Chapter 749: Incoming Call

For the next few hours, Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng walked along the railway tracks. Throughout this time, Chen Ling continuously attempted to activate his domain in various unusual ways. Although he had forgotten the password to enter the treasure vault, he hoped a random guess might work. The bad news, however, was that his luck wasn't that good.

Jian Changsheng yawned repeatedly as they walked; the day and night of trekking had bored him to no end. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another set of tracks extending from the distance, gradually merging with the tracks they were following, forming a '人' (human character, often used to describe a fork or convergence). Jian Changsheng paused, slightly startled.

"It looks like another track is converging from that direction, too?"

"Those should be tracks connecting other realms to the Tianshu Realm," Chen Ling calmly replied upon seeing them. "I've heard the materials for these realm trains are extremely rare, so to save resources, many sections of the tracks overlap. It's not unusual."

"So, does that mean we're not far from the Tianshu Realm?"

"How should I know?"

Audience Expectation +1Current Expectation: 22

Chen Ling's gaze flickered over the two prompts, then returned to the tracks stretching to the horizon, his mind conflicted. The current expectation level was unhealthy; if it dropped below 20, it would be troublesome. And the actual distance to the Tianshu Realm was unknown. After some consideration, Chen Ling decided it would be better to play it safe.

"I need to find a place to rest," Chen Ling said, glancing around before walking directly towards a patch of strange rocks.

"I've been wanting to rest for ages!" Jian Changsheng rubbed his eyes, agreeing instantly. "This dreary place, everything looks the same; my eyes are starting to blur from all this walking..."

Chen Ling reached the center of the rocky area. After confirming there was no danger, he sat down on the ground. He pulled a USB drive from his pocket.

"No, not again?!" Jian Changsheng, who was just about to close his eyes for a nap, flinched in alarm at the sight. "If you shatter again in a moment, I won't be able to save you by myself!"

Jian Changsheng vividly remembered Chen Ling using "Epoch Save" in the Gray Realm last time, exploding into fragments before everyone's eyes. Seeing Chen Ling pull out that deadly item again now filled him with dread.

"Don't worry, not this time," Chen Ling replied calmly.

"...Really?"

"Really."

As Chen Ling spoke, he slowly inserted the USB drive into the ground in front of him, under Jian Changsheng's suspicious gaze. Lines of dark green code appeared before Chen Ling's eyes:

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Chen Ling opened his eyes again. The first thing that met his eyes was a gloomy, rainy sky, and beneath it, a serene face was looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"You... came back?" Su Zhiwei asked uncertainly.

Chen Ling collected himself and looked around. "How did you know?"

"One second ago, you were telling me you looked forward to meeting in the next era... then, in the blink of an eye, I felt your aura change," Su Zhiwei paused briefly. "It became much stronger than before."

For Chen Ling, advancing from Tier 3 to Tier 4 was a long process, but in Su Zhiwei's eyes, it was merely a snap of the fingers, which anyone would find strange.

"Yes... I'm back."

"So, did you see me in that era?" Su Zhiwei's eyes were filled with anticipation and curiosity.

"...I did," Chen Ling's eyes held a touch of helplessness. "But I didn't get a chance to speak to you."

Seeing this, Su Zhiwei seemed a little disappointed. At the same time, Yao Qing's voice faintly sounded from a distance, and the other two figures also appeared to be sitting up in bed. Chen Ling and Su Zhiwei exchanged glances, then turned back the way they came.

"Grandma! How are you feeling?" Yao Qing helped the elderly figure slowly sit upright in bed, her eyes filled with worry. "Are you uncomfortable anywhere? How are your lungs? Do you want to go to the hospital for a check-up?"

Xiao Chunping was, after all, old. After her mental energy was overdrawn, her face was gaunt and pale, making Yao Qing incredibly anxious.

"It's nothing, dear grandchild... Grandma just needs some rest," Xiao Chunping said, stroking Yao Qing's head and forcing a smile.

Then, Xiao Chunping saw Chen Ling approaching from a distance. She seemed to notice the change in his tier, and her eyes filled with surprise.

"Young friend Chen Ling, it hasn't been long since we last met, yet you've progressed so quickly... truly extraordinary talent."

Chen Ling smiled slightly, offering no explanation, and simply helped her check her body again.

"There's no major problem, but your body is severely overdrawn. You'll need at least a few months of bed rest."

"I'm old, can't handle the wear and tear anymore," Xiao Chunping said, shaking her head with a smile. "If I were younger, that boy... sigh, never mind, never mind."

Chen Ling's gaze then fell on the hospital bed next door. Yang Xiao was sitting on the edge of the bed, propping himself up with both hands, one hand on his forehead as if still nursing a headache. But he was young after all, and he recovered after a short while. Chen Ling walked straight up to him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been doing experiments for three days and nights straight without closing my eyes... but I feel my connection to the magnetic field seems to be growing stronger."

Yang Xiao closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, as if he had foreknowledge of something, then suddenly turned to look at the phone by the bed. A second later, the phone screen lit up automatically, and a call notification vibrated silently. Chen Ling was incredibly surprised by this sight.

Yang Xiao glanced at the caller ID, first startled, then after a moment of hesitation, he answered and put the phone to his ear.

"...Hello?"

"Uh... yes, I didn't go back. There were some unexpected incidents along the way."

"How did you know??"

It was unclear what was said on the other end, but a look of surprise suddenly appeared on Yang Xiao's face. After a long moment, he looked at Chen Ling with a subtle expression... He handed the phone over.

"It's for you."

"For me?" Chen Ling was taken aback. "Who is it?"

"Lu Xun."

Hearing that name, Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. Lu Xun, a doctor of astrophysics and the initiator of the Red Star Fragment exploration mission... In a sense, he was the hub connecting the Nine Sovereigns, the core figure of the exploration team.

Theoretically, Chen Ling not returning with the exploration team would indeed arouse suspicion among the others, and the original guide he knocked out and replaced couldn't conceal the truth for long... From the beginning, Chen Ling was prepared to be suspected; after all, he was using a fake face and couldn't be traced anyway. But now, Chen Ling was puzzled... How did Lu Xun know he was with Yang Xiao?

Chen Ling's thoughts raced. A moment later, he still took the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Lu Xun."