Chapter 300: The Situation Fifteen Years Ago

Ning Jingli spent quite a long time before she could accept the fact that she had been unconscious for fifteen years.

To her, it was just losing consciousness as if she had taken a nap, but for others, for this world, a full fifteen years had passed.

She finally understood why, after waking, she saw so many odd details.

"Mom, I need to contact Sister Shangguan Ying right away!" Ning Jingli said quickly after coming to her senses.

Ye Zhiqiu said softly, "You've just woken up; first get used to the current living environment, don't rush..."

"No," Ning Jingli said firmly, "I have something very important to ask her."

Ye Zhiqiu couldn't argue, so she obliged her.

Su Qinglan personally went to arrange dinner, and Ye Zhiqiu pushed Ning Jingli's wheelchair, bringing her down to the garden below.

"Mom, I need to contact Sister Shangguan Ying! Why didn't you call for me and bring me here?" Ning Jingli said, a bit anxious.

Ye Zhiqiu laughed, "Communications are more advanced now than before you fell unconscious; even your wheelchair is equipped with a communication system. Come, I'll show you."

Under Ning Jingli's puzzled stare, Ye Zhiqiu touched the area beside the wheelchair's armrest, and a tiny holographic screen emerged from the side.

She brought up the contacts again; after a few finger swipes, a connecting icon appeared on the holographic screen.

Soon, Shangguan Ying also materialized on the screen, and her surrounding environment was visible.

It resembled a video call, but the other side's scene floated in 3D form before Ning Jingli.

Ning Jingli was still marveling at how interesting this call method was when the 3D image of Shangguan Ying in front exclaimed, "Jinli! You're awake?!"

Ning Jingli was stunned, glanced left and right at the wheelchair she was in, but saw no camera.

"Yes, General Shangguan, Xiao Li is awake," Ye Zhiqiu said, supporting Ning Jingli's shoulder, "She just woke up and is about to contact you, so I already called you."

"You two take your time chatting; I won't disturb you."

Ye Zhiqiu smiled, waved, gave Ning Jingli a kiss on the forehead, and turned away.

After she left, Ning Jingli couldn't bother with small talk with Shangguan Ying and asked directly, "Sister Shangguan! Fifteen years ago, what happened to that base deep in the desert? The people who stayed inside to rescue—those people... they..."

Shangguan Ying's expression grew heavy, tightening Ning Jingli's heart.

"They... all perished," Shangguan Ying said with difficulty, "3,200 special forces protection unit members, 1,053 logistics staff, and 570 rescue team members—none survived."

Ning Jingli felt as if struck by lightning.

Even though fifteen years had passed, for her it was as if the scene of entering the base with the rescue team and being together with everyone else in the safe zone had happened just yesterday.

Learning now that none survived felt like a knife cleaving her heart in two.

Shangguan Ying said, "It was their selfless rescue that significantly delayed the explosion in the base's core energy sector, buying our main forces enough golden time to intervene. Without them... even with countless reinforcements later we couldn't have contained the situation. The massive crisis was eventually held back, but those 4,826 heroes remain forever stuck fifteen years ago."

Tears blurred Ning Jingli's vision.

Even though Shangguan Ying didn't describe how grim the rescue was, she could guess just by thinking about it.

After a long silence, she steadied her emotions a bit and whispered, "I'm sorry, Sister Shangguan, I..."

"It's not your fault," Shangguan Ying replied immediately, "Your mission was to get those 372 researchers to safety, and you succeeded."

Ning Jingli quickly said, "I settled them in Lin Xian Cheng back then, and before I could bring them back I went to the Pacific Island Base, and then... so the researchers are still in the ancient world?!"

Shangguan Ying showed a complex, helpless expression, nodded, "Yes. Over the past fifteen years we've been trying to achieve Time Travel to see if we can bring them back, but unfortunately... we haven't succeeded yet."

Ning Jingli's face turned pale, her lips trembling, "Then I've caused a disaster!"

Buzz—

Suddenly a strange air‑vibration sound rang out.

A few meters in front of Ning Jingli, on a metal disc hidden in the garden's grass, a Fluorescent Vortex gradually appeared.

Ning Jingli wore a stunned expression.

She hadn't done anything, yet a Time‑Space Gate suddenly emerged?

The next second, Shangguan Ying walked out from inside.

Ning Jingli's jaw dropped even further.

"Xiao Li, long time no see," Shangguan Ying smiled as she approached, taking off the sunglasses on her face, "I thought it necessary to speak face‑to‑face, so I used a portal."

"Portal...?" Ning Jingli's pupils trembled, "Has technology advanced to this level now?"

Shangguan Ying pressed her wristband, and the Fluorescent Vortex vanished, "This is a next‑generation transport method, but the technology isn't mature yet, and the cost is too high to mass‑produce. Only a few locations have coordinates installed. Your home is one of them."

Ning Jingli looked at where the portal had just appeared; clearly, that metal disc over two meters in diameter was the so‑called coordinate.

She didn't know what material it was; it was covered with circuit‑like etchings, giving a very sci‑fi feel.

Shangguan Ying continued, "Even though technology has advanced over the past fifteen years, we have only barely managed to create this fixed‑point portal, and we still can't open a Spacetime Portal by technological means, nor can we, like you, open a gate that traverses time and space across parallel worlds. However, we believe the researchers staying in Daxuan Lin Xian Cheng will be well cared for, because you, as the revered Jinli Fairy among the locals and soldiers there, truly need not blame yourself. As long as they're safe, even if they remain there, it's fine. Their safety is more important than anything."

After hearing this, Ning Jingli's mood remained complex, but she felt somewhat better.

"Sister Shangguan, I'll bring them back as soon as possible," Ning Jingli said, looking up, "Fifteen years have passed; they should return home now."

Having said that, she immediately tried to open a Time‑Space Gate to connect to the Xianzi Temple in Lin Xian Cheng.

But her Internal Strength was depleted; she had the will but not the power, unable to open a Time‑Space Gate.

"Jinli, don't rush," Shangguan Ying leaned down, gripping her arm, "Your priority is to recover your body. Don't push yourself; I think you should stop asking so many questions and rest well."

Ning Jingli said, "What about the M Guo island base? What happened back then? How did it turn out later?"

Shangguan Ying felt that unless she clarified these, Ning Jingli wouldn't rest, so she began to tell her what she knew.

It turned out that Ning Jingli had successfully cut the main cable of the malfunctioning reactor. Because the energy was too strong, even after the cable was severed, the remaining energy pierced the seawater and re‑linked, causing the faulty reactor to explode.

Ning Jingli also fell unconscious because of that explosion.

However, because she promptly pulled the cable, the energy re‑linked but at a level far below normal, so the explosion only destroyed the faulty reactor.

More fortunately, the blast's force was just right; it didn't cascade to other reactors, and it shattered the linking devices between reactors, preventing the remaining hundreds from malfunctioning.

Upon hearing this, Ning Jingli's tense nerves relaxed considerably, and she asked, "So the island base never suffered a massive explosion in the end, right?"

"No," Shangguan Ying said, "If it had all exploded, I think you'd have woken up to a post‑apocalyptic wasteland."

"That makes sense..." Ning Jingli exhaled, looking up at the bustling skyscrapers in the distance.

"But—" Shangguan Ying's tone shifted, "the explosion energy of that faulty reactor was also unusually massive, it forcibly tore open a time‑space fissure and swallowed the entire island base."

"Huh?" Ning Jinli's eyes were full of shock, "so that means the whole island base has traversed to another time‑space?"

Shangguan Ying said, "We can't be sure about that. In any case, according to the monitoring at the time, it was a time‑space fissure forcibly opened by energy. As for whether the island base, after being swallowed, went to another time‑space or was destroyed by energy beyond our comprehension, no one can know. Fortunately, before the island base was swallowed, we rescued you from unconsciousness."

Beep—

Shangguan Ying's bracelet emitted a sound.

She glanced at her and said to Ning Jinli, "Jinli, I still have to go to a meeting, I'm off now, you rest well."

"Mm, Sister Ying." Ning Jinli nodded.

Shangguan Ying immediately opened a portal, passed through the Fluorescent Vortex, and vanished before Ning Jinli's eyes.

Ning Jinli sat in her wheelchair, quietly pondering; after more than ten minutes, Ye Zhiqiu brought a bowl of fragrant meat soup to her side.

"Daughter, this is something your godmother asked the household chef to prepare, following the doctor's guidance and your condition," Ye Zhiqiu said while stirring with a ladle, "Here, I'll feed it to you to replenish your strength and nutrition."

Ning Jinli opened her mouth and let Ye Zhiqiu feed her a few spoonfuls.

As she ate, she said, "Mom, I want to go see the factory and the pharmaceutical plant."

Ye Zhiqiu asked, "Why are you in such a hurry to go to the factory? You don't need to worry about it."

Ning Jinli said, "The factory needs crude oil, coal, metal ores, and the pharmaceutical plant needs many raw materials for drug production, which can only be teleported over by me from that world. After I fell unconscious, didn't the supply of raw materials stop? And we also provided all supplies to that side, didn't that cease as well?"

Ye Zhiqiu nodded, "The mutual supply between the two sides did indeed break off, but before you fell unconscious you had already teleported enough various raw materials, so even now there is still a surplus. As for our provision of supplies to that side… there really is no way to continue, is there? I think that side should have developed enough to be self‑sufficient by now. After all, you didn't just send supplies; you also transmitted a lot of knowledge and technology."

"Mm… that's true," Ning Jinli nodded slightly, "but I still want to go see."

Ye Zhiqiu squinted, "You're still thinking about Xiao Qidi, aren't you?"

Ning Jinli was silent for two seconds, thinking that she had already died once, no need to hide anything, and said, "I want to see him. Mom, in these fifteen years, has he… ever come?"

Before she went to the desert base, all the Time‑Space Gates she opened could be seen and freely entered only by Xiao Qidi besides herself.

So, in principle, as long as Xiao Qidi is willing, he can still come to this world.

"Sigh…" Ye Zhiqiu sighed lightly, "No, since you said you ended things with him, up to now, I haven't seen him at all."

Ning Jinli's eyes instantly dimmed.

Ye Zhiqiu comforted, "Maybe that kid slipped over here quietly, but just… just didn't let us notice?"

Ning Jinli forced a bitter smile, "Mom, stop trying to comfort me. Fifteen years—if he really did come even once, he should have known I fell into unconsciousness, but… never mind."

Ye Zhiqiu didn't know what else to say, and patted her daughter's shoulder.

That afternoon, one after another, many people arrived at the Ning Family villa for visits.

Besides the local business magnates led by the Four Major Families of Xinghan City and representatives of the Xinghan City official leadership, there were also some people from across the country.

The vast majority of them Ning Jinli didn't recognize.

But everyone congratulated her and were all very polite.

Ye Zhiqiu probably gave her a brief introduction; after all, they were all high‑status dignitaries, as well as the heads of subsidiaries of her enterprises and the Ning Family Group's branches across the regions.

Ning Jinli had no interest in socializing, politely made small talk, then after returning to her room and staying alone for a while, she had someone take her to the factory.

After fifteen years.

The factory's changes were also unbelievably huge.

Nowadays, her factory has become an industrial city.

As night fell, the industrial city was brightly lit and bustling; a black luxury car, escorted by a dozen accompanying vehicles, drove into it.

Soon, dozens of high‑end sedans arrived head‑on.

The convoy stopped far away, the lead car's door opened, and a man in a blue‑gray work uniform with old‑style glasses got out, hurrying on foot to greet them.

"Miss Ning! Welcome!"

A voice, brimming with uncontrollable excitement, rang out.

Ning Jinli looked through the car window and saw a familiar face.

She opened the door, "Director Zheng, long time no see, please sit in my car."

The other party was Zheng Houcheng; since Ning Jinli gave him a prominent role, he had for over ten years worked diligently, managing the factory for her, and the factory's growth into an industrial city housing nearly a million people was the result of his dedicated effort.

"Yes, Miss Ning!"

Zheng Houcheng sat down beside Ning Jinli, visibly excited.

Ning Jinli examined him closely, smiling, "Director Zheng, you're still the same; even your glasses and clothes are hardly different from before."

Zheng Houcheng rubbed his hands, a bit nervous, "I'm used to it; if Miss Ning feels it's not appropriate, I… I'll try to change my image."

"No, no, no," Ning Jinli said, "do whatever you want; besides, I think this is fine, it gives me a familiar feeling of the past. Director Zheng, is that little warehouse from back then still there?"