Recruited other teams?

“There are others?” Tang Qi couldn’t help but ask.

There was a mix of sympathy, disbelief, and anger among the group as they were shocked by the audacity of the Sky Vault system.

Can this really be called recruiting? It was clearly a matter of coercion, forcing, and threatening to get their help. Who in their right mind would voluntarily risk their life to complete some unknown tasks?

“Yes,” the Sky Vault system replied. “In different time spaces, there are many people like you who are working to maintain temporal peace. Based on ability assessments, each team’s unlocked mission levels vary.”

Zhou Mingxuan let out a snort and then asked, “Just curious, is there any reward for completing the tasks you assign?”

He was just asking casually, not expecting much from this lousy system.

None of them expected any reward.

But to their surprise, the Sky Vault system responded to Zhou Mingxuan’s question: “Upon completing the tasks I have planned for you, you will receive a reward provided by me.”

The Sky Vault system deals with temporal management, so the rewards it offers are likely related to time, not material goods. Hearing this, Consultant Ji’s expression subtly shifted, even his eyelashes trembled slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He was always good at hiding his emotions, staying calm and composed, so naturally, the others couldn’t guess what was on his mind.

But Song Qinglan knew.

Without glancing at Consultant Ji in the slightest, Song Qinglan asked, “What kind of reward? Time travel? A different life in another time space? Or… putting us into an illusion like this one?”

The Sky Vault system replied, “As long as it doesn’t affect the timeline, I will grant you any reward you request.”

In other words, not only were the examples Song Qinglan just mentioned possible, but the Sky Vault system could offer even more.

For those with regrets or desires in this regard, this would be a huge temptation. But for those content with their real lives, the reward might seem rather trivial. Still, human desires are endless, and a reward is always better than nothing.

The group’s anger gradually subsided.

The Sky Vault system continued, “After completing the task and receiving your reward, you can choose to return to your own time space or continue unlocking more tasks to earn further rewards.”

Zhou Mingxuan, who had posed the question, said, “Forget it. Who the hell would want to keep unlocking your tasks?”

Song Qinglan turned off the holographic projection, shutting down the Sky Vault system as well.

“Or… maybe we should rest for a few more days,” Li Chun suggested weakly. “The Rubik’s Cube… it already sounds terrifying.”

“This mission can’t be prepared for anyway,” Tang Qi said. “Whether we face it now or later, it’s inevitable.”

The group started discussing.

Tang Le said, “I agree. Not knowing the mission was one thing, but now that we know, I can’t relax here even if I wanted to.”

Zhou Mingxuan let out a snort, expressing his agreement.

Duan Wen then asked, “Consultant Ji, what do you think?”

It was Consultant Ji who suggested checking the mission first. He was sharp, and now that they knew the mission details, everyone would naturally weigh the pros and cons.

Consultant Ji thought for a moment and said, “This mission is more dangerous than the previous ones. I’m considering what the so-called ‘death elimination’ actually means.”

He flipped his palm and conjured a piece of chocolate, unwrapped the foil, and popped it into his mouth, his cheek bulging slightly.

As he slowly savored the bitterness of the chocolate to clear his mind, he spoke slowly, “In the Ouroboros mission, the death elimination we faced was terrifying, but because of the time anchor, we could all come back to life each time. In the Chaos mission, although there was no time anchor, once we closed the time rift, everything and everyone inside it reverted to their original state before being sucked in, and people could be revived. And in the bubble world, it entered an even larger time anchor, where after we left, the cycle began again, and the dead were resurrected.”

As Consultant Ji calmly analyzed, the group gradually fell silent, following his line of thought.

Song Qinglan also had some new ideas but didn’t interrupt.

The members of Team 7 had become very accustomed to the current dynamic, where Consultant Ji led the group in brainstorming.

“I’m thinking that in this time-space hijacking, the time anchor might not be a necessary condition for task participants to be revived,” Consultant Ji said. “Like in Chaos, as long as we can return to the moment we were abducted—the third second after our departure—perhaps we won’t suffer any permanent casualties.”

Seeing the changes in everyone’s expressions, Consultant Ji paused and then said, “This is just speculation; I’m not certain.”

Song Qinglan added, “I get what you mean. You’re suggesting that in the ‘Rubik’s Cube’ mission, the so-called ‘death elimination’ might not mean actual death but rather a form of elimination within the task. When someone dies in the task, they’re forced to stop and can no longer continue.”

“Right. If that’s the case, then the person who is eliminated won’t receive any rewards, regardless of whether the rest of the team completes the mission,” Consultant Ji replied, looking at him. “The Sky Vault system specifically mentioned that this is a multiplayer mission, so I suspect that there might be competition between teams. Only one team will complete the mission, and the team with more members and fewer casualties will have a higher chance of success.”

“Damn…”

“So that’s how it is.”

“I get it now. Consultant Ji, you’re amazing!”

“Just from a little information, you analyzed so much useful stuff!”

The team sincerely praised him, and Consultant Ji lowered his head slightly, his expression calm, though a hint of shyness flickered in his eyes.

Since when had he become so accustomed to expressing himself in front of everyone?

The feeling of being trusted was fantastic—he actually liked it a lot.

As the group continued chatting noisily, Song Qinglan absorbed the information, thought it over carefully, and then said, “Rest tonight. We set off tomorrow.”

His eyes swept over his teammates one by one. “Anyone who hasn’t mentally prepared themselves, do so tonight. Once the mission starts tomorrow, everyone needs to think carefully before acting. This time, we’re not just representing ourselves; we’re representing Sky Vault Team 7. If one person dies, it won’t just prevent them from completing the mission—it will also slow down the entire team’s progress and lower our chances of success, meaning the whole team could fail to complete the mission. So—”

Song Qinglan’s tone turned serious: “Sky Vault Team 7—no one gets left behind.”

Meeting adjourned.

On the final night, everyone returned to their own transit stations, to the places in their hearts where they felt most comfortable.

Li Chun, too scared to sleep alone, shamelessly followed Duan Wen.

Zhou Mingxuan, as usual, went off on his own, along with the inseparable twins Tang Qi and Tang Le.

The courtyard quickly fell silent.

The place was empty, with only empty beer bottles, leftover food, and strings of fairy lights strewn about—the remnants of the noisy party now tinged with a sense of desolation.

Consultant Ji was still standing there, seemingly ready to leave as well.

He lifted his wrist, opened his communicator to initiate a jump, and said to Song Qinglan, “Goodnight.”

“Wait,” Song Qinglan blurted out. “I’ll come with you.”

Consultant Ji looked up. “What’s wrong?”

How could Song Qinglan tell Consultant Ji that after the courtyard transformed, it contained a bedroom belonging to Ji Yushi?

Even though there were many rooms here, and he could easily find another place to sleep, the mere thought of that bedroom’s existence made it impossible for Song Qinglan to sleep soundly. Moreover, staying near that bedroom would only lead to more thoughts, and the Sky Vault system might even create something else based on his subconscious.

But as soon as he spoke, Song Qinglan realized that this might not be the best idea.

Leaving with Consultant Ji to go to his transit station seemed even less like a good choice. But now that he’d said it, he couldn’t take it back. Song Qinglan tried to keep his expression neutral, even though his heart was racing. “Since there’s a chance, I thought I’d check out that beach you mentioned—Kado.”

Kado had hotels and guesthouses, and Consultant Ji’s transit station was large enough to accommodate even ten Sky Vault Team 7s.

The two of them used the Sky Vault system to jump to the beach.

The time here had also been simulated by the Sky Vault system to night.

The sea was a deep, near-black blue under the night sky, studded with stars like scattered diamonds, where the sea met the sky.

There were figures of tourists playing on the beach, memories from eight years ago in Consultant Ji’s mind.

With the sea breeze, the two walked along the beach, leaving two fresh sets of footprints in the sand. Song Qinglan recognized that these two sets of footprints belonged to Consultant Ji and Zhou Mingxuan. In his chaotic thoughts, he wondered if, when Consultant Ji was seventeen, someone had walked with him like this.

Consultant Ji was walking ahead.

The sea breeze lifted his T-shirt, outlining his slender waist.

This thin person carried unresolved burdens, wandering through the long river of history time and time again, bearing the pain that memories brought alone.

And this time, what unknown journey would they embark on?

If possible, Song Qinglan wished it could all end right now.

But at this moment, for the first time, he thought that staying here might not be so bad—at least—

A child holding a crab chased after another child.

They screamed as they ran toward Consultant Ji, and Song Qinglan quickly pulled him aside. “Watch out!”

Consultant Ji took a step back, turned around, and said, “I’m fine.”

In that step back, his back ended up pressed against Song Qinglan’s chest.

They were so close, they could almost feel each other’s breath.

Consultant Ji’s well-formed, full lips were just inches away. They had been this close before, but this time, Song Qinglan’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped back.

“Captain Song,” Consultant Ji called.

“Yes?”

Consultant Ji said, “If I didn’t know you better, I’d almost think…”

Song Qinglan’s face turned cold. “Think what?”

He would never make a move on someone who wasn’t single—straight or otherwise.

But Consultant Ji was just teasing him.

Just like last time at the automatic vending booth on PU-31, Consultant Ji said, “I’d almost think you were upset that Lao Zhou and I came here first, so you wanted to come, too.”

Song Qinglan replied, “Ha, do you think I’m a child?”

Consultant Ji turned around, lowered his head, and continued walking forward. The wind carried his voice, causing it to break up.

Song Qinglan didn’t hear it clearly.

“You certainly aren’t,” he said. “When you were a child… you were much cuter.”