Volume One, Chapter 12: The First Mission

After signing the contract, Li Yan handed over forty thousand yuan to the middle-aged man.

The man, wearing a broad smile, tried to persuade Li Yan to stay and have dinner at his home, but Li Yan politely declined.

At this point, Li Yan had already achieved most of what he intended.

After buying an outfit, a phone, and renting a car, Li Yan was left with just over forty-five thousand yuan on him, and now only about five thousand yuan in cash.

Originally, he had planned to have Luo Jia Shuang return the money, but on a whim, he ended up spending it.

In the car, Li Yan said to Luo Jia Shuang, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back. If the business succeeds, I’ll return double.”

Since the moment Li Yan and the middle-aged man started discussing the land purchase, Luo Jia Shuang had been quietly observing.

She was a bit worried—was Li Yan being too reckless? Did he know that the Li Qiang Group would soon buy this land?

But Li Yan told the man that the remaining 310,000 yuan would be settled by the end of the month at the earliest, and if he couldn’t come up with the 40,000 yuan deposit by then, he wouldn’t bother with it.

Clearly, this was a gamble.

Concerned, Luo Jia Shuang asked, “You don’t need to rush to pay me back, but where will you get over 300,000 yuan later on?”

Li Yan smiled mysteriously. “That’s a secret. Don’t worry, I have my ways. It’s late now; I’ll take you home.”

It was already past eight in the evening, and the city of Lin was gradually cloaked in nightfall.

Seeing Li Yan’s confident demeanor, Luo Jia Shuang was still somewhat worried but chose to trust him.

Pouting, she said, “Li Yan, I want to spend a little more time with you. How about we go for a drive? It’s only eight o’clock, still early.”

Honestly, she wanted to be with Li Yan every moment, afraid that in the blink of an eye, he would leave her.

Li Yan was helpless. After all, she was the creditor now.

If he used up the money and sent her home immediately, it would make him seem like a cold, heartless man.

Yet, he still didn’t feel like she was his girlfriend; there was still some distance between them. However, Luo Jia Shuang’s warmth made him temporarily put aside thoughts of breaking up.

He felt a bit pathetic—back in his previous life, he was the devoted suitor, but Luo Jia Shuang barely paid him any mind. Now that she was warm and enthusiastic, he no longer felt the same.

Perhaps many people’s idealized love is just a habit of a special time, forgetting the person’s face but always remembering that feeling.

In a future dominated by materialism and moral decay, where money rules all, love is a laughable thing; only the money in one’s account is reliable. When you’re truly exceptional, love naturally comes—even if you don’t want it, others will approach and say, “I love you.”

Maybe having a second chance at life made him more clear-headed; he no longer valued so-called feelings so highly.

Still, he agreed to take Luo Jia Shuang for a drive around Lin City’s outskirts.

“All right, let’s go explore.”

They drove around until past ten at night before Li Yan dropped Luo Jia Shuang off at her home.

Watching her reluctantly open the door, Li Yan felt a little out of place.

He had dreamed of this scene many times in his previous life, but that Luo Jia Shuang never gave him any chance.

Perhaps this was the advantage of rebirth in a parallel world.

Back at the hotel, just as he was about to take a shower, the pink Hello Kitty watch on his wrist suddenly reverted to its original form.

A line of words appeared in the air:

“Li Yan, report immediately for mission briefing. Yue Chengze.”

Following was a temporal coordinate.

Li Yan naturally knew how to operate the time-space locator. With a resigned shake of his head, he put on his shoes and clothes.

He pushed open an invisible door and stepped through.

Arriving in a familiar white room, Li Yan immediately spotted Yue Chengze and Wu Xu.

“You’re here. Well then, let’s get going,” Yue Chengze said, tapping his time-space locator. Suddenly, a flying craft over ten meters long materialized out of thin air.

Its shape was peculiar—part airship, part sci-fi flying saucer.

After taking their seats, Yue Chengze explained, “We just received orders from the captain. Two low-level Void Devourers have been spotted in Parallel World 129. The three of us are to deal with them. Li Yan, this is your first mission; you won’t need to fight this time, just observe.”

Li Yan nodded, understanding.

Thinking about facing those creatures with huge mouths that only knew how to devour, he felt a bit uneasy.

He wasn’t sure if he could handle them alone in the future.

After marking the temporal coordinate for Parallel World 129, the front of the craft gathered intense energy.

With a whoosh, the energy tore through the void and vanished.

The surrounding scenery shifted; time passed unmeasured until the craft gradually slowed and stopped.

“We’re about to enter Parallel World 129. Put on your combat suits quickly. This world's timeline moves faster than others, and the repulsion force is strong,” Yue Chengze said, pressing a button on his time-space locator.

In the blink of an eye, a dark gold combat suit enveloped him.

Li Yan obediently donned his own suit.

A massive tear opened in the fabric of Parallel World 129’s space-time, and the craft slowly flew inside.

Invisible temporal waves rippled outward, seemingly trying to expel the intruders.

At this moment, Li Yan noticed Yue Chengze and Wu Xu’s grave expressions, their teeth clenched tightly.

They appeared to be in considerable pain.

Li Yan felt a bit of heart palpitations but nothing like their grimacing.

He was puzzled—had he done something wrong? Should he also pretend to be in pain? Otherwise, he might seem out of place.

Soon, the craft completely penetrated the space-time barrier of Parallel World 129, revealing a dazzling starry sky before them.

Yue Chengze and Wu Xu’s expressions eased, wiping sweat from their brows.

Li Yan asked curiously, “Captain Yue, you two looked like you were in pain just now?”

Yue Chengze gave him a weary glare and said, “You think everyone is like you, with four layers of temporal marks? Most ordinary Order Officers are selected because their space-time fusion is high. You’re different—you’re part of time-space itself, so the repulsion you feel is much less. Plus, you’re a four-in-one now; your overall physical condition is definitely stronger than ours.”

After the explanation, Li Yan roughly understood.

“Oh, I see. I thought maybe I had done something wrong since I just joined the Order.”

Wu Xu, usually taciturn, chimed in, “Your situation is extremely rare in the entire Order. You’ll realize how lucky you are someday.”

He meant that Yue Chengze and he were the ones benefiting greatly.

There are fewer than five people in the entire Order with overlapping temporal marks from multiple parallel worlds.

They had discovered Li Yan early and skillfully recruited him into the Ninth Squad.

If another team had found out first, there might have been a conflict.

“There it is. Activate stealth mode,” Yue Chengze pointed ahead.

Whoosh—

The cloaked craft sped forward, breaking through layers of clouds in Parallel World 129 before landing.

The three exited the craft, immediately greeted by the acrid smell of gunpowder.

Li Yan looked around at the collapsed buildings and rubble-strewn streets.

He could imagine this had once been a bustling avenue.

From afar came the occasional boom of exploding shells.

The blue sky was obscured by smoke and soot, giving an overcast impression.

“Is this world at war?” Li Yan asked instinctively.

Yue Chengze nodded, “This world’s timeline has advanced much faster than yours. War broke out as a result. It was once a populous place like your world, but corrupt regimes and growing capital gradually squeezed the lower classes until they had no place to survive. Eventually, war erupted. What happens after the war ends, no one knows.”

Li Yan pondered deeply.

When capital grows without limit, monopolizing the survival chances of the lower class, the oppressed will rise to overthrow the world and rebuild.

It seemed a vicious cycle. Those new worlds built by the lower classes might initially vow unity and shared prosperity.

Yet with time, selfishness creeps in, and greed betrays the original intentions, leading to collusion between power and capital to exploit the base again.

War erupts under these circumstances.

Perhaps that would come many years later.

“Don’t overthink it. Prepare for battle. Those two Void Devourers are nearby, quietly feeding on the void,” Yue Chengze said, noticing Li Yan’s thoughtful expression and patting his shoulder.

He had seen many such situations and was indifferent to them.

For Li Yan, it was his first time; naturally, he was affected.

Wu Xu glanced at his time-space locator and pointed forward. “There they are!”