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With the driver included, there were five people at the table, chatting about the years Lu Sha spent growing up in the orphanage and the little things about Xu Yicheng being a professor at a national key university. For the first half hour, everyone deliberately avoided discussing Liu Xuan's family matters and how he acquired his abilities, until Nars noticed that Liu Xuan was either silent or forcing a smile. He deliberately mentioned Aibo's name and asked Xu Yicheng how he met Aibo.
This question seemed to open the floodgates for Xu Yicheng, who immediately began to recount his experience of accepting an invitation from Professor Wang Ting. Lu Sha and Liu Xuan became listeners, while the driver focused on his meal, trying to appear uninterested. "Looks like Dr. Xu is quite lucky," he remarked after another half hour. Finally, feeling exhausted from talking, Xu Yicheng lit a cigarette. Liu Xuan, feeling emotional, finally spoke up and commented, "If only my experiences with Nars were as romantic."
"I think our experiences are pretty similar to those of Dr. Xu and his partner," Nars countered.
"So... Aibo isn't even the strongest Stone Giant, huh?" Lu Sha, engrossed in the conversation, was holding a freshly cooked crab leg shell in her hand and took a moment to realize it was hot before tossing it onto her plate.
Xu Yicheng nodded and said, "All ancestors of the Stone Giant Titans trace back to an elder named Yuan Zun. The most mysterious supernatural life forms in the universe—Life Crystals and Chaos Crystals—have been hidden in the Sun system for tens of millions of years. Later, when Nars's predecessors saw that Earth was still in its primitive state, they thought hiding the Life Crystals here would be safe. They entrusted them to Yuan Zun, who used them to create his descendants, with one appearing every three hundred thousand years. Aibo is only slightly older than the most recently born four-armed giant."
"I see," said Lu Sha, suddenly enlightened. She continued with curiosity, "So where is Yuan Zun Titan now?"
"Everyone knows how that ended. To protect the Life Crystals, Yuan Zun sacrificed his own body to create a protective shield around them. Unfortunately, he underestimated the strength of those thieves... If only Yuan Zun and the other Stone Giants were still alive, things might be much easier for us."
As Xu Yicheng extinguished his cigarette butt in his plate, he noticed everyone had lowered their heads in silence. The once lively dinner had suddenly turned quiet, making the driver—who had been unable to join in on the conversation—feel particularly out of place. He glanced at everyone and quietly turned off his phone.
Realizing he might have ruined the atmosphere, Xu Yicheng quickly cleared his throat. "Hey, Liu Xuan, why don't you tell us how you guys managed to defeat the first wave of enemies? Honestly, I'm very curious."
"Mm-hmm!" Lu Sha perked up again, resting her chin on her hands at the table.
Until now, it had been all about what Xu Yicheng was saying; Liu Xuan hadn't spoken a word. With this new topic thrown into play by Xu Yicheng, however, he was currently sipping soup and felt somewhat annoyed at being interrupted during his meal. As he glanced over at her, he saw that Lu Sha was looking at him with wide eyes as if urging him to hurry up and finish eating. Feeling like he had a cotton ball stuck in his throat, he reluctantly separated his bowl from his mouth.
"Well, let's talk about that later..."
"Hey!"
Before he could finish explaining himself, Lu Sha shot him an unhappy glare.
"No! You see, during that battle, I wasn't with them! I wasn't with Nars. While they were coordinating with the army, I was facing off against a leader from the internal human forces of the Sun system—a weirdo named Xiu Sha. Not only did he have two goat horns on his head, but his body could also transform into a plasma form; it was absolutely disgusting." Liu Xuan shrugged. "If it weren't for Sister Jiao An, you wouldn't be seeing me here today."
"Sister Jiao An is that amazing? Tell us more!" exclaimed Lu Sha, slapping the table and startling everyone.
"Girls are so nosy," muttered Xu Yicheng, patting the driver beside him quietly; the driver just smiled without saying anything.
"Liu Xuan" continued: "At that time, we were at a disadvantage against Xiu Sha. His unique body structure allowed him to strike from unexpected angles; even someone as strong as Nars almost got killed by him. Luckily, during that critical moment, your sister Jiao An fired just in time. Her shot was aimed accurately but was caught by Xiu Sha."
"Caught?!"
"Yes! He caught it with his hand. You see, he's also trained in Spell Arts. His advanced self was constantly detecting external threats. At that moment, Sister Jiao An was about eight hundred meters away; his advanced self had enough time to control his body. But that didn't mean it was useless; Sister Jiao An's attack distracted him long enough for us to create illusions and buy ourselves precious ten seconds."
Now sitting up straight from leaning back in his chair, Xu Yicheng listened intently and asked, "Illusions?"
"One of the spells from the Moon People’s Spell Arts; it's similar to what Aibo can do with creating illusions. This ability is actually something they developed after enhancing their brains," explained Liu Xuan. "Those precious ten seconds were when I and Nars coordinated perfectly! In that instant, I suggested to him to shift his true form above Xiu Sha, while I set up an illusion for him. Then... swoosh!" He made a slashing gesture with his hand. "His true form separated mid-air and came down right on target at Xiu Sha's neck!"
"Wow!" exclaimed Lu Sha, her face lighting up with excitement. "That's amazing! What about everyone else? Like our captain, Xiaotian!"
"Oh him?" said Liu Xuan, suddenly adopting a comical expression. "What’s this? So concerned about him?"
"Where did you get that idea? I have a boyfriend... well, used to," replied an embarrassed Lu Sha stammering as she struggled to explain herself.
Xu Yicheng raised an eyebrow at Lu Sha and said, "But he has a girlfriend, you know."
"Ah?" Lu Sha instantly looked deflated, shrinking back slightly and lowering his head. "Alright then."
"However, let's get back to the point," Liu Xuan slowly put away his smile and said, "Xiaotian has grown faster than any new recruit. He indeed has the talent, but his level of dedication is unmatched. In addition to the basic five to six hours of firearms training and physical training required for every Special Forces Soldier, he also has access to specialized armor control simulations and VR combat training, along with various theoretical studies. He has worked very hard to meet everyone's expectations. I have praised him as a hero since childhood; I have always grown up under his protection, and I am very grateful to him. I trust him unconditionally, and it has proven that I was right. Xiaotian will always be a great leader."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Liu Xuan's evaluation.
"During that battle, he and Divine Fist Qin Weishan subdued the most troublesome enemy aside from Xiu Sha, Shatterer Gad. Later, it was he who led us in our counterattack that allowed us to achieve final victory. He is our backbone; without him, our Celestial Warriors Alliance would be like a scattered sand."
Xu Yicheng suddenly put down his chopsticks and asked, "I heard Xiaotian went through a period of depression. How did he manage to pull through? Can you share?"
"This is also something I've heard secondhand because I hadn't officially joined the special forces squad—our alliance's predecessor," Liu Xuan replied. "General Wang Yangchen's death left Xiaotian heartbroken; it was Brother Weishan who scolded him awake."
"That guy?" Lu Sha was taken aback.
"Weishan?" Liu Xuan glanced at Lu Sha. "Yes."
Xu Yicheng was unaware of the situation between Lu Sha and Qin Weishan. Seeing Lu Sha appear somewhat uncomfortable, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"I..." Lu Sha felt mixed emotions. "I think Qin Weishan has some issues."
"They had a coordination mishap on the battlefield; Lu Sha still holds a grudge," Nars chimed in to explain. "His prey got scared away by a teammate's impulsiveness; anyone would be annoyed in that situation. But Lu Sha, the battlefield is ever-changing; plans can never keep up with changes. Such things will always happen in the future; there's no need to nitpick. As long as we can achieve victory, all disputes can be resolved."
"Yeah, we completed our mission quite well, didn't we? The captain said so, and the general too," Xu Yicheng waved his hand casually. "Besides, Weishan is actually a good person."
"Haha, anyway..." Liu Xuan quickly changed the subject. "Brother Weishan saved your Sister Jiao An! If he had given up too, they might really have been lost. So I think you guys can let bygones be bygones; there's no need to be so entangled in this matter. We're all on the same side; facing future challenges together is our primary task," Liu Xuan said while scratching his head.
Lu Sha did not respond to everyone. At that moment, Liu Xuan felt a vibration on his leg and took out his phone; it was a call from An Xiaotian.
"Hello?"
"Stop messing around and come back quickly; there's something going on."
"What now? I'll be right back."
Liu Xuan sighed and glanced at the nearly finished meal before saying, "Looks like we have work to do, Celestial Warriors. Doctor, please take care of the bill."
M City Military Base
An Xiaotian, Jiao An, and Qin Weishan sat side by side in the command room watching Dr. Chen Hao adjust the machines above them. General Jiang paced beside Chen Hao, occasionally glancing at his wristwatch or peeking at the signal display on the table. It seemed he was anxious about something related to the sender's markings.
"Where did they go?" Qin Weishan asked An Xiaotian, who shrugged and replied, "Probably in the city; I'm not really sure."
"General, why don't you give us three a brief overview of what's going on? We can get into specifics when they arrive," Jiao An suggested.
"No," General Jiang insisted firmly. "The situation this time is very strange."
The police had sent a video to Jiao An. Although she had previously served in the Armed Police and was among the top individuals in national law enforcement with quite a reputation within that circle, being approached so suddenly after leaving the police force for military service left her puzzled. The sender even specifically reminded Jiao An that it would be best for everyone to watch the video file together because studying it alone might cause discomfort, which piqued her curiosity even more. When she opened it yesterday and saw a dark scene inside, she immediately felt a strong sense of unease and decisively submitted the sender's video file to General Jiang today along with an explanation of its origins.
Hearing that the information came from the police, General Jiang speculated that it must be another case with no leads that required Jiao An's involvement. However, after watching the video, he had the same pale expression as Jiao An did yesterday—pale and furrowed brows.
Footsteps approached from outside, and soon the faces of Liu Xuan, Xu Yicheng, and Lu Sha appeared on the monitor.
"You've taken too long," General Jiang said, although he hadn't specifically asked them to return by a certain time. At this moment, there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his gaze. He crossed his arms and looked at them from the command platform, much like a stern homeroom teacher watching playful children return to class. Lu Sha and Liu Xuan lowered their heads, not daring to meet General Jiang's eyes. Xu Yicheng pouted and silently placed a bag of snacks that Lu Sha had just bought on the corner nearby, while also stuffing his sunglasses and mask into his pocket.
"Take your seats," An Xiaotian called out. Lu Sha jogged over to sit next to Jiao An, who pointed with his eyes at the bag of snacks. Lu Sha grinned and stuck out his tongue at Sister Jiao An.
"Before we begin, I must remind everyone that this footage may cause discomfort, so please prepare yourselves mentally," General Jiang said as he opened the file.
The video was over ten minutes long, with distant streetlights being the only source of light in the dark night. The moon was shrouded by clouds, leaving the world devoid of any luster. The trees loomed like black phantoms, their leaves sharp like jagged teeth. The branches swayed in the wind, clashing against each other and creating a desolate sound. The perspective was captured through a window; faint scratches were visible on the glass. Through the window—and now through the screen—everyone could hear the rising and falling sounds from outside in the dark night, with wild grass reflecting the limits of the image. The videographer stood up and began to walk out of the room; in the distance, there seemed to be some sounds resembling beasts roaring, accompanied by the videographer's increasingly rapid breaths due to fear.
An Xiaotian noticed that there was also a coordinate location displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, indicating where this phone was located—not far from the city.
General Jiang paused the footage and explained, "This is near a cemetery in U City. This footage is initially believed to have been recorded by the caretaker."
"Initially believed?" Liu Xuan asked.
"Yes," General Jiang nodded. "Because this person has likely encountered trouble."
"This is information sent by the U City police. Since Jiao An previously worked at U City's police station, they hope he can help investigate the truth behind this video. A few days ago, this cemetery's caretaker suddenly disappeared as if he had evaporated into thin air. His family reported it to the police; U City initially dispatched public security officers to investigate on-site but unexpectedly found that all the graves had seemingly been dug up—there wasn't a single body left; all were empty graves, neatly arranged without exception."
"Oh my..." Lu Sha clenched his fists and shifted uncomfortably.
"This was originally just a missing person case that the police could handle easily, but things became bizarre at this point. Initially, they thought it might be a gang's doing until they decrypted the phone left behind by the caretaker and retrieved its video."
The video continued as the caretaker slowly approached the cemetery, hiding between two trees while zooming in 6.7 times on that area of graves. A figure stood in the middle of the cemetery with an eerie glow emanating from its arm. Then those grave mounds began to shake; roaring sounds grew louder as the camera started to shake.
Something seemed to reach out from within the darkness. Everyone squinted their eyes to see clearly. Suddenly, that thing vanished back into darkness.
The roaring turned into faint murmurs.
The camera shifted to another side, causing everyone to gasp in shock as they saw something emerge from the ground—a person!
Then figures began to break free from their sealed graves and crawl out one by one. An Xiaotian counted along with the footage; at least thirty monsters appeared in this video.
As the camera turned back to where that initial figure stood, everyone saw that it seemed to have gray eyes staring directly at them through the lens.
The camera quickly turned back toward the house as that last figure stepped closer into view.
The video abruptly cut off.
"My God!" Xu Yicheng's pupils reflected Virgil's disfigured female corpse face from that final frame of video.
————Time-Space Branch - After the Clash 1: The Zombie Tide Erupts
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