Chapter 134 The Peach Blossom Spring at Sea
The person who came to visit them was a middle-aged or elderly white man who looked quite energetic.
Although his hair was gray and his face was full of wrinkles, he walked with his back straight and his steps were powerful.
His voice was also full of energy.
"Hello, I am the director of the Bioluminescent Jellyfish Lighthouse Research Institute. My surname is Bai."
Mingzhao saw that the name on the man's name tag was Smith White.
"Hello, Dean Bai."
All four of them greeted the old man one by one.
Several other staff members came in with the elderly man.
The old man gave them a wink, and they all left, closing the door behind them.
The old man looked at everyone with a gentle and kind expression.
“I know you have suffered a lot outside, but everything will be better here. Most of the people here are like you, who fled here from outside to seek refuge, but in the end, they all chose to stay.”
The others looked puzzled, and He Jun spoke first.
"Ah, you mean other people have also encountered those things outside..."
"Yes, the situation outside is terrible, but is it safe here?"
Mingzhao sensed something was wrong and quickly interrupted He Jun.
The old man smiled slightly, "Of course, here no matter which country you come from or which side you belong to, you will be treated equally. There is no hostility here, only tolerance and common progress. The disputes outside do not affect us here."
The others then realized that the old man's suffering didn't seem to refer to the monsters outside.
To further confirm his conjecture, Mingzhao continued to ask questions.
"What if those people outside attack?"
The old man chuckled, a sharp glint suddenly appearing in his eyes.
"Let's see who dares! The research here is an important treasure for the entire world. They can fight if they want, but if anyone dares to invade our territory, the whole world will not let them get away with it!"
Now everyone was a little confused.
Judging from the old man's words, it seems that we are currently in a period of war, and they are being treated as if they were refugees from the war, just like everyone else.
However, in the timeline when Mingzhao and his group entered the trench, there were no major wars in the world.
Even if there are some minor conflicts, they will not involve multiple factions and races as the old man said.
Has the timeline changed again here?
This is a common trick in the game's dungeons, and Mingzhao is used to it.
The other three people, however, showed expressions of disbelief.
Mingzhao carefully observed his surroundings and found that although the medical facilities here, including the elevator he had taken earlier, looked very advanced, none of them exceeded the current level of technology.
If the timeline has changed, then we should be on the past timeline now.
To confirm, Mingzhao came up with another excuse.
"Dean Bai, may I ask which country this is? We've been lost for a long time, and we've lost our phones. We have no idea where we are now."
The old man showed a look of sympathy.
"This place is located at the border between the Xiong Kingdom and the Wu Kingdom, but it is an internationally recognized no-man's-land. No matter which country you are from, you can relax."
These two countries had just had a major conflict seven years ago, in the timeline of their previous entry into the trench.
That conflict also involved many other allied nations, making it a medium-sized war.
Although it did not affect the entire country, it had a great impact on the Wu Kingdom, to which Mingzhao and his people belonged. Many people lost their relatives and were displaced.
If it were seven years ago, then their current level of technology would make perfect sense.
The others weren't stupid either; after listening to their conversation, they quickly understood their current situation.
Guo Shengli said to Dean Bai, "Dean Bai, we also really want to stay. We've had enough of living a life of displacement and uncertainty outside."
"But we know nothing about this place, and what can we do if we stay?"
The old man chuckled again.
“I understand your concerns, but you can rest assured that what we need most here is staff. I’m overjoyed that you’ve come. And the benefits we offer here are definitely better than most jobs you could get outside.”
"The work here is quite complex. To put it simply, it involves studying bioluminescent jellyfish. I can't explain the specifics right now, but once you're ready to work, I'll send someone to take you on a tour of the lab, and then you'll understand."
Mingzhao felt that Dean Bai must have some reason for wanting them to stay so enthusiastically.
Offering unsolicited hospitality is suspicious; there's no smoke without fire. Dean Bai didn't even know what they did before, yet he was so enthusiastically inviting them. It felt very strange.
However, Mingzhao did not say any of these things. She showed great interest in Dean Bai's suggestion, but said that she would make a decision after visiting the laboratory.
Dean Bai seemed confident that they would stay, so he didn't try to persuade them further. He instructed the nurses to take good care of them and then left.
After he left, the group immediately gathered together and began to discuss.
Now, everyone except Chen Xin, who has a leg injury, can walk again.
They formed a small circle around Chen Xin's bed, so close together that there was no room for conversation, and they spoke in hushed tones in the local dialect.
The constant exposure to covert missions has instilled in them a habit of always being vigilant about cameras and recording devices.
"Something's not right here. Is this old man planning to sell us out?"
He Jun disliked these kinds of occasions the most; he felt uncomfortable even when he was pretending at the research institute.
However, apart from him, the others all agreed to stay here and observe the situation first.
Guo Shengli said, "Our mission is to obtain that active substance. From what the old man said, this place is a research institute, so it seems likely to have something similar. I suggest we wait and see."
Mingzhao also stated that she was on the side of staying, after all, she still needed to find out the truth and complete her mission.
“I agree with Victory. Even if they really want to do something to us, the staff here seem to be in good condition, so we won’t be in danger so soon.”
Chen Xin also stood on their side.
"Yes, and we don't even know what's going on yet. If we leave now, what if we can't get back to the original timeline?"
He Jun didn't have much of his own opinion to begin with, and the others persuaded him in just a few words.
They spent the rest of their days recuperating here.
The doctor would come every day to patiently report on the latest recovery progress.
The nurses took very good care of them, providing them with plenty of meals, fruits, and snacks every day.
They even watched a performance held in the hospital ward to show their support.
In less than half a month, all of their injuries had almost healed.
One day, the doctor finally told them with relief that they could all be discharged from the hospital.
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