Chapter 160: Preparing to Go to Country M

Qian Zhongshu replied, "Their personnel and equipment will arrive in three days, and we also need to send people over there."

"Over there? Where?"

Looking at Zhang Mingyang, Qian Zhongshu replied, "To Country M, and you are going too."

"Huh?" Zhang Mingyang thought he had misheard. "Grandpa Qian, I'm going to Country M?"

Qian Zhongshu nodded. "Not just you, all three of you are going."

"No way!" Peng Dongli and Tian Wenyuan looked at Qian Zhongshu in astonishment. "Director Qian, what are we going there for?"

Qian Zhongshu replied, "Since the people from Country M are sending a delegation to visit our base, we certainly must form a delegation to visit theirs."

"Wait...!" Zhang Mingyang had no idea what he could do over there. "Grandpa Qian, it makes sense for my senior fellow apprentices to go, but me? I don't understand most of those things. What would I go for?"

Qian Zhongshu replied, "You are going as the representative of our Energy Department! You don't need to worry about other tasks; you are only responsible for touring the collider of Country M. Besides, you were personally chosen by Director Wang as a member of the delegation, so you have to go whether you want to or not."

"Grandpa Wang again!" Zhang Mingyang had never understood why Grandpa Wang always pushed him to take on major responsibilities. Could it really be because his father was his student? Was it because of this connection?

"Grandpa Qian, when does the delegation leave?"

"The day after tomorrow." With that, Qian Zhongshu took out his communicator and sent a text message to Zhang Mingyang. "Mingyang, the message lists the items you need to bring before visiting Country M. The three of you should take a look later and prepare. We will depart from the airport promptly at seven o'clock the morning after tomorrow."

The three of them quickly checked the contents of the message, while Qian Zhongshu left the office and hurried toward the cafeteria, having not eaten all day.

The precautions in the text message detailed everything everyone needed to bring: clothes, communication equipment, documents, and a huge array of other items.

"Good grief! Isn't this a bit too much stuff to bring?" Tian Wenyuan sat in his chair and scratched his head. "You two, since we're leaving the day after tomorrow, shouldn't we take tomorrow off to prepare?"

"That works." Seeing that so much needed to be brought, Peng Dongli also felt they needed time to prepare. "How about this: let's go back now, pack our clothes and daily necessities first, and then meet at the square at seven o'clock tomorrow morning to get the other equipment ready. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, the other two nodded in agreement.

Peng Dongli glanced at the time. "It's seven o'clock in the evening now. Let's hurry back and pack our clothes first."

"Alright!"

Leaving the office, Zhang Mingyang quickly walked toward the dormitory. As he reached the bottom of the mountain, Zhang Mingyang caught sight of Bai Muqing carrying a suitcase as she walked toward the dorms.

"Qingqing!" Zhang Mingyang quickly called out to her.

"Mingyang?" Seeing that it was Zhang Mingyang, Bai Muqing stopped with a smile.

"Let me help you carry that." Zhang Mingyang took the suitcase from Bai Muqing's hand, and the two walked toward the dormitories together. "Is this an empty suitcase? Are you going somewhere?" Feeling the weight of the case and seeing her heading back to the dorm, Zhang Mingyang assumed she was about to leave.

"Yes, I'm going to Country M the day after tomorrow."

"Huh? You're going too?" Zhang Mingyang looked at her in surprise. "Wait, what are you logistics people going there for?"

Bai Muqing replied, "Our Logistics Department doesn't just handle the base's logistics; the living supplies and logistical equipment on the spaceship are also our responsibility. Of course we're going to check out the life support systems on Country M's spaceship."

"Oh! I almost forgot about that." Zhang Mingyang had almost overlooked the fact that spaceships contained not only scientific research equipment but also crucial life support systems.

"Are you going?" Bai Muqing widened her eyes, revealing an expectant expression.

"Me...?" Zhang Mingyang drew out his voice and deliberately paused to heighten Bai Muqing's anticipation.

"Are you going or not?" True to form, Bai Muqing took the bait. She shook Zhang Mingyang's arm and asked him anxiously.

"Going! Going! Going!" Zhang Mingyang replied with a smile. "Since the Director specifically called my name, I have to go whether I want to or not."

Hearing that Zhang Mingyang was also going, Bai Muqing almost jumped for joy. "That's wonderful! I heard we get a day of rest in Country M. Will you come visit my school with me then?"

"Alright." Zhang Mingyang agreed readily. Through the time they had spent together recently, although Zhang Mingyang had not verbally declared Bai Muqing to be his girlfriend, in his heart, he had already tacitly accepted it.

Arriving at the entrance of the dormitory, Bai Muqing took back her suitcase and prepared to go inside. "I'm heading back first. Once I finish packing, I'll come find you."

"Okay." Zhang Mingyang waved goodbye to her and returned to his own dorm.

Back in his room, Zhang Mingyang quickly took out his suitcase to pack his clothes. He also checked the weather in California and prepared seasonal attire.

Half an hour later, the black leather suitcase was packed to the brim, filled with everything he could possibly think of.

Looking around the room, he made sure there was nothing else he needed to take before zipping it up and locking the case.

Sitting on the bed, a thought suddenly struck him. "The star map! My star map is still at home." Although he was going to Country M, Zhang Mingyang had not forgotten about the star map. Since Jin Yaowen had left him with the answer, he naturally had to decode it.

"I know!" Zhang Mingyang took out his computer and logged into his home computer account. Fortunately, he had uploaded the star map to his home computer.

Operating the computer, he switched servers and successfully logged into his home server. "Found it!" He saw the familiar star map once again.

Since his clothes were already packed, Zhang Mingyang decided to study the matter further. He stared at the star map and resumed his train of thought.

...

Half an hour later, he had gained nothing.

"Why is this so difficult!" He scratched his head, completely unable to figure it out. "Is there any other way?"

As he lay on his bed pondering, suddenly, another thought occurred to him. David Miller had mentioned that it was about the universe, and this star map was also about the universe, given to him by Jin Yaowen.

"That's right! How could I have forgotten about this!" Zhang Mingyang quickly grabbed a book, flipping through its pages to see if there was any content related to atoms.

Zhang Mingyang searched word by word through the book. "No! This is too slow." He then opened the electronic version on his computer to search for keywords.

To his surprise, he actually found a match! Page one hundred and thirty-five: Resource Reshaping.

He quickly turned to that page and began to read.

"Resource reshaping refers to the reconstruction of resources when a certain resource becomes scarce or when all resources are depleted."

"All mineral resources and human resources are limited. Neither the Earth nor the universe possesses endlessly usable resources. For instance, the depletion of a certain mineral resource signifies the complete loss of a material foundation that took millions or even hundreds of millions of years to form. If one wishes to use it again, it requires another millions or hundreds of millions of years to reform."