Different Roads, Same Destination

The eVTOL aircraft was far easier to control than Lin Xu had expected. It had only a simple control stick and throttle, making it even simpler to operate than the FPVs he had flown before.

The flight controls of the entire aircraft had been tuned superbly, and its handling was incomparably smooth and fluid.

After taking off from Qixia Mountain, Lin Xu followed the other six aircraft as they climbed into the low-altitude flight zone above 1,200 meters.

Then, after just two minutes of flight, they successfully reached the edge of the Zhongshan Scenic Area no-fly zone.

"Prepare to enter!"

Skullhead's voice came through the headset.

Lin Xu took a deep breath, followed the point of light flying ahead, and plunged straight down.

Almost at the same moment, the communications channel was jammed, and he immediately received a no-fly zone warning.

"You have entered an aircraft no-fly zone. Please turn around and return immediately."

"You have entered an aircraft no-fly zone. Please turn around and return immediately."

The warning repeated twice. Lin Xu ignored it and continued descending.

"Interference begins in fifteen seconds. Number Seven, circle around to the side and make it look like you're leaving and returning!"

"Understood!"

Upon receiving Skullhead's order, Lin Xu immediately moved the control stick and turned around.

From the ground, he looked like a novice who had accidentally entered a no-fly zone and was rapidly returning after receiving the warning.

As he continued to descend, the other six aircraft also began darting around within the no-fly zone.

"Prepare for an emergency landing!"

Skullhead shouted loudly.

"We're preparing to disengage!"

"Electromagnetic shielding established! Ten seconds!"

"Understood!"

Lin Xu yanked the control stick hard, and the aircraft shot directly toward the Deep Space Observatory.

For ten seconds, the entire Zhongshan area experienced a brief bout of electromagnetic congestion.

But it lasted only ten seconds!

As the troops stationed near the sanatorium activated countermeasures, the electronic warfare equipment Skullhead had brought was instantly burned through.

The directed interference against the aircraft remained effective, and Lin Xu's aircraft was taken over within seconds.

There was nothing he could do.

In this era, personal aircraft had to be connected to the network.

If the communications module was removed beforehand, forget flying—the propellers would not even turn!

And as long as it was connected, interference could not be eliminated.

Unless—

It was covered by even stronger directed interference.

Like Skullhead's technical team.

They changed their strategy. Rather than interfering with the entire area, they concentrated all their equipment and used ultra-high-power directed traffic to completely clog a single aircraft's communications channel.

Cloud control also required a communications channel.

If information from the cloud could not get through, authority could only be returned to the operator!

Lin Xu regained control of the aircraft once more. By then, he was less than 600 meters from the observation point on the outskirts of the Deep Space Observatory.

There was still time!

The aircraft screamed downward in a dive, then violently pulled up just before hitting the ground.

Bang!

A massive impact rang out, and the cabin door sprang open automatically.

Lin Xu struggled out of the aircraft. The moment he hit the ground, he reached for his rifle.

But at the same time, a loud shout rang out.

"Drop your weapon!!"

Lin Xu looked up at the Deep Space Observatory's entrance. Several fully armed security personnel were already standing there.

Was he still too slow?

No time to care!

There were still forty-three minutes until the apocalypse. He had at least seventeen minutes left to make mistakes!

He raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

When good and evil collided, evil always held the advantage.

Because evil was always the side that struck first.

And Lin Xu was the one who struck first.

The bullet hit the nearest security guard in the chest, and the immense impact shoved him back several steps.

But Lin Xu's trigger finger did not stop.

Bang bang bang bang bang—

One bullet after another flew out. At a time like this, there was no need to worry about "infiltration."

Theoretically, if he killed every enemy, that still counted as infiltration!

There were not many enemies in front of him—only four.

Most of the other security personnel had been drawn to the other side by the aircraft piloted by Skullhead and the others.

As long as Lin Xu could break through the defense of these four, he would have a chance to enter the Deep Space Observatory!

Bullets flew everywhere, and Lin Xu's chest was hit hard as well.

The destructive force of the 8.6mm rounds used by the other side was far beyond what his 7.62mm rifle could compare to. Though his body armor stopped the bullets, the impact nearly knocked him unconscious.

Damn it!

He rolled behind the steps, using them as cover as he raised his rifle and returned fire.

At that moment, the combination of electrochromic camouflage and thermal-fusion night vision finally gave him a slight advantage.

Even though his skill was far inferior to those professional security guards, he could still fire first every time he exposed himself.

Bang!

Another guard fell, and Lin Xu quickly ran to change positions.

Bang bang bang bang—

A barrage of bullets came flying in. Lin Xu fumbled through reloading while tossing a flashbang outside.

"Grenade!"

"Take cover!"

The frightened cries of the security personnel rang out. Lin Xu finished reloading and stepped out from cover the instant the flashbang exploded.

The deafening 185-decibel blast briefly froze the remaining two guards. Seizing that narrow window, Lin Xu rapidly closed the distance.

Bang bang bang bang—

The rifle fired continuously, and another guard went down.

Only one remained.

When Lin Xu aimed his gun at the other man, the other man's gun was aimed at him as well.

There was no cover between them.

It was a contest of speed and courage in its purest form.

But clearly, no one could surpass Lin Xu when it came to courage.

Because he could start over.

And in the instant the other man hesitated over whether to take cover first or fire first, Lin Xu had already pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet flew out.

At the same time, gunfire rang out from the other side.

Bang bang bang—

Lin Xu's rifle was knocked from his hands, but the other man's head had already exploded.

He did it!

Lin Xu did not stop to retrieve his fallen rifle. Instead, he hurried toward the Deep Space Observatory's entrance.

He felt his body swaying, while waves of dizziness washed through his mind.

He had thought it was just a normal reaction to intense exertion. But when he reached the sealed entrance and reached behind himself for the directional explosives to breach it, he suddenly realized that his hand was gone.

No, not just his hand.

His entire forearm was gone.

Blood was pouring out rapidly.

Lin Xu could not feel any pain.

Using his right hand, he took out the directional bomb he had prepared long ago and set it in place, then staggered to the side of the door.

Just as he was about to press the detonator, a bloodstained hand suddenly grabbed him.

"Drop... your... wea... pon..."

Lin Xu desperately shook off the man's hand.

"I'm saving people!"

Then he pressed the detonator.

Boom!

Amid the smoke, Lin Xu struggled to crawl forward.

He no longer had the strength to stand.

As his blood rapidly drained away, so did his life.

He did not know how much longer he could hold on.

But at least he still had time to go in and take a look.

Lin Xu crawled through the blasted hole. He had expected to enter a hall packed with terrified staff.

But when the lights came on, he abruptly discovered that the Deep Space Observatory had long since been operating autonomously.

There were no staff.

Only a cold hall and server mainframes humming as they ran.

Where was the thing he was looking for?

Fuck.

It's all machines. Where the hell am I supposed to get a password?!

Time passed second by second, and Lin Xu's vision gradually blurred.

He struggled to crawl before the somewhat "retro" main control console screen and attempted one last gamble.

What if?

What if he entered the correct password?

Though the odds were not much higher than the apocalypse happening, the apocalypse had already happened. So getting the password right was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?

He entered the control interface and typed in a string of passwords by instinct.

He did not even know whether he had the right number of digits.

But the instant he pressed confirm, the screen began to flicker.

???

It actually worked?!?

The severely blood-depleted Lin Xu instantly became a little more alert.

But he quickly realized that he had not entered the correct password.

Someone was attacking the Deep Space Observatory!

Jiang Xingye!

Different roads, same destination.

They had chosen the same strategy.

Only, their methods of attack were different!

Lin Xu had launched a physical intrusion, while she had launched a network intrusion!

At that moment, the Deep Space Observatory's permissions were unlocking one by one.

Lin Xu glanced at the time.

Thirty-two minutes remained.

He knew what Jiang Xingye was going to do next.

What she would do next was use the observatory's high-power laser communications equipment to hack into the citywide Internet of Things and send him a message.

—But now, that step could be skipped.

Lin Xu directly took over the main console and sent out a broadcast.

He did not ask any other questions.

He said only one thing.

"I'm Lin Xu! Give me a contact on Earth!"