“The record for tower-like structures on the Deification Ranking has been broken!”

Ripples flowed across the list. With Hou Congwen’s barely suppressed exclamation, the record for the 107th tower structure was finally changed. The original record of 680 times gradually faded away and was replaced by a new record of seven hundred times. And since it was set in Hou Congwen’s research room, the name recorded on the list naturally became his.

“Researcher Hou, congratulations! I never expected you to break the seven-hundred-times record.”

“Damn, Hou Congwen, you’ve already gone seven hundred times without a sound?”

“What the hell? Your lousy structure was only 420 times last time. How did it almost double this time?”

“Let me see what kind of amazing structure this is!”

The voices arrived before the people.

The appearance of the list sounded like bells and drums throughout the virtual reality world. Almost instantly, every researcher still in virtual reality received a notification. They discovered that Hou Congwen had broken the record without anyone noticing, and these people immediately became restless and began applying for access to investigate.

“Oh dear, I’ve stolen the limelight. I’m so sorry, Brother Zong!”

He was showered with compliments, doubts, congratulations and urging from dozens of voices. Although Hou Congwen was still a little shy, experiencing such a scene for the first time, his face was full of happy smiles and he was enjoying it very much.

“Brother Zong, how about I inform the Dean first and have him look into it before we let the others in?”

“That’s excellent!”

Seven hundred times was still not the limit for a single-pillar structure. However, having just broken the record of the entire Architecture Institute, Su Mo was in no hurry to break through further. He only planned to wait for the Dean of the Architecture Institute to take office before trying again.

“All right, the Dean is probably busy. No rush. Let’s have some tea first!”

He carefully composed the message and sent it remotely. Hou Congwen waved again, beckoning them to the pavilion, and the two sat facing each other once more. This time, however, Hou Congwen’s eyes no longer held that disdain, and Su Mo’s heart no longer carried that anxiety.

“Brother Hou, could you tell me about the current situation at the Academy of Sciences?”

“Of course. Brother Zong will be joining the Academy of Sciences soon, so it’s not against the rules for me to mention these things in advance.”

Hearing Su Mo’s request, Hou Congwen readily agreed. The reason he had kept the others from rushing in to investigate was not as simple as he claimed. In the end, it was about the possibility of rising to senior researcher or even dean level in the future. As both the examiner and the introducer, Hou Congwen valued this relationship above all else.

“Our Academy of Sciences currently has eight different institutes: Physics, Chemistry, Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Ordnance, Science and Technology, Medicine and Mathematics.”

“Among them, the Institute of Physics leads the way, followed by the Institute of Science and Technology, and our Architecture Institute currently ranks third, behind Physics and Ordnance.”

When he mentioned the third place, Hou Congwen’s face showed a hint of pride.

“Brother Zong, don’t underestimate the simple questions our Architecture Institute raises. In fact, if we can convert these things to civilian use, it could completely change how humanity prepares for disasters.”

“Take your tower structure as an example. If we could build such a tall tower underground, it would be able to withstand disasters that can’t penetrate the soil, and so preserve the human race from beginning to end!”

“Oh? Built underground?” Su Mo’s expression turned serious, as if he were asking for advice.

In fact, Su Mo had already noticed the problem when he was looking at the monument towers yesterday. Of all the newly posted questions, more than seven in ten were about how humans could survive underground. Such a barrage of questions might not reveal much by itself, but it did give away some information. Now, with Hou Congwen’s words added, he immediately spotted the clue.

“Yes, as you’ve probably noticed, Brother Zong, the disasters of the last two years have become more and more violent. By our calculations, if this trend continues, sooner or later humanity will have to move underground to save the lives of the majority.”

“Of course, perhaps we’re being overly pessimistic, but who knows whether the next disaster will be any different?”

Hou Congwen paused here and gradually fell silent.

Eight years had passed, and the human population had shrunk dozens of times from the original eight billion. According to compiled statistics, the number of humans remaining on the New Continent was now only about 200 million adults, only about twice the total population of Henan Province in the Earth era.

But that was not what worried humanity most. Because disasters were so uncertain and frequent, only truly great territories had the capacity to guarantee the safety and nutrition of newborn infants. In most ordinary territories, even if a child was born, only about one in five hundred would ultimately survive.

Eight years had passed. Human numbers had shrunk by tens or even hundreds of times, and the births that should have offset this had been slow to break the million mark. If this continued, a break in the line of civilization was only a matter of time.

“Brother Zong, there’s no need to worry too much. As it stands, the disasters are still at the level of basic celestial phenomena and haven’t yet reached true destruction.”

“Although the last cold snap reached a terrifying minus ninety degrees Celsius, we now have trains connecting the entire New Continent. The poor can look after themselves, while the rich can benefit all under heaven. Holding on for a few more years shouldn’t be a problem.”

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