ATDIWR Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Hovercar Let Gu Jinsheng know how to write ‘wishful thinking’…

Chapter 109: Hovercar Let Gu Jinsheng know how to write ‘wishful thinking’…

When Zhao Tong and the others saw the Jing Shi Base aircraft really leave, really just leaving them at R Base like that, they immediately panicked.

“Come back, you can’t leave, we are residents of R Base, we are Xia Nation people!”

“We just want to get our families back, what did we do wrong!”

These Power Users shouted at the sky, but the Jing Shi Base aircraft had already turned into a dot in the sky, and finally disappeared completely.

Soon, someone pointed the finger at Zhao Tong, “It was you and a few Power Users who found us and persuaded us to march together. You said that the law doesn’t punish a crowd, and as long as there are enough of us, even if Gu Jinsheng is unwilling, he will compromise under pressure.”

Zhao Tong roared, “How was I supposed to know Gu Jinsheng wouldn’t play by the rules? I’m the one who’s most wronged, okay! None of those hostages are my family. The reason I participated in this movement was entirely because of you hostage family members. I was being kind, all for your sake, to help you successfully rescue your family members!”

One person sneered, “Don’t make yourself out to be so noble. You were just doing it for yourself. We all heard you confess when we were in jail. You just wanted to become famous!”

Zhao Tong said, “Even if I had selfish motives, you can’t deny that I wanted to help you rescue the hostages.”

As the few people were arguing, a roar of aircraft flying sounded overhead. The few people’s expressions brightened, and Zhao Tong said, “I told you, Jing Shi Base wouldn’t dare to ignore us. They just wanted to scare us.”

A few people waved at the sky. The aircraft got closer and closer. The imagined scene of being picked up didn’t happen; instead, they were met with Power User attacks.

Several people were blasted away by abilities, stumbling and falling in disarray. It was then they realized these aircraft were not from Jing Shi Base.

The Power Users who got off the aircraft spoke R language, but even though they knew it was R language, none of them could speak R language. In the end, all these people were taken back to the dungeon by the R Base people.

Gu Jinsheng didn’t hide the whereabouts of these people at all and live broadcasted it on the Terminal’s official website. The official website was almost flooded with comments from the water army. The Terminal’s network administrator directly revealed the IP addresses with one click.

Only then did netizens discover that 98% of the supportive comments came from R Nation and M Nation, and more than 1% were from netizens in other countries. The actual Xia Nation netizens who were supporters were less than 1%. Jing Shi Base banned all those supporters.

Gu Jinsheng’s attitude showed that he was going to play tough, which started to make Xiao Qiao Yilang panic.

Li Mo, the commander-in-chief of Z Base, also didn’t expect things to develop this way. Looking at Gu Jinsheng, who was ruthless towards his own base residents, Li Mo felt chills down his spine, not daring to imagine how Gu Jinsheng would deal with him once he was free.

Time passed quickly. As the midnight bell finally struck, Wan Xueying, Zhou Qin, and others who knew the inside story couldn’t help but turn their gaze towards the research institute.

Everyone’s eyes were filled with anticipation. At this moment, Ji An seemed to be their god.

Gu Jinsheng’s eyes also looked towards the research institute.

Wan Xueying said nervously, “Boss, if…” Wan Xueying didn’t even dare to say the word ‘failure’, “what should we do? Should we hand over the core technology?”

“No.” Gu Jinsheng said resolutely, “Unless Xiao An is willing, no one can force him to hand over his technology.”

“If they want to fight, then let’s fight!”

Zhou Qin said, “Boss, I’m ready here and can start fighting at any time.”

“Okay.” Gu Jinsheng nodded.

Just as everyone’s hearts were tense to the extreme and the air felt ready to ignite, the gate of the research institute opened. At the same time, a special ringtone that was only set for one person on Gu Jinsheng’s Terminal rang.

The icy chill around Gu Jinsheng seemed to melt the moment the ringtone sounded, and his eyes softened, “Xiao An!”

Ji An on the other side of the video showed a gentle smile, yet it was bright enough to dispel the darkness of the entire Apocalypse.

“Jinsheng, we succeeded!” Ji An’s eyes curved, and his eyes seemed to be filled with a myriad of stars.

Gu Jinsheng replied, “Xiao An, you are amazing!”

At this moment, compared to the calmness of the two main characters, Wan Xueying, Zhou Qin, Kong Zhongcheng, and others were shouting excitedly. They screamed loudly, and their abilities flew around chaotically in the sky. At this moment, it was as if the success was theirs, not Ji An’s.

“Ah ah ah, Ji An is successful!” Wan Xueying roared, without her usual cool demeanor.

“I knew Ji An could do it!” Zhou Qin screamed loudly, “There’s nothing in this world that Ji An can’t do!”

Kong Zhongcheng laughed heartily, “Ji An is a god! A god who saved the Apocalypse!”

Gu Jinsheng sat in the main seat, listening to the frantic loss of composure of his subordinates beside him, looking at his lover, the tenderness in his heart almost overflowing from his eyes. This was his lover, his outstanding partner!

The commotion on the commanders’ side was too great. Several times, they didn’t control their abilities well and blasted them out, breaking the glass and floor of the conference room. The Power Users downstairs thought someone had raided the command center and assassinated the commanders. Ignoring their work, they rushed upstairs.

The door of the conference room was suddenly kicked open. Fortunately, the Power Users who came up were advanced Power Users, quick to react, and quickly dodged the ability attacks.

They thought they had really encountered assassins. But when they were ready to fight, they suddenly realized that there was no one else in the entire conference room except the commanders. Even the abilities that had just attacked them seemed to have come from the hands of the commanders.

Wan Xueying and others saw the subordinates of the commanders rush up and finally calmed down a little. They tidied their clothes and began to maintain their image as leaders.

“You guys go out. Prepare and notify all personnel for this battle. We will depart immediately.” Wan Xueying smoothed her hair which had been messed up from being too excited just now.

“Yes.” The subordinates took their orders and went out. As they closed the door, they looked at their colleagues beside them in confusion and said, “What’s going on? Did the experiment at the research institute succeed or not? Are the commanders happy or angry?”

“I, I don’t know.”

“Let’s go, to the research institute.” Gu Jinsheng took Wan Xueying and others to the research institute, and at the same time notified all Power Users to assemble on the Terminal.

However, just as Gu Jinsheng went downstairs and released a car from his spatial storage item, he only felt a flash before his eyes, and then saw something like a train engine suspended before him. Gu Jinsheng was on guard with his hand, the door of that vehicle was pushed open, and Ji An’s face appeared from inside.

Everyone was stunned at this moment, “Ji An, didn’t you just come out of the laboratory?” Zhou Qin stammered.

When Ji An was talking to Gu Jinsheng just now, they were right next to him and clearly saw that the background behind Ji An was his laboratory, and Zhou Fanxiu and other researchers were with him.

Ji An jumped down from the hovercar, “Yes.”

“Then how did you get here so quickly? Even driving from the laboratory to here would take more than ten minutes. But it hasn’t even been five minutes since you hung up the phone.”

Ji An smiled and said, “Actually, this is just because the distance is too short. This is not the true speed of my hovercar.”

Looking at the shocked expressions of the crowd, Ji An smiled brightly, “I said I would bring everyone back, so of course I had to make something that could be used for picking people up.”

Wan Xueying and others somewhat understood. She asked, “So Ji An, what you made isn’t a weapon, but this vehicle in front of us, a hovercar?”

“Yes.” Ji An said, “The speed of this hovercar is one thousand kilometers per minute.”

“What?” Kong Zhongcheng cried out in surprise, “One thousand kilometers per minute? Doesn’t that mean it’s faster than an airplane!”

Zhou Qin quickly pushed Kong Zhongcheng aside and went up to the hovercar, touching it all over, “What nonsense are you saying? If the hovercar was the same speed as an airplane, why would Ji An make a hovercar? He could just fly in an airplane. Isn’t that right, Ji An?”

At this moment, Zhou Qin seemed possessed by Wu Youyang, acting incredibly servile.

“But, but this is too unscientific?” Wan Xueying seemed unable to believe what she was seeing.

Gu Jinsheng glanced at Wan Xueying lightly, his tone still flat, but inexplicably conveying a sense of pride and showmanship, “Which of Xiao An’s inventions can be explained by science?”

“Well, that’s true.” Wan Xueying thought about it. If she wasn’t using spatial storage items and nutrient solutions right now, she probably wouldn’t believe it even if someone posted pictures of those things online, just like those foreigners who were deceived by their own bases.

Zhou Qin asked, “Boss, are we going to use this car to pick up the hostages stranded in R Nation?”

“Yes, as long as there’s a coordinate, this hovercar can appear anywhere on Earth.” Ji An said confidently.

Kong Zhongcheng rubbed his hands, “Ji An, let me drive, I’ll drive.”

Ji An shook his head, “This doesn’t need to be driven. It has a button, you just need to press it lightly to transfer space.”

“Spatial transfer?” Zhou Qin was startled.

Ji An smiled and said, “Of course, even I need a scientific basis for every achievement I research. The reason this hovercar can reach such high speeds is by utilizing the principles and technology of spatial transfer used by Space-type Power Users.”

“Time was too tight. If I had enough time to research, the speed could actually be faster. The speed of spatial transfer should be far from this slow, at least reaching superluminal speed!”

“Superluminal speed?” A few people were dumbfounded. Isn’t the speed of light the fastest speed? Can it go faster than light? Doesn’t that mean it can travel through time?

“Ji An, if you exceed the speed of light, can you travel back to the past?”

Ji An said, “Theoretically, yes, but in reality, it’s not that simple. Exceeding the speed of light is just spatial technology, while traveling back to the past is spacetime travel, which is a concept of time and is more complex. It’s definitely not something that can be achieved simply by exceeding the speed of light; there must be other limiting conditions.”

“Oh oh oh.” Zhou Qin didn’t quite understand, but he felt impressed just by listening.

Just then, the combat personnel of the command center had gathered at the entrance of the command center. Ji An said, “We don’t need this many people for this mission. Just bring a few.”

“I want to go, I want to go.” Kong Zhongcheng jumped up and shouted before anyone else could react.

The Power Users looked at Kong Zhongcheng in confusion, not understanding why he was so excited. This time they were going to R Nation to fight R Nation Power Users, and they might not come back due to an accident. Why did Commander Kong Zhongcheng seem eager to try? Was he infuriated by Xiao Qiao Yilang and couldn’t wait to beat him up?

Gu Jinsheng glanced at Kong Zhongcheng and said, “Okay.”

Then he said to Wan Xueying and Zhou Qin, “One of you two stay home and guard the base.”

Zhou Qin shouted, “Boss, you’re too biased! Why does Kong Zhongcheng get to go, but one of us has to stay?”

Kong Zhongcheng had quickly climbed into the car and made faces at Wan Xueying and Zhou Qin with a grinning face, “No choice, Boss just dotes on me.”

Wan Xueying also looked at Gu Jinsheng and said, “Boss, look at his idiotic behavior. I really don’t know what about him makes you favor him?”

Wan Xueying was also somewhat unconvinced. Gu Jinsheng said lightly, “With his idiotic behavior, are you really at ease leaving him at home to guard the base?”

That single sentence successfully silenced Wan Xueying and Zhou Qin. Kong Zhongcheng, on the other hand, widened his eyes, staring at Gu Jinsheng in disbelief, “Boss, am I no longer your most beloved little treasure?”

Gu Jinsheng slightly furrowed his habitually unfurrowed brow. He said solemnly to Ji An, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. There has never been anything between him and me. You have always been the treasure in my heart!”

“Ahhhhh!!!”

“Aow aow aow!!!”

The crowd let out strange cries. They didn’t expect Gu Jinsheng to say something so sappy.

Kong Zhongcheng rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and said, “Boss, you’ve broken character! You’re definitely not our boss. Tell me, what kind of demon or ghost possessed our boss?”

Ji An’s face was red, as if it was burning, but honestly, this feeling didn’t seem bad. He, he seemed to like it a little.

Wan Xueying and Zhou Qin exchanged glances. Neither of them spoke, but they tacitly played rock-paper-scissors. In the end, Zhou Qin won and was as happy as winning ten million, while Wan Xueying’s face was as long as a waterfall.

Ji An could only comfort her, “It’s okay, the hovercar will be mass-produced and available soon. When that happens, I’ll make sure you’re the first one to get one.”

Wan Xueying’s face immediately brightened, “Then it’s settled, Ji An.”

The Power Users who were nervous and didn’t know if they would return were all dumbfounded. Why was the commanders’ mental state completely different from theirs? It was as if this was some good thing they were vying for.

The Power Users silently thought, no wonder they couldn’t become commanders. Their awareness was indeed insufficient.

Wan Xueying turned around and looked at the Power Users of the command center, “We don’t need this many people for this mission. Ten are enough. The rest can go back.”

More than a hundred Power Users who had been waiting to participate in the battle and had been mentally preparing themselves since receiving the news looked at each other, completely disbelieving their ears.

The leader of these Power Users asked the question in everyone’s mind, “Commander, isn’t our mission this time to fight in R Nation and get the hostages back? Ten Power Users, even with Commander-in-Chief Gu and Commanders Zhou Qin and Kong Zhongcheng, might not be enough. After all, that’s R Nation’s base camp, and they’ve gotten many Crystal Cores through Zombie cloning. Their Power Users have an unlimited supply of Crystal Cores, so their levels will definitely not be low.”

Wan Xueying smiled and said, “I can only say you’ll know when you get there. But this mission will be an experience you’ll never have again in your entire military career!”

Indeed, fighting R Nation people and going to R Nation’s land was an experience they would never have again.

Wan Xueying said, “So this time, you choose for yourselves. I can only say that those who don’t go will definitely regret it; it will be the regret of your life!”

The Power Users looked at each other, even more confused about what Wan Xueying meant.

However, obedience to orders was already engraved in the bones and blood of these Power Users. Even when given a voluntary choice, no one retreated.

Wan Xueying said with satisfaction, “Very good, then let’s play rock-paper-scissors. The winners go, the losers stay home and guard the base.”

Thus, such a dramatic scene occurred. In the square of the command center, which should have been filled with a heavy atmosphere of departure for battle, they were now playing rock-paper-scissors.

Before the Apocalypse, Sun Qiang was just an ordinary person. After the Apocalypse, he awakened his ability and performed well, joining the command center. He worked diligently and never slacked off.

His father was an ordinary worker before the Apocalypse, but lost both legs saving him when he was a child.

But his father never blamed him, and even when others mentioned his legs with regret, he would sincerely express gratitude, because he felt that exchanging his legs for his son’s life was a very worthwhile deal.

Sun Qiang thought he would never see his father walk with both legs healthy like a normal person again in his lifetime.

But who knew that the treatment pod was invented, and because he had merit in the command center, he was among the first batch of people to get the qualification for treatment.

His father, who had been disabled for decades, actually stood up after only a few minutes of treatment. The feeling of emotion and gratitude is something people who haven’t experienced it can never understand.

From then on, he swore that he would definitely protect Jing Shi Base well and be loyal to Jing Shi Base.

So this time, facing the battle with R Nation, Sun Qiang volunteered to participate without hesitation.

It’s hard to say whether Sun Qiang was lucky or not, but Sun Qiang, who had always been unlucky, actually won against his opponent with one go. Sun Qiang himself was a little stunned.

After reacting, thinking of the life-or-death war, Sun Qiang’s eyes turned red. He took out a handwritten letter from his pocket and handed it to his teammate, “If I don’t come back, please give this to my father. Just say, just say that I sacrificed myself to serve the country, and it was glorious, it was brave…”

“Also, tell him that he has been living alone with me for so many years and it’s been hard. Now that his legs have been treated, and the money in my account and the sacrifice subsidy are enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life, tell him to find someone good to live with and forget about me! Just pretend I died back then.”

His teammate also said with red eyes, “Okay, I’ll pass it on word for word.”

Turning around, Sun Qiang’s tears fell. He wiped away his tears and resolutely got on the hovercar.

Everyone got into the hovercar, and Ji An opened the Terminal on the hovercar. The screen was projected inside the car, visible to everyone.

At this moment, Xiao Qiao Yilang couldn’t wait a moment longer and started a live broadcast in the early morning.

Xiao Qiao Yilang’s ugly face appeared in the live broadcast room. Behind him was the execution ground from before, densely packed with Xia Nation people behind him. The number seemed to be even more than during the last live broadcast.

Xiao Qiao Yilang kindly explained, “Commander-in-Chief Gu Jinsheng, did you see? There are more people behind me than last time. You don’t need to thank me too much. I specially had our base’s Power Users go door-to-door again to check, making sure every Xia Nation person stranded in my R Nation was found. Don’t be too grateful.”

Gu Jinsheng remained silent, not speaking. Ji An, as the researcher of the Terminal, understood its functions better than anyone. He performed a series of operations on his Terminal, then a smile appeared on his lips, and he nodded to Gu Jinsheng. This meant he had successfully locked onto the coordinates of Xiao Qiao Yilang’s Terminal. And Xiao Qiao Yilang’s Terminal was currently on his hand, live broadcasting.

Gu Jinsheng returned Ji An’s nod. Ji An’s finger locked onto Xiao Qiao Yilang’s location, then he pressed the spatial transfer button on the hovercar.

Everyone on the hovercar felt like they had become a compressed film, squeezed to the extreme. The surrounding space turned into a time-lapse silhouette, completely indistinguishable.

Xiao Qiao Yilang didn’t know the situation on Gu Jinsheng’s side. Seeing that the Terminal showed Gu Jinsheng’s location as Jing Shi Base, he assumed Gu Jinsheng was currently at Jing Shi Base and didn’t notice that the background behind Gu Jinsheng had become blurry, like the network was lagging.

But the attentive netizens noticed it. Some netizens even discovered that Gu Jinsheng’s IP address was constantly changing, changing very quickly. It changed location almost every ten seconds. At such a speed, he might jump back to R Base in three minutes.

“Did you see? Gu Jinsheng’s IP address is constantly changing.”

“Saw it. Maybe the network is lagging. Otherwise, the location couldn’t change that fast!”

“Speaking of which, Jing Shi Base really doesn’t care about the lives of their compatriots. Let’s not even mention their previous actions, but now, at this critical moment, the final negotiation, even if they don’t plan to hand over the technology, they should at least get the network working properly. Lagging the network at this point shows how little Gu Jinsheng cares.”

At the same time, almost all Terminals, no matter which country the Power Users were in, received coordinate locations sent from Jing Shi Base, asking all Xia Nation people to rush to the nearest coordinate location as soon as possible. The vehicles Jing Shi Base sent to pick them up were about to arrive.

Upon seeing this message, the Xia Nation people were internally excited. They thought Jing Shi Base had given up on them, but in reality, it hadn’t. Jing Shi Base had sent vehicles to pick them up.

Xia Nation people abroad frantically rushed to the locations on the Terminal, even spreading the news by word of mouth. Of course, there were also those who refused to believe it. They reasoned logically, “The situation between R Nation and Jing Shi Base is currently tense. Who doesn’t know that behind R Nation is M Nation? Other countries might let Xia Nation people leave, but do you think M Nation will let us go at this time?”

“Didn’t you notice that there are more M Nation Power Users around Xia Nation streets recently? No need to think, they’re definitely monitoring us?”

“Even if Jing Shi Base comes to pick us up, they’ll send an airplane. M Nation also has the Terminal. Knowing that Jing Shi Base will come to pick us up, can the sky not be under strict control? Jing Shi Base’s aircraft won’t be able to get in at all.”

“We still have to try. It’s been seven years, and this is our only hope. Aren’t you tempted?” Feng Jiancheng asked.

“Tempted, but it’s just futile temptation. I advise you not to act rashly at this critical juncture, or you might be made an example by M Nation and killed to warn others.”

Feng Jiancheng said, “I’ve had enough of life in M Nation. I want to return to my country. Even if this is a trap, I will die on the way back to my homeland!”

“Is there anyone willing to try with me? If so, let’s go together.” Feng Jiancheng asked.

There were still many people willing to follow Feng Jiancheng and leave. They all wanted to take a gamble.

Feng Jiancheng took these people and quietly avoided the surveillance of M Nation Power Users, little by little rushing towards the coordinate location on the Terminal.

These coordinates seemed to have been carefully chosen. They were either in the most prosperous areas of the base city, like the busiest supermarkets, or the most crowded commercial streets. In short, not only were there many Xia Nation people there, but there were even more local people.

Charles and Dwight also received this notification, but neither of them took it seriously.

Charles said, “Strictly control the sky and ensure that not even a fly can get in. Jing Shi Base wants to use airplanes to pick up the Xia Nation people stranded in our HSD. Let them know how to write the four characters for ‘wishful thinking’!”