen crossed her legs and explained nonchalantly, "Dawn Base has just recovered from the pressure of survival. Life has finally gotten better for everyone. Who has the time to meddle with your affairs?"
"You don't really think things will be as simple as you think, do you? You think the meteorite can directly end the apocalypse, and then the world will be restored to peace, and everyone will have a happy ending together."
"Assuming the meteorite can truly end the apocalypse, it will take a long time to find a solution. Who will be responsible for providing the resources and talent required during this period? Even if a solution is successfully found, what will Dawn Base do with the key to closing the apocalypse? If you choose to disclose it immediately, who will bear the consequences? If you choose not to disclose it immediately, then Dawn Base is no different from Dawn Base. It doesn't matter whether you look for us or not."
Lu Shiyu was a little discouraged. Xu Manwen was right. Other people had said the same thing countless times, but she chose to ignore it.
No matter how beautiful her expectations for the future are, the current reality is right in front of her. It is impossible for people to cross the present and reach the future. She cannot solve the series of problems brought about by the meteorite, nor is she qualified to ask others to be responsible for what she wants to do. All she can do is try her best, but in the final analysis, it is just empty talk. No one is willing to pay such a high price for something that is only talked about on paper.
Seeing Lu Shiyu's expression, Xu Manwen felt a little sympathetic. He coughed twice and said, "However, if you can really convince the base commander, I believe there are plenty of people at Dawn Base willing to help you."
Lu Shiyu smiled bitterly: "But we need to borrow Zhang Hezhi as a witness because we have no evidence to convince the base commander."
Lu Shiyu's thoughts suddenly hit a dead end. If he wanted to get the help of the base commander, he needed evidence that could convince her. If he wanted evidence, he had to borrow her people to see the effects of the meteorite with their own eyes. But if he wanted to borrow people, he needed the help of the base commander. It was simply a vicious circle.
Xu Manwen spread his hands and said, "Then I can't do anything about it. But you can take your time to think about it. The base commander won't kick you out. You still have a lot of time."
Xu Manwen opened the car door and motioned for the two to get out. After they left the black car, they found that the car was parked right in front of the General Affairs Office. Xu Manwen actually sent them here directly.
Watching the black car drive away, Lu Shiyu scratched his head and asked, "How feasible do you think it is for us to pester the base commander and ask her for help?"
Tang Zeyu: "Maybe he will be thrown out by her men."
“…That’s true.”
The two of them wandered at the door of the General Affairs Office, not knowing what reason they could use to look for Wu Xi so as not to seem strange.
"That's right!" Lu Shiyu suddenly thought of something. Seeing that there was no one around, he took out a metal square box from the space.
"The Dawn Base must have a laboratory or something like that. We can ask them for help and see if we can open this box and take out the contents. We can also find an excuse to go in and look for Wu Xi."
Tang Zeyu gave a thumbs up, fully affirming Lu Shiyu's idea.
Just like that, the two of them took the big iron box and walked in swaggeringly.
However, the staff of the General Affairs Office were very busy, and no one even looked at them for a few seconds. And because Wu Xi had given instructions in advance, no one came to stop them.
The two arrived at Wu Xi's office surprisingly smoothly and knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
Wu Xi raised his head to stretch his sore neck. When he saw that the people coming were Lu Shiyu and Tang Zeyu, he was about to ask them what they were doing when he saw that they were holding a metallic cube in their hands.
"Why are you...holding a piece of iron?"
Lu Shiyu trotted forward, placed the iron block on the desk, and recounted its origins before saying, "So we want to see if the people at Dawn Base can open this box."
Wu Xi picked up the iron block from the table and weighed it. It seemed that there was really something inside.
"I'm not too sure, but Dawn Base does have quite a few talented people in the field. We can give them a try."
"Come on, I'll take you to see it."
"Hey? You're going to take us there yourself? Is that okay?" Lu Shiyu was a little surprised. She thought that either someone would take them there or they would call someone over. She didn't expect Wu Xi to actually offer to take them there personally. Doesn't she still have a job?
Wu Xi coughed twice and said, "It's okay, let's go quickly."
As soon as Wu Xi left the house, he was stopped by someone. A middle-aged woman with a bun on her hair said softly, "Base Commander, you still have a pile of documents to review."
Wu Xi smiled awkwardly, pointed at the two people behind him and said, "Oh, I need to entertain the guests first and take them to do some things, documents or something... Let's talk about it tonight!"
The woman with the bun-haired hair spoke softly, "So, Base Commander, you want to put off the work until tonight again?"
"What you said is true. I have to go to work now."
Lu Shiyu and Tang Zeyu looked at each other as they were walking behind. Wow, no wonder he wanted to take them on this trip in person. It turned out that he wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of his work.
In the end, Wu Xi managed to sneak away, took the two of them out of the General Affairs Office, and drove straight to somewhere.
On the way, Wu Xi also asked the two some questions, such as what the Dawn Base was like, what the environment in the remote areas was like, and whether there were any particularly ferocious deformed creatures. However, Lu Shiyu and Tang Zeyu only talked about trivial matters and deliberately only told half of the story. They successfully piqued Wu Xi's curiosity, but these were not enough for Wu Xi to make a final decision.
It was not difficult for Wu Xi to guess what the two were thinking. He did not choose to point it out directly. He just smiled and moved on to the next topic.
The vehicle arrived at its destination not long after driving.
When I got out of the car and took a look, I was unable to describe the building in front of me in words.
The two factories were connected to form a huge space, which was filled with all kinds of messy objects. The floor was filled with various boxes and cabinets, leaving only enough space for people to pass through. Even the space above was not wasted, with some lighter objects strung together with ropes and hung up. It can be said that all usable space was utilized.
Wherever Lu Shiyu looked, he saw almost all kinds of parts or machines. Occasionally, there were some large pieces that looked like scrap metal. He didn't know what they were used for. Lu Shiyu didn't understand these things, so he couldn't even tell what those things were.
"This is the craftsmen's workplace," Wu Xi said as he led a few people closer. "It's a bit messy here, though. You'd better follow closely. It's common to get lost here."
Lu Shiyu was dazzled by what he saw. In addition to various regular machines, he also saw some creative small objects assembled with parts, such as small flowers made of nuts, or cartoon patterns engraved on steel plates with lasers. It can be seen that these craftsmen like this place very much, otherwise they would not have left so many personal traces.
While walking, she was busy looking around and didn't even pay attention to the road under her feet. As she walked, she was tripped by a wrench thrown away casually and almost fell. Fortunately, Tang Zeyu was standing behind her and pulled her in time.
"You better be careful. There are a lot of dangerous items here. These craftsmen are usually very rough. If you really see them, remember to control your expression."
Lu Shiyu stood firm, not understanding why he had to control his expression. Wu Xi just said that he would understand when he saw it.
As you go further in, the natural light outside becomes weaker and weaker, replaced by the light emitted by cold industrial bulbs. The surrounding environment also becomes more complicated, looking like an industrial-themed secret room maze. If there is no one to lead you, you might really get lost here.
"We're here."
Wu Xi's words brought Lu Shiyu back to his senses. Lu Shiyu looked at the door that suddenly appeared in front of him. He walked forward and pushed it open, only to find that there was someone else behind the door.
Several dark-skinned and muscular men were sitting in front of an industrial fan, doing their own things. Some were drawing designs, and some were measuring the size of parts, but these were not the point. The point was that there was a smell of sweat in the room, and these people were only wearing shorts!
Lu Shiyu was almost choked by the smell and instantly understood what Wu Xi meant by expression management. He forced a smile to avoid the other party thinking that he was disgusted with them.
"Hey, Old Deng is still counting your parts."
Wu Xi walked straight into the room, and the people who were doing their own work all looked up at her.
"Base Commander? Why are you here so suddenly? If there's any new project, just ask someone to tell me. Why bother coming here in person?"
The man Wu Xi called Lao Deng put down the measuring tools in his hands and stood up, only to find that there were two people behind Wu Xi.
"Nothing, I just want your help."
Wu Xi waved his hand and asked them to sit down: "Didn't we just finish the last project? Why do you have so much work to do?"
"But we heard that the cafeteria at the General Affairs Office exploded. Doesn't it need repairs?"
Wu Xi: “…”
"It's okay, just let the person who caused the accident fix it."
Old Deng wiped his hands, put on the vest he had discarded, and asked, "What do these two people behind do? Why have I never seen them before?"
Wu Xi turned sideways, revealing the two people behind him. Lu Shiyu's palms were sweating as he held the iron box. He stammered, "Hello, I want you to help me cut open the iron box."
Yu paused as she finished talking about the road. Damn it, she seemed to have said splits.
Wu Xi was still laughing secretly when Old Deng stood up and walked over.
"What tin box?"
"This is it," Lu Shiyu quickly handed over the iron box and asked, "Can you see if there's any way to open it? Even cutting it open is fine, but make sure the contents are intact."
Old Deng took the iron box and kept turning it over to observe it.
"Where's the keyhole?"
"There's no keyhole," Lu Shiyu explained, "and there's no edge to be found. It feels like it's a complete piece, so we can't open it."
Old Deng didn't know if he had listened to what Jin Lushiyu said. He just looked at the iron box solemnly and said without looking up, "Old Zhang, give me my glasses."
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