Chapter 44

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Chapter 44: A Nice Place

Luo Yu and Zhu Huai, dressed in wing suits, glided down to the helipad on the mountaintop, landing lightly at the entrance of the hangar like two large bats. The hangar robot waited there, its screen displaying the time at exactly midnight.

Following the hangar robot inside, they listened as it reported the situation within the hangar, including the specific time when the Shan Hai Jing’s communication device received a message.

Under normal circumstances, the hangar robot’s nighttime function was to ensure overall security, and unless there was a major disaster, it usually refrained from broadcasting messages. However, given that the Shan Hai Jing’s return was imminent, Zhu Huai had set up a notification system. Whenever the control panel received a message, regardless of the time, it would be sent immediately to the cave villa to keep them informed.

After listening to the hangar robot’s report, Luo Yu and Zhu Huai nodded without saying much. They instructed it to wait at the control room door and then climbed onto the navigation platform, opening the hatch to enter.

They settled into the cockpit, and Zhu Huai powered up the communication device, pulling up the latest message from external time-space.

Both held their breath in concentration, waiting for the message to display. Soon, three words and a question mark popped up on the screen: "Are you asleep?"

The two fell silent, glancing down at the message source; it was from Hu Jiao’s satellite phone. Zhu Huai leaned back in exasperation. "Seriously? Is she out of her mind? It’s the middle of the night, and she calls us from so far away just to chat?"

Luo Yu chuckled helplessly and pressed the callback button. The communication device emitted the sounds of connecting, "beep beep," and after about three minutes, Hu Jiao’s quiet voice came through, "Sorry, sister, it’s a bit late. Is it convenient to talk?"

Zhu Huai crossed her legs, propping her head on her arm. "You know, Hu Jiao, you should do less of this ‘I’m sorry’ stuff in the future. This place is quite peaceful; at this hour, it’s just us and the owls awake."

"Hey, Sister Huai, why are you here too? Did you recover?"

After contacting the space station, Luo Yu relayed the personnel returning on this flight, following their prior arrangement of fabricating an excuse for Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao being sick, stating that only Luo Yu would return alone. Hu Jiao, as the leader preparing to receive them, naturally knew about this situation.

Zhu Huai dropped her legs down in surprise. She forgot she shouldn’t speak, and awkwardly coughed a couple of times. "I’m… not that sick."

"Are you contagious? Why don’t you rest a bit? Keep your distance from my sister; I wouldn’t want her falling ill and unable to return. That would be troublesome."

Zhu Huai frowned at Hu Jiao’s remark. "What do you mean by that?"

Luo Yu stopped Zhu Huai right there. They hadn’t discussed any important matters once the call connected; these two were just bickering. "Come on, Hu Jiao is not a stranger. We still need her help with what follows; there’s nothing we can’t say."

She then briefly explained to Hu Jiao that Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao had decided to stay behind.

After hearing this, Hu Jiao clicked her tongue. "Sister Huai, that seems a bit inconsiderate. One person returning carries such a huge risk! Have you all been swayed by local sweet talk? What a nice place to stay that you don’t want to come back? Your resolve seems rather weak."

"You know nothing," Zhu Huai replied, crossing her legs again. "Sweet talk? This is the call of my ancient mother! Besides, letting Luo Yu return was already us making a concession. If it weren’t for her family situation, would I fix her time capsule? I’d just tie her up right here, and nobody would return, and what’s the point of this return journey…"

Luo Yu interrupted Zhu Huai just as she started her long-winded argument, giving Hu Jiao a simple update about their situation. "This world indeed exceeds our expectations; we don’t yet understand why it is like this thirty thousand years ago. So they chose to stay here to eventually uncover the mysteries involved."

Hu Jiao still seemed skeptical and was about to question them further about their situation when Luo Yu asked, "Did you message us for something specific?"

The three had just chatted casually, but Luo Yu sensed that Hu Jiao probably didn’t have any urgent matters. Their agreed time for this call was set for tomorrow morning, yet Hu Jiao had messaged in the middle of the night, which seemed odd to Luo Yu.

"Oh, right! I’m on vacation today and went to see the sea anemones this afternoon."

Luo Yu straightened her posture. "How is she?"

"She’s doing well, really well! She had a smooth blood transfusion. When I went, she was awake, and we played a couple of games of chess. I lost terribly; she’s really smart. She asked when you would be back, and I told her soon. She told me to let you know that she feels great and not to worry about her."

Luo Yu nodded in silence; she had been away for over twenty days now. Fortunately, before every mission, she prepared blood bags for the following month, just in case, and this time, it proved useful.

Seeing Luo Yu quiet, Hu Jiao asked again, "Your original return time shouldn’t have any issues, right? I noticed you reported to the space station that you need about ten more days to prepare. Are there still any uncertain factors?"

Luo Yu glanced at Zhu Huai beside her. "No issues; it’s just that there’s a section of the path without navigation, and the gravitational field leading to the time tunnel is quite complicated. I need to practice in the simulator here first, just in case I get lost and delay the journey." After saying this, she added, "How are things at the Bureau lately?"

Hu Jiao hesitated but didn’t mention her conversation with Zhu Long earlier that night. Instead, she gave a simple overview of the changes and current situation at the Time Bureau and the Bureau. "The new director dispatched by the federation is set to arrive in about two weeks, so he will be here just a few days after you return. Therefore, for your journey back, the space station will be under our control, so no need to worry."

Luo Yu thought for a moment after hearing this and did not ask anything else. "Alright, now that the communication is stable, feel free to contact me anytime if something comes up."

Hu Jiao recalled the task she received that night. "Okay, I might be a bit busy in a couple of days. Leave me a message if you have anything, and we’ll talk when it’s convenient."

Luo Yu responded with a hum, noticing it was getting late, and advised Hu Jiao to rest early. The Time Bureau’s temporary leave typically lasted only twenty-four hours. Since she went to see the sea anemones in the afternoon, they needed to return to the base by noon the next day.

Hu Jiao initially wanted to ask if Luo Yu knew about Zhu Long’s background, but she felt it would be inappropriate with Zhu Huai nearby. So, she said goodnight and ended the call. Luo Yu also reached out to turn off the communication device, and she and Zhu Huai both got up to leave the cockpit.

The hangar robot was still waiting at the control room door. Seeing them come out, it hurried over. "Do you two have any instructions?"

Luo Yu waved her hand. "Nothing important; we’re heading back. Everything is normal here."

"Understood." The hangar robot initiated a round of checks before closing the hangar doors. Confirming no abnormalities, it allowed the two to leave the simulator.

Having already put on their wing suits in the hangar, Luo Yu and Zhu Huai quickly returned to the cave villa. Just as they entered and took off their wing suits, Ying Zhao opened the door, rubbing her eyes. "You’re back? Was there something important?"

Ying Zhao felt a bit uneasy after they left, so she had arranged for the in-house housekeeping system to wake her when they returned.

"Nothing important," Zhu Huai said while putting away her wing suit. "It was just Hu Jiao talking about random things because she couldn’t sleep. You just keep resting; no need to worry."

After hearing Zhu Huai’s reassurance and seeing that Luo Yu also mentioned it wasn’t a big deal, only that Hu Jiao had messaged late due to her tight vacation schedule, Ying Zhao nodded. "Alright then, you both should rest early. I’ll probably eat breakfast and leave early tomorrow, so I won’t wait for you to wake up."

After the three exchanged goodnights, they didn’t linger in the lounge and each went back to their rooms.

The next morning, Luo Yu opened her door to find the soft cushions where Ying Zhao usually sat empty. She checked with the in-house housekeeping system and learned that Ying Zhao had already finished breakfast and left for the time travel center.

Luo Yu sat down alone, looking at the waterfall outside to wake herself up. Soon, Zhu Huai also got up, and they had breakfast together in the lounge, changed into their wing suits, and headed back to the mountaintop hangar to begin a new day of return simulation training.

As Luo Yu started her training for the day, Ying Zhao was walking with Ti Ran and others toward the assembly hall at the time travel center.

That day, the gathering had plenty of participants, and Ying Zhao recognized several familiar faces, including Mo Chuan and Lei Ming, as well as the two experts who helped restore the Shan Hai Jing’s communication device.

Since this project was initiated by Ti Ran, she also hosted the meeting for this reboot of historical time exploration.

Everyone settled into the circular assembly hall and ordered drinks from the Serving Robots. Once Ti Ran confirmed everyone was present, she walked to the center of the speaking platform and began explaining the task arrangement.

She introduced the team members, and Ying Zhao looked at the screen displaying photos of the three exploration team members, all unfamiliar faces. The introduction mentioned they were experienced space travelers, and they were the last team to explore during the world’s last historical time period journey, which took place eight thousand years ago. Now, they were back together for a new mission.

The three members seated in the front row looked somewhat excited. When Ti Ran introduced them, they stood up and waved to everyone in the assembly hall.

After introducing the team members, Ti Ran began discussing the upcoming flight route. This was the first attempt to explore areas beyond ten thousand years. At the entrance of the time tunnel, the further back in time, the more complex the gravitational field environment became. Therefore, this mission required a segmented approach, starting with the fringe area of ten thousand years before pushing forward. Each observation point would send back footage for real-time analysis on the ground.

Ying Zhao listened quietly as the task arrangements were explained. Afterward, everyone discussed a few detailed questions, and then Ti Ran invited them to move to the adjacent hangar to visit the time capsule set to launch for this mission.

Ying Zhao followed the crowd, leaving the assembly hall and taking the lift to the larger hangar, which was significantly bigger than a standard aircraft hangar. As everyone walked in, they indeed saw a disc-shaped spaceship parked in the center.

This spaceship was about twice the size of the Shan Hai Jing, constructed from a transparent material that displayed a silver color in its static state.

At that moment, the engineering expert responsible for designing the time capsule stepped forward to introduce the newly modified capsule and its travel principles, which allowed for the expansion of historical time range, while also addressing the complex gravitational field situations near long-distance time tunnels.

Ying Zhao listened intently and followed the others around the time capsule for a closer look. Upon completing her examination, she noted that this time capsule’s method for handling complex gravitational fields relied heavily on its overall disc shape, enabling the pilot to make adjustments with maximum flexibility.

After inspecting the outside, she joined Ti Ran inside the time capsule for a tour and examined the cockpit control panel. There were some technical aspects worth consulting to help Zhu Huai apply them to the Shan Hai Jing; however, they faced the significant challenge of uncertainty in the gravitational field during Luo Yu’s solo return journey, which couldn’t be mitigated with existing technology.

Unless they altered the Shan Hai Jing’s capsule structure, but such changes would undeniably take too much time.