Did You Destroy the World Today?
Chapter 23: I Have a Friend...

Opening his eyes again in bed, Lin Xu hurried to his computer to record the newly obtained clues.  

[The inventor of the key material's industrial production method is named Xu Jin, a researcher at the Materials Research Institute]  

[Xu Jin participated in the Planetary Reincarnation organization and later caused a disaster, possibly a terrorist attack (unconfirmed)]  

[Xu Jin's actions led to severe consequences, provoking retaliation from civilian organizations (unconfirmed)]  

After updating these three clues, the mystery before Lin Xu not only remained unsolved but grew even more perplexing.  

However, the good news was that the "threads" concerning the Planetary Reincarnation organization had become clearer, and the direction of investigation was now plainly visible.  

Xu Jin.  

Finding this person would mean finding the end of the thread.  

By following that thread, the entire Planetary Reincarnation organization would eventually be fully exposed.  

After briefly clearing his mind, Lin Xu updated the recorded data into his materials document.  

Completion progress...  

10%.  

At this rate, entering the Bracelet World just over ten more times would likely yield a complete industrial production process.  

Seemingly slow.  

But astonishingly fast in reality.  

Entering the Bracelet World over ten times could take as little as three days aggressively, or even just two conservatively.  

Two days!  

Two days to bring a widely applicable, irreplaceable new material straight into mass production—what kind of efficiency was that?  

Who needed anything more?  

Satisfied, Lin Xu saved the document and opened his browser, typing in the keywords "Nanjing Materials Research Institute Xu Jin."  

Search results appeared quickly, but none were useful.  

Clicking into the institute's public information section, Xu Jin's name was nowhere to be found in the staff list.  

Strange.  

Unwilling to give up, Lin Xu kept searching and finally found a clue after nearly twenty minutes.  

It was a list of candidates for final admission.  

Xu Jin, set to complete his postgraduate studies in June 2025, had just passed the institute's interview and entered the final announcement phase.  

No wonder he wasn't in the staff list—he hadn't even started working yet!  

He must be quite young then.  

A true genius, perhaps?  

Lin Xu wondered how far along Xu Jin's research was.  

Had he already achieved results, or was he just starting?  

At this thought, an idea suddenly struck Lin Xu.  

Maybe he didn’t need to repeatedly enter the Bracelet World for the final result?  

At least, not so many times?  

If he found Xu Jin and handed over what he had, letting Xu Jin continue the research, the efficiency might not improve, but the results could be more complete.  

After all, relying solely on "documents" to guide industrial production would inevitably leave gaps.  

This approach had another advantage: if the company or authorities later investigated the technology's origin, Lin Xu would have a plausible explanation.  

Moreover, establishing contact with Xu Jin would make it easier to monitor his movements.  

According to "future history," Xu Jin was destined to join Planetary Reincarnation.  

Perhaps he could even bring Lin Xu into the organization...  

Plan confirmed √.  

Lin Xu made his decision instantly.  

He found Xu Jin's details and confirmed his alma mater:  

Nanjing University.  

A top student, no doubt.  

Timing suggested Xu Jin had just finished his final thesis defense and was likely still on campus.  

Going directly to the university should work—but he needed a decent reason.  

What reason, though?  

Whatever it was, he needed to learn more about Xu Jin first.  

Blackmail him?  

No, too extreme.  

He’d figure it out.  

Feeling sufficiently rested, Lin Xu lightly touched his bracelet and entered another world once more...  

......  

That night, Lin Xu exhausted the bracelet's last two uses.  

He was completely drained—not a drop left.  

The next day at work, Jiang Xingye immediately frowned at his exhausted state.  

"You said you went to the National Library to research? What kind of research leaves you like this??"  

"Just stayed up late..." Lin Xu replied casually.  

"This doesn’t look like staying up late—it looks like you got squeezed dry on a juicer's bed!"  

"You can tell?" Lin Xu was stunned.  

"Wait, seriously?! You actually found a 'juicer'?!" Jiang Xingye glared.  

"Of course not," Lin Xu sighed, handing her a stack of printed documents.  

"Here."  

"I was tormented too—but it was my brain cells suffering."  

Jiang Xingye flipped through the pages, frowning slightly.  

"PEEK-RTM? M46X?"  

"What are these?"  

"I know PEEK—there’s research on using it to replace carbon fiber in structural materials."  

"But it hasn’t reached industrial production yet, right?"  

"Actually, it has," Lin Xu replied.  

"Though current PEEK production still has major cost issues."  

"PEEK-RTM is a new liquid-molding method—slightly better performance than traditional PEEK but with drastically lower costs."  

"Massively lower."  

"If this industrial path works, future space shuttle production costs could drop by over 20%—I’ve crunched the numbers."  

"The boss wanted more project details, right? Here they are."  

Jiang Xingye was speechless.  

"Details?? Buddy, the boss wanted you to optimize the shuttle design—like material choices, procurement, tech cycles, project milestones."  

"Instead, you invented two new materials??"  

"Is this your job? Can you even do this??"  

She couldn’t continue.  

This wasn’t criticism—it was disbelief at how far ahead Lin Xu had leaped.  

How?!  

He was just a flight control programmer!  

How could he solve material science problems too??  

Leaving anyone else any room??  

"......Where did you get this? Are you sure it’s accurate?"  

"Don’t ask about the source yet, but it’s correct. I’m certain."  

Lin Xu nodded firmly.  

"Come on, we’re seeing the boss."  

Without waiting, Jiang Xingye grabbed Lin Xu’s hand. Chen Yan, passing by, gave them a strange look.  

"Office romances aren’t allowed, you know."  

"Shut it!"  

Jiang Xingye dragged Lin Xu straight to the chairman’s office upstairs.  

No appointment, but she figured this warranted an exception.  

After briefing the executive secretary, they entered.  

Chairman Ren Jian had just arrived, still in his suit, brewing tea on the sofa.  

Seeing them, he glanced questioningly at the secretary, who quickly explained:  

"Sir, Team Leader Jiang has critical progress to report. You had a 20-minute window, so I brought them in."  

"Very well."  

Ren Jian nodded, and the secretary left. Jiang Xingye stepped forward, handing over the documents.  

"Sir, these are two key materials Lin Xu obtained—critical for Star Voyager-1 and future low-cost spacecraft."  

"Actually, they’re groundbreaking structural materials for all aerospace applications."  

"Enough."  

Ren Jian raised a hand, cutting her off.  

"Let me read first. Sit."  

Without further questions, he exuded the calm of a seasoned leader.  

After several minutes, he straightened up and exhaled deeply.  

"The material isn’t complete yet."  

"Lin Xu, call Secretary Yang back in."  

"Yes, sir."  

Lin Xu quickly fetched the secretary. Ren Jian then ordered:  

"Cancel all my appointments today."  

"Get Engineer Chu here."  

"And Liu from procurement."  

"...Actually, never mind."  

"We’ll discuss internally first."  

"Dismissed."  

"Understood."  

Once alone, Ren Jian turned to Lin Xu, his expression grave.  

"Lin Xu, this is no small matter."  

"Tell me honestly—where did this come from?"  

Lin Xu paused.  

Then he answered:  

"I have a friend... at Nanjing University."