After eating the canned food, Ji Yushi regained much of his strength.

The first thing he did after finishing was to go to the bathroom in the small room to rinse his mouth. To be honest, if he had any other choice, he wouldn’t eat canned food. He’s quite a picky eater.

But given that Song Qinglan was even more selective than him, and one of them had to maintain their strength, Ji Yushi forced himself to finish the meal.

After rinsing his mouth, the picky Song Qinglan was already standing by the air valve, asking him, “Consultant Ji, have you seen these characters before?”

This small room was kept very clean, with all the tabletops and cabinets empty. To prevent them from escaping, the bearded man hadn’t left any tools behind.

The air valve could be opened and closed from both the inside and the outside and was unlocked via a password touch panel.

Song Qinglan had tried multiple times during her stay, but all attempts to crack the code had failed.

Ji Yushi walked over to examine it.

He had never seen these characters before.

The password touch panel was also in keyboard mode, but there were no numbers. Each key, where a number should be, was marked with strange symbols, each different from the other. They appeared to represent numbers.

If these symbols corresponded to Arabic numerals 1–9, the remaining keys were likely for unlocking and locking.

Song Qinglan said, “Over the past few days, I’ve treated them like Arabic numerals and tried all sorts of combinations. But, first of all, we don’t know how many digits the password is. Second, their meanings might not align with what we think. It doesn’t work.”

Random guessing was practically useless.

No matter how intelligent someone is, they can’t crack a code based on incomprehensible symbols.

At this moment, both of them missed Duan Wen, who always carried various high-tech gadgets. If Duan Wen were here, perhaps they could use some equipment to forcibly decrypt the password.

“It might be that bearded man’s language,” Ji Yushi said.

“The bearded man?” Song Qinglan reacted, then added, “You mean that big guy. He’s like a savage. If we stay locked up much longer, I’ll probably end up looking like him.”

Song Qinglan’s stubble was growing in rapidly. If this continued for a year or so, he might indeed rival the bearded man.

Men’s physiology and testosterone dictate the growth of facial hair, but Song Qinglan wasn’t too concerned.

However, standing next to Ji Yushi at the door, from this angle, he could clearly see Ji Yushi’s smooth chin and fine skin… Ji Yushi probably wasn’t the type to grow facial hair.

Song Qinglan continued, “That bearded man… I’ve never heard his language before. Consultant Ji, does it ring any bells for you?”

Ji Yushi shook his head. “No.”

In the Star Era, technology developed rapidly, and people could encounter various forms of knowledge throughout their lives—some are noticed, while others are overlooked. But Ji Yushi had said before that anything he had seen, heard, or felt would never be forgotten.

Because he didn’t have the ability to forget.

That’s why Song Qinglan asked.

“According to the Earth Language Atlas of Star Year 1420, there are approximately 7,000 languages globally, many of which are endangered.” Ji Yushi recalled the unintelligible words the bearded man had spoken. “So, if I haven’t heard it, that’s actually quite normal.”

“But,” he pondered aloud, “to be able to build a space capsule, their technology must be part of a larger trend; it couldn’t have developed in isolation. Arabic numerals have been universal for many years. Why would they use such an uncommon method?”

This was also something Song Qinglan didn’t understand.

Through the glass window on the air valve, Ji Yushi could see a long corridor outside. Like their small room, the corridor had white walls and floors, with bright lighting. It was quiet, turning a corner at the far end, leading elsewhere.

The marks on the floor caught Ji Yushi’s attention.

A series of scuffed marks led from the corner all the way to their small room, resembling drag marks.

Ji Yushi asked, “Did he drag me here with chains?”

Ji Yushi’s question was calm, but given his tendency to hold grudges, he had likely already marked a red cross over the bearded man in his mind.

Song Qinglan responded, looking outside as well, and comforted him, “The bearded man has probably dragged people back more than once. These marks couldn’t have been made in just one or two trips. Who knows who else was unlucky enough to end up here.”

Does that mean that others had been here before them?

And if others had come, where did they go?

Ji Yushi seemed lost in thought.

The two returned to the resting area when suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed.

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck out of nowhere, or a heavy object had fallen from the sky, shaking the space capsule.

Outside the small round window on the wall, the sky briefly lit up, then quickly dimmed again.

Song Qinglan looked outside. “It’s happening again.”

Ji Yushi asked, “What’s happening again?”

“This sound happens often, but there’s no pattern,” Song Qinglan replied, already accustomed to it. He shared his theory with Ji Yushi. “Although we still don’t know where this is, every time the sound happens, the bearded man pushes a cart out and comes back with a bunch of stuff. Look.”

Ji Yushi leaned over, and they both looked out the round window.

Sure enough, after a while, the bearded man appeared, pushing a cart.

The ground was frozen solid, and the temperature was low.

The bearded man exhaled white mist as he breathed, wrapped tightly in a colorless cotton coat, hunching forward.

The bearded man was over two meters tall, with a burly build. The sky behind him seemed so low it could be touched. As he pushed the cart through this indescribable world, for some reason, from their perspective, his figure radiated a deep sense of loneliness.

They watched as he stopped at the roadside after walking for a short while.

There, a large transparent glowing flower had bloomed, larger than any found in the trash heap.

The bearded man plucked it, fastened it to the cart handle, and continued on his way.

Before long, his figure disappeared into the indistinct void.

“…A trash heap,” Ji Yushi murmured, then turned back. “Is he pushing the cart to that trash heap?”

Outside, various colored auroras rippled across the sky in waves.

Blue-green, purple—auroras flashed in Ji Yushi’s clear eyes, illuminating his face, even making each eyelash distinct.

Song Qinglan averted his gaze. “Yes, he’s probably going to pick up more things. We were all picked up by him from there.”

After a brief silence.

Ji Yushi, never one to stop thinking, spoke. “Captain Song, it might be the magnetic field.”

He was very clever and quick to reason. “Those mountains of metal equipment, along with those cans, were likely attracted here by some kind of special magnetic field. Our capsule was probably brought here in the same way. Every time that sound occurs, it’s when something foreign is being drawn in.”

“You’re right,” Song Qinglan agreed, then shared a suspicion that had been on his mind for days. “I suspect that this space capsule, along with the bearded man, were also brought here by this mysterious magnetic field.”

What kind of place could attract even a capsule in the process of transiting?

Neither of them had an answer.

“We need to get out,” Song Qinglan said. “So next time he comes around, we need to seize the opportunity.”

The bearded man was in a good mood.

This time, he’d found quite a haul, including a brand-new pot, a box of picture books, and several crates of canned beer.

Pushing a cart full of goods, he returned to the space capsule, humming a rare tune, flipping through the new picture books while downing a case of beer.

When he awoke from his drunken stupor, the bearded man had a headache. It took him a while to remember that he still had two time travelers locked up in the small room.

He didn’t want them to starve to death just yet.

So, after rummaging around, he found a can of luncheon meat he’d picked up with the pretty time traveler last time. He grabbed a can, intending to throw it into the small room as a feeding.

But when he opened the small hatch, he saw the taller time traveler sitting by the door, glaring at him coldly.

This tall time traveler had been here for quite some time.

From the moment the bearded man found him, he could sense a dangerous aura emanating from him. The traveler’s hard muscles, lean physique, and decisive gaze all indicated that he was not to be trifled with. So, even though he’d locked the traveler up while he was still weak, the bearded man still felt as if he were dealing with a savage lion, ready to strike back at any moment.

As a result, the bearded man had been feeding him meager portions of tasteless vegetables once a day, hoping to keep him weak.

But after so many days, the time traveler hadn’t become any more docile.

And now, he dared to glare at him.

The bearded man cursed and threw the can of luncheon meat through the small hatch.

The tall traveler suddenly stood up.

The bearded man grew wary but saw the traveler pointing to the side.

Lying motionless on the ground was a person, covered from head to toe with a blanket.

Only dead people were covered like that.

The bearded man’s blue eyes widened.

The tall time traveler remained expressionless as he picked up the can of luncheon meat and, with a “pop,” opened it and began eating alone—perhaps he had killed his companion, who wore the same clothes, for the food.

The bearded man was furious.

He slammed the air valve hard and stormed off.

His heavy body stumbled down the corridor, his footsteps heavy and urgent, radiating indescribable anger.

The bearded man returned to his usual spot, his eyes falling on a gun he had found. The gun, with its jet-black body, emitted a cold gleam. The energy clip was still full; it was a high-grade weapon.

The bearded man grabbed the gun and quickly headed back to the small room.

He input the code and opened the air valve.

The tall time traveler was still holding the can, sitting calmly on one side, watching him with an indifferent expression.

The bearded man had a gun, but he hated dealing with corpses and hated cleaning up bloodstains. He cursed and muttered, planning to take this time traveler out and shoot him.

But the corpse on the floor made him irritable. He cursed as he crouched down, lifting the blanket to take a look, intending to drag the body out.

To his surprise, the person under the blanket suddenly opened their eyes.

Ji Yushi’s dark eyes were calm, as if he had predicted the bearded man’s actions.

The bearded man’s expression changed, realizing he had been tricked. But in an instant, Ji Yushi had grabbed his wrist and flipped onto the bearded man’s back, trying to restrain him!

The bearded man’s reflexes weren’t quick, but he was incredibly strong.

With a violent shake of his back, Ji Yushi felt a surge of brute force, his whole body thrown against the wall. “Ugh!”

“Anfal Arhagen!” the bearded man roared, raising his gun and pulling the trigger, intending to blast this cunning time traveler.

With his back in pain, Ji Yushi was dizzy from the impact, his eyes teary from the pain.

Facing the gun, he didn’t dodge but instead remarked, “You picked the wrong weapon.”

The bearded man couldn’t understand him. He cursed as he pulled the trigger, only to be stunned when the gun didn’t respond!

Before he could react, a gust of wind passed behind him—it was Song Qinglan!

The bearded man swung the gun backward, but Song Qinglan ducked, appearing in front of the bearded man the next second.

This completely enraged the bearded man.

He roared and swung the gun wildly, but Song Qinglan delivered a heavy punch straight to his face, sending stars shooting across the bearded man’s vision. The gun slipped from his hand as he staggered, clutching his nose.

Immediately after, Song Qinglan locked his arm around the bearded man’s neck from behind!

Song Qinglan’s arm was like an iron clamp, causing the bearded man to roll his eyes as he was strangled. He struggled violently, retreating and slamming Song Qinglan hard against the wall behind him!

“Captain Song!!” Ji Yushi scrambled to his feet.

The bearded man was over ten centimeters taller than Song Qinglan, with a build as imposing as a fierce bear. No combat technique could withstand his massive size. Song Qinglan was repeatedly slammed against the wall—once, twice!

Song Qinglan gritted his teeth, showing no intention of letting go, not even making a sound.

The wall resounded with each impact, yet despite the bearded man’s brute strength, he was forcibly subdued by Song Qinglan, unable to move. As he gasped for breath, he fell to his knees.

Under such overwhelming force, anyone else might have been choked to death by Song Qinglan, but the bearded man clung tightly to Song Qinglan’s arm, refusing to give up!

It was like a battle of endurance between two wild beasts.

“Bang!”

The bearded man suddenly let go, collapsing to the ground.

It was Ji Yushi who had stood up.

With a cold expression, Ji Yushi mercilessly knocked the bearded man out using the butt of the Shenmian gun.

“Damn… I almost got killed,” Song Qinglan said, relaxing as he dropped the unconscious man onto the floor, sweat forming on his forehead from the pain. “This guy would definitely be a champion if he took up sumo wrestling.”

Was this bearded man really not some kind of grizzly bear in disguise?

Ji Yushi tossed the Shenmian to Song Qinglan, still catching his breath. “Let’s go.”

This wasn’t the time for complaints.

Ji Yushi extended his hand, and Song Qinglan grasped it, using the leverage to stand up.

The two quickly exited the small room, shutting the air valve behind them, locking the bearded man inside.

They walked down the scuffed corridor, turning a corner to find a spacious control room.

Their earlier analysis had been correct—this was indeed a space capsule, though its equipment and layout differed from anything they were familiar with, making it impossible to determine its era.

The control room was cluttered with various items—scrap metal, food, drinks—taking up half the space. There were also a sofa, an old TV long obsolete, tattered books, and even a foosball table. The room resembled a lived-in living room of many years.

After exiting the control room and winding through several corridors, passing many air valves, they finally reached the space capsule’s exit.

As soon as they opened the door, a blast of cold wind hit them, like knives cutting into their faces.

Song Qinglan quickly shut the door with a “snap,” then opened the storage area beside the capsule, finding protective suits stored there.

These suits looked dirty and probably weren’t very warm, but Song Qinglan grabbed two anyway.

Seeing Ji Yushi’s hesitant gaze, Song Qinglan chuckled, “Don’t be picky; we can’t exactly buy new ones here. I promise, when we get back, you can buy as many as you want!”

Ji Yushi: “…”

Without waiting for a response, Song Qinglan threw the least dirty one over Ji Yushi, then donned the other. “Let’s move!”

The two opened the air valve and stepped out.

Setting foot on this land for the first time, they immediately felt an unusual heaviness with each step.

Ji Yushi speculated that due to the magnetic field, the gravity here might differ from that of their world.

The temperature was even colder than expected, and it took them a long time to walk just a couple of hundred meters.

Visibility was also low. Looking back, the white space capsule was now a faint shadow quietly lurking in the background.

The auroras above flashed continuously, seemingly never-ending.

Apart from the sound of their footsteps and breathing, the area was silent, with no other people or animals in sight.

When they could no longer see the space capsule behind them, they almost lost their sense of direction.

Everything around them looked the same, with no landmarks to guide them.

Fortunately, the wheel tracks left by the bearded man’s cart were still visible, indicating they were heading toward the junkyard.

That was where they had come from.

After another half-hour of walking, when Ji Yushi was nearly too exhausted to continue, they finally saw the towering junkyard. The junkyard was covered with vines sprouting glowing flowers, the tiny lights beautifully illuminating the ruins.

There was no clear path.

“Keep going,” Song Qinglan decided. “Do you need to rest?”

In the freezing cold, the white mist from his breath obscured Ji Yushi’s face. He was panting but shook his head. “No need.”

Ji Yushi was a determined person, but he wasn’t afraid to admit weakness when necessary. If he couldn’t go on, he would say so.

Song Qinglan understood this by now and didn’t press further, merely slowing his pace a bit.

He had never imagined that he and Ji Yushi would find themselves in such a situation.

Before they set out, he didn’t think there would be much connection between them. Yet, because of various unimaginable circumstances, they had faced life and death together in this strange world multiple times. It was a curious twist of fate.

“Look!” Ji Yushi suddenly shouted.

Both of them looked up.

A surreal, dreamlike scene unfolded before them.

A massive silver-white sphere appeared in the sky, its surface clearly showing craters of various sizes, even impact pits. It suddenly materialized, as if very close to them, so large that it nearly covered the entire area where they stood.

This was the phantom of a planet, resembling a moon.

In just a matter of seconds, the planet’s phantom vanished, just like the auroras.

The scene was so astonishing that neither of them spoke for a long time.

Nothing here could be explained by normal logic.

“Let’s keep going,” Ji Yushi said, regaining his composure, the light still flickering in his eyes.

They lowered their heads and continued forward.

It took them a long time, stumbling along, but they finally made it out of the enormous junkyard.

Looking ahead, all they could see was a foggy expanse, even darker than the way they had come.

Song Qinglan slung the Shenmian gun over his shoulder and extended the other end to Ji Yushi. “Hold onto the gun. We can’t afford to get separated.”

Ji Yushi obediently grabbed the gun and then said, “Wait a minute.”

He bent down, imitating the bearded man, and plucked two glowing flowers from the ground.

These flowers were beautiful, with transparent, glowing petals that revealed the veins beneath. Holding them lit up their faces.

Song Qinglan immediately understood—they could use them as lights.

He took one, tucking it into a pocket of his suit.

Using the gun as a rope, one holding each end, they connected themselves to ensure they wouldn’t lose each other.

Then, together, they stepped into the unknown ahead.