The red Arabic numerals on the display screen were flickering rapidly; the countdown timer clearly showed that there were only six hours, forty-eight minutes, and thirty-seven seconds remaining until the end of the world.

Of course, the time indicated by this countdown was the figure provided by Fang Senyan.

By Earth's standards of science, there was no way to prove the veracity of this number. Most people watched the data with feelings of tension, complexity, and even contradiction, as if a heavy stone had been pressed down upon their hearts.

The sky was azure, white clouds drifted by, and the sunshine was brilliant—there was no indication that in six hours, this beautiful world would be turned upside down, transformed into a despairing hell. Most people hoped that the damned prophecy was merely a clumsy hoax.

However, some people were secretly yearning for something, because if the prophecy did come to pass, immense opportunity would undoubtedly follow the disaster. The investors who funded the airship construction held even more cynical views; no one enjoyed seeing their painstaking efforts abandoned for nothing, or even sinking their capital completely!

After taking a sip of the coffee before him, Fang Senyan casually answered his ringing phone:

"Hello, what is it?"

Qin’s voice came through the line:

"There is something I think I need to bring to your attention."

"What??" Fang Senyan was instantly startled.

Qin sounded rather unconcerned:

"Mr. Jackson Kross, the gentleman you brought along, must have heard something recently. He has discovered the truth."

Fang Senyan took a deep breath:

"And then?"

"And then we confirmed that he left the base an hour ago. The process of his departure was surprisingly fortunate; it would have been difficult for someone else to replicate how he left," Qin said. "After checking, he didn't do anything to harm the base; he just took five first-class tickets. Since you were the one who recommended him, we didn't pay too much attention. However, the Professor thought it was worth mentioning to you."

Fang Senyan cursed softly under his breath, then began counting on his fingers:

"Mr. Kross’s ex-wife, Kate, his daughter Lily, his son Noah, and Kate’s current husband, Gordon—that makes four tickets. Oh, and Mr. Kross prepared one for himself."

Upon receiving this news, Fang Senyan immediately sprang from his chair, downed the coffee in front of him in one gulp, and began notifying his squad members:

"Guys, we have to move out immediately and handle something big."

"What?"

"What happened?"

"What went wrong now..." Fang Senyan sighed: "We overlooked Mr. Kross's personal feelings. He isn't a solitary man in this world; there are three people he cares about—his ex-wife and his two children. So, upon learning of the apocalypse, for the sake of great love, and naturally, paternal devotion, Mr. Kross chose to slip away to meet them."

"Damn it. How long has he been gone?"

"An hour."

"That's a blessing in disguise. We need to get him to a safe place before the other Contractors find him," Reef stated.

"That's exactly what I mean. Meet me at the base exit in two minutes," Fang Senyan replied.

"Wait." San Zai interjected: "Is there a possibility that the other Contractors have already taken control of Mr. Kross's family to use them as leverage to set a trap?"

"That possibility is slim," Reef countered. "Kross is an ordinary protagonist. Strip away his luck halo, and he’s just a regular person. The Space must offer him some protection. Unless he seeks them out himself, any malicious Contractor trying to find his family should only get information that those people are on vacation..."

Two minutes later, at the base entrance, Fang Senyan and his team unexpectedly met Qin and Storm Eye. Qin said seriously:

"Professor X asked me to accompany you. Based on what you've said, is this Mr. Kross apparently very important?"

Fang Senyan nodded:

"He should be. In future history, this gentleman plays a crucial role, much like figures such as Washington or Montgomery. Although the future should already be in our hands and altered, he is still an extremely vital figure who cannot suffer any accident."

Qin sighed:

"With something this important, why didn't you tell us earlier?"

Fang Senyan gave her a deep look:

"Do you think knowing too much about the future is a good thing? Prophets in human history always suffered terribly at the time of their deaths!"

Qin shivered slightly from Fang Senyan's gaze. After a moment, she said:

"If that's the case, then we will accompany you. Professor X remaining here should not pose a significant problem; this is also his intention."

Fang Senyan was about to refuse, but a thought flashed through his mind concerning Qin's psychic abilities, so he nodded his agreement.

Mr. Kross clearly intended to rush to Manhattan Beach, California, to bring his children aboard a ship. Given the target and the departure time, it was not too difficult for the Base organization, whose power had grown immensely, to investigate the situation.

Soon, firsthand information was transmitted: Sixteen minutes ago, Mr. Kross appeared at LaGuardia International Airport, attempting to bribe a pilot with a Rolex gold watch to fly him to Manhattan Beach. The pilot refused, not out of principle, but because he suspected the watch was fake...

Fang Senyan and his team immediately took a helicopter over. After landing at LaGuardia International Airport and taking only a few steps off the aircraft, Ramtas suddenly twitched his nose several times and reported to Fang Senyan:

"Master, there is a fresh scent of blood."

It was truly a case of what one fears most happening! Fang Senyan immediately had Ramtas lead the way, and they rushed into a hangar leased out for outside use, where they found a dead man. This fellow was clearly a pilot; his heart had been pierced, causing blood to spray violently across the surroundings, splattering the walls in a gruesome spectacle.

"The wound diameter is less than one centimeter, and the edges are extremely smooth. It's clear this wasn't caused by a bullet; the weapon was likely a rapier from Medieval Europe, or some other thin, sharp object," Fang Senyan concluded after pressing on the wound.

"Judging by the degree of blood coagulation, the killer left no more than ten minutes ago. In this world, there shouldn't be many ordinary people capable of using such a weapon. It seems the worst-case scenario has occurred: Mr. Kross has been targeted by Contractors."

As if to confirm Fang Senyan's assessment, gunshots and screams suddenly erupted from the airport office building nearby. The group quickly chased after the sound and saw airport security guards firing wildly, though it was unclear what they were shooting at.

But suddenly, a guard was hurled through a window, his body twisted unnaturally—his back of the head meeting his heels, contorted like a pretzel. He convulsed on the ground a few times before lying still, dead.

Immediately after, the entire building seemed to shudder, then seven or eight more people were violently flung out. Faced with this sight, the morale of the guards plummeted, and they retreated far away, refusing to approach.

Confronted with this situation, Fang Senyan charged forward recklessly, accelerating his pace, merely using his arms to shield his body in a symbolic gesture of protection! Then, with a mighty leap, he smashed through the ground-floor window and successfully entered. The anti-theft bars installed on the ground-floor windows were no more resistant to him than dried-out twigs, offering no resistance whatsoever!

After rolling to absorb the impact, Fang Senyan saw several corpses. Their deaths were all characterized by bodies twisted and wrung into pretzel shapes, a manner of death that would naturally squeeze out blood as if wringing a towel. However, the amount of blood left at the scene was far less than expected.

He had just reached the second floor of the office building when he felt the structure vibrate violently again. Looking up, he saw a thick, heavy leg the size of a washbasin crumble through the ceiling from the third floor with a crack. That foot had apparently smashed through the nearly half-meter-thick concrete floor, penetrating straight through.

When Fang Senyan rushed to the hole in the ceiling, the massive foot had already retracted, sand and grit raining down. Through the opening, he could see an extremely sturdy security door that appeared to have been struck by some terrifying force. The thick steel door had flown outward with a loud clang, warped and deformed like a piece of scrap paper. Amidst the screams and cries, he could tell that the projectile had also injured several airport employees hiding behind the door.

"This is interesting," Fang Senyan sneered, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Someone is trying to steal food right out of a tiger's mouth??"

With a running start, he managed to grab the edge of the hole on the third floor and skillfully pulled himself up. He immediately saw a massive, greyish-white back. Its exceedingly thick skin was covered in layer upon layer of wrinkles, giving the impression of the oppressive pressure felt when first encountering a Tyrant from Resident Evil.

It turned its head slightly, revealing a long, blood-red tusk, looking terribly ferocious. Then, as if sensing some movement, it swayed and began moving upstairs! How could Fang Senyan let this creature go? He immediately exerted force and charged forward.

However, suddenly, the air was filled with a chorus of high-pitched squeaks! From the doors of rooms on either side, two shadowy figures the size of small calves lunged out, converging on Fang Senyan!

Fang Senyan swayed his body, narrowly avoiding the lunge of one shadow, and simultaneously slammed his elbow down hard onto the head of the other shadow. It let out a miserable shriek, tumbled, and flew away struggling.

Only then did Fang Senyan clearly see what these two dark shapes were: two incredibly large, greyish-white rats!