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That night, Lu Sha was the last to return home to rest. In fact, ever since moving into the Song Family Mansion District, her life had been indulgent. She had never experienced such a wealthy lifestyle; during her years of wandering, she could only dream of days where everything was handed to her. Now, every morning she woke up to this reality. The abundance of material wealth made Lu Sha's desires swell even more, and after training each day, she was always the fastest to leave and the last to return to the villa area. No one knew where she went at night for her escapades, and joining everyone for meals was a rare occurrence.
At first, no one took Lu Sha's indulgence seriously because she was the youngest in the team and had a wild personality. It seemed normal for someone like her to be a bit lively. Besides, everyone was too busy to monitor her like parents watching over their child, so they let her roam freely outside. Until one evening when everyone gathered for dinner, and it was rare for Lu Sha not to go out. The observant Jiao An noticed a scratch on the side of Lu Sha’s sweatshirt. With her battle-hardened experience, she immediately recognized that this was no ordinary scrape; only a knife could make such a clean cut. After dinner, she pulled Lu Sha aside and demanded to know what she had been doing outside.
Reluctantly, Lu Sha confessed that last month she had tried playing basketball at an outdoor court and met some boys. She learned they weren’t in school, which didn’t seem strange to her since she herself wasn’t in college yet. The boys thought it was cool that Lu Sha was a girl with dyed hair and invited her to play ball with them.
At first, she didn’t think much of it and believed she had made friends. However, as time went on, they began to take advantage of their physical interactions during games, occasionally brushing against her. Eventually, they grew bolder and surrounded her with intentions that made her uncomfortable. With Lu Sha’s strength, she easily pushed through the crowd, but one angry boy pulled out a fruit knife and slashed at her. Remembering the sins of her past, Lu Sha suppressed her anger and ran toward a more populated area.
To vent her frustration without resorting to violence, she turned to alcohol, drinking heavily at a bar before wandering outside and buying whatever caught her eye. However, after accidentally consuming a bottle of strong liquor yesterday, Lu Sha felt unwell and returned to the villa early, not wanting to go out for a while.
“What were you thinking? Why did you have to get involved with such bad influences? If an ordinary girl acted like you, she'd be ruined! Who knows if she'd even survive!” Jiao An raised her hand but only gave Lu Sha a firm push on her cowering face. “Get your act together! Stop running around aimlessly! You’re neglecting your responsibilities!”
“I finished my training tasks…” Lu Sha cautiously peeked out from behind her arm with a pitiful look in her eyes as she observed Jiao An's lingering anger.
Jiao An withdrew her hand and placed it on her hip with an exasperated sigh. “Our mission is far from over, Sasa. Don’t let your guard down. If I catch you again, I’ll tell everyone.”
“Ah? Please don’t!”
“Then behave.” Jiao An shook off Lu Sha’s attempt to grab her hand as she walked away. “Tomorrow go find Captain An Xiaotian; he has something for you. Follow orders and don’t mess around—consider this your punishment.”
But how could Jiao An not tell everyone? After all, this youngest member was someone she had chosen to promote herself. Upon hearing this news, An Xiaotian became even more determined to take Lu Sha on a trip to City S. The beginning of a collapse in group faith often appears among those with the weakest ideological foundations within the group; An Xiaotian knew this needed addressing promptly to prevent further issues.
Lu Sha made sure to get enough sleep and woke up early the next morning to wait for An Xiaotian at the door. It wasn’t until they landed that Lu Sha couldn’t help but ask if An Xiaotian knew about what happened with her. An Xiaotian replied that Sister Jiao An had only informed him about it. Naturally, Lu Sha didn’t believe him but didn’t dare ask more questions; instead, she awkwardly gazed out at the runway lines through the airplane window.
“Lu Sha,” An Xiaotian said gently, “I know you’ve had a tough past, but there’s an idiom: ‘Be vigilant in times of peace.’ You must always be aware of potential crises and practice self-restraint; indulgence is like slow poison that will ruin you.” He patted Lu Sha on the back of her head. “But I see you’re not trying to hide under a hat anymore—that’s progress.”
“Hehe…” It was Lu Sha’s first time being patted by the captain; she felt both surprised and flattered. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m not sure; hopefully General Jiang will provide us with satisfactory answers.”
Under the astonished gazes of passersby, the two entered the military command vehicle parked by the roadside. By the time they reached the entrance of the Military Base in City S, it was already seven in the evening. An Xiaotian scrutinized the gate carefully; after confirming with an officer inside the vehicle, he learned that three years ago the old site of the Military Base in City S had shifted 700 meters south due to extensive damage caused when an Intra-Material Warship crashed there. Rather than repairing it on its old foundation, it was deemed better to build anew—hence why An Xiaotian found this gate increasingly unfamiliar.
“Just so you know,” said Captain Fierce Eagle, “this place is no longer what you remember as Military Base in City S—I mean its common name.”
“What is it called now?”
“749 International Response Center.”
Regarding this new name, An Xiaotian and Lu Sha picked up on different aspects: An Xiaotian noted "international," speculating that since the last public announcement there had been some global coverage; international cooperation was rapidly unfolding—this so-called 749 center must be one of those collaborative projects.
“Xiaotian bro, didn’t you catch what he just said?”
“I know—it’s international…”
“It’s not just international!” Lu Sha feigned mystery as she continued, “Do you know what 749 signifies?”
An Xiaotian frowned; he had never considered what a three-digit number could represent.
"Sir, please proceed to the first floor of the command tower. Colonel Gao will be there to guide you," an officer instructed.
"Colonel Gao?" An Xiaotian immediately recalled the man who had mocked him in the conference room. He remembered that both Qin Weishan and Jiao An had spoken poorly of him. However, he couldn't understand why, if this was an international collaboration, Colonel Gao had the authority to participate.
"Why him?" An Xiaotian quietly asked the accompanying officer as they approached the command tower. "Is it that Colonel Gao?"
"Yes." The officer seemed to have mixed feelings. "This guy... is quite peculiar. Everyone knows that the major often dates women outside, but after three years of investigation, no evidence has been found. What's even stranger is that he seems to be quite wealthy; he has provided significant support for our 'White Emperor' and 'Luan Bird' research projects... It's really puzzling where a major gets so much money. We all suspect his conduct, and if you say he's patriotic—at least that's the title he uses—General Jiang firmly refuses to authorize him access to the inner circle. Generally, someone like him would at least be a right-hand man to a general."
"The general must have sensed something," An Xiaotian exchanged glances with Lu Sha and bid farewell to the departing officer before entering the first floor of the command tower.
"Hello, gentlemen!" Colonel Gao greeted An Xiaotian and Lu Sha with a handshake. His choice of words and tone immediately struck Lu Sha as odd. "I've been waiting here for a long time on orders from above. I'll take you to the location agreed upon with General Jiang. If we have time, let's grab a meal together! Hey, Xiaotian, you've really grown strong!"
"Ha ha, I still prefer when you call me a pretty boy," An Xiaotian replied politely, noticing that Lu Sha was eyeing Colonel Gao warily. "Well, just tell us where the general's meeting point is; we know the way. I heard Colonel Gao is quite busy, so we won't take up too much of your time."
Colonel Gao insisted for a few more moments but ultimately left when they remained adamant about not needing his assistance. "His choice of words is so strange; it feels like he's a foreigner," Lu Sha couldn't help but comment. "He doesn't even know how to use 'two' and 'a pair' correctly. Also, I've never heard anyone compliment someone on being strong like that; although it seems accurate... but don't normal people just say 'sturdy'? It's baffling."
"Sasa, did you mention 749 before? Does it have any significance?" An Xiaotian asked Lu Sha as they climbed the stairs indicated by Colonel Gao.
"Have you heard of the legend of Bureau 749?"
"No... what is it?"
"When I was avoiding the heat in the library, I came across a book that specifically introduced strange tales from our country. It mentioned that Bureau 749 specializes in researching supernatural and paranormal phenomena."
"You mean they might also be studying such things here?"
Although they hadn't reached the top of the stairs yet, An Xiaotian noticed that there were no more steps beyond this level; only a few steps remained beneath their feet, and above them was nothing but an empty space visible from the side walls—the last step and the floor behind it seemed completely absent, as if stepping out would lead them to fall into an abyss below. Lu Sha immediately grew tense and looked down; everything appeared normal. As they stood back-to-back in vigilance, An Xiaotian noticed the air in front of him slowly rippling, revealing a transparent object shaped like a semicircle. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a linear motor elevator. Elevators used horizontally were already rare, but what surprised them most was when the door opened to reveal General Jiang standing there to greet them.
"The color light frequency cryogenic technology is patented by the Song Family Group. I remember he uses it at home; I thought you two should be quite familiar with it," General Jiang said as he ushered them into the elevator. "Want to hear about this new gadget? I don't understand it myself; I heard from those young folks that it's about adjusting seven different wavelengths of colored light to achieve a unified ultra-low stable frequency below visible light—then we can't see it anymore. Xu Yicheng explained it's related to thermal radiation... Today's youth are truly remarkable; someone like me can only enjoy life now."
Lu Sha touched the transparent elevator's wall made from an unknown material and looked down to find his feet gliding across a layer of transparency at high speed; his face broke into a wide grin as he pulled An Xiaotian around like tourists in the cramped elevator space.
"This is just an appetizer for you two," General Jiang said as they reached their destination and spoke into an intercom, "General Jiang Yan calling for cryogenic thawing; we have esteemed guests arriving."
When the door opened, An Xiaotian and Lu Sha found themselves standing on an observation platform overlooking a massive factory! "Welcome General Jiang Yan for inspection! Welcome great warriors of The Celestial Warriors!" In the factory below, everyone and intelligent machines aligned themselves towards the platform; amidst a resounding welcome ceremony, every word was pronounced with utmost clarity and forcefulness, blending human voices with those of intelligent machinery.
"You are never fighting alone," General Jiang turned back solemnly and vowed, "This is a super military factory gathering cutting-edge technology against cosmic-level threats—there are only two in the world, and Bureau 749 International Reaction Center is one of them. We have received strong support from just individuals around the globe; Southern Gate will be our ultimate code name for ordinary humans fighting alongside you."
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