“Less than two hours?”

Even if the harsh environment had distorted their perception of time, they couldn’t have spent just two hours in that rainforest.

Ji Yushi said, “I checked the time on the clock before we left here, and it really has been less than two hours since then.”

However, he quickly considered the possibility of the magnetic field and the erratically spinning compass, adding, “Could it be that the clock is running at a different speed?”

Song Qinglan, with his high, sharp nose and thin lips, still had the Shenmian gun pointed at the bearded man and said, “It shouldn’t be. I didn’t hold back when I punched him, but his nose shouldn’t still be bleeding after a day or two.”

Perhaps understanding that they were discussing time, the bearded man started babbling again, seeming a bit anxious.

Unfortunately, neither of them could understand what he was saying.

Having experienced numerous strange events on PU-31 and dealing with the anchor points, they were already accustomed to the idea of time behaving oddly. Faced with this situation, they weren’t particularly panicked.

Ji Yushi put down the alarm clock and said, “I have an idea.”

He proposed a bold hypothesis: “It’s very possible that the flow of time here is different from that in the rainforest. If that’s the case… then our being pulled into this place isn’t a coincidence—it’s related to the mission.”

Their current mission objective was “Time Restorers.”

At the Sky Vault temporal transit station, the team had already discussed the mission objectives and interacted with the Sky Vault voice system.

However, the so-called “Sky Vault self-awareness” was ultimately just a system with its own way of thinking, offering limited information, so they hadn’t been able to gather much useful data.

Noticing that Ji Yushi looked unwell and was still drenched, Song Qinglan suggested, “Let’s analyze it later, Consultant Ji. Right now, we’re the ones in charge here.”

Facing the bearded man, who was as agitated as a bear, Song Qinglan’s lips curved slightly. Even though he knew the bearded man couldn’t understand him, he made his intentions clear: “We can take a hot shower, get our clothes clean and warm, and then leisurely eat all this guy’s supplies while we figure out how to get out of here.”

The bearded man glared at them with his blue eyes, asking cautiously, “Guluga kagajiga faraha?“

Song Qinglan moved the gun slightly, indicating for the bearded man to move.

The bearded man grumbled, “Lauka guda!”

Song Qinglan ignored him. “I’m sure you understand what I mean.”

The captain of Sky Vault Team 7, known for not always following the rules, then forcefully herded the bearded man into a corner with the gun. He found some chains and, just like the bearded man had done to them, tied him up and secured him to a pipe.

The bearded man was so angry he almost fainted and nearly broke the chains in his fury!

Song Qinglan’s plan was sound; they indeed needed to eat and rest.

The space capsule was dozens of times larger than a capsule pod and had its own life support system. Ji Yushi walked down several corridors, passed through a few air valves, and found a tightly sealed outer hatch.

That outer hatch seemed like it hadn’t been opened in a long time.

Ji Yushi went to the bathroom, removed his wet black combat suit, and placed it in the hot air cleaning machine to dry and wash.

Then, he stood under the showerhead and rinsed himself from head to toe with hot water.

Steam fogged up the glass, and the hot water washed away the uncomfortable dampness from the rainforest, along with any bacteria and grime from the dirty blankets at the junkyard. The water flowed over every part of his body, all the way down to his ankles.

After the shower, Ji Yushi quickly dried himself off.

He put on the clean, dry black combat suit and stepped out of the bathroom, only to find Song Qinglan leaning against the corridor wall, fully absorbed in a small black-and-white handheld game console.

It was Ji Yushi’s game console.

The bearded man had taken it along with his communicator when he arrived here, but apparently, Song Qinglan had somehow retrieved it.

Last time, on PU-31, Song Qinglan had given Ji Yushi the game console to help “distract him,” but they hadn’t had time to use it during the chaos of the loop.

Song Qinglan, still looking chilled, even had a small leaf stuck behind his earlobe from the rainforest. It seemed he was waiting for Ji Yushi to finish first.

Ji Yushi walked over just as Song Qinglan’s last block fell, and the game screen displayed “Game Over.”

There was only one bathroom, but it had several stalls.

Ji Yushi asked, “Captain Song, why didn’t you go in?”

If it had been any of the other team members, Song Qinglan wouldn’t have waited outside. Stripping down for a shower wasn’t a big deal—everyone was rough around the edges, and no one was shy.

“I’m going now.” Song Qinglan didn’t answer the question directly and instead handed the game console back to Ji Yushi. “Are all the high scores on the leaderboard yours?”

He could hardly believe those scores were achieved by a human player.

Ji Yushi took the game console. “Some of them were set by others when I wasn’t home.”

Ji Yushi’s brother, Ji Minyue, was particularly determined to beat his scores, never giving up until he succeeded.

So, when Ji Yushi wasn’t around, it was likely someone else at home setting those scores—another high-IQ individual. It was hard to imagine what that person was like.

Song Qinglan raised an eyebrow. “You’re both pretty impressive.”

Song Qinglan entered the bathroom, chose another stall, and thoroughly washed himself from head to toe.

During the process, he suddenly understood why Ji Yushi didn’t want to stay in Sky Vault Team 7. It wasn’t because he held a grudge—it was likely because of his boyfriend. Although Jiangcheng and Ningcheng weren’t too far apart, they were still over an hour’s drive away. The demanding work and training schedule of a Guardian didn’t allow for easy commuting.

Being a Guardian certainly affected relationships.

Even Song Qinglan, not to mention Duan Wen, who was in his thirties and still single, found it difficult. It was no wonder that Li Chun was always flirting, even if it didn’t go anywhere. After all, who could handle being in a relationship where their partner disappeared on missions for a month or two at a time?

Although Ji Yushi’s partner was male, it didn’t change the dynamics much.

So, Song Qinglan could understand.

This mission had turned out to be far more unexpected than they had anticipated. It was genuinely unlucky.

As the saying goes, “Better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage.”

Song Qinglan thought that if Ji Yushi truly didn’t want to stay after they returned, he shouldn’t force him.

When Song Qinglan finished his shower and came out, Ji Yushi was already eating a canned meal.

To Song Qinglan’s surprise, the bearded man had been released and was now sitting across from Ji Yushi like a small mountain, grumbling and gesturing while Ji Yushi, sitting cross-legged on the sofa and nibbling on a disposable spoon, looked slightly puzzled, his usually clear eyes showing a hint of confusion.

“What’s going on?” Song Qinglan asked.

Hearing his voice, both of them looked up.

Seeing him emerge, the bearded man immediately struggled to his feet, ready to grab something to fight the tall time traveler again.

Ji Yushi hesitated slightly.

Song Qinglan had shaved off his stubble.

After seeing the rugged version of Song Qinglan for so long, the clean-shaven face now revealed his original handsome appearance, making Ji Yushi feel as if he had almost forgotten what he looked like.

Song Qinglan’s gun was always with him. Just as the bearded man found a frying pan, Song Qinglan raised the Shenmian gun and squinted.

The bearded man quickly threw the pan aside and sat back down in a huff, muttering something incoherent.

Between Ji Yushi and the bearded man was an open sketchbook and a pen.

The sketchbook had some drawings and strange symbols written on it, likely representing the bearded man’s language.

Were they trying to communicate?

Song Qinglan sat down cross-legged as well, placing the Shenmian gun on his lap, casually picking up a can, but always on guard in case the big guy tried to grab the gun.

Ji Yushi was eating a fruit can slowly and said, “He seems to have something to tell us, probably about this place.”

Song Qinglan looked at the sketchbook.

He had to admit, the bearded man’s drawing skills were terrible—his scribbles were almost indecipherable, accompanied by a string of unreadable symbols.

Seeing them examine his drawings, the bearded man pointed to the symbols and pronounced them, then pointed to himself, blinking his blue eyes, and spoke a few more incomprehensible words.

Of course, this form of communication was mostly directed at Ji Yushi.

The bearded man’s pronunciation was harsh and difficult to imitate.

Ji Yushi swallowed a sweet, syrupy piece of peach and repeated the words.

The bearded man got so excited that he almost slapped his leg, nodding vigorously, and then babbled on, gesturing wildly. Ji Yushi once again looked puzzled.

Song Qinglan found it amusing. “Let me try.”

It was rare to see Ji Yushi at a loss, so Song Qinglan took the pen and drew a sketch of the junkyard in the blank space of the sketchbook. Then, with a few simple strokes, he added a cartoon version of the space capsule next to it.

Ji Yushi commented, “You draw pretty well.”

Song Qinglan replied, “Of course. I was the three-time champion of the kindergarten drawing contest.”

Ji Yushi said, “I can see that.”

Song Qinglan added dotted lines to indicate the space capsule moving from the junkyard and drew an arrow pointing to the space capsule, showing it to the bearded man.

The bearded man nodded vigorously, finally giving Song Qinglan a slightly better expression, and pointed to himself while speaking a string of words.

Ji Yushi asked, “Does he mean that he and the space capsule were also brought here?”

“Pretty much.” Song Qinglan, while eating a can of food, added a dark shadow behind the junkyard and then drew a rainforest behind that shadow.

The bearded man seemed to understand and nodded.

So, the bearded man had likely been to the rainforest as well.

Ji Yushi had finished his fruit can.

He took the pen from Song Qinglan and drew a clock on the space capsule, then several more clocks above the rainforest, indicating the different flow of time.

The bearded man drew an “X” over the rainforest symbol. “Gulaga.”

“He’s telling us not to go,” Song Qinglan translated succinctly. “He says it’s a dead end.”

After speaking, Song Qinglan casually grabbed another can, opened it roughly, and handed it to Ji Yushi. “Consultant Ji, eat some more.”

The bearded man had plenty of supplies; he must have scavenged quite a bit recently.

Song Qinglan himself was eating a fish can, but when he randomly grabbed another can to give to Ji Yushi, it turned out to be the same luncheon meat he had eaten earlier, already opened.

Ji Yushi: “…”

So just how picky was Song Qinglan? Was he trying to finish off the food he didn’t like first?

Song Qinglan remarked, “The situation is unclear. If this really is related to our mission, we need to conserve our energy.”

Ji Yushi felt like he never wanted to eat canned meat again in his life.

Because it was hard to swallow, he ate slowly, then used the pen to add an outer hatch to the drawing of the space capsule.

He had noticed it earlier when going to the bathroom and was planning to ask about what lay in that direction. But as soon as he finished drawing it, the bearded man, who had been glaring resentfully at their canned food, suddenly changed his expression and started speaking rapidly, looking very agitated.

“Gulaga! Gulaga!!”

The bearded man’s serious demeanor made it clear to them that he was strongly indicating they shouldn’t go there either.

“Should we go?” Ji Yushi asked.

“We won’t know what’s there unless we check,” Song Qinglan considered, “but this time, I can go alone.”

“If you’re going, we go together,” Ji Yushi insisted.

“Alright,” Song Qinglan agreed. “The more clues we can find, the better.”

They rested for a moment while the bearded man sulked on the side.

It was obvious that the bearded man wasn’t too keen on stopping them. After all, these two were eating their way through his stockpile, and his supply of canned goods had visibly diminished.

Among the pile of items the bearded man had collected, they found some of their other personal belongings, such as communicators, military knives, and medical kits. To avoid any unexpected situations, they also found some clean clothes that the bearded man had scavenged, took a flashlight, and packed some food.

The bearded man was reluctant to enter the password for them, and after doing so, he began to mutter angrily, possibly cursing.

The outer hatch, which had been closed for a long time, finally opened.

Unlike the journey to the junkyard, there was no transition period; as soon as the hatch opened, they were met with darkness.

Although the bearded man seemed simple-minded, his actions were quite shrewd. Concerned that he might close the hatch and trap them outside, Song Qinglan pointed at the door and then at his gun.

Once the bearded man seemed to understand, they turned on their flashlights and stepped out of the hatch.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, the darkness vanished.

They were greeted by blindingly bright sunlight.

The sky was blue, without a single cloud in sight.

They found themselves standing at a crosswalk in a bustling city.

The traffic lights were flashing, and for a moment, it felt as if they had returned to the real world.

The quiet, clean asphalt roads had freshly painted lane dividers. The wide eight-lane intersection was completely empty, with no vehicles driving by or waiting.

Just like in the rainforest, it was eerily silent here—there were no sounds typical of a city, no voices, no noise.

This was a ghost town.

They turned off their flashlights, and Ji Yushi said, “Captain Song, look, the road sign over there is reversed.”

Song Qinglan noticed it too.

They stood at the intersection and saw that the word “STOP” was written on the pavement at the stopping lines of two lanes, but the letters on the left side were reversed.

Moreover, everything on both sides of the road was perfectly symmetrical: the parked cars, the shops—everything was mirrored. The entire city, as far as they could see, was symmetrical, like a reflection.

This was eerily similar to the rainforest, which explained the bearded man’s reaction.

They both understood that if they continued walking, no matter how far they went or how much they thought they could escape the city, they would ultimately end up back where they started.

“We shouldn’t go any further. It’s easy to get lost in a mirrored environment,” Song Qinglan said. “Let’s go back and see if there are other directions we can explore.”

“Agreed,” Ji Yushi concurred.

To facilitate future comparisons of the time flow, Song Qinglan had set a timer on his communicator before they left.

He glanced at his wrist: “It’s been less than three minutes since we arrived here. I guess we’re learning to quit while we’re ahead.”

There was a hint of helpless self-mockery in Song Qinglan’s tone. They hadn’t even taken many steps since they got there.

As they turned back, after just a few steps, the light suddenly dimmed, and the city and sunlight vanished, returning them instantly to the space capsule.

As soon as they entered the capsule, they were hit by deafening music.

They walked through the corridors, enduring the pain of the sound vibrating in their eardrums, and quickly reached the control room.

There, they found two people—one was the bearded man, his face flushed with excitement, holding a beer bottle and dancing along to the pounding retro music. The other was someone familiar, wearing a black combat suit.

Ji Yushi: “…”

It was clear that more than three minutes had passed.

Song Qinglan walked over and abruptly shut off the sound system, his temples throbbing.

Both of them, along with the music, froze and turned around.

Li Chun was frozen in place for two seconds, then burst into tears and rushed over. “Captain Song!! Consultant Ji!!”

“Hold on,” Song Qinglan held him back with a finger pressed to his forehead, his dark eyes full of disdain. “How long have you been here?”

Li Chun, full of grievance, replied, “Six days! What kind of mission is this again?!”