Chapter 292

Zhao Xing's finger just withdrew from the light screen, and the virtual door vanished. They stood in the courtyard of the old Siheyuan house; the sky was still light, the wind mild, and a towel on the clothesline by the courtyard wall swayed slightly.

Zhao Jianguo was leaning against the doorframe chewing a lollipop; hearing the movement, he lifted his head and said, "You're out?"

"Mm." Zhao Xing nodded, "Everyone's gone."

"How's the data?" Zhao Jianguo asked.

"Still transmitting." Zhao Chen said, "Those few things in the corner haven't stopped."

Zhao Jianguo spat out the candy stick, gave a slight nod, and said, "Then we'll build a new place for them to copy into an empty shell."

Less than ten minutes after his words, a black sedan pulled up to the Siheyuan gate. The car door opened, and a man in a dark gray uniform stepped out. On his shoulder insignia were three silver dots arranged in a triangle, with two horizontal bars below.

"Zhao Bro." He approached, voice low, "The superior's approval has come down. The Special Forces have been reorganized; they are now called the 'National Spacetime Technology Service Bureau.' I am the director."

Zhao Jianguo glanced at him, smiled slightly, and said, "You kid, you've risen fast."

"Not that I'm rising fast; it's just the right time." The new Team Leader turned to look toward the east courtyard, saying, "That side has already been renovated, all the equipment is installed, we're just waiting for the plaque."

Zhao Jianguo turned to the Triplets and said, "Come on, let's check out your new workstations."

The group walked through the courtyard, pushed open the iron gate. The old storage house was gone, replaced by a semi-underground building whose exterior walls were coated in matte white paint; a metal plaque hung above the door, still covered with a red cloth.

The new Team Leader stepped forward, cleared his throat, and said, "Approved by the Central Technology Coordination Group, the original Special Forces are hereby reorganized as the National Spacetime Technology Service Bureau, stationed in the Siheyuan scientific and technological special zone, to jointly build a laboratory with Zhao Jianguo's team. Now, unveiling the plaque."

He reached out and pulled; the red cloth slid down. The metal plaque bore two lines of text:

**National Spacetime Technology Service Bureau**

**Joint Laboratory**

At the moment the plaque was revealed, Zhao Jianguo's mind went "ding."

【Establish official research institution, reward【Institution Management Expertise】】

A surge of heat rushed up from the back of his head, as if someone had stuffed an entire manual into his brain. How to allocate permissions, how to manage resources, how to approve projects—everything became crystal clear.

He shook his head, adjusted a bit, and said softly, "This time I really have become a leader."

The new Team Leader handed him a gold badge, saying, "This is the master control permission card; only you can issue the highest orders."

Zhao Jianguo took it and casually pinned it to his chest, asking, "You won't be watching us anymore?"

"Before, it was to prevent accidents." The new Team Leader said, "Now it's to prevent others from causing accidents to us."

Zhao Chen snorted, "You make it sound like you used to be so reasonable."

"Back then the rules were different." The new Team Leader showed no anger, "The hat has changed, so must our ways."

Zhao Jianguo patted his shoulder, "You still understand somewhat."

Next was the first door into the laboratory. The three approached the facial recognition scanner; the machine flashed and displayed a line: 【Identity not registered, please contact the administrator】.

Zhao Jianguo stuck the badge on it, and then the system allowed passage.

The door opened, and the lights inside came on automatically. The floor was gray-white anti-static panels; a row of screens on the wall were running self-checks; in the middle stood three workstations with touch screens; the chairs were still folded, not unfolded.

"The conditions are a bit rudimentary." The new Team Leader said, "The first batch of equipment will arrive in three days; for now we can only count as 'shell occupancy'."

"An empty shell is better than none." Zhao Jianguo looked around, "At least we can lock the door."

Zhao Xing said nothing, slowly walking to the center of the hall. There stood a floating electronic screen displaying two lines:

【Technical Service Bureau establishment date: January 1, 2035】

【Countdown: — 】

He stared at it for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Today isn't 2035."

No one responded.

"It's 2024 now." He said, "Off by eleven years."

Zhao Jianguo walked over, glanced at the screen, his brow twitched slightly, but he said nothing.

The new Team Leader checked the system logs and said, "Strange, the time is auto-synced; it couldn't be wrong."

"It's not wrong." Zhao Xing said softly, "It's that it considers this time to be correct."

The air fell still for a moment.

Zhao Chen walked over, tapped his brother's arm, and said, "Don't just stand there; first get your gear."

Each person was issued a silver wristband; putting it on felt a bit cool. The screen popped up a prompt: 【Junior Researcher identity activated, permission level: Level One】.

"From now on, you'll need to swipe your card to enter and exit." The new Team Leader explained, "All operations will be logged, data encrypted and uploaded, and nothing can be taken out."

"Even I can't?" Zhao Yang asked.

"It's the same for everyone." The new Team Leader said, "The system is the system."

Zhao Jianguo smiled, "Not bad. Before you could do whatever you wanted; now it's time to learn the rules."

"And you?" Zhao Chen asked, "Do you have special privileges?"

Zhao Jianguo took out his badge and waved it, saying, "I'm just a signatory. If I really mess up, the system will still sound the alarm."

The new Team Leader added, "Zhao Bro's permission level is high, but every operation requires dual authentication; only together can we open the core area."

"You still don't trust me?" Zhao Jianguo raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not doubting you," the new Team Leader said, "I'm doubtful about future events."

Zhao Xing sat at his own seat, his finger sliding across the desktop. The screen lit up, popping up a form: 《First Day Operation Application Form》.

He filled in "Basic System Access", submitted it, waited thirty seconds, and received a reply: 【Approval granted, usable duration: two hours】.

"Still need approval?" he frowned.

"It's like this on the first day." The new Team Leader said, "If you perform well later, your permission level will be upgraded."

Zhao Chen tried to call up the emotion perception module, but a pop-up warned: 【Function limited, currently available power 30%】.

"A discount?" he laughed, "Are you afraid we'll lift the roof?"

"Not fear." The new Team Leader said, "We need to take it step by step. Your abilities are too strong; if we unleash them all at once, the system can't handle it."

Zhao Yang wanted to go to the printing area to try 3D printing, but as soon as he approached he was stopped.

Please first submit the materials list and usage description.

He turned and shouted, "I want to make a cup!"

"Write clearly the material, size, and usage scenario." The new Team Leader said seriously, "The Safety Department needs to file a record."

Zhao Jianguo sat in front of the control console, watching the three kids run back and forth, sometimes being stopped, sometimes being questioned, and couldn't help laughing.

"Before it was a makeshift way; now we're on the proper path." He said, "Even if it's uncomfortable, we must endure."

Zhao Xing returned to the time plaque and looked at it for a while.

"January 1, 2035..." he muttered, "Why does it have to be this day?"

No one answered.

The new Team Leader was signing the first document; the pen tip paused, he glanced at him, then lowered his head and continued writing.

Zhao Jianguo walked over and placed his hand on the side of the plaque. The metal was a bit cool, the surface bore no fingerprints or scratches.

He said nothing, just stood there.

Zhao Chen finished adjusting the wristband, discovered it could connect to the internal communications network. He tried calling Zhao Yang, and the other's earpiece immediately rang.

"Connected." Zhao Yang said, "It can also do video."

He opened the screen, saw himself appear on the opposite screen, with the background showing a corner of the laboratory.

Suddenly, the screen shook.

It wasn't a signal problem; the image itself distorted for an instant. His face on the screen elongated for half a second, as if pulled by something.

He blinked, looked again, and everything returned to normal.

"Just now... did you see that?" he asked.

"See what?" Zhao Yang asked back.

"Nothing." Zhao Chen shook his head, "Maybe my eyes were playing tricks."

Zhao Jianguo heard the commotion, walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"When the video was just now, the screen changed." Zhao Chen pointed at the screen, "My face... looked off."

Zhao Jianguo stared at the screen for a few seconds, then looked toward the camera in the corner of the room.

The red light was on, indicating normal operation.

But he remembered, when he came in, this light was green.

He said nothing, only telling the new Team Leader, "Replace the camera."

"Now?" the new Team Leader asked.

"Right now." Zhao Jianguo said, "I'm not comfortable with this."

The new Team Leader nodded, pressed the wristband to call the maintenance team.

Zhao Xing was still looking at the time plaque.

He raised his hand, fingertips lightly touching those characters.

The screen had no response, but at that moment he seemed to hear a bell chime.

It was very faint, as if coming from underground.

He turned his head and glanced at Zhao Jianguo.

Zhao Jianguo was also looking at him.

Neither of them spoke.

The new Team Leader finished signing the last document, then looked up at the time.

"The laboratory is officially now in operation." He said, "From this moment on, we will begin recording the first operational log."

He pressed the confirmation button on the table.

【System activated, ID TS-001, operating status: normal】

All screens lit up with blue light simultaneously.

Zhao Yang's newly acquired cup placed on the table, the cup bottom suddenly showed a fine crack.

It wasn't cracked; it originally had no bottom.

It has always been like this.