Chapter 309 - 211: Long Time No See

’If she hadn’t wasted those fifty-plus years, perhaps she would have earned a place among the world’s Crowned Kings by now?’

’Of course, she might also have died halfway up the peak, just like countless other geniuses.’

’After all, the one thing the world isn’t short on is geniuses.’

But that hypothetical scenario never happened. So, in the near future, the contestants in the Heroic Trials would inevitably taste the terror of the "Tyrant" and the Fear that came with the title.

"It’s about time. I should be going," Jiang Che said, rising to her feet. She still had many things to do.

Jiang Che had only learned of the situation from the King of Music after Zhou Chen’s disappearance. For her, the only thing that mattered in the whole affair was her two employees. As soon as she got the news, she immediately set out for Hong City to find the missing Yang, only to be obstructed by the Hong City Star Gathering.

The one who obstructed her was none other than Zhao Kungang, the chairman of the Hong City Star Gathering. Zhao Kungang had rejected Jiang Che’s visit under various pretexts and even framed Yang, branding him a wanted criminal. His goal was to eliminate this external destabilizing factor first, preventing any interference with the Eternal Life Project.

From his attitude and other subtle clues, Jiang Che suspected that Zhao Kungang was secretly condoning the Blood Race’s Eternal Life Project, and had perhaps even provided some degree of assistance.

After all, the two words "eternal life" were far too tempting. The Blood Race weren’t the only ones in the world who yearned for endless life.

Sure enough, not long after, she received a call from Li Xiye, who informed her of all the shady dealings Zhao Kungang had been involved in over the years.

And now, with enough evidence in hand, she was ready to make her move.

She had no personal grudge against Zhao Kungang, but the Grand Councilor he served was her mortal enemy.

As the chairman of the Hong City Star Gathering, Zhao Kungang was considered the Grand Councilor’s right-hand man. Eliminating Zhao Kungang would be like severing one of the Grand Councilor’s arms and leaving an indelible stain on his reputation.

"Don’t forget the other part of our deal," Li Xiye reminded her. "Be good to him."

"Trust me, Miss Li. I’ve been good enough to him."

Jiang Che said calmly, "He requested a week of leave but ended up being absent for nearly a month.

"During the time my Secretary was AWOL without reason, I had to handle all the work by myself. I didn’t even dock his pay. Isn’t that proof enough of how good I am to him?"

"...Alright then."

Li Xiye was speechless. Fortunately, she owned a company and was fabulously wealthy, with assets in the hundreds of millions. She didn’t have to work herself to the bone every day like these Star Association corporate drones.

While she was asleep, the company had been left in the care of Xia Lan and the board of directors. After Xia Lan retired, the responsibility was passed to Xia Lan’s daughter, who was also Li Xiye’s goddaughter. In all that time, there had been no power struggles or similar incidents. This was partly because those in charge were all her relatives, and partly because the King of Music, Lin Yun, was also a shareholder. With her looking out for things, no one dared to cause trouble.

Even after waking up, she remained a hands-off boss, barely involving herself in the company’s affairs. Nevertheless, her power and wealth were very real.

"Goodbye, Miss Jiang."

After seeing Jiang Che off, Li Xiye stood up, wine glass in hand, and once again went to the window to gaze out.

Much later, at the cemetery on the back mountain, Jiang Che appeared holding a black umbrella. Zhou Chen stood up from beside a gravestone, patted it, and left with Jiang Che.

"Stop staring. You’ll have plenty of time to look later, and plenty of time to go for a joyride."

Li Xiye smiled and ruffled the husky’s fur. "Also," she reminded it, "you need to prepare your materials for tomorrow’s online class. Sigh, I really don’t know why Ivy accepted a lazy dog like you."

The dog shot her a look of disdainful wisdom, as if to say, ’What can I say? I’m smarter than you.’ Then, it wagged its tail and left the room.

Li Xiye stood alone at the window, gazing at the overcast, rainy night and the figures receding into the distance, her mind drifting back to an experience from many years ago.

·

「Many years ago, in Cairo.」

Vast yellow sands stretched out, with rolling dunes that seemed to extend to the ends of the earth.

Heat waves rolled across the desolate, lonely desert. The air shimmered and Twisted in the high temperature, and the vicious Sun beat down, scorching the earth.

After a long trek on foot, a small team, with every member wrapped in sun-protective gauze, finally spotted a city in the distance.

The vegetation grew denser, and the scorching heat, which felt like it could crack their skin, began to subside. Faint outlines of people and vehicles moving on the streets became visible.

"Finally!" Many in the team broke into joyful expressions and quickened their pace toward the city. Among them was Li Xiye, her lips chapped and dry.

After entering the city, they first checked into a few hotel rooms to recover, then urgently contacted the local Star Association to report a Demon Beast riot deep in the desert.

They had originally been a team on a scientific expedition into the desert. But halfway through, they encountered something strange—in the pitch-black, lightless night, a brilliant, seven-colored light erupted from the desert. As the light rose, the desert convulsed, and countless Demon Beasts buried beneath the sand and slumbering in ancient ruins inexplicably went berserk.

They had fought for their lives to escape the desert’s center, but they still lost one companion, and another went missing.

The group rested in Cairo for three days. During that time, they received no updates from the Star Association regarding their investigation into the missing person, so they continued to wait in the city.

While out relaxing, Li Xiye and her companions went to an amusement park. There, they were stopped by a brown-skinned female Fortune Teller who politely asked if they would like a reading.

Just for fun, the group went into her tent.

This female Fortune Teller was just an ordinary person with no Extraordinary Abilities. Fortune telling was simply her profession, a way to make money. But her excellent speaking skills and carefully crafted air of mystery had made her somewhat famous in the area.

With her talent for eloquent speech and reading people, she had the Ascenders in the group overjoyed, and they tipped her generously.

Finally, it was Li Xiye’s turn. She followed the procedure, selected her tarot cards, and received a series of positive results: good health, a successful career, great fortune, and so on.

She just smiled faintly at this, not believing a word. After all, it was just for peace of mind, like a Blessing Card or those "forward this lucky carp to pass your exams" posts. Still, she tipped some money anyway, since she’d had a good time.

Before leaving, Li Xiye asked the Fortune Teller, "I have a close friend who has been gone for a very long time. I want to know when we might be able to see each other again."

The Fortune Teller stroked her Crystal Ball, feigning mystique. A faint smile appeared beneath her veil as she gave a very charlatan-like reply:

"If you only wait, you might never meet again in this lifetime.

Perhaps... you could try to actively seek him out."

’If you only wait, you might never meet again in this lifetime...’

Those words were a sudden epiphany for Li Xiye.

’That’s right. If I just wait around and do nothing, I’ll have to wait sixty years to see Zhou Chen again. Even if I reach Tier Three by then, I’ll probably be old and faded, a wrinkled old woman. Even if we did reunite, it would be too late.’

’If I advance to Tier Four or Tier Five, age will no longer be an issue. But the Extraordinary World is filled with countless dangers and crises. How long would it take me to advance to that level?’

’Ten years? Twenty? Thirty? Or even longer?’

’I might die along the way. I might suffer an incurable injury. I might...’

Too many unknowns, too many obstacles.

So, after returning from Cairo, she made a decision.

After reaching Tier Three, she would seal herself away and sleep through the long sixty years.

In this way, through a unique form of "time travel," she would arrive in the distant future to find Zhou Chen and reunite with him!

And now...

Li Xiye watched Zhou Chen’s departing figure, the corners of her lips turning up in a heartfelt smile.

’After sixty years, across time and space, we meet again.’

’It’s been a long time.’