Chaos

Chapter 29

It got darker and darker.

Slowly, even the scattered wreckage on the sides could no longer be seen using the glowing light from the flowers.

The two walked through this darkness. They could only feel the presence of each other through Shen Mian in their hands and the faint lights coming from the flowers they had picked.

In this kind of darkness that seemed to stretch on endlessly, it easily made people wonder if they were still alive.

There were no markers in any direction, let alone traces of other living beings. It was as if there was only the two of them left in this world.

After walking for about an hour, they were still in darkness a second ago but the moment they took another step, bright light suddenly filled their eyes.

With that step, it was like they had suddenly stepped into another world.

The blinding light made the two cover their eyes. After adapting to the brightness, the two of them were stunned by the scene in front of them.

They had stepped into a tropical rainforest.

The fresh scent of grass, earth and water filled their noses and lungs.

Dense vegetation filled their entire field of vision. Trees tens of metres high grew in the lake, their roots intricately spreading out like a huge network of veins. All of it could clearly be seen through the surface of the water. There was no fish in the water, nor any traces of other microorganisms. The water was incredibly clear.

Plants resembling plantains were dotted among them. Their thick leaves were moist, and it looked like water droplets would soon drip down from it. Water plants were overgrown across the centre and edges of the lake, thick vines were entwined among the trees and flowers of various colours could be seen everywhere.

But what made them more speechless was that if they looked up along those trees, they would see that there was no end in sight. The world above them was like a reflection, perfectly reproducing the scene on the ground below.

There was no sky here.

Above their heads was a rainforest that hung upside down. It was exactly the same as the one on the ground, with the same greenery and same luxuriant vegetation.

Ji Yushi suspected that this was actually some kind of illusion.

They walked for a while. Ji Yushi reached out and touched the leaf of a plant. The sensation was slightly cool. He knitted his brows, “It’s all real.”

The temperature and humidity here was high. The two had already taken off and put away their protective suits.

Song Qinglan’s sensitivity to the environment was far beyond ordinary people, but he didn’t sense any danger here. He stood behind a purple and white flower of an unknown name with his black combat uniform perfectly fitted to his body. Because of his long legs, he looked like a model doing a photoshoot, “Advisor Ji, have you noticed that it is too quiet here?”

There was no hustle and bustle one would normally hear in a rainforest. There were no sounds of animals or birds, or water or wind.

Except for the plantations that thrived abundantly, not even a moth was in sight.

“It’s very strange.” Ji Yushi nodded and then looked into the distance, “Cap Song, should we continue moving forward?”

If they didn’t move forward, they could only go back.

Both were very clear about what the situation was like in the direction they had come from.

“If we want to find out what’s going on here, I think we should go forward.” Song Qinglan held Shen Mian, “What do you think?”

Ji Yushi let go of the leaf in his hand, “I think so too.”

Sogn Qinglan reminded, “But if we continue onwards, we may encounter danger. There are only the two of us.”

Ji Yushi said, “Then we can only go back and make Big Beard our companion.”

Song Qinglan hooked up the corners of his lips and used his gun to push away the plants blocking his path, “Alright, then let’s continue on.”

Ji Yushi didn’t have a weapon on him, and everything here was unknown.

Song Qinglan very naturally walked at the forefront. Ji Yushi had no objections.

The rainforest was hot and humid. As if it had just rained, water droplets still hung from the grass and leaves.

But after a few minutes of walking, their hair and body were wet. Ji Yushi’s complexion was cold and pale. Water droplets slid down his hair to his face and neck. His eyes however were still particularly vivid under all the greenery.

Song Qinglan however felt that if Ji Yushi continued like this, he would get sick again.

Reaching towards a plant with thick round leaves, Song Qinglan used his tall height to easily pull off a leaf the size of a water basin, “Here, shield yourself.”

Ji Yushi received it and held it like an umbrella, “Thank you.”He had nothing against using it but he teased Song Qinglan, “Cap Song is so considerate, I almost thought I was a woman.”

Song Qinglan still needed to hold the gun with his hands, and he was responsible for opening up a path for them, so he didn’t have time to ‘hold an umbrella’. He casually replied, “I didn’t say that.”

They walked into the depths of the rainforest.

The trees here were even bigger, with trunks requiring four or five people to completely encircle. As a result, the gaps between the trees also increased. Many smaller plants grew on these trees and fruits hung from it. They looked round and alluring, like dragonfruit, but no one dared to rashly give it a try.

The further they went, the larger the plantation in the rainforest became. It eventually became even larger than what they could picture.

They passed a huge colony of fungi.

Light blue, red, white and yellow. All sorts of huge mushrooms grew in the rainforest like individual small houses.

Ji Yushi stood under the cover of a mushroom and observed, “These mushrooms should not be of the same species. The largest mushroom I have ever seen is the Porcini which can grow up to 50cm in diameter or the Armillaria fungus which can spread underneath for a distance of up to 2000 acres. Fungus grows on the roots of trees and would continue to secrete enzymes to break down the roots but despite so many mushroom here growing to this size, the trees growth doesn’t seem to be affected…..”

“I didn’t expect you to even know about mushrooms.” Song Qinglan asked, “Advisor Ji, is there anything you don’t know?”

The long journey was too boring. The two continued to move forward.

Ji Yushi said, “I actually saw it in the museum.”

Song Qinglan asked, “There is a museum specifically about mushrooms?”

“It’s just one of the popular science exhibitions.” Ji Yushi said, “I was only five at the time and found it interesting.”

People with hyperthymesia rarely found something they remembered very interesting. This was Song Qinglan’s first time in a long time hearing Ji Yushi mention a relaxing memory.

Song Qinglan turned and asked, “You could remember everything from such a young age?”

“No, this illness wasn’t from birth.” Ji Yushi told him, “I only suddenly found that I could remember everything that has happened one day a long time later. Including all the experiences I have had and all the details, I could remember it very clearly and I was unable to forget it.”

Not from birth?

Song Qinglan guessed that something must have happened during that time.

Ji Yushi no longer continued talking about this and the two were not familiar enough to have conversations like this, so the topic ended here.

They walked past a huge group of fungi.

They then passed a small stream and finally found something by the stream.

Some tools and packages where scattered there and there was also a rusty kettle. It looked like someone had stayed here.

Ji Yushi opened those packages and saw that there were also some daily necessities inside, including mouldy batteries and a water damaged communicator, all of which could no longer be used. Ji Yushi also found a compass inside. In their era, these things all belonged to a time a dozen or so years in the past. The compass however appeared to be in good condition. The N/S English letters on the dial were still clear but it was a pity that the pointer spun around aimlessly so it was completely useless.

“Advisor Ji.”

Song Qinglan also discovered something. Standing behind a bush, his expression wasn’t very good. Ji Yushi put away the compass and walked around the bushes to look. His expression similarly fell.

There were three corpses behind the bushes lying haphazardly together. Most of their bodies were covered by the mud washed ashore from the stream during heavy rain.

These people seem to have been dead for a long time. Except for the hair that was still there, the rest of their body have become bones.

What made them uncomfortable were the clothes on these corpses that were basically still intact —- The high strength polymer material that is fire and water resistant, the colour, the style, and the position of the numerical symbol on the left chest, they were exactly the same as the black combat uniform they wore.

Song Qinglan bent down and brushed away the mud on one of the corpses with his hand. The number on the Guardian’s chest appeared: 12.

These three corpses were all Tianqiong’s Guardians.

“Fifteen years ago, there was a Guardian squad numbered 12 who accepted a S-level mission.” Song Qinglan said, “But 180 seconds after their departure, contact was lost for all eight of the members. Since then, for all those years, we haven’t received any news from them again. The Tianqiong System has checked various times and spaces many times, but no traces of them could be found.”

Ji Yushi: “This is them?”

“It should be.” Song Qinglan frowned, “I heard about this case when I first joined as a Guardian. According to the experts, they were lost in a certain time and space and hid away.”

Whether it was a Guardian or a Recorder, the requirements for one to become one was very high.

Not only were they required to be capable enough, but they also needed to be strong and firm psychologically. Humans after all have weaknesses. Just imagine. Those who go back to the past have the ability to predict the future, while those who go to the future can have an entirely new life….Since the establishment of Tianqiong, because of various human desires, it wasn’t that something like that had never happened. It wasn’t unusual for one to be unwilling to return to their original time.

During those times, Tianqiong would send out another squad to correct the mistakes. They are referred to as Inspectors. Once they set off, they are tasked with the mission to deal with the deserters and bring them back to their original time for execution.

And the Tianqiong twelfth squad was the only squad that had not been captured by the Inspectors.

Song Qinglan, “Everyone thought they had deserted because of their selfish desires. I didn’t expect them to be here.”

Deserters.

Ji Yushi stared at the three corpses before him. It was unknown what was going through his mind.

This matter was a secret in Tianqiong, only squad captains knew about it.Song Qinglan then said, “You may not have heard of this….I feel bad for them. Looks like it was just as we thought, there is indeed a strange magnetic field here which causes those transitioning to be sucked in.”

Ji Yushi said, “If we can’t go back, we will also be treated as deserters.”

Song Qinglan was noncommittal.

Ji Yushi was right. Except for the fact that they were hijacked to that transfer station by the so-called “Tianqiong self-awareness”, their current sutation was similar to that of the Tianqiong twelfth squad. If they couldn’t return, as far as the third command centre was concerned, the seventh squad who had lost contact after departing had become a deserter.

But Song Qinglan wasn’t a pessimistic person. The same was true for the entire seventh squad, they wouldn’t succumb to their current predicament.

“What’s the cause of death?” Ji Yushi asked, “Can you tell?”

“There is no visible trauma to the bones…” Song Qinglan examined the corpses, “The clothes are also undamaged. Doesn’t seem to be due to external factors. If it was because of starvation, they wouldn’t all die in the same place. Based on their posture, it was probably due to poison.”

Both remembered the dragonfruit-like fruits and large mushrooms they had passed by.

After burying their seniors, the two continued on.

This time, they walked for a very long time.

Time in this rainforest seemed to be at a standstill. Just like the place where they came from, there was no day or night. It made it difficult for them to feel the passage of time.

But the energy consumption of the human body wasn’t at a standstill. Very soon, they felt hunger and fatigue.

They walked along the stream, into the deeper parts of the rainforest and once again saw huge mushrooms and thick and tall trees.

With lessons learned, even in the case of extreme hunger, they passed through the brightly coloured fruits and resisted their strong desire to give them a try.

After passing by a group of plants with thick round leaves, Ji Yushi stopped, “Cap Song.”

There was a broken off mark on one of the plants. Milky white liquid was still dripping from that broken off part. It was the leaf Song Qinglan had broken off before.

Song Qinglan also recognised it, “Fuck, we’re going around in circles?”

In fact, Ji Yushi had been thinking about this issue for a while now. He pursed his lips but decided to voice his inner thoughts, “I don’t think so.”

Song Qinglan also didn’t think that. He and Ji Yushi had a good sense of direction and wouldn’t going around in a circle, but the situation was just too strange.

It was almost like a ghost knocking on a wall.

After thinking for a few seconds, Song Qinglan made a decision, “It’s easy to know if we’re going around in circles. Let’s continue.”

Then, everything happened very suddenly.

As they walked, one second earlier they were still in the rainforest and the next second, they had stepped into nothingness.

They surroundings became dark again.

The temperature dropped and the dampness from the rainforest on their bodies was still there. Even if they put on the protective suit they had not discarded earlier, they weren’t able to warm up. They could only bite the bullet and move on.

Ji Yushi was so cold, his teeth chattered.

Without the flower’s glow this time, he had to hold tightly onto Shen Mian in the cold, trying hard to speed up his pace.

Song Qinglan looked back at him several times, but said nothing.

The aurora in the sky flashed.

In the silence, they stopped in place.

What appeared before them was another mountain of garbage.

No, this was the mountain of garbage they had walked past earlier.

Moving further on, when their hands and feet were almost about to freeze, they saw a familiar space capsule.

Song Qinglan pushed the door open and the two walked in.

Big Beard was sitting on the small sofa, using a towel to cover the bleeding nose Song Qinglan had made.

Seeing the two of them enter, Big Beard immediately bounced off the sofa with anger, “Anfalahagenhe!!”

Song Qinglan sneered. He raised Shen Mian and pointed it at Big Beard. He copied his pronunciation and said, “Anfalahagenhe.”

He didn’t know what it meant, but he knew that it definitely wasn’t anything nice.

Big Beard froze.

It wasn’t known if it was because of Song Qinglan’s words or because he was afraid of the gun, but the two-metre-tall fool stood there in daze.

Ji Yushi was so cold, his lips had turned pale, “………”

The space capsule was much warmer. He took off his protective suit and tossed it aside and then walked over to the pile of wreckage gathered by Big Beard.

Big Beard returned to his senses and shouted anxiously in fear of Ji Yushi taking away his things.

Ji Yushi however only picked up a retro-looking alarm clock made of metal and said, “Cap Song, it has been less than two hours since we left the space capsule.”