Chapter 23
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Chapter 23: The Grand Council in the Valley
Seeing her friend’s curiosity, Ying Zhao poured Zhu Huai another cup of summer special drink and then sat down on the soft cushions. “I have thought about it, of course. I secretly pondered it all night yesterday.”
Zhu Huai joined her, sitting beside her. “You’ve thought about it, and then what? What do you think?”
“I…” Ying Zhao was about to speak when the control panel chimed in, indicating that the housekeeping robot was arriving with drinks.
Zhu Huai quickly jumped up, rushing to the door in a few long strides. She opened the door and took two drinks from the robot’s tray. “Alright, you don’t need to come in.”
“Okay, enjoy your…”
Before the robot could finish, Zhu Huai shut the door and hurried back to the soft cushions, placing the drinks on the round table. “Drink it later. You finish your sentence first.”
“Don’t rush me.” Ying Zhao reached for a cup anyway. “What I think is, since there are people in the space station and the Bureau who don’t want us to return, staying here is also a fallback plan. But aren’t you curious about who is behind this? Why they resorted to these actions? Who deployed the sky screen? Our mission is to prevent the infiltration between historical time periods; if we just abandon our posts, what will happen to the historical time periods?”
After hearing her string of questions, Zhu Huai rubbed her buzz cut irritably, picked up the summer drink from the table, and took a swig. “I’m not curious. The cross-temporal Execution Team is not just us; others can do the job too. Even if everything falls apart, so what? It’s not my problem; it doesn’t affect this place anyway.”
Ying Zhao took a sip of her drink, fell silent for a moment, and then said, “But the Bureau knows we’re still alive and just trapped here. Once communication is restored, if they find out we chose not to return, they’ll treat it as defection. Don’t you worry about the International Justice Bureau coming after your family?”
“I don’t have family. By blood, there’s just my dad and an older brother. Chase after me? Ha.” Zhu Huai tipped her head back and finished the rest of her drink, slamming the cup down on the round table with a thud. “Let them chase. Just execute those two gambling fools. I’ll light firecrackers for the Justice Bureau to eliminate evils for the people.”
“I didn’t know you had such a bad relationship with them. That sounds a lot like my situation,” Ying Zhao said thoughtfully.
Hearing this made Zhu Huai recall her own complications. Ying Zhao’s case was quite unique in the Time Bureau. Usually, people’s identity information was strictly confidential there, but before Ying Zhao was recruited from the university, she had already made a name for herself in the field of physics. Her multiverse matrix theory had won international awards and made academic headlines, but later, due to family disputes, she had also been featured in social news.
She had been an orphan, lost as a child and sent to a welfare institute, until a physics professor adopted her and raised her. However, during the year she won the award, a man suddenly contacted the media claiming to be her biological father. He said that after having a girl, the family tried for a boy, but the boy was born sick. They spent their savings treating him and couldn’t afford to raise two children. One day, the grandfather took the older sister out to play and abandoned her by the seaside, returning to say the child had gone missing.
After hearing this, her mother criticized the grandfather indirectly and searched for three days along the shore without finding her, eventually committing suicide by drowning. Meanwhile, the old man, feeling unjust, scolded his daughter-in-law, and one night, after drinking too much, he fell and died.
After all these events, only the man remained, working hard to afford treatment for his son. Then one day, he saw the photo of the physics award winner in the news, recognized her by her birthmark, and was excited to see the countless zeros attached to the prize money.
He tearfully recounted his years of searching for his daughter in interviews, mentioning how difficult life had been for him, but the award winner never responded to his claims, refused all media interviews, and avoided any discussions of reconciliation.
After a week of online speculation, the media began to ridicule the award winner for refusing to acknowledge her biological father after achieving fame. The controversy sparked heated debates online. The Time Bureau took this opportunity to invite her to join the Space Administration’s multiverse research project, proposing a new environment to avoid media harassment. After weighing the pros and cons, she agreed, left her university position, and officially joined the Time Bureau under the codename “Ying Zhao.”
Though her time in the Bureau has been relatively calm, she still often sees external controversies regarding her, making her feel uneasy. So when the chance arose to remain in this place and not return to that world, she found herself tempted.
Zhu Huai occasionally came across discussions online, and just before this mission departed, Ying Zhao’s biological father had passed, and her brother had given another media interview addressing her, calling for her to acknowledge him. Many sympathizers emerged online, wanting to help him find his sister. Zhu Huai shook her head. “With your family’s issues, not going back is the best. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s much better here!”
Ying Zhao sipped her drink again, letting out a gentle sigh. “Whenever I think about these matters, I also feel that staying here is better. Plus, that visit to Professor Ti Ran sparked new ideas about the multiverse in me. If I think about continuing my academic research, this environment is indeed better here. But…”
She paused for a moment, then continued, “The cause of this incident remains unknown, and the situation at the Space Administration is also unclear. The sky screen is still in recycling mode. Outwardly, it seems that we are either trapped or defecting. Since there’s nothing worth longing for in that world, it wouldn’t matter if we’re classified as defectors. But Luo Yu is the team leader; she will bear the responsibility. From how she sounds, she still insists on restoring communication in hopes of returning. We can’t let our selfishness implicate her and her family, right?”
Upon finishing her words, Zhu Huai fell into silence as well. In the softly lit lounge, the two sat facing each other on the cushions, not speaking further.
The following morning, the three of them emerged from their respective suites as usual, exchanging morning greetings. Each had concerns on their minds, making breakfast in the lounge feel unusually subdued.
Today was a significant day in this world: the summer grand council. Mo Chuan had mentioned that it was a global quarterly meeting held four times a year, attended not just by the Ponsuo Tribe but also by people from different regions of this world, who would join through remote holograms at their respective venues.
After time coordination across different global regions, this grand council was scheduled to begin at two o’clock in the afternoon according to Di Qiu time in the Ponsuo Tribe.
The main venue was located about two hundred miles east of their cliff residence, in a valley. The three of them were invited to attend today. Mo Chuan mentioned she had other matters to attend to, so Lei Ming would come to pick them up in the afternoon to go to the meeting.
Since there was still time, Luo Yu, Zhu Huai, and Ying Zhao finished their breakfast and decided to walk to the hangar to check on the modification plan for the power compartment of the Shan Hai Jing.
The small nuclear reactor in the power compartment had not experienced any abnormal leaks during the emergency landing, but one of the two ramjet nuclear fusion engines had suffered a cooling malfunction during a high-speed roll. Thankfully, the other engine was functioning well, allowing them to land safely.
In the repair plan for the Shan Hai Jing from a few days ago, Zhu Huai also mentioned the design for the modification of the power compartment. She noted that to return home, it wouldn’t be safe enough with just two engines traversing the long-distance time tunnel, so she proposed upgrading to four engines, which would require some adjustments and reinforcements to the nuclear reactor below.
“We have all the necessary materials ready. How many days will it take to complete the modification of the entire power compartment?” Luo Yu asked.
“Hmm… hard to say…” Zhu Huai scratched her head. “The engines can be assembled by the engineering assistant robots according to the blueprints. If they work without rest, the whole modification would take about three days. However, the nuclear reactor below needs redesigning; that part is harder to estimate.”
Luo Yu noticed that both of them had been somewhat distracted lately, with Zhu Huai particularly off her game today. From the morning, she seemed out of sorts. When she talked about the modification plan after arriving at the hangar, her attitude was noticeably more negative than in the past few days, and this negativity wasn’t due to uncertainty about the plan.
Luo Yu sensed that both of them were starting to waver.
“Their invitation is indeed well-meaning, but we don’t belong to this world. It’s already lucky to receive some help,” Luo Yu said, first looking at Zhu Huai and then glancing at Ying Zhao. “We still have our mission. We can’t stay here forever.”
Zhu Huai pouted and mumbled a “Got it,” turning away to the other end of the maintenance station. Ying Zhao noticed the atmosphere had become a bit awkward, so she stepped in to ease the tension. “It’s not like we’re saying we really want to stay. It’s just that this place is so nice, it’s only natural to feel a little tempted. Don’t worry, Sister Yu.”
Seeing this, Luo Yu softened her tone. “I understand. I’m not blaming you; I’m just making a necessary reminder.”
After exchanging these thoughts, the three resumed their usual work attitude, checking all the details and arrangements for the modification of the power compartment.
Without realizing it, noon passed, and they had the hangar robot send some snacks and drinks to the operation room for a quick meal.
At one o’clock in the afternoon, Lei Ming arrived on time to take them to the valley for this year’s summer grand council.
They flew low again, with Luo Yu sitting in the co-pilot seat beside Lei Ming, gazing at the vast earth below. The mountains and rivers were beautiful and vibrant, reminding her of the scenes she had seen when flying in her original world, where natural resources were depleted and cities were crowded with indifference.
Yearning for a beautiful world is indeed human nature, she thought quietly. If it weren’t for the ties that burdened her, she probably wouldn’t want to return either. What right did she have to demand a grand reason from others?
As the aircraft flew over a dense forest, the valley came into view up ahead. Lei Ming raised her hand to point. “We’re almost there; we arrived quite early.”
In no time, they entered the valley, a branch of the mother river Ji Shui north of the Ponsuo Tribe, called Ji Nu River. As Ying Zhao listened to her introduction, she looked down at the water, softly reciting, “The water of Yigao flows from here, eastward into Ji Nu River, where many mirage pearls abound.”
Lei Ming asked, “Where does that saying come from?”
“That line is from an ancient book from our world called the Shan Hai Jing, specifically from the Eastern Mountains.”
Lei Ming nodded thoughtfully. “That’s interesting. So your time capsule is named after this ancient text?”
“Exactly. That’s our code name too.”
Lei Ming then asked, “What does ‘mirage pearls’ refer to in that line?”
Ying Zhao thought for a moment. “I remember it refers to clams and mollusks.”
Lei Ming smiled brightly. “Coincidentally, this place is indeed rich in river clams, and they taste delicious. You’ll get to try some soon.”
As they spoke, the aircraft began to slowly descend, landing on a plateau in the valley.
By the time they landed, several aircraft had already arrived, and people were getting off, greeting one another and chatting. After Luo Yu and her companions got out, they walked toward the crowd and spotted a familiar figure: Ao Ci, the director of the Biological Research Station.
Ao Ci wore a light yellow comfortable robe, and her silver-gray curly short hair gleamed in the sunlight. She spotted Luo Yu from afar and waved with a smile. When Luo Yu approached, Ao Ci patted the shoulder of a person beside her and turned to Luo Yu. “Come, come! Just in time to meet this person. This is the expert in genetic medicine I mentioned to you yesterday—Ji Shu.”
