"All prepared, Guardians of the Firmament, Seventh Team, embark on the thirteenth A-level mission!"
A deep male voice swept past the ears, tingling the auditory nerves.
"Warning! Warning! You have deviated from the target coordinates!"
The warning lights flashed wildly inside the capsule, countless surreal images flashing on the transparent panel. Then, a sharp white light flashed, followed by a sudden piercing noise.
"Illegal transit detected!"
"Illegal transit detected!"
Something went wrong!!
Ji Yushi gritted his teeth, trying to press the warning button, but the capsule suddenly spun, forcing him to grab the armrest of the safety seat with all his strength to prevent being thrown out and hitting his head.
After a long turbulence, as the capsule returned to calmness, Ji Yushi grabbed the nutrient fluid handed by the mechanical arm and gulped down a few mouthfuls, easing for about a dozen seconds.
Wait...
How did this scene... feel so familiar?
It was as if he had experienced it before.
But that feeling disappeared quickly, before Ji Yushi could catch its tail, it dissipated into thin air.
[??p0754%$#37]
[:""LRR"/'l'89'']
The transparent panel showed garbled characters, completely crashed.
Voices of teammates came from outside the capsule.
Stepping out of the capsule, Ji Yushi found they had arrived in a forest. The sky was a deep gray, the dark trees looming. Apart from the seven glowing capsules, there was no other light, only a serene and profound stillness.
Teammates were chatting.
Song Qinglan's voice came, "I told you to ride the big swing ten times before going on another mission. Come clean, how many times did you really ride?"
Another voice sounded somewhat pained, "Twice... Blegh—"
It turned out someone was vomiting.
Ji Yushi: "..."
By the glow of the capsule, he discerned that the person vomiting was Li Chun, right next to his capsule, and some unknown substance even splattered onto his capsule.
Ji Yushi held his breath instantly, taking several steps back.
He felt a bit nauseous too.
Teammates continued to tease Li Chun, while Ji Yushi braced the cold wind, waiting for the smell to dissipate and for their teasing to end.
Li Chun seemed to have finally finished vomiting, his voice weak, "No, didn't you guys smell it? The air here stinks."
Someone said, "Pure, stop making excuses, rinse your mouth quickly."
"Thanks, Wen-ge... Eh? Where's Advisor Ji?"
As soon as Li Chun said this, Ji Yushi instinctively replied, "I'm here."
It was as if he knew Li Chun would ask like this.
Ji Yushi: "..."
The déjà vu that had disappeared before suddenly came back.
Song Qinglan seemed to glance in his direction, his expression rather indifferent, then he lowered his head to look at the communicator.
Ji Yushi glanced at his own communicator.
[1470.8.0504:41:31]
This wasn't the time coordinate they were supposed to arrive at.
Song Qinglan must have also noticed this point, as he commanded, "Duanwen, check the main control panel to see if there are any data omissions or information hijackings, and immediately contact the command center."
"Yes," Duanwen reported, "Captain Song, it seems our equipment has been locked."
Ji Yushi walked over.
Equipment locked?
Song Qinglan's profile was quite handsome, his brows furrowed, "How is it locked?"
Duanwen said, "The main control panel is offline, and we can't contact the command center either. The capsules are not functioning. It seems that the electromagnetic waves and magnetic fields here are somewhat different, but it's uncertain. Perhaps the transit just now is related to this as well. Now, only the communicators are functional. We're trapped here."
The surrounding teammates listened intently, reacting with consternation to this news.
"What about the mission?"
"I even said I'd treat the new girl I just met to dinner for the next mission."
"You've fooled around with so many, isn't that enough?"
As soon as the words fell, footsteps suddenly sounded in the woods.
Following the low-profile principle of the Guardians, they should not let the indigenous people discover their identities unless absolutely necessary. So, everyone silenced simultaneously.
Duanwen, responsible for control, quickly shut off the glowing capsules and switched to stealth mode.
Everyone stood quietly in the forest, unmoving.
As the chaotic footsteps approached, Ji Yushi suddenly had a strong premonition... Sure enough, when he adjusted to the darkness, he clearly distinguished the intruder as a dirty vagrant.
"Haha—"
The vagrant lunged at Li Chun, but Li Chun managed to throw him to the ground. Then, the vagrant surged up again.
"What the hell?!" Li Chun, caught off guard, screamed as he was tackled. "Damn it!"
The vagrant viciously bit Li Chun's shoulder!
Song Qinglan kicked the vagrant several meters away with a loud "bang."
Duanwen helped Li Chun up, anxiously asking, "Pure! Are you alright?!"
There was armor on Li Chun's shoulder, and although he was in pain, fortunately, the bite only left a tooth mark and no injury.
In the darkness, Song Qinglan swiftly subdued the vagrant, then turned to Li Chun, lifting his chin, "Pure, your new fling? Chasing you all the way here."
Amidst the laughter of teammates, Ji Yushi seemed unusually silent. He stood aside, looking... distracted.
When he came to his senses, Li Chun had already tied the vagrant to a tree.
So Ji Yushi turned on his flashlight and walked towards the vagrant.
Under the flashlight's strong light, there appeared grayish-white, murky eyeballs, pale skin covered with blue web-like blood vessels, and a body stained with dark red blood and tiny pieces of flesh, emitting a strong, nauseating stench.
"Haha—" The vagrant's expression hardly resembled that of a human, still gaping widely, trying to bite the people around him, struggling frantically.
The teammates had various expressions.
This scene was too shocking, but Ji Yushi watched without blinking, seemingly unaffected.
Li Chun whispered, "I told you guys the air here stinks."
Song Qinglan furrowed his brows deeply, observing the vagrant for a while before turning off the flashlight and speaking, "Alright, before going out, we should check the almanac. We've practically broken the record for the fastest discovery by indigenous people in Guardian history. No one reports back when we return, or else the Ninth Team's bastards will surpass us."
He stood up, then continued, "Let's leave the person temporarily nearby. Someone will find him and call the police. It's pitch black here, we can't see anything. We need to find a way to contact the Firmament of this time and space. Be vigilant when going out, we might come across a crime scene."
"Understood!"
When they received their equipment, everyone's movements were quick and nimble.
Soon it was Ji Yushi's turn to choose equipment. He picked a pistol he had used in the training room in recent days.
Standing beside him, Song Qinglan spoke the name of the gun, "Diamond Bird."
This man was extremely tall, and when he wasn't smiling, he had a fierce temperament that was hard to ignore.
Being looked down upon like this, Ji Yushi inexplicably continued his words, "A style reminiscent of the PPK from the last century, used by Hitler and Bond."
Perhaps Song Qinglan also wanted to mention this. Being preempted, he raised an eyebrow slightly, revealing a hint of arrogance, "Advisor Ji, you're quite retro."
Ji Yushi was slightly taken aback, "..."
What was going on?
Song Qinglan's words interrupted his strange thoughts, "In this situation, if it were me, I'd try to choose weapons that could better protect myself."
Ji Yushi involuntarily looked up at him.
"A little advice." Song Qinglan raised his eyebrows slightly, picking his weapons nonchalantly. "But, it suits you."
Song Qinglan first chose two military knives. Ji Yushi watched as he sheathed the knives in his leg strap, then observed him selecting gloves, brass knuckles, and finally a shotgun in the order he had imagined.
"Sleepwalker?" Ji Yushi asked.
Whether or not he had served in the army, it wasn't surprising to recognize a famous weapon.
"Yes, it suits me," Song Qinglan affirmed.
Before they set off, Song Qinglan suddenly turned around, "Use weapons when necessary. Do you know what will happen if the indigenous people find you carrying a gun?"
Under the gaze of those black eyes, it was easy to detect a teasing undertone.
As if saying: Someone like you doesn't look like a cop.
Continuing his words, Ji Yushi said, "I'll just say I'm a cop."
After leaving the woods, Ji Yushi found himself in a park.
Along the way, they saw a half-devoured corpse on the main road, seemingly explaining the chunks of flesh and bloodstains on the vagrant. In the central area of the city, at five in the morning, the park was deserted, except for the garbage blowing in the wind and the occasional dark red bloodstains on the road, they didn't see a living soul. The tall buildings surrounding the park were also devoid of smoke, the city eerily silent.
In this mysterious atmosphere, the park was incredibly eerie as they marched in formation.
"Captain Song, at eleven o'clock, there's the park management office."
As if afraid of disturbing something, Ji Yushi lowered his voice, suddenly reminding them.
Throughout the journey, Ji Yushi remained silent, and Song Qinglan followed his gaze in the direction he indicated.
Just as Ji Yushi was about to add, "There seems to be light inside," Song Qinglan tilted his head, "Split up and go take a look first."
The teammates dispersed upon receiving their orders.
Only Ji Yushi and Song Qinglan remained on the main road.
A gust of morning wind blew, and a few strands of Song Qinglan's forehead hair fell, his normally shrewd black eyes squinting slightly.
Ji Yushi felt a little nervous, the déjà vu feeling growing stronger. Could it be that even Song Qinglan...
He hoped it was like that.
But Song Qinglan chose to cut straight to the chase: "Advisor Ji, how resilient are you?"
Ji Yushi remained silent.
His complexion suddenly turned pallid, his heart pounding violently, as if besieged by a nightmare, ensnared in a web of dark thoughts, heavy and inescapable.
Yet, it wasn't because Song Qinglan had asked the question.
Ji Yushi's face remained calm, though nobody knew that his palms were already damp with cold sweat. He heard himself respond, "Perhaps not very."
Why was Captain Song, who usually judged by appearances, suddenly showing concern for him?
Was this some sort of special treatment for newcomers?
Song Qinglan looked up at the silent, towering buildings around them, then said, "We're stuck this time. Who knows how long it'll take to get back. Your significant other at home is probably getting anxious. But I hope you can adjust."
Ji Yushi asked, "Captain Song, do you always have conversations with every new recruit during missions?"
Song Qinglan had no need for pleasantries, "No."
So, it was a preventive measure aimed specifically at the "vase."
Ji Yushi replied, "...I understand."
After Song Qinglan left, Ji Yushi stood still for a few seconds, hoping the chill on his body would dissipate.
But the cacophony in his ears persisted, his heart threatening to burst from his throat, making it difficult to calm down.
"Ji Yushi, you have to snap out of it... You have to keep going, don't let it drag you down."
"We won't think about it! We won't think about it! Ji Yushi, look here, everything here is new, they've never appeared before, take a look!"
"Ji Yushi, this time your image test and psychological assessment both failed. Especially your psychological test, the score is terrifyingly low, showing a decline each time!"
"Ji Yushi! Pull yourself together! You must learn to decompose the overload in your brain! Otherwise, madness is not far off for you!"
"Ji Yushi, you must distinguish between reality and memory, overlapping memories are of no benefit to you."
...
Park management office.
Ji Yushi was the last to arrive.
Tang Le was reporting, "Captain Song! A body was found in the restroom!"
Song Qinglan found a shut-off communicator lying on a table and was tinkering with it. Upon hearing this, he set it down and went to check the restroom.
They turned the body over, amidst the putrid stench of decay, and Song Qinglan used a military knife to pry open the tightly shut eyelids—the physical signs of this body were exactly the same as the vagrant they encountered in the woods. The group began discussing animatedly, none noticing that Ji Yushi took a glance at the door and quietly left.
The arrangement in the office swirled before Ji Yushi's eyes. He ignored the chaotic desk, bypassed keys, newspapers, registration books, and focused his gaze directly on the black-screened communicator.
As if guided by something, Ji Yushi opened a drawer and found the charger for the communicator inside.
The shut-off communicator was turned on.
Ji Yushi only glanced at it for a minute or two before abruptly setting it down! His gaze swept across the office, and in a corner, he found a crate of mineral water.
"What's wrong?"
Song Qinglan and the others returned to the office, just in time to witness this scene.
Ji Yushi held a bottle of mineral water, his face pale, his pitch-black eyelashes casting a shadow over his eyelids, his whole body trembling imperceptibly, as if enduring some discomfort.
Little did they know, this appearance was akin to that of a delicate porcelain, ready to shatter with the slightest touch.
In front of everyone, Ji Yushi handed the mineral water to Song Qinglan without any psychological burden, his eyes clear: "Captain Song, could you help me? I'm feeling a bit unwell."
It was as if he acknowledged his own vulnerability.
And vases needed to be cared for.
The others: "..."
Damn.
The last person who looked like this in front of Song Qinglan probably made a move on him.
Can't even open a bottle cap, what kind of man is this?!
Unexpectedly, Song Qinglan calmly looked at him for two seconds before unscrewing the cap and handing it back, "Did you find anything?"
Ji Yushi took a sip of water and swallowed the pill in his mouth.
"I found the charger for the administrator's communicator in the drawer, and I also found a video clip."