Chapter 597: Silent Support

"Based on prior experience, time travel technology is absolutely connected by a thousand threads to shifts in the world line." Li An murmured softly to himself, his fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop in a rhythmic sound. Guo Yao stood beside him, worry on her face, and she gently took Li An's hand, giving him her silent support.

"Li An, you have to be careful." Guo Yao's voice was soft and warm, her eyes filled with concern. "I just feel this whole thing isn't that simple."

Li An turned his head, looked at Guo Yao, and a faintly reassuring smile appeared on his face: "Don't worry, I will. Having you by my side is the greatest motivation I have." He gently stroked Guo Yao's hair, his eyes filled with love.

Just then, Okabe Rintaro burst in like a whirlwind, his hair a tangled mess like a bird's nest, yet his eyes gleamed with excitement. "Li An, did you find anything new?" There was a note of urgency in his voice, as though he were anticipating a great adventure.

Li An gave a slight nod and pointed at the data in front of him: "I speculate that time travel technology is very likely the key factor causing shifts in the world line. We must investigate deeply and uncover the mystery within." His gaze was firm and confident, as if he could already see the dawn of victory.

Okabe Rintaro excitedly rubbed his hands together: "Excellent! If we can really master time travel technology, that would be amazing!" His face beamed with excitement, as though he had already become the master of the world.

Hashida Itaru also leaned over, pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and a gleam of curiosity shone in his eyes: "Li An, do you need my help? I'm actually quite handy with this kind of technical stuff." There was a hint of pride in his voice, as though he were showing off his professional ability.

Li An gave him a grateful look: "Then I'll trouble you, Hashida. We need to find the clues as soon as possible and unravel this mystery." His eyes were filled with anticipation, hoping that with Hashida Itaru's technical support, the pace of exploration could be sped up.

Just as everyone was discussing heatedly, the door of the lab was suddenly smashed open by a powerful force. A special agent in a black suit walked in, wearing sunglasses on his face so his expression couldn't be seen, but a cold aura emanated from him.

"Hello, I am a SERN agent. We have received intelligence that there are important clues related to time travel here. Please cooperate and hand over the clues." The agent's voice was cold and low, like a command delivered from hell.

The expressions on everyone's faces instantly became grave, and they all watched the uninvited guest warily. Anger appeared on Okabe Rintaro's face: "On what grounds? This is our research result—on what grounds should we hand it over to you!" His voice was filled with fury and unwillingness, as though his treasure had been snatched away.

The agent let out a cold laugh: "On what grounds? On the grounds that we are SERN. If you don't cooperate, you'll face the consequences yourself." A hint of threat showed in his eyes, as if warning everyone not to act rashly.

Just then, another burst of clamorous noise came from outside the lab. Li An looked out through the window and saw a group of people in strange, outlandish clothes surrounding the lab tightly. Different auras emanated from their bodies, clearly from different mysterious organizations.