Chapter 185: Laboratory Opens the Spacetime Gate

"If you've done something illegal and criminal, you should be punished by the law," Su Qinglan lowered her eyes and said softly, "You're already over thirty, don't you understand this principle?"

Su Qiang stared for a few seconds, then asked, "You mean, you won't save me?"

Su Qinglan wiped the tears about to spill from her eyes, "I cannot interfere with judicial justice because of personal ties, I cannot make Xiao Li's life difficult, and I cannot let a criminal escape legal sanctions—even if… you are my biological child, it's still not allowed."

Su Qiang realized that his earlier bout of wailing and playing the victim was completely futile; he instantly broke down, shouting at the top of his voice, "Su Qinglan! You won't even save your own son—are you still human?! I get it, you've held a grudge against me all along, and now you're just here to watch me suffer! My life is totally ruined—are you satisfied?!"

Su Qinglan suddenly didn't want to argue with him anymore; the last lingering thread of affection for her flesh-and-blood relative in her heart was utterly crushed by his words at this moment.

Her heart suddenly ached.

But unlike before, it wouldn't keep hurting.

This time, after the sudden pain, she instead felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

She could finally let go of Su Qiang completely and live her own life.

"I just wanted to see you one last time; from now on we'll never meet again," Su Qinglan said, then calmly rose and prepared to leave.

Seeing that he was about to lose his lifeline, Su Qiang panicked again, "Mom… Mom! Wait a minute! I… I just spoke rashly out of anxiety, please don't go! Let's talk more, give me a chance, okay? Mom!"

No matter how he shouted, Su Qinglan didn't turn back.

Su Qiang broke down, "Mom… I'm your child!"

"My child now is only one person, and that's Xiao Li," Su Qinglan said without turning back, then opened the door and walked out of the interrogation room.

Su Qiang went limp all over, as if his soul had been drained.

……

As Ning Jinli and Su Qinglan were about to leave the police station, they suddenly saw a familiar figure walking out of the station's main gate.

"Xiao Li, isn't that Ning Yao?" Su Qinglan exclaimed in surprise, "She wasn't supposed to be detained—how did she get out? Did you forgive her?"

"No, I didn't forgive her," Ning Jinli also felt it was strange.

According to Ning Yao's situation, although it didn't constitute a criminal case legally and she wouldn't go to prison, she should still have been detained for a considerable period.

So she immediately went to find someone at the police station to ask.

Later she learned that Ning Yao had been released on bail after paying a large sum of bail money.

That made things even stranger.

Ning Hai had fled to M Guo and his whereabouts were unknown, Lin Lina had already been imprisoned, and everything belonging to the Ning Family, including the Ning Group, had returned to Ning Shan's hands.

How could anyone bail out Ning Yao?

Ning Jinli wanted to know who had bailed her out; the police said it was an agent from a law firm.

As for who had hired that lawyer, it was unknown.

Ning Jinli had many things to attend to, so she didn't think further and left the police station with Su Qinglan.

Elsewhere.

Ning Yao was also surprised by her sudden bail.

She got into the vehicle with the person who had come to bail her out, and was then taken to a hotel.

The other party only said, "Rest well for now; you'll learn the reason later."

Ning Yao racked her brains but couldn't figure out who was helping her—her father was wanted, hiding in M Guo doing who-knows-what, so it couldn't be him; her mother was already in prison, so that was impossible too.

As for friends…

After her family fell from grace and lost everything, the large crowd that used to follow her around for food, drink, and fun had all vanished cleanly, avoiding her before she could even notice; her older brother couldn't possibly lend a hand.

Ning Yao had no leads, so she decided to take a shower and rest first.

During those few short days in the detention center, she had lost a lot of weight, couldn't eat or sleep well, and for someone accustomed to a life of comfort, it was nothing short of enormous torment.

Now staying in a hotel room, she felt as if she had entered paradise.

In the evening, the person who had bailed her brought her food, new clothes and shoes, and a new phone, telling her a call would come later, then left.

Ning Yao tore open the takeout package and wolfed it down.

This was the first time in her life she felt that ordinary takeout could actually taste this good.

As she was enjoying her meal, the phone rang.

It was a video call from an unknown overseas number.

Ning Yao casually tapped to answer.

On the screen, Ning Hai's face suddenly appeared.

"Dad?!" Ning Yao could hardly believe her eyes, exclaimed, then hurriedly lowered her voice, "How are you making a video call? Is everything okay?"

Ning Hai looked in good spirits, smiling, "It's fine, Yao Yao, you've worked hard lately—how are the clothes and shoes I had people buy for you? Do they still fit?"

Ning Yao stared for two seconds, "Was it you who hired the law firm to get me bailed out?"

"Yeah, it was a bit of trouble, but I managed to get you out. While you're out on bail pending trial, try not to leave the hotel, and I'll have the law firm wrap up your bail period as soon as possible."

"Sob… sob… sob… Dad… thank goodness you're here, otherwise… otherwise I wouldn't want to live."

"Good girl, don't cry, don't cry."

Ning Yao cried with tears streaming like pear blossoms in the rain, which made Ning Hai feel heartbroken.

"Dad… what about Mom?" Ning Yao said while wiping her tears, "Mom's been sentenced to over ten years in prison—can you think of a way to get her out?"

Ning Hai's expression grew solemn, "That's very difficult; I'm still thinking of a way."

Ning Yao suddenly realized that Ning Hai seemed to be in some kind of scientific laboratory, so she curiously asked, "Dad, are you safe now?"

She really wanted to know Ning Hai's current situation—where he was and what he was doing.

But considering that Ning Hai was still wanted domestically, she held back and didn't ask further.

Ning Hai nodded, "Dad's perfectly safe—otherwise I couldn't have bailed you out. Don't worry, Dad will definitely get our family of three reunited again. Dad has to go attend to something now; don't be afraid of anything, just wait for good news."

"Mm! I got it!" Ning Yao nodded vigorously with red-rimmed eyes.

After the video call ended.

Ning Hai came to a room in the laboratory, pushed the door open, "Old brother Feng, are you ready?"

In the room, Lu Xingfeng was meditating.

He not only wore modern clothing, his hair had also become a modern hairstyle.

Since he time-traveled over, met Ning Hai, and was brought by Ning Hai to M Guo, he has already adapted to life in this era; judging by appearance, one cannot tell he is an ancient person from over two thousand years ago.

"Of course I'm ready." Lu Xingfeng slowly opened his eyes, a gleam flashing in his pupils.

"Good, you go to the transmission station first; I'll change clothes and gear up, then head over. We'll depart in half an hour." Ning Hai gave the instruction, then left the room.

About twenty minutes passed.

Ning Hai, wearing a specially made protective suit with a pistol at his waist, arrived at the transmission station he had mentioned.

This was a huge underground chamber.

Hundreds of M Guo scientific personnel were busy before various complex instruments.

And in the middle of the underground chamber was a platform connected to countless cables; on the platform a Black Sphere hovered, slowly rotating.

That Black Sphere was exactly the thing Ning Hai had brought out from beneath the ruins of the Kucherbarg nuclear power plant.

The secret research team worked day and night; with the M Guo leadership's unstinting support, Ning Hai and Professor Bruce finally found a way to activate the Black Sphere.

Moreover, they had successfully opened the Time-Space Gate three times in a row, and could maintain its stability for a certain period.

For safety reasons, no one was allowed to go through directly during the first three attempts.

They only conducted preliminary reconnaissance using machines.

The other side of the Time-Space Gate was a primitive jungle, with no signs of human presence, and it was impossible to determine what place it was.

Therefore, someone still needed to go there personally to look for more useful clues.

Ning Hai naturally did not want to miss the first opportunity to time-travel, so he volunteered; Lu Xingfeng, being another time-traveler from a different era and possessing formidable martial arts beyond modern people's capabilities, naturally had to come along as well.

This time the two of them would go together; once they further confirmed the situation near the other side of the Time-Space Gate, scientific personnel could be dispatched for on-site investigation.

In the transmission station's control room, Professor Bruce was in charge of overall command.

When all components were in place, he pressed the activation switch, then while observing the real-time monitoring data displayed on the computer screen, he also looked through a huge glass wall at the Black Sphere in the middle of the platform below, spinning faster and faster.

Accompanied by a tremendous electric current sound and the roaring of various large instruments and equipment.

A few minutes later, a fluorescent vortex about two meters in diameter gradually appeared on the transmission platform beside the Black Sphere.

"Ning Hai, Mr. Lu, you may go through now." Professor Bruce said into the microphone in standard Mandarin, "May God be with you; good luck."

After the Time-Space Gate stabilized, Ning Hai and Lu Xingfeng entered one after another.

The two looked around.

Indeed, it was a very primitive forest; each tree exceeded one meter in diameter, the trunks tall and straight, blocking out sky and moon, with only scattered moonlight filtering through gaps in the canopy.

Ning Hai took out his instruments and first checked the air conditions here.

He quickly found no pollution, and the oxygen level was somewhat higher than modern times.

He then removed his mask, took several deep breaths, and instantly felt refreshed and invigorated.

"Old brother Feng, is this the place you came through to?" Ning Hai continued to examine the surrounding vegetation while asking.

Lu Xingfeng shook his head, "The trees and grass here are different from those where I came from."

"Alright, then go look around for any small animals or the like, and catch a few for me."

"Brother Hai, are you hungry?"

"Haha, I brought food, so I won't need to hunt here."

"Then why catch animals?"

"It's like this," Ning Hai patiently explained, "By studying the plants, animals, and other environmental conditions here, I can obtain many useful clues to help me understand this place, and perhaps even figure out exactly where we are."

"I see, then I'll go."

Lu Xingfeng darted away and vanished into the dense forest.

Not long after, Ning Hai judged from nearby plants that this was not his home country, because he found species absent domestically.

"This type seems to be found only in the Americas..." Ning Hai pinched a blade of grass, frowned and muttered, "Could this be America? North or South? Or maybe we only crossed space, not time?"

Ning Hai, while thinking, found a relatively open spot, took out a telescope, and looked at the night sky.

Through observation, he quickly determined that his location was in the northern hemisphere.

The range narrowed further; this was North America.

"Brother Hai!" Lu Xingfeng's voice suddenly rang out, "Look what I've caught!"

Ning Hai turned toward the sound and saw Lu Xingfeng coming over, holding a man.

He was overjoyed.

Since there was a person, they could directly learn the situation.

He quickly pulled out a flashlight and shone it on him.

The blinding light made the man Lu Xingfeng had caught hastily raise his hand to shield his eyes, shouting something in panic.

Ning Hai noticed that the man's hair was messy, his skin had a bronzish tint—whether from tanning or natural—and he wore simple clothing made of coarse plant fibers, with some parts sewn with animal hide, and no shoes on his feet.

From appearance, it was clear this person was a relatively primitive tribal native.

However, this still could not be used to determine the era of this place.

After all, even in modern times, some areas still have primitive tribes.

"Brother Hai, I can't understand a word of what this guy is babbling; can you?" Lu Xingfeng asked.

Ning Hai shook his head straight away, "I can't understand either; it seems we can't get any information directly from his mouth."

"Then should we let him go… or kill him?" Lu Xingfeng inquired.

Ning Hai leaned in for a close look and found that the man's facial features differed greatly from those of modern M Guo people; he also wore some ornaments made of metal ore and animal bone, crudely crafted but distinctive.

If we bring these back and have Professor Bruce consult relevant experts, we should be able to obtain considerable information.

"Strip off his clothes and accessories." Ning Hai said while taking out a handheld recorder.

Lu Xingfeng immediately acted, and even with just one hand, he easily stripped the person clean.

The man was terrified and angry, beginning to wail and shout.

"Don't make noise!" Lu Xingfeng warned, not caring whether the person understood, opening his mouth: "If you keep squawking in your bird language, I'll kill you!"

"Don't kill him, let him speak." Ning Hai pointed the recorder at the man's face, "The more he says, the better; I just want to record it to bring back for experts to analyze and identify."

Ning Hai then recorded about ten minutes of content, satisfied, put away the recorder, and also bagged the man's clothes and accessories.

"Is this person still useful?" Lu Xingfeng asked, "Do we need to take him away for research? Or I could go catch a few more; I just saw a Thatched Hut in the distance."

Ning Hai narrowed his eyes, "No use, kill him to silence him, lest we attract the attention of the local tribal natives before we figure things out. If we need to take someone for research, we can just come back later and catch a few more."

Upon hearing that, Lu Xingfeng decisively slapped his palm onto the man's forehead.

The man on the spot bled from his seven orifices and died...