Chapter 50: Strolling in a Leisurely Courtyard

After the skull-masked man finished speaking, Lin Xu fell into a brief contemplation.

If previously Lin Xu only "suspected" that the abnormal celestial phenomena were related to the apocalypse, now he could almost "confirm" that the abnormal annular eclipse was indeed part of the apocalyptic portent.

However, a new problem arose before him.

If the apocalypse had portents, and the Planetary Reincarnation Organization deduced the coming of the apocalypse from "portents" like the "annular eclipse," why had the authorities not made the same deduction?

There was a huge logical flaw here.

In fact, in no country in this world would there ever be a situation like those in Hollywood movies, where "the authorities already foresaw the apocalypse, but concealed it from the public for their own considerations."

Even without considering the terrifying mobilization capabilities of the country he was currently in when facing major events, viewed purely through the lens of the malice of "human nature," the reason was simple.

Survival of the top echelon alone was meaningless.

To put it cruelly, the top echelon itself was a class that relied on being sustained; furthermore, the so-called "underclass" was, in many cases, the property of the wealthy.

When you foresee upcoming property damage, what you obviously wouldn't do is abandon your property to save your life; instead, you would rapidly squeeze out the value of that property in the shortest possible time.

Therefore, the rational approach was to reveal limited, downgraded information to the public.

If it was foreseen that 10% of the people would die, they would tell the public that no one would die, only that life would be slightly affected, and everyone needed to unite as one to overcome the hardships together.

If it was foreseen that 50% of the people would die, they would tell the public that 5% of the people would die, and everyone needed to strive for their own survival.

If it was foreseen that 100% of the people would die, they would tell the public that at least 20% of the people would die, allowing everyone to burn their remaining energy to the fullest.

Managing expectations and mobilizing the maximum degree of organization through reasonable disaster expectations was the optimal solution for coping with disasters and ensuring the survival of the upper class.

Yet in the world within the bracelet, the situation was clearly not like this.

Every single citizen he had encountered lacked any such disaster expectations.

They didn't even know that the apocalypse existed!

So why was this?

Had the official judgment deviated from that of Planetary Reincarnation?

Or was the apocalypse itself unpredictable, and Planetary Reincarnation's so-called "prediction" merely a coincidence?

That's right...

If Planetary Reincarnation had truly accurately foreseen the time and method of the apocalypse, the entire Earth would have been thrown into utter chaos long ago.

As long as they threw out their chain of evidence, given their organizational scale and brainwashing capabilities, this world could never remain so "calm and tranquil"!

Their "prediction" of the apocalypse was, in reality, just a guess!

Even they were unsure!

----But, what was going on with Jiang Xingye's prediction??

This question lingered in Lin Xu's mind for only a split second.

Because he immediately figured it out.

Jiang Xingye hadn't "predicted" the apocalypse.

She had "observed" the apocalypse in advance from Mars!

That was why her time was so limited!

Everything fell into place.

The annular eclipse, Mars, the "cosmic filter," the Zhurong rover......

The reason the Planetary Reincarnation Organization went to Mars was not because they wanted to escape the apocalypse there.

They were going there to search for clues about the apocalypse!

And the Zhurong rover must also have "concentrated" clues to the apocalypse under certain circumstances!

Regardless of what changes had occurred to its main body or what it had captured, to figure out the truth of the apocalypse, the Planetary Reincarnation Organization had to get their hands on it.

The logic was connected, and his mind was thoroughly enlightened.

Although there still seemed to be a long way to go before reaching the ultimate truth, all current clues had basically been integrated.

From this point on, any further deductions he made would no longer be built on castles in the air.

A satisfied smile appeared on Lin Xu's face.

At this moment, the motorcade had also arrived at the outskirts of the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant.

He patted the skull-masked man on the shoulder and then took the lead in getting out of the car.

"Activate the electro-active camouflage and follow me."

Lin Xu turned and bypassed the side of the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant, continuing immediately:

"All operational team members, listen to my command, maintain a strict formation, keep your strides in sync with mine, and cross forward with me."

"Understood."

The skull-masked man replied briefly, closely following behind Lin Xu.

Lin Xu looked down at the watch on his wrist, meticulously calculating the time.

"Stop in 15 seconds, go prone in a low posture and take cover."

"Turn off night vision devices, turn off all light sources, including IFF equipment light sources."

"Understood."

The skull-masked man replied once again.

By this time, he had already become deeply convinced of Lin Xu's identity as a Maritime Security agent.

Nonsense!

Aside from professional personnel from Maritime Security, who could possibly be so adept and seasoned when leading a completely unfamiliar team?

The mysterious man before him practically knew the security layout of Donghua Chemical Fiber like the back of his hand!

Just as the seven-member squad went prone, a security guard happened to patrol to the edge of the wall, and the squad successfully avoided his line of sight by utilizing the cover of the electro-active camouflage!

"Advance."

"Prepare grappling hooks and ascenders, charge the capacitors in advance."

"Understood."

This order shocked the skull-masked man even further.

The ascenders they used were powered by large-capacity capacitors. If they were to be used, the capacitors had to be charged 30 seconds in advance to quickly ascend a distance of about 15 meters.

Yet this man had taken even that into consideration!

Was this really his first time here?

A flash of doubt crossed his mind, but Lin Xu had already reached the designated position.

"Right here!"

"Throw the ropes and ascend!"

"Received."

Several team members quickly threw out ropes to hook the high outer wall of the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant. Lin Xu still took the lead.

Utilizing the ascender that had just finished charging, he swiftly climbed the high wall, then pulled the rope back, threw it down the other side, and slid down the rope without a single pause.

The entire scaling process took less than 20 seconds.

And right behind him, the rest of the team members landed silently as well.

Lin Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

From this point on, the difficulty of infiltration decreased significantly.

The buildings inside the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant were complex, offering plenty of usable cover.

As long as it wasn't intentional, even a pig could bypass the security guards' line of sight and reach the final target location.

"Maintain a low posture, infiltrate silently."

"Be careful not to use the radio."

"Prepare subsonic rounds before entering the building."

"There are three enemies on the first floor inside the building, located respectively at two danger corners and one safe right-hand corner."

"After entering, form a wave-like deployment and execute a dynamic assault."

"After eliminating the enemies on the first floor, quickly move up the stairs. The last enemy is on the second floor in the corner beside the water dispenser, wearing body armor. Two-person concentrated fire attack on the head."

"......Understood."

The skull-masked man stared dumbfounded at Lin Xu, completely unable to fathom where Lin Xu had obtained this information.

But it didn't matter anymore.

Since the team leader had given the order, his job was simply to execute!

A group of seven advanced to the outskirts of the target office building. Lin Xu retreated to the rear of the formation, while the other six quickly formed a dual-sided assault formation. After communicating through hand signals, they rapidly breached inside.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud-thud!"

The gunfire of the subsonic silenced pistols sounded like someone dropping marbles on the floor—so quiet that it failed to raise any suspicion whatsoever.

After neutralizing the three security guards on the first floor, the squad moved upward rapidly and, following Lin Xu's instructions, took down the final enemy armed with a shotgun.

"Capture the hostage."

"Knock him out directly, tie him up, and stuff him into the utility closet."

"The utility closet is at the end of the corridor."

"Understood."

In less than two minutes, everything was handled.

Lin Xu checked the time.

"38 minutes remaining, good performance."

"Good???"

The skull-masked man opposite him was dumbfounded.

From the moment you arrived at the outskirts of the Donghua Chemical Fiber Plant to entering the final target building, it took a total of less than 3 minutes, didn't it??

The entire process was characterized by a leisurely stroll, practically like returning to your own home!

And now you're telling me this is just good?!

Seeing that Lin Xu had already entered the office, unlocked the computer, and started reviewing documents, the skull-masked man couldn't help stepping forward and asking:

"What are we... doing now?"

"Use the security guards' walkie-talkie every five minutes to reply with the safety passphrase."

Lin Xu replied:

"The safety passphrase is 'Lion Dance'."

"Understood."

The skull-masked man immediately relayed the order to his team members.

Following that, he couldn't help asking again:

"By the way...... do you guys in Maritime Security know everything?"

"Pretty much."

Lin Xu answered casually.

The skull-masked man coughed and continued:

"It's like this...... I have a wife......"

"I always feel like she's a bit strange."

"......Everyone knows your wife is strange, alright?"

Lin Xu focused intently on the document on the screen, not even bothering to turn his head.

"Ah?"

The skull-masked man was stunned.

"No, no, no."

He waved his hands repeatedly and said:

"What I mean by strange is, she's a doomsday prepper."

"You know, building underground bunkers by herself, hoarding supplies and all that."

"I always feel like she was scammed by someone....... probably those Planetary Reincarnation folks who preach about the apocalypse?"

"Anyway, about this matter..... do you guys care?"