"Useless... still useless..." An Qingyu tossed the hot towel into the basin, strode to the wall covered in formulas, and angrily tore down every sheet of paper pinned there, crumpling them into pieces and scattering them through the air.
"Damn it! Why can't I find where they are...?"
"Qingyu..." Jiang Er pursed her lips and drifted behind him, gently wrapping her arms around him. "You've already done your best... Even the Celestial Venerables can't calculate their location, so why force yourself?"
Jiang Er had witnessed all of An Qingyu's efforts these past few days. She had watched him fill the entire wall with calculations again and again, overturn them all, and search for a new point of entry. He would battle through an entire day and night, only to end up with nothing... This cycle had repeated an unknown number of times. No matter how An Qingyu kept adjusting his mindset, he could not endure the despair brought by failure after failure.
"Space and time are constantly shifting. The longer this drags on, the slimmer the chances of their return become." An Qingyu took a deep breath, doing his best to calm himself. "The Celestial Venerables calculate through heavenly secrets and mysticism. I calculate through science and truth. The two do not conflict."
Jiang Er opened her mouth, about to say something else, when a knock sounded from outside the door.
"Cao Yuan is here." Jiang Er had spotted the visitor through the corridor surveillance cameras.
An Qingyu brushed at his rumpled clothes and smoothed out his messy hair, making himself look a little less haggard before striding over to open the laboratory door.
"How is it?" Cao Yuan asked.
"...Still haven't found them."
Cao Yuan glanced into the room and saw the scraps of paper scattered across the floor,