Chapter 37

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Chapter 37: Bureau Office

The administrative building of the Space Administration has a total of one hundred and six floors. Hu Jiao crouched at the edge of the exterior on the eighty-eighth floor, secured with only a thin safety strap around her waist.

The dim night sky enveloped her body, and the nighttime wind whistled past her ears as the infrared floodlights of the Bureau base shone over her. She took a deep breath and checked her cloaking device once again. Just then, she heard a prompt in her earpiece: "The protective devices on floors ninety to one hundred are off. Countdown: ten minutes."

After listening, she glanced up, exhaled, and realized she had rested enough. She pressed the button on her earpiece that indicated "received" as a reply, then started to climb slowly using both hands and feet.

Tonight’s destination was the ninety-sixth floor. She squinted at the entry marker not far above; it had been marked with special paint that would only appear in the goggles she was currently wearing.

Estimating there were still about fifteen meters to go, she began to exert force with her fingertips, ready to make a strong push to reach there. This temporary mission was critical to whether the Shan Hai Jing could return; she wouldn’t allow herself to fail at this crucial moment.

She approached the pre-marked window, and when she reached it, she held on to the edge with one hand and activated the laser cutter on her middle finger, slowly cutting a circle from the window.

She glanced back at the floodlights behind her, waited for the right moment, and kicked the cut piece of glass inside, swiftly slipping into the building. She quickly turned back, pressed the round piece of glass back into place, and applied a prepared adhesive around the edges.

By the time she finished all this, the lights outside had just begun to sweep over the glass.

Seeing that the glass was secure, Hu Jiao climbed up, dusted off her pants, and looked around the office. It was huge.

This was the office of the Strategic Commander of the Space Administration. There are seven commanders in the Bureau Office, and by influence, this Strategic Commander would probably rank second.

The global Space Administration was established thirty years ago by various countries working together, aiming to maximize limited space resources while preventing fierce competition among nations in the space field.

Since this merger plan was initially proposed by the Alliance and led the way by opening its own space resources, it made sense for the Bureau base to be built in one of the Axis cities of the Alliance.

When the Space Administration was founded, another major continent was experiencing internal disintegration. After the internal turmoil calmed down, the newly split states signed a ceasefire agreement and established a federation with autonomous civil laws but unified military external relations.

At the initial reconstruction stage, the federation lost its former competitiveness against the Alliance. Thus, when faced with the request to relinquish space resources, they weighed the pros and cons and compromised, joining the Space Administration under the name of the federation.

Although their vitality was somewhat damaged by the disintegration, the continent where the federation is located had once been a global leader, and its position in the space field remained significant. The military strength after disintegration was not to be underestimated; for the sake of peace negotiations, the Alliance indicated it would provide the federation with an equally important seat.

Consequently, in the decision-making level of the global Space Administration, the Bureau Office had seven seats: three occupied by the Alliance, three by the federation, and one by the Northern Continent.

The owner of the office Hu Jiao had infiltrated tonight was the highest-ranking official from the federation in the Bureau Office.

She strolled around the office, checked the security devices, confirmed they were all off, and, seeing she still had time, casually picked a large chair to rest in. She had just climbed all the way from the eighty-sixth floor, and it felt quite tiring.

However, as she casually sat down, it was so comfortable that it almost made her reluctant to get up. She didn’t realize there were such comfortable chairs in the world.

She enjoyed this moment for a short while but began to feel angry thinking about how these big shots sat in such comfort while ordinary people did not. She slapped her thigh and stood up, installing the explosive device in the designated spot.

After completing the installation and checking it once more to confirm there were no issues, she stepped behind the desk, picked up the items Zhu Long had instructed her to retrieve, and went back to the window from which she had entered.

Looking back at the luxurious decor of the room, she thought, everything here would turn to ashes by tomorrow morning. How thrilling!

After glancing at everything, she checked her cloaking device again and, spotting a moment of opportunity when the lights flickered, swiftly climbed back out the way she came.

Before long, Hu Jiao returned to the refuge on the eighty-sixth floor. She sat down on the corner steps and sent a message to Zhu Long.

Soon, she received a reply: “Understood.”

She rolled her eyes at the message. Zhu Long was always like this; she rarely explained the reasons behind her orders and was stingy with words even when replying. Yet, she had a way of making people willingly work for her, which was probably a necessary skill for leadership.

In fact, Hu Jiao didn’t really care about the power struggles among the higher-ups on Zhu Long’s side; that was too far from her. She only wanted to understand the overall situation. The reason she agreed to take on such a life-threatening task for Zhu Long today was entirely for the Shan Hai Jing.

She knew Luo Yu wanted to return; she had been transferred from the air defense forces two years ago along with Luo Yu. As the pilot who had worked with Luo Yu the longest, they had built a friendship over twelve to thirteen years, from their early days in the military until now.

The Execution Team of the Shan Hai Jing that Luo Yu took over was entirely made up of Zhu Long’s people, and she was the only one brought by Luo Yu who had a clear background. To some extent, in the Time Bureau, where everyone’s true information was erased, she was the only person Luo Yu could trust.

Thinking of this, she took out her water pouch, twisted open the cap, and took a sip, remembering what Luo Yu had said to her before leaving the military: “I plan to find a new place and celebrate some peaceful birthdays.”

She didn’t think twice and said, "Then I won’t do it either. If you have a way, take me with you."

Six months later, the two of them reported to the Space Administration. The first two years were indeed peaceful, but now… She recalled what she had just done in the office upstairs, glanced at her dusty pants, and shook her head with a bitter smile. After all that chaos in the air defense forces, it never reached the point of assassinating high-ranking officials. The Space Administration was certainly less stable.

"But that’s okay," she said, tightening the cap on her water pouch. Looking at the dim night sky outside this semi-open refuge, she thought, "Tomorrow, when the office upstairs and that big shot are blown to pieces, the complete control of the Space Administration and the space station will be back in the hands of our Alliance. By then, you can return safely."

With this thought, Hu Jiao felt invigorated. She put away her water pouch, stood up, and walked towards the exit with her head held high and a spark of hope in her eyes.

Sunlight streamed in, outlining the large door ahead with a golden glow. Luo Yu and the others were coming out from the geological monitoring station, accompanied by the student group who chatted about today’s visit as they walked.

The night before, the three of them had talked for hours in Luo Yu’s room after coming down from the mountaintop restaurant, returning to their own rooms only when it got very late. This morning, Mo Chuan and Ti Ran invited them to join the student group for a visit to the geological monitoring station on the other side of Qingqiu Mountain.

Ji Shu also came along today. They listened as Ji Qing gave a summer geology lecture, mentioning that this area produced dye ores. Ying Zhao asked about the wildlife in the mountain, recalling that the nine-tailed fox from the Shan Hai Jing was said to live in Qingqiu Mountain.

However, checking the list of common animal species displayed nearby, they found no mention of any strange beasts from the book. It seemed that this world only shared some geographical names with the Shan Hai Jing.

After the lecture, everyone participated in three geological disaster escape drills in the monitoring station’s geological simulation hall: landslide, flash flood, and earthquake.

The simulation effects were quite realistic, and when they finished the last drill and came out, they were covered in mud, truly matching the feeling of a survival escape.

Afterwards, they all took baths, changed out of their drill outfits, and came out feeling refreshed, almost as if they had been reborn after a disaster.

Zhu Huai summarized their escape experience, saying, "Fortunately, we practiced a bit; otherwise, it would have been embarrassing to stumble in front of a bunch of students."

Ying Zhao turned and gave her a glance, "Huai, you seemed especially focused today. Are you worried about making a fool of yourself in front of the little ancestor?"

"Yes, I feel the pressure," Zhu Huai sighed. "Once you feel pressure, you can’t be carefree anymore!"

At this, Luo Yu and Ying Zhao exchanged amused glances and burst into laughter. As the three of them stepped out of the geological monitoring station, they found Mo Chuan, Ti Ran, and Ji Shu waiting to head back to the cave villa on the other side of the mountain for a meal and some rest before setting off for Di Qiu in the afternoon.

Considering that they had participated in drills with the student group today and were all tired, no gathering for a meal had been arranged. The three of them returned to the cave villa lounge and ordered food, which was delivered by the housekeeping robot.

After enjoying a hearty meal and resting for a while in their cave suite, around three in the afternoon, they were invited by a butler robot to the helipad at the research institute.

Many people were set to return from Qingqiu Mountain to Di Qiu today. The helipad was prepared for two relatively large aircraft. The first aircraft was occupied by Ao Ci, Ji Shu, Ti Ran, and Wanhua, while the second was for Mo Chuan and Luo Yu.

The two aircraft took off slowly in tandem towards the south. Qingqiu Mountain wasn’t close to Di Qiu, and even with their high-altitude speed mode activated, it took nearly three hours to arrive.

Back at the familiar helipad on top of the ninth cliff dwelling, when Luo Yu got off the aircraft, she saw that the construction of the time channel simulator was nearing completion. The hangar robot came over to report on the progress. There were no delays, and the entire simulator was expected to be finished by tomorrow evening.

The three of them walked in to take a look, then headed to hangar three, where the Shan Hai Jing was still quietly parked. Both the interior and exterior, including the power compartment modifications, had been completed. They just needed to reinstall the control panel, and then it could be moved into the time channel simulator across the way.

After checking that everything was in order, Mo Chuan said little more than to encourage them to return early to rest, informing them that the butler robot would take them to the communication station tomorrow to await Zhu Long’s news.

After watching Mo Chuan board the aircraft and fly away, the three of them turned back and entered the mountain, taking the stairway down to return to the ninth cliff dwelling.

During the journey back from the helipad, the three of them fell into silence, each reflecting on the matters of the following day. Once inside the cave villa, they ceased their chatter, had a light meal, and each returned to their rooms to rest early.

The next morning, none of the three overslept, but it was Zhu Huai who surprised everyone by stepping out of her room even before Luo Yu.

"I haven’t slept well these past couple of days," Zhu Huai said, rubbing her head, as she greeted Ying Zhao, who was having breakfast in the lounge, answering her question about why she was up so early.

"Are you worried about the space station? After connecting with Zhu Long today, we should find out what’s going on in the Bureau. Even if Zhu Long doesn’t provide many details, Hu Jiao will definitely inform Sister Yu."

"I’m not worried. What is there to worry about? I’m not going back to die." Zhu Huai sat on the soft cushions, propping her feet up and getting ready to order breakfast. "I think I’m just about to get my period."

Coincidentally, her comment was overheard by Luo Yu, who had just stepped out of her room. Luo Yu leaned against the soft cushions and chuckled, "After being teammates for two years, I expect you to worry a little about me! Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to operate the time capsule you repaired."

Zhu Huai raised an eyebrow. "Whether or not I’m worried doesn’t affect my repair skills. I still have some professional standards, don’t I?"

The three of them had breakfast together and chatted for a bit until a butler robot came to invite them. They boarded the aircraft at the back door of the cliff dwelling and soon arrived at the communication station.

Ti Ran was already there. As Luo Yu and the others followed the communication expert, they asked if there were any updates. The expert replied that they hadn’t received any signals yet.

Arriving at the research room, they greeted Ti Ran. They had just exchanged a few words when the communication device on the Shan Hai Jing’s control panel signaled an incoming message. The group turned around to see it was from Zhu Long.