Did You Destroy the World Today?
Chapter 36: Strange Disconnection

“Shareholder?!”

After hearing Lin Xu’s description, Jiang Xingye was stunned.  

Good grief, she had said before that Lin Xu’s progress would be fast, but now, he had literally jumped to the top in one step??  

Obviously, according to the chairman’s description, Tianqiong Technology planned to establish a new subsidiary and directly appoint Lin Xu as the person in charge.  

This was clearly evident from Ren Jian’s words about Lin Xu being responsible for “procurement and personnel recruitment.”  

But why was it so fast?!  

“No, are you sure he’s a shareholder, not the legal representative??”  

Jiang Xingye asked suspiciously.  

“...Can you cut me some slack?”  

“The legal representative is himself, not me.”  

“To be honest, I also feel something’s off.”  

“Especially his attitude toward me, it’s like... how to put it, treating me as an equal.”  

“No way, aren’t intellectuals treated better now?”  

“It feels like a flashback to 70 years ago.”  

“It’s ridiculous... but also makes sense.”  

Jiang Xingye sighed.  

“Probably because those two documents are too important, and you’re the only contact. The company has to bet on you.”  

“Ah... President Lin, from now on, there’s a terrifying thick wall between us.”  

“Will I still be able to invite you out for late-night snacks?”  

“Before, asking you out for snacks was at worst workplace harassment, now it’s outright sexual bribery, right?”  

“...Sometimes I really don’t understand how your dog brain works.”  

Lin Xu raised his hand as if to slap Jiang Xingye, but she crossed her arms, curled into a ball, and deliberately put on a pitiful look, her eyes twinkling as she said,  

“President Lin, take it easy...”  

“Ahem, ahem, ahem...”  

Lin Xu nearly choked on the sip of water he just drank. He glared fiercely at Jiang Xingye and said,  

“Please, act normal.”  

“No problem, President Lin.”  

Jiang Xingye immediately sat upright with perfect posture.  

“Seriously, only the two of us know about this, right?”  

“Yes.”  

Lin Xu nodded.  

“Then keep it confidential for now. Honestly, this matter could be big or small.”  

“If it leaks early, it might stir up unnecessary jealousy.”  

“I know—do you really think I’m an idiot?”  

“Ah...”  

Jiang Xingye sighed again.  

“I should have acted when you were the dumbest just after joining the company. Now... it’s too late.”  

“...Let’s go, it’s time to get off work. Next door is Home Inn, let’s fight three hundred rounds.”  

“President Lin! How could you say that!”  

Jiang Xingye was shocked.  

“What’s your status? How can you just drag me to Home Inn?”  

“At least it should be Bulgari to start with, right?”  

“...Bulgari, my foot.”  

Lin Xu glanced at the time and packed up his laptop.  

“I really have to get off work. I still need to go to the National Library to check some data.”  

“After that, I have to talk with Xu Jin to sync today’s information.”  

“What do you say? Getting off work?”  

Talking about serious matters, Jiang Xingye finally became normal again.  

“Not going, there’s still some finishing work on Test Ship No.3.”  

“I wanted to ask you, will you still do your original work?”  

“If not, I’ll request HRD to recruit someone now.”  

“I’ll keep doing it.”  

Lin Xu answered decisively.  

He absolutely couldn’t let go of the flight control system work because he needed to maintain a strong connection with Star Voyager-1.  

“But if you can recruit someone, then do it. My current workload is saturated. Once the Star Voyager-1 project kicks off, I can’t handle everything alone.”  

“Understood.”  

Jiang Xingye nodded.  

“When the people come, you interview them with me. They’ll be your assistant, and you can pick.”  

“Can I recruit some good-looking ones?”  

Lin Xu blinked and asked.  

“...I think you really want to die. Do you think everyone in this line is as naturally beautiful as me?”  

“...I was just saying.”  

“Let’s go.”  

“Go ahead, drink more goji berry tea if you want. Look at your yellow face, so weak.”  

“...One day I’ll show you who’s really weak.”  

Lin Xu grabbed his bag and stood up. Jiang Xingye also returned to her workstation to continue her unfinished tasks.  

After exiting the company gate, Lin Xu kept thinking about what he needed to do after going home.  

He didn’t notice someone sitting on the sofa at the reception outside the office, glancing at him from time to time.  

When Lin Xu entered the elevator, that person immediately stood up, putting down the unfinished interview registration form.  

But he didn’t follow into the elevator.  

Instead, he took the fire escape stairs down, lowering his voice as he said:  

“I’ve locked onto the target.”  

“Hmm, consistent with preliminary intelligence, just a very ordinary employee.”  

“Clean background, yes, definitely clean.”  

“Currently, it doesn’t look like his personal action; it seems to be a layout by Tianqiong Technology. He’s just a spokesperson.”  

“They might be heading toward self-developed materials. Not sure how they got hold of Xu Jin’s research, so they’re pinning all their bets on him.”  

“No, no signs of malice found so far.”  

“Need to arrange an interview? We can involve the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.”  

“Are you sure it’s not necessary? What’s Old Xu’s opinion?”  

“Good, good, understood.”  

“I’ll hold off for now. Keep tracking, and I need assistance from the economic investigation unit to monitor Tianqiong Technology’s movements.”  

“Yes, they’re experts in this area. If there’s a problem, they can alert us promptly.”  

“As far as we can tell, Xu Jin shouldn’t be at a disadvantage. But if necessary, we can escort him.”  

“That’s all. Over.”  

......  

Back at home, Lin Xu had no awareness yet of the “official attention” he had attracted. Once home, he immediately turned on his computer to start searching for clues about the Zhurong rover.  

Xu Jin had an obsession with this thing. Although Lin Xu didn’t know if it was related to his father, Xu Jin definitely wanted to bring the probe back.  

Moreover, it was clear that what Xu Jin wanted was not what the probe discovered but the probe itself.  

So, what was so special about this probe?  

Lin Xu typed “Zhurong rover” into the search box, and results popped up immediately.  

But most information was just ordinary news reports.  

Smooth development, smooth launch, smooth landing, smoothly transmitting the first Mars image...  

Of course, there was also the report Jiang Xingye mentioned earlier about the newly discovered suspected semi-metallic hydrogen.  

That was a major discovery.  

But the problem was, it had no direct connection to the motive of “bringing back the Zhurong rover.”  

Lin Xu frowned.  

He clicked open the longest article and read it word by word.  

The news used the discovery of semi-metallic hydrogen as an introduction, reviewing the Zhurong rover’s history from beginning to end.  

Most of the content was nothing extraordinary, describing the staff’s hard work and the probe’s significance to the country’s aerospace and cosmic exploration efforts after launch.  

But among the mundane information, Lin Xu found one “not quite reasonable” anomaly.  

The Zhurong rover’s launch was not entirely smooth sailing.  

After successfully leaving Earth orbit and heading to Mars, 160 days before landing, the rover lost contact for 56 days.  

At that time, everyone thought the rover was destroyed in space.  

But unexpectedly, 56 days later, after entering Mars orbit, the ground command center received its signal again.  

The report defined this disconnection as an accident caused by complex cosmic radiation and electromagnetic environment, and blockage by celestial bodies, proving the rover’s reliability.  

But Lin Xu instinctively felt it wasn’t that simple.  

The loss of contact could be explained as a black-out during launch, but it had been months since launch—how could it still lose contact?  

He wanted to search further for details on the disconnection but found nothing.  

Not yet declassified?  

It should have been declassified twenty years later, right?  

If he couldn’t find the information here, it should definitely be in his wristband.  

Time for a pincer attack!  

Lin Xu lay on the bed, gently touching his wristband.  

And his consciousness was once again drawn out...