"Many people outside."
"They can't be stopped. They've come, all barging in."
The crowd was impassioned and eager, swarming in, filling the square in an instant. The few on the stage were at a loss, while security personnel below desperately tried to hold them back.
"Wow..." The scene briefly descended into chaos. Many women arrived with children, and now the children were all crying.
"You scientists, you officials, come out and give an explanation."
"Are you still human? You've caused such a disaster. The world is like this, and you're still putting on airs..."
"We worked tirelessly to build these fortresses. You live in the best ones. When will you go back? Are you deceiving us again?"
"We're dying, and then you can leave, right? There are only a few teleporters. Are you planning to abandon us here?"
"We don't need to know everything, but we need an explanation we can accept. So many people dead, so many missing. Whose responsibility is this? It's today, yet you're still unwilling to give us the truth. Is there some secret more important than thousands of lives? Can we go back at all? How much longer do our family's remains have to stay here? Have you ever considered the thoughts of us, the lower class?" A tall man shouted angrily.
...
...
...
A few days later, the crowd gathered on the square once again, but this time, they listened quietly to the speech on the stage. Soldiers patrolled around, maintaining order.
"This incident has reminded us that relying solely on the scholars of the research institute is ineffective for organizing and arranging all aspects of our work and life. Considering that some of the original scholars refused to disclose the cause of the scientific accident from a confidentiality perspective, after a unanimous vote by the entire populace, it has been decided to stop granting the research institute control over the base."
"At the same time, we're establishing an interim committee to take over the base, with the former logistics department head, Director Liu Xing, serving as the first committee chairman."
Mr. Jin and his daughter Jun Ya had been in their room all this time. He could hear the voices outside, but he couldn't go out.
"The recent large-scale departure events have made us realize the importance of strengthening management. We need to establish an interim enforcement committee to regulate people's behavior."
"Why? Can't we establish new departments and have the existing ones consult and formulate regulations?"
"Heh heh. That's Director Liu's suggestion."
"Oh, his suggestion. Who decides on the new department, and who will be in it? Is he going to be a part of the new department?"
"Director Liu will serve as the first committee chairman."
"What? Committee chairman?"
The newcomer realized he'd slipped up.
"Isn't that a bit too hasty? At the moment, we're still part of the original world. Since when did we have a committee chairman? He's got quite an ego. When he returns to the motherland one day, where will he put his face?"
The newcomer stood respectfully, not answering.
"Summon Liu Xing here. I want to talk to him in person!"
The newcomer still smiled but didn't reply.
"Ha," Mr. Jin laughed heartily, looking up. "Good, he must be busy. I'll just go see him."
Having said that, Mr. Jin stood up. The newcomer didn't stop him. Mr. Jin walked to the door, opened it, and saw two people standing outside.
"What's the meaning of this? You, surnamed Li!" Mr. Jin's anger flared up immediately.
"Mr. Jin, according to the new regulations, without permission, you're not allowed to see the committee chairman."
The visitor's surname was Li, approximately fifty years old. He appeared to be making an effort to suppress his emotions, but his face still bore the excitement of a small person who had achieved something great.
"What? New law? What new law? When was this new law established? I didn't hear about it yesterday. Is there a document? Is there an official seal? Who signed and agreed to it? What kind of nonsense is this? Dictatorship?" Mr. Jin was getting furious.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a secretary!" the individual with the surname Li clarified his new identity.
"Li Xiaodong!" Mr. Jin's anger was obvious, "You're a technician at a chemical coating factory, not some secretary for a committee chairman. Don't you fucking get lost!"
The person's complexion fluctuated, his drooping mouth corners sank even further.
"Wasn't the way it used to be good enough?" Mr. Jin was clearly enraged, "What's wrong with painting walls outside the research institute? Is someone looking down on you? Isn't your job of painting walls outside better than that?"
"Isn't being a self-reliant laborer good enough? Who here isn't self-reliant? You're lowering your status so much, following Liu Xing and making mistakes with him? This is a path of no return!" Mr. Jin was speaking without any restraint. He looked at the two middle-aged people at the door, "You're the same. Think about human history. Isn't the Republic good enough? What's this, no one's watching so you want to play dictatorship? You're claiming kingship over this small piece of land? Have you even thought, what era is it, for generations, dominating the world?"
"Mr. Jin," Li Xiaodong's face drooped, his small eyes blinked, showing an attitude of not wanting to engage in conflict, "Your daughter is still in a critical condition. For her well-being, you shouldn't be too impulsive!"
"I remember now, you used to always wear sunglasses. Was it to hide your small eyes?" Mr. Jin had an exceptional memory, never forgetting anything he saw, and he wasn't about to lose to anyone in a confrontation. Threatening him with his daughter wouldn't make him speak politely.
Li Xiaodong left without a word, heading to report to his master. He didn't regret anything. On the contrary, he felt extremely satisfied. He was even more pleased with his choice to follow Liu Xing. It gave him the chance to satisfy his vanity and pose a threat to people of Mr. Jin's level.
Mr. Jin slammed the door shut with force. The people outside the door heard angry voices within the room, "Ambitious and shameless." Following that were the sounds of things being thrown to the ground.
Li Xiaodong secretly reveled in this turn of events, "You guys!" Li Xiaodong stared at the two people by the door, gave them a penetrating look, and then turned to leave. After his private satisfaction, he continued cursing and plotting.
"Old man, if it weren't for your beautiful daughter, you'd be dead already."
Thinking about it, he grew even more pleased. Old thing, what are you so arrogant about? Wait until you've angered those above you. You're worth nothing. Your beautiful daughter, scientist, architect, talented woman, bah! Everyone has their opportunities. Li Xiaodong's deeply insecure heart was becoming twisted.
In the evening, Jun Ya woke up in a daze, only to find herself in a world without him.
Struggling to get out of bed, she looked around and fumbled in her pocket, pulling out the only letter he had written to her.
"Jun Ya, the time we spent together was so short that I find myself replaying it in my mind every night before sleep. Thinking of you is sweet, and I always smile while reminiscing about every moment. But in the end, it makes me want to cry.
Meeting you was my greatest luck, perhaps using up all my good fortune. I feel like I might not be able to return this time. So, forgive me for bothering you. I wish you happiness!"
Memories vividly resided in her mind—the man who carried her father on his back and cared for her; the one who searched everywhere for food, covered in dirt and even fell into a heap of bird droppings; the one who always smiled, unfazed by retorts, a fool who sat on a branch watching stars with her; the one who knew she was engaged, secretly jealous, yet refused to come to the base. You claimed your name was Guang Yun Qi, your luck was good, but you always ended up in bird droppings. I thought you were unreliable, but you took care of me so well. You bastard, you stirred my feelings, but you can't come back now.
Missing him deeply, it's hard for mortal affairs to go according to one's wishes. Let's see how many times the bright moon will become round again. The tempering of time had already replaced the once steadfast face! Alas, there are too many people deeply in love, and I'm just a speck of dust under the waves of the mortal world. I can only brush shoulders with you briefly!
Jun Ya touched the end of the letter where the glaring "I wish you happiness" was, shedding tears of sorrow.
"Are you awake?" Hearing movement, Jun Ya's father entered the room.
"Dad." Looking up, she saw her father's aging in a single night, and another pang of pain struck her heart. She quickly wiped away her tears.
"Are you hungry?"
"Not hungry."
"You can't do without eating something. Wait for me, I'll get you something to eat." Mr. Jin quickly turned around, but accidentally bumped into the door frame. In his flustered state, he grinned at Jun Ya and joked, "Look at me, I'm useless, always so absent-minded."
"Dad, be careful."
"Look, what's this?" After a while, Mr. Jin walked in like a cheerful child, holding a bowl of soup, "I know my cooking isn't great, and it's inconvenient to go out now. Just manage with this."
"What's wrong? Is it not tasty? It might not look great." Mr. Jin looked at his daughter who took a sip, smiled, and put down the bowl. "Dad's cooking skills aren't good, can't be helped. But don't worry, I'll practice more. During the time you're sick, I won't turn the soup into something like bird droppings again."
"Bird droppings? It really looks like it, haha. Dad, it really looks like how Xiao Guang fell into bird droppings back then..." Suddenly, Jun Ya stopped talking, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't cry. It's Dad's fault, cooking a meal made you sad again." Mr. Jin hugged his daughter tightly, tears streaming down his face, "It's Dad's uselessness that brought you to this world and made you face such difficulties."
"Dad!" Jun Ya buried her head and sobbed.
"Dad, we can't go on like this. We can't give up, can't ignore it." Tears filled Jun Ya's eyes as she looked at her aging father, "There must be others alive, they will come back. We have to find a way to take back the base. We can't let the returning ones have no home. If Xiao Guang were here, he wouldn't want us to sit idly and wait for death."
The beach was calm, occasionally a lazy crocodile yawned. If you ignored the dangerous crocodiles, the sunny beach was a great place for a vacation. However, for the abnormally small humans, the threat from the crocodiles was much less than that from various sand insects and worms. After all, crocodiles were large and didn't find a morsel the size of an ant appealing.
In the vicinity of the beach, in the tall treetops, a person stood silently, gazing intently at the distant shoreline.
"Old Su!"
"Yeah, Old Li." He turned to look at the person who approached, "I can't believe he's just gone like that."
Li Ji didn't reply. He looked at the beach. A hero wasn't synonymous with immortality, but he didn't say it aloud. In his heart, Xiao Guang was like his fallen comrades, all heroes. Each person fought against death alongside the Grim Reaper, but luck determined their different lengths of life. Even he, and those still alive, were the same, probing the edge of death every day.
"The team is about ready to rest, and the equipment is replenished." Li Ji looked at Old Su's back, "Land resources are quite abundant. In the past half month, everything has improved in all aspects, especially food and weapons."
"Yeah, that's good. Everyone's pretty much recovered, right?"
"The body is recovering, but the spirit is a bit lacking."
"Sigh, take your time. This time, it's not just Xiao Guang, we lost a good number of comrades."
Living a year of battle on the island, already frail individuals suffered even more, not receiving proper care for an extended period, and their conditions worsened. After an adventurous struggle that drained their last bit of life, some couldn't recover from serious injuries and remained here permanently. They were buried together, their names forever engraved on the stone slab.
"Call back the search and rescue team, give the order to depart!" Old Su said to Li Ji, "Reunite with our families as soon as possible. Don't let the heroes' sacrifices go to waste. There's a wish unfulfilled. Let's accomplish it for him."