However, it is strange that many places have experienced several snowfalls in April – after all, some areas have not seen snow even in winter for many years.
Global climate is facing certain problems—meteorologists are racking their brains writing papers on this, offering explanations such as the greenhouse effect, emissions, and excessive carbon dioxide—and many top meteorologists are deeply troubled… With the weather like this, how can they maintain their theory of "global warming"? If this theory cannot be upheld, what reason do developed countries have to restrict the development of developing countries… and how can they levy an "air tax" on all of humanity? We even have to pay a tax for every breath we take!
Of course, these climate changes haven't attracted much attention. After all, as the saying goes, anything can happen. This kind of climate is far from extreme, and as for abnormal... humanity has already witnessed far too many abnormal climates. A couple of years ago, the winter temperatures were so high that many animals in parks didn't hibernate... Most people just treat this as news, because even if they wanted to worry about it, they simply didn't have the right to. For residents of many third-world countries who don't even own cars, the so-called restrictions on car emissions are none of their concern—and even those who own cars might not care.
Moreover, the heavy snow in early 2008 was said to be a "cooling" measure to "self-regulate" the Earth's temperature, which had been too high in recent years. That heavy snow, especially for residents of mainland China, was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Having experienced such an abnormal event, ordinary people would not pay any attention to normal climate changes.
But Chen Xu is now paying attention to news in this area.
It's understandable that Chen Xu is a bit paranoid right now. After all, with an invisible and intangible Grim Reaper, like one from "Final Destination," constantly threatening to embroil him in trouble, anyone would be on his guard. However, it seems the retribution of fate hasn't yet befallen him, and now some unusual weather has suddenly appeared… This inevitably makes Chen Xu wonder.
According to the data at hand, since April, the frequency of earthquakes around the world has increased by about 30% compared to the past. Some regions have also experienced typhoons, abnormal snowfall, and other unusual weather phenomena. In addition, observations of several dormant volcanoes around the world suggest that these active volcanoes, which have been dormant for hundreds of years, have recently shown some abnormal behavior. Could it be that something is really happening?
However, Chen Xu himself found it hard to believe that such a matter should be directly linked to the two major organizations, Tarot and X.
While it's true that humanity has severely damaged the Earth, leading to many unusual natural phenomena, it's still a collective effort... To put it bluntly, none of the six or seven billion people in the world can absolve themselves of this responsibility. As for some countries trying to pin the blame on third-world nations, that's pure nonsense—can such a thing be caused by a few individuals? When it comes to car emissions, no country can compare to the United States, right?
Air pollution, the loss of greenery, and the mining of deep mineral deposits beneath the Earth's crust are all ways of damaging the planet. But to say that any single entity can directly make the Earth's superpower rage is probably beyond our capabilities... unless the US president goes crazy and drops nuclear warheads.
Therefore, the recent abnormal climate is beyond the capabilities of even the world's top organizations, X and Tarot. This climate anomaly was likely expected, a kind of "accumulated strength finally erupting." After all, since the Industrial Revolution, the extensive use of bioenergy and humanity's pursuit of technological advancement have severely damaged the Earth's vitality over the past few centuries, especially in modern times. Although there are constant slogans about environmental protection, with the rapid development of industry, such protection has had little effect. The self-discipline of ordinary people is woefully inadequate compared to the environmental damage caused by humanity's pursuit of progress. If we truly want to protect the Earth, the primary task is to find new energy sources to replace current bioenergy sources like oil and coal, rather than just paying lip service to it.
Moreover, during this period of free time, Chen Xu was browsing the internet when he came across a peculiar claim—someone had seen in some source that the Maya, who were already extinct, only calculated the Earth's calendar up to 2012 AD. In other words, the Maya had predicted that the Earth would be destroyed in 2012… and quite a few people agreed with this claim.
Chen Xu was someone who liked to read aimlessly, and he only knew a little about many things. So he did know about the Mayan prophecy—but only superficially. Who knows where he read it from? Maybe it was one of those tabloids sold on trains that specialize in making things up.
Such doomsday prophecies have appeared countless times to date, causing considerable impact. Including 2012, Chen Xu recalls three such prophecies. One was at the end of 1999, at the turn of the century, when many people said that the turn of the century meant the end of the world was coming, causing quite a stir. In China, due to media censorship, it was somewhat mitigated, but abroad, it caused quite a stir.
They value freedom of speech there, so all sorts of crazy things happen. Back then, countless monks, Taoist priests, nuns, lamas, and Muslims came forward saying the end of the world was coming, and humanity couldn't escape it. So… take out your money! Believe in our God! The degree of your faith in God depends on how much money you hand over… The chances of the rich and the stingy going to heaven are like a camel passing through the eye of a needle, so take out your money!
Another time, it was June 6, 2006. This day is supposedly the birth of the devil as recorded in the Bible, the end of the world… So, another group of monks, Taoist priests, lamas… stepped forward, scaring many pregnant women in Europe and America who were Catholic, making them try every possible way to avoid giving birth on that day, fearing they would exhaust themselves giving birth to a creature with horns on its head, a long tail with an arrowhead, and perhaps even a fire fork in its hand, which would throw out a small pill and say, “Pah! Trying to poison me? No way!”
But with the Beijing Olympics just around the corner, the veracity of those two doomsday prophecies is naturally beyond question, so now 2012 has arrived again… Realizing that too many people know the Bible and it won't fool anyone, a group of monks, Taoist priests, monks, and lamas have brought up the long-extinct Mayans again—how convenient, there's no way to verify it, not even a single reference can be found—when the Spanish colonists arrived in the Americas, they burned all the Mayan documents, so it's unclear where this 2012 rumor actually came from… and it's spread quite convincingly.
Chen Xu, for one, didn't believe it... It's the simplest logic: if the world really did end in 2012... where would his supercomputer come from?!
Anyway, this whole thing was just something a bunch of bored people came up with, and I don't know what their motives were. Judging from the netizens' attitudes, they're all happily joking about it, and nobody actually believes it—if they did, how would they survive the next few years? Wouldn't that be even more idiotic than worrying about the sky falling?
"Lanzhou Pancake (OP is an idiot), what's so accurate about the Mayan prophecy? I am a direct descendant of Zhuge Liang, the 108th generation successor of the Zhuge School. Observing the celestial phenomena last night, I saw a large star hovering in the sky, with blood-red light shooting straight towards the Dipper. OP, your face is dark and you're wearing a bra; clearly, disaster is imminent. Quickly hand over your bank card number and password to ward off evil and avert disaster, turning danger into safety."
“Amitabha Buddha, you are mistaken, benefactor. The Buddha said... the end of the world was clearly in 2011, when will it be in 2012?”
"Amen, actually none of you know that the end of the world actually happened on June 6, 2006. Now you are all living in the virtual world of The Matrix, and you can't see the so-called reality at all."
Chen Xu changed his alias and started making a fuss under the most popular post about 2012 on Tianya. There were quite a few people joining in, and soon all the replies were from all sorts of random sects, such as Tiangang Sect, Five Elements Sect, Supreme Dao, Tianshan Sect, etc., and each one was more frightening than the last.
Chen Xu watched in front of his computer, feeling both horrified and amused. He thought to himself, "There are so many people with nothing better to do these days, and so many people who can make up stories. These predictions they're making actually seem plausible..." Come to think of it, how many of those who idly browse and post on forums these days, especially on Tianya's gossip section, aren't they just bored out of their minds? They're just a bunch of guys who have nothing better to do than this group of "God of Nothing Better to Do" guys. The more popular a post is, the more likely you are to see these "God of Nothing Better to Do" guys.
Just like a post Chen Xu just passed by, which said: "Let me tell you a secret about the Windows system. Just press the system menu key in the lower left corner, and then quickly press 'U' twice. You have to press it quickly... and something good will appear!"
Chen Xu burst out laughing when he saw the post. This trick was so idiotic! Pressing the system menu and then U was clearly a quick way to shut down the computer. But the replies were even more ridiculous… From the first to the seventh floor, everyone was shouting: “Wow, there really is something good! I got Tetris!”, “Super Mario Bros. appeared here!”, “Need for Speed!”, “Everyone upstairs is trash, after I pressed it, Maria Ozawa appeared…”
It wasn't until the eighth floor that someone finally replied: "Everyone upstairs is a bad person... 555, I turned off my computer after pressing the button..."
Sure enough, these guys from the "Painful God Cult" love to do things that harm others without benefiting themselves.
At this moment, Chen Xu clicked on another post, a reposted news article, which reported a strange phenomenon in a certain place in Sichuan: a large number of toads crossed the street, unafraid of strangers and vehicles. There were also photos, showing a street covered with toads... that is, toads.
The post received many replies. Some expressed surprise, while others asked if the photos were photoshopped. Some readers of the novel jokingly referred to the photos as belonging to a well-known author on Qidian, "The Wandering Toad."
However, a comment below caught Chen Xu's attention. He said, "Could this unusual behavior of the toad be a sign of an earthquake?"
Immediately, someone replied in agreement, because many people know that animals will behave abnormally and well water will become turbid before an earthquake. Such a large-scale migration of toads can indeed easily remind people of an earthquake.
Chen Xu was also speculating, because he had recently become quite sensitive to things like earthquakes and climate change. However, he also knew that earthquakes were basically very difficult to predict. Although there might be some unusual phenomena before an earthquake, sometimes these unusual phenomena did not necessarily mean that an earthquake would occur. If someone tried to predict such things in advance, they could easily be accused of "spreading earthquake rumors with malicious intent."
Is there really going to be an earthquake?
Chapter 381 Prevention (Part 1)
Many people in this world claim to have precognitive abilities. However, the extent to which they are credible is unknown. Yet, Chen Xu does indeed possess something that can "predict" things.
Xiaomin!
For supercomputers, events that occur in the future up to 2080 are essentially "history," not predictions.
However, this function is basically useless, because Chen Fei has already said that when the supercomputer is sent back, history will enter a new turning point. Between September 1, 2006 and 2080, many things may change. History will only be reshaped when Chen Xu completes the turning point.
Therefore, relying on information from supercomputers to acquire stocks is likely to result in significant losses. At the very least, in the original historical context, there was no SMMH, nor did Chen Xu rise to prominence so early. Many inventions are born from accumulated technological expertise, and the original Chen Xu was far from achieving the level of success he enjoys today.
However, some things can perhaps still be predicted.
For example, some terrible disasters have occurred on Earth...
Maybe?
On May 12, 2008, the whole country was filled with grief as a super earthquake centered in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, was felt across most of China, with the death toll reaching 100,000!
According to netizens' recollections, there were indeed news reports about toad migrations shortly before the earthquake. However, few people associated it with the earthquake at the time, and many people later regretted it immensely—the earthquake was not without warning; heaven had given humanity a warning, but humanity itself failed to notice it.
Looking at the reports about the 512 earthquake that Xiaomin listed, seeing the tragic scenes and the touching stories, Chen Xu's lips were already bleeding from being bitten. He knew that if he didn't know about this, it would be fine, but if he knew and didn't do something, those 100,000 wronged souls would make him never be able to hold his head up again!
Look at the time. For example, the 12th is less than a week away.
In such a short time, it is almost impossible to completely evacuate the entire disaster area... But even if it is impossible, Chen Xu will try his best to do it!
Thinking of this, Chen Xu picked up the office's dedicated phone line and dialed the number for the top leader's office...
On May 6, 2008, the Central Committee issued a secret order to escalate the situation, placing all troops in the major military regions and the Sichuan Provincial Armed Police Force on standby for earthquake relief. That same evening, numerous transport planes flew to the Chengdu Military Region, while convoys quickly assembled in Chengdu headed to Wenchuan, Beichuan, and Qingchuan to do everything possible to evacuate residents from the epicenter. Simultaneously, the entire mecha combat team from Tongchi Island was deployed and stationed at the Chengdu Military Region.
Although most of the mechs on Tongchi Island are designed for naval warfare, they are at least more adaptable to mountainous and jungle terrain than his mechanical units. This time, for earthquake relief, Chen Xu has brought out all of Tongchi Island's best-kept secrets!
Such a large-scale mobilization has naturally attracted worldwide attention. The Chinese spokesperson has not responded, as time is of the essence and there is simply no time for further verbal disputes.
For many Western countries, China's media control is seen as one of the most inhumane forms of behavior. However, this time, media control has played a significant role. Because of the media control, there were no earthquake warnings in the media, but rather a focus on earthquake preparedness. As for the people in the major disaster areas, although they were sent to other places without knowing why, which caused great emotional resistance, all other matters were taken into account at the moment.
Houses can be rebuilt if they collapse, roads can be repaired if they crumble... but if a person's life is lost, then it's truly gone. Nothing is more important than saving a life.
The Chengdu Military Region has deployed troops to various cities in Sichuan Province. Almost overnight, cities close to the epicenter and potentially affected by the earthquake were instantly taken over by the military and placed under militarized management. The military has firmly controlled banks, supermarkets, hospitals, and other essential facilities in the cities. Hospitals in various cities have also received the news, and all medical supplies have been frantically mobilized in the past few days. Many open spaces in the cities have been cleared out as emergency relief sites, and several military and civilian factories have been requisitioned to urgently begin manufacturing new types of tents provided by Company S.
These tents are simple to manufacture, easy to fold, and very safe due to their special construction. Company S contributed the tent blueprints free of charge and began emergency production. At the same time, relief supplies such as medicine, blood, blankets, and clothing were rapidly mobilized, all in preparation for May 12th.
This time, Chen Xu took a huge gamble. If this historical situation did not occur, the effort over so many days and the countless manpower and resources consumed would have amounted to an astronomical figure. He had even staked the entire S Company on it, making a solemn pledge. Given the magnitude of the matter and his consistent trust in SMMH, the country launched the first and largest earthquake prevention operation in human history.
Every second counts!
Countless PLA soldiers were exhausted during this period, but most only rested briefly before returning to the front lines. Many disaster-stricken residents, whose freedom had been restricted, were initially very dissatisfied, but seeing the soldiers' tireless efforts and tension lessened their resentment considerably. Furthermore, the arrival of several national leaders to the disaster area to face the impending catastrophe alongside the victims further calmed the previously panicked public.
In the early hours of May 12, everything was peaceful. However, emergency mobilization calls sounded across Sichuan Province, and all citizens were taken to cleared open areas to spend the long night.
At 2:28 PM, just when everyone's patience was about to run out, suddenly, the earth trembled, mountains and rivers shifted, and almost everyone in most of China felt the tremor instantly, especially in Sichuan and Gansu provinces, where the earth shook violently, as if the end of the world was about to come!
Fortunately, thanks to six days and six nights of tireless preparations, the epicenter is now deserted, and the surrounding cities are also well-prepared. After the initial panic, people quickly regained their composure under the guidance of the well-prepared soldiers. As news reports continued to emerge, all that remained for people was relief and gratitude.
An 8.0 magnitude earthquake! The entire Qingchuan region became history. The epicenter was almost completely wiped out. If anyone is still there... well, the odds are against them!
This is a victory for all humankind. Sichuan is mountainous and its roads are rugged, hence the saying "The roads of Shu are difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven." One can foresee how many people would not have survived if this preventative measure hadn't been taken; how many families would have been torn apart and destroyed; and how many people would have been trapped under the rubble, waiting in despair after the earthquake, with roads destroyed?
At this moment, all previous complaints turned into regret, and people spontaneously followed the army's arrangements. Millions of people in the disaster area were united as one!
This earthquake reached a terrifying magnitude of 8.0, even surpassing the Tangshan earthquake of years past. However, statistics compiled three days after the earthquake showed that fewer than twenty people had died. Compared to the original figures, Chen Xu saved nearly 100,000 lives!
Both domestic and international media outlets have unanimously praised the Chinese government's foresight and decisive action in this disaster, while the entire Chinese population, amidst grief, has been filled with jubilation and has generously donated money and supplies to support reconstruction efforts in the disaster area.
The most popular saying on the internet right now is: "Natural disasters are nothing to fear, as long as we survive." And the many People's Liberation Army soldiers who are exhausted from evacuating people are hailed as the most beloved people.
Of course, many leaders and Chen Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, this was the first time that the whole country had been mobilized to prevent an earthquake. If the SMMH prediction had been wrong, then it would have been difficult to explain the situation. Even Chen Xu, to put it bluntly, when all the preparations were in place, at 2 pm on the 12th, he didn't know whether it would be better for the earthquake to happen or not.
This earthquake preparedness has become a topic of global discussion. Such a massive disaster, yet the losses were so minimal; even the word "miracle" falls short of description. In return, the government didn't take credit. Xinhua News Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokespersons loudly proclaimed that this miracle was entirely due to the SMMH's premonition, pinpointing the earthquake's timing to within twelve hours, its location to within ten square kilometers, and its magnitude almost perfectly predicted!
This made SMMH and its subsidiary S Company, along with Chen Xu and Yi Shuihan, even more famous. Then, S Company donated 2 billion RMB as its first donation, which caused a national sensation.
Everyone wanted to know who SMMH was, and S Company was receiving widespread praise from the public... Making such a prediction was tantamount to saving countless lives; calling them a benevolent savior to countless families wouldn't be an exaggeration. At this time, the convoy carrying large quantities of disaster relief supplies and bearing the S Company's logo was heading to Sichuan Province for disaster relief. Everywhere they went, countless people expressed their gratitude to them. Not only ordinary citizens, but even many People's Liberation Army soldiers would salute them in respect.
An ordinary citizen said in an interview: "Although we still don't know who SMMH is, we can say that our lives were saved by him and the People's Liberation Army soldiers. A simple thank you is not enough to express our gratitude, but if I don't say thank you, I will never have peace of mind for the rest of my life!"
“My hometown is Qingchuan, where my elderly parents and younger sister live,” a soldier solemnly saluted in front of the camera. “Thank you to that internet god, whose prediction saved my family and allowed countless other families to be together. I can’t imagine the consequences without this prediction. Thank you, on behalf of my parents and friends, thank you for saving my life!”
"When I grow up, I must work for Company S. My dad said that he gave our family our lives, so I must study hard so that I can work at Company S." These are the innocent words of a seven-year-old child.
There were many similar interviews. For this earthquake, which did not cause any casualties, the reporters mainly focused on two topics: one was the six-day, six-night evacuation operation by the People's Liberation Army soldiers, and the other was the SMMH prediction.
Chapter 382 Prevention (Part 2)
"Science and technology are the primary productive forces." A professor from Sichuan University said, "Although we don't yet know how SMMH predicted this earthquake, it is the first time in human history that such a large-scale earthquake has been accurately predicted, which can be described as creating a myth. However, since there was a first time, we can believe that there will be a second and a third. SMMH is truly a genius. This also shows that with the development of science, anything is possible. Even natural disasters that are beyond human control can be avoided through prediction."
There are many different opinions around the world about how the SMMH accurately predicted this earthquake, but no one dares to make any disparaging remarks, because everyone knows how powerful the destructive force of such a natural disaster is. If the SMMH can really predict earthquakes, then it is absolutely not something to be offended.
Finally, Yi Shuihan stepped forward and released an explanation: SMMH's ability to predict this earthquake also involved a large element of luck. He first saw the news online about toad migration and felt it might be unusual, so he went to Sichuan for on-site investigation. He obtained data from major global crustal monitoring organizations, and after calculations, discovered that the Indian Ocean Plate was showing signs of movement, with a tendency to subduct beneath the Eurasian Plate, which could lead to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and thus a large-scale earthquake.
This can be considered a rough explanation for the cause of the earthquake, consistent with the geologists' deductions. However, one is a post-event deduction, while the other is a pre-event prediction. SMMH must have possessed advanced earthquake prediction technology, otherwise, it would have been impossible to predict with such precision.
This technology is a boon to the whole world, so some people immediately questioned why SMMH did not release this technology.
In response to these questions, Company S stated that the technology is not yet mature and involves some confidential information, making it unavailable for public release at this time. However, if earthquakes can still be predicted, Company S will issue early warnings. Furthermore, Company S has begun inviting renowned geologists worldwide to work together to refine the technology, striving to minimize the damage caused by this devastating natural disaster in the future.
However, this explanation didn't satisfy everyone, especially after SMMH's numerous achievements. People were even more eager to know: who exactly is this internet god?
From single-handedly solving the most widespread and insidious virus since the birth of computers, to later discovering "Martial Artist," then food testing equipment, followed by the rapid rise of Company S, the landmark release of "Chinese Language," the emergence of "Babel Translator," the huge success of the world-class online game "Conquer the World," the introduction of a new generation of network protocols, and even the birth of virtual reality, he even has the ability to predict earthquakes. Many people have witnessed his amazing mechs traversing cities, jungles, and mountains during earthquake relief efforts...
People are filled with curiosity about SMMH, the internet god who is only known by name but never seen.
If his previous work was largely online, and as a world-class hacker, hailed as the world's number one hacker, people could understand his need to conceal his identity, then when SMMH became a beacon of hope for everyone after this earthquake, many expressed their desire to express their gratitude to a real person.
Although the rescued people in the disaster area did not pressure SMMH to reveal their identities, given the current situation, SMMH really shouldn't stay behind the scenes any longer...
Who exactly is he?!
"We need a hero."
This was the Zhongnanhai office's tactful expression of opinion to Chen Xu.
"Perhaps this is a good opportunity for the public to accept your teacher, that artificial intelligence. But we must also consider the impact that the public emergence of artificial intelligence will have on a world already poisoned by the apocalyptic theories of Hollywood movies. But at this point, we really, really can't hide this person any longer. Even if we're going to create a god, we need to create one. Or, we have a way to have the best of both worlds. Perhaps Chen Xu, you yourself can play the role of your teacher..."
This suggestion really made Chen Xu break out in a cold sweat, and he quickly rejected it—in fact, SMMH was himself, but precisely because it was a fact, Chen Xu dared not admit it at all, because he was afraid that he might accidentally make things worse and reveal the supercomputer.
However, this opinion forced Chen Xu to consider it... This earthquake prediction directly saved countless lives. At this point, even if the rescued victims did not have strong objections, it was indeed no longer appropriate to hide the identity of SMMH.
The main question is, is it really a good idea to have Chen Fei, that pseudo-AI, impersonate this character?
It's important to understand that ever since the classic Terminator trilogy, the narrative that artificial intelligence and robots will eliminate humanity and take over world domination has never ceased. This has even led to many countries that have made significant progress in robotics research being hesitant to release their technologies… partly due to concerns about technological embargoes, but also because they have undoubtedly considered these very concerns.