Evolution - Chapter 136
Chapter 136
He Yi was utterly exasperated by the late-night emergency call.
She wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.
The choice, however, was easy. Between Academician Sith and Yu Zhiyao, of course she’d choose President Yu!
He Yi swiftly carried out President Yu’s instructions, dragging the grim-faced and extremely reluctant Academician Sith out, personally opening the email, and holding it up for him to see.
She turned a deaf ear to Academician Sith’s complaints about being disturbed during his research, as well as his childish and utterly toothless threats.
After all, the immediate supervisor holds more sway than the distant boss. Compared to Academician Sith, who was completely absorbed in his research and oblivious to the world, President Yu—who, despite being equally absorbed, still had to grit her teeth and handle all manner of affairs—was the true mastermind holding the lifeline of every research grunt!
Academician Sith would complain and threaten, but once he got lost in his work again, he’d automatically forget everything and never bring it up.
President Yu was not that kind of person! She was definitely keeping a tally of grievances in her little black book.
With the device shoved right in front of his face, Sith, wanting to get the task over with and return to his lab as quickly as possible, reluctantly deigned to give it a glance. After a cursory scan, his expression changed drastically. He immediately started over, reading it again from the beginning, this time with meticulous care.
It was a little game he played with his two nieces. They would take the infinite, non-repeating digits of pi and find the corresponding characters in each line to reveal the true message.
This letter, in essence, said, “Uncle, I’m back.”
“Good, good, good!” Sith was so excited he nearly jumped, his lips trembling. He was on the verge of breaking down in tears right then and there. He and his sister had depended on each other, and their bond was deep. The only true love of his life was scientific research. After his sister died in the line of duty, his brother-in-law was as good as non-existent, leaving his older niece as his only relative. When she came of age, she insisted on bringing her younger sister into his life as well.
Eight years ago, during a planetary rebellion, one died in the line of duty and the other went missing. Almost everyone believed that a child not yet ten years old couldn’t have survived. Even if she had, the hope of ever finding her was far too slim.
Only he refused to give up, doing everything in his power to search for her. If not for his special status, which meant that publicly offering a large reward would only endanger his younger niece, he would have done so long ago.
Heaven had taken pity. He finally had news.
If he had been holding the terminal himself, he might not have been able to keep it steady. “Quick, look at the other six emails, from the first one.”
He Yi quickly opened the first email for him, wondering to herself if this was some mysterious inspiration sent to Academician Sith by a great mind.
Wow, these big shots really knew how to play games!
After reading all the emails, Sith’s expression gradually grew solemn. He glanced at He Yi, and in a rare moment of conscience, decided to act human. “You must be tired. Why don’t you get some rest early today?”
He Yi understood immediately. He was burning the bridge after crossing it, tossing her aside now that she was no longer needed. She was to make herself scarce so he could do things he didn’t want her to know about.
She tactfully withdrew. Just before the door closed, she faintly heard Sith say, “Zhiyao…”
Yes, she thought with perfect calm, President Yu is truly a role model for us all. She loves whatever she does, and she’s exceptionally good at it, managing to shine no matter where she is.
Yu Zhiyao, who had just finished a pile of miscellaneous tasks and was concentrating on her daily work summary, felt no particular thrill at being favored by the great man. She listened calmly as Sith waxed lyrical on the other end. “Oh, I’m so grateful to you. You’re truly my lucky goddess. If it weren’t for you, I would have missed Saiweiyala. Oh, you don’t know how important she is to me. As long as she can return safely, I’ll do anything!”
“Congratulations!” Yu Zhiyao said sincerely. “You don’t need to thank me too much. Just letting me take half of my six months of accumulated vacation time will be enough.”
Sith paused, then pretended he hadn’t heard anything and continued, “I need to make some arrangements to ensure she can return safely. My dear, could you compile a list for me from our collaborators—people who can provide the necessary assistance?”
“Give me a moment.” Yu Zhiyao put down her half-written summary and quickly sifted through a mental list of names. Although Sith hadn’t been explicit, she accurately extracted the key information from his words: his only relative had indeed been found but was likely still in danger. The help he needed required two things: secrecy and considerable armed force.
As a leading figure in research, Sith naturally had a dedicated protection team, but their orders were to protect him, so they couldn’t be redeployed. However, he could contact his superiors and request a team be dispatched to protect his family.
She quickly selected three people and sent a packaged file containing their names, backgrounds, temperaments, and operational styles, along with the specific areas where their respective units urgently needed collaborative support from the Academy of Sciences.
Sith expressed his thanks, then, on a whim, offered a word of comfort to this colleague and student who had suffered a similar fate years ago. “Don’t worry. If Saiweiyala could survive and return under those circumstances, I’m sure your friend will come back safely too.”
Yu Zhiyao, who had been unilaterally forced into this shared-misery boat, was completely baffled. Where did this sudden empathy come from?
It took her a moment to realize Sith was talking about Ji Changqing. It was probably because she had represented Ji Changqing in a lawsuit against the prison authorities back then that those around her had started adding their own dramatic flair to her story, imagining some sort of melodramatic backstory and showering her with pity.
For a long time, while she went about her work as usual, people would imagine she was numbing the pain of lost love with work. A small drink after work became drowning her sorrows in alcohol. If she was a bit distant, it was twisted into her closing herself off…
Yu Zhiyao, who knew Ji Changqing was just on a mission and wasn’t the least bit sad or worried, was speechless.
Her reputation had been slandered.
For people who were supposed to value rationality and logic, the way these researchers gossiped was enough to shatter one’s worldview and crumble one’s integrity.
Sith moved quickly. On the thirteenth day, Saiweiyala received a reply. She quietly told Ji Changqing that her uncle had been contacted and was arranging to pick them up.
Having successfully reconnected with her family, Saiweiyala was overjoyed. She would often whisper in Ji Changqing’s ear, telling her about her childhood, her sister, and her uncle. Occasionally, she would slip in a comment about how her uncle had once wanted to take on a student, an older sister who was super amazing and cool.
Ji Changqing, who had no idea how important Sith was or who his student might be, remained calm, assuming the girl was just chattering nervously out of a mix of excitement and anxiety about returning home.
He Qingzhi’s reaction to her placidness was hard to describe. He had tried, he really had.
After they found Saiweiyala, he had tried to impress upon Ji Changqing Sith’s life story and his status and influence in the Alliance. But Ji Changqing’s way of thinking was just on a different wavelength from his; she remained convinced that Sith was simply a top-tier scientific genius, which, rounding up, was roughly equivalent to a leading academician on her home planet.
They had also contacted Star Hidden, who had given them instructions. A special forces team was currently on a mission near the Yan Hang Starfield. They were to send their location after landing, find a place to hide, and wait for the team to pick them up.
Now, with people arranged by Sith as well, things were even more secure. Their lives were probably safe now, right?
The Yan Hang Starfield was so named because the planets in this region were arranged in a neat and orderly fashion, like a flock of wild geese in flight formation.
On the afternoon of the fourteenth day, according to the star chart, they had entered the Yan Hang Starfield and were moving from the right tail of the formation toward the left.
Their original plan was to eject the escape pod here, which would then automatically fall toward the nearest planet.
Otherwise, they would have no choice but to follow their captors all the way to their den.
Nankong simply started a group voice chat. “There’s a small asteroid belt ahead. To avoid it, the transport ship will have to change course and go around. Once it turns, the ship itself will block the view of the ship in front, so they won’t see the escape pod eject. They’ll just assume it hit a small asteroid. Everyone, listen for my command.”
Everyone responded in unison, holding their breath and waiting for the one-button escape.
About twenty minutes later, the transport ship began to change course. Saiweiyala reported their new parameters to Nankong.
Nankong let out a heavy breath. “Wait a little longer.”
Saiweiyala kept her eyes glued to the environmental observation data displayed on the transport ship’s console, constantly reporting the numbers to Nankong.
Suddenly, they heard Nankong’s sharp command: “Go!”
Ji Changqing pressed the red button without a moment’s hesitation.
They all felt a slight vibration in the pod, followed by a physiological dizziness caused by the high-speed detachment.
The escape pod’s initial velocity was extremely high. Ji Changqing felt the world spin. In the silence of space, she could only judge that the pod had collided with some small asteroids from its few violent shakes.
The pod’s speed gradually decreased and stabilized. Saiweiyala shook her dizzy head and gave a silly grin as the pod’s detection system mechanically announced over and over, “Landable planet detected. Estimated arrival in four hours.”
There was no communication between the escape pods. The small transparent window on the hatch only offered a limited forward view. They could only judge that their companions were nearby by the blinking lights on the detector.
Ji Changqing remained in a reclining position. “Get some good sleep. We have no idea what’s waiting for us.”
Saiweiyala spat out a series of “pah, pah, pahs.” “It’ll be fine! Don’t jinx it!”
Sleep was impossible.
At most, they could swing their arms, kick their legs, and stretch their necks.
Inside the escape pod, they only had two options: lying down or sitting. Standing up required them to hunch over, and even turning around was difficult. When it became unbearable, they would take turns keeping watch while the others went outside to stretch. After being cooped up for nearly half a month, the thought of being free in just a few more hours seemed to soothe their nearly rusted and stiff bodies.
The two chatted aimlessly until they drifted off into a drowsy sleep.
They were jolted awake when the escape pod began to shake violently again. As it rattled, making them worry it would fall apart prematurely, a powerful, rapid sense of descent pinned them to their seats.
With a loud “bang,” the escape pod slammed into the ground. The immense force sent it into a perfect three-and-a-half-rotation tumble.
Ji Changqing, head spinning, opened the hatch. No wonder you needed a certain level of physique to travel in space, she thought. If a physically weak person encountered an accident, they’d be dead whether they used an escape pod or not!
She carried the unconscious Saiweiyala out, gave her a quick check for broken bones, and then sprayed her with a potent reviving agent.
Seeing Saiweiyala’s eyes flutter open in confusion, she clapped her hands. “Awake? Check everyone’s location. We need to regroup quickly. The escape pod’s distress signal has been received, so someone will probably come to investigate soon.”
This time, they were quite far apart.
Ji Changqing tried to contact everyone. Nankong answered, but Jixin and He Qingzhi didn’t.
They had probably landed in a bad spot and were still unconscious.
“I’m closer to He Qingzhi. I’ll go find him. You rendezvous with Jixin first,” Nankong said without any hesitation.
On Wendeli, they could use small flying devices, but here, daring to fly would get them shot down in minutes.
They used hoverboards.
Their landing site was a vast, flat Gobi desert, stretching for miles without a soul in sight—perfect for racing on hoverboards. It was night, with a bright moon and few stars, providing just enough light to see the way. With night-vision goggles, their movement was unimpeded.
Jixin was about a hundred kilometers away. By the time the two of them were halfway there, Jixin had regained consciousness, so they changed plans and all headed toward He Qingzhi and Nankong’s location to regroup.
By the time the five of them were together again, it was nearly ten at night.
They decided to head straight for a large city about four thousand kilometers away, ignoring all the small towns nearby.
A four-thousand-kilometer journey was obviously not something they could cover entirely on hoverboards.
But Saiweiyala had successfully contacted her Uncle Sith. At his insistence, her identity had been preserved. Now that she was eighteen, she could use it to rent a hovercar in a small city about three hundred kilometers away, solving their transportation problem first.
Before midnight that same day, three different teams received orders. The instructions were different, the objectives were different, but the destination was the same.
On Yan Hang Planet, the central planet of the Yan Hang Starfield, Lieutenant General Lu was briefing his adjutant. “Take two hundred Flying Tiger troops and go to Tian Sha City on Yan You Planet personally. Bring Sith’s niece back properly. She should have some people with her. Protect them all, understand?!”
“Yes, sir!” The adjutant straightened his back, saluted, and was about to turn and leave.
Remembering Sith’s repeated warnings of danger, and though he didn’t know what kind of danger, he believed in using a lion’s full strength even to catch a rabbit. Lieutenant General Lu pondered for a moment. “I’ll give you another written order. If there’s an incident…” A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. “Have Gu Changjun provide support with his fleet.”
A Star Hidden special forces team on a mission near the Yan Hang Starfield looked down at their latest directive: “Star Hidden members 1021 and 1022, Yan You Planet, Tian Sha City. Proceed to rendezvous as soon as possible.”
“Target has appeared, 2-5 individuals, estimated arrival in Tian Sha City in 12 hours. Kill on sight!”
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment