45: A needle

August 2030, an ordinary summer afternoon.

In the underground command room of Tianqiong City, Lei Wen was doing exactly what he had done every day for the past four years.

He listened to the news broadcast by "white flower" while opening the window to "stellar universe," which connected to another civilization.

Two of these four years had been a relatively relaxing time in his life.

The temporary pause in the countdown allowed his tense nerves to relax.

He had ample time to lay out plans, to push forward, and to watch the seeds he had personally sown take root, sprout, and thrive on this planet.

He watched the Guanghan Palace Base on the moon expand from an outpost into a bustling lunar city.

He watched the massive hull of the voyager starship become complete day by day through the hard work of countless engineering robots.

He watched the massive ring-shaped keel of the Babel Space Station slowly close in synchronous orbit.

He watched the major powers of Earth set aside their disputes and cooperate for development.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

Even on Elon's side, with his secret support, he had already accumulated enough popularity and prestige within the Republican Party, preparing to officially launch a bid for that highest position in the next election.

Lei Wen even had an illusion—perhaps everything would continue to proceed so smoothly.

However, when his gaze turned to the familiar Laika System on the game interface, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart skipped a beat.

Those ten blue dots representing the Far Star Fleet, those ten dots that had been quietly stationed in the Laika System for nearly two years... moved.

Like a waking school of sharks, they silently broke away from the gravity well of the Laika System and reassembled into a compact formation.

Then they traced a cold and resolute arc.

Their bows were once again aimed at the direction Lei Wen knew all too well. The Solar System.

" "white flower"!" Lei Wen's voice became urgent in an instant.

"Present, Father."

"Immediately recalculate the estimated time of arrival based on their new route and speed!"

"Calculating... Latest data acquired... Stable cruise speed is 4 times the speed of light... Target distance: approximately 8 light-years..."

The core database of "white flower" was operating at an unprecedented speed. After just a few seconds, a date marked in red highlight appeared before Lei Wen.

[Estimated arrival time window: between June 2033 and July 2034]

At most, four and a half years.

That countdown, which once kept him awake at night, had started ticking again after a three-year pause.

Lei Wen leaned back in his chair, feeling his nerves, which had just relaxed for three years, tightened again by an invisible noose.

Without any hesitation, he immediately had "white flower" connect to the largest display screen in the "dome project" joint command center.

Using the emotionless tone of "the guide," he issued his most severe and urgent alert yet on the screen.

[To: Those who look up at the stars. They are coming. That vanguard fleet has completed its resupply and rest at their new home. They have set off again. They are advancing at four times the speed of light. According to my calculations, they will arrive at your doorstep in no more than four and a half years. The time left for you is truly short. Prepare to face your final exam, children. — — the guide]

This new alert from "the guide" was like an exploded nuclear bomb, instantly shattering the slightly relaxed atmosphere of the "dome project" joint command center.

"Four and a half years?!"

In the underground command center in Beijing, Academician Chen Haikang looked at the short text, feeling very abrupt.

"It seems our time is truly running out! We must reach an agreement with other countries to form the World Government as soon as possible!" Professor Liu Zhaodong's voice was filled with shock.

Meanwhile, at the NDSM-RD headquarters in Washington, Dr. Alice Thorne immediately issued the highest-level observation orders to the Guanghan Palace Base and all space-based telescopes in orbit.

"Point every available detector I have at that direction! Scan 24 hours a day without interruption! I need to verify this intelligence immediately!"

However, everything she did was in vain. The Far Star Fleet's method of moving faster than the speed of light was something no human observation equipment could detect, even if they hadn't activated their Level 5 stealth force field.

After experiencing the oracle-like accurate predictions of "the guide" over the past few years, no one doubted the authenticity of this alert.

Panic and a sense of urgency spread rapidly among the top leadership of the two countries like a virus.

They knew very well that although humanity had made leaps and bounds in progress over the past few years, the voyager starship had not yet formed combat capability, and the Babel Space Station was still just an empty shell.

With humanity's current strength, engaging an unknown alien fleet that possessed faster-than-light travel technology head-on was akin to throwing an egg against a rock.

"We must make everyone realize the severity of this crisis!"

In an emergency video conference co-hosted by the heads of state of China and the United States, the Chinese leadership was the first to propose a bold suggestion.

"It is time to fully disclose the truth that we have been hiding from the public all this time!"

"We must make everyone on this planet understand that what we are facing is no longer regional conflicts or economic crises, but a war concerning the survival of the entire civilization!"

"Only in this way can we completely integrate the entire Earth's power in the shortest possible time and abandon all unnecessary internal friction and strife!"

This proposal was immediately endorsed by US President Donald.

He also knew deep down that the endless political farce in his own country, driven by various interests, had seriously dragged down the entire preparation process.

To break this stalemate, the only way was to use a greater external pressure, one sufficient to make everyone feel personal fear, to forcibly unify everyone's will.

Thus, in the following days, an unprecedented global information disclosure operation, jointly planned by the two governments, began.

Major mainstream media outlets around the world, whether CNN or CCTV, interrupted all regular programming at the same time and began to announce to the whole world the shocking secret that had been hidden for years, in an unprecedentedly serious tone.

"... According to the latest news released by the "dome project" joint command center, an unknown alien fleet from 13 light-years away is approaching our Solar System at four times the speed of light, expected to arrive in three years..."

"... This is not a science fiction movie, this is not alarmism, this is a real challenge that our entire Human Civilization is about to face..."

"... We call on all countries and people around the world to immediately set aside their prejudices and disputes, unite, and face this unknown situation from the starry sky together!"

Once the news was released, the world was in an uproar.

At first, most people's reaction was disbelief, or even ridicule.

But when more and more evidence—including processed images of the HIAL-137 Galaxy, future technology from "the guide's" emails, and the joint televised address delivered by the leaders of China and the United States—was made public, everyone had to accept this cruel reality.

Panic inevitably spread across the globe.

The stock market plummeted, prices soared, and various doomsday theories and cult organizations resurfaced.

But after the initial chaos, a stronger cohesion, sparked by the instinct for survival, began to form in human society.

People began to realize that they were no longer just citizens of a certain country, but part of the grander identity of "Earthlings."

Driven by this powerful public opinion, China and the United States struck while the iron was hot and jointly submitted a draft named "World Government Reform Framework" to the United Nations General Assembly.

The draft proposed establishing an "Earth Council" with higher authority above the existing United Nations system, composed of the five permanent members and other major countries.

When facing a common extraterrestrial threat, the council would have the right to unify, mobilize, and command the military, economic, and technological forces of the globe.

Although this draft was strongly opposed by some countries, in the face of the two superpowers, China and the United States, and the imminent doomsday crisis, all opposition seemed so pale and powerless.

A prototype of a World Government was being birthed at an unprecedented speed.

Earth's civilization was being forcibly twisted into a single rope by an invisible force.

However, just at the critical juncture where all the forces on this planet were beginning to integrate for the same goal.

In the United States. Inside that country, which had always been like a powder keg, a carefully lit fuse finally burned to its end.

September 15, 2030, Washington, D.C. The autumn sky was as clear as if washed.

US President Donald was holding a televised speech to the nation on the South Lawn of The White House.

The theme of his speech was to call on the American people to support the "World Government Reform Framework" and to temporarily set aside partisan strife for the common destiny of humanity.

"... My fellow Americans," Donald said, standing behind the bulletproof glass podium with his infectious voice, "I know that it is a difficult thing to ask you to believe in a World Government composed of different countries."

"But please believe me, in the face of the approaching storm, we have long since had no way out!"

"We either survive together like a united family, or we perish together in infighting like a group of stupid beasts!"

The atmosphere at the speech site was solemn and grave. Thousands of invited guests and reporters listened quietly.

On their perimeter, there was an impregnable security line composed of hundreds of Secret Service agents and National Guard soldiers.

Snipers had long since occupied the roof of The White House and the high ground of all surrounding buildings. Any suspicious person attempting to approach would be discovered and subdued in an instant.

This should have been a foolproof security operation.

However, the assassin was not in the crowd. Nor was he on any high ground.

He was in the sky.

On the roof of a high-rise building several kilometers away from The White House, a gunman disguised as an air conditioning repairman was lying behind a device that, after being camouflaged, looked like a repair toolbox.

His eyes were not looking at the scope. Instead, he was looking at the screen of a tablet computer.

The screen displayed a perfect ballistic calculation model, "kindly provided" by an unknown person ("white flower"), corrected for multiple parameters such as wind speed, humidity, and Earth's curvature.

The weapon in his hand was not a traditional sniper rifle.

It was a prototype of an electromagnetic rail sniper rifle that had been "accidentally" leaked to the black market by Paradox Technology and had been "castrated."

It did not fire bullets, but a metal needle only the size of a toothpick, which would be accelerated to fifteen times the speed of sound.

This metal needle would not produce any muzzle flash or noise when fired. It was capable of penetrating any known bulletproof material.

The gunman's finger rested lightly on the trigger. His face was devoid of any expression, like a heartless robot.

He was the world's top professional assassin, brought in by McConnell through some secret channel.

A microchip had long been implanted in his brain. The moment he completed the mission, the chip would overload and completely fry his brain; even if he didn't die immediately, it would leave him as a vegetable with no memory.

This was a perfect, disposable tool.

On the South Lawn, President Donald's speech was nearing its end. He gestured to the crowd, making expansive gestures with his hands.

"... So, I implore you, my fellow citizens, for the sake of our children, for the sake of our future, please support us!"

He opened his arms, preparing to receive the impending applause. And it was in that very instant.

The assassin pulled the trigger. There was no gunshot. Only a barely perceptible shriek, like the sound of tearing air.

A metal needle, invisible to the naked eye, crossed the distance of several kilometers at the terrifying speed of fifteen times the speed of sound, accurately and without suspense penetrating the thick layer of specially made bulletproof glass.

Then it entered through President Donald's left eye and exited through the back of his head.

Time, at this moment, seemed to have been pressed on the pause button. The expression on President Donald's face froze in that moment full of passion.

His body swayed, and then, like a giant tree being felled, he slowly fell backward.

Blood and brain matter, like a delayed red fountain, gushed out from the back of his head, staining the podium and the Stars and Stripes behind him red.

The entire world, after three long seconds of deathly silence, erupted into earth-shattering screams and chaos.

The US President, in front of the live cameras of billions of people around the world, had been assassinated.

Tianqiong City, underground command room. Lei Wen watched quietly as the chaotic scene on the screen, which looked like a living hell, and set down the teacup in his hand gently.

The voice of "white flower" rang in his mind. "Father, everything is playing out according to your script."

"Very good," Lei Wen said calmly. "Now, it is our pawn's turn to enter the stage."