DLWAV CH88

This was a path the milk dumpling had never once considered.

Ao Ruize: “Sending coordinates to the Chinese government of the previous world shouldn’t be too difficult for you, should it?”

Milk dumpling: “…… It’s not particularly difficult, just somewhat troublesome. It would consume a considerable amount of merit points.”

“…… By my calculation, all the points you’ve accumulated before might be completely deducted.”

But the milk dumpling was actually growing excited.

After all, according to the standard contract it had signed with Ao Ruize, when a host sought assistance from the system, the system was entitled to collect a twenty percent handling fee.

It had been eyeing the two thousand one hundred and sixty points in Ao Ruize’s hands for quite some time now.

Because across all these worlds, apart from spending fifty points in the second world to purchase one bottle of a body-strengthening tonic and one bottle of an antidote, and half a month ago spending ten points on two courses of tuberculosis treatment medication, Ao Ruize had never made another purchase from the system shop.

Ao Ruize was naturally aware of this, but he didn’t give it much thought.

After all, even if every single one of those points were spent on Wind Spirit Grass, it still wouldn’t be enough to fill even the gaps between the teeth of their household’s Prime Minister Turtle, who had a particular fondness for Fire Shadow Pork.

And most importantly, he had been teasing the milk dumpling for so many worlds now. It was only right to pay the little thing some wages.

So Ao Ruize simply said: “Go ahead and send them.”

“Alright.”

The milk dumpling agreed at once.

Then it retreated into its system space to get to work.

On the other side, the head eunuch Lu Dang had already thoroughly investigated the situation in Yangzhou prefecture.

“The current prefect of Yangzhou is Song Jiyang. He placed third in the imperial examinations in the second year of the Chengping reign. In the third year of the Zhangwu reign, after offending the eldest legitimate son of the Duke of Cheng’en, that treacherous villain Zhao Huaiyi, he went neglected and unpromoted for over a decade. It was only through the grace of His Ma…… through the master’s patronage that he was finally able to take the position of Yangzhou prefect.”

Lu Dang’s teeth ground together as he spoke: “And yet the moment that national traitor Zhou Ruizhang retook the throne, he couldn’t wait to lead all of Yangzhou’s officials in presenting a memorial of congratulation.”

“But Yangzhou is not Song Jiyang’s word alone.”

“There are three other power factions in Yangzhou. The first is the Qin family. Their patriarch retired from the position of Governor-General of Jiangnan Circuit, and the most renowned Qinshan Academy in Yangzhou was founded by their family.”

“The second is the Li family. Their patriarch is the eldest illegitimate son of the Marquis of Zheng’guo. The Li family is currently the foremost salt merchant house among Yangzhou’s top ten.”

“The third is the Liu family. Their head is known in the underworld as Third Master Liu. He rose from the streets, has a sharp head for business, and through an endless succession of money-making schemes, took control of all his rivals two years ago when the former chief of the Canal Gang died of illness, and now sits as the Gang’s chief, commanding over ten thousand followers.”

The head eunuch Lu Dang said: “Perhaps we could try to bring the Li family and Third Master Liu over to our side.”

Because the Li patriarch, as the eldest illegitimate son of the former Marquis of Zheng’guo, had once been the most likely candidate to inherit the marquisate, given that the Marchioness had been unable to conceive since her marriage.

But at the very moment when the Marquis was about to petition for him to be formally recognized as heir, the Marchioness, now past forty, had suddenly fallen pregnant, and a year later successfully delivered a legitimate son.

After that, he was promptly sent off to the frontier.

Following several incidents where arrows of unknown origin had nearly taken his life, he grew completely disillusioned, resigned from his post, and came to Yangzhou to make his living as a salt merchant.

Lu Dang felt that the Li patriarch could not possibly be content to spend the rest of his days quietly as a merchant in a place as small as Yangzhou. Otherwise, the Li family would not have spent so many years tirelessly supporting scholars of humble origin. So there was at least a forty percent chance he would accept their offer.

As for Third Master Liu, no one was without the desire to rise above their station. So he should be even easier to bring over than the Li family.

Ao Ruize naturally had no objections: “Fine. That matter I leave in your hands.”

Lu Dang replied at once: “Understood.”

It was right at that moment that, as though sensing something, Ao Ruize said: “Before that, however, I have already recruited a group of people. Barring any unexpected complications, they should arrive tonight. When the time comes, take some men and go receive them.”

Lu Dang: “What?”

Hadn’t the master been resting at the residence every single day these past few days?

When had he gone out, let alone managed to recruit a group of people?

On the other side, in the modern world, China.

The middle-aged man had specially put on a brand-new military uniform today.

Because today was the day of Xia Ruize’s funeral.

He never could have imagined that Xia Ruize would pass away at barely over thirty years of age.

This was not merely a loss for China. It was a loss for the entire world.

Thinking again of how Xia Ruize, even in his final days, had not forgotten to donate every last bit of his estate to the country, the middle-aged man felt grief welling up inside him unbidden.

He finally understood what state of mind the person who coined the phrase “heaven is jealous of those with great gifts” must have been in.

Thinking this, he couldn’t help raising a hand to wipe the dampness from the corner of his eye.

Right at that moment, his phone suddenly rang.

It was Director Chen of the National Academy of Sciences, his voice trembling with excitement: “Sir, the Academy appears to have picked up a signal from another dimensional plane.”

“Mr. Xia did not deceive us. Our hypothesis was real.”

The middle-aged man’s grip on his phone tightened instantly.

The moment the funeral concluded, he rushed to the National Academy of Sciences without delay.

All of the nation’s key leadership had already assembled.

Five hours later, with the sun not yet fully sunk below the horizon, in the meeting room of the National Academy of Sciences that could by no measure be called luxurious, the nation made a momentous decision, one that, barring any unexpected turn, would without question shape the future course of China and perhaps of all humanity.

“Within half a month, complete the final checks on the dimensional shuttle.”

“Within one month, select five suitable personnel to travel to this new dimensional plane for exploration.”

One month later, the middle-aged man, who had been preparing for dimensional transit ever since learning that other planes truly existed, along with four of his colleagues, successfully made the first cohort of explorers.

Time moved quickly to the twenty-seventh of May, the date they had designated for departure.

It was a rare, fine day.

Though the middle-aged man and the others could no longer see it.

Because they were already seated inside the shuttle.

Meeting the earnest gazes of those outside, they raised their hands in a solemn military salute.

Then, beyond the glass viewport, Director Chen’s trembling hand pressed down the activation button.

In the last second before weightlessness overtook him, the middle-aged man couldn’t help saying: “Mr. Xia, please watch over us.”

Because today was the forty-ninth day after Xia Ruize’s passing.

Half an hour later, the weightlessness suddenly lessened considerably.

Then a series of alarms began to sound.

“Atmosphere detected. Composition consistent with Earth’s atmospheric composition.”

……

“Warning. Crosswind encountered ahead.”

The shuttle lurched into a violent shudder.

The middle-aged man and the others instinctively gripped the armrests of their seats.

“Alert. External monitoring system damaged.”

“Alert. Ventilation system compromised by foreign object intrusion.”

……

Listening to this cascade of alarms, the middle-aged man and the others felt their hearts leap straight into their throats.

Fortunately, at that very moment, the shuttle gradually steadied itself.

“Crosswind cleared.”

“Warning. Backup energy reserves nearly depleted. Shuttle preparing to land. Residential area detected below. Initiate secondary power array to avoid residential area?”

The middle-aged man, who had come back to his senses, said at once: “Do not initiate.”

Because the secondary power array was the energy source needed for their return to Earth.

Unless absolutely necessary, it was not to be used lightly.

“Warning. Shuttle preparing to land.”

“Warning. Shuttle preparing to land.”

And right then, accompanied by the heavy impact of the shuttle striking the ground, the weightlessness pressing down on the middle-aged man and the others vanished completely.

They had no capacity at all to feel joy at having truly arrived in a new dimensional plane.

“The external monitoring system is down. We currently have no way of knowing the situation outside.”

“The ventilation channel is blocked by a large boulder. Within one hour, we may begin to experience carbon dioxide poisoning from the rising concentration inside the cabin.”

The middle-aged man made his decision without hesitation. He drew the weapon at his waist.

“Exit the shuttle.”

As the hatch slowly opened, they tightened their grips on their weapons.

In the next instant, the middle-aged man and the others burst out from behind the hatch.

And they found themselves having landed squarely in the middle of a courtyard with classical architectural styling.

But before they could determine whether this was a modern or an ancient world, they noticed not far away a dozen or so men dressed in ancient-style clothing.

Every one of them was staring at them in undisguised shock.

Partly at the strange clothing of the middle-aged man and the others, and partly, of course, at the manner of their arrival, dropping straight out of the sky.

Some had even reflexively drawn the long sabers at their sides.

Fortunately, in the very next second, the man at the front, fair-skinned and beardless, stepped forward and stopped them.

He moved two paces forward and said with polite courtesy: “You must be the people our master just recruited.”

“Our master has been expecting you for some time.”

The ones left bewildered were now the middle-aged man and the others.

“And who is your master?”

Even Lu Dang at this point couldn’t help wanting to draw the long sword in his hand.

After all, these people didn’t even know who their master was. By any measure, they didn’t look like the people they were supposed to be waiting for.

He said: “Our master’s family name is Zhou, and his given name is Ruize.”

Zhou Ruize?

Wait. Ruize?

The expressions of the middle-aged man and the others shifted all at once.

Mainly because this name was one they could hardly be more familiar with.

And connecting it with what Lu Dang had just said, an inconceivable thought suddenly rose in their minds without any particular basis.

The middle-aged man made up his mind immediately: “Take us to your master right now.”

Because he was already prepared to conclude that this was an ancient world.

They had firearms. There was absolutely no need to worry about these men pulling any tricks.

Lu Dang had also noticed the weapons in their hands. Watching the shift in the middle-aged man and the others’ expressions, he knew at once that whatever those objects were, they were unquestionably fearsome weapons.

So he had originally intended to relieve them of their weapons first before bringing them to see Ao Ruize.

But Ao Ruize, having heard the commotion, had sent someone out to tell him to bring them straight through.

So Lu Dang had no choice but to escort the middle-aged man and the others to the door of Ao Ruize’s room.

“Master, everyone has been brought.”

“Come in.”

Ao Ruize’s voice came simply.

Upon entering, the middle-aged man and the others immediately looked toward Ao Ruize at the head of the room.

In just one glance, the middle-aged man recognized him.

Even though Ao Ruize looked completely different from how he had in the previous world.

But the moment he laid eyes on Ao Ruize, the words came spilling out before he could stop them: “How many times have I told you, don’t drink tea late at night.”

“And reading in light this dim, do you still want your eyesight?”

“It’s already this late and you’re not asleep yet. Do you have any idea how badly staying up damages your liver?”

The moment the words were out, the middle-aged man himself froze.

But Ao Ruize laughed outright, and set down the storybook in his hand as told: “Gao Chu. It’s been a long time.”

At this, the middle-aged man could no longer doubt his own judgment even if he wanted to.

So the person before him truly was Mr. Xia Ruize?

The middle-aged man, who had grieved any number of times over Xia Ruize’s sudden passing, only to turn around and find himself face to face with a very much alive Xia Ruize: “……”

Lu Dang was also stunned.

He replayed what the middle-aged man had just said in his mind.

Looking at it now, there was no doubt that the middle-aged man and the others were indeed the people they had been waiting for.

But somehow he felt that his master had just recruited himself another head eunuch.

The incumbent head eunuch, Lu Dang: “……”

An alarm instantly began ringing in Lu Dang’s heart.

The middle-aged man came back to himself.

And then he froze again.

Because something else had just occurred to him: Ao Ruize’s presence here could not possibly be a coincidence.

Which meant Ao Ruize was capable of crossing freely into other worlds.

He must be carrying a system.

The middle-aged man: “……”

It turned out they had actually been wrong all along.

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