Did You Destroy the World Today?
Chapter 2: The Correct Usage of the Wristband

"Dead again..."

Lin Xu sat up from his bed, vigorously shaking his still-dazed head.

Mercenaries, gunfights, spaceport, spaceship, apocalyptic disaster...

No phone, no memories, completely cut off.

Had to force his way through...

Same old scenario.

But the good news was, this time he'd progressed further than before.

He raised his hand, where the silver-white wristband was slightly warm, displaying the number "2".

This thing was the key to his "resurrection".

A month ago, he'd received this wristband and first entered that "future world".

Back then, he thought he'd immediately start traveling between worlds, trading goods, and reaching the peak of life.

But he soon discovered it wasn't like that at all.

Every time he entered that world, he found himself on the way to attack a civilian spaceport.

And each time, he only had one final hour.

If he didn't board the rocket within that hour, that world would end in a very standard "apocalypse".

Intense flashes, radiation, explosions...

It wasn't like dreaming where you wake up instantly from falling.

He could feel the near-death experience with crystal clarity.

The burning pain, the discomfort of corroding organs, the suffocation before death, the intense dizziness...

Each departure came with brutal torment.

Fucking painful, alright?!

So many times, when all hope seemed lost, Lin Xu would snatch a gun from Skull Head and put it to his own temple.

At least that way out hurt less.

---Though speaking of which, what exactly was that apocalyptic flash?

Definitely not a nuke - Lin Xu had once tried not attacking the base, instead driving nearly 300 km/h to flee the city.

But no matter how far he ran, the flash would always blanket every inch of land indiscriminately.

What nuke has that kind of range?

The Tsar Bomba's total destruction radius was less than 150 km.

Maybe some kind of cosmic ray burst?

But if it were cosmic rays, what's the point of escaping by spaceship?

Without atmospheric protection, he'd die even faster in space.

Lin Xu didn't fully understand his other self's motives in that world, but based on current clues, the "hijack a spaceship to escape" plan was definitely well-considered.

After all, he'd gathered such a well-trained professional team and chosen targets quite deliberately.

Not attacking government bases, only civilian commercial ones.

Not hijacking cargo ships, only tourist spacecraft.

Such meticulous planning couldn't possibly mean the whole thing was a farce even if successful, right?

That would be truly absurd...

Lin Xu took a sip from the water glass by his bed, rubbing his throbbing head.

This was the side effect of entering the other world.

No physical exhaustion, but the mental toll was no joke.

Probably why the wristband had a number display.

When it hit zero, he couldn't enter again for a while.

Had to wait until his energy recovered before continuing to suffer in that world.

The number was still 2, but Lin Xu wasn't planning to continue.

Time for a midnight snack.

He grabbed his phone to order delivery when a WeChat notification popped up.

Opening it, the message was from his company's development team leader.

Jiang Xingye (Test Ship Flight Control Development Team Lead): "Dude, why haven't you updated your code section yet?"

Lin Xu checked the time.

22:32.

Message sent two minutes ago.

Talk about workaholic...

After brief consideration, Lin Xu typed back:

"Can't update yet, mainly PID control algorithm issues."

"Original code has multiple problems, especially servo jitter and excessive correction angles."

"Our current test board performance can't support sufficient servo output. To fix this, we'd need incremental PID control."

"But my tests show the increment process might cause unexplained servo lockup leading to crashes."

"Haven't found a solution yet, so can't update."

Sending it, Lin Xu sighed.

His current company was Tianqiong Technology, a private rocket firm - the same one he hijacked in the wristband's world.

While the company would thrive in 20 years, currently...

It left much to be desired.

In 2025, while considered a unicorn nationally, it couldn't hide its weak technical capabilities.

Claiming to build civilian rockets, but their creations hadn't even reached the stratosphere.

A fresh grad like himself counted as core development staff, and Jiang Xingye, just two years older, was already team lead.

Showed how desperate they were for talent.

No helping it - anyone remotely competent got scooped up by state teams, leaving only scraps.

Those like himself with skills but not joining state teams had their reasons.

Lin Xu simply wanted quick money.

After all, nearly a million yuan annual salary right after graduation wasn't something state teams could match.

As his thoughts drifted, Jiang Xingye called.

She got straight to the point:

"Could the crash be from PID increment speed being too fast?"

"Probably not."

Lin Xu instinctively shook his head answering:

"If it were overflow from rapid increase, simple limits would fix it."

"Tried that - didn't work."

"Would need step-by-step troubleshooting or complete rewrite."

Jiang Xingye's tone turned anxious:

"Not good, you need to hurry."

"Deadline's day after tomorrow for the executive presentation."

"We can't show a half-finished product! If the boss isn't happy, our second-half bonuses are toast!"

"I want bonuses too."

Lin Xu said helplessly:

"But sis, is this workload reasonable?"

"I was only supposed to handle servos, now parachute control's mine too - how can I manage?"

"I know..."

Jiang Xingye sighed.

"No choice - I'm team lead and coding too! Writing attitude adjustment algorithms - you've no idea how complex pintle control is... Never mind."

"Hang in there - I'll give you more bonus share later."

"...I'll think of something."

Lin Xu replied while tugging his hair. Hearing his exhaustion, Jiang Xingye comforted:

"That's work life, rookie. You'll get used to it."

"Want to grab late-night snacks? Maybe talking helps?"

"No thanks, I doubt snacks are what you really want."

Lin Xu declined:

"I'll order delivery, eat, then log back on to fix - expense the food money."

"You bastard... Whatever, eat alone then. Rest if tired - maybe dream up a solution?"

"Thanks for the thought."

Lin Xu distractedly answered while booting his computer, when suddenly - inspiration.

Dream up a solution?

Wait.

If the wristband world is 20 years later...

Then problems unsolvable now must have solutions there, right?

No - in that world, Tianqiong Tech must have mature flight control systems.

What if he just copied the code?

While physical items couldn't be brought back...

Could he really forget information memorized?

Lin Xu got instantly excited.

Was THIS the wristband's true purpose?

Hanging up, he raised his left hand.

The wristband's energy bar was slowly refilling, still showing 2 - meaning two more entries within 24 hours.

Enough!

With focused will, his consciousness suddenly emptied.

Once more, he appeared in that other world...