The rise of nanometers

The time has come to 2020.

Although natural disasters are frequent in Blue Star, the federation is still under control as a whole, and space exploration is also in full swing.

But inside Blue Star, it is divided into two worlds, the Federation and the outside world, two completely different worlds.

Paris.

After the Yellowstone volcano incident, although the volcanic ash was cleaned up, local wildlife suffered heavy losses.

Coupled with the influx of many refugees, the security here has become increasingly severe.

On the Champs Elysées, in a gorgeously decorated jewelry store, a young woman who was tired of life walked into the jewelry store helplessly.

The waiter came forward with a professional smile on his face: "Beautiful lady, may I help you?"

The man took out a small jewelry box from a Chanel bag. There was a jewelry store symbol on the jewelry box: "I want to sell this necklace. This is the purchase receipt for that year."

Hearing this, the waitress's eyes flashed with disdain, but she still maintained a smile on her face: "Okay, please follow me to the appraisal room."

In the appraisal room, a gentle middle-aged man with glasses picked up the necklace and observed it carefully for a while, showing a trace of hesitation.

When the woman saw it, she suddenly became anxious: "Sir, my husband bought this diamond necklace from you, and you promised to recycle it at the original price."

"Sorry, madam, I need to test it again." The middle-aged appraiser replied seriously.

Then he picked up the diamond necklace and put it into the testing instrument on the side. After pressing a few buttons, the printer on the side spit out an appraisal form. The appraiser shook his head:

"Madam, I'm very sorry, this is a man-made diamond, not our company's natural diamond."

"What?" The woman's face turned pale and she hurriedly retorted: "Impossible, I still have your company's bills."

But the appraiser said helplessly: "Madam, the diamond necklace we sold you is indeed carved from natural diamonds, but the one you have is not. Maybe you made a mistake."

"This...impossible! Impossible..."

The waitress on the side reminded: "Madam, our company will not make mistakes. This appraisal report is also based on industry standards, unless you can prove that this necklace is a real natural diamond."

Although women refuse to give up, jewelry stores have no intention of backing down.

More than half an hour later, the woman who was asked out by the security guards was in a state of despair, as if she were a walking corpse wandering on the street.

On the second floor of the jewelry store, in the manager's office.

The middle-aged appraiser was standing by the window. On one side was a fat bald man chewing a pipe. The fat man looked at the woman who was invited out and showed a smile.

"Mr. Mulan, I'm worried if this continues..." the appraiser said hesitantly.

But the fat man interrupted the other party with a cold look: "Well, these poor settlers will not be our customers at all. We set the industry appraisal standards. Instead of wasting money on these people, it is better to advertise more. "

"..." The appraiser was speechless.

The fat bald man took a drag on his cigarette: "This is love, dazzling and flawed."

The cold wind, carrying the chill of the North Atlantic, took away the warmth from the pedestrians.

The shivering woman, tears condensed into ice beads on her face, but she walked unconsciously, and every step was so heavy.

Suddenly she bumped into the person in front of her.

"Ugh! How can a woman like you walk?" The person who was hit turned his head angrily, but when he saw the woman with some mental problems, he stopped what he was about to curse.

The woman sat on the ground for a while before standing up weakly. Suddenly she was stunned.

"Elsa! I hope my application can be approved this time so we can go to live in the Federation."

"Honey, I believe you!"

The woman turned her head numbly, and through the gap in the fence, she saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure inside. A name appeared in her heart: John Pickby.

Only then did she notice that the building in front of her, the federal office in Paris, had a long queue at the door, with many people waiting in line.

Looking at that figure, my memory turned over involuntarily.

Christmas 2014.

In a single apartment, a slightly green young man was busy in the kitchen making Christmas dinner. After making an apple pie, he was preparing to cook cream of mushroom soup and a late-season sirloin steak purchased from the supermarket.

The wooden door clicked.

"Winnie, you're back." The gentle greeting was mixed with the sound of steak sizzling in the pan: "You take a shower first, I'm making dinner, and you can eat it later."

The woman didn't respond. She threw down her bag indifferently, then picked up a towel and walked into the bathroom.

Half an hour later.

On the table, there was steak, cream of mushroom soup, apple pie, vegetable salad, and a bottle of orange juice.

The woman who had already dressed sat opposite her with an expressionless face, looking at the food in front of her, seemingly without any joy.

But the man seemed to be used to it. He took out a jewelry box and put it in the woman's hand: "Winnie, marry me!"

Only then did the woman show a complicated and panic expression. With trembling hands, she opened the jewelry box, which contained a sparkling gold chain and a gold ring.

The shining golden light did not make her happy, but revealed a trace of disgust:

"John, you haven't changed at all! I don't want to wear such a vulgar gold ring at the wedding."

John, who was blushing hurriedly, quickly explained: "Winnie, listen to me, diamonds are just a marketing tool for those scam companies. Gold is truly rare. You must know that in this universe, there are only supernovae and..."

"Enough!" Winnie roared hysterically: "I don't want to hear about the universe or supernova, I just want a customized diamond ring!"

After saying that, he smashed the jewelry box into the apple pie and John froze at the dining table.

"You don't know what romance is! You don't understand women at all! Let's end it!"

That night.

Those decisive words seemed to have happened just last night, and the voice seemed to still be echoing in Winnie's ears.

It’s just that the international gold price at this time is 237 credits per gram, which is equivalent to 1,372 US dollars per gram before the Black Snow incident.

The international wholesale price of diamonds is 3 credits per kilogram. The federal government does not recognize so-called natural diamonds at all.

Only the jewelers in the Xizhou Alliance are still trying their best to hype and monopolize the industry to maintain falsely high prices.

Winnie looked at the woman next to John on the other side of the fence, wearing a golden ring, with an extremely complicated expression.

If I had accepted John's proposal back then, maybe...

Pieces of snowflakes fell from the sky, freezing the tears that overflowed from Winnie's eyes. She stood in silence for a long time.

The other side of the fence.

John went in for ten minutes and then ran out with excitement: "Aisha! It's successful! I successfully passed the work visa."

The two hugged each other excitedly.

The people queuing around showed envious expressions.

After a while, John, who had regained his composure, held the work visa tightly, then took his wife Aisha's hand and walked out.

He was going to buy a plane ticket and go to the city where he worked. He heard that it was a city on the grassland called Tongliao.

Thank you for your support (ω｀)