No matter how they got along, Li Lin had to admit that Xu Jiali was indeed the most outstanding deep diver he had ever encountered.
At this time, having such a capable person come to support him showed that the bureau was taking care of this newcomer.
The catch was that he had to endure the big mouth and boastful nature of the burly man, especially after he returned from every mission.
“I tell you, I ran into something truly bizarre on this mission,” the burly man said as he picked up a bottle of water from the coffee table, twisting it open while continuing his tale. “I caught that angel cultist trying to blend in with the people of Aimein, and after much effort, I cornered him in the no-man's land. Just when I was about to take him down, I looked up and guess what?”
Li Lin rolled his eyes. “You and your big mouth, can you even say these things in public?”
“Of course! I reported it to the bureau, and this part of the intel is approved for you,” Xu Jiali waved his hand, not caring whether Li Lin wanted to listen or not, continuing with his story.
“So I looked up, and bam! There was a person standing right next to me! You know what he looked like? Just wearing a shirt and pants, standing in the toxic hot wind of Aimein-IX, with a door frame next to him. I was stunned! I was seconds away from taking down that angel cultist, and that shock let him catch his breath. But luckily, in the end, I was able to come out on top...”
Li Lin impatiently waved his hand while walking toward the monitoring equipment he had set up by the window. “Alright, alright, every story ends with you coming out on top. Can’t you think of a more original twist?”
“But I really did come out on top!” the burly man stared at Li Lin, watching his actions with wide eyes. “Wait, aren't you surprised? I saw a person in the toxic hot wind of Aimein-IX! Not even wearing a powered suit! The captain isn’t even that amazing!”
“Last time you also saw someone pop up in the acid rain of Tata-V without protective gear – it was a professor from the Academy,” Li Lin replied without looking back. “This world is full of all kinds of weirdos. The more deep dives you do, the more illusions you’ll see. I’ve heard similar spooky stories from you a hundred times; I don’t believe a word of it. Come back and tell me when you’re on a shuttle and see someone flying alongside you outside the window. At least that sounds a bit more innovative.”
“I have seen that!” the burly man grinned, plopping himself down on Li Lin's bed. “It was a Taoist from Qianfeng Ling Mountain; just when I was about to accelerate, he was holding a mirror, waving it at my monitor and saying he wanted to overtake me... Overtake my a** – if he had the guts, he should try to enter the leap in body...”
Li Lin finally couldn’t help but stop and turned to look at Xu Jiali, who was sitting beside him.
After a long while, he sighed, “Your life in special operations is really colorful.”
“Why don’t you apply for a deep dive license too? Who knows, maybe next time you can join me on special operations,” the burly man nudged. “What good is being in the no-man's land? It’s dangerous, troublesome, and everything you do carries immense responsibility.”
Li Lin thought for a moment but shook his head. “There’s always a shortage of manpower in the no-man's land. Someone needs to guard this biggest ‘hub.’ Besides, I don’t really think going to a wasteland planet in a powered suit to fight angel cultists is any better than staying here dealing with exotic safety issues. And don’t forget… you still have to deal with the ‘exotic’ on special operations, too.”
“That’s different! The density of the exotic outside isn’t as high; it’s not like the no-man's land – every twenty stops on the bus, seven are exotic...”
Li Lin glanced at Xu Jiali and thought about how, under normal circumstances, 99.99% of people could only see those thirteen normal stops.
But then he remembered that this burly man had entered the ‘platform’ at twelve years old, survived there for six years, and only became a deep diver after undergoing psychological treatment to escape the pursuit of the exotic.
The words he wanted to say remained unspoken in his heart.
There are two types of frontline combat personnel in the Special Operations Bureau.
One is trained through a normal process, and the other is pulled up from the exotic.
Never show off your knowledge in front of those with traumatic experiences, even if they don’t care about it.
Li Lin lowered his head, focused on checking the parameters recorded by the equipment.
The burly man, feeling a bit bored, spoke up.
He was a complete combat personnel, primarily there as a force supplement, and had little interest in tasks like “tailing.”
“The bureau's in complete chaos right now,” he said after a while. “Several action squad leaders have been called in for overtime; I heard even the director went.”
“I know,” Li Lin didn’t look up. “After all, this is the no-man's land.”
“Is this kind of thing common in the no-man's land?” The burly man scratched his head. “Has there been a similar ‘anomaly’ before? I’m often out on special operations, so I’m not too familiar...”
“If you’re talking about the spatial displacement phenomenon tonight, it hasn’t happened before. But if you’re talking about ‘anomalous phenomena’ in general, the no-man's land has never been short of them. After all… it is the no-man's land.”
“Fine, the charming no-man's land – I love this place,” the burly man stretched his arms and shoulders, lying back on Li Lin's bed, causing the poor single bed to creak under his weight. “Those who want to destroy this world and those who want to protect it love this place as well. Luckily, I don’t have to stand guard at the bureau; I heard the captain and the others are working overtime every day.”
Li Lin didn’t respond, remaining focused on his monitoring and recording tasks.
Just then, the sudden ringing of a phone pierced the silence in the room.
Li Lin glanced at the phone screen, immediately picked it up to answer. “This is Li Lin… Uh-huh, I understand.”
The burly man sat up from the bed, looking curiously at Li Lin, whose expression had changed. “What’s up?”
Li Lin looked a bit strange, gazing out at the calm night outside the window. “The bureau just called. The fissure phenomenon… has stopped.”
The burly man froze, his eyes wide. “Stopped? Just like that? No follow-up attacks or angel cultists? Not even an exotic?”
“Nothing. It just stopped. Now all the monitoring points in the no-man's land are quiet.”
“Then did I just pull an all-nighter for nothing?”
“Not for nothing – and you still need to continue. The bureau hasn’t rested either,” Li Lin shook his phone. “Everyone continues to monitor, watching if that force causing the fissure phenomenon makes any subsequent moves. You should go sleep next door for now; I’ll wake you up in six hours to replace me.”
“Okay.” The burly man immediately got up, not saying a word anymore. “Wake me if anything happens.”
Li Lin nodded, his gaze once more turning to the night outside the window.
“Another sleepless night...” he murmured softly.
...
Yu Sheng slept soundly in the middle of the night.
After successfully reproducing a “door” leading to a distant time and space, he firmly remembered that feeling, knowing how to control the so-called “spiritual guidance,” and how to endow the door with a certain “frequency” when opening it, allowing it to stabilize towards a specified location.
He felt that most things in this world could be summed up as “once is experience, twice is skill.”
After that, he kept practicing and strengthening the process of opening the door, successfully reproducing various passages until he was utterly exhausted.
Sleep after complete fatigue was always especially sound; he felt like he hadn’t slept so deeply in many years.
Yet he felt a bit regretful that during this peaceful night, he hadn’t dreamt of that fox – not even a dream at all.
It seemed that the dream featuring the fox was not something that generated stably.
This filled Yu Sheng with a sense of unease and a little urgency.
Upon waking in the morning, he informed Ai Lin of the situation.
“It’s fine, don’t think too much about it. That fox has survived in the exotic for so many years; it won’t get into trouble in just a day or two,” Ai Lin remarked this time without her usual sarcasm, instead comforting Yu Sheng seriously. “Dreams are inherently unstable; maybe next time you dream, you’ll see her again?”
“Let’s hope so,” Yu Sheng responded casually, picking a piece of meat off the table and placing it in his bowl.
This was still meat sliced from that “local specialty.” He had been eating it for three meals and hadn’t finished or gotten tired of it.
However, he could no longer feel the physical enhancement from this “food,” suggesting that its effect on him had reached its limit.
But regardless, it still tasted pretty good.
“What are your plans after the meal?” Ai Lin’s voice came from the side. “Continue practicing ‘opening the door,’ or try to reproduce the passage to the ‘valley’?”
“I need to go out to buy some things first. After I return, I’ll start trying to construct the passage to the valley. This might take a long time; I can hardly recall the ‘feeling’ from that time,” Yu Sheng stated before noticing Ai Lin’s hesitance. “Hmm? Do you have something in mind?”
Ai Lin gazed at him intently, appearing to hesitate for several seconds before finally speaking. “... Give me half a day.”
Yu Sheng was taken aback, rarely seeing such a serious expression on that doll-like face.
“Half a day for you... what do you need it for?”
“To make myself a body.” Ai Lin said calmly yet resolutely.
(End of this chapter)