Task 3

Ten thousand feet in the air, an association mission aircraft was flying steadily towards Area 5.

Shi Youchen hadn't expected to see an old friend in such a place. He accepted the disposable plastic cup filled with light brown liquid and said, "Thank you." The woman sat down across from him, shifting the tiny white earphones from her right ear to her left. She turned and said, "You're welcome. These are for climate change prevention."

Lan downed the cup in her hand in one gulp. "So you volunteered to go to the epidemic area for support?" The mission plane had departed from Area 9. Initially, there were only two people on board, including her. Just when she thought they would have a smooth journey to Area 5, the mission plane stopped at the Area 8 base. The person who walked in was beyond her expectations.

Shi Youchen was a special person to her, so when they met again in such circumstances after their separation in District 9, her curiosity far outweighed her surprise.

"Are you alone?" Lan looked at Shi Youchen's slightly furrowed brows after he took a sip, guessing that he probably didn't like the taste. "Yeah, alone." Shi Youchen decisively gave up the idea of swallowing it all, and stretched the root of his tongue, which was numb from the astringency, in his mouth. "You guys too?"

Lan glanced at the man who had fainted in the seat before her, waved her hand, and said, "Don't get me wrong, we're not on the same mission as you." Recalling the scene before departure, she tactfully said, "I'm going to the Area 5 base for exchanges. As for him, he must have some other mission."

Hearing this, Shi Youchen wisely didn't ask any further questions, but he had a general idea in his mind - Lan and the boy he had met from a distance should be in the same group, but they couldn't say it directly due to certain regulations.

The boy sitting in the seat in front of them was sleeping soundly with his hat pulled down and an eye mask on. A few strands of white hair could be vaguely seen behind his ears.

Shi Youchen withdrew his gaze and politely said to Lan, "Then I might need your guidance in Area 5." He was speaking the truth. After all, apart from the two previous missions he'd accompanied Ying Yungui on, he was a complete novice in cross-area missions. Furthermore, the nature of this mission was vastly different from the previous ones, and he might actually need Lan's help.

No more words along the way.

It was still daylight when they arrived at the Area 5 base. Lan took off his coat before leaving the cabin, revealing the short-sleeved shirt underneath, and reminded Shi Youchen, "It's midsummer here, you'd better drink that cup of medicine." Then he passed by, patted the shoulder of the man who had been sleeping all the way, and went out first.

The man slowly awoke, sleepily taking off his eye mask and standing up. With a flick of his hand, the mask and the bear-shaped jacket he was wearing vanished, leaving a black backpack with two ears on his back. He weighed the bag, stretched, and gave Shi Youchen a curious look before leaving.

Shi Youchen touched the same simultaneous interpretation headset as Lan's on his ear with his fingertips, then fastened it a little tighter. After barely getting rid of the impact of the pair of white eyelashes and bloodshot eyes, he steadied his body, glanced at the light brown liquid that had already cooled down beside him, and turned to leave the cabin.

The receptionist had been waiting outside for a long time. Upon seeing them emerge, he quickly put on his earphones and approached with a broad smile. "Thank you all for coming all this way. I'm here to greet you. This way, please." He led the three of them around, introducing them. "We've arranged for everyone to take care of all your affairs during your stay in District 5. You don't need to worry about food, clothing, housing, or transportation. If you have any needs, please contact our dedicated liaison. The association will do its best to meet your needs."

Shi Youchen followed quietly and observed the surroundings. He found that the base in Area 5 had the same unified architectural style as other areas, so he could not see the situation outside for the time being.

With that, the guide brought the three people to the restaurant, where food had already been prepared. "After everyone has finished their meal, a special liaison will come to take you to a place to rest. I'll take my leave now." After he left, Shi Youchen sat down and started to eat slowly. On the contrary, the other two seemed to have no appetite and just sat there without moving their chopsticks.

Lan seemed a little restless, checking her watch three times in just a few minutes. Shi Youchen, observing these things from the corner of his eye, naturally noticed the other person's drowsy look.

The restaurant doors swung open, and two women and a man walked in. All three appeared handsome and elegant. The young man in the lead gave Xiang Lan a special greeting: "Hello, I'm your exclusive contact." The long-haired girl behind him walked over to Shi Youchen and said in a clear voice: "Hello, Mr. Shi, my name is Xiaowei, and I'm your exclusive contact."

Another short-haired girl walked up to Shi Youchen and said, "Hello, Mr. Pei, I'm Xiaoyue." Pei Chanbai glanced at her hazily, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, stood up, then picked up the milky white soup on the table and took a sip, his voice lazy, "Where do I live?" Xiaoyue folded her slender arms in front of her, with her right palm covering the back of her left hand, and cold sweat crawling between her hands.

"Please follow me." She didn't dare look directly at Pei Chanbai, but simply lowered her eyes to look at the corner of the table. Pei Chanbai followed him out without a word to Lan or Shi Youchen. The various colored talisman bags hanging from the side of his black backpack rubbed against each other, making a rustling sound that was particularly noisy in the spacious and quiet space.

Shi Youchen had a full stomach and felt more relaxed. He wiped his hands and said to Lan, who was still daydreaming, "I'll take my leave now. See you later." Xiaowei, who was quietly waiting nearby, reacted quickly and smiled, "Mr. Shi, please come this way." Lan nodded and said goodbye.

Shi Youchen finally unzipped his jacket. He took off his clothes, folded them in half, and held them in his arms. He stood up and followed Xiaowei out of the restaurant.

The silver dome did not disappear along the way. The association base in District 5 was like a large laboratory. Xiaowei and Shi Youchen shuttled between various instruments without stepping out of the door.

"Mr. Shi, don't you have any personal belongings?" Xiao Wei looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, slender, with fair skin and slightly yellow hair, a girl in her prime. She seemed in a good mood, walking briskly along the way and even actively chatting with Shi Youchen.

"No." Shi Youchen knew from the beginning that the nature of this mission was special, and the association's regional base would come forward to prepare everything, so he didn't need to and didn't bring anything with him. "Aren't there different buildings here?" After going around in circles and up and down several times, Shi Youchen couldn't help but ask.

Xiaowei chuckled and said as if it should have happened, "I was wondering when you would notice it. Hehe, the architectural style of our base is different from other places. The entire base here is just one building, and all the departments are inside." As they spoke, the two of them walked to the end of the corridor, and the white wall at the end suddenly retreated to both sides, revealing another space inside.

"This base is the embodiment of the highest technology in District 5!" Xiao Wei said to Shi Youchen, hopping sideways. Her cheerful expression reminded Shi Youchen of Lin Zhouze. "We're here. This is your residence."

The silver-gray door in front of him was engraved with the cursive number "8". Shi Youchen pushed the door open and walked in. Inside was a clean and tidy small apartment with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.

"Thank you, you've worked hard." He took a quick look around and didn't find anything wrong, so he walked to the window and was about to reach out when he heard the sound of a door closing behind him.

Shi Youchen turned around and found Xiaowei still standing by the door. Her hands were behind her back, and she looked like she had just closed the door. Her head was slightly lowered. "Sir... Sir... I..." Her words suddenly became halting, and she stood with her toes pointed inward, a subconscious defensive posture.

Shi Youchen asked with some confusion: "What? You can go first, I will contact you if there is anything." He was not sure how much this so-called exclusive liaison knew about the content of his mission, but looking at Xiaowei's current appearance, it seemed a little subtle.

Xiao Wei looked up at him in surprise. "Are you saying...I can leave now?"

"Yes." What else? Shi Youchen turned around and pulled open the curtains, finally seeing the scenery outside. "The mission will start tomorrow. Keep in touch."

"..." Xiao Wei was stunned for several seconds, then came to her senses and said excitedly, "Okay! Mr. Shi can find me in the temporary contacts! Then I won't disturb your rest."

Shi Youchen paid no attention to her excited departure; his attention was drawn to the view outside the window. If the association base he had seen since getting off the plane could be compared to a vast laboratory filled with advanced technology, then the scene he saw from the window now could easily be compared to the corner of a ditch in an alley that had been neglected for years.

The hills in the distance are withered, without the green that symbolizes vitality. The yellow land is bare, longing for rain, and cracking inch by inch in the long and painful wait.

There are some bungalows scattered on the flat land at the foot of the hill. They are so far away that they are not very clear to the naked eye. One can only vaguely make out gray-yellow bricks or dead grass.

Shi Youchen stood by the window, quietly gazing for a moment at the world beyond, seemingly cut off from this very world, as if to carve that decadent color deep into his memory. After a moment, he tugged at the curtains, closing them forcefully, then turned and pulled a small jar from the pocket of his coat, which was hanging on the rack.

The can was carefully opened, revealing a handful of tea leaves wrapped in paper. Shi Youchen poured a little out and rinsed it, waiting for it to dissolve before finishing his wash. After emerging from the bathroom, he held a towel over his head, walked to the table, took a sip, and swiped to the "Friends" section of the screen. Under "Temporary Contacts," he saw a business card with a string of code. It must be Xiaowei.

The business card of the permanent contact was displayed normally. His fingertips hovered over the words "Ying Yungui" and finally clicked on it. Shi Youchen repeatedly edited and deleted the message, trying to recall when he had changed his note. When he finally sent the message, he remembered that it seemed to be the morning he visited his grandmother.

"Any clues about He Xian?"

After repeated revisions, Shi Youchen still had no choice but to send it this way. He did not receive any reply during the next few hours while waiting for dark.

Outside another identical small apartment, Xiaoyue closed the door gently with tears in her eyes. She sobbed as she returned to her own residence and ran into Xiaowei at a corner. The two girls seemed a little surprised to see each other.

"you..."

"Why are you here?" Xiao Wei looked at her sister, whose eyes were red. "Are you okay?"

Xiaoyue shook her head angrily, "It's okay... he let me go." Xiaowei let out a long breath, took her sister's hand and muttered softly, "We are lucky this time" and walked away.

The next day, when Shi Youchen opened the door, Xiaowei was already waiting outside. She was wearing a loose-fitting linen dress. She handed Shi Youchen something and said in a cheerful voice, "Mr. Shi, this is your mission uniform! We're going to Aiha Village today!"

"Please change and go to eat. I'll be waiting for you here!"