Past Disasters

"What was his name?!"

Lin Xu pressed his gun to the hostage's forehead. The man trembled like a leaf as he stammered out:

"I... I don't remember..."

"I really don't remember anymore..."

"Think!"

Lin Xu demanded harshly:

"How could you possibly not remember??"

"You saw his name over a decade ago, and you could still remember it when you saw it in the news more than ten years later!"

"And now you're telling me you don't remember??"

"I really don't remember..."

The hostage dropped to his knees, both hands raised in the air and waving about wildly as though unconsciously.

"I can't remember... I really can't remember..."

"Open the document I want, then take your time remembering!"

"You have 32 minutes left!"

"Tell me the answer within 32 minutes, and you can leave!"

The moment he heard that, the hostage's eyes immediately lit up.

"I'll try to remember, I'll try..."

This time, Lin Xu did not shoot him in the knee again. Instead, he hurriedly removed the drag strap from his load-bearing gear and quickly tied up the man's hands and feet.

Then, he turned to the computer screen and focused on memorizing its contents.

He had already recorded the general framework. What he needed to fill in now was a series of detailed data requirements.

—But that was the hardest part, wasn't it?!

Lin Xu was almost completely immersed in it when sudden footsteps outside the door jolted him awake.

They were here!

This time, the rapid-response troops did not use drones. Instead, they launched a standard assault on the building.

They had clearly pinpointed his location.

"Don't come any closer!"

"I'm holding two grenades!"

"They're impact-detonated defensive grenades. They'll explode the moment they hit the ground!"

"The pins have already been pulled. The second I loosen my grip, the hostage dies with me!"

"Don't even think about taking the risk and attacking!"

"You'll get the hostage killed!"

"Understood, understood!"

A reply came from outside after Lin Xu finished speaking.

"Stay calm. Don't hurt the hostage. We'll give you time."

"We can talk this out."

"What exactly do you want?"

"I just want an answer. Once I get it, I'll surrender on my own! Give me some time!"

"Of course, of course!"

The response from outside eased Lin Xu's tension slightly. At that moment, the hostage across from him suddenly raised his head.

"I remember now!"

"Xu Jin! That man's name was Xu Jin!"

"He was an academician at the Materials Research Institute... Yes, I remember now! Jinling Materials Research Institute!"

"That's right. That's why the institute later took away his results. He was a spy... No, he wasn't a spy. He must have just made a mistake..."

Xu Jin??

What the hell!

He had never even heard of him!

In fact, before asking that question, Lin Xu had already harbored a vague expectation.

He had thought the hostage would most likely name him, or Jiang Xingye.

Only then could the logic between Bracelet World and the real world align perfectly.

After all, he was about to copy out the industrial production process for those materials.

When the time came, did his name not even deserve to appear on the patent application?

Or perhaps the "key node" had not yet been fulfilled, so the world inside the bracelet had not changed accordingly?

That was possible.

But it did not matter.

This lead alone was enough.

The hostage had given him not only a name, but also a workplace.

Whatever the problem was, he could just go find him!

Jiang Xingye might not know anything about Planetary Reincarnation, but surely he did?

Lin Xu lowered his head again and said:

"Got it."

"Wait a few more minutes."

"It won't be long, just... 12 minutes."

"Don't worry. As long as you stay put, I guarantee you won't be hurt at all..."

"Buzz—"

Before Lin Xu could finish, a faint buzzing sound filled the cramped storage room, and the lights suddenly began to flicker.

Then, without warning, his body began to convulse violently.

Every muscle in his body clenched tight. His fingers curled into fists from the contractions.

His joints bulged as though they were about to burst through his skin.

His ribs creaked under the crushing pressure in his chest, squeezing all the air from his lungs. A powerful wave of vertigo hit him; let alone fight back, he could not even move.

Fuck.

What kind of weapon was this?!

Lin Xu's eyes widened uncontrollably. The next second, someone kicked open the storage room door.

"Target located."

"No explosives. Area secure."

The newcomer walked over to Lin Xu, pulled out handcuffs, and expertly cuffed his hands behind his back.

Only then did Lin Xu finally feel the excruciating pain of his muscles contracting to their limit gradually begin to fade.

"...What kind of weapon was that..."

His throat was hoarse from torn muscles. His voice sounded as awful as if someone had slashed his Adam's apple.

"You don't need to know."

"Get up. You're coming with me!"

Lin Xu obediently stood up and took the opportunity to glance at the tactical watch on the man's wrist.

"There's no time."

He said:

"We only have nine minutes left."

"There's no need to take me to Maritime Security's interrogation room."

"If you have anything you want to ask me, ask it here. It'll make things easier for everyone."

The man paused, then gave a faintly mocking smile.

"You've got some nerve."

"But you're not qualified to make demands of me."

"And by the way, the people you brought have already surrendered. No one's coming to save you."

"So there's no need for you to stall any longer."

"I wasn't trying to stall in the first place."

Lin Xu looked at the man with an innocent expression.

"I just wanted to make the best use of our time."

The man pushed Lin Xu out the door. Only then did he see the strange device deployed inside the office building and aimed at the storage room.

"What is that? An ultrasonic emitter?"

"Infrasound."

The man corrected him.

"...I didn't know infrasound could have that kind of effect."

"There's a lot you don't know."

The man escorted Lin Xu down the stairs. In the main office building's lobby, many wounded people had been lined up while medical personnel administered emergency treatment. Several of the injured had already been covered with white sheets.

"This is what you people do."

"For your own selfish desires, you recklessly endanger innocent lives."

"What did they do wrong? Even if you wanted to achieve your goal, you could have used gentler methods."

"But you couldn't even be bothered to think. All you know is violence..."

"Wait."

Lin Xu interrupted him.

"First of all, I'm not a member of the organization you think I am—Planetary Reincarnation."

A trace of surprise flashed across the man's face.

Lin Xu continued.

"Second, I know they're innocent, and I know they shouldn't die."

"It's precisely because they shouldn't die that they have no choice but to die here."

"...I don't have time to guess at your riddles or trade veiled barbs with you."

The man's expression was cold.

"If you want to confess now, you can. Once we get to the interrogation room, you'll suffer less."

"There's no time."

Lin Xu looked toward the holographic projection area beside the main office building. It showed that the time had reached 11:58.

"Only two minutes left."

"Oh, I have a question for you."

"Do you know Xu Jin?"

The man's movements suddenly halted at the mention of that name.

"Xu Jin is who you're looking for?"

"You're really not a member of Planetary Reincarnation?"

"I already told you, I'm not."

A flash of insight suddenly crossed Lin Xu's mind.

He noticed the subtle shift in the man's attitude.

His attitude was softening.

Had something like this happened before?

Others had come looking for Xu Jin, too.

And sure enough, after a brief silence, the man continued:

"What do you want with him?"

"The same thing as the others who came looking for him."

Lin Xu answered ambiguously.

The captain of this frontline combat unit was clearly not a professional interrogator. After hearing Lin Xu's reply, a trace of regret flashed through his eyes.

"You shouldn't have done this."

"I understand the victims' pain, but the law has already given him the punishment he deserved."

"Your revenge has implicated even more innocent people. That will inevitably lead to an even greater disaster."

Victims?

What had Xu Jin done?

By then, the man had escorted Lin Xu out of the factory building.

Skullhead and his team were lying prone on the ground. When he looked up at Lin Xu, his helpless gaze was full of resentment.

They had been caught too.

Or perhaps they had actually surrendered after being disarmed?

It did not matter.

It was all about to end anyway.

Lin Xu looked up at the sky.

"Too bad you'll probably never know that we were actually right."

"Because there's no time left."

The man turned toward Lin Xu in confusion.

The next second.

The sky lit up.

As everyone was instantly incapacitated by the flash, Lin Xu struggled toward the high wall ahead, guided by memory.

Bang!