Did the world end today?

Chapter 191 Just Coming

Chapter 191 Just Back

Three hours until the negotiations begin.

Washington.

Inside the White House office.

The old man, who held the reins of power in the most powerful country on the planet, stared at the intelligence report before him, his eyes revealing a deep fury.

His anger seemed to be about to set the paper in front of him ablaze.

Across from him, Joanne sat calmly, as if everything happening in the office had nothing to do with him.

He simply sipped his coffee quietly, waiting for the old man across from him to speak.
-
After all, in the end, I am just an ordinary scientific researcher.

When it comes to such "major national affairs," one's voice is truly limited.

Having pushed things this far and prompted Congress to make the decision to "negotiate," I have already exerted all my strength.
pity.

I realized I had miscalculated one step.

If our side can deduce the existence of the "Great Filter," then why can't the other side deduce it as well?
No, the other party not only made speculations, but judging from their latest response, they have even made a breakthrough.

Have we fallen behind again?

Why is it that in the past ten or twenty years, it seems that my country has been lagging behind in everything it does?
What went wrong?
Joanne couldn't understand it—and he was too lazy to think about it.

At that moment, the old man opposite him had already put down the documents in his hand.

"This is a lie!"

The old man said angrily:

"This is a shameless lie!"

"They simply cannot have the same information as us; they simply cannot know anything about the 'Great Filter'!"

"No one knows the Big Filter better than us!"

“They haven’t even conducted any research—at least we haven’t seen them conduct any research!”

"Joanne, tell me, how high is the probability that they actually understand the principle of the Great Filter?"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Joanne paused for a moment, then shrugged and replied:
"hundred percent."

The old man's face instantly turned even more grim, but Joanne continued speaking regardless.

"Based on my understanding of those Chinese people, the judgment that they have 'mastered the principle of the large filter' was definitely not made by their administrators."

"Clearly, this is a message that came from frontline researchers."

"And their researchers are unlikely to lie."

"Therefore, one hundred percent."

"That's my judgment."

Upon hearing his words, the old man took a deep breath.

"So you mean we've lost even our last trump card?"

"Now it seems that this is indeed the case."

Joanne replied:

"But in reality, if we want to cooperate fully, what our trump cards are or what kind of game we're playing is completely irrelevant."

"Doomsday and the Great Filter are not good things on their own, but when combined, they can produce amazing effects and even create huge opportunities."

"Mr. President, objectively speaking, at this point in time, the benefits of choosing to cooperate far outweigh those of not cooperating."

"I think we really don't have anything to hesitate about, right?"

"No!"

The old man resolutely raised his hand.

"It is precisely because this is a huge opportunity that we cannot let them get there first."

"The end of the world will eventually pass, and the problem with the Great Filter will eventually be solved."

"But what happened after that?"

"Will we become their vassals, or will we completely integrate with them?"

"Neither possibility is acceptable."

"Therefore, cooperation can be achieved, but it absolutely cannot be achieved in this way!"

After saying that, he suddenly stood up.

He displayed an agility beyond his years, picked up the water on the table and drank it all in one gulp. Then, with a slightly ferocious expression, he said:
"I have decided."

"We're not without cards—we still have one last card up our sleeve."

"I have to."

"Mr. President!"

Joanne also stood up.

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

"You will destroy us!"

"I won't."

The old man shook his head resolutely.

"I won't destroy us."

"They are the ones who destroyed us."

"That's it."

"Go out."

"You are not qualified to participate in what follows!"

Two hours until the negotiations begin.

Jinling.

Sitting in the operations command room of the coordination team, Lin Xu stared in astonishment at Chen Yixin across from him.

Even though he had already heard the result, he couldn't help but ask again to confirm:

"So you mean they refuse to start negotiations until the three conditions are met?"

"Even if they already know for certain that we have leads about the Great Filter?"

"Yes."

Chen Yixin said slowly:
"But this is not a final rejection."

"We have two hours to push this negotiation to a conclusion."

"In short, with the leverage we currently possess, we should be able to push for the cooperation to be achieved."

"But the prerequisite is that they must first back down and start negotiations."

"And the most uncertain thing right now is these 'preconditions'."

"Their decision-making system is quite chaotic—in some ways, even more unpredictable than an earthquake."

"This can be seen from the actions they have already revealed."

indeed.

Lin Xu, who was sitting opposite Chen Yixin, nodded.

In front of him lay intelligence reports that had just been handed to him by the military, and every single piece of this intelligence was alarming.

The Roosevelt, Truman, and Washington carrier strike groups have entered Level 2 readiness and can be switched to Level 1 readiness at any time.

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, originally deployed in the Middle East, has also officially issued a withdrawal order, with the destination of its voyage unknown.

The Ford-class carrier strike group ended its training ahead of schedule and sailed into the deep sea. According to the latest intelligence reports, other aircraft carriers undergoing maintenance in port have also accelerated their preparations.

It's not just about naval power.

Satellite images show that multiple U.S. air bases in the Western Pacific have activated emergency responses and begun to deploy according to their pre-planned "agile deployment" strategy.

Meanwhile, most of the strategic missile forces in the United States have also gone into silence, seemingly preparing for a final stand.

Such silence is the most terrifying.

In a daze, Lin Xu seemed to smell a strong odor of gunpowder.

It's impossible to say I'm not nervous.

But now, in reality, no one has any way out.

It's either success or a fight.

Lin Xu's expression was solemn, while Chen Yixin, on the other hand, appeared much calmer.

After a slight pause, he began to speak:
"Engineer Lin, I know what you're worried about."

"War—but war is inevitable."

"Whether the first bullet leaves the barrel or not, war will crush the entire world in its own unique way."

"Everyone wants to seize that 'strongest voice,' even though they don't even know what such a voice can bring."

"But...that's what they want."

"People can be blind to this extent at many times."

"Now, as you said, we must send them a tough message."

"But we really can't predict how they'll react." "When they realize their last card can't beat us, will they... jump onto the table and tear all their cards to shreds?"

"we do not know."

"So we must be prepared—in fact, we are already prepared."

"You don't need to worry too much about that."

"clear."

Lin Xu nodded.

At this point, there were still two hours before the talks were to officially begin.

All those scheduled to participate in the negotiations were already busy. Lin Xu did not intend to participate, so after making the final confirmation, he left the office.

Many things that followed were beyond my control.

He could certainly forcefully demand that the authorities agree to the other party's demands and push the negotiations forward.

But this seems
It's not the best choice.

Standing at the door of the conference room, Lin Xu felt an unprecedented sense of bewilderment.

He didn't know where to go or what to do.

At that moment, Qin Feng suddenly walked over.

"Didn't have breakfast?"

"Shall we go grab a bite?"

One hour until the negotiations begin.

There was still no good news from Chen Yixin's side; in fact, the situation continued to deteriorate.

Neither side has explicitly stated a "war threat," but anyone involved can sense that war is imminent.

Furthermore, once this war breaks out, humanity will face a truly catastrophic disaster unlike any previous war.

However, at this time, the vast majority of people in the world were completely unaware of this.

It was 9 a.m., and Lin Xu was sitting in a "remote" spot at the breakfast stall.

In front of him were unfinished steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk, and Qin Feng was wolfing them down.

Qin Feng seems to have a really good appetite.

Although Lin Xu didn't know how he was able to eat it.

Why do you always seem so carefree?

Lin Xu couldn't help but ask:
"Do you really not know that a world war is about to break out?"

"World War?"

Qin Feng shook his head, pointed to the other guests still leisurely eating breakfast in the distance, and asked in return:
"Do you think this looks like a fight is about to break out?"

What do they prove?

Lin Xu sighed, then said:

"This is what worries me the most—most people in this world don't know what they're going to face, but what's going to happen will affect each and every one of them."

"Don't you think this is very unfair to them?"

"There's no such thing as fairness or unfairness, because the things you're worried about simply won't happen."

Qin Feng put down his chopsticks and then said:

"Let me tell you a very simple criterion."

"If the decision-makers believe that war is likely to break out, then we should be sitting in metal chairs in underground nuclear bunkers, not at a breakfast stall."

"If we, especially you, are still able to move freely, then it means that this war will not break out."

"Did Mr. Chen mention world war at all during the meeting? Did he say anything about it happening?"

"no?"

"He just said that we are ready."

"He simply said that war would manifest its effects in a 'special form'."

"But a hot war? That's impossible."

After Qin Feng finished speaking, Lin Xu nodded thoughtfully.

It seems so.

Chen Yixin never conveyed to him the idea that "war is about to break out."

My current worries are actually based on my distrust of those Americans.

I don't believe they can stay rational in critical moments.

The world is no longer the world of the 1960s, and the leaders of the United States are no longer the leaders of that time.

Back then, they could still press the pause button on the situation, but what about now?

Gee.
Therefore, some external force must be used to push their hands, which have already taken up arms, back to the negotiating table.

But what is this external force?
Lin Xu didn't know.

Not far away, two balding middle-aged men were excitedly discussing the international situation.

Their voices were so loud that even from a distance of nearly twenty meters, every word reached Lin Xu's ears.

"I told you long ago that the Americans would back down. Tariff war? What tariff war!"

"Do they have the money to wage a tariff war? If Yiwu doesn't sell them anything, they won't even be able to celebrate Christmas!"

"You're talking nonsense! You're just a Monday morning quarterback! If you knew a tariff war wouldn't break out, why didn't you buy stocks beforehand to buy at the bottom?"

"Are you stupid? Do you think anyone can buy A-shares? Even without the tariff war, I wouldn't buy them, okay??"

"You're not buying A-shares because you're afraid of the tariff war!"

"Scared? Scared my ass! I told you long ago, a tariff war is still a war, and we're not afraid of any war!"

"We already have sixth-generation fighters, so why should we be afraid of their fourth-and-a-half-generation fighters?"

"Can a sixth-generation fighter jet even fly over their heads? The H-20 bomber hasn't even come out yet, what are you talking about!"

The two's discussion was somewhat naive, even impulsive.

Lin Xu listened with great interest, even temporarily forgetting the pressure he felt in the conference room.

He turned to Qin Feng and asked with a slightly teasing tone:
"So if there really is a means to deter war, what would it be?"

Is it really a H-20 bomber?

"That's definitely not it."

Qin Feng shook his head and said:
"The H-20 has lost its epoch-making significance; it's still uncertain whether this thing will even be completed in the end."

"Even if we were to have aircraft, it wouldn't be the H-20."

"boom--"

Before he could finish speaking, as if to confirm something, a huge roar suddenly resounded in the sky.

Lin Xu looked up and saw a long, slender airplane faintly passing overhead.

He couldn't make out what kind of plane it was—because it was flying too high, and from the ground, it was only slightly larger than "a black dot".

But strangely, its sound is somewhat relative to its flight altitude.
too big.

Lin Xu stood up, as if he could see more clearly that way.
-
In fact, it wasn't just him; almost everyone on the street looked up at the same time.

Immediately afterwards, a not-so-bright flash appeared.

next second.

That black dot, with a "violent" acceleration, suddenly began to speed up.

In just a moment, it disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Fuck."