Did You Destroy the World Today?
Chapter 6: Definitely Save You

It happened again.  

Lin Xu struggled to get out of bed, the unbearable pain from the apocalypse rippling through his entire body like waves.  

Damn...  

This hurt way too much.  

He hadn’t exited the bracelet world this way for a long time, and for a moment, there was even a slight sense of relief.  

What the hell?  

Had this thing really been set up like this?  

Lin Xu scratched his head hard and recalled the scene just before the apocalypse.  

Jiang Xingye’s anxious, frantic face was still vivid in his mind—no kidding, although she was already in her forties twenty years from now, she had a certain charm at first glance.  

She didn’t look like she was forty; more like she was just in her early thirties?  

Especially when her hair fluttered, she looked exactly like some fated female lead in a music video.  

She was really an A8-level beauty. People with good foundations barely showed the marks of time on their faces.  

—Wait a minute.  

How did this derail so much?  

His mind was a bit messy, as if he hadn’t slept enough.  

Lin Xu sat down in front of the computer and opened a new document, typing two words for the title.  

“Clues.”  

Before this, he had never done something like this—not out of laziness, but simply because he had never experienced the “bracelet world changing because of the real world.”  

So, instinctively, he believed that the bracelet world was parallel to the real world.  

Although most things were very similar, even continuous, that thing might just be like a game that had no real connection to reality.  

But now it was clear this guess was wrong.  

That was the world twenty years later—real and tangible.  

The apocalypse would happen in twenty years, unchangeable.  

Twenty years...  

What should he do?  

After a brief moment of thought, Lin Xu started a new line and typed the clues he had gathered so far.  

[First: The apocalypse event occurs one hour after entering the bracelet; one hour later, the world is destroyed on time.]  

[Second: The apocalypse manifests as a massive flash, but nuclear weapons can be ruled out because no subsequent nuclear damage (such as overpressure or shockwaves) was observed.]  

[Third: After the apocalypse, the human world is completely destroyed (no survivors found).]  

These three clues were Lin Xu’s “basic laws” of the bracelet world, verified dozens of times so far.  

Next, he continued typing more clues.  

[The bracelet world changes due to changes in the real world; the two worlds are on the same timeline or can influence each other to some degree (uncertain).]  

Lin Xu wasn’t so sure about this clue. Theoretically, if the two worlds really shared the same timeline, even the tiniest changes in the real world would be reflected in the bracelet world.  

But it wasn’t like that now; only “major events” or “key moments” caused the bracelet world to change accordingly.  

Like when he solved the flight control algorithm ahead of time.  

So, judging from this, the connection between the two worlds might be more complicated?  

This was also a pressing question to solve.  

If he figured out the link between the two worlds, future exploration of the bracelet world would be much easier.  

The next step was to find a way to verify this.  

Lin Xu kept typing, arriving at the latest and most critical clue.  

Jiang Xingye.  

[Jiang Xingye issued him a warning about the apocalypse through special means before it arrived; she learned the apocalypse information early but with limited advance notice (uncertain).]  

This was the most puzzling point for Lin Xu.  

How did she know? By what means did she learn it?  

So, he wasn’t the only one who knew about the apocalypse twenty years later?  

Then how did that future self know?  

These questions were basically the same question, which led further into the “truth of the apocalypse.”  

Not easy to solve.  

Lin Xu saved the document with a shortcut and grabbed a Coke from the fridge, gulping it down. His somewhat dazed mind cleared up a lot.  

Checking the time, it was 10:30.  

Should he find Jiang Xingye for a late-night snack?  

Although directly asking her “how did you know the apocalypse was coming” would definitely get no answer, maybe deepening their understanding would uncover some clues?  

Lin Xu immediately took out his phone and messaged Jiang Xingye.  

“Come out for a late-night snack?”  

After a moment, Jiang Xingye replied.  

Jiang Xingye (Test Ship Flight Control Development Team Leader): “Not iron buddy, you’re really hungry, huh?”  

Lin Xu: “A bit, haven’t eaten yet, right?”  

Jiang Xingye: “Are you just thinking about food? Not tonight, I’m busy.”  

Lin Xu: “When are you free then?”  

Jiang Xingye: “??? Trying to provoke me? Not falling for it.”  

Lin Xu: “No, really busy. Got something serious to talk to you about.”  

Jiang Xingye: “Oh... I thought you were just desperate.”  

Jiang Xingye: “Alright, come out then. I have something too; was going to tell you tomorrow. Since you want to go out tonight, might as well talk together.”  

Lin Xu: “Planning to confess? Then I’m not coming.”  

Jiang Xingye: “Planning to be your stepmom! Ten minutes, see you downstairs.”  

Lin Xu chuckled, put down his phone, and quickly changed clothes.  

He and Jiang Xingye both lived in apartments not far from the company, just a few floors apart, so meeting up was quite convenient.  

Heading out and downstairs, the elevator stopped halfway. Jiang Xingye entered. Lin Xu was stunned by her outfit.  

“You’re coming out dressed like this??”  

Jiang Xingye was wearing a fluffy set of pajamas, wrapped up tightly, her makeup removed, hair down, carrying a huge water cup—almost a completely different person from the daytime Jiang Xingye.  

But...  

Actually, she looked quite good.  

Jiang Xingye rolled her eyes.  

“Dude, I just showered and was about to lie down.”  

“Finally finished a project phase; I haven’t gone to bed before midnight in a long time. When there’s a chance, gotta catch up on sleep, right?”  

“Here, help me carry this.”  

Lin Xu took the water cup, smiling awkwardly.  

“I thought you girls always paid extra attention to your appearance when going out...”  

He turned his head away. Jiang Xingye chuckled slyly, a mischievous light flashing in her eyes.  

“We science girls are like this... only dress like this when going out. If I were going to your place to eat, I wouldn’t be wearing this.”  

“At least gotta put on the battle robe!”  

Lin Xu was speechless, pouting.  

“...Cut it out. Your mouth’s on fire. As soon as I ask, you tell me to scram.”  

“What, am I not your target fish?”  

“I’d punch a hole right through you...”  

Jiang Xingye gave him a sideways glance. The two walked out of the elevator, heading to a small night market street near the apartment and casually picked a shop to sit down.  

Actually, Lin Xu wasn’t that hungry; entering the bracelet world had drained some energy.  

So he didn’t order much: a few skewers and two bowls of porridge.  

Jiang Xingye didn’t let Lin Xu drink soda, saying the work was too tiring and he had to pay attention to health. She asked the shop owner for cups and poured some codonopsis and wolfberry tea for both of them.  

While waiting for the dishes, Lin Xu asked:  

“So, what did you want to talk about?”  

“Weren’t you the one who found me first? You go ahead!”  

Jiang Xingye blew on the scalding tea. After a brief pause, she shook her head.  

“Fine, I’ll go first.”  

“The Test 3 project is about to enter the implementation phase. Early development is basically finished; the simulation results are great.”  

“I expect that your workload in this project will decrease a lot.”  

“That’s awesome!”  

Lin Xu asked cheerfully:  

“How long can I slack off?”  

“Slack off my ass!”  

Jiang Xingye gave him a displeased glare.  

“We’re a private company. Can a private company be the same as the government? If you slack now, you’ll gradually be marginalized.”  

“Didn’t you come here to earn enough for retirement before 35? Fight hard one more time!”  

“You’ve been doing well lately. I recommended you to join a new project with me.”  

“A new project?”  

Lin Xu asked in confusion.  

He hadn’t heard about any new projects at the company—the test ship hadn’t even flown yet. Another new project?  

Did they really think they were some ridiculously strong tech unicorn? Not even a few hundred million in assets, but comparing themselves to SpaceX?  

Seeing his expression, Jiang Xingye shook her head.  

“Not exactly... a particularly serious new project.”  

“It’s the space travel project I told you about today.”  

“The boss has already approved it, and they’ll start assembling the project team tomorrow.”  

“You have to join. Although this project probably won’t finish anytime soon, it’s exactly what you said—a very important capital story.”  

“If we tell this story well, we’ll make a fortune.”  

“Then when you want to retire or switch jobs, having a trump card makes it much easier.”  

“Got it.”  

Lin Xu nodded gratefully.  

Honestly, Jiang Xingye was a pretty good leader to bring him along for good opportunities.  

What was work for? Money, of course.  

Was it for ideals?  

He raised his cup and clinked it with Jiang Xingye’s, then took a sip. Jiang Xingye asked:  

“What about you? What do you want to talk about?”  

Lin Xu was stunned for a moment. After hesitating a bit, he asked:  

“I have a very abstract question...”  

“I’ll ask you. If one day, the apocalypse is coming, and you only have one chance to save one person, who would you save?”  

After asking this, Lin Xu expected Jiang Xingye to laugh at him.  

But unexpectedly, she answered almost immediately without hesitation:  

“Save you.”