NOVPUBChapter 91: Chapter 90 Evacuation
Chapter 91 -90 Evacuation
Thinking about this, Chaoyang closed his eyes and began to sense the other end of the thread—previously, he had noticed that he could vaguely perceive the presence of Dane and Judy. This feeling was not as clear-cut as a direct contract-based connection, but it seemed quite vague. Yet, it was still worth a try.
Gradually, he felt as though he was no longer confined to his body, almost as if he were floating. This experience was somewhat similar to creating an avatar, except the state of the avatar was quite distinct, and he could quickly end the spiritual journey and open his eyes from the avatar’s perspective. This time was different, though, as he could only follow his intuition toward the end of the thread, but he could never find that landing spot.
It must be said that this feeling was quite terrifying, akin to being tossed into space without a safety rope.
Even so, Chaoyang resisted the instinctual discomfort and continued to drift forward.
Suddenly, he felt as though he was surrounded by something, and his body abruptly gained weight!
In a haze of white light, he faintly saw a stove burning with firewood and a pot of thick soup with indistinct ingredients. The sound of a lighthearted and cheerful melody reached his ears.
He instantly realized that this was a scene of Judy busily working in the kitchen.
“Quick, get out of there, someone’s after you!”
“Quick, get out of there, someone’s after you!”
Chaoyang repeated in his mind several times, but it seemed to have no effect. In his urgency, he separated a bundle of wishing power and pushed it back along the thread, shouting out his warning—
Clang!
Judy jolted, and her soup spoon clattered to the ground.
She looked around in surprise, only to find that there was no one else in the kitchen. Was it an illusion?… She stared at the spoon for a moment, quickly discarding the thought.
No, someone had definitely just warned her!
And it was not through a sound, but… some kind of memory fragment, akin to a flashback, and she was certain it was not an illusion!
Judy quickly ran back to the living room, threw on her coat, and put on her hat, ready to leave through the back alley door, but she stopped after only a few steps.
Her gaze fell on the scattered documents and maps on the low table.
They contained both the route plans for the Divine Envoy’s evacuation and many pieces of information about Gaotian Company she had collected. If a completely unrelated person saw this, it would most likely not be a problem; but if the person targeting her was after Mr. Zhao, then they would certainly become aware through these items.
But it would be difficult to take all these documents with her, as someone rushing around with a bunch of scrolls would be too conspicuous.
Judy thought for a moment and quickly made a decision.
She went into the kitchen, pulled out some firewood from beneath the stove, and then threw it onto the low table in the living room. Soon, flames burst forth from the paper, bringing with them plumes of smoke. Worried that the material would burn too slowly, she threw a few more pieces of firewood into the bookcase.
Before long, the living room was engulfed in thick smoke, becoming too stifling to stand in.
It was then that Judy opened the back door and slipped into the narrow alley. She briskly traversed two bends to ensure no one was following and only lowered her hat brim to emerge from the alley and blend into the bustling main street. Minutes later, she looked back to see a plume of black smoke slowly rising into the sky from the direction of 375 Oak Street.
…
In Beifu, at the comprehensive defense and development department’s hall.
Zhang Zhiyuan was waiting for the arrival of newly selected personnel.
“I’m going to the restroom,” said Cui Zhen’en, suddenly standing up.
“Ah…” He nodded expressionlessly. This was already the fourth time his colleague had gone to the restroom in two hours. Before heading to Chu City, she hadn’t taken the Paradise game seriously at all, but after learning that she was going to Paradise, anxiety was almost written all over her face.
Speaking of nervousness, Zhang Zhiyuan himself had plenty of it— not because of Paradise, but because he had now become the leader of the three-person Paradise team, which meant suddenly bearing an extra burden on his shoulders. Moreover, as the team leader, he had to perform his duty today, helping the newcomer adapt to another world as quickly as possible, which was definitely a challenge for him.
Who was the newcomer? That person was a talent carefully selected through multiple layers of the higher-ups!
And he had previously been just an ordinary international police officer.
He had no way to compare with the newcomer in terms of status.
But since Gao Wei had entrusted him with the task, he couldn’t push the burden away no matter how worried he was.
Just then, a black stretch limousine slowly stopped at the entrance of the hall, and a security guard walked briskly up and confidently opened the car door.
Zhang Zhiyuan sprang up from his seat and made a final adjustment to his appearance.
A man in his thirties got out of the limousine, looked around, and then stepped through the doorway. He was not tall, about 1.7 meters, wearing a formal suit and sunglasses on his face. Zhang Zhiyuan quickly filtered through his mind but did not find any matching identities among the few genius businessmen he knew.
However, the newcomer’s age did match Zhang Zhiyuan’s expectations—not too young, but certainly not old, which Zhang Zhiyuan thought was quite important. If they were to face an entirely new world, older people might not accept it as easily.
“Hello, I am Zhang Zhiyuan, currently serving as Taoyuan One,” Zhang Zhiyuan reached out his hand first, “Welcome to join us.”
Taoyuan was a new code name decided at the meeting, taken from The Peach Blossom Spring; it wasn’t for secrecy but because it seemed inappropriate for a state department to use the title of a game.
“Hello,” the man replied with an enthusiastic smile, took off his sunglasses, and shook hands firmly with him, “My name is Xue Quan, I am pleased to meet you.”
“Hi…” At this moment, Cui Zhen’en happened to come back, and she waved to the two men somewhat awkwardly, greeting instinctively.
“Ahem, this is Comrade Cui Zhen’en, Taoyuan Two,” Zhang Zhiyuan promptly introduced, “Comrade Cui, this is Taoyuan Three, Comrade Xue Quan.”
“Hahaha…” Xue Quan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “You don’t have to be so formal. On the contrary, I think ‘Hi’ is just fine. Although I’m a bit older, you can treat me as a peer.”
After that, he looked up at the ceiling covered with silver metal film, “Speaking of which, the level of secrecy for this mission seems quite high… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an organization that even shields its buildings.”
“It really is extraordinary,” Zhang Zhiyuan felt the same way.
“Then… could you please explain it in detail to me?”
The former police officer was slightly taken aback, “Didn’t they tell you anything at all?”
Xue Quan shook his head, “Only a letter asking me to report here as soon as possible. To be honest, it all happened so suddenly, and the timing was so tight that I hardly had any preparation. The only thing I can rely on is this.” He pointed to his forehead, “Tell me, which hotspot area are we going to this time?”
“May I interject?” Cui Zhen’en asked curiously, “Where were you working before this?”
“In Iraq, in the oil industry.”
Both of them showed their respect.
Zhang Zhiyuan then cleared his throat, “This time, we won’t be working on Earth.”
“What?” Xue Quan grinned, “You mean we’re going to the moon?”
“No… we’re going to another world,” he replied slowly and clearly.
