A Time of Troubles

After tying the ropes, Lu Chengchuan and Zhou Yaning prepared to descend.

He had never practiced this sort of technical work. When Zhou Yaning was about to enter the black mist, he simply jumped down from the helicopter.

He plummeted rapidly with the rope around him. Everyone was already used to such a sight and showed no concern that anything would happen to him. Seeing how decisive he was, Zhou Yaning also sped up her descent.

Lu Chengchuan landed on both feet in an instant. He looked around inside the black mist, but there was nothing nearby.

A few seconds later, Zhou Yaning landed beside him. Neither spoke when they met. Instead, they each surveyed their surroundings. After looking for a while, they headed forward.

The split meteorite lay ahead, and the small crater it had made had not changed at all.

As they walked forward, they soon reached the split meteorite. Black mist was pouring out from within it, constantly surging outward.

"It hasn't stopped. Do you know what's going on?"

The black mist continued pouring out without pause. Zhou Yaning's expression was grim. If it kept spreading, Anyang City would be threatened as well.

They did not know what dangers lurked within the black mist, but one thing was certain: nothing good would come of it.

"I really don't know anything about this damn thing..."

Lu Chengchuan could only shake his head at Zhou Yaning's question. He was not an encyclopedia. Nothing inside the black mist was calling to him, and the system had not reacted either.

"Captain Zhou, I don't know everything," Lu Chengchuan answered quietly.

The two walked up to the meteorite. When they had left last night, it had merely broken into several large chunks. Now, its upper half had completely shattered, with only a few fragments of the lower half still holding together.

The black mist was emanating from the meteorite's center. Zhou Yaning moved closer, studied it for a moment, then actually reached out her hand.

She was going to touch the center of the black mist. No one knew whether it would be dangerous. Lu Chengchuan watched from the side without stopping her, because he wanted to know whether anything would happen too...

Her slender fingers touched the black mist, and Zhou Yaning felt a trace of chill. She continued reaching in, pressing her palm over the center where the mist was pouring out.

"What does it feel like?" Lu Chengchuan stepped closer and asked.

Zhou Yaning frowned, thought carefully for a moment, and said, "It doesn't feel like anything..."

There really was no sensation. The black mist was much like ordinary fog, except that it blocked signals within it.

With that in mind, Zhou Yaning placed her hand directly on the stone, covering the spot where the mist was flowing out to see whether she could seal it inside.

The instant her hand touched it, countless streams of mist passed through her palm and surged wildly outward.

The chill Zhou Yaning felt intensified slightly, but other than that, there was no special change.

She withdrew her hand and began circling the meteorite. Lu Chengchuan followed her around it. After several laps, they stopped again, and Zhou Yaning suddenly turned around.

"Can you move one of these pieces?"

She worried that one rock would not be enough for research, so she wanted Lu Chengchuan to haul another piece back.

Lu Chengchuan stepped forward, picked out the largest fragment, and slowly lifted it.

"You go up first. Have the helicopter pull me out."

After lifting the stone, Lu Chengchuan told her to go up first. With the stone in his hands, he could not climb into the helicopter. The helicopter would have to pull him away.

The stone was very light to him, but its shape was awkward, so he had to hold it with both hands.

Zhou Yaning quickly climbed out of the black mist. The people in the helicopter had been watching below the whole time. When Qian Xiaoling and the others saw their captain emerge, they immediately gathered around. Seeing the hand signal Zhou Yaning made, Qian Xiaoling promptly shouted at the pilot.

"Fly up. Slowly."

The pilot carefully guided the helicopter upward. A while later, Lu Chengchuan, still within the black mist, was pulled out as well.

Zhou Yaning looked down and confirmed that Lu Chengchuan had left the black mist. Then she made another hand signal to those above.

"Get out of here. Find somewhere to land."

The helicopter flew beyond the range of the black mist. With two people hanging below it, the pilot did not dare fly too fast. About ten minutes later, they left the black mist zone and found a place to land.

After the helicopter landed, Lu Chengchuan carried the meteorite aboard. Once it was secured, the helicopter took off again.

With another meteorite fragment in tow, the helicopter returned to the Armed Forces Department. The meteorite was loaded onto an armored vehicle and would be sent to the research institute for study. After that, Lu Chengchuan had nothing more to do with it.

"Come on, I'll treat you to lunch."

At noon, after Zhou Yaning finished handling various matters, she came to find him and said she wanted to treat him to a meal—just the two of them.

Lu Chengchuan began guessing what she wanted. After thinking it over, he nodded and agreed. It was only a meal; it was not like he would lose out.

"Let's go."

Zhou Yaning drove them away from the Armed Forces Department to the nearest upscale restaurant.

Ming Residence Restaurant. The name did not sound much like a restaurant. Zhou Yaning had already reserved a private room and led him inside. A waiter came over to ask a question, then brought them to the room.

They sat down. The waiter asked whether they wanted the dishes served, and after receiving an answer, he left the private room.

"Captain Zhou, why are you suddenly treating me to a meal?"

After the waiter left, Lu Chengchuan asked why she was treating him.

"It's nothing." Zhou Yaning shook her head and said softly, "You've helped me a lot. It happens to be mealtime, so I thought I'd buy you lunch and thank you while I'm at it."

"Really?" Lu Chengchuan did not believe her.

"You'll believe me after we finish eating. Don't worry. If there really is something, I'll tell you directly. There's no need to go through all this."

Even though Lu Chengchuan had taken part in many important incidents, they were not close enough for a meal to settle all kinds of matters.

Lu Chengchuan remained skeptical. Seven or eight minutes later, the private room door opened, and the waiter came in with a cart to serve the dishes.

Once the dishes were served, Zhou Yaning picked up her chopsticks immediately. Seeing how enthusiastically she ate, Lu Chengchuan began eating too.

A few minutes later, the waiter returned with more dishes. He came three times in total, serving eight dishes and one soup. Once all the food had been brought out, no waiter came again.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Yaning took a sip of tea, then suddenly set down her chopsticks and looked at him seriously. "There's something I want to ask you."

Lu Chengchuan rolled his eyes. So there really was something behind this.

"Go ahead, Captain Zhou. What is it?"

"I was asked by the director to ask whether you've considered joining the Investigation Bureau."

"I remember this was brought up before, and I already answered." They had discussed this before, and he had already said that he did not want to join. Why was she asking again now?

After he refused so directly, Zhou Yaning asked, "Why won't you join? Do you not like the Investigation Bureau?"

"It's not that. It's not that I dislike it, either. I just simply don't want to join." Lu Chengchuan shook his head, using the same excuse as before.

He did not like being controlled too much. Things were better as they were now.

"I really don't know what you're thinking. If you joined the Investigation Bureau, you could definitely get promoted quickly..."

Before Zhou Yaning could finish, Lu Chengchuan tapped several plates. "Captain Zhou, you don't need to tell me all this. Let's eat. If there's nothing else later, I'll head home first."

After saying that, Lu Chengchuan picked up his chopsticks and lowered his head to eat. Seeing him with his head down, looking as though nothing could get through to him, Zhou Yaning had no way to continue.