A long, continuous stream of cars meanders along the newly paved road, with signs every so often guiding drivers in the right direction.
Zhou Tao kept an eye on the soldiers directing traffic behind the vehicle, his face showing surprise and uncertainty. He hadn't slept for almost a day, but the sight before him made him incredibly alert.
A hypothesis quietly took hold of his mind.
The other two people in the car were even more direct than him; they turned and stared intently at the soldiers behind them, their faces filled with astonishment.
Zhou Tao suddenly rolled down the passenger window slightly. " Liangping, feel the temperature outside."
"I suspect," he gasped, his heart pounding, almost breathless with excitement, "That we're no longer in our original world."
"Okay..." Xue Liangping immediately understood his captain's idea and stretched out his hand to the sunlight outside.
The moment their hands touched outside the window, he instinctively withdrew them.
Another middle-aged driver, who had also been in contact with the Mutual Aid Society, poked his head out from the small bed behind the driver's seat:
"How are you? Does it hurt?"
Xue Liangping moved his hand and, feeling no serious injury, exclaimed in surprise, "It really doesn't hurt anymore!"
As he was talking, he couldn't help but stretch his hand out into the sunlight again. This time, he controlled his instincts, and half of his palm was enveloped in sunlight.
Even so, I couldn't feel the slightest burning sensation.
"Captain, it really doesn't hurt!" Xue Liangping shouted, so excited that he tried to stretch out his whole arm, but luckily the veteran teammate next to him grabbed him.
"Looks like we weren't wrong." Zhou Tao turned to look at the other trucks on the road.
Not only did their car discover the sun's secret, but the other drivers did too.
They simply didn't know exactly what had happened.
"Have we arrived in another dimension now? This must be because of the Mutual Aid Society, right?" Xue Liangping said, offering his guess.
Zhou Tao shook his head and replied, "There's no other possibility. Otherwise, there's no way to explain the sun's behavior. As soon as we passed through the black wall, it became daytime, and the temperature returned to normal."
"Besides time travel, I can't think of any other answer that could accomplish all this."
The truck windows were all open, and Zhou Tao gripped the steering wheel, fully enjoying the hot air rushing in through the windows. The air seemed to carry the warmth and scent of the sun, something he hadn't felt in over a decade.
The other two people in the car also closed their eyes comfortably, as if they were on a yacht enjoying the cool sea breeze.
The car continued driving for a while before following a sign to a service area. It was here that all drivers were asked to get out of the car.
The government official responsible for explaining the situation was waiting for them there.
There were also many strangers at the scene, holding up all sorts of banners.
As soon as Zhou Tao got out of the car, he saw red everywhere – banners everywhere.
[A warm welcome to the Friendship Convoy's arrival in No. 1 Spacetime ]
[United as one, helping each other, and overcoming difficulties together]
Natural disasters are merciless, but humanity is compassionate; aid from all directions warms hearts.
Disasters are merciless, but humanity is full of love.
As far as the eye can see, it is a sea of red.
Others waved national flags and Mutual Aid Society flags, singing various rousing songs.
The red banners with yellow lettering and the resounding singing formed a pulsating Great Wall, and everyone who held them up had a face full of care. Their gazes were like a tremendous force, suddenly striking all passersby.
Although they still don't know exactly what happened.
But from the enthusiastic eyes of these people, the pilots from the Finch Spacetime could feel a force being transmitted from them to themselves.
That force seems to be called hope.
Many people stood by the roadside, in the sunlight, looking at those who were holding banners to welcome them, and hesitated to move forward.
They only excitedly followed the soldiers as they left after they arrived to guide them.
Are we dreaming right now?
"Where exactly is this place? Is it a paradise on earth? How come it's not affected by the sun?"
The truck drivers were so excited they could hardly think straight, and until now, they hadn't realized they had actually entered a different world.
This is the timeline of "2012".
These convoys were fulfilling their agreement to come to this time and space to " Junk Collection ".
"Everyone, you must be wondering why the temperature and the sun here have become so mild. Does this mean our crisis is over?"
Standing on the stage
The official suddenly spoke, instantly drawing everyone's attention. Zhou Tao and the others all looked at him.
The political clerk remained calm and continued:
"No, our crisis is not over yet. The reason you can stand in the sunlight is because this is not our time and space—"
Just now, you have traveled through time and space to another parallel world!
"The social system and culture of this timeline are basically the same as ours; the biggest difference is time and events. This timeline is currently in 2010; the disasters we experienced have not occurred here, and relatively good production and supply are still maintained."
These words were concise and to the point, allowing everyone to understand their situation in an instant.
Zhou Tao looked at the two team members in shock, even though they had already guessed the answer, they couldn't help but be surprised.
If they are like this, one can only imagine how others are.
"Is this a parallel universe? How is that possible?"
"How did we get here? Is that black wall the black hole?"
"Are we here to fight...?"
The truck drivers' emotions ranged from surprise to worry and unease.
But these are all normal reactions.
Looking down at the crowd below, the government official on the stage couldn't help but recall how he had felt when he first arrived in this time and space.
At that time, he was not much different from these drivers.
He picked up the microphone and had people start distributing informational flyers so everyone could clearly understand what was happening. He continued speaking:
"I will answer all your questions one by one. Please calm down first."
"The questions you're most concerned about are how you got to this time and space, and whether you can go back."
Upon hearing this, the drivers below indeed fell silent, standing quietly in the sun, watching the government official.
The clerk took a deep breath and recalled all the information he had recently learned:
"The black wall that we passed through earlier was actually a man-made Spacetime Tunnel. It belongs to an organization called the ' Parallel Spacetime Mutual Aid Society,' and it connects our timeline with this parallel timeline."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tao and Xue Liangping exchanged another glance, all three of them looking as if they had just expected it.
The voices of the political clerks on the stage kept coming:
"The Mutual Aid Society is a cooperative organization composed of multiple timelines, with a mutual aid nature. Its original intention is to unite the power of all timelines and work together to help timelines in distress overcome difficulties."
Our timeline had decided to join the Mutual Aid Society some time ago, and under the coordination of the Mutual Aid Society's president, we held initial talks with the presidents of the branch associations of the Mutual Aid Society in various timelines, during which we received strong support from the other four timelines..."
"And our mission this time is to bring the donated supplies from this other timeline back to our timeline."
What the government official said was both surprising and unbelievable to the motorcade drivers.
Even now, many people still can't fully believe they've actually traveled to another time and space.
Only Zhou Tao and his two companions, who had met Zhang Tianyuan and Mutual Aid Society, remained calm. They finally learned what had happened between the Mutual Aid Society and their superiors after their first encounter with the Mutual Aid Society.
After the official finished speaking, he dismissed the group, telling them to go aside to eat and rest, and also to digest what he had just said.
Numerous tents have been erected along the edge of the service area, and the sounds of woks and spatulas clattering are incessant. Many cooks are preparing meals, and the sizzling of oil and the rising smoke fill the entire service area with enticing aromas.
This is the dining area prepared for the many drivers.
Zhou Tao and the others followed the signs into the tent and quickly figured out the rules. Just like in the building, they took a plate and then lined up to get their food.
"It smells so good!"
"The aroma of this stir-fried garlic is so tempting! I haven't smelled anything like it in years!"
"Does this taste like Kung Pao Chicken?"
"There's also fried pork belly there..."
"I saw roast whole lamb and roast suckling pig?"
"Those are fruits, and that's a cantaloupe, right? The one with red flesh is a watermelon..."
The diners' mouths started watering as they looked at the food on offer, and the hunger signals from their brains kept stimulating their stomachs, driving them almost to madness.
They are no longer
I haven't seen food like this in years.
The person at the front of the line clutched their plate tightly, nervously asking the soldier in front of them, "Is all this for us to eat?"
The soldier in camouflage didn't answer him, but instead gave him a gentle smile, gesturing for him to hand over the plate, and then asked, "Which one do you want? Just tell me, there's plenty here!"
Bang!
The sound of a heartbeat.
The driver at the front of the line was panting heavily, his finger trembling as he pointed at the various foods in front of him.
"I want this, this, this, and that..."
It seems like they'd love to have a plate of everything.
The soldier in charge of distributing the meals was a seasoned veteran of the Mutual Aid Society, having served in several different timelines. He calmly filled a large plate until it was completely full.
He tapped the plate twice with his spoon, returned it, and said calmly, "Next one, don't rush. All the dishes have plenty of ingredients, so eat with confidence. We're all brothers, and in our timeline, you'll definitely have enough to eat."
After hearing this, the others in the long queue behind, who were standing on tiptoe to look ahead, wiped their drool and barely managed to calm down.
Even Zhou Tao was standing on tiptoe to look ahead.
Xue Liangping was behind him, his arm around his shoulder, almost straddling him. The young man slurped back the saliva that was about to drip onto Zhou Tao.
"I was worried that I wouldn't be able to eat the meat that my family just gave us after we came here, but it seems like we're being treated even better here than at home..."
The others around them were equally amused.
Many people shared Xue Liangping's thoughts before, but now that they see their own meals, they feel they've gotten a good deal.
After waiting for a while, Zhou Tao finally got to the front of the line. Like many others, he filled a plate with meat and went to the dining area. He didn't even bother with chopsticks, just grabbed the meat with both hands and started eating heartily. Before long, his face was covered in oil.
People like him are everywhere in the dining area.
So much so that many warriors from the "2012" timeline were worried that someone might choke to death, so they quickly brought over soup and advised everyone to slow down and eat slowly.
Taking this opportunity, many people also communicated with these soldiers.
After everyone had eaten a little, they remembered the person who had given them the meal.
A soldier was serving soup to everyone when Zhou Tao wiped his hands, put down his own plate, and went to help.
"Are you also members of the Mutual Aid Society?" Zhou Tao asked.
The soldier nodded, and while serving the soup, replied, "Yes, I'm a member of the Mutual Aid Society First Division."
Zhou Tao was also serving soup, but that didn't stop him from asking, "I want to ask a question: Your Mutual Aid Society spends so many resources to help us, what do you or your timeline gain in return?"
This was what he was most curious about.
Previously, his understanding of the Mutual Aid Society was only superficial, so he never understood why the Mutual Aid Society willing to help other timelines.
Especially this time and space.
The government official just mentioned that the people here have provided them with a massive amount of supplies, which their convoy wouldn't be able to transport in two years.
However, the soldier gave Zhou Tao a strange look and said, "You're in trouble, of course we'll help."
"Moreover, the Mutual Aid Society's mission is to help each other and unite as one. Who knows, it might be your turn to help us someday."
"We'll help you?"
Zhou Tao touched his head, the residual grease on his hands making his hair shiny.
He simply couldn't imagine how his own timeline, which was confined to a building, could possibly be of any help to this seemingly peaceful and stable world.
Seeing that Zhou Tao seemed unfamiliar with his own timeline, the soldier smiled and said, "Your timeline encountered a massive solar storm before, right?"
Zhou Tao nodded, but his hands didn't slow down as he poured the soup.
The soldier did the same, saying, "Actually, our timeline is also facing a threat from the sun."
"Your solar storm is coming too!?" Zhou Tao was startled, instinctively recalling the early days of the apocalypse, when it was a living hell.
He didn't want that situation to happen again, no matter what time or place he was in.
"Not exactly," the soldier said, pouring the last bowl of soup from his large jug and handing it to Zhou Tao as a thank you for his help. "Our timeline is affected by solar activity impacting the Earth's core, and in about two years, an unprecedented catastrophe will occur..."