Chapter 40
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Chapter 40: A Small Family Feast
The time coordinates from thirty thousand years ago could not be recognized by the space station, which Luo Yu had anticipated. She replied, “I can go to the communication boundary and wait for instructions.”
“Okay, please hold on,” came a series of waiting tones from the communication device. After about three minutes, it reported three time coordinates. “The following are edge points where navigation orders can be sent. Please use manual driving mode to reach the nearest point and send a signal at that coordinate, then wait for the return command.”
“Coordinates received.” Luo Yu glanced at the three time coordinates displayed on the screen. “I have never traveled these routes before; can the space station provide escort for me?”
“The Time Bureau has approved two small short-range time capsules to escort you from the Shan Hai Jing once you receive the navigation instructions. The chief escort will be Hu Jiao.”
Luo Yu thought for a moment, “Alright, I need to prepare some things before heading to the designated point. It will take about ten days.”
The communication device quickly replied, “Okay, please contact the space station again before officially setting off. We will activate a ten-day full-range signal transmission and monitoring after your departure. Luo Yu, I wish you a smooth return.”
“Okay, thank you.”
She reached out and turned off the communication device, leaning back in her seat, closing her eyes to reflect. This return journey would consist of four segments. The first segment involved traveling from here to the coordinate point at the communication boundary, stopping there to wait for the return instructions. Once she received the instructions, she would follow the navigation route back and connect with the escorting time capsule at designated points to replenish supplies before returning together to the space station. The final segment would be from the space station back to the surface.
Among these four segments, the first one posed the greatest difficulty as she needed to reach the designated coordinate without any navigation and fly solo without a co-pilot; it was indeed a big challenge.
Fortunately, the channel simulator in the nearby hangar had been completed. Professor Ti Ran had really been thoughtful, providing her with a practice area, and she still had time to do return simulations there, so at least she wouldn’t be completely lost on the road.
She sat in the cockpit, mentally reviewing the things she needed to be mindful of during the return journey, stood up calmly, and exited the time capsule.
The rest of the group had seen her conversation with the space station broadcast live on the big screen outside. They noticed her sitting quietly with closed eyes after turning off the communication device, and they didn’t call her until she stood and left the cockpit, at which point they gathered at the hatch to wait for her.
“Are you really okay returning alone?” Zhu Huai asked as she saw Luo Yu come out.
Luo Yu smiled and replied, “What, have you changed your mind and want to come back with me?”
Zhu Huai scratched her head, “Uh, not really.”
At that moment, Ti Ran walked over, “There will be a segment of the journey with no navigation at first, which we had anticipated. Fortunately, it seems there are no other risks from your space station. As long as you practice the route in the simulator, it shouldn’t be too problematic.”
Then she asked a nearby space engineering expert to introduce a portable time positioning device for the three of them, suggesting they take one for the Shan Hai Jing as positioning assistance for the initial return period.
While they were talking, the hangar robot approached to announce that the channel simulator was completed and the engineer Lei Ming was conducting acceptance inspection, inviting everyone to come and take a look together.
So they all walked out of their hangar with the hangar robot to the entrance of the simulator hangar.
Following the hangar robot’s instructions, the hangar door opened slowly, revealing a deep darkness inside. The group followed the hangar robot inside, and as the door closed behind them, they saw nothing but vast emptiness, with only a few distant stars twinkling.
This was the universe; they were now standing in a simulated cosmos.
“Gravitational field, acceptance completed; electromagnetic field, acceptance completed.”
A mechanical acceptance report echoed from an unknown source. As the report finished, the surrounding darkness gradually faded away, revealing the simulated universe they stood in, a large spaceship cockpit simulation tunnel connecting the two hangars, filled with white gravitational and spectral devices.
Standing not far ahead was Lei Ming, holding an acceptance panel, waving to them and walking over with a smile. “All acceptances here are complete. The engineering team can move the Shan Hai Jing over shortly.” Then she looked at Luo Yu, “You can start your return simulation here tomorrow.”
At that moment, all the engineering robots returned to standby mode, quietly awaiting commands. Lei Ming led the group around the corridor simulator, introducing several important devices. Ti Ran and the space engineering expert beside her examined everything in detail and conducted secondary inspections at a few critical points. The group spent about half an hour there before all exiting the hangar together.
Once they were outside on the helipad, a robot engineering team emerged from the simulator and moved the Shan Hai Jing from the hangar.
Luo Yu watched the Shan Hai Jing being lifted out of Hangar 3, slowly passing in front of them, and entering the channel simulator. She walked back to the door, observing the robots positioning the Shan Hai Jing right in the center of the navigation platform before all the robots orderly withdrew, allowing her to walk back to her friends comfortably as the doors of the two hangars closed behind them.
Lei Ming first dispatched three aircraft for the engineering team to return to the engineering dispatch center. After the three aircraft left, time was getting late. Mo Chuan mentioned that tonight, Director Ao Ci would host a small music feast in her home courtyard, inviting everyone to join in the festivities.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Huai recalled that Wanhua had come from Qingqiu Mountain to Di Qiu with Ao Ci and had been living at her house, so she asked, “Is Wanhua also there?”
Mo Chuan nodded, “Yes, she visited the Biological Research Station today.”
Zhu Huai straightened her collar, suddenly becoming serious, “Good, then let’s go together.” She hadn’t forgotten the need to improve her image in front of her ancestor.
“Alright, let’s all take a trip on the same aircraft then,” Mo Chuan said with a smile, patting her shoulder. She then turned to Luo Yu. “However, there’s one more thing tonight. Ji Shu’s two daughters are returning from Mount Buzhou for their studies, and today happens to be their birthday. They’ve set up a small family feast, and Ji Shu asked me to see if you’d like to join us and check out what’s happening on both sides. Where would you like to go?”
Luo Yu blinked. During her previous hurried trip to Qingqiu Mountain, she hadn’t found the right opportunity to thank Ji Shu for sending medicine to her niece, so she replied, “I’ll go to Professor Ji Shu’s place.”
After finalizing their travel plans, everyone started heading out from the helipad. Luo Yu boarded an aircraft sent by Ji Shu, flying towards Ji Shu’s sixth cliff dwelling.
As they took off, the sunset grew more vibrant, painting the horizon with hues under the clouds. Flocks of returning birds flapped their wings in the warm sunlight, creating a melodic chorus in the twilight.
Sitting in the front row of the aircraft, Luo Yu watched the birds in the sky, never having felt that the sound of their chirping could be so beautiful.
The sixth cliff dwelling was not too far from their ninth cliff dwelling. After about ten minutes, the aircraft began to slowly descend, landing at the foot of the cliff by the river.
There was already a butler robot sent by Ji Shu waiting on the helipad. When it saw Luo Yu step off the aircraft, the butler robot hurried forward to greet her, “Hello, Luo Yu. I am Professor Ji Shu’s butler. Welcome to the sixth cliff dwelling.”
Luo Yu nodded and followed it to the edge of the cliff. The helipad was built on a riverside tidal flat, with steep cliffs on one side and a calm, wide river surface on the other. A gentle and warm river breeze brushed past her.
At the foot of the cliff, there were a set of elevators. She took the elevator with the butler robot to the front desk of the sixth cliff dwelling. Here, there was also a green laser barrier leading to the other side of the mountain, where the jungle lay beyond.
As she looked outside, a voice chimed, “Guest of No. 7 Cave Villa has arrived at the front desk. Luo Yu, permissions granted. Please enter.”
Unsure of where the voice came from, she nodded slightly at the empty front desk of the cliff dwelling and continued to follow the butler robot inside.
The structure of the sixth cliff dwelling seemed quite similar to their ninth cliff dwelling, with only slight material differences in the stone wall patterns, suggesting they were likely not made from the same rock, she thought.
After taking another elevator and walking a few hundred meters, the butler robot stopped in front of a stone door. “The guest has arrived.”
The stone door quickly opened from both sides, revealing a young face she hadn’t seen before, immediately followed by another face almost identical to the first. One of them placed a hand on the other’s shoulder and leaned out to look as well. They both appeared to be around eight or nine years old, wearing curious expressions.
Just as Luo Yu was about to speak, Ji Shu walked up behind them, smiling. “You’re here, please come in.”
The two boys quickly stepped aside with cheerful smiles. “Please come in, welcome!”
They clustered around her as they walked inside, where a large lounge awaited them. The layout of this lounge was quite similar to the cave villa where Luo Yu and her friends stayed, just more spacious, likely because Ji Shu had more suites here.
When they reached the soft cushions in the lounge, Luo Yu saw two elderly ladies sitting there. Ji Shu smiled and introduced, “The lady on the left is my mother, and the one on the right is my aunt. The kids from my aunt’s family are currently traveling in Nanzhou, and Ji Qing is still at the geological monitoring station, so there aren’t many people for today’s family feast.”
The two elderly ladies kindly invited her to sit down, and then an in-house housekeeping system extended a robotic arm to offer her drinks. At that moment, Ji Shu and the two boys also sat down on the soft cushions.
As Luo Yu looked at them, she suddenly felt a bit awkward, realizing that everyone present was her ancestor from parallel time. It made her break into a slight sweat.
“Oh, right.” Luo Yu took out two small pendants from her pocket and handed them to the two boys. “Happy Birthday.”
She had picked these up just before coming, taking some intact parts dismantled by Zhu Huai during the repair of the time capsule on the Shan Hai Jing, and turning them into two pendants, each featuring a pure gold badge with the Shan Hai Jing logo.
They weren’t particularly valuable gifts and were prepared rather hastily, but she thought they at least held some significance as objects from external time-space. The two boys accepted them solemnly, thanked her, and appeared to be very fond of the gifts.
“They just returned from studies at the astronomical observatory on Mount Buzhou and are particularly interested in celestial bodies,” Ji Shu added with a smile. “So today, they specifically invited our friend from external time-space to visit and share experiences about space travel.” After saying this, she winked at Luo Yu. Luo Yu realized that Ji Shu hadn’t mentioned the genetic origins topic to her family, likely hoping she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable here. So, she was truly invited just as a friend.
The group chatted casually while lounging on the cushions before they all took turns to the nearby elevator to go upstairs to the courtyard for dinner.
By this time, night had fallen, and the evening breeze blowing from the river carried with it a refreshing scent. They gathered around a long table by the pond, tasting seasonal dishes, while the two boys cheerfully recounted their experiences from their visit to Mount Buzhou and asked Luo Yu about her adventures in space. The atmosphere at the small family feast was warm and joyful.
After finishing their meal, they sat on the courtyard terrace, sipping tea and stargazing. Luo Yu noticed Ji Shu come over to sit next to her, so she once again thanked her for the earlier delivery of medicine. Ji Shu smiled and waved her hand, “It was nothing much, just a small favor.” After that, she asked, “Is your sister a pilot like you?”
Luo Yu gently shook her head. “No, she is a biologist.”
