After Minister Yu sorted out the minutes, he immediately convened an emergency meeting.
At present, they only know that the "hole" will appear at 21:00 in the East Eighth District, but there is no regularity in the frequency and date of its appearance. It is now 15:00 in the afternoon, and there are still 6 hours before the next "hole" may appear. The National Technical Security Department must decide how to place Tan Yan before then.
If it were someone else, they might worry about being taken away for human experiments because they possess special abilities, but Tan Yan's mind was always stable. He completely believed in the organization's decision, or he was willing to obey the arrangements, which was why he behaved like this.
When leaving the room, Minister Yu could not help but secretly praise Tan Yan again. When he inspected the Ping County Public Security Management Office before, he said that he would promote Tan Yan's work style to the whole country and let all practitioners learn from him. This was not empty talk. Unfortunately, Tan Yan's identity is now a confidential file, and it is impossible to put it in the open for people to learn.
All informed personnel from the Technical Security Department were waiting in the conference room for Minister Yu. They had studied the "void" phenomenon for many years and now had finally made a breakthrough. How could they not be excited
At the meeting, Minister Yu summarized the conversation with Tan Yan, briefly explained the general situation, then put down the notebook and waited for everyone to speak.
"… That's it?" Xu Mingyu looked disappointed. "What about the cause of the void? What about the source of the special energy field? What about the connection between Tan Yan and the void? Are there no answers to any of them?"
"That's right. The current situation is very complicated. The appearance of Tan Yan not only fails to solve our existing doubts, but also adds many more problems. What do you think about this?" Minister Yu asked.
He actually already had an idea in mind, but it sounded a bit ridiculous and he needed to convince the people in front of him.
Although Minister Yu is the main person in charge of the "void phenomenon", he is only the overall manager. The specific theoretical causes still need to be studied and analyzed, and the actual operation is still done by his subordinates. At most, he translates the research results of these people into words that ordinary people can understand, reports to the country, and applies for funds, resources, and experimental permissions.
"There's one thing I don't quite understand," asked the deputy head of the research team, an old professor. "He has entered the 'void' countless times, how could he not understand anything? Even without instruments, wouldn't he be able to compare and analyze the differences between the air composition, gravity changes, and biological characteristics after each entry into the 'void' and the real world? As long as we compare a few more times, we can always find common ground while reserving differences and find the different laws of each world."
"We should also pay attention to changes in soil quality, climate characteristics, and the composition of edible water sources, right?" another professor added.
"He had such a great opportunity, but there was no progress in forty years. It's really..." Professor Feynton Feynman, the head of the research team, shook his head in disappointment.
The other team members nodded in agreement. They didn't even analyze the most basic environmental factors. It was really...
"Everyone, please pay attention," Minister Yu knocked on the table, "Tan Yan's work is different from everyone else's. He is not a scientist. And it's not that there are no scientists who have dedicated their lives to science and the truth and risked their lives to enter the void, but have they come back?"
Everyone fell silent.
The example Minister Yu cited happened in the 1990s, when the "void" phenomenon had just occurred. After countless measurements, several scientists from other countries built an instrument that could bring them back, and they entered the void fully armed with the instrument. The result was of course obvious: nothing was accomplished.
After that, no one dared to take the risk to conduct experiments, let alone treat "voids" with their existing knowledge, as this was a phenomenon beyond their understanding.
"I know everyone is very interested in what is behind the 'void'. I didn't mention this in my report just now because I didn't ask Tan Yan. Now I will tell you about my experience -
It was a lava world, the temperature felt over 50 degrees, the sky was covered with dust, it was dim, and I couldn't see the sun and stars in the sky. It was in an extremely unstable state, the earth cracked, magma gushed out, countless animals I had never seen were submerged in the magma with a temperature of over 2000 degrees. The air was full of boiling magma, and if you got a little bit of it, half of your body would melt. It was an extremely dangerous world.
If anyone here went there, would there be any difference in the mood detection and comparison environment
No, in the world after the Hollow, everyone only cares about one thing - survival. And Tan Yan has persisted for forty years in such an environment. Please don't judge this matter with common sense. "
After Minister Yu finished speaking, everyone was silent. Only Qiao Zhixue asked, "What about other worlds? Are they all the same? Is there a whole world behind the 'void', or is it just a closed space with intelligent life?"
"Tan Yan can't explain these things clearly."
"Why?" Qiao Zhixue was a little puzzled.
"If the lava world is described by Tan Yan, it would be - it's quite hot, but bearable. After turning around and finding a way out, we'll come back." Minister Yu repeated Tan Yan's words with a helpless look on his face.
It was precisely because of their different understandings of the lava world that Minister Yu gave up asking about the situation in other worlds. Tan Yan's description of all the worlds was almost "okay", "tolerable", and "I came back alive anyway". If he was asked to describe them in detail, Tan Yan's Chinese level would not be able to explain them clearly.
In fact, the world looks different to everyone. No matter how much Tan Yan says, the people in the research group will not get the answers they want.
After listening to Minister Yu’s explanation, everyone in the research group frowned. This kind of description was not acceptable.
"What is the Minister's plan?" Qiao Zhixue could see what the Minister was thinking. "Tan Yan can't go in alone, but the Minister went in with him and came back. That means I can also go with him to the world after the Hollow."
"You probably can't do it," Minister Yu glanced at Qiao Zhixue's thin body. The members of the research group worked so hard on their experiments that they forgot to eat and sleep. They all looked like paper figures. "You probably wouldn't survive for three seconds."
Like his police electric car, it turned into volcanic ash.
Minister Yu recalled the look in Tan Yan's eyes at the time. He felt helpless and nervous at first, but now when he thinks back on it, those eyes are really full of "trouble" and "obstruction"...
"If every world behind the 'void' is so dangerous, then it is indeed not suitable for us to enter. But Tan Yan doesn't know anything... Can I make a small measuring instrument, teach him how to use it, and let him bring it in?" asked Team Leader Fei.
"Don't worry, listen to my ideas." Minister Yu said, "We can't put all this burden on one person, not to mention that he has persisted for many years, both mentally and physically exhausted. I want to set up a special operations team, led by Tan Yan, to specifically enter the 'Void'."
"That's a good idea," Team Leader Fei nodded. "I have quite a few interns under me. Let's pick a few with good physical fitness..."
"No," Minister Yu rejected immediately. "The members of the action team must meet the following conditions. First, they must be young. Young people accept new things quickly. Second, they must be trained from a young age. Even if their skills are not comparable to mine and Tan Yan's, they must at least have the strength of special forces. Third, they must have solid theoretical knowledge. Even if they don't have a doctorate, they must at least have the level of a graduate student. Finally, these people must have a strong sense of confidentiality. The 'void' phenomenon cannot be known to the public, and Tan Yan's identity cannot be known to people from other countries."
"There are probably not many people in the country who can achieve all three of these points at the same time, right?" a team member questioned.
Sports and mathematics, physics and chemistry are natural enemies. There are very few people who are good at both, and they have to be the best in both. Even if such people are found, the country will not be willing to put them in such a dangerous position. These are all talents, young talents at that. The death of one of them is a huge loss to the country.
"I know, so cultivating this kind of talent cannot be accomplished overnight." Minister Yu put forward an opinion.
"It takes at least three to five years to train a talent. During this period, should we let Tan Yan enter the Hollow alone? What if something changes? What if he can't come back?"
We have been studying the void phenomenon for many years, so we were not in a hurry at first. But after knowing the situation behind the void and the role played by Tan Yan, we could no longer take it lightly.
The safety of a country, a province, a city, a county, or even a town cannot be completely placed on one person. This is not the age of superheroes. People cannot put all the responsibilities and blame on one person. The world belongs to everyone.
"Of course not. The two should be carried out together." Minister Yu finally put forward his proposal. "My opinion is to let Tan Yan select suitable people to go into the void with him. At the same time, these people should learn the necessary knowledge. After a few years of running-in, a special operations team specifically targeting the 'void' phenomenon will be formed."
After a heated discussion, everyone quickly came to the conclusion that Minister Yu’s proposal was the best solution at the moment, but this was based on the premise that Tan Yan himself was reliable enough. After all, he was the only one who understood the situation, and he was the only one who could choose the people.
"Is Tan Yan capable of this task?" Qiao Zhixue thought of Tan Yan's description of the lava world and was worried.
He was really afraid that no matter who he brought to let Tan Yan choose, he would only get the answer of "okay" or "either one is fine".
"The current Tan Yan should not be able to do it," Minister Yu sighed, "This training is not only for the special operations team, but also for Tan Yan."
At 9 p.m., when Tan Yan was getting anxious, Minister Yu finally brought a few people to Tan Yan's lounge and released him.
"Can I go back to Ping County? It's too late now." Tan Yan asked.
"Don't worry for now," Minister Yu soothed. "I have asked the Ping County Public Security Management Office to stop night patrols. Even if they have to patrol, they must finish before 9pm. We will take over the rest of the time. Now there are people who use detectors to search for the cavity, which is easier than you alone."
"But the hole will spread." Tan Yan said worriedly, "If it appears in the city, by the time I rush back, I don't know how many people will be sucked in."
"Don't worry about that. Our research over the years was not in vain." Minister Yu took Tan Yan to the experimental area, and Qiao Zhixue showed Tan Yan a huge machine.
"This is a quantum field fixer that the research team spent five years and a huge amount of money to produce. It can fix the void for four to five hours, which is enough time for you to get from City B to Ping County." Minister Yu patted Tan Yan and pressed him into the chair.
"Don't work too hard. You were alone before, but now we won't let you bear such great pressure anymore. You can relax a little." Minister Yu looked at Tan Yan kindly.
Tan Yan: “…”
I was touched, but there was something wrong with the look in his eyes.
Tan Yan had only seen this kind of look when he first started working. Over the years, he had basically used this kind of look to look at the new police officers in the unit.
Although he didn't quite understand the meaning of Minister Yu's eyes, Tan Yan still felt his shoulders lighten, his body felt extremely tired, his eyelids became heavier and heavier, and he was about to fall asleep in the laboratory.
"Wake up first," Minister Yu woke up Tan Yan, "I have something to say."
"Considering your current appearance, I have something to tell you with regret. I'm afraid you won't be able to retire in two years. The country needs your strength."
Tan Yan's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly nodded in agreement: "Okay."
He agreed without even asking how long he would have to work.
Minister Yu thought that Tan Yan must be in a difficult situation. His motivation to keep going was to have a good rest after retirement. Now he was told that retirement was a long way off and he might have to work like a young person. It would be hard for anyone to accept this. But Tan Yan still accepted it because it was his duty.
"Don't worry. As the saying goes, we can't just take advantage of one sheep. We won't let you work too hard." Minister Yu comforted him. "Your next task is to select members of the special operations team and lead them into the Hollow so that they can also possess your power. After they are out of the team, you can rest. Of course, you may be hired as a nominal consultant, and you will be asked to help when difficulties arise."
Unexpectedly, Tan Yan was not too happy to hear that he could take a rest. He said worriedly, "It's very dangerous. I'm afraid something will happen."
"Precisely because it is dangerous, I cannot keep exploiting you. This has already been decided and you cannot refuse. The hidden dangers of 'Void' are too great and we must find a way to solve it completely." Minister Yu said seriously.
Having said that, there was no room for Tan Yan to object, and he accepted it silently.
"There is one more thing..." Minister Yu suddenly smiled kindly, sitting next to Tan Yan and said kindly, "Considering the difficulty and duration of the task, we need to select some energetic young people to train. Since the team members need to be of extremely high quality, we cannot determine the candidates all at once, and can only select from a large range. Before the selection, the whole story of this matter cannot be revealed. So you need to get in close contact with these candidates for a period of time, and then choose the one you think is suitable."
Tan Yan felt a little uneasy: "... In what form will the contact be, training?"
"Of course not, that would be too deliberate." Minister Yu smiled and took out two things and placed them in front of Tan Yan. One was Tan Yan's ID card, which showed he was born in 2000, and the other was an admission letter.
Admission letter to a special class of a central military academy.
undergraduate.
Junior high school graduate Tan Yan: “…”