“Okay, all that’s past, no need to discuss it further. But now there’s a great opportunity. Xuanxuan, you should quickly leave with me. Once we escape outside, you’ll have chances to see him or do other things, which is better than being confined here, unable to do anything.”
“Dad, I once wanted everything, wanted to grasp everything, but the consequence of being too greedy is losing everything. Living alone here for over two years, I’ve had much time to reflect on the past and understand many things. Now I just hope for inner peace.”
These are what I deserve, whether punishment or betrayal, I must bear and face.”
At this moment, Lin Bai seemed to move. Seeing him slowly awaken, Xia Zhenda said anxiously: “Xuanxuan, do you think it’s easy for Dad to kidnap him and sneak in here? If I could have saved you earlier, I would have. You’ve been confined too long, your mind is confused and unclear. I won’t argue more with you. We’re leaving. Gao Zhuo, grab her!”
Gao Zhuo seized Xia Xuanxuan, catching her arms by surprise, momentarily preventing her escape.
Hearing Xia Zhenda attempt to forcibly take Xia Xuanxuan, Yu Yi and Meng Qing exchanged a glance and tacitly split up, with Meng Qing circling to the door and Yu Yi silently climbing through the bathroom window.
Meanwhile, as Yu Yi distracted Meng Qing, she quickly entered the room and struck at Xia Xuanxuan.
Xia Xuanxuan herself was an executor, and although caught off guard, she swiftly dodged sideways, avoiding the strike. Yu Yi’s move was just a feint; her other hand reached for Xia Xuanxuan’s left arm, with the sole purpose of targeting the terminal.
Xia Zhenda discovered Yu Yi, stopping his shooting at the outer wall and turning his gun towards her, but he was afraid of accidentally injuring Xia Xuanxuan and dared not shoot at Yu Yi rashly.
Xia Xuanxuan blocked Yu Yi’s grab and discovered her intention. When Yu Yi struck again, she lunged towards Lin Bai, taking a palm strike to pull Lin Bai’s hand towards the terminal.
Yu Yi managed to pull down Xia Xuanxuan’s terminal, but Xia Xuanxuan disappeared from the room along with Xia Zhenda and Gao Zhuo.
Yu Yi looked at the terminal in her hand, which belonged to the action group leader and had the “free passage” permission. She quickly made a decision, shutting down the terminal and hiding it in her pocket. Then she raised her head and looked towards the door: “They escaped. You can come in now.”
Meng Qing climbed up from the ground, brushing dust off himself and walking into the room while looking back at the perforated dotted line on the wall, saying, “I was almost sliced into pieces. Didn’t expect Xia Zhenda to have so many prohibited weapons.”
Yu Yi asked curiously, “Can’t the anti-ballistic system defend against this?”
“The anti-ballistic system can’t defend against it; this is a ray gun. If you see such a gun in the future, you must dodge quickly,” Meng Qing said, pulling up several common ray gun types and sending the color diagrams to her terminal.
“
Yu Yi didn’t look at the terminal, instead checking Lin Bai’s head on the bed, saying, “Stop talking about guns and treat Lin Bai first. What if he has intracranial bleeding?”
“This guy is tough. Just a knock like this won’t cause any problems,” Meng Qing said while patting Lin Bai’s cheeks.
Lin Bai hummed softly, seemingly regaining some consciousness. Yu Yi scanned him and, seeing no intracranial bleeding, took out a subcutaneous injector and administered a wake-up agent.
After a short while, Lin Bai opened his eyes, initially disoriented, then his expression became tense as he quickly looked around. Seeing only Meng Qing and Yu Yi in the room, he relaxed and asked in a low voice, “Did she leave?”
Yu Yi nodded, “She left with her father and Gao Zhuo.” She then told Lin Bai all of Xia Xuanxuan and Xia Zhenda’s conversation, believing that Xia Xuanxuan still had feelings for him and was reluctant to leave, only agreeing due to her father’s forceful demand.
Lin Bai sat up on the bed, looking at the empty room, his heart churning with complex emotions he couldn’t quite explain – sadness, disappointment, or nostalgia.
He smiled self-deprecatingly, thinking at least she was free, at least she could live the life she chose.
With this thought, he felt relieved, looking up at Yu Yi and Meng Qing with a smile, “You two actually saved me. I’ll treat you to a meal when we return.” As he spoke, he instinctively reached for his left arm, then realized the terminal had been taken by Xia Zhenda.
Lin Bai said helplessly, “I have a request. Can you delay contacting the bureau?”
Yu Yi knew he was worried about Xia Xuanxuan and Xia Zhenda being discovered and pursued too quickly, so she told him, “Xia Zhenda said he bought a device from the black market that can shield brain chips, and he will take Xia Xuanxuan for surgery to remove the chip.”
Lin Bai nodded reassuringly, murmuring, “That’s good.”
Chapter 152: Tracing Back in Time
After returning to the Temporal Management Bureau, they were separately interrogated. When Xia Zhenda arrived at the place of exile, he interfered with the monitoring equipment of Xia Xuanxuan’s small house, so the Temporal Management Bureau couldn’t obtain monitoring information and could only learn the case details from the accounts of Yu Yi and the other two.
Xia Zhenda’s escape with Xia Xuanxuan was undeniable, so they answered truthfully, but they all remained silent about Xia Zhenda having equipment to shield Xia Xuanxuan’s brain chip. They also didn’t mention Lin Bai’s terminal being stolen, as the terminal could be used to locate the user’s temporal coordinates.
After the interrogation, Meng Qing returned Lin Bai’s data box to him, which Lin Bai silently put away and returned to his room.
Meng Qing asked Yu Yi, “Shall we return to Xiye Mountain Villa?”
Yu Yi shook her head, stepping forward to embrace Meng Qing’s waist, looking up with a slight smile, “Let’s go to my room first.”
Meng Qing’s gaze became heated, whispering, “Okay.”
They intertwined and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Yu Yi waited a while until Meng Qing’s breathing became steady. She gently removed his hand from her waist, trying to sit up, but Meng Qing, half-asleep, pulled her closer. Yu Yi went along with it, lying on her back and staring blankly at the ceiling.
When she had a chance to change everything that had happened before, she needed to be alone, to calm down and plan her next steps.
Meng Qing woke up to find his arms empty; Yu Yi was no longer by his side. He looked around the room and soon heard the sound of water, which brought a faint smile to his lips; she was taking a shower.
A few minutes later, Yu Yi came out of the bathroom, asking, “You’re awake?”
Meng Qing smiled, “Just woke up. Let me take a shower first.”
He then noticed she hadn’t changed into ancient costume.
“After what happened with Xia Xuanxuan, Lin Bai must be having a tough time these days. I think we should not go back yet, and stay to keep him company.”
“Is he really that sentimental?” Meng Qing said this, but still opened the terminal to contact Lin Bai, “Lin Bai, where’s the meal you promised to treat us to? Let me tell you, this meal better be luxurious and sumptuous.”
After a short while, Lin Bai replied: I happen to have no work, I’ll come over soon. Are you both dressed properly?
Meng Qing showed this message to Yu Yi, saying, “See? I told you he’s not that sentimental. This is his true animal nature.” Then he got up to take a shower.
When Lin Bai arrived, he wore a relaxed smile, except for the bruise on his face, looking no different from usual. He asked, “What do you want to eat? Your choice, and I guarantee you’ll be stuffed.”
Meng Qing said, “Let’s have Chinese food. Let’s go to the restaurant where we celebrated after my first successful mission.”
