Still, if it weren’t for me this time, Yang Zicang probably wouldn’t have been so insistent on quitting.
Though his Moxel wasn’t lost.
But if I did my best to make it up, maybe I could reduce the threat a bit?
In that call to the future, my future self’s vague explanation about Julia seemed to hint that within those three years, I had already found her and knew how she was doing.
And now, information about Julia had appeared.
Morri looked at the few Chronos coins in his hand.
–In another future, I must have had a harder time, not this happy, and probably not so many Chronos…–
–Maybe in that future, Boboli had already designed something like this, maybe he’d already joined up with Yang Zicang.–
Morri heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching from outside the door.
A buzzing voice came from beyond the door:
–Brother Morri, I’ll… be heading over then. From now on, Yang Zicang and I will come visit you often. He has that passage oblivion engine, so getting from the company back to the Frequency-Lost Land is just like coming home.–
–Alright. You train well over there too. In the future, you’ll be our big moneybags.–
–Haha, I already am.–
A buzzing laugh came from beyond the door.
After another moment of silence, the footsteps faded away. Morri heard the sound of packing coming from the next room.
Somehow, Morri felt a deep unease—right when he was about to see Julia.
Although that woman—the one he deeply loved—had been so terrorized by the dangers of this world that she had become almost autistic, refusing to speak, her eyes vacant.
But as long as he appeared and guarded her, she would get better, wouldn’t she?
In the dead of night, a beam of light zigzagged over. The figures of Hall and another foreigner appeared before the tunnel in the city wall.
{Mr. Morri, are you ready?}
[Have you really secured my entry permit?]
{Don’t worry, it really only takes five thousand Chronos to buy a replacement return slot.}
Morri nodded—he had already asked Zhuyin about it.
Anyone in a situation like this—entering Hub Town but unable to return due to staying too long or an accident—could pay five thousand Chronos to have a team from the same city withdraw one member who had stabilized an A-level space but had not yet entered Hub Town, so that the person here could return to the city using that slot.
Still uneasy, Morri said:
[Has Julia really been brought over by you?]
{Hehe, Mr. Morri, we wouldn’t dare fool you. Rest assured, as you saw earlier, Miss Julia is being well taken care of by us.}
The other man also said:
{Come on, don’t hesitate, Mr. Morri. Our captain is really looking forward to your arrival. In this place full of yellow-skinned people, we should stick together. With you joining us, our team will only grow stronger.}
[Well… all right.]
They had even gone to the trouble of stabilizing an A-class cross zone this month just for him, and then had a member withdraw to make room for him.
Morri was quite moved.
–Since it’s a team from a predetermined future, I might as well go along with my own future.-
He pulled out the already packed suitcase from under the bed, then glanced at the statue on the bedside table.
–Zicang, from now on, you are the head of Park Myung Group.-
[I begin to relinquish control over the Blood Resonance Statue.]
[I have transferred resonance authority to Yang Zicang, a member of the team –Park Myung Group-.]
[I, the Mysterious Triangle, have lost the statue.]
Click. The door opened softly. Morri glanced at the extinguished light in the room next door—the room belonging to Liang Xi.
After a moment’s thought, he turned back, picked up the pen, and wrote a note.
—Dear Mr. Liang Xi. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. In the phone call that led to the future, the –person from the team I will belong to in the future- has met me. And the catalyst for our meeting was my fiancée. Yes, she has been found by these future teammates of mine.
—Her condition is very grim, and that team is only in a moderate situation. They need me. So I have decided to follow my future.
—If Yang Zicang comes back, tell him that the three years he disappeared on the phone might mean he went to the place where I am now. Tell him not to resign. Stay there and grow himself.
—Thank you again. Farewell.
He placed a Treasure of Heaven and Earth containing 9999N, using it to weigh down the paper. Then he gently pushed the door open. Silently, he lifted his suitcase and walked away.
In the dark room, Liang Xi, who had been staring wide-eyed, immediately got up after hearing the door close, opened the door, and dashed to the living room.
Gazing at the dark, empty villa, Liang Xi whispered and activated the Moxel Halo on his chest.
–Just as Brother Li Mi said! This sneaky big brother has gone on the run!-
……
[I have become the Blood Resonance Statue Master of the team –Piao Ming Group-.]
[I saved 100N.]
Yang Zicang, with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open.
He stepped closer to the transparent glass wall; occasional passersby outside waved toward the interior, but they couldn’t see him at all.
–What’s going on!-
A round halo materialized on Yang Zicang’s chest.
[I can only talk to myself, for now.]
–Hey, is anyone there?–
No sound. Yang Zicang pounded on the wall, but it didn’t budge at all.
……
A person quickly walked to Li Mi’s side.
–Mr. Li. It seems the person you’ve been waiting for has appeared.–
Li Mi lifted his gaze. The ring on his chest was glowing, connecting with Liang Xi.
–Is it that person named Hall?–
The assistant beside him said, –Here are their photos. Please have a look.–
{Brother Li, you are so amazing! Brother Morri really left.}
[He will definitely leave.]
–Contact Mr. Robin Lo for me,– Li Mi turned to the person beside him and said, –Have Big Star Train come over immediately to pick up a document for him.–
Li Mi rose and walked toward the corner of the room, speaking to two people simultaneously—one aloud and one in his mind.
–Documents?- The assistant dispatched from headquarters looked at Li Mi in confusion.
At a time like this, shouldn’t he be trying to stop him? Instead, he’s going to deliver documents. Morri will have left Hub Town by then.
Li Mi walked over to a safe in the corner.
The safe was extremely old—though it was the most advanced model on Earth, it looked as if it had long since broken down.
In the silver-white ring glowing on Li Mi’s chest, the triangle expanded slightly and rotated slowly.
[I have activated, –Primal Form.-]
–Zzz~! Beep beep beep.-
The safe’s aging touch lock suddenly lit up, emitting the sound of power just being connected.
The assistant following him sighed inwardly every time he witnessed this scene—the general manager’s ability was far too convenient.
Li Mi pressed his finger on the fingerprint lock, opened the safe door, and took out a document.
Partial Information on the Piao Ming Group
His eyes gradually scanned each passage and settled on one of them.
—Morri is searching for his fiancée named –Julia-; it is uncertain whether she has entered this world.
But on the word –uncertain,- a circle had been drawn in ink, and below it a line was written in the blank space:
—After Morri’s value is demonstrated, the –Portrait Painter- begins to appear.
This was his own annotation note.
Also tucked inside was a photo of Hall.
The person had repeatedly stopped near that house to manifest the image of Moxel, and this had already been secretly recorded by agents dispatched by the –Monster Hunter Alliance Headquarters-.
In the blank area at the back of this document, there were dense tiny handwriting—all notes by Li Mi.
—…After that portraitist appeared, painters with similar abilities in other cities began to be valued. They were sent to Hub Town via strong teams from their cities to earn Chronos by painting…
—After the first portraitist captured Julia’s likeness, there were no further appearances as of November / Note on November 2nd.
—The first portraitist has disappeared. As of December, Xiao Yushan’s team has not found any trace of this person in the city / Left on December 2nd.
—Hall was first noted as anomalous in November. He has come to the street near Morri’s residence for the second time / Note 11.26, 5:32 PM.
—…Through investigating these people who had been in contact with Hall, I confirmed that some of them had been present when the portraitist was painting, as if they were guarding him.
Li Mi picked up his pen and quickly scribbled a line, his handwriting hurried:
Morri has begun preparing to leave Hub Town and follow Hall back to his city. He says this is –going with the flow of the future.-
He glanced at the time.
He picked up the pen and wrote: /12.28 AM 02.
Meanwhile, Li Mi quickly copied the words Morri had left onto the back of the photo.
Just then, the whoosh of a train passing through a tunnel emerged from the void.
Boom! The train instantly came to a halt inside the room. The assistant beside him, who had fallen asleep at some unknown time, jolted awake.
The car door flew open with a whoosh, Robin Lo fumed:
–Drop the writing, I know already, dammit! Come with me now and stop him!-
Li Mi picked up on the guilty look in Liang Xi’s eyes through the Syn-Link.
He tossed the documents and photos in his hand toward Robin Lo.
–I’m only inferring that the lady isn’t Julia, but I can’t be sure. And even if we are sure, if that Mr. Morri can’t let it go, this matter will eventually drive a wedge between us and him, as well as among the three of them in his team.-
–So what do we do, watch him walk out to his death?-
–My plan is to play the long game and catch the big fish.-
Robin Lo’s expression shifted instantly, as if he were looking at an idiot.
His slightly plump frame leaned against the car door, staring at this refined young man before him, then glancing at the intelligence in his own hand—the very same intelligence he had sold.
It was covered all over with circles, lines, and annotations, as if a teacher had been grading homework.
–Damn,- Robin Lo flipped through quickly, –Manager Li, what’s your name again?-
–Li Mi.-
–Alright, alright. ‘Play the long game and catch the big fish’—since you dare to say that, what’s your plan? Look up Xiao Yushan in that city?-
–You contact Xiao Yushan, just have him adapt on the fly and help out.-
Robin Lo, still flipping through, coughed twice and looked up:
–From the sound of it, you have something else in mind?-
–I’m now a member of the Hub Town security team, and so is Ms. Zhao Xuemei. We can head to City 27, and we should be a bit faster than Morri. So, if possible, Mr. Train, would you come with me?-
{My name is Matt Chao. But you can also call me Little Matt Chao, since I have indeed become a bit smaller.}
Robin Lo thought for a moment, glanced at the earliest note time, then suddenly looked up with a strange expression and said, –You had Zhao Xuemei propose joining the security team just to wait for this day?-
Li Mi nodded and looked at the train.
–Can we go directly?-
The train said:
{You’re not the train conductor, so I can’t take you to a different city. Unless you become the third train conductor.}
–Then forget it.-
{I didn’t intend to give it to you either.}
–Don’t be cheeky.- Robin Lo said to the train, then looked at Li Mi and said, –So what do we do now?-
–There are three options.-
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