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Chapter 251 - 250: Predestined Fate

"Just give her a call and you’ll know, right?" Lin Qing handed her phone to him.

Ever since the incident at the Fifth Ring Industrial Park, Jiang Siqi had lost contact with them, and the area became a restricted zone, still guarded by the police.

With the involvement of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism and the generous compensation received by each bereaved family, public outcry quickly subsided. But the calm doesn’t mean people will forget; many residents moving out of Jiang City is proof of this, and online discussions about whether the expansion of the intrusion point was a natural disaster or manmade continue, along with questions about whether the Dimensional Limit Mechanism can truly prevent such occurrences as it claims.

In just two minutes, more than a dozen comments appeared under her post.

"Where did you go on a business trip?"

"Not coming home for the holidays? Is your work at the Mechanism that busy?"

"When will the truth be revealed? The Otherworld invasion is nothing but a pure lie!"

"Busy my ass, how many superpower criminals have you caught so far?"

"Don’t mind the haters, Sister Qi, just rest well!"

She didn’t expect so many people to follow her.

Chen Xuan dialed Jiang Siqi’s encrypted phone number.

The ringtone sounded twice before it was answered.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded very respectful.

After all, this was the first time the big client had actively called her.

"You haven’t posted anything about work for a long time." Chen Xuan said deliberately in a cold voice.

"S-Sorry! The world over there has no internet... no, can’t connect to the internet here!" Jiang Siqi immediately softened, "I want to come back too, but the team leader doesn’t agree! He said no team members can leave here until the work is done!"

Chen Xuan exchanged a look with Lin Qing; indeed, she physically disappeared because she went to the New Paris World.

"I see, crossing the Erosion Zone doesn’t count as your dereliction of duty." He replied emotionlessly.

"Phew... thank you for understanding." On the other end, Jiang Siqi couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She really feared that the other party would retract her abilities over a disagreement.

Since she became increasingly adept at using her two newly acquired abilities, she had come to love solving problems with them, completely unable to accept returning to her old, ordinary self.

At the same time, Jiang Siqi admired the foundation of the World Ability Center, showing no surprise at hearing about things in another world, as if she had experienced many crossings before. After all, the Mechanism’s propaganda is just that, and very few people have personally crossed an intrusion point; even now, a large number of people online do not believe in the existence of other worlds.

"How are things over there?"

"Hmm... quite similar to here, also called Jiang City, and technologically quite advanced, feels like the future." Jiang Siqi said truthfully, "We are like bumpkins, only able to hide in the suburbs. If it weren’t for the team leader’s negotiation, we might have been detained as illegal intruders already."

Jiang City?

Chen Xuan frowned slightly, doesn’t that mean they are tens of thousands of miles apart? The deviation caused by the fluctuation is too great!

"Is the city above ground or underground?"

"Eh?" Jiang Siqi was taken aback, not reacting, "Underground?"

Without needing her answer, Chen Xuan already knew; Jiang City is an above-ground city, unlike Second New Paris City which was built as an underground fortress.

The question is, does it belong to a city changed by future events, or has Asia never experienced a crystal strike?

"Have you heard any rumors about the end of the world?"

"The end of the world? No... I’ve never heard of it here." Though Jiang Siqi completely didn’t understand why the other party was asking such unfounded things, she answered honestly out of respect for the big client.

They simply haven’t realized... has the future undergone a change once? Chen Xuan was greatly shaken.

Is it possible that only those who cause changes remember everything before the change?

This question, when thought through slightly deeper, chills him.

There’s a saying that within the light cone is fate, which can also be applied to reversing the future—not being the one causing change, one can only accept the destiny after the time string is altered.

"Tell me, what did you do on the first day you arrived there?"

"At first, I appeared in a field, with two other team members—"

Halfway through her sentence, Lin Qing suddenly reached over and pressed the hang-up button.

"...Beep..."

Only blind sound remained in the phone.

"What’s wrong?" Chen Xuan looked at Lin Qing in surprise.

"The signal got invaded, it triggered my anti-tracking system!" The latter said seriously.

"What?" He was genuinely surprised now; Jiang Siqi’s phone was hacked by Lin Qing, the level of confidentiality is unquestionable. Theoretically, their call is impossible to be intercepted or tracked by any existing technology, at most, people could only judge if there’s information transmission based on waves. "Was our location exposed?"

"No, Lv alerted me the moment it got invaded, so they couldn’t find out anything." Lin Qing shook her head, "But I didn’t expect anyone could hack in, given current computer technology, how could they crack my firewall?"

"Unless... the Mechanism’s tracking technology has also advanced rapidly." Chen Xuan immediately thought of the key issue—if it’s a desolate world left in ruins, the Dimensional Limit Mechanism may not gain anything even after half a month, but what if it’s a world where order still exists and technology is advanced? Then they could do a lot in half a month."

...

"Hello? Hello?" Jiang Siqi looked at her phone puzzled, "Bad signal?"

She wanted to redial but didn’t know the other party’s number, as there was no such incoming call found in the call logs.

After waiting for half a minute, the phone never rang again.

Instead, she received a notice from Wang Baihu, "Captain Xiao wants you to come to the office."

"He wants me? Alone?" Jiang Siqi pointed at herself.

"Yes." Her colleague said gleefully, "You better start reflecting on whether you’ve made any mistakes recently."

"Of course not!" She glared at them and hurriedly went to report to the office.

Walking into the team captain’s room, Xiao Canong handed over an envelope with a smile, "Happy New Year."

Wang Qianduan, standing behind him, also showed a rare smile.

"Ah? Ah! Thank you, and happy New Year to you too!" She reacted after a long while, quickly taking the envelope and thanking him. Judging by the thickness of the paper bag, it contained at least ten thousand.

"Don’t worry, this is my personal bonus for excellent team members, and doesn’t count towards the year-end bonus." Xiao Canong pointed at the seat before the desk, "Sit down. You’ve worked hard the past while..."

"Not at all! Seeing the Otherworld with my own eyes is an extraordinary experience for me; I don’t feel tired at all!" Jiang Siqi raised her head and chest proudly. This is her first formal job, yet it gives her a sense of comprehending the bittersweet of working life and the irony.

"The Dimensional Limit Mechanism is a very special industry—working overtime during holidays and being unable to return home is inevitable. In the new year, I hope you continue with this spirit, striving for the bright future of all humankind."

"Yes! I will definitely work hard!" Jiang Siqi declared her allegiance without hesitation.

"Excellent." Xiao Canong applauded with satisfaction, "... By the way, who were you on the phone with just now?"

Faced with the leader’s abrupt topic change, she couldn’t help but pause, "Uh... no, I-I was just letting my family know I’m safe."

"I see..." Xiao Canong nodded, "Remember not to violate the organization’s internal confidentiality clauses. Any information regarding the Otherworld and our members’ abilities must not be disclosed outside, or the consequences will be severe."

"Of course, I remember!" Jiang Siqi only felt her heart pounding.

"All right, go back to your work then, I have no other instructions." The team leader smiled broadly.

Jiang Siqi quickly bid farewell.

After she left, Wang Qianduan couldn’t help but ask, "Why didn’t you take her phone?"

Xiao Canong turned his head with interest, "Oh? Seems you’ve heard a different sentiment?"

"Even if I didn’t hear, you should have noticed." Wang Qianduan sighed, "How could a call supposedly to family just abruptly cut off at the critical moment when our intelligence team discovered something odd? Not to mention her unnatural behavior just now. The answer is clear—we are already being watched!"

"So, what do you think of her herself? What role does Miss Jiang Siqi play in this process?"

"Can only say... not the mastermind." Wang Qianduan considered, "She doesn’t show obvious hatred or intent towards the Mechanism, instead worried whether she can keep her job just now."

"Hahaha..." Xiao Canong couldn’t help but laugh, "That’s exactly why I didn’t take away her phone—a spy that barely counts as professional, why should we sever that clue? As long as those people keep in touch with her, who knows when they’ll give me a chance to catch the mastermind."