"No, the fellow countryman wasn't you, but her. Then... where is she?!"
Inside the study, Long Qian and Huang Ze were speaking alone.
"Young man, can you listen to a story first?"
"Mm, go ahead. I'm listening..."
One person wanted to tell another a story, and the study instantly fell silent.
"In 1938, I withdrew from the front lines and entered Special Section training. Soon after, I went undercover in Shencheng—what is now Juxia City. I met her on the way.
"At first, she couldn't accept reality. She always liked standing on rooftops during thunderstorms, or flying kites whenever lightning was about to strike.
"She said that was the only way she could go home.
"She talked a lot, chattering endlessly. She said she had traveled through time from the future. Her knowledge of history was limited, but she always told me things that surpassed that era.
"She was very good at socializing, and we quickly established ourselves undercover in Shencheng.
"In 1943, our time undercover in Shencheng had nearly come to an end. We were carrying out our final mission and preparing to withdraw to the rear when she sacrificed herself in Shencheng to protect Commander Zhou. She said that the country would prosper in the future, and that she and I would meet again.
"She told me where the country was headed in the future, which scientists needed to be brought back ahead of time. With her information, we avoided many detours.
"But even after the War of Resistance was won, even after the new Huaxia was founded, even after Huaxia returned to its peak, I still couldn't find her.
"I searched through every ancient text in Huaxia and traveled across all of Huaxia, but I could never find that place—her home, Chengdu."
As Huang Ze spoke, he recalled those difficult years. His eyes were now brimming with tears.
He had truly loved that girl.
He still remembered every word that girl had said.
"Ah Ze, remember to come find me in the future. You have to come find me. Don't forget."
She had always said that if she could have traveled through time a few years earlier, she would have done everything possible to save her compatriots in Jinling City.
But what she hadn't known was that he could not find that future, could not find the hometown she spoke of, and could not fulfill her final wish.
"I'm sorry. She was right. Back in my hometown, we really did stand at the top of the world. Heh, I thought you were the time traveler. She probably never imagined what kind of world she had come to."
Only then did Long Qian understand the whole story. So there had been another time traveler, one from the same city as him. It left him somewhat shocked.
Unfortunately, that fellow countryman could not go back.
Huang Ze's story continued, and Long Qian listened to it with complete attention.
"Sir, I have a question. Please clear up my doubts."
Long Qian actually had a huge question right now. How had the other man known where he came from? He was certain he had never revealed anything related to place names, and his ID card was still in his pocket.
"Go ahead..."
Huang Ze had now revealed the secret he had kept buried in his heart for decades, and he was in a rather good mood.
He had thought he would never be able to fulfill that wish in this lifetime.
"Uh, I never mentioned any specific location. How did you know where I came from? Are there many people who know I came from another Earth?"
This was what Long Qian worried about most. If everyone knew, then what the hell was the point?
"Heh, only Heaven and Earth know this, and so do you and I.
"Those who know of your existence all believe that you came from the future—from Earth eight years from now. I also ordered all records containing your information erased.
"However, only a few of us know. It cannot possibly be leaked."
Huang Ze nodded as he spoke.
Back then, only he had known Su Keke's secret. Even if there were several elders above him, he would not have told anyone.
Therefore, he was the only one who knew Long Qian's circumstances.
As for Lianfeng and the others, they had merely guessed that Long Qian came from the future.
Traveling from the future into the past, how could that...
Thinking of this, Huang Ze began considering how to resolve Long Qian's problem.
At present, only Dukao, Lianfeng, and Qiangwei knew the specific details, since they had attended that meeting.
How could Long Qian, who came from another world, know what would happen in the future? That was a huge loophole. He needed to discuss it carefully with Long Qian.
After all, this world had technological civilizations several levels beyond Earth. Although he did not know whether Long Qian could return, they were both Huaxia people who shared the same beliefs. He could not allow that world to suffer an invasion either.
"No, Earth eight years from now? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
Long Qian grew even more confused upon hearing this. What was going on?
Then Huang Ze took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Long Qian.
"Take a look at this. You should understand naturally..."
After opening the envelope, Long Qian froze for a moment and slowly said, "Mumu..."
Of course he knew what it was. It was a memory he did not want to recall. (I don't want to write it, so I'll stop here.)
"Young man, I have a question. Can you answer it for me?"
Seeing that Long Qian remained silent, Huang Ze voiced his question.
"Can you still go back?"
"I don't know either. Just like her, I'm an ordinary person. Maybe I can, or maybe I'll never be able to go back."
Hearing Long Qian say that he and Su Keke were both ordinary people, Huang Ze felt helpless. It seemed Long Qian was not some so-called super soldier.
But upon hearing the word "maybe," he regained his confidence. He could hand the things over to Long Qian in advance.
"Don't worry. They don't know the truth. When the time comes, you just need to play dumb. I believe your acting can fool them, and you also have warriors of Angel Civilization protecting you.
"This is Earth's war. Just like decades ago, when we drove the Japanese invaders back to where they came from, we will drive these aliens back to where they came from too!!!"
Huang Ze was full of confidence in Earth. They were just invaders, after all. They still had a newly awakened guardian god!!!
"Don't worry, sir. The victor in the future will be Earth. I can guarantee that!!!"
Inside the Super Seminary conference room, Huang Ze walked in carrying a box. A soldier followed behind, holding a square box wrapped in a red flag.
"These are her belongings and ashes!!!"
"Ah..."
Long Qian sighed. There was nothing he could do. That fellow countryman had wanted to return home even at the moment of death. It was easy to imagine that, like him, she had not been alone on her own Earth.
To die in a foreign land—no, on a foreign planet—was something no Huaxia person with thoughts of their own would want.
What he did not know was that just as he accepted those things, something changed on his phone, and some special new features appeared.
"Awen, notify Lianfeng and Little Du to come to the conference room for a meeting. Bring the things over as well!!!"
Seeing Qing Qing accept those items for Long Qian, Huang Ze gave orders to the soldier beside him.
More than ten minutes later, Lianfeng and Dukao arrived at the conference room.
"Elder Huang, he is..."
The moment Dukao and Lianfeng entered the conference room, they saw the person they had been searching for over the past several days.
"Ahem, Little Du, Lianfeng, you're here. Sit down!!!"
After Lianfeng sat down, she took out a box from behind her and pushed it toward Long Qian.
"This is yours, right? We found it in that field. Now it is being returned to its rightful owner."
"Hmm??? Did you dye it? Why did my colored Spark Prism turn black? Why does it feel different? This heaviness!!!"
Long Qian felt around inside the box and found his genuine Bandai Spark Prism, the signed edition at that.
But when he took it out, he froze. Was this really his Spark Prism? Why did it feel different? And why did it have this damned heavy feel?
"This really is yours. It was already black when we found it!!!" Lianfeng hurriedly emphasized.
"System, come out. What the hell is going on here!!!"
Whenever he encountered something he did not understand, he directly asked the goddamn system.
System: "??? Host, did you accidentally buy the real thing? Even your status panel has changed."
Before you continue