Void Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 193: Heading to Tiger Mountain Again

"Please say hello and goodbye to everyone for me. I won't go through them one by one. I'm leaving for Kunlun City right now!"

Leaving this sentence, Guo Ling hurriedly left Zhong Chenmu's office, walked through the corridor, and came to the elevator. Just as he pressed the elevator button, he saw Fan Ting walking out of the room at some point.

The two stood face to face in the elevator.

Their eyes met, and Guo Ling wanted to say something, but he didn't say it.

Fan Ting's eyes were filled with joy and concern: "You just came back, and you're leaving again?"

"Yes... I found a clue about my wife. I just talked to Xiao Zhong and I'm going to look for her soon. I'm counting on you guys to help me with the Hydron and the Turtle Clan."

Guo Ling frankly stated his purpose.

"Oh..." Fan Ting's eyes showed a complicated look, but then she returned to normal: "I'm really happy for you. I hope everything goes well and you come back safely."

"Yes!" Guo Ling nodded firmly.

The elevator arrived with a ding. He smiled at Fan Ting and walked quickly into the opening door of the elevator.

Looking at the elevator door closing again, Fan Ting sighed.

She didn't know why she felt a sense of loss. What kind of emotion was this? Envy? Jealousy? She had been like him, saved from suicide by Zhong Chenmu, both of them incomplete and without a partner. She had gathered some clues over time, but she hadn't expected him to act so purposefully. And yet, she had no idea where Zhang Chuyu was.

However, if she faced her heart honestly, looking beyond the superficial emotion of "not worrying about scarcity but about inequality," she could clearly see a surge of inexplicable loss. That surge of loss seemed to take on the form of Guo Ling, then vanish.

Fan Ting couldn't help but press her left breast.

Her heart was beating a little faster just now.

At this time, Zhu Tong also came to the corridor and saw Fan Ting standing there blankly. He asked sweetly, "Aunt Fan, why are you here?"

Fan Ting immediately recovered from her distraction and forced a smile: "Xiao Tong, I just sent someone off the elevator and was about to go back to the office."

At this moment, she did not say Guo Ling's name because she was worried that the little girl in front of her would ask questions.

Sure enough, Zhu Tong didn't ask any further questions: "Oh, then Xiao Tong is going to the bathroom. See you later, Aunt Fan."

"Okay, good boy!"

The elevator slowly descended, and Guo Ling's heart sank.

His emotions at this moment were also very complicated.

How could he not understand Fan Ting's eyes?

Since they met at the beginning of the "Singularity Moment", they have gone through all kinds of hardships and twists and turns together, even experiencing life and death together. If he is also true to his heart, as time goes by, he will not dream about Hou Chang as often as in the early days. In some cases, he may even feel the emotion of "It's great to have Fan Ting around."

He realized that he had lost focus, so he shook his head vigorously, took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, and walked out of the elevator that had just arrived at the first floor.

It was almost time to get off work, and the Sanduping area would soon be congested, so he had to leave quickly.

When we arrived at the Baihe Bridge over the rapids again, it was almost dusk in Kunlun City.

"They're so far apart, is there no time difference between Kunlun City and Wuming City?"

Probably because it was close to getting off work, the Baihe Bridge was obviously busier this time than the last time. Groups of three or four walked by from time to time, and everyone ignored his presence, as if they had gotten used to it.

"It seems that what Xiao Zhong said about Kunlun City being open from day one is true. If there's an elemental node in Wuming City and suddenly some people emerge from it, who knows where in the universe, we'll probably be in for a big fight..."

Thinking of this, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

However, he immediately buried this thought in his heart: "Let's find Hou Chang first."

As visibility had decreased, he slowed down and walked down the steps to Sifangping carefully.

When he was still some distance away from the Xie family's shop, he saw a man and a woman closing the shop door with their backs to him.

"Closing so early?"

Guo Ling quickly determined that the thin woman was Xie Wanwan, and the tall man next to her was probably her brother Xie Cun.

He is also Hou Chang's husband.

Guo Ling felt his throat was dry and his heart was pounding. He could not help but stand still and stare at this man from afar who was very likely his love rival. What if this man's wife, Xie Wanwan's sister-in-law, the woman named Hou Chang was really his long-lost wife?

He didn't stare for long before Xie Cun felt it. He glanced back vigilantly and happened to see Guo Ling.

He immediately turned around, assumed a defensive posture, and stared at Guo Ling, his eyes asking, "Who are you?"

Xie Wanwan, who was beside him, also noticed her brother's movement, so she turned around and saw Guo Ling at a glance.

"It's you?" she exclaimed in surprise, "You're back again?"

It was only then that she realized that she didn't even know Guo Ling's name.

Xie Cun looked at his sister in surprise: "Do you know him?"

He became more alert.

Xie Wanwan nodded: "Yes, he also came to the store to inquire about the whereabouts of my sister-in-law."

Xie Cun frowned: "Are you sure he is asking about your sister-in-law? And not trying to get anything done to you?"

Xie Wanwan scolded: "Brother..."

Seeing that he was discovered, Guo Ling walked towards the two people generously. He saw them talking there, but he couldn't hear clearly.

He decided to take the initiative.

When he approached the two of them, he took the initiative to greet Xie Wanwan: "Hello again, Miss Xie. I forgot to introduce myself last time. My name is Guo Ling, and I'm 41 years old."

Xie Wanwan burst out laughing: "Last time you were talking about me, introducing myself and taking the initiative to tell my age, aren't you the same? However, you are about the same age as my brother."

After saying that, she looked at the man beside her.

Xie Cun's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he stared at Guo Ling: "What do you want to do? I'm telling you, if you do anything bad to my sister like those brats, I won't let you go."

Only then did Guo Ling look at Xie Cun carefully.

I have to say that this man's appearance and temperament are both good. His square face looks full of righteousness, and his facial features are very clear. Although he is middle-aged, his hairline still stubbornly maintains the limited hair well. He has a sturdy figure and is almost as tall as him.

"Do you think I'm coveting your sister? No, I'm coveting your wife..." Guo Ling said in his heart.

However, he naturally couldn't say what was in his heart. Instead, he said calmly, "You don't need to provoke me. I came here today, perhaps for the same purpose as you. We should cooperate. I just came here this afternoon. You weren't here, so your sister met me. I was looking for someone, but this person seems to look a lot like her sister-in-law. She told me that her sister-in-law is missing and may be in trouble, so I came back."

He never referred to Hou Chang as "your wife," but rather as "her sister-in-law," which seemed to make him feel a little better. However, Guo Ling still held onto a glimmer of hope, hoping that this man's wife simply looked like his wife and had the same name.

Xie Cun looked Guo Ling up and down, and the wariness and hostility in his eyes faded a little. Before he could say anything, Xie Wanwan beside him exclaimed, "What did you say? We met this afternoon? The last time we met was clearly a week ago!"

Guo Ling was stunned: "But I clearly remember that I just left here not long ago."

Xie Cun became nervous again.

The testimonies of these two people are inconsistent. Is it my sister who is lying, or is this guy talking nonsense?

Guo Ling slapped his head suddenly. "Could it be that... there's a time difference between Wuming City and Kunlun City? One hour in Wuming City is equivalent to one week in Kunlun City?"

He quickly stated his guess and then asked, "Do you... understand?"

He originally thought that the two would act as if they had heard something huge and he would need to spend a lot of time explaining it to them, but unexpectedly, Xie Cun's expression relaxed instead.

Xie Wanwan also replied: "Oh... So that's how it is. So you are in the territory of the Hydrogen Clan. Although I have never been to the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall Structure and Taibai Star, let alone Wuming City, it should be a very far place."

"Why... don't you feel strange at all?" Guo Ling became curious instead.

At this time, Xie Cuncai said, "Since the first day, we have often had all kinds of outsiders coming here, including those from the Hydrogen Clan, the Helium Clan, and the Carbon Clan. The Hydrogen Clan and the Helium Clan only have virtual forms, but the Carbon Clan has physical forms like us, so we have long been exposed to this difference."

He had originally thought that Guo Ling was an old bachelor from Kunlun City who was plotting against his sister, but when he heard that he came from far away and was looking for Hou Chang, he let down most of his guard. After all, he knew that he needed allies now, the more the better.

Virtual form! Physical form! Carbon clan!

These three key words echoed in Guo Ling's ears.

"Isn't this very similar to what we know? Moreover, in addition to the hydrogen family and the helium family, there is also a carbon family?" Guo Ling came to his senses. Zhong Chenmu once told him that Kunlun City has been completely open since the moment it was recreated, unlike Wuming City, which has been kept in a closed fish tank by the hydrogen family like raising fish.

Therefore, they saw the world very early and had to bear the bitter consequences brought about by the huge differences in the level of civilization development.

Guo Ling was extremely excited. Before he could ask any more questions, he heard Xie Cun say, "Mr. Guo Ling, I think the misunderstanding is resolved. We're going to close the shop soon, and then we have something very important to do. Would you like to join us?"