The Visitor

Zhang Li's expression froze for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

"Actually, our primary responsibility is monitoring abnormal incidents within the country, such as the one Mr. Lu encountered."

She then said calmly, "It seems Mr. Lu has recovered quite well."

Lu Ren asked, "You know what happened?"

"On a commercial street near Immortal Bridge in Shu Capital, an entire section of people vanished in full view of everyone. Sixty-seven people went missing in total. Our detection indicated that a spacetime connection caused spatial tremors, creating a Spatial Rift, and you fell into another spacetime. However, because your bodies did not belong to that spacetime, once the two spacetimes diverged, you were ejected back into your original spacetime—our world."

By this point, Zhang Li looked rather confused herself. She shrugged. "Well, that's roughly what happened, including the first spatial connection tremor you encountered."

A textbook recitation, plain and simple!

Lu Ren's expression shifted slightly. "Looks like you know what caused my first encounter. I'd been wondering whether anyone would believe me if I said it."

No one really would have believed him. He had indeed considered telling the truth, but if people accused him of making it up to evade responsibility for murder and disposing of a body, he might have been convicted instead. Better to deny everything and save himself the trouble.

"If someone had told me three years ago that they'd gone to another spacetime and returned, I wouldn't have believed it either."

Zhang Li shook her head slightly, sounding rather emotional. "The world is changing too fast."

Shouldn't I be the one saying that?

Lu Ren asked, "What about the others who fell in with me?"

Zhang Li explained, "You are one of the survivors."

Lu Ren was intrigued. "How many people survived?"

"Three hundred and twenty-three people went missing in total. Including you, only seven returned alive."

After answering, Zhang Li stared straight at Lu Ren. "Mr. Lu, you must have entered a similar space before. Your friends, Luo Zixuan, Wang Gang, and Zhang Qingya... they likely died in that alternate space, didn't they?"

Lu Ren neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he asked, "What did you bring me here to ask?"

Zhang Li met his gaze. "You were the first to wake up, and your physical condition is the strongest among them. You also have some martial arts training, so we want to know what you encountered in there."

Lu Ren asked, "What do I get out of it?"

Zhang Li paused, then pondered for a moment. "Don't you want to learn martial arts? We can arrange for someone to teach you!"

Lu Ren's eyes suddenly lit up. "Really?"

Zhang Li nodded slightly. "I'm the captain of Team One at the Security Administration. I can make that arrangement. Besides, the dagger you were holding is more than enough."

After a pause, she continued seriously, "Now, please tell us in detail about what you encountered in that spacetime."

Lu Ren was not surprised. If that dagger had still been on him, then he really would have been shocked. "All right, but I have one more request."

Zhang Li frowned. "What?"

"I just woke up. I'm hungry."

"..."

An hour later, Lu Ren lay contentedly on the hospital bed, rubbing his bloated stomach as he looked at the man and woman seated before him.

The man was Xiao Chen, deputy captain of a squad from the domestic Public Security Bureau. The woman was Zhang Li.

"Go ahead. What do you want to ask? I'll cooperate fully."

Xiao Chen crossed his muscular arms and spoke first.

"While you were eating, the others gradually woke up as well. But they seem to have suffered severe trauma and can barely speak clearly. You, however, showed no extreme reaction after waking up. We want to know exactly what happened to you over there. What did you experience?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Sir, I'm the victim here. Could you please not think so darkly? And could you stop using that interrogative tone? I strongly demand a replacement!"

Xiao Chen's expression stiffened. Zhang Li waved a hand. "All right, all right. It's routine procedure. Just get on with it. Once we're done, I won't bother you anymore."

Lu Ren stopped hiding things and recounted everything he had experienced inside in minute detail. Naturally, he selectively avoided anything about the system, as well as his own cautious way of dealing with people. Some things were better left known only to himself. If he truly revealed every last detail, he would be an idiot.

Holding a recording pen, Zhang Li seemed thoughtful before asking, "What did you do to the human from that world, Xiang Yang?"

"Someone with such a scheming mind and impure intentions? Naturally, I used love to reform her."

Lu Ren was full of praise for his own thinking, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Love?"

"You know."

Seeing the righteous-looking Xiao Chen about to speak, Lu Ren cut him off. "Hey, don't try to morally coerce me. I have no morals. Besides, I was acting in emergency self-defense, and I wasn't even on Earth. You have no jurisdiction over me."

Xiao Chen could only ask, "So, the Artificial Intelligence named Qingxu said that you and the humans of that world have reproductive isolation between species?"

Lu Ren's expression turned strange. "You seem very interested in that?"

Zhang Li could not help glancing at Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen coughed awkwardly. "I'm purely curious from a biological research perspective. Captain, you know I have a graduate degree in biology."

Lu Ren sounded helpless. "Please, you two. You already took the Ultra-High Frequency Cutting Blade, the most valuable thing I had on me. You haven't even said whether it's being confiscated or anything. At the very least, you should compensate me a little. That's technology decades beyond the real world!"

Zhang Li said, "Don't worry. Once we finish verifying it, we'll definitely make it worth your while!"

"That'll do!" Lu Ren's face broke into a smile again.

Lu Ren then spent a full two hours answering Zhang Li and Xiao Chen's questions until his mouth was dry. Even after he had explained several questions repeatedly, Zhang Li finally stood, nodded, and switched off the recording pen.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Mr. Lu. If we have any further questions, we will contact you again. For now, you cannot leave until we confirm that you have not been contaminated by anything strange."

"Hey, hey, what strange thing?"

"Perhaps microorganisms. Perhaps pathogens carried from another world!"

Damn, no wonder there was a layer of glass between us while they talked to me!

As the two prepared to leave, Lu Ren called out, "Don't forget to arrange someone to teach me martial arts! No matter what, I became a savior!"

Only after the special ward fell quiet did Lu Ren finally have the chance to open his Character Panel.

Name: Lu Ren

Spirit: 9 (Proficiency 85/1810)

Constitution: 7 (Proficiency 245/1120)

Strength: 7 (Proficiency 574/1120)

Agility: 6 (Proficiency 682/820)

Skills: Basic Swordsmanship (Beginner's Insight 692/3932), Basic Combat (Beginner's Insight 293/3932), Basic Dagger Technique (Beginner's Insight 1/3932)

Freely Allocatable Attribute Points: 5

Skill Points: 1