Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1442 - 698: Asking for an Exorbitant Price

Chapter 1442: Chapter 698: Asking for an Exorbitant Price

Due to the events of the morning, although Provincial City remained the same, some things had already changed.

In the schools, classes were still being held. However, the teachers’ attitudes in the classrooms had obviously shifted. Even the most stern professors began to turn a blind eye to the occasional restlessness of some students.

Those who had work still went to their jobs, whether in office enterprises or factories. Noticeably, the usual management staff seemed to have become "lenient," tolerating minor violations they normally would have shouted down, as long as they did not involve safety issues.

There’s a saying about sharing weal and woe, and at this moment people deeply felt its significance.

Even those who typically loved to complain, characterized as "eating their fill and cursing their mother," had forgotten their usual dissatisfaction with life and everything around them.

Everything was directed toward that country on the other side of the planet.

At this moment, that vast and historic nation was amassing a formidable force, ready to ignite like a volcano at a single spark.

This was easy to understand, as even children know it: within the family, brothers may fight and curse each other, but when facing outsiders, they must present a united front.

That afternoon in Provincial City, scattered individuals holding banners took to the streets; some younger people were shouting slogans, while older ones marched in silence.

But the protesters were still in the minority; many more were waiting...

For Yan Fei, he temporarily had other concerns. Although he didn’t know why he hadn’t received a call from Xu Xiaoyan that afternoon, he was glad of it. This meant he had more time to switch on his computer and search for information available online.

The internet had suddenly become less reliable that day, and Yan Fei spent a long time searching without finding much of use—not only because of poor internet connection but also because the data he was looking for was clearly not the kind that could be easily found online.

However, he did come across something worthwhile—a forum post calling for everyone to remain calm. Although the post was harshly criticized, he thought a few lines made good sense.

During this critical time, we should not merely vent our personal emotions. We must stay calm and avoid adding chaos to our collective home. What we need to do now is hide our anger in our hearts, support any decision made by our collective, and contribute when needed...

At the moment, online opinions varied wildly. Most expressed anger, calling for people to take concrete action; some belligerents even loudly declared their intentions to enlist in the military.

But Yan Fei grew quieter, realizing that perhaps what he wanted to do should wait—it was possible that acting on impulse could attract too much attention and potentially cause bigger problems, even disrupt the plans of the heads of the collective.

So he waited, for three to five days, or maybe ten to eight days... or perhaps even longer?

As an absolute man of action, waiting was not an enjoyable experience for Yan Fei.

Especially seeing others smashing consulates, marching, and attacking American websites online... sitting on the sidelines was truly frustrating.

If he had been powerless to act, it might have been excusable, but the key was he had enough confidence that if he did something, he could make that bullying troublemaker realize that biting recklessly would cost it some teeth.

Miss Xu Xiaoyan returned home in the evening, quite critical of the school’s refusal to allow students to march that afternoon. She furiously wrote and posted a passionate argument online, which quickly became buried under a flood of similar articles.

Impulsive as she was, the large-scale protest in Provincial City took place on the second and third days, with tens of thousands marching for a full two days.

Nevertheless, people still had to do what needed to be done. Allowing one’s life to be thrown into disarray because someone else had bullied you was undoubtedly unwise.

Yan Fei didn’t wait for the next day’s march to begin; he called Dong Qiushi to find out that the land purchase hadn’t been settled and decided to leave Provincial City. He told Xu Xiaoyan, "I need to hurry back to earn money so that, in case a war breaks out, I can donate more."

Returning to Sancha River Village, he found that even his own place had felt the impact. Among the young men, the main topic of discussion was whether to join the battle if war truly erupted.

While others were merely discussing, a few ex-soldiers, including those who were disabled, wore their determination on their sleeves, even beginning to inquire whether the military would call them back...

Yan Fei had little to say about all of this, aside from constantly monitoring the various news on the internet to gather the information he needed. The rest of the time he studied or stayed in the lab, uncharacteristically assisting Liu JinXue and his colleagues with some basic experimental work.

That’s because his two insects had been left at the research institute in Provincial City.

The discovery of a new species was quite complicated in terms of procedures. Now, leaving the insects at the institute for further identification was a necessary step—even though Yan Fei was a hundred percent certain it was not needed.