Chapter 1593
A Shocking Project
At the mention of Lanlan, w.a.n.g Ma clapped her hands and said, “Ah, the three Yu sisters wanted to visit the neighboring countries. Lanlan’s close to them, so she tagged along. She was worried that you wouldn’t allow her to go, so she told me not to tell you. I thought she’d be safe with them, so I agreed to it.”
Ever since the three women agreed to protect the ladies on Yang Chen’s behalf, they had been keeping their promise, spending most of their time on the island, except returning to Honghuang Sect once in between.
Although they were puzzled as to why Yang Chen had yet to return, they continued to wait patiently, believing that no one in the illusionary dimension would be a match for him.
For demons who had lived thousands of years, a few months meant nothing.
Coincidentally, Lin Ruoxi did not bring Lanlan back to China since she would be busy with work. Hence, the little girl went ahead and played with the three fox demons.
Yu Lanting was fond of her as Lanlan was Yang Chen’s daughter and looked adorable.
The Honghuang Sect was not as exciting as the mundane world. Intrigued by the fascinating human civilization, Yu Lanting and the other two relaxed and went to the other countries to play when nothing happened for the past two months.
Although most of Europe was frozen, the heating system was quite complete, so life could go on normally in places where the lat.i.tude was not as high.
While Lin Ruoxi frowned, Mo Qianni smiled and consoled, “Ruoxi, don’t worry. No one can bully Lanlan. Besides, the Yu sisters will be with her.”
“You misunderstood me.” Lin Ruoxi sighed. “I’m not worried about her getting into danger but that she’d bully others when she’s having too much fun.”
In the middle of their chatter, the phone in the house rang.
w.a.n.g Ma picked it up and saw it was from Ron.
“Mr. Ron, can I help you with anything?”
“Madam w.a.n.g, has Mrs. Yang returned?” Ron was clearly referring to Lin Ruoxi.
“Yeah, she just returned. If you have something to discuss with us, come over. Everyone’s here.”
“No, no. The thing is, the lead commander of the Phantom crew, Brewster, sent a message, informing us that many army fleets of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have appeared around our archipelago. It’s out of the ordinary, so I would like to ask Mrs. Yang if we should take action.”
w.a.n.g Ma was stunned. As she knew nothing about it, she quickly handed the phone to Lin Ruoxi.
Since Yang Chen was not on the island, Ron and the others viewed Lin Ruoxi as their leader and would naturally report the matters to her.
After listening to his report, Lin Ruoxi lowered her head and mulled it over for a while. “Mr. Ron, their target isn’t us, but Jane. Have Brewster stay put.”
“Princess Jane?” Ron was surprised but did not doubt her decision. He then gave an affirmative reply before hanging up.
Once the call ended, Lin Ruoxi asked w.a.n.g Ma, “Is Jane back?”
“Some time ago. Ever since she returned from England, she has been in a bad mood and has not left the lab,” w.a.n.g Ma replied and sighed.
The others exchanged puzzled glances, oblivious to the situation.
“Ruoxi, why did you say they’re here for Jane?” Cai Yan asked.
Instead of replying, Lin Ruoxi looked at An Xin. “I’m sure you can guess the reason.”
A wry smile appeared on the latter’s face. Nodding, she replied, “It should be because of that matter.”
“Stop beating around the bush. Tell us what happened!” Cai Yan piped up, anxious to know what was going on.
“Let Jane explain. She should handle the fleets too.” As Lin Ruoxi spoke, she called the number of Jane’s lab.
Less than a minute later, Jane came over to the house, still wearing her lab coat. Her hair was disheveled, which showed that she had not been resting properly for days because of research.
As she had known what had happened, she sat down with a scowl. “How dare they come over here when I’ve rejected them outright. Have they lost their mind?”
Lin Ruoxi took over a warm cup of tea and sipped at it before saying, “They wouldn’t be afraid of taking risks and would clutch at straws in life and death situations like this. And you are their last straw.”
The others were befuddled.
Seeing that they seemed lost, Jane chuckled and recounted the whole thing briefly.
As it turned out, she was invited by the Secret Intelligence Service and the Fellows.h.i.+p of the Royal Society to attend an international security conference two weeks ago.
The attendees were the leaders of the developed countries and a few from the developing countries.
Famous and powerful conglomerates and families also attended the conference, such as Rothschild, Morgan, and Rockefeller.
Additionally, the best security organization from each country, scientists at the top of the field, and some genius researchers who usually remained out of circulation were also at the conference.
No media reported the conference as it was a secret to the rest of the society. Every country tacitly controlled the media and prevented the news from leaking out.
The conference’s theme was to discuss what would happen to humans if the temperature dropped further.
After discussing and envisaging for multiple rounds, they decided on a plan that even Jane found incredulous.
The leaders of the countries made their votes—other than a few who forfeited—and decided to execute the Noah Ark project.
The countries planned to combine their resources and wealth and build at least ten extremely fortified battles.h.i.+ps within six months.
Considering the current technological advances, it seemed impossible to seek refuge at the s.p.a.ce station at the edge of the Earth’s...o...b..t.
The only chance they had was to use nuclear energy, hydrogen energy, solar energy, and other sources to build a ma.s.sive iron fort to help them survive on the future sea of glaciers or underwater.
According to the scientists’ prediction, if the temperature consistently decreased at the same rate for a year, the temperature at the South Pole would be lowered by more than ten degrees.
By then, the world would be in the fifth ice age.
The land area would expand due to the frozen sea, but in turn, land animals would go extinct, making it hard for humans to survive.
In order to retain human civilization, the countries planned to have young females, girls, elites in all fields, scientists, and artisans board the battles.h.i.+ps to evade the catastrophe and wait for Earth to come back to life.
Of course, skill, funds, and resources would be needed to build the iron beasts, which meant that the support of the rich would be essential.
Thus, the top billionaires would be prioritized to enter the s.h.i.+p.
Hearing Jane’s recount, the ladies fell silent. It sounded like the story of a futuristic doomsday sci-fi movie, but it was happening in real life.
“I rejected the suggestion because I think, even if I can design and build the Noah Ark, it’s useless if we don’t deal with the core of the matter. If I’m not mistaken, the G.o.ds are behind everything. Only by having them stop their plan can humans be saved. Unfortunately, they don’t agree with me, and they do not think humans can put up a fight against the G.o.ds. Now that the G.o.ds have disappeared, we’ve no clue where to start looking for them.
“It’s obvious that they can do nothing about it even if they know the G.o.ds are the cause.” Lin Ruoxi chuckled. “Didn’t you discuss with the western countries about the solar energy being intercepted? Is it near the North Pole’s ice sheet? Did they reply to you?”
“That’s the biggest problem now. USA, Russia, and Canada sent out their elite navy troops, but they were unreachable not long after they arrived at the North Pole. The dozens of fleets sunk into the sea. There were no survivors, and the reason behind it is unknown,” Jane explained.
“Could it be that the G.o.ds are wreaking havoc in the North Pole? Did Athena go all out to get Gaia’s Heart because she wants to decrease the global temperature and drive humans into extinction?” Zhen Xiu asked in horror.
“No matter what it is, those countries wouldn’t want to send out expedition teams to the North Pole after all the losses. That’s why they resorted to building the Noah Ark. It’s understandable since they can see a sliver of hope there,” Lin Ruoxi said.
Jane nodded. “That’s what I thought too. It’s also why I’ve been hesitant if I should fly to the North Pole and check things out. But if we truly spot the G.o.ds there, our powers combined are still far too weak. We can’t change a thing there, but instead, we will invite trouble for ourselves.”
“Let’s not go there. It’s too dangerous,” Rose said worriedly. “You saw it too the last time. Apollo and the other two G.o.ds are crazily powerful. Hubby also said that their powers are increasing continuously. We’re not a match for them, and if they disregard Hubby, they might kill us if we head over.”
“Speaking of which, Ruoxi, did you and An Xin receive an invitation to invest in the Noah Ark project?” Mo Qianni asked.
In an impa.s.sive tone, Lin Ruoxi replied, “Yes, but I rejected it. Compared to the actual billionaires, my money isn’t that important to them. I reckon An Xin would be more on their list since they’re involved in the s.h.i.+pbuilding industry.”
An Xin hurriedly shook her head. “I rejected it too. It’s meaningless. Oh, Sister Tang Wan, did you not receive their invitation? Wouldn’t they care about Maple Group since your family is involved in the arms industry?”
“They won’t contact the Tang clan,” Lin Ruoxi answered on Tang Wan’s behalf.
Tang Wan nodded and smiled resignedly.
“Why not?” An Xin asked, puzzled.
“Because China is the only major country that isn’t invited to partic.i.p.ate in the project. As the Tang clan is based in China, they wouldn’t invite her so that they wouldn’t get involved with China,” Jane explained.
“Our country isn’t partic.i.p.ating in such a major project?” w.a.n.g Ma exclaimed in shock.
An unfathomable look flitted across Lin Ruoxi’s eyes as she explained in a low voice, “Isn’t it obvious? The other countries aren’t fools. China and the G.o.ds are mortal enemies. Even if they aren’t familiar with Hongmeng, they would know that China is in a different situation than theirs. They would be glad If China could defeat the G.o.ds, but if China failed, they might survive if they deny being a.s.sociated with China. Moreover, China’s population takes up one-fourth of the world’s population. In the situation of doomsday, it’s a heavy burden. Of course, they would rather have more Chinese die so that they could have even more resources to themselves.”