Chapter 89.1 – The Beginning of the Journey
Shi Yuan was crazy with joy.
And the happy abyss lost his sleep.
—”Lu Tinghan’s Abyss Observation Diary”
That night, after turning off the lights, Lu Tinghan closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.
But he couldn’t sleep.
Because there was an intense gaze glued to him. As soon as Lu Tinghan opened his eyes, he saw a pair of big eyes looking at him in the dark.
Lu Tinghan asked, “…Shi Yuan, why are you staring at me?”
Shi Yuan said, “Because I’m very happy! I’m so happy that I can’t sleep.”
Lu Tinghan said, “You still have to rest early, you need to pack your bags tomorrow. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.”
“Okay,” Shi Yuan agreed.
Lu Tinghan closed his eyes.
But that intense gaze did not disappear and still fell on him.
Lu Tinghan opened his eyes again, and sure enough, Shi Yuan was still staring at him.
Lu Tinghan: “Didn’t you close your eyes?”
“It opened again,” Shi Yuan explained, “I can’t sleep at all.”
Lu Tinghan got up, took a pair of eye mask from the bedside table, and put them on Shi Yuan: “Try this.”
The blindfold was put on, and the lingering sight finally disappeared.
Lu Tinghan closed his eyes and went to sleep, and after two minutes, he heard a subtle “thump” sound. He intuitively felt that something was wrong and looked over at Shi Yuan—
Shi Yuan was indeed wearing a black eye mask, looked very quiet, and seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
…if it weren’t for his tail swinging continuously and tapping on the bed.
Lu Tinghan stretched out his hand and opened the blindfold.
A pair of eyes still looked at him.
The blindfold couldn’t stop Shi Yuan’s heart from opening his eyes. Shi Yuan saw Lu Tinghan and said: “Wow!!” His tail swung faster.
Shi Yuan would definitely not be able to sleep this time.
Lu Tinghan really couldn’t calm down an excited abyss, just like no one could calm a cat running parkour late at night or a dog howling up to the sky.
He could only use physical means to force Shi Yuan into his arms, listening to the “thump thump” sound of his tail hitting the bed…
He didn’t know whether Shi Yuan was asleep or not.
Anyway, he fell asleep.
The next day, Shi Yuan rarely got up earlier than Lu Tinghan.
He didn’t sleep long and had a lot of energy.
Lu Tinghan told him that the army still had some matters that had not been handed over, and they would leave the day after tomorrow. Other people would be responsible for the professional items they needed, and Shi Yuan could just bring what he liked.
Shi Yuan ate some bread casually and began to pack his bags.
He first put Cheng Youwen’s script and “Waiting for Godot”, then some clothes, and a few leaf bookmarks. Unfortunately, the stargazing telescope was too big to take away. He could only bring a small telescope.
While he was packing up, Lu Tinghan sat next to him and watched.
Shi Yuan asked as he closed it: “How did you tell them that you want to go with me?”
Lu Tinghan took a piece of bread and took a bite: “I said that I know monsters best and can ensure the safety of the journey; I can also negotiate with the Empire, understand their culture, and judge whether their underground city is suitable for the ‘Deep Dive’ plan. Most importantly, your identity is sensitive and no one else is familiar with you.”
—Who is most familiar with Abyss No.0?
Of course, it was Lu Tinghan who met Shi Yuan at the age of 8 and could find him every time.
“That’s right!” Shi Yuan thought of something, “Didn’t Professor Guan say that he wanted you to take the frigate to the abyss?”
“Yes, after I come back,” Lu Tinghan leaned on the sofa, “This time the monster tide destroyed the research center, even if we go to the bottom of the abyss now and send back data, there is a way to analyze and simulate. When we go to the Empire, they will rebuild the research center, it will probably take more than six months.”
He paused: “Also, they have to decide within six months which abyss we’re going to simulate. “
“I see.” Shi Yuan held several large books, hesitated for a while, and put “Alliance Military Theory” into the luggage.
Lu Tinghan raised his eyebrows: “You want to bring that?”
“Hmm.”
Lu Tinghan’s expression moved slightly, his eyes were a little…excited. His tone remained the same: “Do you want to learn? Are you interested in the military?”
“No,” Shi Yuan replied to him, “I am afraid of insomnia.” He patted General Lu’s favorite “Alliance Military Theory”. “I fell asleep every time I read it for three minutes. I should’ve read it last night.”
Lu Tinghan: “……”
At this moment, he couldn’t hide his disappointment.
Shi Yuan put a few clothes in, including the cypress tree pullover Qin Luoluo gave him.
He asked Lu Tinghan again: “If you leave like this, the city will be fine, right?”
“I discussed this topic with them yesterday. Lieutenant General Fu Xiu will perform my duties, and General Su will also assist him,” Lu Tinghan said, “No monsters dare to approach the main city, they are safe to rebuild and prepare for the ‘Deep Dive’ with all their might.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Shi Yuan was relieved.
Lu Tinghan finished the last piece of bread, wiped his hands, and helped Shi Yuan pack his suitcase together.
He said: “Shi Yuan, in addition to the reasons I just mentioned, there is another reason why I want to go with you.”
He folded Shi Yuan’s pullover and put it neatly in the suitcase, right next to his pajamas, and said, “I said there are many beautiful sights that we will see together one day.”
—Lu Tinghan told Shi Yuan that there were deserts, jungles, mountains, and polar regions in the world.…
There used to be birds, beasts, flowers, plants, insects, and fish, all things competing for freedom under the blue sky.
Lu Tinghan: “We can’t see those species, and we may not see all the natural landforms, but we can always see something along the way.”
Shi Yuan: “Really?”
“Hmm.” Lu Tinghan continued to explain, “We will not run directly to the coordinates. We will leave temporary signal transmitters along the way.”
“Signal transmitter?” Shi Yuan’s tail bent into a question mark.
Lu Tinghan said: “That’s right. We need to use the ‘Echo’ channel to keep in touch with the main city. The channel is unstable, and we need to install transmitters along the way to ensure its smooth flow and allow the main city to better communicate with the Empire. So, we will stop halfway. The stop time is not long, but you may be able to see some scenery.”
He straightened Shi Yuan’s tail and smiled: “I have too little time with you. I always think about which day I can make up for it. I have never had a chance… We have tasks and tight schedules for this trip, but I hope it’s a little different.”
“At least this time, I can temporarily put aside the identity of ‘general’ and stay by your side. This is the second reason. For me, the two reasons are equally important.”
Shi Yuan’s tail was about to tilt into the sky.
Before he entered the city, he wandered for a long time, but he never went too far. All he saw was the wasteland and the high forest.
Now he finally had the opportunity to take a look at the world – even though it was dilapidated, even though it had long since fallen, perhaps there was still the grace of the past in the ruins.
The clock pointed to half past seven, and Lu Tinghan was about to go out.
He touched Shi Yuan’s head: “You can pack up slowly. We may have to leave for a long time, you can say goodbye to your friends.”
Shi Yuan packed up his luggage all morning and met with Lu Bafang and Wang Yu in the afternoon.
Both of them were helping in the hospital, Shi Yuan went to the hospital to find them, and had dinner at the food distribution place.
He said: “I am leaving the city for a while.”
The two of them were obviously stunned.
Wang Yu asked, “Where are you going? Although it’s safe near the city, you can’t go too far, right?” She hesitated again and again, and whispered, “Is it because of the last time…”
—Last time, Shi Yuan was wanted because of Yin Zhou, and the search team said he was suspected of murder.
Later, Lu Tinghan suppressed the arrest, and the matter was clarified. Wang Yu was still worried and asked Shi Yuan several times to make sure he was fine.
