“The Golden Message? “
Hua Mi, heading to the fourth floor and entering the gently drifting boat through Room 405, pondered the piece of information regarding today’s affairs that had surfaced in her mind from her memories.
If she had any tacit understanding with Chairman Yang Buchen that needed no words between them…
…it could only be this matter. Because in another memory, she had already contacted Chairman Yang over an hour ago, inquiring about news regarding the Ancient Demons and her own deductions.
The answer she received was that Chairman Yang had only just learned of this information on the other side at the same time, and even knew it was tied to certain actions of the Empire.
However, the cost of this evacuation plan was perhaps too great, unable to be rolled out on a large scale. Therefore, this attempt was ultimately limited to only a few individuals.
“We’re here, ” the man said.
Hua Mi and Xue Qi’s gazes fell upon Bai Zilong’s sturdy back in front of them.
They too sensed a quality in this person that was entirely different from his usual self.
Perhaps this big brother in front of them was also startled by the extra information of today brought about by touching the brass key of the Fei Lu Inn, which is why he has such an unusual expression.
“This is Zhao Anlong and those people’s boat? ” Xue Qi stuck her head through the small cabin door that Bai Zilong had opened, peering outside at the dark, heavy sea.
A gust of sea wind blew in, instantly carrying away the gentle warmth brought out from the inn.
“So cold. ” She instinctively wrapped her clothes tighter around herself. Hua Mi stepped out from beside her and immediately shivered, squinting as she curled up.
Bai Zilong turned around, a smile curving at the corners of his mouth as he shrugged.
“Ladies, welcome to the Chui Xi Ocean, east of the Crown Ring Era. “
“Chui Xi Ocean? ” Hua Mi looked at the sea area and the soft starlight scattered across it.
The vast, boundless ocean was filled with a sense of mystery.
Just by hearing the name, she felt an instant calm. As if drifting asleep while wrapped warmly on the sea’s surface here would be the most comfortable thing.
“Seems like this place is also called the Ring Dial Era, ” said Xue Qi, who was wearing a crocheted woolen coat with floral patterns. “I saw that sign in a rental reading room in Hei Wen Zi Ke. “
“Yes, that was its name from its last reappearance. As for why it changed… well, this isn’t the time to talk about that. ” Bai Zilong smiled and tucked away a key from the third floor.
Hua Mi couldn’t help stretching her arms out in the wind and yawning. “What a nice place. Is the chairman here too? “
“No, he’s still more than halfway across the Atlantic from here. “
Hua Mi’s satisfied smile froze on her face.
“Then… how are we supposed to get there? Are we waiting for that train? ” Xue Qi, standing beside her, asked anxiously as she walked forward with Bai Zilong. “Why bring us all this way at a time like this? “
As soon as she finished speaking, footsteps echoed from the deck corridor. Xue Qi and Hua Mi turned to see Ms. Ning Jiajia, who was by Captain Cheng Yunze’s side, approaching from the deck.
“You’re here. ” Bai Zilong turned around.
“Oh, it’s Ms. Ning Jiajia? “
Ning Jiajia, dressed in an elegant-styled jacket, smiled and greeted the two young women before saying:
“Zilong, you can head back now. Let me take it from here and explain things to them. “
“Alright, ” Bai Zilong glanced toward the end of the passage between the ship’s railings, where two figures from the vessel appeared, and said to the three of them:
“The people left on this ship now are all individuals who have been verified by Zhao Anlong’s team as posing no danger. But you should still be careful while you’re out and about. I’ll head back first. “
With that, Bai Zilong walked past the three of them, pushed open the rough-hewn wooden door, and returned to the room.
After waiting for a few breaths, Ning Jiajia—feeling that the person inside should have left—pushed open the door and glanced at the now-quiet little room. She nodded to the two girls, signaling them to step back inside.
“What’s going on? ” Hua Mi asked curiously, watching Ning Jiajia close the door.
Ning Jiajia turned her head. “Chairman Yang has given me a commission. As compensation, he gave me some precious things and told me to make the arrangements. “
“Compensation, precious things? “
Ning Jiajia took a business card from her bosom, the back of which bore a totem outlined by a curve of deep blue.
“This is a business card called a ‘Cross-Realm Contract.’ As the name suggests, it can take us back to our former Track of Fate. “
“Back to… our former… ? ” The two were already reeling from the information about the key, and immediately grasped the preciousness of the business card.
The very act of offering such a thing as a reward.
-｛Distributor, Mr. Lane, has begun observing my life experiences in the present moment.｝
“What Chairman Yang needs is some temporal arrangement, ” Ning Jiajia said. “He asked someone on our team to come up with a plan. Our Captain Cheng has already accepted his suggestion and is about to return to our world via another named business card to help with this favor. “
Upon hearing this, the eyes of the two girls instantly widened, shimmering.
They realized something.
-｛Distributor February. Di’an expresses with rich experience that I am nurturing a prelude to a new era of brilliance.｝
Xue Qi stood frozen in place. “Go… go back? “
“To where we were before? ” Hua Mi said in astonishment. “The chairman’s action has to do with saving this world! ” Her tone became tense as well.
“Mm. ” Ning Jiajia tilted her head, then immediately added with some uncertainty, “Probably. ” She made a fist, brought it to her lips, and coughed lightly.
“I think this business card should be used where he needs it. Otherwise, Chairman Yang could have simply sold it for a substantial amount of Time Sequence. So, I want to try. “
Connecting this to the earlier problem, Hua Mi found it hard to believe.
“Sister Jiajia means, to send one of us back? Oh my god. “
Faced with this news, both girls’ hearts started thumping rapidly.
“Mm, I plan to do as they did: let you use my Ability Sphere and Module Device to use this card and return to your world. “
Hearing that it was indeed this news, the two girls, suddenly presented with this opportunity, felt both anticipation and the overwhelming pressure of fear and unease.
Ning Jiajia continued in a gentle and earnest tone:
“This mission is very urgent; we need to come back as fast as possible. So there can’t be too many mistakes in between. Whichever of you has better connections and can borrow more Time Sequence, I will go with that person back to your previous city. “
“I… ” Xue Qi just began to speak hesitantly before her voice lowered, “I… I guess only a few team members were still nice to me. “
Hua Mi, on the other hand, frowned slightly. “As for me, there are plenty of people who want to buy magic patterns. “
“Magic patterns? ” Ning Jiajia’s face lit up with delight. She thought for a moment.
“No wonder Chairman Yang said that if there’s a problem, we could come to you for a solution. So that’s how it is. Now I might not even need to use most of the weapons I’ve prepared. Hmm, I was just worrying a moment ago that it might not be enough. “
–｛Radiance: Distributor June · Bright Room, drawing on rich experience, indicates that the glorious prelude I have nurtured has given birth to a new node.｝
–｛Radiance: Distributor Rocky Tatamingo wants to pre-purchase the glorious prelude I have nurtured.｝
Hua Mi’s heartbeat quickened by two points as she listened to the series of sounds ringing in her heart.
Not only that gentleman Di An, who was especially good to her, but even the other distributors she knew in Kreln were all raising their bids nearly twofold at this moment for this experience!
“What exactly do we have to do? ” Xue Qi asked, somewhat panicked. The faces of those who had once been by her side, her experiences past, the disappointments, the pain and warm memories of having been abandoned, all flashed through her mind.
“But how do we bring it here? ” Xue Qi beside her murmured softly.
Ning Jiajia glanced at the necklace on her chest, took a breath that felt much smoother, and said:
“I have a way. “
At that moment, Hua Mi, whose mind was racing, also spoke:
“I have a way. “
The two of them spoke almost in unison.
They exchanged a glance, and Ning Jiajia’s breath seemed to catch as she began:
“I just borrowed some attendant evil nightmares at sea. They can all invest about nine thousand units of sequence to come along with the train to this world. “
Hua Mi murmured, “Well… that’s about the same, then. “
“What? Mi-Mi knows so many people with Red Models too? ” Xue Qi, a red halo glowing on her chest and peering at the T-sequences inside, turned her head to ask.
“Not really, ” Hua Mi replied, a little embarrassed and somewhat disheartened. “I was just thinking, if we could bring dozens of people at once, we could invest in the Chairman and maybe even birth more Radiance. Everyone… If everyone could still work hard together like before, that would be awesome. “
“That’s true, ” Xue Qi sighed with an unreadable expression. “Even if I go back to raise the T-sequences, I’m afraid I still won’t be able to invest in Chairman Yang. “
Ning Jiajia was silent for a tense moment. “Well… about transferring the T-sequences, I might be able to figure something out. “
She glanced at Hua Mi, whose features were a bit more delicate, and said to Xue Qi:
“Since we’ve already borrowed so many Model weapons, and everyone wants to use this to birth a bit more Radiance, we should go with this approach as our main plan. Sister Hua Mi, would you be okay with the trouble of joining us on a trip to Xue Qi’s city? “
“I… ” Hua Mi clenched her fist almost imperceptibly.
“Huh? ” Xue Qi’s mouth fell open slightly, as if her head couldn’t process so much information all at once. Her pupils shifted momentarily, a little out of focus.
“No problem, right, Miss Xue Qi? ” Ning Jiajia put on a warmly courteous smile. “I think with over a dozen Century Weapons, plus magic patterns and a future pledge of organizational protection from the Coronation Ring Era named after you, we should be able to raise at least a million T-sequences. “
Her pristine face slowly turned, gently gazing at Hua Mi, who was holding in a sulk beside her.
“Sister Hua Mi… “
“Wait for me, ” Hua Mi said. “I’ll go back and get my notebook; without it, I can’t even draw some high-level magic patterns. “
In Hua Mi’s bag, the notebook’s pages blinked in astonishment, shifting its gaze slightly.
The two of them watched her walk deep into the room, pull the curtain hanging crosswise and shake it out, before disappearing from sight on the other side.
Crossroad Journey Inn.
Once back in her room, Hua Mi angrily flung her small bag onto the table. Pouting, she calmed herself for two seconds, then walked over to the corner desk and pulled open a drawer.
Clink, clatter—a sound of crystals knocking together echoed out.
The slender girl looked over this pile of recently collected gems. Each one bore intricate carvings, details of energy-gathering magic patterns crafted by masters and left in the caves of Cheqing Island by the Tsunami Great Surge Society.
“You’re all my savings. Come on, Hua, go for it! “
Her wrist moved nimbly, fingers pinching the air as if pulling back an intangible object—collecting it all in. A palm-sized, brownish-purple floppy hat with tiny brim, more delicate and ornate than last time’s, tied with a green-checkered butterfly bow, appeared in the young girl’s hands.
After putting all the gems from the drawer inside it, she hesitated, leaving one behind just in case.
{Are we leaving? } The notebook’s soft thought murmur came from within the bag.
“Yeah, let’s go. “
……
-｛Distributor Loki·Tata Mingqi indicates: “Pray, “．｝
On the dark, heavy water, inside a lifeboat moored alongside a large sailboat, a young man sat cross-legged. He wore headphones and held a microphone extending from the machine in front of him on the deck.
Little Bird tilted her head, perched atop the signal transmitter that was placed on this very ship.
“It’s already past two. How much longer are you going to stay here, Cuckoo? “
Yang Zicang turned his head to glance at the adjacent ship, where a crowd of figures was piled up on the side of the deck, all staring at him.
As he turned back, the gang frantically waved their arms. He nodded faintly in acknowledgment, then turned his head forward again.
Little Bird radiated a look of displeasure.
She watched as Yang Zicang, acting like a madman, reached out once more and pressed buttons on the dialing device—a wireless telephone borrowed from the ship.
Originally, this device was intended to be made into an Evil Dream mode apparatus for an era after the next Transition CalendAR(Edit) period. But at this very moment, floating on this ocean that it was about to leave behind forever, it was fulfilling the final and greatest purpose of its entire existence.
With the help of the unique channel signal coverage over the Rolling Sea, the wireless signal transmission units of the Golden Shell Federation deployed across the water hummed to life once more, carrying this invisible but amplified signal band back to the land.
“Hello, ” Yang Zicang said into the microphone.
—— “This is Talco City Defense Headquarters… Third Duty Office, please state your unit and the reason for your call. ” A crackling sound came from the line.
Yang Zicang did not answer immediately. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the edge of the microphone three times, repeated the action after two seconds, and then said, “The white noise comes from a boy who hasn’t started school. “
-｛Distributor July·Mr. Lai expects my next performance.｝
Immediately, another intermittent channel sounded in the background, “The operator has switched lines. Please report your unit code. “
“I am Miss Gormsworth. ” Yang Zicang, amidst the sinking glare of Little Bird’s disdain, once again uttered the codename he had repeated several times tonight.
The other end paused for a few seconds. “Understood. Miss Gorm…sworth, may I ask what you wish to report after reaching out to Talco again after, um, thirty years? “
“It’s thirty-five years, ” Yang Zicang corrected the exact time, then said: “Message from the World Ark Committee, ” pulling the microphone closer to his face.
“In about an hour, a squadron of aircraft from Waldestadt will arrive in Talco. Please provide this flight squadron with a resting area and fuel supply. “
The person on the phone line fell silent for a moment.
—— “I will report this message to my superior. Miss Gormsworth, do you have anything else to report? “
Yang Zicang paused for two seconds.
Should this information also be delivered using this codename? Could it involve its true owner too deeply with me?
He recalled the horrifying news he had heard that morning after returning from the sea—a report of a demon vine outbreak outside Talco City.
Just as he thought of this, small bubbles suddenly gurgled up from the water beside the small boat. Soon after, a man who had been holding his breath for a long time emerged from the sea, coughing out the seawater from his lungs with two heavy breaths.
Yang Zicang glanced at the man who surfaced, wiped the water off his face, and whispered into the microphone:
“Approximately five kilometers southeast of Talco City, at the foot of Lesser Langu Shan Mountain, there’s an abnormal migration and clustering of organisms. In about an hour, this will lead to a small-scale outbreak of End Times Vines. Well, this is me passing along the warning Mr. Yang Bucheng made. “
— “This… was this also information provided by the World Ark? Wait, sir, your voice… “
Bai Zilong, still in the water, looked up at Yang Zicang on the boat in astonishment.
“Never mind who I am. Just tell the Defense Division that they already know how to handle it. Whether you want to verify the threat or eliminate it directly is up to you. “
Yang Zicang hung up the call.
Bai Zilong placed his hands on the side of the boat, and Yang Zicang reached out, grabbing his arm to pull him. The young man rolled quickly onto the rescue boat, causing the small vessel to sway slightly, but it soon steadied.
“Didn’t you say we weren’t supposed to mention these things before they happen! ” Bai Zilong gasped, coughing after swallowing water.
Yang Zicang turned his head, lowered his eyelids, and smiled faintly. “Who said you couldn’t talk about it? “
Bai Zilong took off his jacket, frowning as he wrung out the water, listening.
“The most important thing is to make it believe. “
“Really? Well, the forewarnings I wrote in the publications were all meant, through successive verifications, to make it notice the truth of what I said. “
“If everyone speaks of it, then it is no prophecy. “
“This… “
“I think information must appear precious to be valued. Otherwise, it slips into a method that can gradually be categorized. The individual providing the information then becomes less significant. “
Yang Zicang said to Bai Zilong, “This approach this time is also to make effective use of information, maximizing its benefits. “
The drenched man pondered the connections within.
“It’s also for your sake. “
“Me? ” Bai Zilong pointed at himself.
“You’ve already tried your hand at prophecy several times, haven’t you? “
Yang Zicang, his intentions still inscrutable, said to the man beside him: “Since you want to become the Great Prophet, now you may continue. “
“Is this… really your plan? “
Yang Zicang patted his damp shoulder. “Of course. “
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