The next day, Jiang Que woke up early and helped Shen Tazhi carry the luggage onto the helicopter.
The luggage had been packed the night before. Due to weight constraints, they only brought some essential change of clothes and snacks. The remaining items could be purchased upon arrival without any delay.
The only relatively large item was Jiang Que’s ten withered tentacles, which were placed in a sturdy wooden box that blocked out all light.
This wasn’t a vacation, and no one could guarantee there was no danger. Jiang Que hadn’t planned on bringing them along, so he simply went to the basement to say farewell.
However, when Shen Tazhi saw it, he directly helped him bring out the wooden box. In response to Jiang Que’s astonished look, Shen Tazhi calmly explained, “There’s space on the helicopter, and Du Lulu will be driving an off-road vehicle to meet us. Bringing them along won’t take up much space.”
After the surprise came a sense of gratitude. Jiang Que happily hugged Shen Tazhi, and even his tentacles joined in, swirling around him as he lifted him in a circle.
With even the tentacles on board, Jiang Que had no more worries. With Shen Tazhi’s assistance, he put on a life jacket and boarded the helicopter parked in the villa courtyard before noon.
Once on the helicopter, wearing aviation headsets, Jiang Que curiously watched as the helicopter ascended from the window. The surroundings gradually shrank, and when he looked down, he could only see the densely packed houses and lakes below.
“I’m flying,” Jiang Que marveled quietly into the headset. “How did humans even think of flying like this?”
Shen Tazhi pondered, “For helicopters, they probably evolved from dragonflies? Like the ones that person was selling when we were in the garden, do you remember?”
They had bought various odds and ends before, from jasmine flower bracelets to mulberries, from spinning tops to dragonflies. Whenever Jiang Que showed interest in something at a tourist site, regardless of the value, Shen Tazhi would directly make the purchase.
Jiang Que recalled and then exclaimed, “To turn a dragonfly into a helicopter is impressive.”
Although humans were fragile, the things they created were quite fascinating.
With this in mind, Jiang Que shifted his gaze away from the window and looked at the pilot controlling the complex instruments in front of him.
The pilot was dressed in a flight suit and also wore a headset. Despite the somewhat odd conversation between Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi, he seemed completely focused on piloting the helicopter without glancing sideways.
Flying a helicopter was so cool.
Due to the constraints of the seatbelt, Jiang Que couldn’t lean on Shen Tazhi as usual. He turned his head and asked, “Shen Tazhi, can I learn to fly a helicopter in the future? I also want to fly this.”
“Sure,” Shen Tazhi always had good receptivity to Jiang Que’s sudden ideas. “If you want to learn, I can arrange for an instructor to teach you when we return. But it’ll be much more tiring than you think.”
“I won’t be, I’m smart,” Jiang Que whispered. “Du Lulu even said while she was teaching me high school-level knowledge. She couldn’t teach me anything else other than reading comprehension.”
Speaking of reading comprehension, Shen Tazhi remembered the incident where Jiang Que had infuriated a teacher in the past and couldn’t help but chuckle vaguely. “Du Lulu did teach well. If you get the chance, you should continue learning reading comprehension.”
Jiang Que accused him, “You’re laughing at me.”
The noise on the helicopter was loud, and even with noise-canceling aviation headsets, the high-altitude wind still made their ears uncomfortable.
Especially for Jiang Que, who had spent a long time in the quiet Abyss before entering human society. After looking at the scenery for a while and exchanging a few words with Shen Tazhi, he felt uncomfortable and simply leaned back in his seat to doze off.
He had woken up too early this morning and was feeling a bit sleepy now.
Jiang Que fell silent, and Shen Tazhi didn’t deliberately bring up any new topics, just quietly watching Jiang Que’s profile, lost in thought.
Returning to the Abyss would inevitably bring about feelings of nostalgia. Comparing the current Jiang Que to the one they first met, one could easily see that Jiang Que had changed a lot.
His random speaking habits and overly abrupt responses had gradually become normal, although there were still occasional odd jumps. It was just part of Jiang Que’s character, jumping out of the norm rather than always ignoring others’ jumps.
He had learned to organize his clothes, match outfits, and even cook. Hmm… he had become pickier in his food choices too.
His personality had improved as well. He used to get angry easily, and at the beginning, he even worried that Jiang Que would attack Xi Jing and the others due to vigilance and fear. Now, Jiang Que was willing to come to the northwest to help Du Lulu.
Thinking about this, Shen Tazhi couldn’t help but sigh with a light smile.
He had truly changed completely.
He didn’t even know what he did right or why, in this life, Jiang Que had easily let down his guard, causing so many changes. Even in the past life, they had remained cautious of each other until Jiang Que’s death.
Speaking of the previous life…
Shen Tazhi realized that he should find a suitable opportunity to talk to Jiang Que about the previous life.
He remembered Jiang Que’s persistent questions from yesterday and thought about it.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about it, but he didn’t know how to broach the subject or find the right time.
In the beginning, he was worried that after Jiang Que heard about the previous life, he would once again, like in the past life, discover something and not tell him, quietly retreating back to the Abyss alone. Yesterday, Jiang Que had solemnly promised not to leave without saying goodbye, which somewhat alleviated his previous concerns.
However, Shen Tazhi now started feeling guilty.
He had only realized his feelings for Jiang Que at the moment of Jiang Que’s death in the previous life. No matter how good it sounded, he had brought the emotions from the previous life into this one and even used the experiences from the past life to get close to Jiang Que.
… He felt that this wasn’t quite fair to the current Jiang Que, who was so wholeheartedly focused on him.
Avoiding the issue wouldn’t solve it, so he decided to wait until they returned from the Abyss to clarify things with Jiang Que.
Shen Tazhi made a silent resolve.
Jiang Que was in a half-asleep state, not noticing Shen Tazhi’s gaze for a while.
With Shen Tazhi’s complicated emotions, the four-hour flight finally ended, and the helicopter landed at the designated location.
The noise had kept Jiang Que from falling asleep, so as soon as the helicopter landed, he opened his eyes and caught Shen Tazhi’s slightly panicked gaze that he hadn’t managed to retract.
What’s wrong with Shen Tazhi? Why did he suddenly look so apologetic?
Jiang Que squinted slightly.
He couldn’t understand.
He still couldn’t understand Shen Tazhi’s thoughts.
It was strange; why couldn’t he ever understand what Shen Tazhi was thinking? Despite Shen Tazhi not deliberately hiding his emotions like those in the Anomaly Investigation Department.
In the beginning, not understanding love and liking was normal, but even now, besides being able to easily discern Shen Tazhi’s emotions from his face, he still couldn’t see through Shen Tazhi like he could with others.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on this matter. Jiang Que quickly masked the scrutinizing expression on his face, unbuckled his seatbelt, began removing his safety gear, and then smiled as he took Shen Tazhi’s hand.
“Let’s go, gege. Let’s go find Du Lulu first.”
Being outside now, his instinctive wariness made Jiang Que dislike having heart-to-heart talks with Shen Tazhi in unsafe places.
What was he feeling sorry for… It wouldn’t hurt to ask after this mission was over.
The two of them got off the helicopter with their luggage. As soon as they touched down, they saw Du Lulu standing not far away, enjoying the breeze next to a black off-road vehicle.
The helicopter landing made quite a commotion, and Du Lulu had already noticed them. Upon seeing them disembark the helicopter, she quickly got into the car and drove it over to where they were.
Getting out of the car, she opened the trunk and helped the two of them with their luggage. Still managing a smile, she said, “Mr. Shen, I’ve already booked the hotel you wanted. Should we deliver the luggage there first?”
Even with her smile, the weariness in her expression couldn’t be concealed. Her eyes were dark and tired, giving the impression that she hadn’t slept all night.
Glancing at Du Lulu’s expression, Jiang Que hesitated, then looked at Shen Tazhi and asked, “Do we have to go to the hotel now?”
That was his way of expressing his reluctance.
Shen Tazhi quickly understood Jiang Que’s meaning and responded, “No need. I checked the navigation. It’ll take at most two hours to drive from here to the Abyss, and about half an hour to the hotel. We can drop off Miss Du at the Abyss first before heading to the hotel.”
“Then let’s depart directly,” Jiang Que said immediately.
Shen Tazhi agreed, naturally opening the driver’s side door, while Jiang Que sat in the passenger seat.
Du Lulu stood by the car, not quite understanding what was happening. Amidst the chaotic wind and dust, she simply exclaimed, “Huh?”
Oh? Not going to the hotel? Not needing her to drive?
Seeing Du Lulu still standing there dazed, Jiang Que rolled down the window on the passenger side, disdainfully looking at the dust on her, and said, “Hurry up and get in the car. You’re so dirty outside.”
Du Lulu, in a daze, followed Jiang Que’s instructions and got into the car, sitting in the back seat. It wasn’t until Shen Tazhi started the engine that she finally reacted:
“You… rushed because of me?”
“Yes,” Jiang Que didn’t deny his good deed, proudly responding, “Because you seemed in a hurry, and I’m not a bad person. I didn’t want to drag you along to help us with the luggage at this time.”
Shen Tazhi added at the right moment, “We didn’t bring much luggage, the heaviest being Jiang Que’s withered tentacles. It’s the same whether we drop you off first or not.”
Du Lulu fell silent.
Since receiving the news, she had been worried about the team members. Last night, upon finding out that the director had approved her trip to the Abyss, she couldn’t help but burst into tears. In an irrational state, she had thought of turning to Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi.
Truth be told, she had never expected these two to agree. It was more out of a psychological urge she couldn’t quite describe, just wanting to call them before leaving to see how they were doing now.
But they had agreed, and even in order to rush the journey, they had come all the way by helicopter without rest even after landing.
Du Lulu felt tears welling up again.
She sniffed, held them back with determination, and smiled at Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi in the front seat, saying, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I took on the mission for the money. Gege here is helping out of duty,” Jiang Que replied nonchalantly.
He could sense Du Lulu’s gratitude, but he felt he hadn’t done anything significant. Even driving was handled by Shen Tazhi, so Du Lulu’s earnest gratitude seemed excessive.
Shen Tazhi casually added, “No problem. It’s like revisiting an old place.”
Du Lulu was once again moved to tears, hastily wiped her face, and then softly said, “I’m sorry for inconveniencing you with this trip.”
“No need to apologize so much,” Jiang Que rarely saw Du Lulu so pleasant and agreeable, making him feel uneasy.
He said, “If there’s something you really want to say, why not tell us in detail about Xi Jing and the others?”
After receiving Du Lulu’s call yesterday, Shen Tazhi first confirmed the authenticity of the information with Director Wu, then agreed for Jiang Que to sign the mission contract. Director Wu briefly mentioned the current situation in the Abyss and said Du Lulu would provide them with detailed information, so they didn’t inquire further.
Having rushed and felt emotional overnight, Du Lulu had forgotten all about this after seeing Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi. It was only now, when Jiang Que brought it up, that she remembered. In a fluster, she pulled out a stack of documents from her backpack and handed them to Jiang Que, saying:
“These are the profiles of the two groups heading to the Abyss and all the foreign personnel involved. The back contains mission reports from the groups, which I’ve edited. These are the parts you can look at.”
Jiang Que took the documents and casually flipped through them. Du Lulu continued, “The current situation isn’t too complex, similar to what I told you yesterday.”
“At that time, after the Anomaly Investigation Department received Mr. Shen’s message and made contact with the legacy of Master Qi Shantian to confirm the reality of the apocalypse, they quickly joined forces with various countries to initiate the operation. Xi Jing’s team and Duan Yasu’s team were assigned to this mission. Xi Jing sent a message on the second day of arriving at the Abyss, stating ‘No danger, but communication may be lost later,’ and then went silent until now, only resurfacing with the last farewell letter.”
“Got it,” Jiang Que responded, continuing to flip through the documents. “We already knew about these things from yesterday. Anything else?”
Du Lulu replied, “The rest of the information is in the documents I gave you.”
As Jiang Que flipped through the papers, his hand paused.
Not because of Du Lulu’s words, but because he happened to come across Xi Jing’s file.
Du Lulu also keenly noticed her own team leader’s name and paused her words.
In black and white, the content read:
【Name: Xi Jing
Gender: ?
Age: ?
Race: God Race
……】
Looking at the words on the document, Jiang Que couldn’t believe it and said, “Xi Jing’s race is real?”
Ever since he learned about Xi Jing’s ability to pause time, Jiang Que had suspected that the other person wasn’t human. But—a God Race? Was this world really still scientific?
This guy Xi Jing was clearly much more terrifying than him!!
“It’s true,” Du Lulu replied. “This is just a race. In reality, Xi Jing’s God Race bloodline has weakened to the point of almost disappearing, so his ability is only to pause time for five seconds.”
Shen Tazhi, who was driving, also slowed down upon hearing this, and raised his eyebrows in surprise after seeing the words on the document in Jiang Que’s hand. Recalling the few times he had met Xi Jing before, he remarked, “The Anomaly Investigation Department does have some outstanding talents.”
Speaking of this, Du Lulu felt proud. “Of course, we at the Anomaly Investigation Department are very talented. We not only have descendants of the God Race, but also many demons and ghosts…”
“…Wait, getting back to the point, that’s not what I wanted to say.”
Du Lulu timely hit the brakes1figuratively. She isn’t driving she just stopped herself from going along the subject of conversation, stopping herself from praising the Anomaly Investigation Department, and said seriously, “This is what I want to talk about. Although the bloodline has weakened to a point of almost disappearing, the team leader is ultimately of the God Race, and the biggest characteristic of the God Race is—”
“Immortality.”
“Not only the God Race, but many people participating in this operation have the gift of immortality. So Director Wu and I are puzzled. What kind of difficulties have they encountered that have led all these people to independently feel like they can’t survive?”
As Du Lulu’s words trailed off, silence filled the car.
Jiang Que was contemplating the concept of “immortality” mentioned by Du Lulu. After a moment of silence, he spoke, “If my information is correct, I should also fall into the category of ‘immortality,’ right? But I have a hunch that if all my tentacles fall off, I will die. Perhaps they encountered some fatal difficulties?”
He shook his head as he spoke, “No, Xi Jing agreed to your arrival and mentioned that there was no danger. There shouldn’t be any life-threatening situations in the Abyss.”
Du Lulu, now too preoccupied to be sorrowful, joined Jiang Que in contemplating, “Yeah, why is that?”
Shen Tazhi remained silent, driving forward while following the navigation.
He recalled the previous life, where the supposed “immortal” Jiang Que had gone silent after falling into the Abyss. At that time, the Abyss’s formation had remained unresolved, and he had always thought it was the underground formation that killed Jiang Que.
But this time, the formation had long been resolved, so why was there a situation mirroring the past?
Xi Jing, or perhaps Xi Jing’s team, had they discovered something similar to what Jiang Que had in the previous life?
Just the thought of this possibility made Shen Tazhi’s fingertips tremble slightly.
He was starting to regret it; he shouldn’t have agreed so easily to this trip to the northwest. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Jiang Que so suddenly in this life again.
Even the slightest possibility of losing him was unbearable.
“Gege,” Jiang Que’s voice came from beside Shen Tazhi, interrupting his increasingly uncontrollable emotions.
As Shen Tazhi was about to turn his head, he felt his waist being wrapped by tentacles.
Jiang Que’s shrunken tentacles had unzipped the backpack, emerged, and wrapped around his waist, comforting him by rubbing back and forth.
“Gege, don’t worry. I won’t die with Xi Jing and the others. Let’s drop off Du Lulu and then leave.”
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll still be with you.”
Jiang Que comforted softly, causing Shen Tazhi to smile wryly, “How do you always know?”
Jiang Que confidently lifted one of his tentacles, saying, “I’ve been watching you all along. Why wouldn’t I know?”
Du Lulu in the backseat: …
Okay, she understood that she had brought a sense of crisis to the relationship between these two. She wouldn’t do it again.
There was a bit of a camaraderie between Jiang Que and her, but not much.
The two-hour journey wasn’t too long. During the drive, Jiang Que finished reading the documents and read the contents aloud to Shen Tazhi.
Then, he directed Du Lulu to unpack some snacks and drinks from the luggage compartment, shared them with her, and even fed Shen Tazhi a few bites of a small bread roll.
As Jiang Que reached the bottom of the bag of chips, he saw a familiar cave in the distance.
Jiang Que suddenly got excited, “That’s the entrance to the Abyss! That’s where I came out from. There were many bodyguards outside waiting to welcome me back home.”
Du Lulu was stunned, “Huh? Were you that cool when you came out of the Abyss?”
After the banter with Jiang Que just now, she had temporarily shaken off her previous suppressed emotions and was now back to her usual state of quietly teasing Jiang Que.
Although it was a bit embarrassing, Jiang Que was quite proud, “Yes, it was arranged by Shen Tazhi!”
Du Lulu cast a look of “I didn’t know you had this hobby” towards Shen Tazhi.
Shen Tazhi:…
I didn’t, I don’t.
It was Jiang Que who insisted on the “glorious return”, and he had to come up with this plan reluctantly.
Shen Tazhi couldn’t defend himself, but fortunately, at that moment, the vehicle was already close to the entrance of the cave. Du Lulu didn’t dwell on his issue too much and instead began to pay attention to the activity outside.
“I see a figure!!” Du Lulu was also excited.
God knows how worried she had been these past few days, fearing that she would only find a ground littered with bones in the Abyss, which had almost become a nightmare haunting her every time she closed her eyes.
But now, she could vaguely see moving figures, indicating that people were still alive and well!
Whether it was the “glorious return” or the faint figure, the atmosphere inside the car became cheerful, and Jiang Que also stared intently ahead.
As the vehicle quickly approached, they caught sight of the true identity of the figure:
Black hair, black eyes, handsome but with an ordinary face, dressed in the uniform of the Anomaly Investigation Department, holding a string of grilled meat and watching their vehicle’s movements while eating.
It was actually Xi Jing.
The vehicle stopped at the entrance of the cave, and Du Lulu got out and rushed towards him, “Team Leader!! You’re all still alive…”
Her words abruptly stopped.
Behind Xi Jing, at the entrance of the Abyss, there were about two to three hundred people gathered in small groups.
They had set up sunshades and tents, looking like they had been staying here for a while. Surprisingly, in front of each tent, there was a barbecue grill set up.
On the grills were sizzling skewers, and the people were laughing and chatting while eating them. Some even had beer and were drinking together.
The aroma of the meat wafted through the air, and Du Lulu, who had been worried and hadn’t eaten well for several days, stomach growled.
Jiang Que also rolled down the window, watching the cheerful people barbecuing in the yellow sand. In a moment of silence, he voiced Du Lulu’s thoughts, “Your danger… is barbecue?”
“Huh?” Xi Jing, puzzled, finished the skewer in his hand, “No, didn’t I say it wasn’t dangerous? Have you had lunch? Would you like to join us?”
Behind him, Duan Yasu walked over with a can of cola and upon seeing Du Lulu, exclaimed, “Oh, Lulu, long time no see. Why do you look so pale?”
She raised her head and saw Jiang Que and Shen Tazhi, arching her eyebrows, “Oh, right, we were in a rush on our last mission. I’ve been wanting to explain all this time. The whole act when you came out of the Abyss was a test arranged by the Anomaly Investigation Department. Don’t misunderstand Mr. Shen because of that incident; he really likes you.”
She gestured with the can of cola, “But it seems like you two are already together. That’s great! Would you like to join us for a drink to celebrate?”
Jiang Que:…
Shen Tazhi:…
Du Lulu:.
Had all her worries from the past few days been fed to the dogs2means all for nothing?!
