Fast Travel Absurdity Sutra

At noon, the scorching sun poured down on the earth without reservation. Outside the power plant, there was silence, with only the noisy chirping of cicadas in the ears.

Xia Jun drove a black car and slowly stopped outside the power plant's wall. The car body reflected a dazzling light under the sunlight.

He turned off the engine, gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force, and stared at the gate of the power plant with his eyes revealing tension and anticipation.

The car was extremely hot and stuffy, and sweat kept running down his cheeks, soaking his collar, but he was completely unaware, as if the whole world was only about waiting for the door to open.

His heartbeat accelerated involuntarily, and the scene of the successful plan kept appearing in his mind:

Liu Jun's satisfied smile, their departure from the seaside by boat to the island country, and the wealth and glory that were about to be obtained.

However, these images are interrupted from time to time by fear and anxiety. What if something goes wrong?

Once this thought appeared, it grew wildly in his heart like weeds, making him restless.

The waiting time was extremely long, and every minute and every second seemed like torture.

Xia Jun's thoughts gradually drifted back to last night, that moonlit night.

Yuanhua Park was shrouded in darkness at night, and the surroundings were so quiet that it was frightening.

Xia Jun carefully shuttled through the woods. The dead branches and leaves under his feet made rustling sounds, and each sound seemed to be magnified countless times in the silent night sky, making him terrified.

Finally, he arrived at the place he had agreed to meet with Song Xiang - under the third willow tree by the lake.

He looked around nervously, and after confirming that no one was following him, he squatted down gently, reached his hand into the tree hole, fumbled for a while, and took out the bomb.

The bomb was wrapped in a piece of black cloth. Xia Jun gently lifted the corner of the cloth, revealing the round plastic ball inside.

Under the moonlight, the surface of the plastic ball was smooth and nothing special. If you didn't know in advance, you wouldn't be able to tell that it was a bomb capable of destroying everything.

It lay quietly in Xia Jun's hand, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, causing his hand to tremble slightly.

At this moment, Song Xiang's figure appeared not far away. Her footsteps were hurried and flustered, and she was obviously extremely nervous.

Xia Jun quickly stood up and waved at her, motioning her to come over.

When Song Xiang walked up and saw the bomb, her face turned pale instantly and she involuntarily took a step back.

"Don't be afraid, Song Xiang," Xia Jun said, trying to sound calm. "This thing won't explode unless you hit it hard and there's no remote control. Zhang Shengli said this is the most advanced time bomb the island nation has, and there aren't many of them. This one is the only one Liu Jun brought with him. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. As long as we place it according to the plan, we'll succeed."

Song Xiang's lips trembled, and her voice was filled with tears: "Xia Jun, I'm really scared. If we are discovered, we will be finished."

Xia Jun patted her shoulder and comforted her, "No, I'm here. Think about it, after this is done, we can go to the island country and live a good life. We don't have to live in fear anymore."

Despite saying this, Xia Jun actually felt unsure.

But at this point they had no way out and could only bite the bullet and continue moving forward.

He handed the bomb to Song Xiang and carefully instructed her on how to hide the bomb and what to pay attention to when entering the power plant tomorrow.

Song Xiang took the bomb, her hands trembling constantly, her eyes filled with fear and despair, but she still nodded.

Recalling this, Xia Jun suddenly came back to his senses, and the closed door of the power plant was still in front of him.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but the tension in his heart did not diminish at all.

He checked his watch again. Time was ticking by, and every second felt like a heavy knock on his heart. However, there was still no movement from the tightly closed door...

(；′⌒`)

The sun scorched the earth mercilessly. The asphalt road outside the power plant was scorching hot, creating layers of heat waves that distorted the surrounding scenery.

Xia Jun curled up in the stuffy driver's seat of the car, sweat crawling on his face like earthworms, soaking his clothes and sticking to his back.

His eyes were bloodshot and he stared at the gate of the power plant.

Suddenly, a familiar figure broke into Xia Jun's sight without warning.

Looking closely, it turned out to be Song Xiang!

She wore a light blue cotton shirt, its vibrant color now pale from repeated washing. She paired it with a pair of black pants, the legs slightly baggy, swaying slightly with her labored steps. Her cloth shoes were covered in dust, as if she'd just been on a long journey.

At this moment, Song Xiang's steps seemed particularly messy, and every step seemed to exhaust all her strength.

She clenched the gray backpack tightly with both hands, and her knuckles had turned white from lack of blood due to excessive force.

Finally, Song Xiang walked to the front of the guard room. She slowly raised her head, and her originally pretty face now forced out an extremely unnatural smile.

Her lips trembled slightly, and she spoke something to the guard in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

There was a barely perceptible tremor in her voice, and her eyes were wandering. She didn't dare look the guard in the eye. Occasionally, she would quickly glance at the interior of the power plant behind the guard, then quickly look away.

The guard was a middle-aged man with dark skin and a look of alertness in his eyes.

"Are you Qian Revolution's partner? Delivering him food? But, I heard that Old Qian has always been single? I haven't heard that he has a partner?"

As he spoke, he looked at Song Xiang with even more suspicion.

"I, I met Qian Revolution through a blind date. We, we just confirmed our relationship. Old Qian is a nice person, and his life should be quite stable. I, I didn't do this to get to know him better, so I made some food for him at noon and brought it over."

Song Xiang spoke a little unfluently, and she happened to be nervous, so she played the role of a shy person perfectly.

The middle-aged security guard frowned as he listened to Song Xiang's words, his eyes full of confusion. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, as if thinking about something.

After a moment, he turned and walked into the guard room, picked up the old black phone on the table, and skillfully dialed a number.

Xia Jun's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, echoing in his chest like dense drumbeats. He felt like his heart was about to burst through his chest and jump straight into his throat.

His hands subconsciously gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles crackling from the force, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged like angry little snakes.

His body leaned forward, almost sticking to the windshield, his eyes staring unblinkingly in the direction of the guard room, his mouth slightly open, his breathing rapid and heavy.

He knew that Song Xiang was nervous at the moment.

She, she, won’t do anything bad, right?

(；′⌒`)

Time suddenly passed very slowly.

Xia Jun felt that it seemed like a century.

Finally, the guard said a few brief words on the phone, hung up, then slowly walked out of the guard room and waved to Song Xiang.

"Okay, Lao Qian said you're his girlfriend. Okay, come here, we still need to check it out."

Song Xiang's body trembled noticeably. She took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down, and handed over the backpack with slightly trembling hands.

The guard took the backpack and began to check it carefully.

He moved slowly and looked through the items in the bag one by one.

First, he took out a neatly folded piece of clothing, shook it, and put it back; then he took out a lunch box, opened it and took a look. Inside were some simple meals, emitting a faint warm steam.

Xia Jun's eyes followed the guard's movements closely. Every subtle movement was like a heavy blow on his heart. Beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead, rolled down his cheeks, and dripped onto the steering wheel, splashing tiny water droplets.

After the inspection, the guard's sharp eyes scanned Song Xiang and the backpack in her hand carefully like a scanner, as if trying to find any clues from them.

However, after a careful inspection, the guard did not notice anything unusual.

He gently handed the backpack back to Song Xiang and waved his arms. His movements seemed a little stiff, as if he was completing a routine task.

Then he nodded slightly and said in a low and slightly hoarse voice, "Okay, you can go in."

Song Xiang quickly stretched out her hands, carefully took her backpack, and nodded repeatedly to express her gratitude to the guard.

Then, without hesitation, she turned and walked quickly towards the power plant gate.

Her pace was obviously much faster than usual, even a little hurried, as if there was a ferocious monster with bared fangs and claws chasing her from behind.

Xia Jun, who was standing not far away, kept watching Song Xiang's every move intently.

When he saw her somewhat hasty figure finally disappear into the heavy gate of the power plant, his heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down a little.

However, despite this, his muscles were still tense and he did not dare to relax at all.

Xia Jun slowly leaned back in the driver's seat, as if all the strength in his body had been drained in an instant.

He opened his mouth and gasped for air, each breath seeming so heavy and labored.

At this moment, his hands seemed to have lost control, hanging limply on the steering wheel, lifeless.

Through the car window glass, Xia Jun's eyes were empty and lifeless, filled with endless confusion and deep fear.

He didn't know what would happen next, and the ominous premonition in his heart became stronger and stronger...

?

The stuffy turbine workshop was filled with the pungent smell of engine oil, and the huge turbine was buzzing so loudly that it hurt people's eardrums.

Qian Geming pretended to be calm as he paced around the workshop, but his eyes kept glancing towards the door, anxiously waiting for Song Xiang's arrival.

Finally, Song Xiang appeared at the door.

Her face was pale, her eyes were full of fear and anxiety, and she walked into the workshop with a slightly staggering step.

Seeing this, Qian Revolution immediately went forward and forced a stiff smile on his face, trying to comfort Song Xiang, but that smile looked a little hideous no matter how you looked at it.

"Don't panic, stick to the plan."

Qian Geming lowered his voice and looked around vigilantly to make sure no one noticed them.

Song Xiang nodded slightly, her lips trembling, but she couldn't say a word.

She held the lunch box tightly in her hand, the veins on the back of her hand clearly visible. The box contained a time bomb that could plunge the entire workshop into disaster.

"Here, this valve is critical. If you damage it, the turbine will stop running."

Qian Geming thought to himself, while whispering to Song Xiang, he took out a special wrench and walked towards the valve carefully.

His hands were shaking slightly and his heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was going to burst out of his chest.

Just as he was about to take action, he suddenly heard a slight sound.

The two were startled, thinking they were discovered, and looked around nervously.

It turned out to be a stray cat that ran out from the corner, and the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Qian Geming slowly approached the steam turbine. A fierce look flashed in his eyes. While others were not paying attention, he quickly reached out and forcefully turned a key valve.

There was a dull "creak" sound, and the valve was damaged. The sound of the turbine suddenly became extremely violent and unstable, and the entire fuselage began to tremble slightly, like a giant beast roaring angrily after being injured.

However, it can still operate normally for the time being.

"Hurry up! The steam turbine can still run for about half an hour. By then, the high-temperature, high-pressure steam generated in the boiler will no longer be able to be converted into mechanical energy to transmit electricity to the generator. We must finish everything within this half hour."

After doing all this, Qian Geming muttered to himself as he pulled Song Xiang out of the turbine workshop.

He didn't dare to stop at all and hurriedly pulled Song Xiang towards the generator workshop.

Their figures appeared particularly hurried and furtive in the aisles of the workshop, for fear of attracting other people's attention.

In the generator workshop, several large generators are neatly arranged. Blue electric sparks flash and jump around the machines, making a "sizzling" sound.

The workshop was empty except for Zhang Shengli, who was on duty and pacing back and forth. He had arranged for the entire workshop to go to the cafeteria for lunch early, leaving himself alone on duty.

He turned his head and looked around, and after confirming that there was no one around, he waved to the two of them.

When Qian Geming and Song Xiang saw this, they quickly hid behind a generator and squatted down.

Song Xiang opened the lunch box with trembling hands. The food inside was still steaming. Under the cover of the food, the small round time bomb lay quietly at the bottom.

Qian Geming carefully took out the bomb, his eyes revealing a hint of madness and determination.

He stood up, looked around, and after confirming that there was no danger, he quickly placed the bomb in the middle of the generator and began to set the timing device.

His fingers moved quickly between the buttons and knobs on the bomb, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead and dripped onto the bomb.

Song Xiang squatted aside, covering her mouth tightly with her hands to prevent herself from screaming out of fear.

Her body kept shaking, and she watched Qian Revolution's every move with empty eyes, almost foreseeing the impending disaster scene.

At this moment, a dark figure suddenly rushed behind Qian Geming. He moved swiftly and knocked Qian Geming unconscious with one hand. With the other hand, he quickly caught the bomb, fearing that it would fall to the ground.

"Don't move, everyone squat down and put your hands on your head."