Chapter 18
11:00 AM, underground studio.
Noah, channeling his grief and anger into motivation, discovered an urgent email.
Warning about an approaching meteorite, mission level: v7.
The work of crystal managers is all-encompassing: guiding weather, mitigating natural disasters, restoring ecosystems... Tasks are divided into levels v1 to v10 according to their difficulty and risk level.
There are about a hundred administrators in the clan, ranked by the strength of their Sentinel abilities—Number 1 is the strongest.
Typically, levels 5 and above are considered critical and require handling by managers ranked in the top 20.
Noah was once the number 2 manager.
But this v7 email was not sent to him.
For decades, he has only received v1 and v2 level tasks: a drought in a mountain forest, to artificially induce rain; a wildfire that is too fierce, to help put out the fire... these kinds of jobs are for beginners to practice.
Some level 1 characters don't even need to use their special abilities; modern human technology can handle it all themselves.
Even though the task is so simple, the management is still very "considerate" - they give him a V1 every six months and a V2 every year, leaving him a lot of free time and forcing him to slack off every day.
This v7 task was originally sent to Administrator 17 of the adjacent management area.
Noah used his superpowers to "intercept" the communication.
He possesses extraordinary "human-machine control" abilities, consistently ranking first in the Crystal Clan Sentinel evaluation. He can "seamlessly connect" to any device and instantly gain the highest network privileges.
Viewing a task email that isn't within your authorized scope? A piece of cake.
Actually, he's not usually like this. For decades, even when he was bored to death, he would obediently wait for the board to release v1 and v2 every six months, following the rules and rarely overstepping them.
But after arguing with Su Yue today, he felt inexplicably excited. As soon as he returned to the studio and connected to the Crystal Clan network, he secretly seized the highest level of access and frantically searched for mission information.
Then, this meteorite warning related to the Alps came into view.
The email shows:
An asteroid designated AXYB200193 has been captured by Earth's gravity and will enter the atmosphere in two hours, crashing in Germany, north of the Alps.
It is 15 meters in diameter and weighs tens of thousands of tons. Crystal Group assessments confirm that it cannot completely burn up in the atmosphere. If it were to impact the ground, its impact would be equivalent to the explosion of 480,000 tons of TNT. It is estimated that there are three towns near the impact site, potentially causing 3,000 casualties and damage to tens of thousands of buildings.
It must be intercepted in advance and detonated in mid-air.
Recommended task: Manager Matt, number 17, who is stationed in the B3 area of southern Germany.
Setting the email aside, Noah opened the real-time stereoscopic image of the asteroid.
It is speeding at 20 km/s while spinning rapidly.
Noah reached out and extracted a high-definition still frame from the dynamic image, flipping the black and red, uneven, irregular rock over and over to examine it carefully.
Its main component is rock, containing some iron and nickel metal.
Nothing special—there are thousands upon thousands of such rocks in space, as common as grains of sand on a beach.
However, it was captured by Earth's gravity, and its 15-meter diameter should not be underestimated.
The Crystal Clan has always intervened in the handling of meteorites that could cause casualties, and the common method is to detonate them in advance.
The optimal detonation point... was not Sector B3, which was under the jurisdiction of Administrator 17. By then, the meteorite was already close to the ground, and while a low-altitude detonation could reduce casualties, it would still affect thousands of buildings.
To achieve zero casualties, the best location... is right above the Alps, in the area he's in charge of!
The meteorite analysis program's conclusions matched Noah's own calculations. He slammed his fist on the table in anger.
The wolf king, who had been sitting upright nearby, was so frightened that he suddenly sat up, his hind legs clasped together, almost breaking his tail. His big eyes stared intently at his master, repeatedly confirming that the anger was directed at the holographic image and not at himself, before he whimpered softly and sat back down on the ground.
It had a tough day—caught between two people, caught in a dilemma, and now it was also being startled by its owner.
Noah then connected with Administrator 17.
A young man with black hair and green eyes appeared on the screen, looking surprised: "...Manager No. 2, Knoa?"
Noah's words were concise and to the point:
"A Category C asteroid, designated AXYB200193, will enter the atmosphere in two hours. Due to a previous misjudgment by the management, the mission was assigned to you. This is now an official notification: I will take over this mission. I will bear all responsibility and consequences; you will not be held liable."
The young man was stunned: "...Huh?" The other person spoke too fast, but the amount of information was considerable.
Noah pressed on, "Manager Matt, number 17, did you understand?"
The high-definition 3D imagery made the two people, hundreds of kilometers apart, seem face to face. Their aura, expressions, and even the surrounding atmosphere were all conveyed perfectly. Matt looked up at the legendary Manager Number 2 and unconsciously swallowed hard—he didn't notice that in the corner of the screen, there was a wolf sitting upright with an expression exactly like his.
Faced with such an imposing manner, regardless of whether he truly understood or not, Matt subconsciously nodded:
"Understood, clear."
But something just feels off...?
A Type C asteroid entering the atmosphere typically requires a mission level of V5 or higher. I heard that Administrator #2 retired long ago after losing his guide; is he still capable of handling such high-level missions?
Also, why was he temporarily put in charge? Why wasn't the management committee notified him directly?
Matt had many questions swirling in his mind. After a moment's consideration, he cautiously asked:
"Um... about the management committee..."
Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Noah, having heard the word "understood," abruptly severed the connection.
Matt stood there stunned for a long time before realizing that something was very wrong. But he didn't dare to call back and question them, so he had to ask the management committee for help.
Upon learning that asteroid AXYB200193 was involved, Matt's call for help went through several rounds of calls before finally being transferred to the chief.
Snow's chief looked thoughtful:
"...Really? Noah forcibly took it from me? He said he'd officially take over and bear all the consequences?"
Snow scoffed, "This is a V7 mission. He really is... Pete Sue has only been there for a month..."
Matt said anxiously, "I didn't dare to object at the time... Do you think we should reassign the task to me?... Hmm? Who is Pat Sue?"
Snow didn't answer, he just adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses:
"Let Noah take over. It's the best solution to handle it in his jurisdiction."
However, this means Noah will have to use a lot of his powers... I wonder how well he and Su Yue are getting along?
Risks still exist.
Snow gave his final instructions: "You will remain on standby and observe in secret. If there are any oversights in the handling of the meteorite, you will be responsible for fixing them."
Matt: "Yes."
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