Looking back at the ruins of the Experimental Base behind him, Lin Yuan let out a sigh and wiped his forehead, which was devoid of sweat. "Goodness, this is way more thrilling than delivering takeout! A five-star review doesn’t even begin to express how I feel right now; I have to give it a super VIP seven-star rating plus a tip!"
Su Jiu'er’s face was pale, clearly still shaken from their narrow escape. However, upon hearing Lin Yuan's carefree remarks, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What are you talking about at a time like this? If it weren't for your quick thinking, we’d be roasted pigs by now!"
"Come on, we've made it through life and death; shouldn't we celebrate a little? Besides, this is what I call finding joy in hardship—it's a manifestation of my optimistic spirit, you know?" Lin Yuan said as he pulled out the last pack of crispy noodles from his pocket and started munching on them. His nonchalant demeanor even made the usually serious Zhou Haoran chuckle.
"Enough of that. If someone didn’t know better, they might think you were having a picnic while escaping for your life," Zhou Haoran teased. "Let’s hurry up and find a safe place to sort through the treasures we brought back from the base—the data—and see if we can unearth any useful information."
They found a temporary secret base set up in an abandoned warehouse. The atmosphere was as tense as an old hot pot bubbling ominously. Lin Yuan, Su Jiu'er, and Zhou Haoran sat around a projector, their faces grim, looking like three frostbitten eggplants.
Su Jiu'er took out a small projector from her backpack and cast a screen of data that was dense and dizzying, reminiscent of study notes crammed the night before finals.
"What... what is going on?" Zhou Haoran pointed at an abnormal spike on the screen, his voice trembling as if he had seen something terrifying. "This thing looks like an ECG curve when my heart races!"
"Time-Space Disturbance." Su Jiu'er’s voice was low and filled with disbelief, as if she were announcing the end of the world. "Just before the base collapsed, we detected an unprecedented Time-Space Disturbance. And it’s not just an ordinary energy leak; it points to spatial coordinates in another dimension. It’s like... someone has drilled a hole in the wall of the universe!"
"Another dimension? A parallel world?!" Lin Yuan dropped his crispy noodles with a thud on the ground, his eyes wide as saucers. "No way! This really exists? I thought it was just something I read in novels—like some author with too much imagination making stuff up!"
Su Jiu'er nodded and rummaged through another backpack to pull out an ancient bound book. The pages were yellowed and exuded an aura of antiquity. It contained strange symbols and patterns written in archaic script that resembled alien codes. "I’ve studied some Ancient Texts before and found that certain classics subtly describe the existence of parallel worlds—like treasure maps hidden in riddles. This aligns perfectly with the data from the base; it’s practically double confirmation!"
Lin Yuan scratched his head, feeling overwhelmed like an old computer running too slowly to keep up. "So... what we saw earlier—the bizarre world that looked like a game scene—is real?"
"Very likely," Su Jiu'er replied gravely. "Moreover, the Qi Gong Association has been secretly researching parallel worlds. What do they want? Are they planning to organize trips to another world? Or are they aiming for some kind of cross-dimensional colonization?"
Lin Yuan suddenly recalled the Time Manipulator he had seized from Nan Gong Xuan, and a bold idea surged into his mind, shining like a bright light bulb illuminating his thoughts. "Wait, I want to give this a try! Perhaps this thing could come in handy!"
He pulled out the Time Manipulator, which resembled a high-tech pocket watch radiating a mysterious glow. He began to simulate the Time-Space Disturbance of the Base Passage, adjusting various parameters like a DJ. The Time Manipulator emitted a buzzing sound, and the air around him seemed to twist, resembling a world seen through a funhouse mirror.
Suddenly, a blurry image appeared on the projection—a fantastical world starkly different from reality, as if it had been plucked straight from a fairy tale. Various Rare Beasts roamed within, as if participating in a fashion show of magical creatures. The architectural style exuded an ancient aura, with intricately carved beams and resplendent decorations, making it feel like a journey back to an imperial palace of old.
"Wow! This is truly another world!" Lin Yuan exclaimed in excitement, as if he had discovered a new continent. He quickly increased the energy output, and the image gradually became clearer, resembling a high-definition movie where every detail was vividly displayed.
At that moment, Li Honghe's communication came through, her voice tinged with urgency as if her hair were on fire. "Lin Yuan, I've obtained secret documents from the Qi Gong Association! They... they are really conducting the Parallel World Project! This is no joke!"
"What plan?" Lin Yuan asked hurriedly, his heart sinking with an ominous premonition.
"They... they want to open the door to parallel worlds to acquire resources and... power from there!" Li Honghe's voice trembled slightly. "Like a bunch of greedy thieves wanting to plunder another world's wealth! And they've already found a way! These guys are insane!"
Lin Yuan gasped in shock; things were more serious than he had imagined. If the Qi Gong Association succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable—it could spark a world war or even lead to the destruction of both worlds. "This is no laughing matter; these people are playing with fire!"
"We must stop them!" Lin Yuan declared firmly, his eyes shining with determination like a warrior preparing for battle. "Jiu'er, Hao Ran, let's discuss our next plan. We can't let these guys do as they please!"
The members of the Squad began discussing their next course of action; the atmosphere was tense and intense, bustling like a marketplace. Some members leaned towards reporting the information to the government, hoping to leverage governmental power to thwart the Qi Gong Association's schemes. Others preferred to continue independent investigations to uncover the specifics of the Qi Gong Association's plans and find ways to stop them. Both options carried significant risks, but they had to make a choice—standing at the crossroads of life meant they had to pick one path forward.
Just then, while sorting through data, Lin Yuan stumbled upon an encrypted message. The content was unclear but instilled in him an inexplicable unease—a prickling sensation in his heart—as if it foreshadowed an even greater crisis looming ahead... What was this information? Was it the ultimate weapon of the Qi Gong Association? Or perhaps a warning from the parallel world?
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