Did the world end today?

Chapter 208 Find the gun first, then find the person

Opening his eyes in bed, Lin Xu subconsciously touched his chest.

The bloody hole had, of course, disappeared, but the "strange" feeling of being hit by a large-caliber bullet still made him a little uneasy.

After the bullet pierced her body, it completely tore apart Jiang Xingye's right shoulder. Combined with the first bullet that pierced her right chest and almost tore half of her body apart, the fact that she could still speak was truly a miracle.

If the first bullet had deviated even slightly from Jiang Xingye's left chest, even just a tiny bit, the devastating cavity effect would have immediately rendered her unconscious.

The message she wanted to convey could no longer be delivered.
-
Of course, what she said wasn't actually very useful.

Nonsense, do you think I'm stupid?
Don't you know the approximate distance of the warning zone, or how difficult it is to snipe at such a long distance?
She should have said something more useful.

That makes sense; it's already quite remarkable that the person, who's almost gone, still remembered to say this message.
However, even if she didn't say it, she still gained a lot of information from this trip into the world of bracelets.

Lin Xu sat down at his desk and wrote down a few more clues.

The time of entry into the bracelet world has been disturbed and may have become randomized, no longer limited to one hour before the apocalypse. The reason is unknown.

[In 2029, humanity in the Alliance era has begun research on verifying time asymmetry, and the disturbance may be related to this.]

[It needs to be verified whether the two entries are into the same world]

As he wrote this, Lin Xu frowned slightly.

Jiang Xingye had clearly already left marks on him, but as a result, the verification method became invalid on the spot when he died.

Not only that.

If I die, the world I have observed will collapse on the spot.

They will rush toward the end times, and then vanish into nothingness before they even enter it.

It's hard.

We can come up with a new method to verify it the next time we enter.

Next time, not only must I survive, but Jiang Xingye must also survive!
Lin Xu paused briefly, then continued writing:

Jiang Xingye was murdered on July 4, 2029, by a long-range sniper shot. It is highly likely that this was not the work of an official organization, and we need to find information about that organization.

His basis for this judgment was very simple.

While such sniping could only be accomplished by professional soldiers, if it were truly an official professional soldier...
Is there even a need for sniping?
Planting an inside agent is a very simple matter; killing someone silently through various means is simply too easy.

They even have an Ayana in their possession.

If it truly is an official organization, they could use Ayana's power as the "Goddess of Memory" to carry out a murder.
It will obviously be more concealed.

Therefore, the assassins must not be from an official organization.
-
Or, to be more conservative, even if it is an official organization, it is not one that will hold the dominant voice in 2029.

This narrows the scope to an extremely narrow level.

It was already 1 a.m. Lin Xu raised his hand and glanced at the bracelet; only the last number, "1," remained.

He didn't access the bracelet again, but simply submitted the new information and then went straight to bed.

Then, I fell asleep in 0 seconds.

Lin Xu woke up at 9 a.m. the next day.

This past month has been incredibly tiring. No matter how long he sleeps, he never feels like he's had enough, and he still feels groggy when he wakes up.

Only after sitting down at the dining table and drinking a cup of steaming hot soy milk did he feel a little more alive.

"How did you sleep last night?"

Sitting opposite him, Qin Feng asked:
"You must be exhausted lately? Did you catch up yesterday?"

"If you still don't feel better, we might have to arrange for you to take a leave of absence."

"take a vacation?"

Lin Xu shook his head.

"Let's talk about it later, there's no rush now."

"If this goes on and on without stopping, when will it ever end?"

Qin Feng pushed the boiled chicken breast on the table in front of Lin Xu and continued:

“We’re not so tense now. With the ‘ant hole’ opened, while we can’t say we have a sure thing about surviving the apocalypse, at least our margin for error has increased a lot.”

"So, you don't need to put too much pressure on yourself."

"Hello, there is hope in this world."

"If you're not doing well, we're pretty much doomed too."

"know."

Lin Xu answered casually, but he had a vague feeling that Qin Feng's behavior was different from before.
-
Of course, he has always been full of confidence.

Even when he's feeling down, he'll try to cheer himself up in various ways.

However, this time is a little different.

If his "confidence" before was based on "faith," then this time, his confidence is truly based on "reality."

The world has indeed changed.

That aurora borealis heralded the arrival of a new era, and the people here have entered a more confident state.

They seem to be like the people in the world of wristbands.

People in the Golden Age should indeed be full of confidence.

Although they failed.

But "confidence" has never been the cause of failure.

It's not even "arrogant".

"Ignorant arrogance" is the real term.

Lin Xu swallowed the last bite of chicken breast in his mouth, then asked Qin Feng:

You should have seen the report I submitted yesterday, right?

"I saw it."

Qin Feng nodded.

“Sniping at a distance of 4 kilometers or even further is not a simple shooting task; it is a massive system engineering project.”

"You should be free for the time being, right? I'm thinking of taking you to the shooting range to find some inspiration."

"range?"

Lin Xu's eyes lit up.

indeed.

Experiencing and seeing firsthand how long-range shooting is conducted might be helpful for subsequent intelligence gathering.

Lin Xu immediately stood up, and then the two of them went out together, taking Qi Yuan with them, and headed straight for the shooting range that Qin Feng had chosen.

The military region's firing range wasn't far from Lin Xu's residence; it only took a little over an hour to drive there.

After getting off the car, the reception staff led the three to a shooting range that had been prepared in advance, where several different sniper rifles were already placed on the ground.

Qi Yuan stared longingly at the guns, and Lin Xu asked:
"You know them all?"

Qi Yuan nodded.

"He's a baggage handler; who in this line of work doesn't recognize him?"

Then he counted them one by one.

"Tac-50, the longest sniper record is 2414 meters."

"The Type 10's actual effective range is only about 1400 meters."

"M-82, effective range of about 1300 meters."

"The M99 is a gun comparable to the M82, but it's an old model with poor performance."

"This is the L115-A3, which is probably the best anti-materiel sniper rifle currently in service, at least it's my favorite."

"However, none of these guns can reach a range of more than 4000 meters. The bullets can hit the target, but the person cannot."

"Yes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Feng immediately chimed in:
"So this is what we need to verify."

"We need to verify what kind of shooting method can accurately hit the target at such a long distance."

"First, let's establish a premise: after the start of the 'new era,' humanity should not have much need for the development of light weapons, and there are indeed no new long-range sniper rifle projects under development at this stage."

"Therefore, the assassin you saw was most likely using an existing gun, or an improved version of an existing weapon."

"Once we find the gun and determine the firing method, we can roughly determine their identities."

"Once you determine their identities, you can roughly deduce their motives."

Good idea!

Lin Xu nodded.

As expected of an official think tank, their thinking is very clear.

At this moment, the archers that Qin Feng had carefully selected had already taken to the firing position.

"Reporting to the commander, sniper He Yong is ready and requests permission to commence firing!"

"Fire!"

At the command of the military region leader who was watching from the side, a sniper named He Yong immediately gripped the handle of the TAC-50.

He will first conduct a round of firing without any external assistance, relying solely on electro-optical sights.

"boom!"

He test-fired each gun three times.

But without a doubt, the point of impact was completely off target.

Not to mention getting close, the largest error even reached two hundred meters.

"Not at all."

Lin Xu shook his head, while Qin Feng turned around and whispered instructions to the military region leaders. Immediately afterwards, the second round of testing began.

This time, all environmental monitoring equipment was put into operation.

Reports of environmental data, such as temperature, air pressure, and wind direction, were continuously heard at the scene, indicating the expected flight path of the bullets at each stage of their flight.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

It was still the same gun that was tested three times.

This time, the result was much better.

At least, the error was kept within 10 meters.

However, it's still far from being a precise kill.

Seeing Qi Yuan's eager expression, Qin Feng asked:
"you try?"

"I'll give it a try!"

Having received permission, Qi Yuan quickly went up and picked out his favorite and most familiar L115A3.

Gently pull the trigger.

"boom!"

The bullet left the barrel.

But Qi Yuan didn't even look at the target report before standing up.

"impossible."

"At a distance of 4.2 kilometers, even a god couldn't hit it."

"It's really impossible."

Lin Xu frowned deeply.

He suddenly felt a sense of eagerness to try it out.

After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and said:
"I'll try."

After saying that, he took the gun directly from Qi Yuan's hand.

Lie down, shoulder to shoulder, aim.

Lightly press the trigger.

"boom!"

The 12.7mm caliber bullet flew out along the trajectory calculated by the ballistic calculator.

Subsequently, it fell less than two meters from the side of the target humanoid figure.

Qi Yuan was stunned when he saw the target report.

Even the experienced officers around him had their eyes light up instantly.

"Fuck."

Qi Yuan exclaimed in amazement:
"Brother Lin, you've practiced this before?"

Lin Xu shook his head.

Of course he hadn't practiced.

Although I've used guns in the bracelet world, long-range sniping and shooting with a rifle are two completely different things.

He couldn't possibly know how to operate it.

But he just knew.

Perhaps this indescribable muscle memory is also part of "dimensional ascension"?

Lin Xu pondered for a moment, then said:
"It's possible to hit the target by luck, but it's completely impossible to hit it accurately with two consecutive shots."

The others nodded in agreement, leaving Lin Xu even more confused.

So how do people in the world of smart bracelets manage to do that?

Theoretically speaking, they shouldn't be much more advanced than the world they live in when it comes to military technology.

Because people in the new era do not have enough motivation to develop new weapons.
-
Even if development is to be carried out, it should be conceptual weapons related to new physical rules, rather than useless individual light weapons.

"Is it possible that they are using guided weapons?"

"impossible."

The officer next to Qin Feng shook his head.

"We also have man-portable guided weapons, such as the most typical sleeve missile."

"However, the working principle of this missile is completely different from that of a gun."

"It can't be a missile. If I had to say, there's only one possibility."

"Weapons station".

"Weapons station?"

Lin Xu was stunned for a moment.

"Is the weapons station used for sniping?"

The officer nodded, and Qi Yuan, who was standing beside him, also nodded in agreement.

"This is the only possibility."

"Use competition ammunition, use specially modified barrels, and you need two guns."

"Because after the first shot is fired, even a slight change in the barrel temperature will cause a huge disturbance at a distance of 4000 meters."

"So, do you have this kind of thing now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the officer replied immediately:

"Yes, we are ready."

He pointed to a nearby Mengshi vehicle equipped with a remote-controlled weapon station, which was already parked there.

It is still equipped with a Type 10 sniper rifle.

But it's clear that this gun has been specially modified.

It doesn't even have a firing pin; instead, it's fired via some kind of electrical discharge method.

"So how many more of these strange things are there in our military?"

Lin Xu clicked his tongue twice and asked:

"Is this also part of the daily training?"

The officer smiled and replied:
"No, this is actually a verification platform. This system was originally intended for robot dogs or other highly mobile unmanned combat platforms."

"However, we are not sure if it is effective at all."

"If it does work, then it might be helpful for your investigation."

The officer had no idea what the three men were testing, and he even had a vague suspicion that they might be using the test as a pretext to do something else.
A decapitation strike, perhaps?
But he didn't ask.

He is only responsible for carrying out orders.

As soon as he finished speaking, the weapons station began its calculations.

After all parameters have been entered.

"boom!"

There was a gunshot.

The target was hit in one shot from 4200 meters away!
A large hole immediately appeared in the right chest of the human-shaped target.

The location where Jiang Xingye was shot was almost identical!
"This is it!"

Lin Xu stood up excitedly.

"Which organizations, both domestically and internationally, have the capability to design and manufacture such a shooting platform?"

The officer replied:
"It's highly unlikely that foreign countries can get in. This isn't miniaturized equipment, so smuggling wouldn't work."

"Such weapons stations are not uncommon, but the core equipment involved can be traced in terms of both origin and destination."

"I can confirm that we have absolutely no plans to deliver or sell similar equipment to other countries within the next five years."

"From the time the prototype was manufactured until now, only two weapon stations with similar effects have been delivered, totaling three sets."

"One set is here with us, and the other set is being verified by the Long Live Army."

"Neither of these sets can be leaked or used."

"There is only one set, and the control is relatively weak - it is prepared for export model improvement and phased array radar upgrade, so it is temporarily stored in the laboratory of the 14th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation."

"They should all be kept there until the project is finished."

Lin Xu's eyes lit up.

When will the project end?

"It's around 2030; this is a long-term improvement project."

5 years.

The timing was perfect!

But the 14th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation
This is also a strictly controlled department.

Clues seem to have surfaced.

But it appeared in a more puzzling way.

Fourteen
Could it be that the researchers at this institute will "betray" us in four years?
Or are they being used by others?

Lin Xu silently memorized this information, and just then, Qin Feng, who had just received a phone call, walked over.

"Mr. Lin, we're leaving now."