20 kilometers north of Kabul, the site of the former Taliban stronghold
The shells made a crisp wail under the military boots. Lin Mo bent down to pick up the dog tag half buried in the scorched earth. The words "J. Wilson" on the metal sheet had been blurred by the wind and sand. The failed rescue operation five years ago seemed to have happened yesterday - when Wilson's body was found in the third cell, it was no longer human.
"Mr. Lin, it's time to return." The local guide looked around nervously, "It's not safe here after the sun sets."
Lin Mo did not answer. He knelt on one knee and stroked his fingers over the dense bullet holes on the wall. As the former captain of the "Dark Blade" special forces, he knew better than anyone how abnormal these ballistic trajectories were - most bullets were fired from indoors to outside.
"Something's wrong..." He muttered to himself and took out a laser rangefinder from his tactical waist bag. As soon as the instrument was turned on, a sharp alarm sounded, and garbled numbers popped up on the screen.
The guide suddenly screamed in Pashto. Lin Mo turned around and saw him pointing at the ground. The dry sand was flowing in a way that violated the laws of physics, gradually forming a perfect circle with a diameter of three meters.
"Run!" Lin Mo just grabbed the guide's collar, and the ground suddenly collapsed.
The process of falling seemed to be slowed down. Lin Mo saw countless glowing data streams passing through the walls around him, forming military terms he was familiar with: killing radius, chamber pressure coefficient, ballistic trajectory... Finally, it was fixed on a line of blood-red warnings:
[Qualified host detected, King of War system activated]
The moment his back hit the metal ground, Lin Mo had completed a tactical roll. He half-crouched and pulled out the Glock 17, and the muzzle completed the threat assessment in a 360-degree scan - this was a cylindrical space similar to a missile silo, with a constantly jumping holographic projection inlaid on the wall, showing weapon maps from cold weapons to interstellar battleships.
"Welcome to the Ultimate Human War Simulator." A mechanical female voice came from above his head, and Lin Mo's pupils suddenly shrank - this voice used the voiceprint of his deceased comrade Chen Yan.
A blue light scanned his body, and his life resume was suddenly projected on the wall:
[Lin Mo, 32 years old, retired from the Dark Blade Special Forces]
[Actual combat kill record: 47 people]
[Psychological assessment: Post-traumatic stress disorder (uncured)]
[Fitness: 92.7% (highest in history)]
"What the hell..." Lin Mo pointed his gun at the source of the sound, but found that his index finger could not pull the trigger.
[Bind program started]
[First phase mission: destroy the Bagram Air Force Base arsenal within 72 hours]
[Reward: T-800 titanium alloy bone reinforcement]
[Failure penalty: obliteration]
The holographic projection switched to a satellite map, and the location marked by the red dot was exactly the US military base that Lin Mo passed by this morning. What's even more bizarre is that the time displayed in the lower right corner of the map is April 15, 2023 - three years later than the date he remembered.
"This is impossible." Lin Mo's voice was hoarse, "Bagram base will withdraw troops in 2021."
[System time calibration is correct] The mechanical sound suddenly mixed with Chen Yan's unique chuckle, [It is indeed three years later for you, but for this world...]
The wall suddenly became transparent, and Lin Mo saw the burning city of Kabul outside. The F-35 fighter flew over at low altitude, but the wing was painted not with the Stars and Stripes, but a bloody skull logo.
"Parallel world?" Lin Mo's temples throbbed. He noticed a familiar figure on the hillside in the distance - "himself" wearing desert camouflage was aiming at the city with a Barrett sniper rifle.
[To be precise, it is the future branch of your original world] The system popped up the weapon selection interface, [Now you have two choices: receive the novice gift package to complete the task, or...]
The ground suddenly cracked and a transparent cabin rose. There was a body in formalin floating inside - it was Chen Yan, who was full of tubes, and the bullet holes in his chest were covered with strange blue crystals.
"...stay here forever with old friends."
Lin Mo's fist hit the console. The pain made him sure that this was not an illusion, and the system seemed to have anticipated his reaction:
[You were 300 meters away when Corporal Chen Yan died] The system suddenly played a battlefield recording from five years ago. Lin Mo heard his heart-wrenching "No!" followed by continuous bursts of shooting, [You fired 17 shots, but only 3 hit the target]
"Shut up!" Lin Mo's pupils ignited a faint blue fire. He ripped open his tactical vest, revealing the scar on his left chest. "This bullet should have hit my heart. It was Chen Yan who pushed me away."
[Emotional module loaded] The system's voice suddenly became humane. [Real mission released: Stop the "Blood Moon" operation three days later]
The holographic screen played surveillance footage: Soldiers in US military uniforms were loading silver containers into transport planes. The biohazard sign on the container made Lin Mo tense.
"Nerve agent?"
[Worse than that] The system finally displayed the complete mission description:
[Mission type: Rescue]
[Objective: Destroy T-1124 genetic weapons]
[Special note: You have been killed in this world line]
The screen switched to the hillside sniper point. Lin Mo saw that "another self" was shot in the middle of the eyebrows, and the shooter was a soldier wearing a skull mask - the shape of the missing little finger on the man's left hand was exactly the same as the mercenary who killed Chen Yan five years ago.
"Hans..." Lin Mo grinded his back teeth and recited this unforgettable name. He reached out and clicked on the arsenal on the holographic screen, and a set of black combat uniforms slowly descended from the ceiling.
[Newbie gift pack has been issued] The mechanical sound of the system completely overlapped with Chen Yan's voice, [Remember, this time you are no longer fighting alone]
When Lin Mo put on the nanofiber combat suit with body temperature regulation function, the ground began to shake violently. The entire space rose rapidly like an elevator, and finally broke out of the ground with a deafening explosion.
After the smoke cleared, Lin Mo found himself standing in the center of the ruined stronghold. The roar of the armored vehicle engine came from afar, and the countdown was flashing on the retina:
[71:59:23]
He pulled the bolt of the HK416, and the corners of his mouth raised a cold arc. The system may have ulterior motives, but as long as it can rewrite Chen Yan's fate, what does it matter if it has to be an enemy of the whole world?