At the same time.
Also in Hang'an City.
In a dark room, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed.
After the door was pushed open, Han Bi entered the room. He closed the door behind him but didn't turn on the lights. Instead, he walked slowly into the living room and threw himself on the sofa.
The room had been unoccupied for a long time, and with the doors and windows closed, the air inside had not circulated, giving it a stale odor.
However, Han Bi seemed to care little about all this. He stretched his body forcefully on the sofa, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, savoring it.
An hour passed before he slowly got up.
He went to the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and drank a glass of tap water. Then, Han Bi entered the bedroom, where there was a large double bed. He let himself lie down on the bed, pulled up the blanket, and curled up inside.
In the darkness, he didn't close his eyes, but instead, his eyes widened, silently gazing out of the window.
Faintly, he could see the lights of the houses across the street, scattered like stars...
Suddenly, Han Bi spoke to himself.
Every word he uttered, every single letter, was extremely serious and sincere!
"Han Bi, this time you won't fail again! You won't die! You absolutely won't die! You must believe in yourself! If you don't even believe in yourself, then there's no one who can save you!"
"Han Bi, pull yourself together! You're not a worthless person!"
"Han Bi! There are only two days left for the duplicate! You must gather your spirits! You have to believe in yourself, believe in yourself!"
"I won't die!! I won't die!!"
...
When daylight broke, the man woke up by the window.
This was a room in a small, run-down, and very basic motel.
The mattress of the single bed was obviously in bad shape, and it creaked when the man got up.
There was a water bottle in the room. He got up and went over to it. The hangover headache made his mind foggy, and his mouth was dry.
He shook the water bottle forcefully, but it was empty.
He got up and rushed to the bathroom, turning on the tap to drink, but suddenly, he turned around and knelt by the toilet, starting to vomit.
He vomited so hard that he almost brought bile up, and then he sat weakly on the floor.
He lifted his head and saw a message on the bathroom wall mirror.
Obviously, it was written with a black marker.
"Remember! You have no son!"
The man was momentarily stunned, then he struggled to stand up, wiped his mouth vigorously, and stumbled out of the room. It was only at the bedside that he saw an envelope.
He walked over and opened it... revealing a stack of red banknotes.
"Da... Da Gang?"
...
In the morning, at Hang'an Train Station.
As Tian Lie walked onto the platform, Han Bi was standing on the opposite platform.
Han Bi lowered his head, looking serious, and boarded a train.
Tian Lie didn't see Han Bi. He stood on the platform, reached into his pocket, but after pulling out a cigarette pack, he hesitated for a moment, crushed it forcefully, and threw it into the nearby trash can.
"Let it end like this!" he muttered under his breath, looking at the sky.
On the opposite platform, a train slowly started, and Han Bi sat by the window, gazing outside with a determined look.
"I won't die! I absolutely won't!!"
...
At the airport in Jinling.
Chen Xiaolian looked at Roddy coming out and laughed, opening his arms wide.
After an enthusiastic embrace between the two teenagers, Chen Xiaolian patted Roddy on the back and said with a smile, "You've been to Africa, but how come you look even paler?"
Roddy shook his head and sighed, "Even though it's Africa, I've been in a mine for so many days, I never saw the sun."
After a pause, he looked at Chen Xiaolian, "That place is really something. Honestly, I feel like your luck is just too good!"
"I thought you might stay in Africa for a few more days."
Roddy chuckled, "I wanted to stay longer, I really enjoyed tinkering with those machines every day. But, I had to come back!"
Chen Xiaolian nodded, "You're right. Let's count the days. The next instance dungeon draw is coming up soon, maybe in the next few days. If the instance turns out to be dangerous, it would be troublesome if you're stuck outside and can't make it back into the base in time. If we decide to participate in the next instance, we should discuss our battle plan as a team. Your timely return is a good thing."
Roddy laughed heartily, "By the way! I'll show you my unexpected gains from Africa when we get back! Well, I won't say now, you'll find out when you see it! It might even be a big help for us in future instance dungeons."
"Oh?"
Roddy patted Chen Xiaolian on the shoulder, "We'll talk about it later! It's not fun to spoil the surprise now. Oh, and Qiao Qiao is back, right? Perfect, it's been a while, and we should have a few drinks tonight!"
After a pause, Roddy looked at Chen Xiaolian and said, "Should we invite Arslan? Our grassland brother must be itching to get out, right?"
"Him?" Chen Xiaolian smiled, "I just talked to him on the phone before I came. That guy went to school early, and now he's staying in the dormitory. He gets dragged by the coach to train with the school team every day. I think their coach wants to aim for the CUBA championship."
"Wow, that good? Our brother might become basketball stars in the future?"
Roddy stroked his chin, then suddenly whispered, "Should we give him a hand? His physical condition is already pretty good, but he's still far from being a professional player. I think that genetic enhancement drug is still available. We can find an opportunity to secretly give it to him... I guarantee he'll become a superhuman on the court, not just CBA, he might even make it to the NBA!"
Chen Xiaolian rolled his eyes, "Stop causing trouble. Don't abuse the system's resources. Our identities are confidential, and if it leaks out, it can't be explained."
As they spoke, the two of them had already reached the parking lot. After getting into the car, Chen Xiaolian checked the time, "It's almost lunchtime. Should we find a place to eat first..."
"No way!" Roddy immediately protested, "What's the point of eating? Let's hurry back! The Sentinel Mechs you mentioned, as well as the Tidal Warplane, have been itching my curiosity for days! Let's get back quickly! I want to study these treasures thoroughly!!"
...
Tian Lie returned to Jinling from Hang'an. As soon as he entered the residential area, he saw the captain of the security team from the property approaching. The captain gave him a brief glance and frowned, "Da Gang, just got back?"
Tian Lie had already changed his appearance back to that of Da Gang, with his slender frame only reaching the captain's chin.
"Hurry up and change your clothes. Mr. Xu has something in the afternoon, so take a leave of absence and stand guard at the entrance."
Da Gang didn't say anything and quickly ran back to the dormitory, changed into the security guard uniform, and went to the entrance to switch shifts with his colleagues.
He had been standing at the entrance for less than twenty minutes when suddenly a taxi pulled up at the entrance of the residential area.
From the car, Nicole, with a graceful figure, wearing a sports T-shirt and shorts, slowly got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the residential area. She looked at Da Gang standing there in a security guard uniform and suddenly took off her sunglasses, bursting into laughter.
"To be honest, I didn't expect to see you again in this... outfit."
Tian Lie squinted his eyes, looking at Nicole, but didn't say anything.
Nicole waved her hand, "I'm not here to fight with you."
Tian Lie looked around, then suddenly walked over, getting close to Nicole, and whispered, "There's a grove behind the residential area. There shouldn't be many people there at this time. Let's go."
"Hmm?" Nicole raised an eyebrow.
Tian Lie had already taken off the security guard uniform jacket and casually tossed it on the ground.
"Coincidentally, I'm in a bad mood and really want to have a fight. I was just worried I couldn't find the right person... and here you are!"
"I told you, I'm not here to fight with you," Nicole frowned.
Tian Lie cracked his neck, flexed his fingers, making them snap loudly, and grunted, "If I win, you go find Chen Xiaolian; if I lose, you go back to wherever you came from."
Nicole paused for a moment, then burst into laughter and looked at Tian Lie provocatively, "Dare to make it interesting? If I win, you tell me who you are!"
Tian Lie squinted his eyes, "If you lose, you tell me who you are!"
"Deal!"
...
"Oh my God!!!"
As soon as Roddy entered the base, without even greeting his teammates, he rushed into the equipment room and saw the massive Tidal Warplane parked in the warehouse. He immediately disregarded Chen Xiaolian, opened his arms, and pounced on it!
He looked like he wanted to lick the fuselage with his tongue!
"Good stuff! Great stuff! Absolutely fantastic!!"
Seeing Roddy circling the Tidal Warplane twice, he then declared, "I've made up my mind! I'm living here for the next three days!! With such a fantastic treasure, I must study it thoroughly!"
Chen Xiaolian sighed, "Qiao Qiao is still waiting for you to have a drink."
"Darn it! She's your girl, not mine! You can have a drink with her!" Roddy waved his hand heartily.
He then glanced longingly at other parts of the warehouse... the Thunderstorm Battle Tank... the Sentinel Mechs.
"I think I can live here for a year!" His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Enough!" Chen Xiaolian interrupted him and said seriously, "The equipment is all here, and you have time to study it slowly. Now, tell us about the gains from your trip to Africa!"
Roddy's eyes lit up, "Good! I'll show you something amazing... Oh, by the way, bring everyone in! Let them all see it!"
...
A few minutes later, all the team members gathered in the equipment room.
Roddy clearly had a smug look on his face, the kind of expression that tried to be low-key but couldn't help but show off.
Even when he greeted Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo, his eyes were shining.
However, it was evident that nobody cared about his expression. Instead, they were all focused on the "surprise" he had taken out in front of them.
Everyone's expressions were truly priceless!
After a while, Chen Xiaolian couldn't help but say, "Is this... the 'surprise' you were talking about?!"