Episode 4

"Mr. Wu Qingchen who was dreaming, have you woken up now?"

Wu Qingchen subconsciously pulled up his shirt, looking at his stomach:

The same location, the same mark.

"This is why we came so quickly, and why you were so nervous." Director Zhang finally spoke: "Mr. Wu Qingchen, Officer Ji's statement... is somewhat reasonable. Regarding what happened in the past, you have already caused negligent harm to the 7 billion people on this planet, and regarding the future... you have indeed kidnapped all of humanity."

"But... but this is just a small red mark..." Wu Qingchen slowly gestured to his stomach, as if it could somehow appear less severe: "Are you so sure it's related to me? Even in the future?"

"That's right, we aren't sure, who can be certain about the future?" Ji Mingming gazed at Wu Qingchen: "Can you be certain? What would you do if you were in our position?"

"I..."

"Alright..." Ji Mingming waved his hand, "We've arrived at the airport, you should get out first."

Airport? Wu Qingchen, who was unsure about what to do next, realised that the business car had already stopped at some point.

We've arrived at the airport? What airport?

Wu Qingchen, who had never heard of an airport in Jiang County, looked outside in confusion.

On both sides of the road were the asphalt surface of the highway and the green belt.

Wu Qingchen had travelled along this highway many times and had a deep impression of it. From the surrounding scenery, Wu Qingchen could confirm that they were definitely still on the highway and had just left Jiang County. This straight road surface covered a distance of at least five kilometers.

A middle-aged soldier on one side opened the car door and got out of the business car. Immediately, Wu Qingchen knew the significance of the airport. Before the parked convoy, a huge body occupied the middle of the six-lane road. Its outspread wings crossed over the green belt and the short guardrail, almost occupying all twelve lanes in both directions.

An airlifter was parked on the highway!

"Mr. Wu, time is running out, please..." The elderly soldier whom Wu Qingchen had seen at the door handed him a jacket. "Put it on as you walk.”

The jacket was heavy, and Wu Qingchen almost dropped it when he received it.

He walked towards the slanted door that had already been lowered at the back of the airlifter. Wu Qingchen, who had put on the jacket, felt several kilograms heavier on his body. He made an extra effort with his legs to catch up with the fast-paced group of more than ten people alongside him.

The elderly soldier noticed that Wu Qingchen only frowned slightly and did not feel uncomfortable. He clearly breathed a sigh of relief, "Hold on, global flight restrictions are very difficult to coordinate, and our time is very tight… In addition, we must ensure effectiveness... These are the lightest, yet provide the same protection as the bulletproof vests."

The team quickly ran to the inclined ramp with almost no delay. The ramp quickly rose accompanied by a huge roar. Wu Qingchen, who was helped to a seat by everyone, felt a clear acceleration. The airlifter flew up into the sky.

At this moment, Wu Qingchen finally had time to look around. On both sides were long rows of seats that were filled with fully armed soldiers. Several armored vehicles of different models were parked at the front end of the five or six-meter aisle. In the innermost position was a long metal table, on which a dozen or so computers were randomly placed among other instruments that Wu Qingchen did not recognize. The floor was covered with wires and networks that formed an ugly spider web. There were also small devices piled up on top of the web.

Elderly military personnel, middle-aged police officers, Director Zhang, and a dozen or so people crowded around the table. The computer screens, the projector's screen, and the warning lights of unidentified instruments were all displaying rapidly, and everyone was talking heatedly and urgently, emitting waves of tension after another.

"Take a break for a while..." Sitting next to Wu Qingchen in the cabin, Ji Mingming held the earbuds for a long time before hearing the command from inside due to the huge noise of the transport plane, "Take a break and rest. It's estimated that you will be very busy for a long time after this."

After speaking, Ji Mingming's lips and throat started moving again, maybe he was reporting or making new suggestions.

No one spoke to Wu Qingchen anymore. After taking another look around, he closed his eyes.

There was not much happening along the way. Ji Mingming reminded Wu Qingchen several times "not to fall asleep." About half an hour into the flight, an unfamiliar middle-aged soldier put another layer of life jacket on top of Wu Qingchen's bulletproof vest.

Approximately an hour later, a fully armed soldier with a large parachute on his back walked over and switched seats with the other soldier who was with Wu Qingchen.

After approximately two hours, the plane landed.

Once again, the location was not an airport.

Wu Qingchen was very familiar with the name of the temporary airport, and so were the people across the nation.

The parade square: the most famous and expansive square in the world.

The transport plane slowly came to a stop, leaving several hundred meters of giant tire imprints on either side of the double yellow lines of the square.

As the fully armed soldiers in the cabin stood up, Wu Qingchen was just about to leave his seat when Ji Mingming waved and gestured towards the depths of the cabin of the transport plane.

There was a lively scene near the metal long table, with over a dozen people huddling around a screen and a curtain, speaking rapidly as if they were all arguing. And their palms or shoulders were equally occupied with an equal number of walkie-talkies that never rested.

A military personnel who was probably the commander was pacing between the metal long table and the front of the cabin, repeatedly adjusting the positions, postures, and weapon angles of nearly a hundred soldiers.

This situation lasted for a long time.

After the fully armed soldiers had loaded and checked their weapons at least five times, and their positions had been exchanged for the same number of times, the cabin door finally opened.

No one moved.

The cabin was much quieter now. Wu Qingchen was shoved into an armored vehicle, surrounded by dozens of soldiers. He couldn't see anything, only hearing a few footsteps passing by him towards the tail of the cabin.

"What's going on? Wasn't I clear enough? Why are there still vehicles outside?" Liu, the director, asked.

"Liu Director..." The response was hesitant, "We've carefully considered this matter. The location is not suitable. A transport plane could have been considered a forced landing, but a tank entering the venue wouldn't look good..."

"I'll take responsibility."

"Liu Director, it's not that we're afraid of being responsible! How much time have you given us in total? We only had time to evacuate this area. There'll be too much commotion. There could be countless telescopes watching us right now... "

"If there are telescopes, can't there be snipers? Can't bulletproof vehicles block rocket launchers?"

"But, it'll affect..."

"Don't talk to me about the effect. The orders I received said there should be no effect - only four words: absolute protection! ...I'll take charge of this place. You have two minutes left. Not having steel plates is not a problem. Do you think a tank can't go up the stairs?"

Rapid footsteps.

Two minutes later, there was a brief vibration, and several armored vehicles started up at the same time, slowly driving out of the cabin along the slope.

The sky was almost dusk, but the square area was brightly lit up. The street lamps, colored lights, and the outer lights of the surrounding buildings were all turned on, and countless searchlights illuminated the square from every possible angle. Military vehicles and fully armed soldiers encircled the square from all directions.

The highway guardrail in the middle of the square had been pried open and piled up not far away. Following the forcibly opened road, the armored convoy and a few hundred soldiers stepped past the national flag pole, bypassed the perpetually immortalized heroes of past generations, and finally climbed up the steps of the most famous auditorium in the country along the newly paved steel plates.

Through an open door, the armored vehicle drove directly into the left hall of the venue. The soldiers escorted Wu Qingchen through several corridors and finally stopped in a long corridor. Ji Mingming and a dozen others quickly surrounded Wu Qingchen and rushed into a small hall. Only by then did everyone visibly let out a sigh of relief.

No one asked Wu Qingchen to sit down, and there were no seats around him either. There were several obvious push marks on the floor, leading to a large round table leaning crookedly in the corner. Various flower pots, bottles, and chairs were scattered on top of it. Other than that, the small hall was empty with only two closed doors, each with two large pieces of glass beneath which several sets of pulleys could be seen.

After hearing the voice of Director Liu through the intercom, Wu Qingchen watched a middle-aged man in suit squeeze into the small hall at an angle, then close the door behind him, muffling the noise from outside. The middle-aged man had thick eyebrows, a square face, was very tall, and walked fast. A military officer introduced him from a few steps away: "This is Mr. Wu Qingchen."

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