At this juncture, Fang Senyan and his crew were almost certain that this fellow was either gone for good, or at the very least, rendered a completely paralyzed vegetable, forced to watch events unfold from the sidelines. Otherwise, eliminating their group would have been trivially easy; they could have acted moments before they plummeted into the volcano... a slightly adjusted volcanic bomb or even a minor mechanical glitch would have sufficed to finish everything.

With his monstrous abilities, even if they managed to survive, the group would surely be stripped raw!

Looking down from the helicopter now, the scenery on the ground was undeniably spectacular yet tragic. Especially near the coast, one could clearly see what appeared to be some immense power beneath the earth’s crust, violently forcing its way upward. A landmass nearly the size of half a city was buckling, fracturing, and the skyscrapers, cars, and other symbols of human technological and architectural prowess were helplessly tilting, collapsing, being destroyed, and then sliding helplessly into the sea.

In the opposing chasm where the crust had split, molten lava surged forth—a grand and bizarre spectacle, truly half fire and half sea!

Witnessing the ground torn asunder and ravaged, the children were the first to cover their mouths, letting out soft sobs. Gradually, tears welled up in the adults' eyes as well. Faced with such a catastrophe, notions like country, political party, or profession became meaningless drivel; the only thing that mattered was the survival of the entire race.

Flying several hundred kilometers out, it wasn't hard to observe that areas of flat plains suffered the worst during the earthquake. Mountainous regions, due to the generally thicker crust, fared relatively better. But that was only relative; the devastation caused by landslides and mudflows in the mountains was equally horrifying, with earthquakes registering at seven or eight on the Richter scale!

It was at this moment that Zi, who had been constantly fiddling with the radio frequencies, suddenly picked up a shrill, desperate shout, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. To the plot characters, this voice sounded utterly unfamiliar.

However, for Fang Senyan and those who had done their homework beforehand, they recognized it immediately: it was the radio broadcast of another crucial plot figure: Charlie Frost. He was a neurotic broadcaster/scientist who had uncovered the truth about the apocalypse, and the main protagonist acquired the map to Zhuoming Valley in Tibet from him.

When the government began to ease restrictions, Charlie started a broadcast program, reporting firsthand on the impending doom and even attempting to use animations to explain its cause. He ultimately witnessed the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano, his end coming there, as he declared, "I watched the ground split apart before my very eyes."

"The volcanic ash produced by this violent eruption will first shroud Las Vegas, then St. Louis, followed by Chicago."

"And finally!"

"The lights of Washington will be extinguished by this as well!"

Charlie was delivering his impassioned speech when, suddenly, his voice turned bewildered over the radio:

"Huh? Who are you people, and what do you want?"

"Ah..."

Then, the channel dissolved into static. Fang Senyan and Zi exchanged glances, simultaneously voicing the same thought:

"Someone is saving a doomed plot character? They are trying to change the narrative too!"

It was clear that Charlie, who was broadcasting live, had been rescued. These people must also be Contractors. Zi couldn't help but wonder aloud:

"Why would they save Charlie?"

Fang Senyan shook his head:

"I don't know. Is there anything special about this plot character?"

Reef pondered for a moment: "Logically, the remaining Contractors all chose the path of destruction. Their turning around to save someone is rather bizarre."

They were about to continue discussing this topic when, at that moment, Zi finally located the encrypted frequency. After inputting a series of relevant signals, she established a connection:

"This is Future Three, this is Future Three, calling Brain, calling Brain."

'Future' was the codename for this organization's legendary figure within the base, and 'Brain,' without question, referred to Professor X.

Soon, a response crackled back from the airship fleet 'Stonehenge,' commanded by Professor X:

"Glad to hear you are safe, my friends. How are your current circumstances?"

Fang Senyan managed a wry smile into the microphone: "Extremely bad. I'm currently sitting in a hijacked Black Hawk helicopter—I’m sure the Pentagon won't forgive my string of violent acts... More importantly, this helicopter's landing gear is twisted and warped even beyond the Leaning Tower of Pisa; it definitely won't be able to support the weight for landing."

"There is no Leaning Tower of Pisa anymore, nor does the Christ the Redeemer statue, towering 2,330 feet above sea level on Corcovado mountain, still stand," Professor X's calm voice transmitted: "Furthermore, the situation in your region is quite dire. I believe the Pentagon has little energy left to pursue the matter of one small Black Hawk helicopter. Lastly, I must ask, is there anything I can do to assist you?"

Fang Senyan asked seriously: "Where are you right now?"

Professor X replied: "We are still in New York."

"What? You're still in New York?" Fang Senyan frowned. "Be careful of the storms accompanying the tsunami. Our shelter needs to reach the top of the troposphere before they hit to avoid them."

Professor X gave a bitter laugh: "There’s no choice; we have to take the risk. Mr. Sailor, the timing you provided for the apocalypse seems to have been a bit premature, causing us considerable trouble and loss. Therefore, we must spend extra time in New York selecting some suitable personnel."

Hearing Professor X say this, Fang Senyan immediately understood the awkward position Professor X and his group were in, having nearly been mistaken for frauds. He apologized sincerely: "My apologies. There were indeed minor errors in the calculation, but you must be careful. Calculate the timing precisely, so you don't lose the greater prize for the sake of a small one."

Professor X sought to comfort Fang Senyan: "For something as monumental as the end of the world, a slight temporal discrepancy is hardly anything to worry about. As for the storms, we have Storm's abilities; she can sense their approach ahead of time. We still plan to remain in New York for another two hours. Do you intend to join us now?"

Fang Senyan flatly refused: "No, the fuel in the aircraft is still sufficient for now. Oh, by the way, how is Mr. Jackson Klust, the man I sent someone to retrieve?"

Professor X responded: "As you indicated, this unsuccessful writer is an important nexus point for the future, so we have protected him well. However, he is not in New York; he is in Washington."

Fang Senyan inquired: "What happened?"

Professor X explained: "The helicopter he was riding was attacked by unknown individuals. We later dispatched a Vampire Duke to intervene and finally repelled those attackers. Then the apocalypse struck. To ensure safety and avoid combat as much as possible, they moved to the nearest location, Washington."

"Then I'll head to Washington," Fang Senyan decided immediately.

Professor X stated: "At the government's request, we also collaborated to set up a sub-factory for our airships in Washington. They should be there now. Mystique is currently managing that site. We can have her transfer administrative control to you... Due to inhaling large amounts of volcanic ash, this Black Hawk's speed could never be pushed to its limit. Any slight attempt to accelerate would cause the engine to cough like an old man who has smoked for sixty or seventy years. Thus, the time it took them to reach Washington was considerable. Fortunately, they arrived just in time."

After learning that his ex-wife, son, and daughter were safe, Mr. Jackson Klust was undoubtedly ecstatic, waving a flare desperately below. However, the helicopter’s landing gear was broken, so Zi had to hover it a meter above the ground while the passengers disembarked first.

Mr. Klust shared intensely emotional hugs with his daughter and son, but he seemed somewhat awkward facing his ex-wife, Kate. However, upon seeing Doctor Gordon jump off the plane with the sexy Miss Brooke on his back—also looking rather embarrassed—Mr. Klust decisively hugged Kate tightly as well, and Kate dissolved into tears.

Next, Zi guided the helicopter to a distance, where Reef used the Hand of God to pull her from the cockpit. This way, even though the helicopter crashed and became a fireball, the passengers all landed safely.

At this moment, watching the joyful reunion of Mr. Jackson Klust’s family, Fang Senyan and his team received a series of notifications:

"Ace Silver Team, you have completed the Sudden Mission: Jackson Klust's Commission."

"Jackson Klust’s ex-wife, Kate, son Noah, and daughter Lily survived the subsequent global apocalypse."

"Furthermore, you saved the important plot character Doctor Gordon and his girlfriend; your mission rating has been improved."

"Each of you will receive..."

"Data disruption, calculating rewards..."

"Each of you will receive one Universal Point reward."

Upon seeing this reward, everyone immediately started shouting curses, but thankfully, soon after, a notification from Noah C Space transmitted:

"As compensation for completing this Sudden Mission, I will issue rewards to you... The reward is two wishes, naturally, provided they fall within the scope of the reward and do not exceed my clearance. You had better consider carefully, because once a wish is made, even if I cannot fulfill it, it will count as you having wasted one wish."

Fang Senyan considered for a moment and proposed in the team channel: "Can I be the one to decide these two wishes?"

Seeing Fang Senyan say this, the others had no objections; this was Fang Senyan's privilege. Therefore, he quickly stated: "My first wish is..."

Can anyone guess Fang Senyan's wish? Hmph hmph, if someone guesses correctly, I will add an extra chapter! Absolutely no defaulting. RQ