Nan Qingchuan, who had reacted swiftly and fled back to Ming Country, was actually covered in cold sweat. He did not know why, but the moment that person dressed in silver appeared, he had felt an intense sense of oppression, so he had immediately run away.
He had originally thought that no one lived in this forest, but unexpectedly, it had an owner… Was that an alien?
Nan Qingchuan took out his phone. Looking at the video and two photos in his album, his expression turned serious.
“Captain, where did you just go? We’re about to wrap up.” One of his team members appeared from the side, looking as though he had been searching for him for quite some time.
Nan Qingchuan stuffed his phone into his pocket, grabbed the team member, and pointed at the flower bed. “Did you see it?”
His teammate looked toward the flower bed, then slowly said, “Captain, could that be…”
Nan Qingchuan stared intently at him. “You saw it, right?”
“Could that be the big guy hiding in the bushes?”
Nan Qingchuan was speechless.
Had playing games made him stupid?
He sighed. It seemed this teammate could not see the glowing black vortex.
“Captain, are you too tired? There’s obviously nothing there!” his teammate said hesitantly as he looked at Nan Qingchuan’s stern, handsome face.
“Back to the unit.” Nan Qingchuan said no more. He turned around expressionlessly and returned to the unit with his team.
However, this time, he did not immediately return to the dormitory. Clutching his phone, he walked toward the leader’s office.
Auntie Sun was the lead dancer of the Sunset Glow Square Dance Team. Ever since retiring, the most important part of her daily life had been square dancing. Although the weather had recently grown colder, Auntie Sun was still undeterred by the chill. Every morning at around five, she would carry her radio and head to her beloved square to practice.
But today, an accident happened. The square had actually been sealed off.
A ring of steel scaffolding had been erected around the square, with cloth draped over it as well, completely blocking the view of the park beyond.
There were also many people in military uniforms and various police uniforms walking around. They had put up many signs outside the steel scaffolding. The signs read:
This park square has been completely closed for archaeological work following the discovery of important historical relics. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to nearby residents.
Auntie Sun had never known that the place where she danced square dances every day was actually a historical site.
“All personnel must properly handle matters concerning the surrounding residents. If necessary, we can directly impose an A-level lockdown to prevent anyone from accidentally trespassing.”
A middle-aged-to-elderly leader in a white short-sleeved shirt solemnly gave his instructions. The several people standing opposite him nodded before walking out of the makeshift tent.
The leader coughed twice before turning around to look at Nan Qingchuan, who was watching him with concern.
“Xiao Nan, I’m fine. It’s just an old problem.” He took a bottle of medicine from his trouser pocket and swallowed a pill.
“Old Tao, why don’t you stay behind instead of coming with me…” Nan Qingchuan said hesitantly.
The leader was already sixty years old and would be retiring in another three months. Yet from last night until now, he had not rested at all. Even Nan Qingchuan, a young man, was beginning to feel a little dizzy, so he was genuinely worried about the older man’s condition.
Last night, he had reported the matter to his superior, who had reported it to his superior, and so on up the chain. In the end, the person temporarily dispatched to deal with the matter was this veteran leader.
The old leader had organized a simple task force to deal with the strange phenomenon that had appeared here. Everyone was pooling their ideas to thoroughly investigate this so-called black vortex.
During the first half of the night, everyone investigated all the surveillance footage around the area. Although the cameras could not capture the black vortex in the flower bed that Nan Qingchuan had described, they had clearly recorded Nan Qingchuan lunging forward and then disappearing in an instant.
The preliminary conclusion of the investigation was that a traversal tunnel had appeared in the bushes beside the flower bed, and there were highly advanced weapons and aliens on the other side of the tunnel.
Nan Qingchuan’s account had attracted everyone’s utmost attention. The old leader had immediately rushed to Ning City overnight, while other officials in charge were also taking planes there.
First, everyone gave Nan Qingchuan a full physical examination. They found no abnormalities in his body and no viruses either. However, Nan Qingchuan was still wearing a mask at this point, just in case anything unexpected happened.
After a night of testing, everyone discovered that white mice, rabbits, cats, dogs, and other animals could not enter. Non-living objects such as wooden sticks and steel pipes could not enter on their own either.
Even among humans, some people could see the vortex while others could not. Approximately one in twenty people could see it, which could be considered an extremely strict criterion.
It was already daylight. According to Nan Qingchuan, the other side of the vortex was daytime when it was nighttime in Ning City. If so, then it was highly likely that when it was daytime here, it was nighttime on the other side. Given the normal habits of humans and animals, everyone rested and slept at night.
Reconnaissance at night would be safer.
Although nighttime presented various inconveniences, modern technology was highly advanced. They could simply put on night-vision goggles.
Because they suspected that only people meeting certain conditions could pass through, everyone accompanying Nan Qingchuan this time was able to see the vortex.
Tao Guoqi, the old leader, was highly experienced and seasoned, with excellent negotiation skills.
Li Man, a female soldier who had undergone extensive astronaut training, would be responsible for security.
Academician Liang Dong, a renowned astronomer and physicist from Ming Country.
These three were the members prepared to accompany Nan Qingchuan to the other side of the vortex.
Everyone had now put on bulletproof vests and various protective equipment, making every effort to prepare as thoroughly as possible before once again exploring the world on the other side of the vortex. If they could communicate with the people on the other side, that would be the best possible outcome.
Everyone had equipped themselves with various audio and video recording devices. They waved to the second-in-command at the current command tent. With Nan Qingchuan leading the way and Li Man bringing up the rear, they set off.
However, things did not go smoothly. The change occurred after Nan Qingchuan entered. Everyone held their breath and watched Old Tao, who followed closely behind.
Old Tao stepped into the area between the grass and the low shrubs, but he failed to enter…
Academician Liang and Lieutenant Li Man also failed to enter afterward.
“Could it be that being able to see the vortex doesn’t mean you can enter?” Everyone began discussing among themselves.
Old Tao, meanwhile, looked at the vortex worriedly. Why hadn’t Nan Qingchuan returned yet…? Hadn’t they agreed beforehand that he would come back first if anything went wrong?
The people from Ming Country immediately began staring intently at the low shrubs blocked off by the tent…
Nan Qingchuan had naturally realized that the others had been unable to enter with him, but at this moment, he had no time to think about it because he had been attacked the moment he entered this unfamiliar world.
The woman in front of him, who was slightly shorter than him, was highly skilled. She was not using any weapons, yet she could fight him to a standstill. Every move was clean and decisive, clearly showing that she was no mere show-off.
One had to know that before becoming the captain of a special police unit, Nan Qingchuan had been a special forces soldier. Even now, all he could do was fight the woman in front of him to a draw.
Both of them were fully focused. Their fists and feet clashed, and the thudding sounds of their blows rang out without pause.
With the help of his night-vision goggles, he clearly saw that the enemy in front of him was not wearing a helmet this time. Her face was filled with a fierce killing intent, which startled Nan Qingchuan.
Of course, Nan Qingchuan also realized that his opponent did not intend to kill him. She seemed to be trying to subdue and restrain him instead.
Nan Qingchuan did not know whether she could understand what he was saying, but he had not come here to fight with her. After thinking it over, he decided to speak up.
However, he was distracted for only two seconds. Before the words could even leave his throat, the woman opposite him kicked him in the head.
“Bang!”
Nan Qingchuan fell to the ground. Before he could get back up, the woman in front of him pinned him down and bound him with a rope made of some material he could not identify. He felt a dull ache on his scalp, but fortunately, it did not affect his ability to think. It was only a superficial injury.
“Miss, I’m not here to attack you. I mean you no harm!” He was astonished by how quickly the woman had tied him up. At this moment, he was even certain of her identity. She was definitely a soldier.
“Hm?” Gu Jiaqi slowed down as she reached to remove the troublesome goggles from his face. She could actually understand what this person was saying…
She had prepared quite a lot during these ten hours. One of the things she had prepared was an intelligent automatic translator. As long as she put it on, the machine could automatically identify the language system spoken by the other party so they could communicate.
But it seemed she would not need it now.
“Xiao Hong, turn on the lights.” The nights on this garbage planet were very long. Gu Jiaqi had been waiting here long enough that she was almost falling asleep. She had already been somewhat irritated, and although the fight had vented some of her anger, she still felt somewhat displeased. Gu Jiaqi attributed it to having waited too long.
Upon hearing its master’s command, Xiao Hong immediately switched on the headlights on the mecha. In an instant, a patch of land beside the black hole was illuminated as brightly as day.
The sudden, intense light made Nan Qingchuan immediately close his eyes. Unfortunately, his hands and feet were tied; otherwise, he would definitely have taken off the goggles in front of him.
But the next second, Gu Jiaqi ‘thoughtfully’ helped him remove the goggles, then pulled off his mask and face covering as well.
Nan Qingchuan’s face, slightly damp with sweat, was revealed. He was trying to adjust to the brightness before him.
“Hey, where are you from?” Once he had finally adapted to the intense light shining from the enormous weapon on his chest, the woman who had been crouching beside him and watching him also spoke. To his surprise, she was speaking the exact same language as him!
Nan Qingchuan was taken aback. He had never heard of any place in their country with such a large time difference from Ning City. Moreover, he had never seen trees this dark before. Could this place actually be part of Ming Country?
“I came from Ning City. Where is this?” As he spoke, he gently tugged at the rope around his hands, but unfortunately, it was tied too tightly, and he could not break free at all.
“Ning City?” Gu Jiaqi frowned. That sounded like a city. Why did this ancient person introduce his homeland by giving the name of a city instead of his nationality?
“Which country are you from? Where is the planet you live on?” She thought for a moment, then changed her approach.
At this moment, Nan Qingchuan was also thinking continuously. This person was clearly speaking Ming language, yet she was asking which country he was from and even asking about his planet. Could she really be an alien…?
“What are you thinking about? Talk!” Gu Jiaqi had little patience for this man whose eyes kept darting around. Couldn’t they just have a normal conversation?
“I’m from Ming Country. Uh, our planet is called Orange Star. May I ask where this is?” Nan Qingchuan was clearly not someone who liked beating around the bush either, so he decided to communicate honestly with the woman.
“Orange Star? Is its full name just Orange Star?” There were actually quite a lot of blue- and orange-colored planets, but as far as Gu Jiaqi knew, there really was no planet actually named Orange Star. It seemed this really was a parallel universe…
“This is Planet Q903. The planet’s name is… Latt Star.” Gu Jiaqi had never actually given the planet a name. Fortunately, she improvised and came up with one on the spot.
Latt, as in lots of trash. Perfect plan!
Nan Qingchuan’s expression tightened. So it really was another planet…?