Chapter 75 Chapter 75 (1/2)
Our Reality
Chapter 75
[1456.06.17 03:30:21]
Three white capsules suddenly appeared on the transmission platform.
The hatches opened. Three figures in black combat uniforms with the number ‘7’ written on their chests exited from the capsules.
In the quiet but busy third command centre, someone let out a scream high enough to shatter glass.
Immediately afterwards, all the people working there swarmed over and exclaimed happily.
“It’s the seventh squad!”
“The seventh squad is back!!!”
“Ahhhh!!!! The seventh squad is back!!”
“Why are there only three?”
“Hurry and notify the commander-in-chief and Chief Wang!”
Two minutes later, amidst the fuss, three more capsules quietly appeared on the transmission platform.
Inside the capsule, the transparent panels lit up.
In this slightly dazzling light, Song Qinglan saw the robotic arm pass over a bag of nutrient solution. He received it and took a few sips. Before the nausea could fade, a notice appeared on the panel.
[Welcome, Song Qinglan. Welcome back to Tianqiong.]
[Congratulations, you have completed 13 A-level missions, 21 B-level missions, 2 Super S-level mission and one S-level mission. Current rating: ***.]
The rating was displayed as garbled characters. The system seemed to be having difficulty calculating it. The screen then changed: [Current rating: To be determined.]
After looking at those numbers, Song Qinglan allowed the robotic arm to take the nutrient solution away and then proceeded to remove the safety belts and open the capsule hatch.
“Cap Song!”
“Cap Song!!”
Teammates and staff hurried over one after another.
Li Chun and Zhou Mingxuan who had arrived together with Song Qinglan also came out from their capsules.
Everyone’s excitement was rather overwhelming. The staff quickly arrived at the scene and began to do preliminary physical checks on them one by one.
Wearing a tank top, Song Qinglan lowered himself slightly for them to measure his blood pressure and pulse and swept his eyes across the crowd. He saw Li Chun and Zhou Mingxuan who came back with him as well as Tang Qi, Tang Le and Duan Wen who came back earlier than them. All that was missing was a certain tall and slender figure.
His heart sank. Song Qinglan checked the room again and then looked back at the transmission platform.
Six capsules sat quietly on the platform.
Zhou Mingxuan also noticed this, “Where’s Advisor Ji?”
Duan Wen: “Advisor Ji?!”
Tang Le said, “Fuck, didn’t we come back together? Where did Advisor Ji go?”
“Hurry and check! Is he still on his way here?”
“Reporting! It is found that the seventh squad is still missing a member!”
“Entering search mode. Time coordinates of the last transition is required!”
“…….”
Ji Yushi however did not return.
*
The seventh squad which had disappeared for an entire month had returned. It caused a great ruckus throughout Tianqiong.
This was especially the case after the news that only six of the seven teammates returned spread like wildfire. It resulted in an unprecedented amount of discussion.
Where the seventh squad went, why only six returned, and what happened to Ji Yushi who was recruited from Ning City….These topics were all being discussed amongst the people in Tianqiong.
Unlike last time when they were intercepted and returned to the bubble world, this time they were sent back by Tianqiong so the physical conditions of the members of the seventh squad were still good. After they completed their preliminary checks, they were asked to return to their respective rooms to rest.
Everyone understood that this process was just like how it was in the bubble world. This arrangement also had another meaning: They had the right to go home only after they cooperate and explained everything they had experienced, and also complete a psychological assessment.
As the leader, Song Qinglan wasn’t allowed to rest. As soon as he returned to Tianqiong, he was forced to have a three-hour conversation with the Inspectors.
In the Inspector’s office.
After Song Qinglan finished his fourth glass of water, the sky outside was already completely bright.
The blinds were opened by an assistant, sending blinding rays into Song Qinglan’s eyes.
It had been a long time since he saw the sunlight in the real world. It was dazzling but he didn’t make any attempt to block it.
The Inspector had rushed over early in the morning. He clearly hadn’t had enough sleep but because the seventh squad’s return had helped set down a stone that had been weighing on their minds, his attitude was a lot more amiable than usual. He even wanted to let Song Qinglan return to rest as soon as possible.
Just before the conversation was over, he asked Song Qinglan, “Do you know why we discovered your disappearance so quickly?”
Generally speaking, Inspectors would only intervene with the investigation when Guardians lose contact more than twenty-four hours since the anticipated mission completion time. Song Qinglan however knew that their disappearance was discovered on the day of their departure on May 17th and the third command centre had since been working hard trying to locate them.
But perhaps it was because they were successfully intercepted once by the bubble world, the so-called ‘Tianqiong of all eras’ had changed a few things up and concealed their coordinates, making it difficult for the Inspectors to find anything.
The room was well air-conditioned. Song Qinglan wore a dress shirt given by the Inspector.
He hadn’t had the time to shave, and this kind of top didn’t help soften the sharp and unruly air he gave off.
Hearing this question, Song Qinglan narrowed his eyes in the dazzling sunlight. His expression showed no signs of fatigue.
One would even believe that he would be able to win easily if he went straight to the combat arena after completing all those missions.
“Relax.” The Inspector laughed. He then gave him the answer, “We discovered your disappearances so quickly because of your phone call.”
Song Qinglan remembered.
“No more than a few seconds after you set off, Chief Wang who was still in the command centre received a call.” The chief Inspector said, “The caller was you.”
In the bubble world, at the very final moment before they were able to escape….
Ji Yushi had dialled Chief Wang’s number.
The Inspector said, “We searched your locker but found that your phone was still turned off. How could someone in the midst of traversing make a phone call? Fortunately, this was nothing compared to all the other strange things that have happened since the establishment of Tianqiong.”
Time and space.
The era where Tianqiong was brought to the world and the era where humanity mastered the art of traversing through time and space. It was also the time where people like them who work for Tianqiong started to appear.
“So we firmly believed that we will be able to find you sooner or later.” The Inspector asked his final question, “Cap Song, where do you think Ji Yushi went?”
Song Qinglan crossed his arms and answered calmly, “I don’t know.”
The Inspector said, “Then let me tell you this. Ji Yushi joining Tianqiong was something he had aimed for since a long time ago. He came here with a purpose but unfortunately, he didn’t have enough points and also didn’t pass the psychological evaluation. Of course, his performance had always been very good, but it doesn’t rule out the possibility of him forcibly staying in another time and space. If you know what is going on, we hope that you can cooperate so that we can get him to return as soon as possible.”
This was an indirect warning.
No matter how Song Qinglan answered, Tianqiong would still send out Inspectors to that year to track Ji Yushi down.
If Song Qinglan could tell them earlier, they would be able to stop Ji Yushi before anything happened.
“You should have already seen the mission rating notice? After completing the missions, each of us receive a reward. The reward is to go to any time and space with the condition that the timeline is not affected.” Song Qinglan said, “That is a reward given to us by a Tianqiong with a higher authority…..Perhaps the people above should spend some time understanding its authority and not let it continue hijacking people since we don’t need such rewards.”
To the people here, they had only disappeared for a month.