The grandfather and grandson squatted on the ground, watching the residents of No. 1 Spacetime line up in a long queue, walking from one end to the other, chatting idly as they went.
Then a voice came from above. "I'm done, it's your turn."
"Hey! Here it comes!" Han Zi'ang jumped up, his hand holding the sunflower seed shells ready to let go, just as a handful of trash was about to fall to the ground. Liu Qi, standing next to him, skillfully pulled out a plastic bag and caught all the sunflower seed shells his grandfather had thrown down.
Han Zi'ang chuckled as he looked at the bag his grandson had prepared, and then, with hands still smelling of saliva and salt, roughly rubbed Liu Qi's cheeks twice.
"Good girl, it's no wonder Grandpa loves you so much~~"
Liu Qi, whose little mouth was rubbed until it pouted, was utterly helpless, but he couldn't escape his grandfather's hands no matter what.
"Come on, let's go call your dad."
Han Zi'ang took Liu Qi's hands and walked into the phone booth, closed the door, and then took out his ID card and inserted it into the phone.
A simple message popped up on the screen in front of me:
[Remaining time-travel call duration: 3 hours]
Then he took out Liu Peiqiang's emergency contact number, muttering it to himself as he pressed numbers on the keypad.
"."
dial.
Beep beep beep...
A long wait.
No one answered the phone for a long time.
Han Zi'ang held the microphone close to his ear, his eyes darting around.
"Grandpa?" Liu Qi grabbed Han Zi'ang's arm, looked up at the microphone, his eyes full of doubt.
Han Zi'ang looked away and patted his head. "It's okay, just wait a little longer, your dad will answer the phone soon."
Liu Qi's gaze dimmed slightly, and he didn't give any reaction, only subtly increasing the pressure on Han Zi'ang's hand.
Beep beep beep--
The sound from the microphone suddenly paused for a moment.
"Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."
Han Zi'ang's glimmer of hope was immediately dashed again.
He frowned and continued making the call.
Once, twice, three times...
Until the people behind them in line knocked on the door anxiously, asking how much longer they would have to wait.
Han Zi'ang sighed. He looked down at his grandson, who already understood everything, and then at the people queuing behind him. Everyone was eagerly waiting, hoping to contact their relatives and friends.
He opened the phone booth door and waved his hand:
"You guys go ahead and use it..."
Then he said to Liu Qi, "Your father is busy right now, let's contact him another time."
He took his sullen grandson outside, and the two of them sat on the stone bench outside the phone booth from day to night.
The streetlights illuminated the entire neighborhood brightly, but the grandfather and grandson remained seated in the same spot.
Han Zi'ang rubbed his stomach, looking dejected, and tried to coax Liu Qi to go home for dinner. However, no matter what he said, Liu Qi just sat on the stone chair, hugging his knees and looking sullen.
"Alright, alright, how about Grandpa helps you make the call one more time?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Qi Qicai finally looked up at the person.
Han Zi'ang pursed his lips, sighed, and held out his hand to Liu Qi, saying disdainfully, "Let's go. Running into a little devil like you is my bad luck. Your dad is a heartless bastard..."
Despite being hungry, the grandfather and grandson returned to the phone booth and queued for another hour before finally getting inside.
Han Zi'ang picked up the microphone and entered the number, completing the entire action in one smooth motion.
But just before pressing the dial button, he stopped, turned to Liu Qi, and started nagging. "Listen, this is the last time! No matter what happens this time, we can't wait in line anymore. Your grandpa is starving to death because of you, and we need to go to the hospital to see your mom tomorrow. You better behave yourself."
"Okay, I understand!" Liu Qi replied, head held high.
Han Zi'ang extended his pinky finger. "Pinky promise..."
Liu Qi hooked the little finger of his other hand over and continued, "No change for a hundred years!"
"You're good, you'll listen to me!"
Han Zi'ang glanced at his grandson one last time before pressing the dial button.
Beep beep beep...
This time, the phone rang only three times before being answered on the other end.
"Hello, is this Dad?"
It was Liu Peiqiang's voice, and he sounded very anxious.
Han Zi'ang breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "It's me."
"Wait a minute."
Putting the microphone down temporarily, Han Zi'ang bent down and hugged Liu Qi, then handed him the microphone again. "Hey, your father is right across from you. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Liu Qi excitedly took the microphone and shouted loudly into the other end, "Dad!"
Liu Peiqiang, on the other side, smiled kindly and quickly inquired about the situation in No. 2 Spacetime.
Han Zi'ang hugged Liu Qi and said, "Don't worry about us here. We're well-fed and warmly clothed. With you here..."
With the subsidies, we're already living quite comfortably.
"That's good... How is Duoduo doing now?"
"Mom is in that amazing hospital now!" Before Grandpa could answer, Liu Qi grabbed the microphone and shouted loudly, so loud that Han Zi'ang had to tilt his head and move away.
"A magical hospital? What's so special about it?"
Liu Qi stammered and couldn't say anything, only saying that the hospital would automatically be built on top of it.
Han Zi'ang continued, "We don't know much about that hospital, we just know it was invested and built by the Mutual Aid Society."
Moreover, this hospital was built without any manpower; it was produced almost like 3D printing. It also has some special functions; anyone who stays there will experience an improvement in their condition...
Liu Peiqiang didn't quite understand either.
Because information was previously blocked and restricted between different time periods, few people in other time periods knew about these special buildings.
However, he understood that this item belonged to the Mutual Aid Society, which was enough for him.
If it's related to Mutual Aid Society, then it can't be harmful.
"So, was Duoduo transferred to that hospital?"
Han Zi'ang nodded. "Yes, they asked me to fill out an application form, then sent it for approval, and it was approved in just a few days."
Hearing this, Liu Peiqiang's voice suddenly became urgent. "How is Duoduo doing now? Has she improved?"
"There should be some improvement, but Duoduo hasn't woken up yet and still needs to be cared for by the hospital's caregivers."
"The doctor said that Duoduo's illness is too serious. Even being admitted to a special hospital can only suppress it and prevent it from worsening. If she wants to recover, she may have to wait until she can get into a more advanced hospital..."
Han Zi'ang recalled what the doctor had told him before, something about a level 4 hospital, which sounded like something out of a video game.
"I see..." Liu Peiqiang sighed after hearing this, somewhat disappointed.
But he quickly rallied. "It's good enough that it doesn't get any worse."
"Dad, how are you doing over there? Are you adjusting well?"
Hearing this, Liu Qi tilted his head, then suddenly shouted into the microphone, "Grandpa's been playing video games all day long lately, and he's having so much fun!"
"He plays a game called Warcraft with other old men every day... (⊙v⊙) Mmm!"
Han Zi'ang covered Liu Qi's mouth, chuckling as he said, "I didn't fight much. It was all the other old men who asked me to fight, so I only played with them occasionally."
Liu Peiqiang chuckled, and after a while said, "Dad, if you like to play, then play. It's good for you to relax. You're just idling around over there anyway."
Han Zi'ang glared at Liu Qi with feigned ferocity, then smiled into the microphone and said, " Peiqiang, I'm planning to send Liu Qi to school soon."
"That's great, he's reached the age where he should be going to school."
"Okay, let me tell you about the schools he can attend now..." Han Zi'ang said, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket. It listed various schools in the area, all of which were jointly run by the Wandering Spacetime and Space and No. 2 Spacetime.
Liu Qi stared blankly, then suddenly pulled a poster out of his pocket and shouted, "I don't want to study, I want to be a mecha pilot and fight giant monsters!"
While calling out, she pressed the poster onto the piece of paper in her grandfather's hand, making the poster cover the school on the paper, and at the same time emphasizing her meaning.
Han Zi'ang glanced at it and saw that Liu Qi was holding a recruitment poster for Support Team No. 0.
"Grandpa knows, but you can't become a mecha pilot if you don't study. Do you see this? It says the recruitment requirements here. You need a bachelor's degree. You have to go to university first, understand?"
"Is that so?" Liu Qi held the poster in both hands, staring intently at the spot his grandfather had pointed out to him. There were four characters on it—
"Physically robust"
"So those four characters mean undergraduate degree!"
After dealing with my grandson, I let him mutter "undergraduate degree" to himself.
Han Zi'ang continued to discuss with his son-in-law which school Liu Qi should attend.
The two grown men spent a full half hour picking and choosing before finally settling on a school.
The nearest school.
After resolving the issues that needed to be resolved, Han Zi'ang finally remembered the others.
" Peiqiang, are you still on leave? Can you come back for a while? I heard that the Spacetime Tunnel seems to have opened, along with the communication lines, and some people can apply to use it..."
"Dad..."
Han Zi'ang was suddenly interrupted before he could finish speaking.
Liu Peiqiang said in a somber tone, "I've just boarded the space station. I'm no longer on Earth."
After saying that, he looked up and gazed out the window.
A bright blue planet suddenly appeared before his eyes, and the Planetary Engine, which looked enormous from Earth,
From the space station, it looked only the size of a soybean, and the ejected plasma beams were as thin as needles.
The reason I didn't answer the phone when I called him during the day was because he was on a rocket at the time.
Han Zi'ang, on the other side, suddenly fell silent for a moment, then said with a sense of loss, "I see..."
"Then you should focus on your work. Work is the most important thing. I can handle things here; it's not difficult at all. It'll be just like before."
Liu Peiqiang remained silent.
Only Liu Qi approached the microphone and asked doubtfully, "Isn't dad coming back?"
"Yes, Dad can't come back to see you for the time being. Liu Qi, you need to stay with Grandpa and live a good life..."
"Oh, when are you coming back, Daddy?"
Liu Peiqiang paused for a moment. "It might take seventeen years."
"How long is seventeen years?" Liu Qi turned his head. "Grandpa, how long is seventeen years?"
"Seventeen years, do you remember the calendar Grandpa told you about? It's when you finish drawing seventeen calendars..."
Was the original plan to complete seventeen calendars?
The call ended.
Han Zi'ang immediately took Liu Qi home to cook and fill their hungry stomachs.
After finishing my meal, I checked the time.
It's only 8:30.
"There's still time, let's play one more game..." With that, Han Zi'ang sat down in front of the old computer in the living room and pressed the power button with great interest.
Life in the base area has basically returned to normal. There is internet access, as well as radio and television. Except for a smaller population, it is no different from the big cities of the past.
This is also why Han Zi'ang was able to play online games.
Sitting with his legs crossed, waiting for the computer to boot up, Han Zi'ang suddenly felt like he was back in his childhood. The computer had similar performance, the games were similar, and the people were similar...
wrong!
Han Zi'ang suddenly turned around, pointed at Liu Qi on the sofa. "You little brat, if you snitch again, I'll punish you by making sure you don't have any food!"
Seeing that Liu Qi remained silent under intimidation, Han Zi'ang turned around and clicked the game icon.
Things are different now than they used to be.
He's a parent now!!!
With the authority of a head of the family, Han Zi'ang quickly immersed himself in the game, becoming completely absorbed in the battle.
Liu Qi pouted from behind, knowing that this was his free time.
He quietly slipped out of the house, mentally counting how many friends he now had.
Yaya, Dazhuang, Erzhuang, Xiaoming, Xiaohong, Xiaojun...
Then, where do these people live?
With various questions on his mind, Liu Qi quickly took the elevator and left.
Han Zi'ang, oblivious to this, continued playing the game while shaking his leg, " Orcs Never Be Slaves, Unless Food and Lodging Are Included?"
"Hey, these two teammates have pretty funny names." Xxs-2
He kept talking to himself while his hands kept typing away.
Thirty Years a Slave: "Everyone's here, time to start the dungeon?"
The other teammates replied with a screen full of "Open".
"Okay, let's start."
Han Zi'ang picked up the water glass next to him, finished the water in it, turned around and called out, " Liu Qi, refill Grandpa's glass."
The sound echoed in the room, but there was no response.
Han Zi'ang turned his head curiously to look around, only to be surprised to find that the door behind him was wide open!
And there's no one left in the house!
Holy crap!
Han Zi'ang glanced at the computer, then at the front door, and his hands, resting on the keyboard, unconsciously typed out a message:
Thirty Years a Slave: "Don't open it yet, my grandson is missing!"
Orcs Never Be Slaves:???
Unless Food and Lodging Are Included:???
Han Zi'ang couldn't see his teammates' question marks; he had already rushed out of his house.
" Liu Qi!"
" Liu Qi!?"
Han Zi'ang shouted loudly in the neighborhood, his heart filled with panic. The image of his grandson being torn apart by the Darkseekers kept flashing through his mind.
He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a familiar little figure walking out of a building.
That figure was none other than Liu Qi.
Han Zi'ang rushed over, angrily shouting, "What are you doing out here so late at night, you little brat? Aren't you afraid of getting eaten by a monster?!"
"Waaah--"
Liu Qi pouted, holding a large bag in his hands, and took two steps back in fear.
"What's that?" Han Zi'ang noticed what he was holding and pulled him closer, saying, "Let Grandpa see."
A few slaps.
Several calendars fell to the ground.
Han Zi'ang was stunned for a long time.
Then he picked up the calendars from the ground one by one, took Liu Qi's hand, and said, "Let's go home."
"What a silly little thing! Your dad told you that the seventeen calendars had to be from different years, but look at all these you have, aren't they all from 2012?"
"Should I ask Yaya and the others for it again tomorrow?"
"They don't have any either, and you can't get any either."
"Then I'll go buy it?"
"Where can I buy it? It's not the right year yet, they're not printing any..."