Chapter 84

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/

Chapter 84: Global Wanted Notice

Wen Yang looked at the two of them, pressed her lips together in a smile, and turned the wanted notice over. The back displayed AI restoration simulation photos of both of them, about seventy percent resembling their actual faces.

Xue Zheng gasped, leaning closer to examine it. “The rendering is surprisingly accurate!” She quickly pulled out her international citizenship card from the neutral state, recalling that their new ID only contained names, genders, and biometric chips, without photos.

This highlighted the advantages of being an international citizen from a neutral state. Typically, holders of this status are essential personnel within the World Unity Organization or secret operatives. They usually go by codenames, with high confidentiality surrounding their facial information. The identity database is also prohibited from being accessed for information matching by any country, and previous nationality details are completely erased upon becoming international citizens.

Wen Jing sat down leisurely. “Director Yao is definitely using this wanted notice to point at us. The information reveals just enough; if there were more, we’d have to flee to outer space.”

Wen Yang shook her head and smiled helplessly. “You two have really angered Yao Chi this time. I don’t think she has encountered anyone bold enough to toy with her like this.”

Xue Zheng sat down beside her, and with a glance exchanged between Wen Jing, they both smirked. The international citizenship had been arranged for them by Yao Chi. The Noah Launch Site was also a mission she assigned. Yao Chi wouldn’t genuinely expose their identities, as that would be like shooting herself in the foot. Moreover, she wouldn’t disclose their old nationalities to avoid dragging the Alliance into this global chaos, making the situation even more uncontrollable.

Thus, Yao Chi had to coordinate with the Alliance and the Space Administration to ensure the confidentiality of Wen Jing and Xue Zheng’s personal information.

Yao Chi had to reluctantly take this silent loss while the investigation into the three air raids on the Federation placed pressure on the Special Operations Department. Now, both the Southern Federation and the Western Federation were sending people to uncover the truth, trying to implicate the Northern Continent and the Alliance in the blame, forcing both sides to pay for the losses resulting from the Federation’s re-collapse.

In this situation, the Special Operations Department had to quickly identify the true culprit to defuse the potential international conflict, which led to the issuance of the two global wanted notices today.

The World Unity Organization’s latest public statement regarding this matter asserted that the two former Execution Team members from the Time Bureau were caught up with the former Strategic Commander and Fuxi’s organization behind the time curtain, accidentally finding themselves trapped in historical time periods. After overcoming numerous challenges to return to the surface, instead of receiving awards, they faced dismissal and removal from their positions, fostering resentment toward the Federation and the Euyun family.

After losing their jobs, they were left with no alternatives and took matters into their own hands by hijacking fighter jets for revenge, categorizing their actions as personal extremist terror rather than being controlled or directed by any power faction.

Wen Jing laughed at this point. Initially, she thought Yao Chi’s decision to publicize their photos was somewhat unfair. However, she recalled that upon their landing, they immediately accepted inquiries from the Special Operations Department, and Yao Chi had personally come to meet them. Since she had seen Luo Yu and Zhu Huai, it was impossible for her to deliberately conceal their appearances on the wanted notice; otherwise, she would be inviting trouble.

Wen Jing pondered this a moment before reassuredly remembering that before leaving, she had tasked Hu Jiao in the Personnel Department to erase their information one by one. With their true identities kept confidential in the Time Bureau, few people knew their real names, meaning the wanted notice wouldn’t reveal any substantial loopholes for the Space Administration, making it easier for Yao Chi to postpone the pursuit of their capture.

“What an interesting tale of a hardworking person seeking revenge on society! The public explanation sounds surprisingly plausible,” Xue Zheng leaned back against the sofa, propping her feet up. “Director Yao is just trying to do her job; achieving this much is truly a compromise—it’s all about mutual understanding.”

After some casual banter, the two followed Wen Yang to a small dining area near the cafeteria for a meal. After lunch, Wen Yang had a meeting to attend, so the two took their ice cream cones from the carrier and leisurely made their way back to the rest chamber.

As they stepped into the lounge of the rest chamber, they heard the tablet request a video call. Wen Jing went over and found it was from Hu Jiao. The two hurriedly sat on the sofa and connected the video.

Xue Zheng glanced at the time; it was only eight in the evening. Seeing Hu Jiao’s flushed cheeks, it seemed she had been drinking. “Aren’t you supposed to have a banquet? Why did it end so early?”

“It hasn’t ended! I slipped out to a small meeting room. It would take until midnight to wait for the banquet to finish. I figured I’d report to you as soon as possible,” Hu Jiao explained while sipping some water on the other end of the video.

Wen Jing understood her well; Hu Jiao loathed those social events where the cups passed around with false warmth. She knew she could never relax at gatherings like that. Clearly, she had quietly greeted Zhu Long before escaping to find some peace. Ying Zhao likely felt the same way about the fuss, so Wen Jing asked, “What about Ying Zhao? Didn’t she come out with you?”

Hu Jiao shook her head. “Sister Ying is even more carefree than me; she directly declined to attend the banquet and headed to the laboratory.” Leaning forward, she revealed with a hint of mystery, "She has a scheduled call with a certain Professor Ti Ran from thirty thousand years ago!"

“Professor Ti Ran.”

“Ah, right! That’s the one! They have an important call tonight, so after the appointment ceremony, she found an excuse to sneak away.”

Wen Jing and Xue Zheng exchanged glances. Given the timing, after they left the Ponsuo Tribe, the center for time travel would initiate another exploration to the previous two historical time periods. This call from Ti Ran likely concerned the recent exploration findings.

Ying Zhao had mentioned this to them before, but due to their current position floating on the sea and the sometimes unstable signal, joining the call from a third party might impact the cross-time communication connection. They decided to wait for Ying Zhao to finish her talk with Ti Ran before seeking synchronization.

“Alright then, let’s talk about Ying Zhao’s situation later,” Wen Jing said with a smile. “Now share the details of your promotion and raise with us.”

Hu Jiao chuckled, “Oh, this story is quite the tale. Let me tell you everything in detail.” She took another sip of water and began recounting her evening break-in at Jacob Euyun’s office.

That night, Zhu Long had instructed her to retrieve an information card containing keys for partial assets of the Euyun family, leaving behind a card that looked identical and putting another in a hidden spot. That second card contained a recorded conversation between Jacob Euyun and the two directive officers from the Bureau Office, exposing their negotiations, strategy for the immigration plan, and the benefits they could provide to those two wealthy families.

To be fair, Jacob Euyun was quite incompetent. Yao Chi’s assessment of him was spot-on; he revealed many things that shouldn’t have been spoken of to the two directive officers plainly. His recording laid bare all those conspiracies, which Zhu Long’s people carefully documented. This left the two formerly discreet federal seats in the Bureau Office unable to maintain their positions because of the World Unity Organization’s demands.

Afterward, Jacob Euyun tried to control the Bureau Office and forcibly took over the arrangements of the Time Bureau but failed. Shortly after, his villa caught fire, and generations of the Euyun family perished in the flames. The Special Operations Department quickly took over the investigation, while the Inspection Department searched Jacob Euyun’s and the two directive officers’ offices, recovering their recording information cards. The two directive officers were detained that same day and have now been handed to the Special Operations Department for interrogation.

Thus, all federal positions within the Space Administration became vacant once again. With the Federation disbanding anew, the Space Administration was finally able to eliminate the Federal interference.

Zhu Long had exerted considerable effort in cleaning up the Bureau Office, holding some resources from the Euyun family in her hands. Her assumption of the Strategic Commander position was virtually guaranteed, as the other candidates posted by the Personnel Department were merely a formality.

With Zhu Long formally entering the Bureau Office, it signified a tightening of global space authority. What the Space Administration aimed to push forward next was to change the number of representatives in the Bureau Office, reducing the original seven directive officers to five, which required further negotiations with the World Unity Organization.

Hu Jiao had managed to ride Zhu Long’s coattails. In reality, with her age and experience, she wasn’t qualified for the position of Executive Officer in the Time Bureau. However, Zhu Long had already brought in her own people for the deputy position and assigned someone to take over the Inspection Department. Thus, it wasn’t too jarring for Hu Jiao to take the same position since she and one other young subordinate would handle affairs for the Time Bureau.

Considering the capture of the organization behind the time curtain, the Euyun family’s downfall, and the impending giant solar flares, the Time Bureau’s operational duties would gradually tighten. For the other Executive Officers in the Bureau Office besides Zhu Long, the importance of the Time Bureau would diminish. Therefore, no one expressed any objections toward Hu Jiao taking over.

“I feel a little guilty about this position; really, it’s all thanks to Zhu Long looking out for you two. It’s entirely dependent on the arrangements made before your departure,” Hu Jiao said, laughing, and bowed slightly to them.

Zhu Long had already instructed the recovery center of the Time Bureau and all execution teams to follow Hu Jiao’s lead henceforth. Additionally, there was also Wen Jing’s private directive to Ying Zhao to assist Hu Jiao more in the future. Furthermore, the new head of the maintenance team previously hailed from Xue Zheng’s apprenticeship, and most of the other engineers were trained by her. Without her mentions before leaving, the maintenance team might not have taken this young new Executive Officer seriously.

“Just take the position.” Xue Zheng picked up the wanted notice from the table, pointing it toward Hu Jiao. “We earned this while fleeing for our lives, so cherish it well.”

Hu Jiao laughed heartily. “I saw that wanted notice today too. Director Yao even came to visit us because of it! She spent two hours in Zhu Long’s office this morning. Who knows what they discussed? Everyone somewhat understands the implications; Director Yao aims to use this to placate the Federation and the Northern Continent. Thanks to you two, the Special Operations Department is so busy that they wish they could split a person in two; they can’t spare the manpower to catch you.”

Wen Jing chuckled and shook her head. “I see that wanted notice as a warning for us not to think of running around again. But, in truth, we still have plenty to do. Let’s observe how the situation develops.”

After chatting for a while longer, Hu Jiao received a call—Zhu Long was informing her that the fireworks show had ended and urging her to come back. So, Hu Jiao quickly bid farewell and ended the video call.

Wen Jing and Xue Zheng remained seated on the sofa, discussing their future plans. They planned to return to the neutral state via the aircraft carrier before finalizing their next itinerary. They chatted until about nine-thirty, when another video call came in from Ying Zhao.

Xue Zheng pressed the answer button, quickly seeing Ying Zhao on the other end. Wen Jing hurriedly asked, “Is there any news from Professor Ti Ran?”

Ying Zhao nodded seriously. “Yes, her exploration team returned today, bringing back images of the apocalyptic scenarios from the previous historical cyclical time periods they visited.”