Mist

Chapter 73

Rubik’s Cube

Chapter 73

The origins of the two were unknown so everyone raised their alertness.

Upon seeing this, the chubby middle-aged man smiled, “Are you Guardians from our country’s Tianqiong?”

Song Qinglan asked back without any politeness, “You are?”

The middle-aged man said, “Don’t be nervous. We’re just passing by.”

In this ‘Rubik’s Cube’ which connected various times and spaces, talking about the era in which they came from was something unavoidable.

It was just that, as Guardians, no matter which era or world they came from, there was something that they shared in common —– They were all hijacked by Tianqiong to complete its mission.

But these two seemed to be different.

Different from the trained and fearless Guardians, their temperament seemed to be more peaceful, making people feel less nervous. It was as if this place wasn’t a dangerous place for them.

The gentleman with glasses saw the marks on the ground and asked, “I noticed that the rooms are decreasing and marks like these are increasing. Are you joining it?”

Those marks were made by Ji Yushi. Except for himself and Big Beard, no one else should understand it.

It was unknown what the stranger’s intentions were so no one spoke.

The unfamiliar gentleman didn’t mind their attitude. He just smiled gently, “If it’s you, then you are really amazing.”

His gaze passed through the people standing in the room and stopped at Ji Yushi who was sitting on the floor.

Song Qinglan followed his gaze and proceeded to frown deeply.

Ji Yushi’s face was extremely pale, and he appeared to be in a state of panic. For some reason, his condition appeared to be worse than before. He sat on the floor and didn’t even make an attempt to stand as he stared at the two strangers.

No, he was more precisely staring at the bespectacled man.

Ji Yushi was rarely like this. He even belonged to the socially inactive type.

Not only Song Qinglan, even Duan Wen and Zhou Mingxuan noticed that something wasn’t right with Ji Yushi.

“Advisor Ji?”

The stranger was almost middle-aged and appeared to be well educated.

Despite the stare and his expression, he nodded politely at Ji Yushi.

Seeing the black and white console in Ji Yushi’s hand, he even said, “What a coincidence. My son also has a similar game console to the one this young brother has.”

Ji Yushi’s game console was already very old.

It didn’t belong to his time. It was a product from the past.

Did these two strangers come from a long time ago?

Everyone guessed inside.

“It really is.” Ji Yushi spoke up.

For some reason, there seemed to be a thick film covering his originally cold voice. It didn’t sound bad, but it made it sound indistinct.

Ji Yushi continued to stare at the other party in complete daze.

He resembled the people who had lost their way in this ‘Rubik’s Cube’; mentally exhausted to the point of almost collapsing.

The two had said that they were just passing by, and it really seemed to be the case. They had no other purpose, and they also didn’t have anything else to say to the four Guardians.

They retrieved the blue ball floating in the air and, after checking the colours of the surrounding rooms, they eventually picked one to leave through.

The chubby middle-aged man left first. He climbed the ladder with great effort and moved rather slowly.

The gentleman with glasses waited patiently.

As if noticing something, he looked back at Ji Yushi in the corner.

Ji Yushi had his head lowered. His thin profile was straight, he was no longer looking at the man.

It was just that he was still gripping tightly onto his game console. It was so hard, the tips of his fingers turned white.

The gentleman’s companion called out, “Old Sheng! Come over!”

The man said, “Coming!”

“Beep—–“

The round hole closed.

The two outsiders disappeared behind the wall.

“What were those two doing?” Duan Wen was puzzled, “Why are they wandering around like they’re window shopping?”

“I don’t know.” Zhou Mingxuan also found it strange. He joked, “Maybe they’re some commoner traversers. Haven’t you heard? Our mysterious profession is actually a dream job for many people. There are many who illegally traverse in private.”

Ji Yushi spoke, “Let’s go.”

Ji Yushi’s voice seemed to be better than before, but it still sounded different.

When he raised his head, everyone saw that his face was so pale, it was almost transparent. If not for the redness at the corner of his eyes, he would’ve looked calmer and saner.

Duan Wen: “Advisor Ji, you don’t look very good.”

Zhou Mingxuan, “Didn’t we only just get here? Let’s rest a little longer.”

“How are you feeling?”

Song Qinglan asked. He clearly didn’t agree with leaving with Ji Yushi in his current condition.

They had just argued about this issue not long ago.

“I’m fine.” Ji Yushi answered as per usual.

Song Qinglan watched him stand up and retrieve the blue ball that had returned to the centre of the room.

He suddenly felt that the back of the bespectacled man in the white shirt looked familiar —- If Ji Yushi was still wearing the same white shirt he wore when they first met, that is.

Song Qinglan was keenly aware that something was off.

Ji Yushi’s reaction just now may be related to that person. That person possibly came from a time earlier than theirs. Could Ji Yushi have met the other person during one of his missions as a Recorder? Song Qinglan wanted to ask but Ji Yushi had already opened a new door.

Despite Song Qinglan’s strong request for him to take a break, Ji Yushi showed no signs of relenting.

He just said to the others, “Go this way.”

Song Qinglan lowered his eyes to cover the emotions in his eyes and said to his other teammates, “Let’s go.”

*

Setting off again this time, their process of joining the rooms was clearly a lot faster and more efficient than before.

Apart from performing his calculations, testing the rooms and talking about the mission, Ji Yushi almost didn’t say anything else.

Everyone noticed this change in him and thought that it was because he was too eager to complete the mission. Only Song Qinglan noticed that Ji Yushi seemed to be suppressing the urge to turn back despite that room already having moved to who knows where.

“Yellow.” Ji Yushi said mechanically, “Twentieth.”

They left the yellow room that had been successfully joined with twenty rooms and got ready to enter a new blue room.

The blue room before them was densely filled with marks left by different people. The blanks were almost completely filled up by them.

“Beep—–”

Someone on the other end also opened a hole on the wall.

It was a group of unfamiliar traversers. They looked at each other from opposite ends with the blue room between them.

With the rooms becoming fewer, every one of the rooms filled with numerous marks may possibly be the last room. The seventh squad found themselves facing their very first competition.

The blue room still had the recording from before playing.

The team standing in the room seemed to be the very team looking at them from the other hole across the room.

“You should give up!” someone yelled in English, “We have already figured out the time difference in this blue room, so we specially came back. We have a better chance of succeeding than you!”

Duan Wen replied, “Why should we give up?!”

The other party took out a gun, “Please?”

Duan Wen: “Fuck!”

“Let them.” Ji Yushi said, “This is not the last one.”@@@@

Song Qinglan asked, “What did you see?”

Ji Yushi said, “The ‘29’ mark inside, it was the one I wrote last time to confuse the other group. It definitely isn’t the last blue room.”

They had been tricked once in the super slow blue room and Ji Yushi at the time had retaliated a little against them.

It was just two ordinary numbers but when Ji Yushi wrote it, he had specially imitated the other groups handwriting. At the very least, for people other than him, there was no difference at all.

But if Ji Yushi said it wasn’t, then it most definitely wasn’t.

Duan Wen immediately turned around and told the group, “You can have it!”

“Congratulations, you have completed the new Super S-level mission, 【Rubik’s Cube】.”

Unpretentiously, Tianqiong’s gentle female voice sounded. When it reached their ears, it automatically switched to their language.

All the traversers stopped talking.

“Guardians from Star Era 1456, congratulations on completing the multiplayer mission together with traversers from other times and spaces. You have completed the Rubik’s Cube mission outstandingly and are the winners of this mission.”

At this very moment, everyone felt emotional.

It turns out that the squad who joined the most room wins. Only they will be given the credit.

Those unfamiliar traversers around them disappeared one after another. They were sent back to their original time and space by Tianqiong.

The seventh squad was extremely envious of this.

What they wanted wasn’t the reward, but to return to their own time and space, just like those innocent traversers who had been unfortunately implicated.

But Tianqiong’s words following this left everyone in disbelief.

“You have completed all the missions that I have prepared for you.”

“You have the right to save your reward and continue to the next mission or return to your time and space and use your reward immediately.”

Everyone in the seventh squad was stunned.

They can.....go home?

*

The silence lasted for several minutes.

Fantasy, lies, reality, no one was able to truly believe in those words.

But, going home. It was like hanging a plump pancake in front of a starving man. It was something they truly desired.

Would it be true this time?

Would they finally be free?

As if it knew what they were thinking, Tianqiong said, “This time you will truly return.”

After the emphasis, everyone couldn’t help but believe.

Could they finally return back to the third second after setting off, back to their original era?

Tianqiong continued to clear up their confusions, “Unfortunately, because a time anchor could not be set for the ‘Rubik’s Cube’ mission and in order to ensure the integrity of time and space, the return time will be adjusted to 17 March, 1456. Furthermore, because a teammate of yours failed to complete this mission, you will not be able to return to your original transition time together as a group. You will have to return separately.”

Someone failed to complete the mission?

Duan Wen’s expression changed, “Li Chun?!”

Tianqiong: “Yes, but don’t worry, he just needs to complete a simple B-level mission to make up for it and then he can go back home.”

“Dammit!! What kind of rule is that?”

“Do you think you’re the teacher who wrote the test and can change it just because you want to change it?! You’re just a damned system!”

“Can I swap my reward in exchange for Li Chun’s return?”

Tianqiong, “Sorry, I cannot do that exchange. The mission is not dangerous, please rest assured.”

Everyone cursed.

What missions could Li Chun complete alone?

Sure enough, Tianqiong continued, “In order to ensure that the new mission is successfully completed as soon as possible, you can choose to leave a team member behind to assist him in completing the mission.”

Everyone, “........”

What a damned scammer!

How shameless could this broken system get?!

“At most we can just all stay behind.” Tang Qi said, “It’s just one more mission.”

“I will definitely beat him to death this time.”

As the rest of the squad chattered, Ji Yushi didn’t speak.

“Alright.” Song Qinglan interrupted them. His eyes swept across them, “You can all go back. I’ll stay behind.”

“If we’re staying behind then we will all stay behind.”

“The sooner it’s done, the sooner we can go home!”

“No, if you’re staying, we’re staying too!”

Song Qinglan raised his eyes and once again looked at Ji Yushi, “It’s just a B-level mission, me alone will be enough. You all have things you want to do. The sooner you return, the sooner you will finish the report and psychological assessment.”

Song Qinglan said, “Or are you saying that I can’t even complete a normal mission myself? I’m not reliable?”

Everyone was silent.

Zhou Mingxuan immediately said, “Then, since I have nothing much for me when I go back anyway, I’ll go with you.”

Song Qinglan hooked up his lips, “Okay, Old Zhou can stay. The rest are not needed.”

Tianqiong spoke in due course, “Song Qinglan, Zhou Mingxuan, you are welcome to stay and complete the B-level mission. Your rewards will be saved.”

Very clearly, this was what Tianqiong wanted. Everyone began to curse.

The group surrounded Song Qinglan and Zhou Mingxuan.

With the two of them together, they should be able to somehow complete the B-level mission with Li Chun.

From the beginning until now, 【Ouroboros】, 【Chaos】, 【Who am I】 and 【Rubik’s Cube】, everyone went through these difficult missions as a united team.

Every one of them had a strong desire to return home. Tang Le had an urge to cry and was comforted by Tang Qi who embraced his head.

Even Duan Wen’s eyes had reddened.

“Control your tears. Maybe we’ll be back just a few seconds after you return.”

Song Qinglan threw this out casually. His ruthless words successfully contained the emotional scene.

And then, in front of everyone, Song Qinglan turned to Ji Yushi and said, “Advisor Ji.”

For Ji Yushi, more than ten hours had passed since he and Song Qinglan separated.

Song Qinglan’s words made his heart skip a beat. He looked up and was met with the other party’s eyes which held some difficult to describe emotions. He seemed to be angry, or even frustrated, but in any case, that look of his made Ji Yushi feel that something about Song Qinglan had changed during those few hours.

“After I return, I have something to say to you.” Song Qinglan spoke a little fiercely but his words didn’t contain the commanding tone that belonged to a captain, “There is something I hope you can consider very seriously.”

Everyone was confused.

Cap Song didn’t sound like he wanted to ask Advisor Ji again to stay in their squad.

On the contrary, there was a sense of burning all his bridges as well as resoluteness after having made up his mind. The teammates couldn’t help but exchange looks with each other.

Ji Yushi: “.....I don’t know where I will be then.”

Song Qinglan almost immediately understood what he meant by that.

Ten years ago.....that incident.

Song Qinglan said bluntly, “Don’t go back yet.”

The bright lights forming the timelines made Ji Yushi’s pale complexion appear very cold, just like how it was when they first met.

He didn’t directly answer and just said, “I miss my cat(s).”

There were four capsules not far away faintly emitting a glow.

Ji Yushi wasn’t able to take more than a few steps before Song Qinglan grabbed his shoulder.

The handsome young man’s face was covered in stubble, giving off a ruffian-like air. That oppressiveness made it difficult for others to look at him in the eyes for more than a few seconds.

Ji Yushi wanted to avert his , but he heard him say, “Wait for me. I will go with you.”

Ji Yushi’s heart pounded very rapidly.

He knew that his teammates were watching them, but Song Qinglan didn’t seem to care.

He didn’t know what this situation looked like to them. Before he could speak, Song Qinglan forced through gritted teeth, “Ji Yushi, do you hear me? That year, I will go with you.”

Ji Yushi didn’t answer.

Those few seconds of silence seemed like it lasted for several years. It was so long that Song Qinglan thought that Ji Yushi would refuse, so long that Song Qinglan almost wanted to harden his heart and make Ji Yushi replace Zhou Mingxuan to accompany him through the next unknown mission instead.

But Song Qinglan couldn’t do it.

It was too cruel for Ji Yushi.

At this moment, Ji Yushi raised his beautiful eyes and said something: “Hasolamu.”

The strange pronunciation surprised Song Qinglan, “What does it mean?”

He very quickly realised that this was Big Beard’s language.

Ji Yushi blinked a few times and said, “I hope everything goes well for you in the B-level mission.”