Chapter Thirty-Four: Five-Minute Countdown

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Countdown: 00:05:00
Huge red digits flickered on the massive screen in the core control room, each second’s pulse sounding like a funeral knell. Alarm sirens wailed through the steel corridors, the air thick with tension and despair.
Kane stood before the console, a victor’s smile on his face, hands tucked into his suit pockets, his eyes glinting with cold malice.
"Xu Yunchuan, you are a smart man, but this game has reached a point of no return."
Xu Yunchuan gripped his pistol tightly, the muzzle leveled at Kane’s head, his voice icy: "You underestimated us, and you underestimated humanity's persistence for the future."
Kane smiled slightly and slowly spread his hands: "Then let us see. But remember, if you kill me, this countdown will become irreversible."

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Technical Offensive and Defensive
Far away at the Shen Group Command Center, Zhao Ming’s fingers flew across his keyboard, sweat dripping down his forehead as he stared intensely at the cascading code on his screen.
"The countdown program has double-layer encryption. We must manually input the unlock key at the core console while the external technical team cracks the final line of defense!" Zhao Ming shouted.
"Zhao Ming, how much time do we have left?" Shen Qingwan asked over the comms.
"Less than five minutes. I am initiating a forced unlock, but this encryption algorithm is quantum-level; it must be synchronized perfectly."
Shen Qingwan bit her lip and looked at Xu Yunchuan: "Yunchuan, we have to stall Kane and buy time."

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Life-and-Death Standoff
"Hand over the control," Xu Yunchuan said firmly, his gun still aimed at Kane.
Kane shook his head slowly, sneering: "Do you really think I would hand everything over to you?"
He pulled a miniature remote device from his pocket and pressed his thumb down.
"Welcome to the countdown to destruction, Xu Yunchuan."
As Kane pressed the button, the entire console erupted in red alarms, and dozens of control interfaces were locked simultaneously.
"Zhao Ming! He’s triggered the self-destruct sequence!" Xu Yunchuan roared.
Zhao Ming’s voice crackled through the earpiece: "Their system has entered self-destruct mode! You have to manually shut down the master override switch!"

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A Race Against Time
"Shen Qingwan, cover me!" Xu Yunchuan shoved Kane aside and lunged toward the main console.
Kane stumbled back, sneering as he pulled a pistol from his pocket and leveled it at Shen Qingwan.
"Move one more inch, and I’ll kill her."

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Time seemed to stand still. Xu Yunchuan halted, his eyes locked onto Kane. The air felt frozen.
"Drop the gun," Xu Yunchuan said in a low voice.
A look of madness crossed Kane’s face: "You cannot stop this! The global new energy network will collapse in five minutes. The Zero-Carbon City will turn to dust, the world will descend into chaos, and the Abyss Consortium will stand upon the ruins to rebuild a new world of our own!"
"You're insane!" Shen Qingwan said coldly.

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Zhao Ming’s Breakthrough
Meanwhile, Zhao Ming’s fingers pounded the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the data stream.
"I found a back-channel! But it's extremely fragile—it could be counter-blocked at any second!" Zhao Ming shouted.
"Zhao Ming, we need you to unlock the master switch now!" Shen Qingwan commanded.
"I’ve started! You must press the blue emergency switch on the main console; that is the only unlock button!"

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A Desperate Struggle
Realizing the situation was spiraling out of his control, a flash of madness crossed Kane’s eyes. He jerked the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot exploded in the control room.
Shen Qingwan dodged swiftly, but the bullet grazed her shoulder, drawing blood. She gritted her teeth and fired back.
Bang!
The bullet struck Kane’s wrist, and the remote fell to the floor.
Xu Yunchuan seized the opportunity to rush forward, pinning Kane to the ground and subduing him.
"Zhao Ming, now!" Xu Yunchuan roared.
"The countdown channel is open! Press the blue button!" Zhao Ming replied.
Xu Yunchuan dashed to the main console and pressed the button glowing with a faint blue light.

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System Reboot
The countdown on the screen froze at 00:00:07.
The red alarm lights extinguished, and the data stream on the console gradually stabilized.
"System rebooting... Defense protocols restored."

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Zhao Ming’s voice came through the earpiece, trembling slightly: "We did it. The countdown has been stopped."
The control room fell into silence, broken only by the sound of Zhao Ming’s long, ragged breaths over the comms.

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Kane’s End
Kane slumped on the floor, his face pale, staring blankly as the countdown on the screen remained frozen.
"This... is impossible..." His voice was filled with resentment and despair.
"Kane, the game is over," Xu Yunchuan said coldly.
Shen Qingwan leaned against the wall, clutching her wounded shoulder, and said softly: "You lost."
Kane offered a bitter smile and slowly closed his eyes.

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Aftermath
Hours later, the global new energy network gradually stabilized. The core hubs of the Zero-Carbon City restarted, and major energy nodes returned to normal operation.
Global media reported on the event extensively. The conspiracy of the Abyss Consortium was thoroughly exposed, and several key members were arrested by Interpol.
At the Shen Group Command Center, Zhao Ming removed his headset and slumped into his chair in exhaustion, tears glistening in his eyes.
Shen Qingwan, her wound bandaged, stood on the high platform of the command hall, watching the global energy map on the screen return to its normal state.
Xu Yunchuan stood beside her, hands in his pockets, gazing into the distance. His voice was resolute: "We won this battle. But in the future, there will be more challenges waiting for us."

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A New Dawn
The sun rose, casting its light over the city’s skyscrapers, and the iconic architecture of the Zero-Carbon City shone brilliantly.
In a high-rise office, Xu Yunchuan stood before the window, watching the world below.
Shen Qingwan walked up beside him and said softly: "Yunchuan, we made it."
Xu Yunchuan nodded, his gaze deep: "But this is not the end; it is a new beginning."
Outside the window, the city began to wake. People moved through the streets, and life returned to its proper course.
The Zero-Carbon City had welcomed a new dawn.