Chapter 178

Zongfang stroked her hair, kissing her softly to soothe her. "Don't worry, I'll contact him as soon as the sun rises, alright?"

Qiao Suisui nodded, pulled into his embrace. Zongfang coaxed her to continue sleeping, but she remained restless for the rest of the night; her back, neck, and forehead were covered in cold sweat, and her brows remained tightly furrowed. It wasn't until nearly dawn that Qiao Suisui finally fell into a deep sleep.

After covering her with the quilt, Zongfang left quietly, only to find Ka'er waiting for him in the living room.

"What happened?"

Ka'er said, "Laiboli just called. They found that kid in the water prison, but he doesn't recognize anyone at all; it's as if he has no consciousness left. Sikesaisi wanted to rescue him, but failed. In the end, Laiboli arrived just in time to pull him away, otherwise he might have been bitten to death by that kid."

Zongfang frowned, muttering to himself in a low voice, "Could there really be telepathy..."

"What did you say?" Ka'er hadn't heard clearly.

He didn't answer, his face showing deep thought. After a long while, he said, "Based on my understanding of the Federation, Connor's identity is special, and he is currently their key experimental subject. Even if Sikesaisi and Laiboli succeeded this time, it will bring subsequent trouble. I just don't know if the Rebel Army leader was also captured. If not, he will definitely find a way to rescue his son. We might as well wait and see."

Ka'er hesitated, "Do you mean we should just ignore it for now?"

"We can't manage it," Zongfang said in a deep voice, telling him, "Don't tell Qiaoqiao about this."

Ka'er was in a difficult position, "If she finds out, she will definitely be angry that we all kept it from her."

Zongfang lowered his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "We can hide it for as long as we can."

It wasn't that he had selfish motives and didn't want her to find Anubis, but she was close to giving birth, and he dared not let her suffer even the slightest mishap.

"What about Sikesaisi and the others?"

"They are on their way. I heard he was injured."

On the speeding flying ship.

Luka was bare-chested, thick bandages wrapped from his shoulder to his chest, with blood faintly seeping out from his left shoulder.

Laiboli withdrew the hand he was using to apply healing, sighing, "Why go to such lengths?"

Luka's face was somewhat pale, a cigarette dangling from his whitened lips. Only when the nicotine swirled into his lungs did he feel the pain ease slightly.

"Should I have just watched him be tortured by the Federation? Sui Sui would be heartbroken."

Hearing this, Laiboli didn't respond; he asked himself if he could love someone enough to love everything they loved, just as Luka did.

Luka leaned his head back against the wall of the medical pod, half-closing his eyes, and asked, "The traces have all been cleaned up, right?"

Laiboli nodded, "Rest assured, the Federation won't find any evidence. Even if they guess it was us, there's nothing they can do."

Luka seemed exhausted; he didn't respond after hearing this and slowly closed his eyes. Laiboli stood up, intending to let him rest, but just as he turned, he heard him whisper, "Get me a clean set of clothes. She can't see..."

Laiboli looked at him with a complex expression and did as he asked.

More than ten days later, Luka's wounds were mostly healed, and the two arrived at the Freedom Alliance.

As soon as she stepped off the flying ship, Qiao Suisui ran over and hugged Luka's waist.

"Luka, I missed you so much. I had such a terrifying dream. Why didn't you video call me these past few days?" The man hugged her tightly, his cheek pressed against the top of her head, eyes closed as he smelled her scent. His anxious heart finally found a sense of belonging at this moment.

"I'm fine. The signal on the flying ship was bad. I won't be in any trouble." He stroked her cheek, his eyes full of tenderness as he looked at her.

Laiboli stepped forward at the right moment and said, "What about me? Didn't you miss me?"

Qiao Suisui smiled and gave him a hug as well.

With Laiboli's arm linked in her left and Luka holding her right hand, the three walked toward Zongfang and Ka'er, who were standing under the eaves.

Zongfang's gaze swept over Luka extremely quickly. The two met eyes for a second before looking away, both tacitly choosing not to speak. On the other side, Ka'er and Laiboli were already bickering. This time, they had even brought the younglings from Aosilan; the four transformed cubs surrounded Qiao Suisui, tugging at her skirt and calling her "Mom," while the deer cubs and snake cubs were being looked after by specialists. The once quiet courtyard suddenly became lively with laughter and noise.

Also under the sky of the Freedom Alliance, no sunlight spilled into the rift; there was only void-like silence and soundless desolation.

Lan Ze stood before the Gate of Light and Shadow, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

Soon, he was sucked into the gate.

Viewed from the side, the gate was as thin as a sheet of paper. After Lan Ze stepped in, he never walked out from the other side, indicating he had successfully entered another world.

Here, he discovered one thing: this world, from the orbital trajectories of the planets down to every blade of grass and tree, was exactly the same as the world he came from. If the world he belonged to was World A, and he was Lan Ze A, then the world he was currently in was World B, and the mysterious person who had once disguised himself as an old man in front of the church, including the mysterious person inside the gate, was Lan Ze B.

Lan Ze stood blankly between heaven and earth, shocked to the point of dizziness. He scanned his surroundings with his mental power, countless questions rising in his heart—

Do the people in World B and World A follow the same life trajectories?

Are there only two worlds, A and B? Or are there worlds C, D, and E beyond these?

Why did Lan Ze B tell him those things? What exactly was his purpose? "Sui Sui..." Lan Ze suddenly thought of something, his face filled with hopeful excitement. He muttered to himself, "In this world, has Sui Sui already become his mate?"

Even if they hadn't mated, if Lan Ze B hadn't done the things he did in World A, would Sui Sui not be angry with him? Even if they were just friends now... Lan Ze's hands trembled with excitement. Based on his understanding of himself, he searched for a few places where Lan Ze B might appear, and sure enough, he finally found him in the Aosilan library.

Lan Ze B stood before a massive piece of glass, inside which a cloned sperm whale from ancient Earth was swimming. He didn't turn his head, but his mental power had sensed Lan Ze's presence the moment he arrived. He said faintly, "You've come. I've waited for you for a long time."

Lan Ze walked behind him and got straight to the point: "The 'her' you mentioned to me last time—was it Sui Sui?"

Lan Ze B tilted his head slightly, as if hearing the name for the first time. He repeated the two characters "Sui Sui," a hint of envy appearing on his face: "Is that the name of the 'her' in your world? It sounds very beautiful."

Lan Ze was stunned, frowning as he asked, "Does this world not have Sui Sui?"

Lan Ze B finally turned around. His face showed traces of weariness; he was clearly much older than Lan Ze, looking like a beastman in his middle years.

"My 'her' is named Ye Xi."

Lan Ze B's expression was very gentle, and when he spoke those two characters, his face was filled with infinite love and longing.

"How can this be? Clearly, these two worlds are exactly the same..." Lan Ze began to feel confused.

(End of chapter)