Chapter 39

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Chapter 39: Reconnect with the Space Station

Luo Yu noticed that all the pilot indicator lights on the control panel were lit up, so she quickly stood up to take a look. Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao also stood up with her.

This time, the control panel had been upgraded and optimized not only for the driving functions and communication device repair, but also for the status indicators and alarm system. Zhu Huai explained the important changes to Luo Yu.

Luo Yu had seen some of these details in the repair plan beforehand, and a few of the optimization points were suggestions she made to Zhu Huai. While listening to Zhu Huai, she began fiddling with the buttons and joystick on the panel.

"Great! Great!" Luo Yu was very satisfied with the upgrades to the driving functions. "I want to hurry up and take the Shan Hai Jing into the simulator to try it out!"

The three of them stayed in the cockpit for a little over half a day before finally exiting the Shan Hai Jing. By this time, dusk had already set in outside the hangar.

They came out of the mountain’s stairway and strolled leisurely toward the cliff dwelling. Zhu Huai asked, "When we contact the space station tomorrow, what will you say if they ask about the return personnel?"

"I’ll just say that I’m the only one returning and that the rest of the team perished," Luo Yu replied casually, kicking at the pebbles underfoot.

Zhu Huai made a face. "That sounds as useless as those two in the tail section; it doesn’t sound good at all."

Ying Zhao chimed in, "When you return, you’ll definitely be summoned by the Special Operations Department. If any details slip through, it could be troublesome. Especially since we were all present during the video with Zhu Long, and we had the time capsule. If we all died during this time, who fixed the time capsule? The repair marks, including the modification style, will be easily traced back to Zhu Huai."

Luo Yu stopped after hearing this, looked up at the horizon where the sun had set, and saw that night had not yet fully arrived. Some twilight still lingered, outlining the distant mountains with a golden rim.

"Then let’s say that those two in the tail section died upon landing, and only the three of us survived," Luo Yu said as she gazed at the sky. "Then we sought assistance from the locals, and Zhu Huai proposed a plan to lead everyone in repairing the time capsule. After the repairs were completed, she unfortunately fell ill, followed by Ying Zhao also falling sick, unable to get up and rambling due to a high fever. Therefore, I had to return alone to request rescue. Once back, since there won’t be much time left in the portal, we can find an excuse to delay things so you can naturally stay here. How does that sound?"

Zhu Huai nodded deeply after hearing this. "I think this version is good."

"It doesn’t seem to have any major flaws," Ying Zhao added after thinking for a moment. "We’ll polish the details later. You know, the key to lying is the details. The Special Operations Department isn’t easy to fool."

The three continued chatting as they made their way back to the entrance of the ninth cliff dwelling. By this time, the twilight had quietly faded away, and night had fallen.

The butler robot at the cliff dwelling’s reception saw them walk through the laser barrier and approached to welcome them, "Good evening, ladies. The kitchen has introduced six new summer fruits today. Would you like to try them?"

As it spoke, the screen displayed pictures and descriptions of the six fruits, some of which were familiar to them while others were not.

After reviewing the options, Luo Yu told the butler robot, "Let’s have a bit of each," and also ordered dinner from it. She discovered that the set menu included new seasonal ingredients. After they finished ordering dinner and returned to the lounge of the cave villa, they had just sat down and exchanged a few words when the in-house housekeeping system brought the ordered fruits and dinner to the table.

After finishing their meal in the lounge, they felt that the major issues regarding Luo Yu’s return had been resolved and their individual plans were mostly discussed. They relaxed and chose not to return to their rooms early. Instead, they asked the in-house housekeeping system to bring them a popular throwing-themed tabletop game that was trending here.

They had seen this game at the menstruation center previously, categorized as a premenstrual brain game. The three of them divided the directions and colors and began playing at the round table in the lounge.

They had a great time that night, temporarily putting aside their imminent separation, fully immersed in the game. They teased and joked with each other until nearly midnight when they finally dispersed.

After returning to her room, Luo Yu took off her clothes and stepped into the bathroom. She turned on the water and stood there as the warm water flowed over her body. She pondered the tasks of contacting the space station tomorrow and the many details that needed clarification. She mentally made a checklist of what required attention.

During her time stranded here, she had temporarily left behind the intense work state. Although she was still busy with the repairs on the time capsule, it was vastly different from her previous state at the Time Bureau or earlier in the air defense forces.

She had grown fond of life here and as her departure approached, she couldn’t help but start to reminisce about everything.

But nostalgia aside, she couldn’t let it affect her judgment. After thinking for a bit, she shook her head and splashed her face with water.

The next morning, Luo Yu surprisingly didn’t get up immediately after waking. She sat up against the backrest of the cozy nest and quietly watched the scenery outside the window for a while.

The early summer here wasn’t hot; there was a cool breeze in the mornings and evenings, especially after a light rain at dawn. When the sunlight streamed in, the air carried a faint scent of grass and soil, coming through the soft glass of her bedroom window.

Luo Yu’s bedroom window didn’t face the large floor-to-ceiling windows of the lounge that overlooked the waterfall. Instead, she could only see the trees in the mountains, layered and beautifully arranged. Suddenly, she had a whim to take a picture of the window view to keep as a memory, intending to hang it on her apartment wall when she returned. But then she thought it seemed a bit pitiful and shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.

After sitting there for quite a while, she finally got up slowly to wash and change her clothes. When she stepped out, she saw that Ying Zhao had long finished breakfast and was sitting in the lounge reading a book. It was one she had borrowed from Ti Ran a few days earlier, a historical book of this world that she always carried with her recently.

Luo Yu realized she had slept in a bit later than expected, thinking that both of them had already eaten. After saying good morning to Ying Zhao, she noticed that Zhu Huai wasn’t there. Glancing back at Zhu Huai’s room, which was still closed, she asked Ying Zhao, “Has Zhu Huai not woken up yet?”

“She’s awake,” Ying Zhao replied, taking a sip from her drink. “She got her period and went to the menstruation center right after breakfast.”

“What, she has period pain too?” Luo Yu said as she walked over to sit beside Ying Zhao, starting to select breakfast on the panel of the in-house housekeeping system.

Ying Zhao shook her head, "She said it doesn’t hurt much; she just wants to experience the therapeutic pod and said she’d be back by noon."

The contact with the space station was scheduled for the afternoon. Luo Yu nodded in response but didn’t say anything. After finishing breakfast, Ying Zhao mentioned she had grown tired of reading, so the two of them walked to the nearby staircase and headed up to the courtyard to enjoy the breeze.

On the terrace next to the pond where they had soaked last time, there were several swings made of vines. Each of them chose one and sat down, chatting leisurely while looking at the mountain forest across from them.

Ying Zhao mainly had a few concerns that she wanted Luo Yu to help tidy up after she returned. Luo Yu listened attentively, carefully jotting down each detail.

Finally, when they discussed the handling of assets, Ying Zhao told her about the deposits she had in various banks and the house and car left to her by her adoptive mother.

"That’s the gist of it; I’ll make a list for you later," Ying Zhao said, looking at the flock of birds in the sky. "I want to sell all my assets and donate them to my alma mater. I’ll write a new will, and if necessary, maybe even record a video?"

Luo Yu turned to her. She already knew about Ying Zhao’s family from the news, and seeing her intent today, it was clear she had no intention of leaving a single cent to the so-called blood relatives who sought to exploit her. Luo Yu nodded seriously, "Okay, don’t worry. I will make sure everything is sorted out within the validity period of the portal. By then, you’ll see the results."

Ying Zhao clapped her hands and smiled, "That’s great! I have no other worries; after all, there’s nothing in that world that I’m attached to." After saying that, she looked at Luo Yu, "Will you miss it here a bit?"

Luo Yu gently swung on the swing, gazing ahead. "I will, but I still have to go back. It’s fine; I’ll remember the good things about this place."

Ying Zhao glanced at her but didn’t speak further. She turned to look outside, and the two sat in silence on the swings for a while until the in-house housekeeping system notified them that Zhu Huai had returned and was asking where they were.

After a moment, they heard Zhu Huai’s footsteps approaching the stairs. "Are you two just enjoying the scenery? Looks pretty carefree!"

Ying Zhao pulled over an empty swing and laughed, "Come on over, Sister Huai, join us in being carefree." She then asked, "How was the experience in the therapeutic pod?"

"It was comfortable, extremely comfortable," Zhu Huai replied as she sat down on that swing. "I highly recommend you try it when you’re on your period."

Ying Zhao laughed heartily, "Alright, I think mine’s coming up soon. I’ll definitely go."

The three of them chatted for a while. When Ying Zhao mentioned what she had just asked Luo Yu to help with concerning her assets, Zhu Huai nodded repeatedly, "Oh right, I almost forgot about that."

Zhu Huai thought for a moment and explained that she didn’t have any real estate, just bank deposits, and she couldn’t leave those for her gambling father and brother to squander. Although she had legally severed ties with them, to avoid disputes, she planned to write a will and asked Luo Yu to donate to the Global Ocean Protection Association.

When Luo Yu heard about this organization, she paused in surprise and asked, "What made you want to donate there?"

Zhu Huai countered, "What? Do I not look like someone who loves the ocean?"

Seeing that Zhu Huai didn’t want to elaborate, Luo Yu didn’t press further and just smiled, "You do, very much."

The three of them chatted for a while longer and snacked on some treats. By two in the afternoon, they finally left the cliff dwelling together and walked toward the hangar, preparing to use the repaired control panel and communication device to send a message to the space station.

As they reached the hangar, they spotted an aircraft gently descending not far in front of them. The three stood at the helipad for a moment and soon saw Mo Chuan and Ti Ran stepping down from the aircraft, followed by experts from the communication station and a space engineering expert.

They greeted each other at the helipad and walked together into Hangar 3, where the Shan Hai Jing was parked. The hangar robot gave a brief report on the condition of the hangar, then displayed the external screens of the Shan Hai Jing’s cockpit.

Later, when Luo Yu entered the cockpit alone to send a signal to the space station, everyone else could see her image on the large screen outside.

Luo Yu nodded at them, turned, opened the hatch, and walked inside. Soon everyone saw her figure in the cockpit on the external display.

She reached for the communication device and placed it by her mouth: "This is the Shan Hai Jing. I am the team leader, Luo Yu. We have made an unexpected emergency landing in a parallel time 30,000 years ago, and we now request the return command."

After she spoke, she put the communication device back in its holder, and the signal receiver blinked a few times. About a minute later, the communication device responded: "Hello, Luo Yu, this is the Global Space Station. Your return request has been received. Please report your coordinates."

Luo Yu lifted the communication device again and reported her time coordinates before placing it back down, staring intently at the signal receiver.

After a little while, a response came again: "Time coordinates exceed the range and cannot be located. Path navigation command generation has failed."