Once We Lived in Nanjing

Bai Yang was stunned for a moment.

"Is that even possible?"

"Technically, there's no problem," Wang Ning thought for a while and scratched his not-so-hairy smart head, "but in practice, there should be quite a few difficulties, both in hardware and software."

"But it's worth a try," Bai Zhen sat opposite him.

The two pondered for a long while, exchanged glances, and then started a conversation in which no one else could understand a word.

"How do we transmit?" Wang Ning asked, "SSTV for images, FSTV for video?"

"FSTV won't work, using FM to modulate the signal takes up too much bandwidth, can't handle it on a 14MHZ frequency," Bai Zhen replied. "Our method needs to be as simple as possible."

"Then RTTY," Wang Ning said.

"Telegraphy?" Bai Zhen asked.

"Yeah, telegraphy," Wang Ning nodded.

"How to modulate the signal?" Bai Zhen asked again.

"FSK?" Wang Ning thought.

"AFSK," Bai Zhen shook his head.

"Then she'll need a sound card."

"Where do we find a sound card?"

"Get a computer."

"That's not realistic, a computer won't last twenty years; at best, find a microcontroller."

"A microcontroller definitely won't do, a bare chip can't do anything, at least a Raspberry Pi is needed, definitely available in South University of Technology or South Airline, let's look there."

"And a camera."

"Get a camera from a surveillance system, dismantle one at Nanbo, find one from Hikvision, all come with IPC protocol, plug and play."

"What about decoding?"

"Write it now!"

"She couldn't possibly know how."

"We'll teach her remotely, reporting one letter at a time."

"As hard as reaching the heavens."

"That's the only way."

"What language?"

"C."

"Are you kidding? Writing C language in spoken language?"

"No other way."

The conversation between the two was rapid-fire, back and forth.

Bai Yang was dumbstruck, even his mom passing by the living room with a mop was stunned, as these two greasy middle-aged men fiercely discussed technical issues, dressed in white tank tops and baggy shorts, spitting while they talked, reminiscent of boasting at a roadside stall while eating late-night snacks, just missing a giant green popsicle, sober I belong to Nanjing, drunk Nanjing belongs to me, what kind of experts are these?

But they were experts, even though they wore plastic flops, their teeth stained with nicotine, faces greasy and sweaty with large pores and thinning hair, weight out of control, swearing profusely, sitting on little stools by the curb like mean, sharp-tongued commoners, ready to critique any young girl passing by, yet at this moment, they fearlessly took on the responsibility of saving a tottering building.

Having borne the burdens of life, what's saving the world to them?

Greasy uncles saving the world.

"The conditions there are very harsh," Wang Ning said, "We might not be able to find all the parts we need."

"Let's gather!" Bai Zhen was very determined, "We need to assemble a functional data transmission system from piles of electronic waste, putting it together slowly like building blocks."

"May I... interject a moment?"

Bai Yang finally spoke up, slowly raising his hand.

"Go ahead."

Both turned their heads toward him.

"I hope you can consider the specific situation of BG4MSR, she is not a university graduate with a degree in communications... she is almost illiterate," Bai Yang reminded, "You two are tossing around technical jargon that even I can hardly understand, expecting BG4MSR to grasp this is really asking too much, isn't it? Can she really handle it?"

Bai Yang's concerns were valid.

Who were Bai Zhen and Wang Ning? One was the head of a radio monitoring station, the other was a retired communication technology veteran, both were experienced amateur radio experts in Nanjing City, stripping away their corporate employee labels, sitting today on the living room couch.

But BG4MSR was different, she hadn't even completed basic compulsory education, a poor semi-illiterate young girl.

To have a semi-illiterate girl execute a plan devised by two experts was like asking a grade school student to solve university-level mathematics problems.

"It is asking too much," Wang Ning nodded, "But as things stand, we have no other options, this is the only opportunity, the only viable plan."

"If there are conditions, go ahead; if there aren't, create the conditions and proceed," Bai Zhen stated.

"Can't we prepare all the equipment here and then send it over using Time Slow Delivery?" Bai Yang asked, "Like sending a ruggedized laptop."

"The time capsule won't fit," Wang Ning replied.

"Buy a larger time capsule."

"But the battery won't last twenty years," Bai Zhen said, "After twenty years of not powering on, the battery will leak, and the LCD will fail."

"Don't send a laptop then, send whatever equipment you need," Bai Yang suggested, "It's certainly easier than her trying to find it herself."

"Agreed, let's prepare for both scenarios," Wang Ning nodded, "I'll buy a larger time capsule... But how big would a time capsule need to be to fit a laptop?"

"But son, you have to understand, we can only prepare a small portion for her, the majority of the work still needs to be completed by her personally," Bai Zhen stated, "It's still her own task, inescapable, she needs to do it herself."

"Bai Yang, you should have some confidence!" Wang Ning said, "She is not fighting alone, she has the world's strongest support team behind her."

Bai Yang puffed his cheeks, "But this is not the job she should be burdened with."

"What?"

Both were stunned.

"Please make it clear, gentlemen, we are the ones asking her for help; it's neither her obligation nor her responsibility. She's not from 2019, she doesn't have to face the apocalypse. To put it bluntly, would her hair fall out if everyone in the world died? She could easily shut off the radio and walk away, what could you do then?"

Bai Yang rolled his eyes.

"How have you managed to act as if this is naturally her main job? Demanding her to do this and that, if it bothers her and she runs out of patience to play along with us, what will you do if she leaves?"

"This..."

Wang Ning and Bai Zhen were at a loss for words.

Bai Yang had a point, they had no influence over that girl; if she decided to quit, no one could do anything.

On the other hand, their world had enormous requests for her; she was the only hope for saving humanity.

If they really annoyed her to the point she stopped responding, Wang Ning and Bai Zhen might as well resign to apologize to the world.

"Hmm…" Wang Ning frowned, "This is indeed a problem, how can we instill a strong confidence and belief in her?"

"We need her to have a firm resolve to overcome challenges, to struggle through hardships, fearless of difficulties, embracing the ethos of 'everyone for me, I for everyone, there are no impossibilities for the willing,'" Bai Zhen murmured to himself, "We could implement a support plan for the future, and stuff a political commissar in the time capsule."

The two contemplated for a moment.

"Maybe... introduce her to join a party?"