Chapter 89
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Chapter 89: The Hunt Begins
Wen Jing sat in front of her sister’s old desk, watching Xue Zheng perform smooth operations on the computer, a bit surprised. “I didn’t realize you were cut out to be a hacker!”
As Xue Zheng set up the network environment, she laughed. “So you thought of me as just a repairman? You probably don’t even remember my full job title!”
Wen Jing leaned back in her chair and recalled, “I remember. Chief Engineer of the Time Bureau at the Space Administration. Your full job title on the internal HR system is—Super Specialist in Space Full-Stack Engineering.” After saying that, she had an epiphany. “Oh, so you’re skilled in both hardware and software!”
“Not to brag,” Xue Zheng wiggled her feet, “but give me enough time and materials, and I could handle something like a time capsule all by myself. This little hacking job is nothing compared to that.”
As they spoke, Wen Jing noticed a file upload progress bar on the computer. She asked, “Is this uploading the previous backup?”
“Yeah, it includes previous backups and information processed through other channels, such as the severity of the nuclear leak at Poli Port and its spread, predictions about giant solar flares, and escape plans for reference. Oh, and it contains a bit of human physiology knowledge we painstakingly brought back from the Ponsuo Tribe.”
“Sounds good, very comprehensive,” Wen Jing nodded repeatedly and leaned in to take a closer look. The entire document wasn’t very long, and she asked, “How is this going to be displayed?”
“It will be released at midnight. Based on global standard time, after it’s released, everyone’s phone will pop up this alert on their screen the first three times they unlock it. If they are connected to the internet, it will also download a local backup to their photo gallery.”
Wen Jing gave a thumbs-up. “This method is great; saving it locally makes it hard to erase.” She then asked, “Will it be intercepted by some antivirus software?”
Xue Zheng shook her head. “This virus is embedded in the phone’s system functions; it follows the display language of the system and won’t be recognized as a virus. Of course, some people will ignore it as phishing information.” Leaning back against the chair, she added nonchalantly, “If they won’t eat what’s fed to them, even a god couldn’t save them.”
“True, this is the fastest method we could think of. Even though the radiation protection agents weren’t explicitly mentioned, with those knowledge prompts in the document, even those currently in weak physical condition might get a chance to replenish their nutrients. The agents will continue to spread and take effect. Even if they can’t produce antibodies now, as long as their health qualifies, they still have a chance to be saved.”
“Yeah, you don’t need to worry about this. Everyone has their fate. We’ve done what we can. Besides, as long as some survive this solar flare, that’s what matters.”
Wen Jing shook her head gently. “Having just a few individuals survive might still not prevent a reset at the end. In the black fog time period, some survived in the end, but they were very few—too few to establish a new civilization. So, I think that beyond just the initial humans being able to survive and reproduce after the exit of secondary beings, there should be a certain scale for establishing a new civilization, so of course, the more people who survive, the better.”
Xue Zheng stroked her chin, thinking seriously for a moment. “That makes sense. However, we have so many people here. If the radiation protection agents take out a wave, then regional wars take out another wave, and the solar flares hit before and after, even if only one percent of the population remains, that’s still not a small number. I don’t see a big problem.”
Wen Jing glanced out the window. “At the rate of devastation towards the end of the cycle, one percent might even be an optimistic estimate.”
Outside, heavy gray clouds drifted across the dim sky. Wen Jing stood up and opened the balcony door, stepping outside. Seeing that the upload still had a little time left, Xue Zheng followed her outside.
The wind began to pick up, and large clouds moved quickly. The occasional glimpse of the night sky felt oppressive, with no sign of starlight.
“Once the news is released tonight, there should be some movements from various countries by tomorrow. We’ve rested enough these past few days; let’s take advantage of the calm before the storm and head to the drilling platform to get the plane tomorrow morning,” Wen Jing said, looking up at the night sky.
“I’m fine with that,” Xue Zheng leaned against the balcony railing. “Are we going to the Federation or the Northern Continent?”
Wen Jing squinted at the distance. “Wherever people start monopolizing resources, that’s where we’ll go.”
Xue Zheng chuckled. “Robbing the rich to help the poor? I like that.”
Just then, the computer on the desk behind them pinged, indicating the upload was complete. They turned back inside, and Wen Jing watched Xue Zheng write code for a while until she completed the virus configuration and set the release time. Wen Jing finally stood up, stretched, and said, “It’s getting late. I’m going back to my room. You should get some rest too; we should be able to check results early tomorrow.”
Xue Zheng stood up as well, looking a bit excited. “Alright, tomorrow morning you’ll be in for a show.”
Wen Jing opened the door and returned to her room, slowly taking a bath in the bathroom. She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about upcoming plans, until sleepiness overtook her, and she turned over to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up to the sound of an alarm clock. Last night, she set an alarm to avoid missing breakfast time with her mom. Today, she needed to drive the fighter jet parked at the drilling platform, so she had to inform Wen Yang.
She quickly got out of bed, washed up, and changed her clothes. As she came out, she noticed Xue Zheng’s door was still closed. Usually, Xue Zheng didn’t get up this early. Wen Jing didn’t call her, instead heading down the stairs to the first floor.
Entering the dining room, she found Wen Yang sitting at the dining table with a cup of coffee, listening to the news. A steaming, hearty breakfast spread was laid out in front of her, with Hai Kui sitting across from her, reaching for bread. When she saw Wen Jing come in, she smiled with surprise. “Aunt, you’re up so early today!”
Wen Jing smiled and walked over to pat Hai Kui on the head. She pulled out a chair and sat down. Just as she was about to speak, Wen Yang raised a finger to signal her to hold on and listened to the morning news report.
[In the early hours of today, electronic devices of citizens from various countries suffered a virus invasion.]
[This virus forcibly stored a warning document in people’s mobile phone galleries, detailing the severity of the nuclear leak at Poli Port in the Northern Continent and the impending giant solar flares, stating that it would amplify the radiation impact of this leak on the global population, along with an escape guide and some unverified physiological knowledge information.]
[The Northern Continent immediately denied the nuclear leak issue mentioned in the virus, claiming it was just a small fire at the nuclear waste processing station, asserting that there was no harmful substance leak. They also stated that the virus was a conspiracy by the federal financial magnates, and a spokesperson issued stern condemnation of this.]
[The World Unity Organization’s Health Bureau has yet to respond to the scientific content in this document.]
Wen Jing sat at the dining table, listening as she sliced ham in front of her, placing pieces on a central plate for Hai Kui to pick at.
Once the news report segment ended, transitional music began to play. Only then did Wen Yang set her coffee cup down and look at Wen Jing with a knowing smile. “I guess once you finish this task, you’ll be heading out again?”
Wen Jing nodded. “We can’t let those upper-class people monopolize the reserves. Most of them can’t withstand radiation, and once resources are controlled, our world will be in real danger. Now that this news is out, they will definitely step up their resource transfer. The chaos at this key moment is the perfect opportunity for us.”
Wen Yang already knew about the cycle of civilization. Seeing her mother lost in thought, seemingly hesitant, Wen Jing added, “Mom, some things need us to push forward ourselves.”
Wen Yang looked at her for a moment before slowly saying, “There’s a typhoon coming tomorrow; this afternoon, I will send someone to take you to the drilling platform to get the fighter jet.”
When Wen Jing heard the first part about the typhoon, she thought her mom was going to stop her from going out. Just as she was about to argue, she heard the latter part about sending someone in the afternoon and was taken aback. Then she smiled, “Okay, thank you, Mom.”
“Aunt, are you going on another business trip?” Hai Kui was a bit confused but sensed it was something important that might relate to world peace. She raised her orange juice and toasted, “Wishing you success!”
Wen Jing smiled and gently clinked her coffee cup with Hai Kui’s. “I’ll be back successfully.”
After a while, Wen Yang finished her breakfast, gave her daughter a few last reminders, and left for the Territorial Waters Convention Agency headquarters. The fleets stationed in various seas had been sending back news frequently, so Wen Yang had been leaving early these days.
Not long after Wen Yang left, slow footsteps were heard coming from the stairs. Soon, Xue Zheng appeared at the doorway of the dining room. Seeing Wen Jing and Hai Kui there, she asked, “Did my heroic act make the news last night?”
Wen Jing laughed and opened the nearby news replay, “It did, it’s looping right now.”
Xue Zheng sat down to listen for a bit, then grinned. “Nice, feels good to be acknowledged for my efforts last night.” She then inquired about their plans.
Wen Jing told her about going to the drilling platform in the afternoon to get the fighter jet, to which Xue Zheng nodded with a piece of bread in her mouth, mumbling, “Alright, I’ll catch a quick nap, just wake me when it’s time.”
After they finished breakfast, Xue Zheng returned to her room to sleep. Wen Jing took Hai Kui upstairs to read storybooks until around two in the afternoon when Wen Yang’s secretary arrived downstairs.
Wen Jing called for Xue Zheng to get up, packed their gear, and took Hai Kui along as they got into the car. They first dropped Hai Kui off at the Territorial Waters Convention Agency headquarters, where there was an internal children’s activity center for employees. Wen Yang would occasionally pick up Hai Kui to play with other kids to keep her from being too lonely at home.
At that moment, the teacher at the children’s center was waiting at the door. Hai Kui got out of the car and greeted the teacher, then turned to wave at them as the car drove away, before following the teacher inside.
After dropping off Hai Kui, the car continued on to a remote government dock, where a discreet speedboat was waiting for them.
Wen Jing and Xue Zheng said goodbye to Wen Yang’s secretary and boarded the speedboat, heading towards the drilling platform in the northern sea where the fighter jets were parked.
The clouds hung low over the sea, creating a calm before the storm. They arrived at the drilling platform, climbed onto the helipad, and pulled back the cover to reveal the brand-new fighter jet they had captured earlier.
The two checked around the jet and found everything fine. They sat in the cockpit, and as the clouds in the distance lowered even further, Wen Jing pressed the start button, adjusted the fighter jet for takeoff, accelerated down the runway, and turned east towards the Federation.
They flew at supersonic speed for over two hours, reaching above the Eastern Federation. Wen Jing circled around the chosen flight route for a while until they quickly spotted their first target on this mission: the largest cargo transport plane in the Federation, the Prometheus-355.
