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墨書 Inktalez
March 3rd, 6:20 AM
Under the guidance of Uncle Bian, the butler of the Song Family, all the equipment transported by the heavy truck had been moved to the designated locations. After following him back and forth several times, An Xiaotian was truly amazed by the wealth of the Song Family. Sitting in their trailer, even the back seat had a television. When they first set off, Uncle Bian pointed to a tall building not far ahead and said it was their group headquarters. An Xiaotian looked up; it was already past four in the morning, yet he could still vaguely see lights on in the high-rise.
After about five minutes of traveling at approximately forty kilometers per hour, An Xiaotian noticed that the roadside was lined with ancient buildings resembling courtyard houses. Thinking it was a tourist area, he asked Uncle Bian for its name.
"Ha, this isn't a tourist area," Uncle Bian handed him a cigarette. "This is still our family's real estate. Want one?"
"Uh... I don't smoke, sorry." An Xiaotian's gaze became dazed as he stared, unsure whether he was looking at Uncle Bian or the scenery outside the car window.
Sitting at a small table outside the villa, An Xiaotian closed his eyes to rest tightly against Time. His teammates' hovercraft had already landed, and before Uncle Bian called him over, he wanted to catch a quick nap...
The massive structure of the villa blocked half of the sky for An Xiaotian in the rocking chair. At this moment, dawn was gradually breaking; a pale light circle painted a vague arc in the deep blue night sky, reflecting in An Xiaotian's closed eyes. The first bird call sounded like a wake-up call, stirring An Xiaotian's calm consciousness. Soon after, more bird calls faded further away from his hearing.
Chaotic thoughts appeared in An Xiaotian's mind as his consciousness stirred. First, he estimated how long he had been asleep; then he recalled time spent in the military base, facing enemies through the orange window of Fierce Eagle armor...
The bird calls completely vanished from his ears; in the pitch-black dreamscape, An Xiaotian had already fallen alongside Time.
To welcome the members of The Celestial Warriors Alliance, the Song Family had specially cleared the helipad at headquarters and arranged for reception personnel on the top floor. At 6:31 AM, the hovercraft arrived early; as soon as the rear door opened, Lu Sha standing at the front shouted out:
"So many people?!"
The other team members stood up; the reception lineup dazzled them all: looking around, they saw an array of white-clad attendants standing neatly like soldiers outside on the helipad.
Liu Xuan estimated that there were at least forty people present.
At the back, several small intelligent tracked trailers waved their arms along with the Song Family's servants, shouting in unison: "Welcome heroes!"
"Oh my!" Lu Sha covered his mouth; indeed, poverty had limited his imagination—what kind of wealthy family was this? Just their servants could fill an entire class.
Moreover, these welcoming servants were very well-mannered; they did not rush forward to grab their luggage but waited until everyone had disembarked with their bags before starting to act. It seemed pre-arranged; seven or eight people grouped around each individual as if they were welcoming some foreign dignitary—truly astonishing.
"Hey no! Don't move my bag!" Seeing that servants were about to team up to lift his oversized luggage that barely fit into an elevator, Lu Sha quickly spread his arms to block them. "I can handle it myself; it's fine! You guys go help Dr. Xu with some things... I really don't need it!"
Led by intelligent tracked trailers, all team members were astonished by this company headquarters' elevator: this was not what people typically imagined an elevator to be. No wonder this office building was cylindrical; within its hollow center was a double-spiral track that resembled a huge DNA strand running through the entire cylinder.
This was only what could be vaguely seen under the illumination of intelligent tracked trailers' display screens. As they marveled at it all, a leading servant skillfully walked over to a wall a few meters away and pulled—
All corridor lights within the company lit up from bottom to top like an Energy Column rising into the sky! When they reached their floor, lights on the ground burst open like fireworks and emitted a strange sound; several people instinctively raised their feet and looked down in awe at the glowing lights.
"Two years ago when I came here, the Song Family never showed me any of this," Liu Xuan remarked while gazing up at the magnificent glass chandelier as lights illuminated above him, shaking his head in amazement.
Jiao An and Qin Weishan walked to the railing accompanied by servants; as they looked down, they heard a sound similar to high-speed train brakes above them. They looked up to see what appeared to be a small high-speed train gliding down along the spiral track; its front door perfectly aligned with Jiao An. Moreover, because of the inclined spiral track, this small train's automatic door was not vertical to its body but remained perpendicular to the floor—strangely intriguing indeed.
"Allow me to introduce you all," the servant stepped forward and said, "This is our company's headquarters' Guest Transport Train, responsible for transporting employees and guests up and down the building. The train consists of five passenger cars and a cargo car, with each passenger car accommodating five people."
"Wow," Lu Sha's eyes sparkled as she put down her large package and shook Liu Xuan's arm, "I feel like we're in a futuristic world!"
Liu Xuan smiled, "The future always comes."
"When each car is full, the train will move forward, aligning the next car's door with the passengers waiting to board, so there's no need to worry about getting on. Follow me. Those who haven't boarded can take another train across the way." The leading servant bowed slightly to the side, gesturing for everyone to enter through the already opened door.
A few minutes later, after handling Lu Sha's large package, Nars curiously peeked out from Liu Xuan's other side. The moonlight from his left eye illuminated the window as he looked around while the train turned.
"I'll be honest with you, Liu Xuan. In our former kingdom, there was nothing like this masterpiece," Nars remarked as he watched layers of circular rings spiral up beside him. "But it does make me a bit dizzy."
Across from Liu Xuan, Xu Yicheng was also gazing out at the intricately designed modern buildings. However, he was reminded of the courtyard where he first met Liu Xuan and then of the riverbank where he first locked eyes with Aibo.
Throughout this journey, Xu Yicheng realized how much he had changed. Once a tech geek, he had become one of the frontlines against cosmic forces. Aibo had given him not just a sense of security but also an awakening of spirit and thought. Now, as he admired the breathtaking masterpiece inside the building, his past self as a materials science expert would have seen it as a novel research target; now, he gently pressed his fingertips against the glass.
"Aibo," Xu Yicheng thought silently, "Will you see such a captivating view?"
"When the fantastical beauty appears before my eyes, I realize what it means for you to stand alone on this planet."
Song Family Villa District
The rooftop corner of the villa could no longer shield An Xiaotian from the sun. As the morning mist cleared, light freely danced across his sleeping face, and the warmth of early spring made him feel even more comfortable in slumber.
Exposed to the sun without any cover, An Xiaotian lay sprawled on a rocking chair. A cat from the garden wandered out and found an unfamiliar person sitting in its usual spot. Curiously approaching, it raised its tail and began sniffing around An Xiaotian's feet.
Suddenly, the light shining on An Xiaotian was blocked. The cat turned around only to be picked up by an elderly man's hands.
"Don't disturb our soldier's sleep, Plumeria," Mr. Song said softly as he lifted the cat named Plumeria and placed it on the pebble path behind him.
A warm breeze blew by, causing the dogtail grass under the rocking chair to sway gently. An Xiaotian gradually became aware of the warmth and itchiness of reality after being rubbed by the cat.
As a Special Forces Soldier, his reactions were instinctual. Remembering what he was supposed to do, An Xiaotian suddenly sprang up like a fish leaping out of water, standing on the grass and looking around in bewilderment at this world that seemed completely different from what he remembered—as if he had just returned from another dimension.
"Captain, you're awake," Mr. Song said. He was no longer as upright as when he first met Xu Yicheng; now he hunched over but still spoke with a magnetic and gentle voice.
"Hello... What time is it? I need to pick up my teammates," An Xiaotian hurriedly said as he started toward the gate of the yard.
"Oh, that's unnecessary now, Captain," Mr. Song reached out to stop An Xiaotian and pointed toward the villa inside the courtyard. "Your comrades have already arrived."
"Huh?!" An Xiaotian wanted to pull out his phone to check the time. However, when he looked up, he saw the clock above the villa door—nine forty-six.
An Xiaotian raised his eyebrows in confusion as he exchanged glances with Mr. Song, who simply smiled without speaking.
"Xiaotian?" The door beneath the clock swung open as Liu Xuan poked her head out and called out to him in surprise. Following her was Xu Yicheng, who was known for only sleeping three or four hours at night.
"Hey, you two old friends are still awake?" Mr. Song said with a smile, looking down as he shook hands with Liu Xuan and Xu Yicheng after taking a few steps.
"When did you arrive? I'm sorry, I fell asleep," An Xiaotian said, rubbing his fists, his chin held high, and a guilty expression on his face.
"It's okay. We all worked hard. When we came in and saw you sleeping so soundly, everyone couldn't help but laugh quietly and tiptoe past," Liu Xuan recalled with a smile.
"But anyway, first of all, I am very grateful to Mr. Song for being willing to take me and my comrades in after two years. Additionally, I admire the courage of you two young people," Xu Yicheng said as he glanced at the three of them. "Here, we can all achieve the ideal environment we desire."
"Hehe, Dr. Xu, I haven't shown you yet... the family treasure of the Song Family," Mr. Song said as he slowly stepped forward. "If you have the energy..."
"I do, of course," Xu Yicheng replied eagerly. He turned to look at An Xiaotian and Liu Xuan, signaling them to join.
"Then, three heroes, please follow this old man for a moment," Mr. Song said with a slight glance before leading the three towards another direction in the villa area.
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