At the Grand Zeno's Palace, Jack stood calmly in the center of a wide marble arena, golden light pulsing around his body as he tested out his recently acquired ability—the Tenfold Kaioken with No Side Effects.
"Interesting," Jack murmured as energy surged through him.
He had used the regular Kaioken before, and it always came with extreme physical strain. But now, with the no-side-effects version, he was discovering just how drastic the difference truly was.
Once activated, his power skyrocketed tenfold—but, incredibly, the physical toll was nearly nonexistent.
His stamina remained intact. His body didn't ache. His muscles weren't tearing themselves apart from the sudden explosive energy.
It was as if he hadn't activated anything at all, and yet… his power had climbed to terrifying levels.
This wasn't just a technique—it was a game-changer.
---
Not far away, Zeno floated on his little throne, watching Jack with a mix of awe and apprehension.
"Jack is really strong now… I think I should avoid making him angry in the future," Zeno muttered, his tiny hands fidgeting nervously.
If someone with that much power got even a little upset, he could wipe out whole universes without even trying.
Beside him, the Grand Priest stood with his usual serene smile. But while he respected Zeno as the Supreme Ruler, his expression when looking at Jack was closer to worship.
Zeno was a figure to be revered.
But Jack?
Jack was a miracle.
---
As Jack wrapped up his test, a familiar chime echoed through the palace:
> Ding! A new mission has been detected. Would you like to accept it?
Jack's eyes lit up. "A new mission already? Let's see what we've got."
He opened the mission interface and began reading through the details.
The screen showed a vivid image of two massive planets floating through space.
One was unmistakably Earth, and the other—hovering dangerously close—was Jupiter.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Earth and Jupiter, huh? This looks familiar…"
As he continued to analyze the information, a voice began playing through the interface.
---
"No, it's not over yet!" said a determined man through a communicator, his voice steady but urgent.
"Everyone, listen to me. I'm Liu Peiqiang, astronaut of the Navigator Space Station. Earth… still has hope!"
Jack's eyes narrowed. "Ah. So this is the world of The Wandering Earth."
The cinematic world was instantly recognizable. It told the story of humanity's desperate efforts to escape a dying solar system—by installing massive engines on Earth to push the entire planet across space.
At the moment this mission took place, Earth had strayed too close to Jupiter's gravitational pull. The engines could no longer resist the sheer force dragging Earth toward destruction.
That's when Liu Peiqiang came up with a radical plan.
---
He contacted his son, Liu Qi, and others on the rescue team through the global broadcast system.
"Liu Qi, remember what I told you before," he said urgently. "Jupiter is a gas giant—it's full of hydrogen."
"If we can detonate it, the resulting explosion will be powerful enough to push Earth out of its gravitational pull!"
Jack blinked.
"That's insane… but brilliant."
The logic was sound in this universe. The explosion of a hydrogen-rich planet like Jupiter could generate a shockwave capable of altering Earth's trajectory—potentially saving the human race.
It was a desperate, last-ditch strategy—but it was also the only one they had left.
---
Liu Peiqiang repeated the plan for all to hear.
The idea was to reroute all the power from Earth's massive engines into a single launch port, concentrating their combined force into one focused blast.
That flame would then fire directly at Jupiter's surface and ignite the planet's hydrogen.
---
The communicator buzzed as team members across Earth's scattered stations received the call. Most of them were stunned at first. Could it really work?
But then came the grim realization—if they did nothing, they were all going to die anyway.
So they had a choice: wait for annihilation, or gamble everything on the slimmest chance of survival.
The answer was obvious.
---
"F**k it! Let's do this!" one of the crew members shouted.
The rescue team sprang into action.
Li Yiyi, the team's skilled programmer, rewrote the engine protocols to concentrate energy into one launch port.
Others joined in to help shut down nearby engines, redirecting all available power.
Meanwhile, Liu Qi volunteered for the most dangerous task—transporting the flint, the ignition key required to restart the frozen central engine.
The plan was in motion.
---
Time was running out.
The flint was delivered and inserted into the reactor. The new launch configuration was completed.
Everything was ready.
All that remained was to ignite the engine.
But just as they attempted to fire it up… something went wrong.
---
The firing pin had gotten jammed.
Without it, the engine wouldn't ignite. The team's work—Earth's last hope—was about to go to waste.
Realizing the urgency of the moment, Liu Peiqiang once again used the global broadcast.
"This is a planetary emergency!" he announced. "Anyone who can help, come now!"
The message traveled across the world.
Dozens, then hundreds of people arrived to help. Engineers, workers, soldiers—they came from all directions, uniting for a single cause.
Together, they pushed, pulled, and worked to unstick the firing pin.
It took everything they had—but finally, with one massive coordinated shove, the pin snapped into place.
The engine roared to life.
---
A massive pillar of flame erupted from the Earth's surface.
It soared upward, brilliant and blinding.
1,000 kilometers… 5,000… 10,000…
The flame continued climbing. Everyone held their breath.
20,000 kilometers… 30,000… 40,000…
Jack watched the footage silently from the palace, eyes narrowed.
"Come on… come on…"
50,000 kilometers.
That's when the flame stopped.
---
It couldn't go any further.
The engine had reached its maximum limit. The massive flame, for all its power, could not push past 50,000 kilometers.
But the target was 70,000 kilometers—the minimum distance needed to reach Jupiter's surface and ignite the hydrogen.
The rescue team had tried everything. People from all walks of life had given their all. The plan was carried out with precision, unity, and courage.
But despite it all… it wasn't enough.
---
The fire fell short.
---
The Earth's engines rumbled, still burning, still pushing—but the gravitational force of Jupiter remained too strong.
The planet trembled as its doom approached.
In the mission interface, Jack could see the despondent looks on the faces of Liu Qi, Liu Peiqiang, and the others.
They had done everything right. They had fought as one, risked their lives, and pulled off a near-impossible plan.
And yet… the final result still slipped through their fingers.
---
Jack slowly exhaled, arms crossed.
"This is a world of tragedy… but it's also a world of determination," he murmured.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"But if I'm here now… maybe it doesn't have to end that way."
The mission prompt blinked again.
> Mission Objective: Save the Wandering Earth. Intervene at the critical moment to detonate Jupiter and change Earth's trajectory.
Jack grinned.
"Looks like it's my turn."
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