"Mr. Mickey, what do you think of the war in the Middle East? Do you approve or oppose it?"
Professor Chen tried to ask.
Mr. Mickey shook his head: "Of course I am against it. War will kill people. No one likes war, except those capitalists. The environment is too bad. They are on the verge of bankruptcy one by one, and they are counting on the war to turn things around."
"Then do you think you can win?"
"It's hard to say. It all depends on whether the Federation is willing to pay the price. If the Federation chooses to be tough to the end, then we will definitely not be an opponent. There is no doubt about this."
"So, you are betting?"
Professor Chen frowned.
Mr. Mickey adjusted his glasses: "Seriously, it's not that we want to gamble, it's those big consortiums that want to take a chance in order to pass on the crisis."
"What's the attitude of the people? I didn't see a few anti-war protests all the way here?"
"It's normal not to see it. Many young people have chosen to immigrate to Africa. There are many opportunities there. The ones who stay are old people like me. They don't have many years to live. As long as the government issues food stamps on time,
Whether there is a war or not has nothing to do with us."
Mr. Mickey explained helplessly.
Professor Chen frowned and asked: "Mr. Mickey, why don't you go to Africa? After all, it's warmer there than Europa."
"Mr. Chen, you are overthinking it. Although it is warm in Africa, the infrastructure is too poor. Young people used to go there to find jobs. We went there only to die."
"It seems so. Developing Africa does not happen overnight. It requires at least ten to twenty years of continuous construction." Professor Chen agreed.
"Alas..." Mr. Mickey couldn't help but sigh: "Actually, in my opinion, occupying Africa is definitely a loss-making business, and I don't know how the decision-making was made above."
"Oh? How do you say this?"
Professor Chen became interested instantly.
Mr. Mickey immediately replied: "Mr. Chen, given the current climate conditions, Africa is too short of water, especially North Africa, which is nothing but desert. It is not suitable for human survival at all.
Instead of going south to Africa, I personally think it is better to go east to the Tianzhu Peninsula, where both precipitation and average temperature are more livable.
Moreover, occupying the Tianzhu Peninsula also has a great advantage, that is, the Middle East has become the rear area and will not affect production and life.
Otherwise, once the war becomes intense, not to mention the exploration of oil and gas resources in the Middle East, even Europe and Africa will be affected by the war."
"Occupy the Tianzhu Peninsula?" Assistant Zhu Tao couldn't help but interjected, "How can you get there without the cooperation of the navy? Besides, Tianzhu is different from Africa. It has a primary industrial base, so it may not be that easy to occupy."
"Haha, occupying Tianzhu is only difficult in the early stage. The further you go, the more advantageous it will be. Moreover, Tianzhu has rich coal reserves, which is much better than the huge Africa."
Mr. Mickey avoided the important and took the easy way out.
Professor Chen secretly tugged on his assistant's clothes to signal him to stop arguing, and then immediately changed the subject: "Mr. Mickey, how is life here in Oxford? Can you eat enough every day?"
"Life is generally okay! However, it is still a bit difficult to eat enough. I heard that you don't have to go hungry in the East?" Mr. Mickey said with envy.
In fact, the real situation is more serious than what he said. Especially the days at the end of the month are the most difficult. Many people starve to death every month.
“Can’t you buy food at the flea market?”
"It's very difficult. Even if you can buy it, the price is not affordable for ordinary people. I don't know about other places. The water, electricity and heating bills here in Oxford are so expensive that I can hardly survive."
Mr. Mickey couldn't help but complain.
Professor Chen then asked: "Mr. Mickey, have you ever thought about immigrating?"
"How could you not have thought about it? The best immigration destination at present is your Eastern Region. Other regions are not as good as ours!
It's a pity that the travel expenses are too expensive. A ferry ticket to the East costs 300,000 yuan, which our family cannot afford at all.
What’s even more helpless is that you don’t accept everyone there. To be honest with you two, I tried to apply before, but the result was not approved.”
"Mr. Mickey, the East is not as good as you think. There is also hunger there and there are a lot of problems."
Professor Chen quickly comforted him.
Mr. Mickey shook his head and said nothing more, and the car became quiet for a while.
After more than ten minutes of this, the destination was arrived.
Compared to a few months ago, the University of Oxford is now even more in decline. The lights on the campus are much dimmed, and there are not many students encountered along the way.
At the door of a certain basement, Professor Chen personally walked up and knocked on the door: "Dong dong dong..."
With a "squeak" sound, the door opened.
Andre hugged Professor Chen: "Chen, my old friend, you are finally here."
"Andre, I haven't seen you for a few months, why have you lost so much weight? I can hardly recognize you?"
"It's too difficult to explain in words, let's go into the room and talk slowly!"
Andre welcomed the two into the house.
This is a room of more than 40 square meters, with a small kitchen and a small bedroom separated by wooden boards inside, which makes it look very crowded.
After entering the room, Professor Chen took off his coat, then looked around and asked casually:
"Andre, where is Pinna? Aren't you at home?"
Pinna is Andre's wife. The couple has a son and a daughter, and both children are married.
Andre stopped pouring water, and then showed a touch of sadness: "Chen, Ping Na has passed away."
"How is that possible? What happened?"
Professor Chen was immediately shocked.
"Chen, Jimmy's family was in a traffic accident in Africa. Only the child survived, but he was seriously injured. Ping Na was not in good health, so she left within two days after hearing the bad news."
Jimmy, as Andre calls him, is his biological son.
"Andre, my condolences!"
Coach Chen immediately offered comfort.
After receiving such a big blow all of a sudden, it's no wonder that the other party lost so much weight.
Andre sighed: "It's all my fault. If I had accepted your invitation last time, Jimmy and the others wouldn't have to go to Africa to work."
"Andre, I can't blame you for this."
Andre waved his hand: "I have limited conditions here, so I can only treat you to boiled water."
After speaking, he picked up the water glass and placed it in front of the two of them.
Professor Chen and Zhu Tao quickly said thank you.
After some pleasantries, both parties deliberately avoided any misfortune and soon started talking about work.
"Chen, I would like to ask, does your previous invitation still count?" Andre asked proactively.
"Of course it counts, otherwise I wouldn't be here." Professor Chen nodded solemnly.
Andre breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good!"
"Andre, have you figured it out?"
Professor Chen suppressed his excitement.
"We have figured it out. Even if there is nothing about Jimmy, we are still planning to move. The war has broken out. This is not a place where we can stay for a long time. We need a stable living environment." Andre nodded.
"Andre, you are right to think so. Zhucheng is now the federal capital, and safety is absolutely no problem."
Andre couldn't wait to say: "Chen, can I still buy a boat ticket now? I want to leave immediately."
"Due to the war, passenger ships have been suspended. If you are in a hurry, I can help you inquire and see if there are other options."
"That's troublesome. Sam is seriously injured. The conditions here are limited. I want to take him there as soon as possible to recuperate."
Andre explained quickly.
Sam is his only grandson.
"Where is Sam now?"
Professor Chen took advantage of the situation and asked.
Andre named a place: "Maputo."
“Maputo?”
Professor Chen repeated it subconsciously. He did not remember which city it was.
Andre quickly added: "Maputo is the second largest coastal city in South Africa. To the west is the famous South African coalfield, and it is also the first stop for the development of Africa."
The entire African continent, only South Africa, has large coal mines, and Europeans will certainly not miss them.
"That's just right. It can just avoid the war zone in the Middle East." Professor Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
If it is too close to the war zone, even with his connections, he cannot ask the cruise ship owner to take risks.
"Chen, do I have another concern?"
"What are you worried about? Just say it."
"There won't be any danger at sea, right? What I mean is, will there be any warships to intercept us and prevent us from leaving?"
After all, it was about the safety of the whole family, and Andre had to be more cautious.
Professor Chen smiled and reassured: "Andre, don't worry about this. Although the Federation has temporarily lost in the Middle East, it does not affect the overall situation. As long as they are not official personnel, there will be no entry and exit restrictions on both sides."
"Is the news accurate?"
"I personally went to the relevant departments to verify it. There is nothing wrong. Besides, I won't hide it from you. On the second day after the war broke out, I personally sent away a group of people."
"What about my identity?"
Professor Chen waved his hand: "It's not a problem either. Among the people who left before, there are two who are not much lower than you, and the customs also let them go."
"Strange? Logically speaking, it shouldn't be?"
While Andre felt at ease, he couldn't help but wonder.
Forget it if it's ordinary people. For top talents like them, it's definitely not that easy to leave. At best, it's a drain of talent, at worst, it's a sign of collaborating with the enemy, and the consequences are very serious.
"Maybe it has something to do with our project! In any case, controllable nuclear fusion is related to the survival and well-being of all mankind, and everyone hopes it can succeed."
Professor Chen tried to guess.
But having said that, since the war broke out, not only has his travel been unrestricted, but he can also continue to enjoy various preferential treatment.
For example, there is no need to grab train tickets. Just make a phone call and someone will come to your door. Even the food stamps you just received are twice as much as those of ordinary people.
This is one of the reasons why he is in no hurry to leave.
Andre nodded and did not dwell on the issue any further.
Next, the two parties discussed a specific plan of action, and finally agreed to meet in Fog City half a month later. The reason why it took so long was mainly that Andre needed to wait for the arrival of his daughter and his family.
Before leaving, Professor Chen asked a question seemingly unintentionally: "Andre, when I came here, I noticed that the campus was a little quiet. Can you tell me how many students you have here?"
"Less than five hundred people."
Andrei didn't hide it.
After all, you can't hide this matter even if you want to.
"So few?" Professor Chen asked in surprise.
"There is no way. Not only we in Oxford, but also in Cambridge next door, there are not many students left. Most of the students have either dropped out of school and gone home, or immigrated with their parents. Some students have also chosen to join the army."
Zhu Tao asked curiously: "Why don't they stay and continue their studies?"
"In such turbulent times, do you think they can still settle down and study?"
"What a pity." Professor Chen shook his head.
Andre stared into his old friend's eyes for a moment, and then said frankly:
"Chen, this is a good opportunity. You can stay a little longer and maybe you will get something unexpected."
Professor Chen nodded slightly: "That's exactly what I meant."
…
After leaving Oxford University, Professor Chen checked directly into a small hotel near the school. In Oxford in April, the lowest temperature at night was more than minus 40 degrees Celsius, and the hotel was also open underground.
After putting away his luggage, Professor Chen used the public phone in the hotel and immediately contacted an old acquaintance. The other person was the main person in charge of the Huicheng office in Wudu. The two parties had had many interactions before.
"Director Zhao, I am Chen Benrong. I am not disturbing you, right?"
"Professor Chen?"
Director Zhao's tone was full of surprise.
"It's me. If I remember correctly, we haven't contacted each other for a month, right?"
"Professor Chen, I had such a hard time looking for you!"
Professor Chen was stunned: "Why are you looking for me?"
"Professor Chen, during the period when you lost contact, the local people were going crazy. They relied on several connections before they finally contacted me and asked me to find ways to ensure your safety."
Director Zhao quickly explained.
"Alas, local communications are down, and I can't do anything to report that I'm safe. But don't worry, everything is normal here, and I basically haven't encountered any danger."
"Professor Chen, where are you now?"
Director Zhao said impatiently.
"I'm in Oxford."
"Oxford? What a coincidence. It's very close. Just stay there and don't move. I'll arrange for someone to pick you up right now."
"Why pick me up? I still have a mission, so I can't leave for now." Professor Chen declined politely.
Director Zhao immediately advised: "Professor Chen, your safety is a big deal. Even Archon Ji has asked about it. The higher-ups hope that you can return to your homeland immediately."
"What danger could I be in? Director Zhao, just go back and report to me that I am safe. I estimate that I will have to stay for a few more months before I can go back."
"Professor Chen, if it is a work matter, you can leave it to our office..."
Director Zhao took the initiative to suggest.
The purpose of the other party's business trip is actually not a secret, many people know it.
Professor Chen interrupted on the spot: "No, no, it will only appear sincere if I come forward in person."
"Professor Chen, we are not in a hurry. We will discuss it later. Are you in trouble when you call me?" Director Zhao used the dragging technique.
"Well, I do have something to trouble you with."
"What's the matter? Professor Chen, you don't have to worry."
"I would like to ask, when will the passenger flights back to the mainland resume?"
Director Zhao smiled bitterly: "I really don't know about this. As far as I know, all the passenger ships here have been temporarily requisitioned. I don't think they can be restored in a short time.
However, Professor Chen, you don’t have to worry. Although the passenger ship has stopped, I still have other ways to get back. You can leave at any time as long as you are willing."
"Oh, what channel is it?" Professor Chen said in surprise.
"Private cruises. In order to escape the war, many wealthy businessmen have chosen to immigrate. Their first choice is usually Zhucheng. I am confident that I can help you get some tickets."