Chapter 792 - 748: The Game

On the 15th, at 00:29 in the early morning, Capital time.

Zhong Cheng landed at the base runway on a C810 and, after a few people converged, they directly exchanged information on the open ground.

The major actions from above inevitably involved New Yuan, which also required New Yuan’s cooperation. Ultimately, it was Zhong Cheng who rushed to engage in discussions with Lin Ju.

The brief content made Lin Ju’s heart skip a beat, but he was also impressed by the decisiveness in turning a sudden crisis into an opportunity and ultimately expressed his willingness to fully cooperate.

He also knew that the six An-1250s were ready and had been temporarily assigned to the First Air Delivery Team—they would take off en masse in a few hours.

Even now, the roaring of jet engines could still be occasionally heard in the midnight sky, often several at a time.

Even several of New Yuan’s JH-9 fighter-bombers, which hadn’t yet been delivered from the factory, were urgently painted with numerical codes and taken away before their pre-delivery tests were complete.

He took a deep breath of the midnight air, cool and refreshing, then exhaled and asked Zhong Cheng:

"What’s the reaction from the Pentagon now, any trouble?"

Zhong Cheng chuckled disdainfully and shook his head.

"Creating a mess and wanting to clean it up quickly, there’s no such free lunch."

Shen Zuozhou expressed some concern: "Could it affect next year? Too much infighting isn’t good."

Zhong Cheng said, "In my opinion, this is actually a better opportunity to clarify the strength and status of both sides to foster better cooperation! Especially understanding oneself, sometimes you need someone else to lend a hand."

Lin Ju echoed his sentiment:

"For that kind of partner who’s harboring evil intentions at such a time, a heavy hand is a must. Otherwise, negotiations will hardly be peaceful and amicable."

Bathed in moonlight, the group burst into laughter together, looking up to appreciate the perfect full moon in the sky, not a flaw to be seen, utterly intact.

...

Capital, the workers’ residential area.

Academician She, who had already retired, had no regrets and was enjoying his retirement life very peacefully, except he often found it hard to fall asleep and his sleep quality wasn’t very good.

However, thankfully, New Yuan kept providing him with "An Shenduo." Taking a dose two to three hours before bedtime allowed him to read a bit energetically and enjoy high-quality sleep, although it couldn’t be used every day.

Unfortunately, he had taken a dose just yesterday, and he had also rested in the afternoon, so he really couldn’t sleep at night, feeling somewhat restless.

Checking his phone, it was already past 1 a.m. Academician She decided to fetch some water; there should still be some warm water in the thermos.

Groping in the dark, he switched on the light and leisurely poured water, but then he heard noises coming from the adjacent bedroom.

Without a doubt, it was his grandson staying up late playing games again, but he had no intention of advising him to sleep early.

Academician She’s grandson had just started working this year, landing a field job with an oil company. His work hours weren’t very regular, typically working for a period before taking a break, and he was on holiday yesterday, so staying up late gaming was quite normal.

...

"Charge at point D!"

Wearing headphones, She Fei was completely immersed in the world of WT, the game. What could be more relaxing and soothing than WT?

She Fei, wild-eyed in the heat of the battle, was engaging in a vigorous fight on the Asian server, occasionally mumbling words of praise like "Pegasus."

"Wei, get moving! What the hell is your left hand doing?"

The teammate scolded by his roar didn’t respond for a long while, still clumsily maneuvering the controls; only after some time did a deliberately lowered voice come through the headset:

"My mom hasn’t gone to bed yet, the keyboard was too loud just now. If I get caught, it’s definitely all your fault."

Unlike She Fei, Wei was still just an ordinary high school student. If he was caught staying up late playing video games, he was sure to get a beating, especially early on a Tuesday morning.

"Fei, I’m logging off after this match, I’ve got an early class tomorrow."

"Ahhhh, this ****... What? Fine, if we win this round, I’ll log off too... Damn it all ahhhh!"

In a Song Xiong apartment, Wei crouched in his chair, wearing a headset and even covering himself with a blanket, since the loud sound from the over-ear headphones might be heard, and that would be disastrous.

She Fei was a good friend he’d known for a year. Even though he was much older, they got along well and often played games together, knowing each other’s specific circumstances.

Wei kept an eye on the gap under the door while trying his best to cooperate with She Fei.

Midway through the game, She Fei had already realized the situation was beyond salvation. While outputting a string of expletives, he also felt a bit tired and slowed down the pace to chat with Wei.

"Little Wei, I’m going on a business trip the week after next, pretty close to where you are. I’ll come and hang out with you then. I’ve heard you’re really good at basketball."

"You’re joking, I’m super brave you know... When you come, I’ll skip class to see you. Pineapples are really cheap lately, practically free, I’ll treat you to your fill."

"Skipping class isn’t good, how about you treat me to scallion pancakes instead?"

"Fei, how many times have I told you that’s not our local snack here, you should go to Jingu for that... Hey hey hey, Fei, there’s a jet, we’re gonna die!"

She Fei, who was reaching for a bag of chips, was taken aback and only after a moment replied:

"A plane? This is a low-tier game room, where would a jet come from?"

"Ah, it seems like there really isn’t one, but I definitely just heard the sound of a jet engine, did I hear wrong?"

"You must be hallucinating, Little Wei, hurry up and finish the game so we can log off."

"Alright... Hey, I feel the desk vibrating, there isn’t going to be an earthquake, is there?"

She Fei on the other end was startled. If it really was an earthquake, that would be dangerous. He was about to speak when he continued to hear Wei’s voice:

"Damn, it really seems like there’s an earthquake, the windows are clattering!"

"Wei, run for it!"

Wei didn’t care about waking his mom, he immediately stood up and pulled aside the curtains, then saw a sight he would never forget:

Less than ten meters from his apartment, a massive shadow with a long tail of fire plunged diagonally to the ground. In the darkness, there was a sudden burst of flame that leapt into the sky.

With the help of that blast, Wei saw the gray coating and shattered canopy of the dark, massive object.

The object, weighing more than ten tons, hit the street next to the apartment and caused a massive tremor, followed by a secondary explosion. The rapidly expanding flames shattered the closed windows of nearby buildings, and in an instant, the night was filled with the sound of breaking glass, explosions, heavy objects falling, and midnight screams.

In the dark night sky, a larger shadow with two long tails of fire shot across like a nightingale, leaving behind the distinctive boom of jet engines.

"Wei, Wei! Are you okay?"

The tremendous noise alerted She Fei on the other end that something was wrong, and he kept calling out for Wei, waiting a long time before he heard the other’s voice:

"Ah, Fei, there wasn’t an earthquake."

"That’s good... then what was it, I think I also heard the sound of a jet?"