fictionpage Chapter 303 Li Zhenguo's Despair and Hope
Chapter 303 Li Zhenguo's Despair and Hope
Beijing, Command Center No. 1.
The atmosphere was so oppressive, it felt like you could wring water out of it.
Li Zhenguo, his eyes bloodshot, stared intently at the enormous holographic projection in front of him. On the projection was the dead planet codenamed "CE-279," and its unwavering, straight, crimson orbit pointing directly towards Earth.
Three hours have passed since the official global announcement from China.
During those three hours, he received urgent calls from more than sixty heads of state from all over the world.
The content of the phone calls was largely the same.
From initial shock and doubt, to later panic and seeking verification, and finally to pleading and begging to live.
This includes the top-secret hotline from the White House.
On the phone, the once high and mighty President of the United States, in an almost pleading and humble tone, expressed his willingness to "submit" to him and to China.
"Minister Li... no, Mr. Li! On behalf of the United States of America, I extend my highest respect to you, to China, and to that great being!"
"We were wrong! We were so wrong! We're willing to pay any price for all our past foolishness and arrogance!"
"Please convey this message to that being! If he can rescind this 'divine punishment,' America is willing to surrender everything we have! Technology, military, wealth... even our sovereignty!"
"We are willing to be China's most loyal allies—no, its servants! We are willing to protect this world for it, forever!"
Listening to those humble, almost shameful words on the other end of the phone, Li Zhenguo felt no pleasure whatsoever.
Only, cold.
Bone-chilling cold.
Divine punishment?
No, he knew that this might not be some kind of divine punishment.
He remembered the phone call from He Yuzhu.
"The beginner village's welfare period is almost over."
"The real game is about to begin."
So, this is what they call the "real game"?
Using an asteroid powerful enough to destroy the world as the opening scene of the game?
What a crazy, and what a cold-blooded move this is!
Li Zhenguo felt a chill run down his spine, a chill that came from the depths of his soul.
For the first time, he felt a slight unease about his husband's words, "The sky won't fall down."
Is the sky really so big that it won't collapse?
"minister!"
A communications officer rushed to his side and handed him a newly printed document.
"This is the final conclusion we reached after integrating all the proposals from all the world's top research institutions."
Li Zhenguo took the document, glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
At the very end of the document, there was only one line, highlighted in bold red: the conclusion.
"With the current level of human technology, the possibility of intercepting or destroying 'CE-279' is...zero."
zero!
A cold, despairing number.
Li Zhenguo's hand trembled slightly, and the thin piece of paper fluttered to the ground.
Several senior generals and strategists around him also saw the words, and their faces instantly turned pale.
"How could it be... how could it be zero?" an old general in charge of aerospace engineering muttered to himself. "We... we still have the 'Dongfeng' series, don't we? We still have space-based kinetic energy weapons under development, don't we?"
"It's no use, General." A scientist beside him shook his head bitterly. "Our calculation model has already taken into account all the most ideal scenarios. Even if we precisely delivered all the nuclear warheads we have to it and detonated them, we still couldn't shake its main structure. Its mass is too great."
"What's more, it has an outer layer of energy shield that we can't understand. Our weapons simply can't get close to it."
"Then...what should we do? Are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die?" A young staff officer was losing control of his emotions, and his voice was trembling with tears.
"Shut up!" Li Zhenguo suddenly turned around and shouted sharply.
His eyes were like those of a lion driven to the brink of despair.
"Who said we're just waiting to die?"
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
In his mind, every word the master had said echoed over and over again.
"The sky won't fall down."
"A game needs rules."
"Select those who are qualified to live."
filter……
Yes! Screening!
A flash of lightning seemed to strike Li Zhenguo's mind!
He understood!
This is not a certain death trap!
This is an exam!
A global exam, personally set by Mr. [Name]!
The question is: How to survive!
And the answer... the answer must lie in the set of "rules" that the gentleman himself established!
"A meritorious service!"
Li Zhenguo suddenly raised his head and looked at the huge rubbing of the "List of the World's Most Valuable Materials" on the wall.
His gaze was fixed intently on the bottom of the list, on the notes that everyone had subconsciously ignored before.
"Special Exchange Item: National Merit Points, which can be used to exchange for 'Divine Protection'. Protection range: 100 million merit points/square kilometer/year."
God's protection!
This is the answer!
This is what the Master left them, the "one that has vanished"!
"Hurry! Hurry!" Li Zhenguo's voice was shrill with excitement. "Immediately! Contact the Divine Chef's Hall! Contact Kunlun Dao Academy!"
"Use all of our national merit reserves! No! That's not enough! Convert all the technology we just acquired from Europe and America into merit!"
"I want to exchange! I want to exchange for 'Divine Protection'! To cover our entire territory of China, 9.6 million square kilometers!"
Li Zhenguo's roar shook the entire command center.
Everyone realized what was happening!
Yes! They still have "meritorious service"! They still have their last trump card!
The liaison personnel immediately rushed towards the two red, encrypted phones.
However, before they could even dial the number...
In the command center, all the screens—whether displaying asteroid orbits or broadcasting news of riots in various places—went black out at the same time.
Followed by.
Lines of ancient Chinese characters, radiating golden light, appeared simultaneously on all the screens, like divine pronouncements.
At the same time, it appeared on every still-functioning television, computer, and mobile phone screen around the world.
That golden light seemed to carry a mysterious power that soothed people's hearts.
The riots and cries all over the world, at this moment, strangely ceased.
Everyone subconsciously raised their heads and looked at the divine script that seemed to be directly imprinted on the depths of their souls.
Although most people cannot understand the specific meaning of those words.
But they could clearly sense the grand yet indifferent message conveyed behind those words.
Inside Command Center One.
Li Zhenguo, too, stared blankly at the screen, at those square characters that he knew all too well.
His mouth was slightly open, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Beside him, the chief Chinese advisor was translating the oracle word by word in a dreamlike voice.
"Announcement to all players of 'Earth Online':"
"The global event, 'Catastrophe Invasion,' has officially begun."
"Background: The remains of the ancient interstellar civilization 'Leviathan' are being pulled toward Earth by an unknown force."
"Event objective: To completely purify or destroy 'Leviathan' before it impacts the Earth's surface."
Event Rules:
"I. This event is a global PVE (player versus environment) activity, open to participation from all countries and individuals."
"Second, killing various 'Disaster Beasts' derived from 'Leviathan' spores will earn you personal merit points and national merit points."
"Third, the top ten countries in terms of contribution to the event will receive generous rewards. The country with the highest contribution will gain exclusive jurisdiction over a portion of the world's wonder building, the Tower of Babel."
"Fourth, if the event fails and 'Leviathan' crashes to the Earth, it will trigger a global ecological reboot. At that time, the final ranking of each country's contribution to this event will determine whether their civilization is eligible to receive 'divine protection' and continue to exist."
"New Player Benefits:"
"The Divine Chef's Hall will be open for the exchange of 'Wartime Supply Packs'."
"Kunlun Dao Academy will release three beginner-level, restraining techniques specifically designed to counter the 'Cataclysmic Beasts'."
"The Sky Dome Martial Alliance will release the 'Cataclysmic Beast' illustration and weakness analysis."
"Enjoy the game, everyone!"
"—Earth Online, Game Design Team"
The translation is complete.
The whole world fell into an even more eerie, deathly silence than before.
Li Zhenguo stared blankly at the screen, at the final message: "Wishing all players a pleasant gaming experience."
His mind went completely blank.
game……
joy?