Chapter 18

The next day was a sunny day, but it was November after all, and Fang Shao, who was still wearing a big white T-shirt, received several surprised looks as soon as he went out. He stayed in the bar every day, enjoying the almost perfect sunshine, air and temperature, and he almost forgot what the current weather in Yizhou was like.

Fang Shao was always reluctant to attract other people's attention. Although he didn't feel cold, he still went back and put on a thin coat. When he quietly blended into the busy crowd, he felt that the air in the city was far from fresh, and the sunlight was cold. However, he seemed to come back to life.

This is the real world he lives in.

The subway was not crowded during the morning rush hour, but it was not empty either. All the seats were occupied. Fortunately, the journey was not far. Fang Shao leaned against the wall of the carriage and scrolled through a few short videos of Station Master Guo before arriving at the station.

After getting off the subway, Fang Shao scanned a shared bicycle and rode leisurely to his senior sister's place. This area is next to a large wetland park, the greening is much better than the downtown business district, and the air is much more comfortable.

Senior Qiu gave him a Thai restaurant in a shopping mall. Fang Shao arrived early and chose a seat near a small open-air garden, which was just right for overlooking the wetland park. While waiting, Fang Shao took out his phone and looked at his Moments, passing the time by giving likes to his friends and relatives.

Suddenly, an inconspicuous forwarded news from a young lady caught his attention.

[XXX Online: Plans to acquire the domestic leading IP Luo Xiaohei to accelerate the commercialization of animation]

Classmate Xiao Hei actually has a sponsor?

"Squeak~"

Fang Shao took a deep breath, quickly clicked on the main text, and quickly grasped a few key points.

"138 million RMB to acquire 51.04% of the shares."

“Double blessing of funds and resources”

“Build it into a world-class IP”

Putting aside the possibility of creating a world-class IP, with the presence of a financial sponsor, is it possible that the domestic animation series "The Legend of Luo Xiaohei", which claims to be a masterpiece created with 5,000 yuan and is lamented by netizens as "a masterpiece to be created during one's lifetime" and "don't forget to tell your father about it during the family sacrifices", can finally speed up?

Although people in their family generally live long lives and they are not too worried about competing with the author for life, it would certainly be better to see the new series earlier.

The 28-year-old lady obviously had the same expectation. When she forwarded the message, she attached a series of repetitive texts.

"New show! New show! New show! New show! New show! New show!"

Fang Shao immediately liked this post.

When Senior Sister Qiu finished her work and hurried over, Fang Shao was already so bored that he opened Bilibili again to watch Luo Xiaohei for the Nth time.

"You're so old, but you still watch cartoons. You're a poor translator." The senior student patted his shoulder and said half-jokingly.

"What the hell, when did I ever have that? And you sound like a conservative parent on TV. Senior, we can't be like that."

The senior student snorted. "You are the old-fashioned one. I am a beautiful girl in the prime of my youth." But then she lowered her head and said, "Alas, it's just that beautiful girls have been a little unlucky recently. I'm almost becoming a little pitiful."

Fang Shao saw the senior's expression and immediately understood that Manager Qiu's compliments and the translator were all excuses. The senior just wanted to find someone outside her small social circle to complain to.

Sure enough, the senior student skillfully called the waiter to order two working meals, and then complained to Fang Shao. She said that she was brought out by her tutor to do a project, but in fact, the tutor just hung a consultant title in the company, collected a salary and assigned the work to the graduate students below.

In fact, this is also the norm for many graduate students. Although the senior student does not get paid, she has gained work experience. It's just that the people who work with her have bad tempers. They are respectful to the tutor, but not so polite to her, a student who has not yet graduated. A few days ago, she stepped on a pit and reported the conclusion data wrong. She was scolded by the tutor on the spot. What's more embarrassing is that she still doesn't know whether the pit was made intentionally or unintentionally.

"Don't even mention the tutor. I myself feel incompetent and stupid." The senior student looked depressed.

She had been holding these words in for several days, and could only vent them to her junior classmates who were close to her and had already graduated.

Fang Shao couldn't do anything, so he could only comfort this senior who was hit hard by society. "Every failure makes you wiser."

"I know. From now on, I will either calculate all the data myself, or only trust their own official data, and mark each source. This way, even if there is a problem, it can't be traced back to me." The senior said bitterly.

After finishing the meal, Fang Shao staggered back on the bus. On the way, he sighed a little. In the eyes of these undergraduates, the senior sister who was excellent in academics, well-behaved and from a middle-class family was already excellent enough, but she still had to experience the beatings of society.

It's not easy for anyone.

But the most difficult ones are obviously the people on the Wandering Earth side. After the existence of the bar was reported, it attracted great attention from the Chinese government, and the Earth United Government also received the news at the same time.

The footage taken by Mr. Zhu and the 334th team using their body cameras was studied over and over again, and the painting that Fang Shao was referring to was the focus of the study.

But it looks like an ordinary painting. Finally, with the help of the intelligent quantum computer MOSS, hundreds of similar messages were selected from billions of similar messages based on the painting style and the signature of "David Drayton" on it, and then a science fiction horror movie "The Mist" shot at the beginning of the century was marked as a highlight.

In a small conference room, a researcher was presenting the film and its key points to representatives of five Security Council member states.

【Arrow Plan】

【Misty World】

【Photos of various monsters】

Chinese representative Hao Xiaoxi, who had already read the report, looked solemn and silently observed the attitudes of other representatives.

"This door must be big enough to allow such a huge monster to pass through..." An old man with the tricolor national emblem on his chest sighed as he looked at the image of the huge monster on the screen.

"As long as there is enough space for the track to pass, with our current transportation capacity we can transport billions of people to the other side of the world." After drinking half a bottle of vodka in one gulp, another representative's eyes sparkled with surprise.

"Project Arrow, why haven't our scientists developed this technology?" The person who said this was obviously a representative of the United States. He seemed to have forgotten that this was just a setting in a movie.

The British representative sat quietly on the side, with a sad look on his face. The earth just stopped spinning, and the tsunami killed nearly half of the human population. As an island country surrounded by the sea, Britain suffered the greatest losses in the tsunami.

"The gateway to another world, this must be what the bar owner was referring to. But I don't know...will it bring us hope or another disaster?" he murmured.

Everyone was silent.

Since 2026, when scientists determined that the sun was rapidly aging and expanding, and that humanity and the entire solar system were facing a doomsday crisis, the world's political situation has been turbulent. Humans have tried to save themselves but are still fighting among themselves, and wars of all sizes have broken out frequently. The solar crisis has not yet begun, but humanity has suffered heavy losses. In the end, it was only through the joint efforts and mutual compromise of governments that the "Wandering Earth" plan was finally implemented.

However, there have always been voices of opposition. Not only do the abandoned spaceship faction and digital life faction still have many supporters, but there are also many people in the public who cannot bear the heavy workload and the pain of losing their loved ones. They complain greatly about this, and protests against the Wandering Earth project continue to occur.

At this juncture, the appearance of the bar and the possible existence of the gate to another world have shaken their determination to continue the Wandering Earth Plan. They are still like this, not to mention the people who are forced to sacrifice.

"Changes have already occurred. It is better to face them actively than to avoid them. Try your best to achieve the best results. That's what we have always done, isn't it?" Hao Xiaoxi, who is already middle-aged, had a firm expression on her face. At that moment, she looked just like her predecessor.

Fang Shao had no idea what was happening in the Wandering Earth world. He had been bored in the bar these days. Apart from the visit of Totoro, there was no other customer.

It feels like these guests either come in groups or none of them come at all.

Fang Shao suddenly remembered a sentence.

"He came today, and I will come tomorrow. If we can get over this mistake, won't there be people coming every day? It won't be too cold, nor too busy."

It’s a pity that Lin Daiyu’s famous saying cannot be set as a bar rule.

It must be fate, it must be fate. Not only the guest cannot touch or see clearly the fate, but the host also cannot grasp this illusory thing.

"Ding ding dong dong~"

The sound of wind chimes rang, but when Fang Shao looked up, there was no one at the door. Only the swaying wind chimes and the slightly shaking door announced the arrival of guests.

But this was not a problem for Fang Shao, the owner of the bar. He calmed down a little and noticed the guest who sneaked in.

“Huh?!”

This is a pleasant surprise. Could it be that I have been reciting the sutras more recently, so the echoes have appeared in a different form?

Fang Shao looked at the sneaky little fellow hiding under the table.

The cat was about the size of an orange, with pure black fur without a single color. If it weren't for its big round eyes flickering in the dark, it would have looked like a small coal ball. Fang Shao observed carefully and found that under its paw was a nut left by the cleaning lady. It was quite alert, and while playing with the nut, it did not forget to observe its surroundings.

This is a real person - a real cat version of Luo Xiaohei. And judging by his size, he seems to be the little guy in the movie version. It is estimated that at this time, the little cat demon has not yet encountered Fengxi and Wuxian, and is still wandering alone.

The little black cat turned its head and met Fang Shao's gaze.

"Hi~"

Fang Shao raised his hand and greeted the young man in a friendly manner.

"Squeak~" The kitten immediately arched its back and took a half step back on its two hind legs.

"Look?" Juzi heard the same sound and jumped down from the cat climbing frame out of curiosity. He approached Xiao Hei and wanted to smell his scent.

Xiao Hei didn't want to pay any attention to this silly cat. He was a monster, not a cat, and even cats fighting each other was common. He knew that the ones who could stay indoors were pets raised by humans. They were not as aggressive as wild cats outside, but they were not likable guys either.

Fang Shao looked around and saw nothing suitable to feed him. And judging from Xiao Hei's movements, he obviously didn't seem to be able to accept it.

It would be great if it was the TV version of Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei, who was raised by a master, would not have such strong resistance to humans as he did in his childhood.

Xiao Hei saw that the man not far away had no intention of attacking or driving him away. He hesitated for a moment and then lay back down. It was raining heavily outside and it felt very uncomfortable to be soaked. He decided to stay on the human territory for a while.

"Ding ding dong dong~"

The wind chimes rang again.

As expected, guests like to gather together, Fang Shao thought.