After spending a weekend in Tonglin County, Lin Wan returned to the modern world to resume work. For her, the ancient world was merely a weekend getaway, and she could not possibly shift her main focus there.
Liu Qingyan was in the same position. She still had the Benevolent Heart Hall here, so she packed a large stack of modern medical books, studying them on her own while occasionally discussing points with Old Liu and Du Yueyao.
With her learning ability, and without needing to attend university lectures, the medical books alone were enough for her to gain a deep understanding and mastery of modern medicine.
Shen Ying and Si Lingxi were naturally the epitome of having nothing to do. With no pressing matters in the ancient world, and brimming with curiosity about the modern one, they dragged Lu Zheng across to it.
They either roamed the streets and alleys of Haicheng with him, or stayed at home browsing the internet to learn about modern affairs.
Lu Zheng found that bringing the three women back to the modern world seemed to have no real downsides. When playing games, there were now more people to form a team and climb ranks, which made crushing those poor salaried workers even more satisfying. The only drawback, of course, was that he had to feed kills to his girlfriends.
…
On the other side, in Beidu, in a certain conference room.
“It’s been over ten days. Any developments?”
“None. Everything in Haicheng is normal.”
“What about the phoenix red cloud? Any explanation?”
“None…”
“None?”
“Over these ten days, we’ve used Tianyan to examine all surveillance footage in Haicheng. No individuals displaying behaviour inconsistent with ordinary people have been detected. The crime rate hasn’t changed, and daily life for the public remains completely normal.”
Slap!
Several satellite images and printed copies of webpage screenshots were thrown onto the table.
“Rumours are already circulating on foreign websites, claiming we’re testing weather weapons. What do we say to that?”
“That’s just nonsense. The other side isn’t taking it seriously anyway; it’s like mentioning aliens, purely to secure funding from Congress. We have internal intelligence from their side. Their analysis report concludes it’s a holographic projection created by a huge number of drones, that we’re running effects tests for next year’s Asian Games, just like the giant footprint in 2008. After all, we’re known for grand spectacles.”
“But the problem is, we know perfectly well we didn’t create it! A blatant phoenix like that can’t possibly be fake!”
“Old Xu, calm down. This isn’t the first time…”
“The Sichuan plane, the Southwest rainfall, the East China Sea typhoon. Those three incidents remain unsolved to this day. Our people have practically worn out their shoes searching the mountains of Sichuan…”
“So now we just have one more report titled ‘Analysis of the Causes of the Haicheng Phoenix Red Cloud’?” The leading elder in the room held up several pages with evident dissatisfaction. “It’s full of meteorological jargon. Do you actually believe it?”
“But this time, no extraordinary events have occurred at all… We don’t even know which direction to start guessing from…”
“I bloody…”
The leading elder took a deep breath, then asked, “Any leads from the phoenix legends across Zhejiang Province?”
“Yes!” A researcher immediately produced a thick stack of files. “Across the whole of Zhejiang Province, including Haicheng, there are 247 phoenix legends in total. We’ve narrowed it down to the 31 most plausible ones.”
The leading elder took the files and glanced through the far-fetched stories that were more sensationalism than history, feeling an immediate headache.
These legends were practically an insult to his intelligence, yet the phoenix red cloud over Haicheng was undeniably real!
The Sichuan plane was debatable, and while the Southwest rainfall and East China Sea typhoon showed clear supernatural signs, they could still be concealed. But this phoenix red cloud was far too conspicuous and high-profile, and it had not performed any benevolent act like inducing rain or diverting a typhoon.
This inevitably led some people to wild speculation.
What was the other’s purpose? What did it mean? Was it trying to communicate something?
“Old Xu, don’t worry too much. Looking at the previous three incidents, the other side probably has no malicious intent.”
“Those three incidents clearly weren’t done by the same person. In the initial plane event, they avoided every camera; I even suspect they’ve been hiding in the secular world for a very long time. The Southwest rainfall was far too crude, and the East China Sea typhoon scene felt like someone with a fiery temper… It’s impossible to be sure. Who knows which party is behind this incident.”
“Don’t worry. Worrying achieves nothing anyway. We’ll just wait. Perhaps the other side will reveal themselves one day.”
The leading elder sighed, thought for a moment, then issued the order, “Assign a team of analysts to be permanently stationed in Haicheng. Carefully examine any suspicious events there and report anything immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
…
“Hey, hey, hey! Is this the phoenix red cloud you and Sister Lingxi made last time?”
Shen Ying held up her phone towards Lu Zheng and Si Lingxi. The screen showed a satellite image clearly depicting a phoenix-shaped cloud.
They now understood what satellites were. “It’s very clear!”
“It’s from the foreign internet,” Shen Ying said. “The comments claim a Huaguo company is testing holographic projection technology for next year’s Asian Games.”
Lu Zheng nodded. “They guessed correctly!”
Shen Ying smiled and asked, “So does Huaguo actually have that technology?”
Lu Zheng shrugged. “I don’t know. It has nothing to do with me anyway.”
While Shen Ying loved wandering all over the internet, Si Lingxi preferred books. At that moment, she was holding a thick volume of World Geography and flipping through it at high speed.
Hearing Lu Zheng, Si Lingxi operated her phone briefly, found a film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and asked, “Like what’s shown in this movie?”
“Bloody hell, you even know about this?” Lu Zheng was stunned. “You’ve only been here a few days!”
Si Lingxi smiled. “It just happened that while reading about holographic projection technology, the description mentioned this film, so I fast-forwarded and watched the gist of it. But I think current technology hasn’t reached that level yet, right?”
“Of course not…” Lu Zheng said helplessly.
“Then if nothing appears at the time, won’t it be exposed?” Si Lingxi asked. “Do you want to tell your country’s emperor, so I can step in and help when the moment comes?”
Lu Zheng facepalmed in exasperation. “Big sister, don’t cause trouble…”
Si Lingxi asked curiously, “On Blue Star, have you never revealed your abilities?”
“Not entirely.” Lu Zheng shrugged. “A celebrity friend saw me and Lin Wan pretending to be martial arts experts, and I gave two friends some spirit-energy pills. My modern persona is that of a traditional martial arts master.”
Hearing how Lu Zheng treated the modern world like a playground, Si Lingxi could only admire him.
Lu Zheng smiled. “Blue Star is, after all, a mortal technological world, and people are already accustomed to it. There’s no need for us to shatter their worldview, and this way is more comfortable, isn’t it?”
“Fine.” Si Lingxi had no objection; she genuinely did not mind.
And, as if on cue, just as Lu Zheng mentioned his traditional martial arts persona, he received a call from Zhao Wenyu. “Brother Lu, the Gauls are here for a friendly match, and they’re making quite a spectacle. Fancy coming to join in?”
