Five Years Later
World loading...
The slight dizziness in his consciousness quickly faded, replaced by the hustle and bustle of reality. When Chu Yan regained consciousness, he found himself standing in a spacious and bright airport hall.
Outside the vast glass curtain wall, the sky was gloomy, with leaden clouds hanging low, as if icy raindrops would fall at any moment. He stood beneath the electronic "International Arrivals" display, which continuously scrolled through flight information, the red characters particularly eye-catching in the dim light.
The surroundings were bustling with people, hurriedly dragging their suitcases. The clatter of wheels rolling over the polished tiles, the muffled announcements on the radio, and the sounds of conversations in different languages all mixed together to form the unique background sound of the airport.
[System, what's going on?] Chu Yan frowned slightly. He clearly remembered that when he left, he disappeared in Gu Ye's office.
To prevent disruptions in worldline observations, the Spacetime Navigation Center has automatically corrected and selected the most appropriate coordinates for your arrival based on the current world's time velocity and key nodes. The system's electronic tone rang out steadily, a touch more refined than before. "The latest intelligence related to this world has been updated synchronously by the Intelligence Department. Do you wish to receive it now?"
[Received.] Chu Yan was concise and to the point.
[Intelligence transmission in progress... 0%... 40%... 100%. Intelligence transmission complete. (P.S.: Minister Chu, enjoy your new mission~)]
A flood of information instantly flooded Chu Yan's mind. He quickly caught sight of the postscript, his mouth twitching imperceptibly—he knew without even having to guess that it was Ying Bu Ran, the troublemaker who was always looking for trouble.
He subconsciously instructed the system, "Scan the intelligence for obvious loopholes or misleading information." After all, based on his years of understanding of Ying Bu Ran, the intelligence he provided was always going to be somewhat trustworthy. He then began to quickly scan and digest the information he had just received.
Time flies. Five years have passed since he left without any warning.
Five years is enough to change a lot of things.
Gu Ye was no longer the young man who needed to plan every step and pull himself out of a quagmire. Intelligence revealed that he had already secured his position as Chairman of the Gu Group, his methods becoming increasingly sophisticated and experienced, even capable of an iron fist. Under his leadership, the Gu Group had not only completely emerged from the shadows of its former glory but had also experienced rapid growth and expansion, becoming the undisputed leader of S City and a leader in its own right.
Chu Yu successfully took over the Chu Group. This cousin displayed incredible business talent, and under his leadership, the Chu Group expanded further, reaching new heights of influence in City A and even nationwide. His power was truly overwhelming.
What surprised Chu Yan the most was Gu Xu. He had actually chosen to relocate Ruichuang Technology, the company he had founded, abroad. With its outstanding technical prowess and business acumen, Ruichuang Technology had established a firm foothold in Country M, achieving remarkable success and fame, becoming a rising star in the Chinese business community.
At a glance, in the past five years, the three of them have made rapid progress in their respective tracks and achieved remarkable achievements. They seem to have walked out of the shadow of the disappearance of "Chu Yan".
[So, what exactly is my mission objective?] Chu Yan quickly scanned the intelligence, only to find it didn't clearly mention the specific mission he needed to complete. It was more like a background briefing.
[Ding! Host Chu Yan, identity confirmed.] The system prompt sounded again, [Main quest activated: Complete the strategy. Targets: Gu Ye, Gu Xu, Chu Yu. Mission difficulty rating: SSS level.]
A trace of genuine surprise flashed across Chu Yan's eyes. This task sounded like free points. How was it any different?
[Host, I have to warn you.] The system's electronic voice seemed to tinge with gloating. [It's been five years since you last 'left without saying goodbye.' That's enough time to change a lot of things. Gu Ye, Gu Xu, and Chu Yu are no longer the same three people you remember. Are you sure you can still be as relaxed as before?] When the system returned to the R&D center for a comprehensive maintenance upgrade, it had loaded itself with the latest version of the emotion simulation plug-in, which was much more powerful. At this moment, it felt quite proud.
Chu Yan didn't immediately respond to the system's "reminder." His deep gaze swept across the hurried crowd in the airport lobby, peering through the vast glass curtain wall at the gloomy sky outside. Five years was indeed not a short time. It was enough to smooth out edges, but also enough to breed resentment; enough to fade feelings, but also enough to harden certain obsessions into even greater obsession.
He didn't even have any communication tools on him, which was a true "streaking" start. After a moment's thought, he walked to a relatively quiet area and borrowed a cell phone from a friendly-looking young woman.
He didn't call any familiar numbers—five years later, it was unclear whether those numbers were still in use. He simply quickly dialed the reservation number of a top hotel in the city, reserved a room in fluent English, and explained that his luggage was delayed and he might need a hotel car to pick him up.
After hanging up the phone, he politely thanked the lady, then slowly merged into the flowing crowd and walked towards the agreed boarding point.
Meanwhile, at the airport arrivals level curbside.
Qin Xiao leaned against the door of his ostentatious sports car, bored, refreshing the flight status information on his phone for the nth time. The person he was supposed to pick up had a delayed flight, leaving him waiting here for almost an hour, and he was feeling a little unhappy.
Suddenly, his eyes accidentally swept towards an exit on the arrival floor, and his fingertips instantly froze on the edge of the phone.
Not far away, a familiar figure came into view. Standing by the roadside, seemingly waiting for a bus, he too stood tall and straight, his profile almost unrealistically perfect. Against the gloomy sky and the cold, white light of the airport, he stood out, a stark contrast.
Qin Xiao blinked violently, almost thinking he was hallucinating. He subconsciously rubbed his eyes vigorously and looked again -
Holy shit, is it really Chu Yan?! Didn’t he…didn’t he disappear for five years?
After the shock, Qin Xiao almost unconsciously opened the phone's address book and found the dialog box that had almost sunk to the bottom. With trembling fingers, he typed the next line of words and clicked send without even thinking about it.
Recipient: Chu Yu.
Content: [I think I saw Chu Yan!!! At A International Airport!!!]
Below, Chu Yan seemed to be aware of something. He turned his head slightly, and his eyes seemed to inadvertently sweep towards the direction of the arrival floor.
Less than half an hour after returning, my whereabouts were reported by enthusiastic citizens. The system's mechanical voice was surprised. "Minister, your good luck is truly enviable."
Despite being indirectly "caught," Chu Yan's face showed no sign of abnormality. The lingering smile on his lips overlapped with the smile of the model on the giant billboard behind him. It was a perfect match, yet it was impossible to discern the true emotion beneath that smile.
He simply replied in his mind: [That's perfect, it saves me from searching for them one by one.]
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