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墨書 Inktalez
Li Chunbo and Han Mu Yu evacuated together. The 17th Division, where Li Chunbo served, along with some heavily damaged units that had held the Coastal Defense Line, were ordered by the General Staff to return to Beijing for repairs. Meanwhile, reinforcements were arriving at the front lines.
The situation was too sudden and too coincidental, to the point that Li Chunbo suspected his father, Xiang Zong, might have bribed high-ranking officials to facilitate their return. However, he quickly dismissed this thought; after all, who could meddle in military affairs during such chaotic times? Even the Li Family likely couldn't, let alone them.
A dozen military trucks transported this batch of frontline soldiers back to Beijing. As Li Chunbo watched the convoy, his eyes involuntarily began to redden.
When they first arrived at the coastal bunker complex, they had been brought in by hundreds of military trucks. The total stationed force at the bunkers had exceeded thousands, yet now fewer than three hundred were returning!
However! The sacrifice of over ten thousand men had only managed to deplete a portion of the enemy's Main Battle Tanks and artillery units. How many more lives would need to be sacrificed to completely repel the enemy from their borders?
Beijing was not far from Jin, but their journey was slow. The area was under martial law; only military vehicles or official cars could access certain roads. At every checkpoint, an air defense unit stood guard, indicating that the current situation was urgent.
Upon arriving in Beijing, since Han Mu Yu had no relatives there, Li Chunbo requested a leave of absence from the Temporary Commander of the evacuation unit to help settle her.
The Temporary Commander quickly agreed and granted Li Chunbo a twenty-four-hour leave. The entire process went surprisingly smoothly, allowing Li Chunbo to rush home with Han Mu Yu.
At that moment, Beijing vividly reflected Xu Hun's portrayal in "Eastern Tower of Xianyang City." Merchants, politicians, and ordinary citizens were doing everything possible to leave the city. The roads leading west and south were congested beyond belief; within just one day, the once vibrant city had crumbled.
Returning home, Li Chunbo entered to find his father sitting on a sofa with a highball glass in hand. A smile immediately spread across his face. Although he had anticipated that his father would not be swept away by the chaos and evacuate immediately, seeing someone waiting for him brought him an uncontainable joy.
His father smiled upon seeing Li Chunbo but quickly furrowed his brow when he noticed Han Mu Yu beside him. "Who is this young lady?" he asked.
Li Chunbo guided Han Mu Yu to sit beside him and thoughtfully replied in a low voice, "I met her by chance; her father was my comrade..."
His father looked at Li Chunbo and after a moment understood what he meant. Since this young lady had been brought here, it was likely that the 'comrade' Li Chunbo referred to was no longer alive.
Li Chunbo glanced around the house; aside from his father, there was no one else present. "Where are my sister and mother?" he asked.
The old man snorted, "I sent someone to take them to Xi'an. Your uncle is there too, at least they have a relative."
"By plane?" Li Chunbo asked doubtfully. Most civil aviation flights had been suspended, and the few airlines still operating had sold out all their tickets within moments after the coastal bunker group fell. It was not easy to get a ticket in such circumstances.
The old man nodded and glanced at Han Mu Yu before whispering, "I had someone help them board through the staff passage; I really couldn't get any tickets."
Li Chunbo thought for a moment and agreed. Even with connections, those two had to be sent away. In such a critical situation, no one knew how long Jin could hold out.
The old man sighed, "As long as you come back, I've already prepared a helicopter. We'll leave immediately; I have a car outside the city. We are heading to Xi'an right away."
Li Chunbo shook his head and refused, "You take her away; I only have one day off. I need to go back tomorrow."
The old man slammed his hand on the tea table and scolded, "Do you want to die that badly? Who do you think you are? You’re lucky to have survived in Jin! How long do you think your luck can save you?"
Li Chunbo glanced at Han Mu Yu, who was sitting on the sand with vacant eyes, and smiled lightly. "Life only comes once... No one's life is worth more than another's. If my life can save many innocent people, then I have no other wishes."
The old man was so furious he almost wanted to smash the tea table over him, but he eventually calmed down slowly and asked coldly, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
At that moment, Li Chunbo had already walked to the door. He was ready to report back to his unit immediately. He had initially planned to spend a night at home, but given the current situation, if he stayed overnight, who knew if the old man would send someone in the middle of the night to tie him up and take him away?
Li Chunbo turned back to look at the old man lying on the sand and said firmly, "How could I possibly be afraid of death?"
The old man stared expressionlessly at Li Chunbo. Li Chunbo forced a smile and teased, "How could I not be afraid of death? Everyone fears death; survival is an instinctive reaction. Besides, I just experienced hell yesterday; I know what it’s like."
The old man sighed sadly and asked, "Even so, you still must go?"
Li Chunbo nodded and smiled wryly at his father. "It's precisely because I've experienced that hellish situation myself that I don't want more people to go through it. For this reason, I'm not afraid of death!"
With that, Li Chunbo decisively opened the door and walked straight out. As he stepped outside, a beam of sunset light fell on his face, the blood-red sun glaringly bright.
"What... is happening..." Li Chunbo was momentarily blinded by the intense sunlight and slowly lost consciousness, drifting into a deep sleep.
When he finally came to, Li Chunbo propped himself up, feeling an overwhelming weakness in his limbs. Could it be that he had fainted for several days due to the severe fall he had taken earlier?
Looking around, he found the scenery remarkably familiar. A moment of recollection revealed that he was clearly still at Jinghua University! From this height, it seemed he was on the top floor of the faculty dormitory.
What was going on? How had he suddenly returned to Jinghua University?
Li Chunbo quickly recalled his experiences after receiving a recommendation letter from Jinghua University and joining the army. Wait! What about before that?
Suddenly, Li Chunbo remembered something significant from his school days. One day, something happened that he couldn't pinpoint the exact date of, but his intuition told him it wasn't long before he enlisted. However, recalling those events proved to be exceptionally difficult.
That day, the newly appointed homeroom teacher and lecturer, Chen Rui, had called him for something important and led him to the faculty dormitory!
Indeed, it seemed that everything following that event was somewhat unbelievable. Although it made sense logically, it still left Li Chunbo with a surreal feeling. Now, his judgment pointed directly to the truth: all these events were likely just a fleeting dream!
Before long, Chen Rui pushed the door open and entered. Seeing Li Chunbo's face devoid of any surprise, Chen Rui felt a bit astonished. Could it be that this kid had managed to piece everything together in just a few minutes?
"Hello there! Li Chunbo, how's your health? Are you feeling alright?" Chen Rui said with a hearty laugh as he sat down on the stool by Li Chunbo's window.
Li Chunbo moved his limbs slightly; although he still felt somewhat weak, he could tell he had improved significantly. It seemed he had indeed spent quite some time in bed. However, judging by his recovery, it appeared someone must have been helping him with physical exercises while he was lying down, which explained why he didn't have any abnormal reactions now.
Looking at Chen Rui sitting beside him with a smile, Li Chunbo became even more convinced of his earlier suspicion and asked, "Is all of this just a dream?"
Chen Rui nodded with a smile. "Indeed, it is. However, you are one of the few who can recognize the truth shortly after waking from a dream without any reminders. Your intelligence and reasoning skills are quite impressive."
Li Chunbo did not feel flattered by Chen Rui's praise; instead, he pointed out more questions. "So this dream was planned by you? You must know what happened in the dream, right? Why did you do this? What technology did you use to create such a dream? What is your purpose?"
Chen Rui smiled and interrupted Li Chunbo's questioning. "Most of what you're asking is something I can't disclose. If you want to know about the plot, you should ask your father when you get home. After all, he is one of our clients, while you are no longer within our client scope."
As he smiled, Chen Rui's expression suddenly darkened, and with a hint of threat in his tone, he said, "But I need to tell you a few things to avoid any issues."
"First, the matters concerning the dream must not be disclosed to anyone; second, the people in the dream are all replicas of real-world individuals, so you must keep certain secrets. Third, and most importantly: since you already know this is a dream, you must also understand what level of technology is required to achieve such an effect! Our capabilities are beyond your imagination, so please refrain from asking too many questions about the dream."
With that said, Chen Rui returned to his cheerful demeanor and asked with a smile, "So, Li Chunbo, do you have any more questions?"
Looking at Chen Rui, who wore a smile yet appeared as terrifying as a devil, Li Chunbo joked, "Given your demeanor, what else could I possibly ask... But will the people in the dream also exist in reality?"
"The people in the Dream World are essentially replicas of those in the real world... Of course, there will also be roles like Bystander, but those can be ignored; they are merely artificial intelligence."
Listening to Chen Rui, Li Chunbo suddenly fell silent, unsure of what to say.
At that moment, the door was abruptly pushed open. Chen Rui shouted angrily, "Did I not say no one is allowed to enter without orders?"
Zhuo Rohan did not argue back with Chen Rui. Instead, he grabbed his hand and started pulling him outside. "There's been an incident! The Planning Team, programming group, and art team are arguing—no, they're about to start fighting! I can't resolve this anymore; Mr. Li isn't here either. If you don't go now, they might really tear the place apart!"
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