Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The nearly twenty-five-year-long internal Human infiltration operation, known as the "Acquaintance" plan, was finally declared over following Alok's failure. Based on the member list provided by Wen Yue City, governments around the world launched the "Lightning Arrest" operation almost simultaneously. Most of the "Acquaintances" were captured within a month.
What sent chills down people's spines was that most of these "Acquaintances" were embedded in cultural and industrial sectors, areas that significantly influence social infrastructure. They acted like parasites, gnawing away at the flesh and nerves of sturdy teeth. Fortunately, these impostors lacked armed means, and none had enough influence to sway a group of believers. In the global wave of arrests over that month, there were no major bloodshed incidents, political upheavals, or social riots.
The complete dismantling of the "Acquaintance" plan was seen by the United Nations as "the first milestone victory in humanity's countdown to counterattack." During that month, no matter which live broadcast one turned to on television, it was hard to escape the phrase—"a great relief." The parasites lurking nearby, controlling, influencing, and stealing from people, had finally been eradicated; this sentiment resonated with all of humanity. An Xiaotian, Lu Sha, and Wu Xiaolong received an invitation to a banquet from the Dubai Royal Family. It was said that dignitaries from various countries would attend, and as primary participants in the event, they were naturally highly anticipated. However, An Xiaotian politely declined the invitation, and Wu Xiaolong went in his stead along with Lu Sha.
"I have uploaded all the data we collected at the fight scene with An Xiaotian to the cloud," Jiao An closed his laptop. "He can only use Earth's information technology most of the time, so we found everything he did on Earth in his bedroom computer, projection tablet, phone, and five discovered USB drives. However, it's strange that during our joint effort to hunt down Nian Gui and during your time at the 749 International Response Center with Sasa, all the messages he sent fell into a fixed code that is currently believed to be related to the still-evading stalker."
Wen Yue City listened intently and requested Jiao An's organized data. After examining it for a long time, he proposed an opposing viewpoint: "It doesn't seem right. Although I'm not a formal engineer, at least from our shared intuition within internal Human circles, this appears to be a fixed signal coordinate."
"You mean it's a location?" Liu Xuan's left eye turned moonlight color as Nars stood up with both hands on the table. "The only possibility is that the ones who slipped through must have a refuge."
"Yes... yes, that's my humble opinion. Moreover, I believe that Alok, as a direct disciple of the stalker, left behind extremely important information that could definitely reveal some keywords. However, regarding cleaning up those who slipped through the net, I think it's not yet time to strike because based on my understanding of internal Human operations, where there is one refuge, there must be backups—and they are definitely not just for hiding."
"What do you think they might be used for?"
"Do you remember Water Skimming Warp? I was selected back then because I had good ship repair skills and understood the basic operational steps. If I remember correctly, the stalker has an Energy Column used for positioning."
"What does it position?" Jiao An asked curiously.
"The principle of Water Skimming Warp is to break through cosmic limitations through string resonance and briefly ascend into higher-dimensional space for navigation. But here lies a clear drawback: The starship's course gains an additional axis in higher-dimensional space; our time will drastically shorten—one minute could equal ten thousand lunar orbital cycles or even more here. If we want to control the initial course, the ship would already be caught in a new time flow; operating at particle points is nearly impossible. Therefore, our current method requires setting up Quantum String Engine Locators at either endpoints or other markers for precise navigation—at least three are needed to determine coordinates along three axes. That's all I know; I hope for your forgiveness."
"No need to be so humble." Nars faced Wen Yue City without his previous intimidating demeanor and said thoughtfully, "Qin Weishan is right; this could be our chance to change our fate together. Thank you for providing this clue; Wen Yue City, I believe I may have a strategy now."
"So you accept me now?"
Nars did not answer him but switched personalities to Liu Xuan. Liu Xuan turned back and smiled at him before leaving Jiao An's office while reminding Jiao An who was about to water plants: "Sister! Don't forget to go to the training hall; Brother Weishan has arranged special training for you."
"I still need him to train me," Jiao An replied reluctantly but eventually agreed.
"Brother, just go once," Lu Sha said playfully while pulling on An Xiaotian's arm at the entrance of their villa area. She looked up at him with a hint of coaxing in her eyes. "It's with the Dubai royal family! Just go once; it feels awkward if I'm the only one from our alliance."
"You..." An Xiaotian wanted to maintain a stern expression but remembered Lu Sha's successful human enhancement experiment—only needing final application—and felt uneasy since she remained unaware of it. "The Xiaolong will take care of you; enjoy yourself there and come back when you're ready to focus again. Understand? Perform well and let us know if there's any important information."
An Xiaotian hoped Lu Sha could relax outside; he feared that staying in the villa area would put too much pressure on her—not just because of her previous reckless behavior but also due to keeping her body enhancement plan confidential for now. He always remembered General Jiang's words: accompany teammates sincerely and inspire them to believe this is a home—a family built on mutual trust. Once Lu Sha grasped this concept better, she might find it easier to accept when told about modifications to her body.
The following days became relatively easier as old grievances among alliance members gradually dissipated. This rare tranquility allowed everyone to try doing what they wanted.
An Xiaotian met with Ma Yihan at her designated location and obtained Yang Meng's diary from before her passing. Before leaving, Ma Yihan embraced An Xiaotian warmly and hoped he could move past this shadow while also requesting him to spend more time with Liu Xuan since she had little time due to preparing for graduate school exams.
Upon returning to the villa area, An Xiaotian buried Yang Meng's diary beneath her favorite Phoenix flower bush in the garden. Before war broke out again, he didn't want to dwell on past memories; if he survived and returned alive someday, he would dig it up; if he didn't make it back, then every bit of Yang Meng's life in this world would nourish her beloved flowers across lifetimes.
Exactly one month after Alok faced off against An Xiaotian, Alok was declared dead. An Xiaotian realized he had been too harsh; Alok suffered three broken ribs and a fractured skull along with internal injuries due to his body's structure being incompatible with human anatomy. The doctors worked hard just to maintain his vital signs over a month-long treatment; Alok couldn't even speak before ultimately passing away in his hospital bed—completing his mission nonetheless.
"After saving him for so long without getting even one word of information before he died—it would have been better if Xiaotian had just killed him then; what a waste of resources," Qin Weishan casually blocked Jiao An's high kick as if chatting like an old man.
Jiao An looked far from relaxed. Her hair was damp and tangled, sticking to her forehead in clumps, and her fists were raised protectively, revealing her fierce gaze.
"Can you not look so menacing?" Qin Weishan said, trying to suppress a laugh as Jiao An launched another attack. He blocked each punch effortlessly. "Don't drop your guard; you're throwing too few heavy punches. You won't achieve any explosive power like this."
In a fit of determination, Jiao An delivered a powerful front kick that sent the unprotected Qin Weishan crashing to the ground. She leaned back against the ropes of the boxing ring, watching him struggle to get back up, and finally let out a laugh that felt like a release of pent-up frustration. "If this weren't a boxing ring, I would have kicked you in the face ages ago."
Qin Weishan was hardly fazed; after all, he had earned the nickname "Asian Boxing King" during his time in the military, proving his resilience time and again. He approached Jiao An, brushing off his clothes, and placed his right hand on the ropes beside her shoulder. "It's normal for girls not to have enough strength, but my expectations for you are different. You managed to defeat me back then solely through your agility and technique. But when you face someone stronger, it ends up like this..."
"Hey! Get lost!" Jiao An punched him squarely on the joint of his outstretched arm, causing him to shield himself with both arms. "We're not that kind of relationship; don't get so close!"
"When will we be?"
"Huh? Don't..."
In front of Qin Weishan, Jiao An's authoritative demeanor vanished. As she watched Foolish Qin stubbornly place his hand on her waist, she suddenly felt flustered. She closed her eyes and turned her face away, feeling his warm presence drawing nearer...
"Cough!"
They both quickly turned around, hastily adjusting their clothes. Liu Xuan had been so engrossed in watching that he choked on his drink. Originally, An Xiaotian had been peeking with him at the door; upon being discovered, he exclaimed in alarm and hurriedly pulled Liu Xuan away as they sprinted downstairs without stopping, dragging Dr. Chen Hao along with them.
"Stop! Stop!" Chen Hao shouted as he crouched down on the ground. "I'm not one of you! I'm just a middle-aged greasy fat guy! Why are you dragging me into a hundred-meter dash?"
An Xiaotian and Liu Xuan exchanged amused glances because they both knew what each other was thinking—back in school, they had also spied on couples in much the same way. Innocence and sincerity were reserved only for those they cherished most.
In truth, Chen Hao wanted to call them out because Qin Weishan and Jiao An's new gear had made significant breakthroughs, and he wanted to surprise them after their long wait. Liang Muqi and Xu Yicheng truly lived up to their title as Twin Stars; in their world of top scientists, emotions were seldom mixed in; only their grasp of knowledge allowed them to collaborate effectively. Regardless of whether they led the projects or not, both would offer help within their capabilities as if they had endless energy. The equipment for Qin Weishan and Jiao An was not primarily their doing but rather a task assigned to Chen Hao and his team; Liang Muqi and Xu Yicheng merely provided guidance on electromechanical assembly and material design for various components. Surprisingly, their collaborative report helped these two projects catch up with Lu Sha's human enhancement program, which had completed all its experimental processes first.
An Xiaotian and Liu Xuan recounted everything they had seen in detail, prompting Chen Hao's curiosity to spike: "Hey! I knew it! They grew up together at the base, executing countless missions and participating in numerous drills and competitions! Anyone would develop feelings under those circumstances."
For now, neither Jiao An nor Qin Weishan dared to show themselves among the others; however, their relationship had become the most intriguing topic amidst everyone's heavy workload. Even those who didn't know them well could sense something brewing since they investigated a sealed-off scene together a month ago.
As evening fell, Jiao An took the initiative to pull Qin Weishan and An Xiaotian down to sit on the stone steps of the garden. "Even a bat knows this is called dating," she said while glancing at Xiao Zhongda hanging from the grapevine above; he had been a valuable assistant for the Antimatter Energy project during this time. "But your timing is all wrong—no wait—it's way off."
"We're not dating," Jiao An said as she spread her hands toward Xiao Zhongda. "Foolish Qin is just being ridiculous."
"No, we are dating," Qin Weishan corrected her.
"What are you talking about? Did I agree to anything?"
"But... what about later?"
"Later?" Jiao An was confused. "Have you gone stupid from all that training?"
Qin Weishan pointed at the silent An Xiaotian and confessed to Jiao An: "Do you know why we can say similar things? I advised Nars based on what he told Lu Sha—remember?"
"I remember."
"Because I don't want to lose you, Jiao An." Qin Weishan's words were surprisingly gentle, a stark contrast to his towering height of nearly six and a half feet. "There are only a few months left, and no one knows if they will survive. If I have to sacrifice myself... I don't know what fate holds. But if I go through my life without experiencing love even once, knowing that we were meant for each other yet unable to fulfill that... Jiao An, I don't want to wait any longer."
Comment 0 Comment Count