It was, of course, based on the time provided by Sheyan.
As far as the level of science in this world was concerned, there was no way to prove that this figure was right. Most people looked at the number with an apprehensive, complicated, and contradictory feeling. But without exception, their hearts were as heavy as stone.
The sky was blue, the clouds were drifting, and the sun was s.h.i.+ning bright. There was not a single sign that in six hours, this beautiful world would be turned upside down and become a hopeless purgatory. Most people were still hoping that the d.a.m.n prophecy was just a bad joke.
But some were secretly looking forward to the apocalypse, because if the prophecy really did come true, the world after the disaster would no doubt be a world of great opportunities. This dark mentality was especially prevalent among those who invested in the construction of the airs.h.i.+ps. No one liked to have their painstaking efforts abandoned in vain, or wasted without anything in return!
***
After taking a sip of coffee, Sheyan answered his ringing phone.
"h.e.l.lo, what's the matter?"
Jean's voice came from the other side of the phone. "There something that I feel I should inform you about."
"What's that?" Sheyan started having a bad feeling.
"The guy called Jackson Curtis that you brought here seemed to have heard some rumours. He started snooping around and found out the truth."
Sheyan inhaled a deep breath. "And then?"
"We've confirmed that he's left the base an hour ago. The way he left the base was full of lucky chances. Everything seemed to have gone his way. Any other person would find it hard pressed to replicate the process," said Jean. "We investigated the incident and found that he had not done anything harmful to the base. He just took five first cla.s.s tickets with him. We didn't really think much of it because he was recommended here by you, but the professor thinks we should notify you about it."
Sheyan cursed under his breath and hung up the phone. He started counting on his fingers. "Curtis' former wife Kate, his daughter Lilly, his son Noah, and Kate's current boyfriend Gordon. They only account for four tickets. Oh, Mr. Curtis must be preparing one for himself as well. "
Sheyan bounced off his chair, gulped down the cup of coffee, and informed his party members.
"Guys, we have to go out and do something big right now."
"What?"
"What happened?"
"What's wrong?"
"....."
Sheyan sighed. "We've neglected the personal feelings of the protagonist, Mr. Jackson Curtis. He's not alone in this world. There are three people he cares about: his ex-wife and his two children. After finding out about the apocalypse, Curtis has decided to go out and find them, for the sake of love."
"F*cking h.e.l.l. How long has he been gone?"
"An hour."
"Okay, at least that's not too bad. We have to get him to a safe place right away, before the other contestants find him," said Reef.
"That's what I think too. I'll see you guys at the base exit in two minutes," said Sheyan.
"Hold on a minute," Sanzi suddenly interrupted, "Could it be possible that other contestants have already have Curtis' family under control and are using them to blackmail him, as well as set a trap for us?"
"It's unlikely," answered Reef, "Curtis is just an ordinary protagonist. He's an ordinary human without his exceptional MC luck. Therefore, the Realm would definitely give him extra protection. Any contestant who tries to seek out his family with malicious intent would only get the information that they've left home for a holiday. They can only be found if Jackson Curtis seeks them out himself."
***
Two minutes later, at the base exit, Sheyan unexpectedly ran into Jean and Cyclops.
"Professor X asked me to go with you. From the sound of it, that Jackson Curtis seems to be someone very important?" asked Jean.
Sheyan nodded. "You can say that. He will play a very important role in the future, similar to Was.h.i.+ngton and Montgomery. Although the future has changed because of what we've done, but in any case, we can't let any accident happen to someone important like him."
Jean sighed. "Why didn't you tell us about such an important thing?"
Sheyan gave her a deep stare. "Do you think it's a good idea to know so much about the future? All the prophets who have ever appeared in the course of human history have died in horrible ways!"
Sheyan's stare sent chills down Jean's spine. After a while, she said, "If that's the case, then let us go with you. With Professor X here, the base won't encounter too much of a problem. This is his wish too."
Sheyan initially wanted to refuse, but when he thought of Jean's superpower, he nodded instead.
***
Jackson Curtis clearly intended to go to Manhattan Beach in California to pick up his ex-wife and children and bring them to the airs.h.i.+ps. Knowing who the target was and his time of departure, it was not difficult for the organisation, which was already an exceptionally large force by now, to find out everything about him.
Intel of him soon arrived. Sixteen minutes ago, Jackson Curtis had appeared in LaGuardia Airport and had tried to bribe one of the pilots there with a Rolex to take him to Manhattan Beach. The pilot refused, not because he was a pilot with principles, but because he suspected the watch to be fake....
Party Ace immediately rushed over to LaGuardia Airport with a helicopter. Upon arrival, they had only taken a few steps out of the helicopter when Ramtas suddenly twitched his nose a few times and told Sheyan, "I smell fresh blood, Master."
That's what they were afraid of! Sheyan immediately instructed Ramtas to lead the way. They sprinted behind Ramtas and arrived in a rented hangar, where they found a corpse. The dead man was obviously a pilot. His cause of death was a stab to the heart, so blood had sprayed everywhere. The b.l.o.o.d.y scene was truly a horrible sight.
"The diameter of the wound is less than a centimeter, and the edges are very smooth. It's definitely not a bullet wound. The murder weapon should be something slender and sharp, like a rapier from medieval Europe," judged Sheyan based on the wound.
"Based on the degree of blood coagulation, the murderer hasn't left for more than ten minutes. There should be very few ordinary people in this world who can use a weapon like this. In other words, the worst case scenario has occurred. Jackson Curtis has been found by other contestants."
As if to confirm Sheyan's judgment, gunshots and screams suddenly came from an office building not far away. The team quickly rushed over and saw airport securities frantically firing their guns at something.
But all of a sudden, a guard broke through the window and flew out, his body almost folded in half! Simply put, the back of his head was touching his heels. After he crashed to the ground, he twitched a few times before he turned stiff.
Then, the whole building seemed to shake, and seven or eight more people were thrown out of the windows. The airport securities were demoralised to see this. All of them retreated far away and did not dare to approach the building anymore.
On the contrary, upon witnessing this situation, Sheyan charged forward violently with only his arms crossed in front of his body for protection! Then, with a leap, he broke through the window on the first floor and successfully burst into the building. The anti-theft bars installed on the first floor window broke like dried twigs; they could do nothing to stop him!
After a roll to soften his landing, Sheyan climbed back up and saw several dead corpses in front of him. All of them had died from their body being severely twisted. This method of dying would naturally cause their blood to be squeezed out of them like water being squeezed out of a wet towel, but the blood left on the scene was far less than what it should have been.
Just as he rushed up to the second floor of the office building, he felt the building tremble again. He raised his head and actually saw a giant foot as thick as an elephant's breaking through the second-floor ceiling. The foot had stomped through the concrete floor of the third floor which was nearly half a meter thick, crus.h.i.+ng the concrete into pieces and penetrating down to the second floor.
By the time Sheyan ran to the spot where a hole had been made in the ceiling, the huge foot had already been retracted back up. Debris rustled down from the ceiling. From the hole, he saw a st.u.r.dy-looking anti-theft door that was sent flying by some sort of terrifying force. The heavy steel door was deformed like a crumpled piece of paper. From the ensuing screams, the door had apparently injured several airport staff hiding behind it.
"Interesting," Sheyan's lips curled into a sneer. "Someone actually dare to come steal food from the tiger's mouth?"
After a run-up, he grabbed the edge of the hole on the ceiling and pulled himself up. He instantly saw a huge greyish-white figure with lots of foldings on its thick skin. The pressure it gave off was akin to a Tyrant in Resident Evil.
When it turned its head to the side, its long, ferocious fangs, the colour of blood, were immediately visible. It seemed to have heard something and proceeded to move upstairs. Of course Sheyan would not let the thing go. He instantly pushed forward.
But all of a sudden, a sharp noise was heard! Two dark silhouettes as large as calves rushed out of the room to the left and right of Sheyan without warning and pounced on him from both sides!
Sheyan rotated his body to the side to avoid the attack of one of the dark silhouettes, while simultaneously smas.h.i.+ng an elbow into the head of the other dark silhouette from below. The struck silhouette "squeaked" as it flew away.
Only now could Sheyan see that the two dark silhouettes were actually extraordinarily large greyish-white mice!
