Chapter 33

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Chapter 33: Three Hundred Miles to Qingqiu

At seven in the morning, the eighty-eighth floor of the Space Administration’s administrative building was silent in the Inspection Department.

It was not normal working hours; only a few staff members who had been working late were finishing their reports and preparing to return to their apartments for some rest.

At that moment, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the elevator lobby.

Someone actually came at this hour! The few workers peered out into the corridor and saw three people approaching from the lobby. The corridor’s sensors lit up as the group drew closer.

Leading the group was a middle-aged woman in a black suit, one hand in her pocket. Her eyes were two different colors. As she passed near the workstations, she lightly glanced towards the lit area.

One person standing by the corridor felt her gaze and took a step back, lowering his head to greet her, "Zhu Long."

"Mm, you all must be tired too, still working at this hour," Zhu Long responded without stopping, continuing on her way.

Last month, the Space Administration’s administrative office announced Zhu Long’s demotion to all personnel, but the details of the high-level changes were not something ordinary employees could speculate on. Therefore, seeing her strutting in like this, no one dared to question or challenge her; they simply watched her make her way to the Inspection Department head’s office.

The group reached the door of the Inspection Department head’s office and paused briefly at the locked door. One person stepped forward, pulling a laser saw from their briefcase, and sliced the door open right down the middle.

The others watching this scene from a distance were astonished; one person even rubbed his eyes. Working late had taken a toll, and now they witnessed the former deputy commander busting down an office door. Was the power struggle among the executives so unassuming?

Once the door to the Inspection Department head’s office was split open, Zhu Long entered with one of her companions, leaving the person with the laser saw to stand guard at the entrance.

After about five minutes, Zhu Long emerged from inside with another person carrying a silver briefcase.

When they came out, the guard at the door pulled out a roll of sealing tape and sealed the gap in the office door.

Then, Zhu Long led the two back, and as they passed the nearby workstations again, the person holding the laser saw coldly addressed the overtime workers, "The eighty-eighth floor is under lockdown. Anyone not present is not allowed in; those who are here must complete inspection before leaving today."

Seeing the anxious expressions on the faces of a few workers, Zhu Long smiled slightly, saying, "In a while, I’ll have someone bring some cots for you. For now, just rest in the conference room. The inspection won’t take too long."

One of the people among them, who had previously attended a Bureau Office meeting and had dealings with Zhu Long, gathered his courage to step forward and ask, "Zhu Long, is there…something wrong?"

"Nothing serious, don’t worry," Zhu Long reassured them, glancing over the group. Her electronic eye on the right, which was light gray, flashed with purple light in its pupil. “Starting today, the Inspection Department is under my authority.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the electronic devices near everyone beeped with a notification. They quickly looked down to see the Personnel Department had issued a notice announcing that the Inspection Department head was under investigation and that Zhu Long would serve as the acting head.

As everyone raised their heads again, Zhu Long and her companions had already walked far away.

"Don’t wander too far! Professor Mo Chuan said there are bears deep in the forest!" Ying Zhao shouted loudly to Luo Yu and Zhu Huai as they walked away, receiving a reassuring “Don’t worry” from Luo Yu and a nonchalant wave from Zhu Huai in response.

Earlier that day, Mo Chuan had come to the ninth cliff dwelling with Ti Ran to pick up Luo Yu and the others for their trip to Qingqiu Mountain. Lei Ming had stayed behind to oversee the construction of the Channel Simulator and did not join them.

Since this summer outing aimed to showcase the natural beauty of the Ponsuo Tribe’s land, Mo Chuan chose not to take an aircraft but drove a large off-road vehicle instead.

Though referred to as an off-road vehicle, to Luo Yu and the others, it resembled a tank, just with a much more spacious cockpit and better visibility than the tanks in their world.

They set off northward in the morning, passing through a picturesque expanse of flatlands, and stopped to rest just outside a grove by noon.

The two accompanying robots on board set up a large camping tent for them.

Before getting out of the vehicle, Zhu Huai spotted a cluster of fruit trees at the edge of the forest with bright red fruits reminiscent of those Lei Ming had brought on her first visit to the cliff dwelling. Zhu Huai remembered that these fruits were particularly sweet and crisp, so she took a small basket and said she would go pick some. Luo Yu saw this and decided to join her.

"Can you two reach the trees? Do you need me to go with you?" Mo Chuan asked casually after unloading her things from the vehicle when she heard they were going to pick fruit.

Zhu Huai, feeling provoked by the question, stomped her foot in indignation. "No need! We can reach over three meters if we stack!"

Seeing the two of them run off, Mo Chuan smiled and shook her head; since the fruit trees weren’t far and lay within the protective range of their camping detector, there wouldn’t be any dangerous wild animals, so she allowed them to go.

Ying Zhao noticed the tall, thick grass at the edge of the woods and opted not to follow the two. After they walked away, she recalled Mo Chuan saying there were bears and tigers in the depths of the forest while they were in the vehicle. Therefore, she worriedly called out to remind them.

"Don’t worry, the forest edge is safe, and our boots have built-in snake defense," Ti Ran said, sitting down in the tent, taking off her hat, and letting her light golden hair fall over her shoulders. Her tone was gentle. "Ying Zhao, what would you like to drink?"

Mo Chuan also entered the tent, placed a machine on the table, and then pulled a chair for Ying Zhao before sitting across from Ti Ran.

Ying Zhao ordered drinks from the menu panel that Ti Ran handed over, and also ordered a cup for Luo Yu and Zhu Huai. When she set the orders down, she noticed the machine Mo Chuan had brought—it was the detection dog from their time capsule.

Mo Chuan really liked this little thing. Last time she brought it back, Zhu Huai charged it on the control panel, and later, when Mo Chuan took it back, she named the detection dog "Bun Bun."

"Bun Bun, do you know ‘Qingqiu Mountain’?"

"From the ‘Shan Hai Jing,’ it says: Three hundred miles to the east, there is a mountain called Qingqiu. Its sunny side is rich in jade, while its shady side has abundant blue dye…"

The detection dog was interrupted mid-broadcast by Ti Ran, "What is ‘blue dye’?"

"That’s a type of blue dye."

Mo Chuan pressed the power button on the detection dog to turn it off, letting out a sigh. "Our universal semantic translation still has some gaps in understanding certain ancient words from your culture. I need to find someone to study how to fix this; otherwise, it always feels like we’re only partially grasping the meaning."

Since attending the Grand Council in the Ji Nu River valley last time, Ying Zhao increasingly sensed that this time period was likely connected to the ‘Shan Hai Jing.’ So upon returning, she dug out an internal scroll from the Shan Hai Jing that depicted a long painting based on its content.

This time when Mo Chuan said they would head north, Ying Zhao was sure they would encounter more familiar place names, so she brought the scroll along.

Earlier on the road, she had heard Mo Chuan and Ti Ran discussing Qingqiu Mountain, prompting her to mention the relevant records from the ‘Shan Hai Jing,’ which piqued Mo Chuan’s interest in the ancient book.

Ying Zhao unfurled the scroll on the table, pointing out Qingqiu Mountain in the illustration.

Mo Chuan and Ti Ran carefully examined the painting. Mo Chuan noted that while the position of Qingqiu Mountain in the illustration differed significantly from their location, the descriptions seemed somewhat related; the sunny side of their Qingqiu Mountain indeed produced a lot of jade. "This ancient book of yours is quite interesting."

Ying Zhao curiously asked, "When did the place names in this world begin to originate?"

"That’s been a long time," Mo Chuan replied as she leaned back in her chair. "Names like Di Qiu, Ji Shui, Jiang Shui, these major place names can almost be traced back to ancient times, dating back to when our earliest tribes were established. They have existed for a long time in historical time exploration, right?" Mo Chuan turned to Ti Ran.

Ti Ran nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, thousands of years of historical time count back from where we are now, these place names have existed. Even after all this time, landscapes have changed, and geographical locations may differ from the past, but they haven’t changed as drastically as those marked on the scroll."

While the three of them were discussing the stories from the ‘Shan Hai Jing,’ Luo Yu and Zhu Huai returned from the woods, baskets filled with bright red, plump wild fruits, chatting and laughing as they walked toward the tent.

Mo Chuan smiled gently as she watched them approach. "These two were just fighting on the ground a few days ago." Then she asked Ying Zhao, "When you went back, did you have any more conflicts?"

Ying Zhao smiled a bit shyly. "No, no, it wasn’t a big conflict to begin with. As long as we talked it out, it was fine. They both have straightforward personalities and don’t hold grudges overnight."

Just then, the two entered the tent. Luo Yu set the basket down near everyone’s feet. "There’s a huge area of fruit trees over there, and they’re all ripe. We could hardly pick them all; you should try some."

Ti Ran looked down and smiled. "You both have a good eye for picking; you’d make great fruit pickers." Afterward, she reached out for a few fruits, handing them to the accompanying robot to wash and distribute to everyone.

At that moment, another robot brought over the drinks that Ying Zhao had ordered for her two friends. They all took a seat, and Zhu Huai excitedly talked about their fruit-picking adventure, mentioning that she even saw monkeys and many squirrels.

"They were all alive! Can you believe it? It was my first time seeing a live squirrel! I even touched it! It was soft!" Zhu Huai’s excitement was evident.

In their world, except for rats and cockroaches, most animals had gone extinct in the cities due to severe environmental pollution, and zoos had also been closed for years. Only the wealthy kept prized animals at home.

Most of what they learned about animals came from specimens, pictures, and videos; they had hardly seen any live wildlife.

Mo Chuan and Ti Ran exchanged looks while listening to the girls excitedly chat, each wearing an expression of "What kind of life have these poor children been living?"

They sat under the large tent at the edge of the woods for a while, finished their fruits, and then got back to the vehicle to continue their journey north.

In the evening, they crossed the wide and majestic Ji Shui. The massive off-road vehicle activated its floating mode under Ti Ran’s steering, while Mo Chuan took the three girls to the roof to watch the sunset and even fished for a bucket of fish.

As dusk settled, they arrived at a visitor center at the foot of the northern mountain, which provided all-weather accommodations and meals.

Mo Chuan requested five rooms at the front desk and handed the bucket of fish she caught in Ji Shui to the butler robot, instructing it to cook dinner with the fish. After finishing her instructions, she led the group toward their guest rooms.

Their five rooms were rustic cabins made of wood and stone situated at the edge of the forest, all facing a small creek, adorned outside with climbing vines and a riot of colorful blooms.

That evening, they dined together under the large tent in front of their cabins. As expected, the butler had the central kitchen prepare an additional freshly cooked fish dish for each of them, along with the dinner they had ordered. They enjoyed their catch and drank some wine until the moon rose high, at which point they called the accompanying robots to clear the tables and dispersed.

Luo Yu and Zhu Huai’s room was at the far west end. As they talked and walked back, Zhu Huai noticed that the outer entrance had both a green and a blue barrier glowing. Curious, she pressed a nearby button, causing the blue layer inside to close.

"The green one outside is a large beast barrier, while the blue one inside is for smaller beasts," Luo Yu said as she glanced at the explanation. They both studied the definitions of large and small beasts provided, and they found many animals they didn’t recognize.

After some discussion, realizing it was getting late and they had drunk quite a bit, the two of them said their goodbyes at the door and went back to their rooms.

However, since they got sidetracked while discussing the definitions of large and small beasts, they both forgot to open the closed "small beast barrier” on their way back.