Chapter 1353: Going Around in Circles

Under the morning light, mist-like dust always floated in the abandoned factory. The air in this world was like a low-resolution photograph, always covered with grain-like particles. If one breathed outside for too long, even a posthuman’s throat would ache faintly; occasionally, when the sky turned blue, everyone would take photos with their phones all over the streets.

Lin Sanjiu wiped off the dust on the communicator and put it away.

Guan Hailian wouldn’t come to retrieve it anymore. He Huan had discovered his true intentions, so he wouldn’t dare to show his face again. She wouldn’t do anything to him but hadn’t expected to misjudge Guan Hailian; she felt somewhat disappointed.

“Although the rocket launch base is remote,” Han Suiping explained to He Huan behind her, “The launch date is three days from now, at 10:30 a.m. If we can rush to the base after landing the plane, three days will be enough to locate the rocket. Sister Jiu believes that Wan Qingge is the best candidate for this task since he is the fastest.”

“And then?” He Huan asked. “Just let him go alone?”

“There’s no other way,” Lin Sanjiu said, sitting beside them. “This time, it’s not a manned rocket launch but a satellite transport rocket. Even if it were a manned rocket, it wouldn’t be possible to squeeze all five of us in. So, the only practical solution is to let Wan Qingge put my communicator into it and send a message from space after leaving the planet.”

He Huan listened intently, his eyes shining as if he had never thought of such a possibility before. Wan Qingge and Nu Yue had not yet returned from the pharmaceutical factory, and for safety reasons, they decided to wait until they met before explaining everything to them again; based on Lin Sanjiu’s superficial understanding of Wan Qingge, he shouldn’t object.

“I’ll remotely monitor from here, distort the transmission signal, and confuse their system information,” Han Suiping said. “This should allow us to sneak both people and objects in.”

He looked like he wanted to be modest, but as he continued speaking, he couldn’t help but smile. “I tried it last night, not to mention the rest; distorting the video signal from the cameras was effortless… The footage of us captured by the cameras along the way was all altered by me. If you were to look at it from the surveillance screen, you’d think Sister Jiu was only one meter fifty tall.”

“Incredible!” He Huan exclaimed. “I never imagined our breakthrough would be because of you.”

At the veteran posthuman’s praise, Han Suiping’s face glowed. “Not at all. Sister Jiu is the one with courage and perseverance. If she had given up early, we wouldn’t have come up with these ideas.”

Lin Sanjiu felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and coughed lightly. He Huan glanced at her, and on his finely crafted face, there was a faint hint of something different—as if he had always known she was determined but only now realized the weight of that determination.

“Now, do you have confidence?” Lin Sanjiu said with a smile. “I’ve overcome countless obstacles. Compared to those obstacles, I think my strength is stronger.”

He Huan nodded, glancing at the iron rack, which was not far away.

After removing the last unclaimed communicator, the iron rack was empty.

“It’s a good plan,” he said, clenching his fist. “I never thought that we would be so severely degraded in power. Unlike the exit plan, this might not involve armed confrontation, which puts my mind at ease.”

After Han Suiping went on the internet, the exit plan was quickly shelved.

After reading a large amount of content through the signal, they found that detailed files about Lin Sanjiu’s group of five, including their appearance, physique, age, and even analysis of their evolved abilities, had all been compiled into five detailed dossiers and distributed to countries around the world.

From the responses of various countries, as soon as they set foot on foreign soil, they would immediately be surrounded and deported. If the country considered posthumans a problem, they wouldn’t allow this problem to thrive abroad. They had to crush the problem themselves, or they couldn’t rest assured. Thinking about it now, every second before their abilities degraded completely was crucial; luckily, they didn’t waste their time and energy on this dead end.

There was no file on Guan Hailian, confirming He Huan’s discovery.

“Alright, let’s settle on that,” Lin Sanjiu said, clapping her hands. “I’ve already contacted Wan Qingge and the others. Let’s wait until this afternoon to determine whether we can obtain the adrenaline precursor and rush back tonight. Then we’ll discuss the allocation of tasks and the operation details.”

After making significant contributions and exhausting himself for another night, Han Suiping returned to the factory and slept on a crude makeshift bed. After all, not long ago, he was just an ordinary person, and suddenly facing the opportunity to leave this world made him inevitably lost. Not to mention other things, just thinking about how to say goodbye to his parents was enough to make him almost lose his mind. The makeshift bed he slept on creaked under his tossing and turning, audible even to the two outside.

“I should find a new foothold, too,” Lin Sanjiu said to He Huan before leaving. “Guan Hailian must have reported this location, although I don’t know why there’s been no movement from them. We can’t afford to make any mistakes until the rocket plan succeeds.”

“Okay, I’ll go look for one, too,” He Huan said. “We’ll meet back here at 5:30 PM.”

After gathering her companions, Lin Sanjiu seemed to be going out alone for the first time. She wore a hat and glasses, took a taxi, and circled the city’s outskirts several times. Thanks to the counterfeit money she had duplicated, their daily expenses were taken care of. Still, once the taxi fare approached a hundred yuan, she had to get off and hail another taxi.

After a few back-and-forth trips, she still hadn’t found anything in the suburban area. With a hopeful attitude, she entered the city center by one in the afternoon.

But how could there be empty space in such a crowded place?

As Lin Sanjiu walked along the street, she lifted her head and found herself near the mall where she had just teleported. Now, she looked much more natural and normal than when she first arrived, and many social norms had slowly returned to her mind. After some hesitation, she entered the mall and found the cosmetics counter where Wu Lun worked, inquiring about her whereabouts.

Wu Lun’s team leader, a woman surnamed Tu, sighed when she heard the question.

“Since you’re her friend, shouldn’t you know? That makes me even more worried. She resigned, and it was very sudden. She sent a message the night before but didn’t show up the next day.” Tu seemed genuinely concerned about Wu Lun without even complaining about the trouble her sudden resignation caused. “This is unlike her; she’s always been very responsible. She didn’t even come to collect her salary… Oh, you’re asking where she went? I think she said she was going back to her hometown. She mentioned where her hometown was once, but I can’t remember.”

Lin Sanjiu thanked her and left the cosmetics counter.

Perhaps because of the weight on her mind, she unconsciously retraced her steps from that day. After leaving the mall, she followed a road and ended up in front of the same real estate agency.

Coincidentally, the young agent who had been startled by her presence when she teleported was standing on the roadside, smoking and playing with his phone. After considering for a few seconds, Lin Sanjiu concluded that whatever the agent held in his hands was probably harmless, so she walked past him without another glance. However, when the agent raised his head and saw her, he yelped, dropping his cigarette.