Chapter 135: Red‑Headed Document: National Aid Arrives

Zhao Jianguo's hand still hung in mid‑air, his fingertip only an inch from the black crack. The place where Chen Jianguo was dragged away was left with a faint blue thread of light, flickering twice in the air like a flame about to go out in the wind, then it snapped. He moved his throat, made no sound, and pulled the two still‑crying children in his arms tighter.

The twins' little faces pressed against his chest, alternately warm and cool, their snot and tears smearing his collar. He looked down, wanted to laugh, but as soon as his mouth opened, a sourness prickled his eye corner.

At that moment, a series of footsteps came from beyond the courtyard wall—not scattered, but orderly, like a trained unit marching. Immediately, several gray silhouettes flipped over the four walls, landing silently, moving with the sleekness of cats. They wore matching dark‑gray uniforms, metal tags on their cuffs, and some device hanging on their chests; they were neither police nor troops.

The leader stood in the center of the Courtyard, raised a hand and waved; the others instantly spread out, forming a circle with their gun barrels pointing upward, saying nothing.

Zhao Jianguo didn't move, nor did he loosen his grip. He knew that even a blink now could be taken as a flaw.

The man pulled a black briefcase from his coat, snapped it open, and drew out a red‑head document, holding it up toward him.

"According to Article 13 of the National Special Technology Incident Emergency Regulations, we hereby lawfully activate the 'Historical Observer Agreement' to take over the temporal‑wave source designated SS‑1955‑001."

Zhao Jianguo stared at the document, his eyes scanning the heading—"Central Special Technology Affairs Management Bureau"—the date at the bottom was three days later.

His heart gave a sudden thud.

This person wasn't here to arrest him, nor to seize the children. They knew the future.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice a little hoarse.

"Special Forces Captain." The man folded the document, stood perfectly straight, "We have been waiting for this day for twenty years."

Zhao Jianguo sneered, "Waiting for me? I still don't understand how I crossed over, and you're already lined up?"

The Special Forces Captain said nothing, but raised his left hand; the terminal on his wrist lit up. A projection flickered in mid‑air, showing the scene from Zhao Jianguo's first check‑in day—him standing at the Siheyuan gate, holding a crumpled food‑ticket, sunlight bathing his head, a System Prompt box popping up, reading "Check‑in Successful."

Time, location, energy frequency—every detail exact.

"This isn't surveillance footage," the Special Forces Captain said, "It's a data echo left when the prototype of the 'Civilization Witness' was activated. And you are the only one who can awaken it."

Zhao Jianguo was stunned.

He had always thought the system was a random perk, at most a standard tool for a transmigrator. But now, hearing this, the device in his hand was clearly not something this era should have.

"So you call me 'Chief'?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." The Special Forces Captain suddenly dropped to one knee, raised his right hand to his brow in a standard military salute, "Ordered to protect the final observer, awaiting orders!"

The Courtyard fell silent for a few seconds.

Zhao Jianguo almost thought he'd misheard. He stepped back a half‑step with the children, his mind racing. If these people really came to help, why the theatrics? What if it's some new brain‑washing technique?

As he was pondering, the crack above buzzed, the lingering mechanical arm trembled slightly, as if stimulated by a signal.

The Special Forces Captain sprang up, turned back and barked low, "Stabilize the energy field!"

A Team Member beside him quickly opened his backpack, took out a small silver‑gray box, pressed a button. A transparent light shield instantly expanded, enveloping the entire Central Courtyard. The mechanical arms struck the shield, emitted a "zzzz" sound, and retracted.

"How long can this thing hold?" Zhao Jianguo asked.

"Twenty‑four hours," the Special Forces Captain replied, "provided your system doesn't actively emit high‑dimensional signals. Otherwise, they'll come back."

Zhao Jianguo lowered his head to glance at the terminal in his chest; the screen had darkened, but his palm still felt a faint warmth.

He suddenly remembered something and snapped his head up, "The brother who was with me just now… he ended with 'Watch out for 1978.' Do you know what that means?"

The Special Forces Captain's face shifted slightly, his eyes flickered.

"1978…," he paused, "is the 'Correction Force eruption origin' marked in our files. The day the college‑entrance exam was reinstated, all anomalous data began to converge."

Zhao Jianguo's mind jolted.

He still recalled Chen Jianguo's frantic upload just before disappearing, the encrypted file titled 'Correction Force Source: College‑Entrance Exam Restoration Day.' It wasn't a coincidence.

"Is that data still transmitting?" he asked urgently.

"It is," the Special Forces Captain nodded, "but we can't connect. It's encrypted with the first‑generation protocol, and only you can authorize access."

Zhao Jianguo gritted his teeth, swiped his finger across the terminal, pulling up the shared log. Sure enough, the progress bar was still inching forward, the Data Stream showing its source as 'Chen Jianguo terminal echo.'

"To preserve this record, we must breach the national firewall," the Special Forces Captain handed over a palm‑sized device, "We can help stabilize the transmission, but we need your consent."

Zhao Jianguo stared at the little box, hesitated for three seconds.

He knew that once linked, his system would be exposed under everyone's watch. Yet if he didn't link, the desperate message Chen Jianguo sent might be cut off forever.

He took a deep breath and confirmed.

The moment the connection succeeded, the terminal buzzed, the screen lit up again. Simultaneously, the crack above thrashed violently, the mechanical arms emitted a shrill alarm, each arm recoiled into darkness, and the crack's edge began to close slowly.

"Is it done?" Zhao Jianguo looked up.

"Temporarily," the Special Forces Captain stored the device, "the data is backed up, but the source isn't eliminated. The chief engineer must have noticed."

Zhao Jianguo nodded, finally relaxed, gently readjusted the twins' position. The two children had fallen asleep sometime, their little faces pressed together, breathing evenly.

"Who exactly sent you?" he asked.

"No superiors," the Special Forces Captain replied, "We are a cross‑era unit, tasked with tracking down the 'Civilization Witness.' Twenty years ago the first observer vanished, the system went silent. Only after you triggered the signal did we pinpoint this temporal node."

"Then why didn't you come earlier? Why wait until people were almost gone?"

"Because of the Rules," the Special Forces Captain's voice lowered, "We cannot intervene before a critical node. Every interference spawns a new correction wave. That kneel just now was already a rule breach."

Zhao Jianguo snorted, "Pretty rule‑obsessed."

"Rules save lives," the Special Forces Captain said, looking at him, "You too. From now on, every step must be by the book."

As he spoke, Zhao Jianguo's terminal vibrated again. He looked down; a new prompt popped up: 【Historical Correction Force Intensity +90%】.

He hadn't time to react before the Special Forces Captain leaned in, glanced, and his brows knit tightly.

"That value… is too high," he said, "Normally an individual's impact stays below 30%. You've been flagged by the system as a 'high‑risk variable.'"

"So I'm now a walking bomb?"

"Pretty much," the Special Forces Captain said gravely, "and the enemy won't let you go. They'll definitely come again."

Zhao Jianguo looked up at the sky; the crack was still closing, but its edge retained a faint dark glow, like ink that hadn't been fully wiped clean.

He touched the terminal, whispered, "If the next wave isn't mechanical arms but people, what then?"

"Then it gets messier," the Special Forces Captain replied, "It means they've started using humanoid carriers to infiltrate the timeline."

The two fell silent for a moment.

In the distance a few Dog Barks echoed, children ran past the Hutongkou shouting "Candy time!" Life seemed unchanged, yet Zhao Jianguo knew some things had become utterly different.

He lowered his head to look at the child in his arms, then glanced at the team before him whose origins were unknown yet claimed to be here to help, and suddenly felt it was a bit absurd.

He was just an ordinary worker who had been worrying about the month's food rations yesterday, and today he had to discuss spacetime safety with something called a "cross-era special forces."

"You say you've been looking for me for twenty years." He suddenly chuckled, "Have you ever considered that I never wanted to be an observer at all? I just want to live a peaceful life."

The Special Forces Captain looked at him, neither smiling nor refuting.

"You can refuse." He said, "But now, the two children in your arms have become targets. If you step back, they'll be in greater danger."

Zhao Jianguo's smile froze.

【67> He lowered his head to look at their sleeping faces, his finger lightly touching their foreheads.

He lowered his head to look at the sleeping faces, his fingers lightly touching their foreheads.

Warm, alive, utterly real.

He slowly lifted his head, his voice sinking: "Then what do you plan to do next?"

"Stay here." The Special Forces Captain turned and gestured; the team members rapidly installed equipment—someone raised an antenna at the courtyard corner, someone calibrated the energy shield—"We will set up a temporary command post until the rift is completely sealed."

"Then what?"

"Then we follow your lead." The Special Forces Captain looked at him, "You're the holder of the main system; we only provide support. The authority to act is in your hands."

Zhao Jianguo stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "How did you get that scar behind your ear?"

The Special Forces Captain startled, raising his hand to touch the back of his left ear.

That faint blue trace was exactly the same as the ripples on the system interface.

"An old wound." He said lightly, "Left from carrying out a mission."

Zhao Jianguo didn't press further. He knew some people, even if they told the truth, wouldn't lay out the whole story.

He carried the child two steps under the eaves, leaned against the wall, and lifted his gaze to the rift that was quickly closing.

The wind suddenly stopped.

The energy shield at the courtyard corner emitted a faint beeping, and the numbers on the screen began to drop.

The Special Forces Captain lowered his eyes to his watch, his expression shifting slightly.

"Wrong." He said softly, "The closure is too fast—it isn't natural repair..."

Zhao Jianguo was about to ask when the terminal suddenly jolted violently, a line of red text popping out:

【Warning: External command injection, system permissions being invoked remotely】