Chapter 30

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Chapter 30: Each Has Their Own Path

That morning, when Luo Yu sat up from her cozy nest, the sunlight outside was already bright. She had woken up a bit late.

As she sat up, she silently counted in her mind; today marked the sixteenth day since they had crash-landed here.

In the timelines they had usually visited, the passage time was fifteen days. If they missed this time window, they might not be able to return or, even if they did make it back to their starting point, it could be months or even years after their departure.

To address this concern, she had confirmed the passage situation for this time period twice yesterday with Ti Ran and Ying Zhao. Currently, the synchronizing time confirmed a minimum of thirty days, but she still felt anxious about potential changes. So, sitting on her bed, she reviewed their progress again, reminding herself to try to move their return time up a bit.

The repairs to both the inner and outer shells of the time capsule were now completely finished, and the modifications to the power compartment were halfway done. They should be completed in a few more days. As for the communication device, the connection to the encrypted satellite network was established, but they had yet to attempt sending a signal to the space station. For this, they had to wait for Zhu Long’s update, and currently, that area had the greatest uncertainty.

She ran her fingers through her hair, climbed out of the comfortable nest, and after washing up and changing clothes, she trudged out of the room.

The three of them had stayed up late the previous night. After returning, Luo Yu and Ying Zhao had sat in the lounge for a long time, chatting while waiting for Zhu Huai to come back. They waited until midnight, and when Zhu Huai finally returned, saying there were no issues with the progress on the power compartment, they each bid goodnight and went to their rooms.

Ying Zhao was used to waking up early; even after a late night, she rose with the sun. As Luo Yu stepped out of her room, she saw her as usual, sitting on the soft cushions in the lounge, holding a drink and enjoying the view.

“You’re getting more and more accustomed to this place,” Luo Yu said with a smile as she leaned against the edge of the cushions and looked outside.

Since the Great Council of the River Valley, the summer in Di Qiu had become more vibrant by the day. The flowers, trees, and plants on the opposite stone wall grew lush and green, and the wild fruits hung heavy on the branches. The playful monkeys in the forest had multiplied, and flocks of birds soared all day above the waterfall, making the towering cliffs burst with life.

Ying Zhao smiled softly, “I used to be so used to towering buildings blocking out the sun in the city that I didn’t think much of it. But now that I’ve been here, if I had to go back to the smog, I think I would actually miss this place a bit.”

Luo Yu sat down on the soft cushion beside her. “I talked to Zhu Huai yesterday. If she really doesn’t want to leave, I’m okay with her staying here, and you too. After all, this situation is different from before. The risk of returning is too great, especially since you are all on the personnel control list. Plus, Fuxi’s secretary must have planted plenty of traps in the office under the guise of fire safety inspections. Returning home, you’ll likely face trouble from the Special Operations Department. There’ll be a lot of hassles.” She paused and smiled lightly. “Anyway, since you have no ties holding you back, it’s fine if you choose not to return.”

After returning late last night, Luo Yu had also mentioned to Ying Zhao about the Bureau Office’s personnel control list concerning each execution team, which she had previously discussed with Zhu Huai.

Many people at the Time Bureau were aware of Ying Zhao’s family situation. After the defection incident early last year, she was quickly designated as a high-priority subject by the Bureau Office. However, Luo Yu learned about all this only after she took over the Shan Hai Jing Execution Team from Zhu Long.

Ying Zhao sighed, “It’s either all of us go back or all of us stay. What does this running off in separate directions mean? We left as a complete team, and when it’s time to return, it will just be you left. How will you explain that to the Bureau Office? What will you say to the Special Operations Department?”

Luo Yu leaned back against the cushions, “Well, the two in the tail section are already considered casualties. Losing two or four doesn’t make a difference; I’ll just report that all of you were lost.”

Ying Zhao shook her head, “It’s one thing to lie to the Inspection Department; that could be handled. But since this matter involves the Special Operations Department, it won’t be so easy. I have indeed thought of staying, but I really don’t want to let you take all the blame for us.”

While the two were chatting, Zhu Huai sauntered out from the adjacent room, still appearing somewhat drowsy, “Are we all up? Have you eaten?”

“I’ve already eaten; you girls can order,” Ying Zhao replied before recalling something. “Oh, by the way, I almost forgot! This morning I saw a message from the butler saying that the hot spring pool in our cave villa is scheduled for routine cleaning today. They’ll be sending over two cleaning robots shortly to tidy up upstairs.”

Zhu Huai rubbed her buzz cut as if still waking up, “Our cave villa has a garden?”

At that moment, Luo Yu suddenly remembered that when they first checked in, the butler did mention something about a garden hot spring and a storage cellar, but they had been so busy with repairs to the time capsule and concerned about monitoring issues that they hadn’t activated the in-house housekeeping system. Consequently, they hadn’t received any smart notifications, and over time, she had forgotten about it.

After spending a few days here, they had grasped the local people’s attitude toward them, so Luo Yu discussed with the two of them about activating the in-house housekeeping system when the butler arrived and then going upstairs to check out the garden together.

After finalizing their plan, Luo Yu and Zhu Huai each ordered breakfast. After finishing in the lounge, the butler robot and two cleaning robots came to the front door, announcing their arrival for the hot spring pool cleaning.

They had the butler activate the in-house housekeeping system for the cave villa. After entering some basic information, they followed the robots up the staircase that was hidden in the wall of the lounge.

“This staircase is quite discreet; no wonder we haven’t seen it after all this time,” Ying Zhao remarked as they ascended.

“With all the running around, we come back and just collapse; who has the energy to explore?” Zhu Huai pointed to a wall beside the stairs that was sealed and asked the butler, “Is that a service elevator?” They had adopted the local customs; here, they referred to elevators as service elevators.

“Yes,” the butler robot responded methodically. “The service elevator is automatically activated once connected to the in-house housekeeping system and is expected to be ready in three minutes. You will receive a related notification then.”

While they spoke, they had already reached upstairs.

Unlike their closed-off suite on the lower floor, the entire upper level was an open space. Crossing a laser barrier that kept insects at bay, they arrived at a natural little garden, with vines covering the surrounding stone walls in a wild display of growth.

They followed the robots down a narrow path that was not very noticeable, arriving at a spacious area at the edge, where a clear pond awaited them, with a spring bubbling in one corner.

Next to the hot spring, there was a lush green terrace that seemed designed for sunbathing, with rocking chairs arranged on a stone platform beside the grassy edge and three swings nearby.

The three of them stood in awe, captivated by the serene beauty of the scene for a long while. Finally, Zhu Huai slowly said, “So, we had such a lovely place above us, yet it took us over ten days to discover it?”

Luo Yu and Ying Zhao added in surprise, “If we had known, we would have activated the in-house housekeeping system much sooner.”

Meanwhile, the two cleaning robots had already begun their work, and the butler announced, “This cleaning is expected to take three hours. It will be open for use in the evening.”

As soon as the butler finished, they heard a prompt from near the staircase, indicating that the service elevator was activated. They followed the butler and took the elevator down to the storage cellar.

The storage cellar was divided into six storage rooms. One room contained clean drinking water and long-lasting food supplies, while another was neatly stocked with various escape tools. A third room held lighting, power generation, and wireless communication devices. The remaining rooms were temporarily empty, available for storing items as needed.

The butler explained that the storage cellar was equipped with an independent temperature and humidity control system, as well as a life support system for taking shelter during natural disasters. There was also a passage from each of their suites that led quickly to the storage cellar, which would sound an escape alert in emergencies.

The three women curiously explored each room, touching here and peeking there, before stepping outside. Luo Yu asked the butler, “Are all the houses here equipped with such storage cellars?”

“Yes,” the butler replied, “This is a standard feature of the houses.” It then asked, “Isn’t this available in your world?”

Luo Yu exchanged glances with her companions; the remark sounded a bit mocking. Zhu Huai replied softly, “Of course, such storage cellars exist, but they are only available to a privileged few.”

The butler robot paused momentarily, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand ‘privileged few.’”

Zhu Huai reached out and gently patted its round head, “You don’t need to understand.”

After they finished exploring the storage cellar, they returned to the lounge. The butler robot asked if they had any further requests, and they all said no for now. Once the butler left, the three of them sat on the soft cushions, getting familiar with the newly activated housekeeping system through the holographic touch panel on the round table.

As Luo Yu opened the message page, a prompt popped up: “Delivery robot incoming, Sender: Ji Shu.”

Luo Yu immediately remembered that this was the gene therapy medication made from the vial of blood she had drawn for her little niece. She quickly reached out and clicked “accept delivery,” then jumped up and ran to the door to wait.

Before long, she heard a notification from outside the door. When she opened it, she saw a tall delivery robot standing there. “Are you Luo Yu?” it asked.

After she confirmed, the delivery robot verified her identity by scanning her face and palm veins. Once it confirmed her identity, it extended a small tray from its chest, which held two transparent tubes containing seven small capsules each.

Luo Yu carefully took them and then heard the delivery robot play Ji Shu’s message: “Luo Yu, this batch contains seven doses for recovery over seven days, one capsule per day. I’ve prepared two batches in case the journey is long. Just to be safe, this medicine has no side effects, so it’s okay to take more, so I brought them all for you.”

Once Ji Shu finished, Luo Yu thought about when to express her thanks, but Ji Shu seemed to have anticipated her thoughts as the message continued: “I won’t be in Di Qiu for a few days. If you’re still here by then, let’s meet up again.”

Luo Yu had no choice but to record a thank-you message for Ji Shu, so the delivery robot could take it back.

When she returned to the lounge, Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao gathered around to see the two small tubes of medicine she was holding. They understood this was for her family, so they didn’t ask too many questions, just urged her to put them away safely in her room.

Luo Yu took the two tubes of medicine into her room and came out a little while later. The three of them, with daylight still remaining, decided to visit the hangar operation room to check on the progress of the power compartment modifications.

The four newly designed engines by Zhu Huai had all been assembled by the engineering assistant robots. Last night, Zhu Huai thoroughly checked everything, finding no problems. The renovation of the nuclear reactor below was also straightforward, as all the necessary deuterium was ready.

After confirming the next steps, they would wait for Zhu Long’s updates once the modifications on the power compartment were completed.

They were busy in the operation room for a bit, and only left the hangar when it began to get dark.

Once back at the cave villa, the housekeeping system warmly welcomed them: “Luo Yu, Zhu Huai, Ying Zhao, welcome home! The garden hot spring pool has been cleaned and is at a suitable temperature. Would you like to soak in the hot spring? Dinner snacks and drinks can be delivered to the side of the hot spring pool.”

The three of them brightened at the news. Zhu Huai said, “I think that sounds great! Let’s order food first, then go up to eat.”

Afterward, they each returned to their rooms to change into the swimsuits provided in the bathroom, and then they all went to the garden. The hot spring pool was surrounded by hidden refractor lights, and under the bright moonlight, it appeared even more tranquil than during the day.

Once the housekeeping system was activated, many areas in the room lit up with green activation lights. After they entered the water, Luo Yu ordered the system waiting by the pool, “Please send the appetizers here first.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

Before long, the prepared fruits and drinks were delivered to them by the housekeeping system on a floating tray, while the main meal would wait until they finished soaking and then be served at the side table.

During the past ten days, it was rare for the three of them to have such a relaxing moment; they let go of their seriousness and, after snacking on some fruits, playfully splashed and laughed in the water. They played until they felt tired and leaned against the edge of the pool, at which point they began to discuss future matters.

Ying Zhao brought up her concerns again, fearing that if she and Zhu Huai didn’t return, it would put Luo Yu in danger of facing accusations from the Special Operations Department, suggesting they wait and see what Zhu Long would say.

After hearing this, Luo Yu stood up from the water, droplets shimmering on her skin in the moonlight.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s settled then! You two can stay, and I’ll return alone.”