Did the world end today?

Chapter 1 You want to steal a rocket?
"So you mean, the entire human world only has one hour left?"

"So that's why you're trying to seize the air launch site and escape in a spaceship?"

Standing in front of Lin Xu, the man wearing a skull mask shook his head, the night vision goggles on his head emitting a faint blue light.

"Tsk, at first I thought you were just a fanatical anti-technology activist."

"Now it seems you're just a complete apocalyptic lunatic."

"But it's okay, we take the money and do the job, we don't ask why."

With a click, the man released the safety on his rifle and then spoke:
"Drone reconnaissance complete, security positions confirmed, prepare to enter."

"Come on, I'll take you inside."

Lin Xu nodded, reached out and pulled down the night vision goggles, and followed the skull's footsteps.

The skull raised its hand above its head and made a gesture. The other five team members lurking in the darkness immediately dispersed. The electrochromic camouflage was activated, and all infrared signals were blocked. In the field of vision of the thermal imaging night vision device, everyone's figures disappeared instantly, leaving only the fluorescent light of the enemy-foe identification system flickering slightly.

It was an almost flawless disguise; in the darkness, no one could see their tracks.

They advanced silently, approaching the sentry post.

The skull gestured a countdown again, and three seconds later, four silenced pistols equipped with subsonic bullets fired simultaneously, instantly felling the guards in front.

Meanwhile, the support team at the rear had cut off the power to the entire base.

"Backup power takes 45 seconds to start, hurry!"

The skull leaped over the railing at the gate, then quickly pushed the gate open, and Lin Xu followed closely inside.

“Establish electromagnetic shielding.”

The skull gave the order again, and the next second, the high-powered jamming equipment inside the vehicle was activated, blocking and cutting off all wireless communications throughout the base.

The bewildered guards rushed out from all corners, shining flashlights as they searched for any suspicious targets.

But at the very moment they appeared, the mercenary squad, which had already deployed in tactical formation, opened fire. With a series of soft clicks, bullets pierced the guards' skulls one after another, and the mercenaries cleared their path at an unparalleled speed.

"Enter the target area!"

"Prepare to breach the door!"

At the command, the demolition team immediately ran forward.

The rest followed closely behind, forming a standard CQB (Close Quarters Battle) formation on either side of the gate, ready to storm in.

"3."

"2."

"1."

"blasting!"

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the directional bomb blasted open the steel gate.

Amidst the thick smoke, a stun grenade was thrown, and two scouts rushed into the building, quickly firing to kill the guards inside and taking control of the situation.

"Safety!"

"Keep pushing!"

The seven-person team continued forward, and by this time, 30 seconds had passed since the power outage.

There are 15 seconds left.

Lin Xu stared nervously at the second door in the distance, quickly following behind the skull as he patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Window at 10 o'clock!"

Upon hearing this, the skull turned its gun around, and just as the green dot in the holographic sight reached the window, a figure flashed past the window.

"boom!"

After a brief gunshot, the figure fell to the ground.

"5 seconds!"

The skull-headed leader gave the order, and the remaining team members quickly deployed in a standard wave formation used in indoor warfare, taking control of the entire factory area.

Lin Xu rushed to the door in two steps, just as the backup power was starting up.

The lights came on, and the smart lock on the door turned on simultaneously.

"This isn't an ordinary isolation door; it can't be blown open!"

The skull's tone carried a hint of anxiety, and Lin Xu nodded, saying:
"I know."

"But I have the password!"

He quickly entered a series of passwords into the keypad, and the screen displayed "Password correct." A hint of surprise flashed in the skull's eyes, but then, the second layer of verification was activated.

"Biometric identification is required."

"You'd better tell me you cut off the insider's finger beforehand, otherwise..."

“I don’t have fingers, but I can verify with my iris.”

Lin Xu flipped up the night vision goggles, and the moment his eyes were aligned with the iris scanner, the words "Verification Successful" popped up on the screen again.

Immediately afterwards, the hydraulic system started, and the isolation door opened.

"Get in!"

Lin Xu stepped through the isolation door, followed closely by six mercenaries.

Lin Xu locked the isolation door from the inside and rushed straight to the main control panel.

Without him issuing any further orders, Skull Head had already swiftly mobilized his men to establish a defense.

He watched Lin Xu's practiced movements, frowned slightly, and asked:

"Are you the mole?"

"You come here as if it's your home! Every step you take is part of your plan!"

"You can say that."

Lin Xu didn't even look up, focusing only on inputting one identification code after another on the main control panel.

As permissions were granted to him layer by layer, the skull looked down and saw a series of authorization notifications popping up on the screen.

"You know all the passwords here?!"

"Of course, otherwise why would I come in?"

Lin Xu answered casually, but the next second, a cold gun barrel was already pressed against his head.

"This is a conspiracy."

The skull's tone was somber.

“You have already gained the highest level of access to this base, and you have absolutely no reason to enter the base in this way.”

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?"

Lin Xu rolled his eyes and asked in return:
"Didn't you say you don't ask for reasons?"

"I've set the spaceship to launch mode. There's just one more leg of the journey before you can leave."

"Next, send me into the spaceship!"

"You can't leave until you've explained yourself."

The skull-shaped gun barrel did not move.

"Attacking a civilian spacecraft launch site is one thing, but assisting in a large-scale terrorist attack is quite another!"

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life like a mouse, constantly hiding and running."

"tell me why!"

"I've already told you!"

Lin Xu faced the skull-shaped gun barrel directly and then said:
"The world is about to end -- I have 57 minutes and 12 seconds left."

"I have to get on the spaceship, I have to leave this planet!"

"Are you kidding??"

The skull's tone was filled with disbelief.

"You really plan to leave in a spaceship? I thought that was just an excuse for you to come in and steal secrets!"

"How can you take off the spaceship by yourself? Do you think this is some kind of bicycle that you can just pedal and it'll move?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xu's eyes widened.

"Brother, have you gone mad from fighting?"

"You think this is still 20 years ago? This is 2045!"

"Just read the news more often; spacecraft launches have long been a one-stop service!"

"I want to steal the Sky Voyage, it's a tourist sightseeing spaceship!" "As long as I can get on board, it can launch!"

"Stop talking nonsense, I don't have time!"

The skull on the other side hesitated slightly before lowering his gun. He stared into Lin Xu's eyes, remained silent for a long time, and finally spoke:
"You're absolutely insane. I've robbed banks, casinos, even the White House, but I've never robbed a spaceship."

"Let's go! Where to next?"

"now it's right!"

Lin Xu nodded in satisfaction, and then said:
"Open the door in 30 seconds, we need to rush out."

"Watch out at the entrance. There's a sniper with an anti-materiel rifle behind a pickup truck 180 meters outside the building. Take him out first when you get out!"

How did you know?

The skull raised his hand to look at the drone footage on the soldier's computer screen. He didn't see any enemies in the drone's field of view.

"There's no one there!"

He said with a frown.

"You think you're the only ones with electrochromic camouflage? Just aim in the direction I'm pointing."

"Open the door in 10 seconds!"

Lin Xu walked to the door, and the skull stood in front of him with a gun in hand. The hydraulic system started up again, and the isolation door slowly opened.

A smoke grenade was thrown through the gap, and the mercenaries rushed out of the door.

Through the wide-open first-floor door, the skull aimed at the pickup truck in the distance.

The trigger was pulled, and a gunshot rang out.

"Bang bang bang-"

"boom!"

After a series of bursts of fire, a large-caliber bullet that went astray sent the concrete wall behind him flying into a shower of debris.

There really is a sniper there!

"How did you know that?!"

"This isn't my first time here!"

Lin Xu huddled behind the skull and followed closely behind.

"Turn left after you exit! It's 1200 meters from here to the launch tower; we'll have to take a car!"

"Where's the car? We don't have a car!"

"There's an unlocked SUV in the parking lot to the left. You take one person and escort me there, the rest of you stay here to cover me!"

"Damn it. You're the boss!"

The skull turned around and, following Lin Xu's directions, found the SUV with the doors still open. He hopped into the passenger seat and was astonished to find that Lin Xu was sitting in the driver's seat.

"You're going to drive?!"

"Of course!"

Lin Xu slammed on the gas pedal. Before the mercenary in the back seat could even settle in, a large-caliber bullet shattered the glass and pierced his spine.

Blood spurted out as the bullet, having veered off course, grazed the back of Lin Xu's head.

If Lin Xu were sitting in the back seat, he would already be decapitated.

"Can you predict the future?"

The skull was terrified.

"I already said, this isn't my first time here!"

Lin Xu swerved the steering wheel, sending the SUV soaring high up the slope before crashing back down.

"boom!"

The pursuers behind him were blocked by the mercenaries left behind. The skull calmly asked:
"How long will take off? I need to arrange for my team to evacuate!"

"They need to hold out for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, they can retreat."

Lin Xu also calmed down.

Only one step remains.

At the control console, he had already manipulated the spacecraft to complete all self-checks and orbit calculations.

Next, all he needs to do is enter the spaceship's cockpit, press the ignition button, and he can leave.

He had walked this short distance of a few minutes countless times.

He had experienced countless times being forced to remain on the ground due to failure, being struck by that apocalyptic flash, and dying in an extremely painful manner.

And now, it's finally coming to an end.

Whatever comes next, at least it should be a new story, right?

Lin Xu took a deep breath, and the 1200-meter distance passed in a flash.

He slammed on the brakes, then rushed toward the launch tower and climbed onto the elevator.

The last 30 meters.

He stepped across the corridor bridge and entered the spacecraft that was quietly docked on the launch tower.

Just as he closed the door, the skull suddenly squeezed in.

"I have already ordered my team to retreat."

"I suddenly want to try what it feels like to ride in a spaceship."

"Then sit down."

Lin Xu closed the hatch, fastened his seatbelt, and pressed the ignition button without hesitation.

The linkage switch was activated instantly, the fixed arm on the launch tower unfolded, the rocket ignited, flames erupted, and huge plumes of white smoke rose into the air.

Immediately afterwards, the spaceship slowly lifted off the ground.

More than ten Mach rings propelled the spaceship upwards rapidly, and the intense G-forces slammed him hard into his seat.

"This is so damn uncomfortable."

The skull bared its teeth and pulled a woman's photo from its chest.

Will I ever see my wife again?

"It's better if you don't see your wife. This is emergency takeoff mode, hang in there!"

Lin Xu took a deep breath and then said:
"I really didn't expect you to come along; this is different from the previous times."

"What do you mean by 'the plot of the previous few times'?"

The skull asked in shock:
"Can you really predict the future??"

"I said, it's not about predicting the future, it's that I've already experienced it many times."

"Finally, we're moving on to the next stage. Take a deep breath; dizziness is normal, it'll be over soon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the spaceship's acceleration increased further.

The ground is getting farther and farther away, while the starry sky is getting closer and closer.

This time it should be a success, right?

Lin Xu felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.
-
But at that moment, a light suddenly flashed in front of him.

here we go again??

wrong.

The time has not come yet.

As the flash drew closer, Lin Xu suddenly realized something was wrong.

Damn it.

It wasn't that apocalyptic flash.

Those are anti-aircraft missiles!

next second.

"boom!"

Flames erupted and burst into flames.

Consciousness gradually blurred.

Lin Xu gritted his teeth.

Depend on.

Failed again!

(End of this chapter)