After hanging up the call, Editor-in-Chief Zhang clicked his tongue, full of doubt, muttering to himself whether those who pursue science eventually end up drifting towards metaphysics.
Such a bright young science prodigy.
How did she suddenly go astray?
His murmurs weren't quiet, and several people nearby overheard him. Naturally, they began to ask questions. Editor-in-Chief Zhang didn't feel there was anything to hide and, without any embellishment, relayed what Ding Yun had said, including her two disaster predictions.
Everyone else shared his sentiments.
They found it rather unreliable.
They felt even more strongly that a rising star in science was about to fall.
However, they had only recently returned to work and had a backlog of tasks from before the New Year that needed immediate attention. So, after a brief discussion, they all went back to their work, not taking the matter to heart. This was until noon the next day.
At precisely 12:03 PM, a tsunami struck the country of Chuck.
Of course, they didn't receive this news in real-time. It wasn't until they returned to work in the afternoon that they learned of it through a short emergency news segment aired at noon.
After that, they had no interest in focusing on their work.
All the staff who knew about this, from typesetters and proofreaders to editors, flocked into the editor-in-chief's office, staring intently at him, and bombarding him with questions. Did he know about this? How could it be so miraculously accurate?
And Editor-in-Chief Zhang, of course, knew.
Even if he didn't believe Ding Yun's words, he would still inquire out of curiosity once the predicted time arrived.
Moreover, in their line of work,
They always received news much earlier than the average person.
So, it was natural that he knew.
"This is too miraculous.
This is true prophecy. Such a distant place, and another country at that. Most importantly, she told us yesterday, so there's no possibility of her being well-informed and receiving the news before us. It can only be that she predicted it herself."
"A true master! This is a real master!"
"You know, when people are intelligent, do they find it easier to learn anything? She was fifteen, attended high school, exposed such a huge fraud, and then became interested in metaphysics. She just dabbed in it, and it seems she's doing very well in metaphysics, appearing more accomplished than many so-called masters.
I'm fourteen and just got into junior high."
"Oh, comparing yourself to her is just asking for misery. Why humiliate yourself!"
"By the way, didn't she also say that the island nation next door would have a magnitude six earthquake around nine tonight? Should we wait a bit longer at the newspaper office tonight?
If an earthquake occurs there on time.
We'll definitely receive the news by ten o'clock at the latest.
Ten o'clock isn't too late anyway. Shall we work overtime?"
"Yes, we must work overtime for this! This is overtime worthy of witnessing history. If tonight's prediction also comes true, then Teacher Ding's predictive ability will be absolutely formidable. If she could accurately predict just one natural disaster in our country, how much loss could be averted for the nation?
How many lives could be saved?
Even Bodhisattvas would pale in comparison to her merit."
"But if metaphysics is so powerful, why haven't we heard of it before? We've never heard of any metaphysics masters in history accurately predicting natural disasters. Where did Teacher Ding learn all this knowledge?
It couldn't be that she learned it all herself..."
While more than a dozen newspaper staff were crammed into the editor-in-chief's office, discussing amongst themselves, Editor-in-Chief Zhang thoughtfully recalled what Ding Yun had told him yesterday. He then slapped his thigh:
"That's right, I remember now.
Teacher Ding said yesterday that she wasn't purely relying on metaphysics for her predictions. She seemed to say it was a combination of science and metaphysics, using scientific methods with metaphysical techniques, or some kind of fusion, that allowed for such accurate predictions. Past metaphysics masters didn't understand science. Thinking about it this way, it makes a lot more sense.
Smart people are just smart. Truly remarkable.
Our newspaper is about to take off. As long as Teacher Ding's predictions are even slightly accurate, no matter where in the country, they'll be subscribing to our newspaper."
"Oh, a combination of metaphysics and science!"
"I always said that metaphysics, feng shui, and the like have been around for thousands of years, and there must be some truth to them. In my opinion, it's Teacher Ding who has taken the essence from those metaphysical teachings and discarded the dross, then fused it with current scientific knowledge."
Instantly, those who had been somewhat confused and didn't quite understand were enlightened.
Decades later, it might be "if in doubt, use quantum mechanics," but now, by applying a scientific framework, most things could be accepted. If one didn't understand, it was attributed to their own lack of knowledge.
Most importantly, the newspaper was staffed by humanities majors.
Even the Science Daily didn't have a single editor with a background in science or engineering. So, they genuinely didn't understand these things, but the results were there. She had indeed predicted accurately.
What was there to doubt?
After chatting for a while longer, considering that if they continued to chat, it would delay the printing and distribution of the next day's Science Daily, Editor-in-Chief Zhang reluctantly played the bad guy. He sternly reprimanded them a couple of times, urging them to get back to work and not to delay their tasks for the day, promising they could all discuss it together after work.
While he said this, everyone found it difficult to concentrate on their work. Ultimately, the entire day's work took an hour longer than usual to complete.
Then, they gathered again.
Eating dinner, discussing, and waiting.
Waiting for nine o'clock to arrive, waiting for confirmation.
At 9:28 PM, Editor-in-Chief Zhang finally received the latest news through his channels: the island nation next door experienced a 6.1 magnitude earthquake at 9:05 PM. While this result wasn't a one-hundred percent perfect match to what Ding Yun had told him,
In this day and age, even weather forecasts aren't always accurate.
To have such accuracy for a natural disaster like an earthquake was more than satisfactory.
A deviation of 0.1 magnitude was completely negligible. Everyone in the newspaper office burst into joyous laughter upon receiving this news. While it might seem inappropriate to laugh during a disaster in another country, they weren't mocking; they were simply overjoyed that the prediction had been verified. Ding Yun was truly a master.
A bona fide master of prophecy, a master of metaphysics.
After the shock and joy, Editor-in-Chief Zhang immediately instructed the deputy editor to take over his work. He would personally visit Teacher Ding the next day to discuss collaboration.
Such talent could not be let go. They had to find a way to tie her exclusively to their newspaper. No matter the cost, as long as they could afford it, it would be worth it.
After giving his instructions, Editor-in-Chief Zhang rushed to the boss's house. Some costs he could promise directly, while others required the boss's approval. He certainly couldn't keep such an important matter from the boss, so he naturally had to inform him and discuss the price they were willing to pay.