"Welcome back."
The door to Room 8 opened again, and Li Yu saw Xu Mengyuan walk in from outside, "How was your first business trip?"
"How on earth did you manage to send me to another plane?!"
"About that... I'm from the HR department, and it's quite difficult to explain the specifics of the technology involved, but I had guessed you would ask this. That's why I found someone in advance who can explain it to you clearly," said Xu Mengyuan with a smile, "and as it happens, he has a lot of questions for you too."
"Who?"
"Hephaestus. Oh... don't get the wrong idea, it's just a nickname. It's a bad habit started by Alibaba; he's not really the god of fire and craftsmanship from Ancient Greek mythology. He just insists that other people call him that. Like you and me, he's also an employee of the third era, working in the Equipment Department, responsible for R&D."
"Research and development? You have R&D positions here?"
"Correct, after collecting resources, they always need to be developed and utilized."
Li Yu did not ask further what the resources were or how they were developed and utilized. Anyway, he could save these questions for when he met Hephaestus.
So he just said to Xu Mengyuan, "Take me to him."
However, upon hearing this, Xu Mengyuan didn't move.
"Is there something else?"
"Did you forget something?"
"What?"
"There's no overtime at the third era, and now it's already five o'clock. We should get off work. Let's meet at nine tomorrow morning; I'll take you to Hephaestus," Xu Mengyuan said. After finishing, she turned to leave but was stopped by Li Yu calling out to her again.
"Wait, I can let the other questions go, but there's one thing you must answer me right now, what time is it exactly?" Li Yu asked seriously.
"Aren't you wearing the watch I lent you? Isn't the answer clear enough? If you still can't believe it, you can ask someone else after you leave or get online to finally confirm it," said Xu Mengyuan. "Oh, and about what happened today, please make sure to keep it confidential from others. You know, our business is quite special and not very convenient to disclose. After you go back, remember to take a shower and get a good night's sleep. We'll meet tomorrow."
...
After leaving the office building, Li Yu borrowed a charging cable from a convenience store nearby to charge his phone, which had shut down automatically.
He waited for about half a minute, then pressed the power button. A few seconds later, the word HUAWEI lit up on the screen, followed by HarmonyOS.
Then came the password input interface, but Li Yu's attention had already been completely drawn to the date and time at the top of the screen.
May 19, Wednesday. 17:15.
The date was still the same as the day he had come for the interview at the third era, even though he had indeed spent nearly an entire day in another world.
However, the hands on the watch Xu Mengyuan lent him had only moved about seven marks.
If one could say that third era might have tampered with that watch, the time displayed on the phone was synchronized in real-time with the network.
It would automatically update once connected to the internet, making it almost impossible to fake.
Li Yu then opened the photo album, but whether it was the photos he had taken in that world or the recordings he had made for Miss Rabbit, all were nowhere to be found.
Li Yu unplugged the charging cable, thanked the clerk for the help, paid for a can of oolong tea, and then scanned the QR code for a shared power bank next to the cash register.
As he walked through the automatic door and left, Li Yu noticed his own reflection on the glass.
The cut opened by the bush on his slacks was still there, but the mud spots on his leather shoes had disappeared.
...
After leaving the convenience store, Li Yu didn't immediately head home, but instead took the subway to a small park in the south of the city.
He chose an unoccupied bench, sat down, and quietly finished the can of oolong tea while watching the old men and women in the park walking their grandchildren, dancing, playing chess, and singing Beijing opera.
He had never thought before that these everyday scenes, so common everywhere, could one day be imbued with some sort of meaning.
Xu Mengyuan wasn't lying; once he entered Rabbit Hole, his entire life would indeed change.
In those short seven-plus hours before, the events that had occurred had nearly overturned all the knowledge he had amassed over the past twenty-plus years.
Whenever he closed his eyes, he would see the Mansion, those tall stone walls and wooden wedges securing the pillars, the white lime smeared on the exterior walls which could easily be scraped off with a gentle rub of his fingertips.
Warriors and servants, cloaked and armed with long swords and daggers, feasted together in the grand hall, where some played the Layakin made of tortoise shells, singing the epic tales left by the valiant warriors under the command of Furious Lion Alexander when he conquered Bratis.
All of this was so real because Li Yu was right there in the midst of it.
He could feel his heart, which had been close to dying, begin to beat anew.
It was a peculiar experience, as if a young child had just left its mother's body, opened its eyes, and took its first look at the brand new world before it.
Everything was so vibrant and enthralling.
Even the mundane trivialities of adult life now shone brightly, as if they were treasure vaults glinting with gold, waiting for you to unlock them with your own hands.
It was a call of the innate exploratory desire of mankind.
Even the threat of death in a strange environment couldn't shake it; in fact, it was this omnipresent sense of crisis that hastened the awakening of something inside Li Yu, reigniting a thrill he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Have you recently gotten yourself into some kind of trouble?"
A voice came from behind Li Yu, pulling him back from his reminiscences.
"Just taking precautions."
Li Yu turned around and saw a woman in a chiffon blouse and an A-line skirt, holding a golden retriever, standing behind him.
She had the model-like proportions and a face as stunning as any celebrity, crowned with light brown natural curls. Even in those art schools teeming with beauties, she would still be impossible to ignore.
"We haven't seen each other in a while, have we?"
"Yeah, it's been over a year."
"How have you been this past year?" the woman in the A-line skirt sat down beside Li Yu.
"Not bad, I've been busy looking for a new job recently."
"Really, what job?"
"Consulting work, and you?"
"Consulting, huh... seems fitting for you. After all, you were always the most strategic and dedicated in the company," the woman in the A-line skirt said, gathering her hair that was tousled by the wind, "As for me, I'm still living with my mom."
"How's your mother's health?"
"Same as always, apart from knee pain when going up and down the stairs or when it rains, everything else is okay."
"Is that right."
"Yeah, my mom mentioned you a while back. She said you should come over for dinner when you have the time." After saying this, the woman in the A-line skirt handed Li Yu the object wrapped in a black garbage bag.
"Here's what you asked for... when it's time to use it, push the switch all the way, and press the red button," she said.
"Thank you," Li Yu said, taking the garbage bag, "I'll just use it to tide me over for these couple of days, and then I'll return it to you promptly."
"No need, keep it. I don't need it anymore. Besides, here's the seller's WeChat for you too. He has more stuff like this, so you can contact him directly if you need to. But try not to overdo it," she added.
"Understood."
"If there's nothing else, I should get going, the ice cream cone is urging me," she said, gesturing to the golden retriever that was growing increasingly impatient nearby.
"Take care," Li Yu said.
"You too."
The woman in the A-line skirt stood up from her seat, walked forward with the large dog along the gravel path, and stopped about two hundred meters out.
It seemed she had encountered an acquaintance; after exchanging pleasantries, she turned around to wave at Li Yu, then continued forward and disappeared with the golden retriever at the end of the road.