Newly arrived, the training base didn't strictly assign dormitories, merely separating men and women to sleep in a large communal room.
Late at night, the sound of breathing rose and fell around her.
Tong Yang got up and walked through the passage left in the middle of the floor-level communal bedding, heading to the restroom not far outside.
After checking the restroom, she found it empty except for herself.
After waiting several minutes, a figure slowly walked in.
"What are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?"
Tong Yang and the other person spoke almost in unison.
After a moment of silent standoff, the other person spoke first, saying, "Didn't you tell me to get as close to the higher-ups as possible? So, I came to participate in the 'Forerunner' selection."
Tong Yang said, "I'm here to get close to the First World United Government."
The familiar face appearing here was none other than Meng Xiao, who had previously cooperated with Tong Yang and maintained an ongoing partnership.
The two stood under the dim light, staring wide-eyed at each other. After a few seconds, they said in unison, "We don't know each other."
"Understood."
Meng Xiao shook the hand she extended.
"How are things in the parallel world?" Tong Yang asked.
Meng Xiao said, "They know you entered the First World, but they can't reach directly. After hearing the First World bombed the slums looking for you, they sent some people to participate in the 'Forerunner' selection to find you."
Tong Yang nodded, "Who else besides you?"
"Almost everyone." Meng Xiao crossed her arms. "We can't act freely during the Forerunner selection. We all thought you'd be hiding in the slums. I was even thinking of finding some opportunity to look for you. I never expected you to be so bold, coming here for the selection. You really aren't afraid of death."
Tong Yang shook her head, "I'm actually safer here."
After a slight pause, Tong Yang asked, "Besides you, do the others know what I look like?"
Meng Xiao said, "Those old fogies are trying to repair your coordinates. No one has actually seen you except me."
Tong Yang nodded. Compared to finding her existence by appearance in a vast sea of people, which was like looking for a needle in a haystack, the coordinates of the time anchor were much simpler and clearer. Besides, the parallel world heavily relied on coordinates anyway.
"That puts my mind at ease," Tong Yang said.
Meng Xiao asked, "How's my sister been lately?"
Tong Yang said, "She's been adapting well recently, helping out at the base."
Meng Ting was different from others in the parallel world. Due to being frail and sickly since childhood, she had little contact with the outside world. Her survival was entirely due to Meng Xiao and their parents, and she did have some mental health issues. After such a long period of recuperation, she was basically no different from a normal person. However, due to her identity, she couldn't be allowed to leave the base and live independently.
"That's good."
The two didn't linger long, returning to the room one after the other.
The next morning, everyone was startled awake from their sleep by a bell and gathered on the training ground.
A training regiment instructor spent an hour explaining the base rules, then had them collect daily necessities and training uniforms. They were to first find their assigned dormitories, change into the training uniforms, and return to the training ground in two hours.
The training uniforms were completely different from real-world military uniforms. They were made of a black, rubber-like material that could freely stretch, perfectly conforming to the body's shape. However, the material wasn't actual rubber; it was highly breathable, impervious to water and fire, and even had some white stripes deliberately designed to enhance visual appeal.
It's worth mentioning that Tong Yang and Meng Xiao were, quite coincidentally, assigned to two adjacent dorm rooms.
Immediately afterward, basic training began.
The basic training was similar to what Tong Yang had undergone under Wu Pingxue's tutelage before, posing no challenge to her, and her performance remained consistently good.
The base didn't directly confiscate their electronic devices. As long as training was over, they could contact the outside world anytime.
Given the current situation, besides training hard to pass the selection, Tong Yang couldn't do anything else. She simply shut out everything from the outside world, throwing herself wholeheartedly into the training.
Xue Wei, as one of the training base instructors, was extremely harsh on Tong Yang. Where others could pass by achieving eight out of ten, he demanded Tong Yang achieve twelve. It was unclear whether this was revenge for Tong Yang's personal slight of saying he was "average-looking."
One day after training ended, Tong Yang was punished with an extra hour of training by Xue Wei due to a mistake in one movement. She didn't head to the cafeteria until after everyone else had finished eating.
With a full bowl of food, Tong Yang was eating heartily when Xue Wei approached from behind.
"Starving, aren't you?" Xue Wei teased.
"Get lost," Tong Yang cursed without looking up.
Xue Wei snorted a laugh and said, "Still not satisfied? Others are breaking their necks trying to get in here. I coaxed you in with an apartment plus two hundred thousand. What's wrong with training a bit more than them?"
"Nothing's wrong," Tong Yang said.
She liked to maximize her use of time. Even if Xue Wei didn't punish her with extra training, Tong Yang would train on her own. So, Xue Wei's strict demands actually suited her just fine. It was just...
"I just don't want to see your face."
This guy always wore a smug, triumphant expression when he appeared before her as an instructor.
"Such a handsome face like mine, you..."
Before he could finish, Tong Yang looked up at him seriously and said, "Honestly, very average."
Xue Wei's face darkened. He had thought Tong Yang had learned to behave during this period of training.
"Hope you choke on it!" Xue Wei said through gritted teeth.
Tong Yang couldn't be bothered with him and continued eating.
That night, after training ended, Tong Yang returned to her dorm.
On her phone, her academic advisor had sent a message. Her online final exam scores from a while back were out. Her grades were still first in the entire major. However, due to the different exam format, her scores wouldn't be included in the ranking, making her ineligible for scholarship competition.
Tong Yang replied to the teacher that she wouldn't participate in scholarship competition anymore.
"The slums have been bombed for the fourth round. Don't know what's happening."
"Whatever. As long as they haven't found the time anchor, the bombing will continue. It's not like their lives have much meaning anyway."
"Right! If they die and the time anchor dies too, that would be a great achievement!"
...
Others in the dorm started discussing the slum bombings.
During Tong Yang's training period, after the first bombing, the slums had suffered three more rounds of bombing. News in the civilian districts only reported that the slums had been bombed. Specific details like the scope or casualty figures were never reported.
However, the number of dead and injured was likely not low.
Even if one was lucky enough to survive with injuries from the bombing, under those conditions, without medical resources, wounds would continue to worsen, leading inevitably to death.
So far, Tong Yang had no power to stop this. However, the "Forerunner" selection probably wouldn't end anytime soon. Letting the situation deteriorate unchecked might lead to things spiraling out of control.
Given the slum environment, if too many corpses accumulated within a certain area, it could breed viruses and cause an epidemic. Then, everyone in the slums would be hard-pressed to escape death.
She had no chance to contact Maynard, and even if she did, it likely wouldn't change anything. The only person who could rival the United Government...
Suddenly, Tong Yang remembered something. She put down her things, turned, left her dorm, and arrived at the door of the neighboring dorm.
"Meng Xiao, come out for a moment."
Since the two dorms were close and they interacted frequently, most people knew each other's names.
Meng Xiao looked up at her, understanding passing between them. "Coming."
The two left the residential area and found a secluded spot.
Unlike the parallel world, the First World wasn't blanketed in surveillance cameras. As long as they avoided the visible ones, no one could discover them.
"Need something?" Meng Xiao asked.
Tong Yang said, "Can you contact the parallel world?"
"Obviously. What's up?"
Tong Yang stated, "Tell them about the First World bombing the slums and forcing me into the First World."
Meng Xiao was puzzled. "Why?"
Tong Yang explained, "The First World's purpose in bombing the slums wasn't me, but to reduce the Earth's population capable of controlling magnetic field energy. They are unwilling to let the parallel world monopolize it. Otherwise, after seizing the real world, you would gain more magnetic field energy, and the First World's situation would become extremely dangerous."
Meng Xiao frowned. "You're saying the First World wants to develop magnetic field energy themselves? So, forcing you into the First World was actually more about protecting you from being killed by the parallel world, while they use this time to gradually reduce the Earth's population and develop magnetic field energy to catch up to the parallel world?"
"Exactly." Tong Yang nodded. "We don't want the First World to smoothly develop magnetic field energy, and the parallel world probably feels the same. If the First World's magnetic field energy development catches up to the parallel world, given their current scientific technology, they could likely devour the remaining two worlds."
Meng Xiao seemed to grasp it partially. "You want me to tell the parallel world, have them figure out a way to check the First World, and then cooperate with the parallel world?"
Tong Yang shook her head. "Not cooperation. Utilization."
Cooperating with Wu Pingxue was only because he had already defected from the parallel world. No matter what happened, Tong Yang would absolutely never cooperate with the parallel world.
Meng Xiao said, "I understand."
"Alright."
After returning, Meng Xiao sent the message back to the parallel world.
In the following days, the neighboring middle school started its semester, and Xue Wei had promised Tong Yang she could go see Miaomiao.
"Sister!"
Miaomiao, carrying her backpack, ran towards her delightedly.
After not seeing her for a while, Miaomiao had clearly gained some weight, her cheeks rosy.
"Mm." Tong Yang gave a slight nod, escorted her into the school, and found her dorm.
"Sister, is that your training camp over there?"
Miaomiao stood by the window, pointing at the buildings not far away.
"Mm." Tong Yang spread the cotton padding on her bed, answering absently.
Miaomiao said, "Great, I can see you often then."
Tong Yang glanced at her. "Your eyesight is that good? You can see me from such a distance?"
Miaomiao laughed. "My vision has always been great. I can even see people practicing boxing on the playground over there."
Tong Yang looked out the window. Although the training base and the school weren't far apart, both covered large areas, and the distance between them wasn't short. The playground Miaomiao mentioned was southwest of the training base. Tong Yang could only see a few bright red running tracks, nothing else.
"Let's go, I'll show you the cafeteria."
"Oh."
Tong Yang took her around the school to familiarize her with the environment. After lunch, she returned to the training base.
That day, Xue Wei, who was usually all smiles, was uncharacteristically stern-faced as he led them through a full day of training. When it ended, he didn't give Tong Yang a hard time and dismissed them.
Unusual behavior signals trouble. After dismissal, Tong Yang didn't immediately return to her dorm. She caught up to Xue Wei and asked, "Instructor Xue, not settling personal scores today?"
Xue Wei shot her a look. "Looking for trouble?"
Tong Yang said, "Not really. As your trainee, noticing you're in a bad mood, I thought I'd come help share your burdens."
Xue Wei sneered. "Share my burdens? I thought you'd be clapping and cheering."
Ignoring the sarcasm in his words, Tong Yang asked, "What's going on, really?"
Xue Wei narrowed his eyes, looked at her for a few seconds, and said, "Curious?"
"A little."
"Why?"
"I want to know what's got you so glum, so I can enjoy it."
Xue Wei wore an "I knew it" expression.
Tong Yang said, "So, what is it?"
Xue Wei's face darkened a bit. "Well, you're somewhat involved anyway, so you might as well hear it."
"Go on."
The two walked to an unused training area. Tong Yang hoisted herself onto the parallel bars, sitting on one side, her feet propped on the other, looking down at Xue Wei from above.
Xue Wei looked up, about to speak, but seeing Tong Yang looking down at him, he said exasperatedly, "I'm the instructor."
"Cut the crap."
Xue Wei pursed his lips and said, "This morning, the leader of the Second World issued a statement, championing the cause of the slums, saying the United Government is depriving them of their human rights, demanding an end to the indiscriminate bombing."
Tong Yang nodded slightly. Meng Xiao's message had probably taken effect.
Xue Wei cursed, "Those bastards! They hold power of life and death over people in their own world, yet come to the First World to boss us around! Haven't they deprived enough human rights themselves? Just look at how rotten their social system is!"
Tong Yang paused briefly and said, "They've discovered the United Government's goal? But why try to stop it?"
Xue Wei didn't know Tong Yang was already aware that reducing the population was necessary to maximize magnetic field energy development, so Tong Yang had to pretend she didn't know.
Xue Wei's expression turned grim. "What other possibility is there? Fighting for the human rights of slum dwellers? Bullshit! They just want to be the sole superpower!"
Tong Yang furrowed her brows. "How would they know?"
Xue Wei said, "Not many people know the inside story, only the dozen or so people dispatched by the United Government."
Tong Yang said, "I know too."
Xue Wei shook his head. "You only know the United Government wants to kill the poor, not the real reason. The United Government anticipated that as the situation developed, the Second World would eventually catch on. They just thought it would take at least half a year. They didn't expect to be discovered before the fifth round of bombing could even be carried out."
Tong Yang pondered for a moment. "Now that the Second World knows the United Government's goal, they definitely won't stand by. What do they plan to do?"
Xue Wei looked at her and didn't speak.
Tong Yang knew his nature—he'd say what he was supposed to say, and not a word more.
Telling her about the parallel world leader's statement probably meant everyone in the First World, except the slum dwellers, already knew.
Without waiting for his answer, Tong Yang continued on her own, "The United Government probably doesn't want to openly break with the Second World. It's not to our benefit. Otherwise, an unavoidable war would break out between the two worlds."
Xue Wei lowered his gaze, remaining silent.
Tong Yang went on, "Naturally, the Second World also doesn't want war with the First World. The end result would be mutual destruction. Moreover, they share a common target—the Third World."
Xue Wei raised his head and declared, "Go on."
Tong Yang said, "Although the true intentions of the United Government and the reasons for the Second World's obstruction are unclear, I believe both the United Government and the Second World should take a step back. After all, the Time Anchor's whereabouts are unknown; she must be found first."
Xue Wei asked, "How do you think they should compromise?"
Tong Yang pondered for a moment, then said, "The bombing of the slums should continue, but the frequency must be reduced. The United Government won't easily abandon bombing the slums, and to a certain extent, the Second World can only accept that, otherwise neither side will convince the other."
Xue Wei stroked his chin, his gaze turning distant. "Even if the frequency is reduced, the Second World won't just let it go."
Tong Yang replied, "Right. So they will demand to join the search for the Time Anchor and then work on fixing the fuzzy coordinate issue. Reducing the bombing frequency is to buy time to find the Time Anchor, leaving the United Government with no excuse to continue bombing the slums."
Xue Wei said, "You make a good point."
Then, he asked another question, "How do you think the United Government should respond?"
Tong Yang answered, "As long as the United Government finds the Time Anchor before the Second World does and hides her, they can continue bombing the slums and think of other excuses to fob off the Second World later."
Xue Wei rested his chin on one hand, lost in thought for a long while. "That makes sense. The United Government probably has that very plan."
Tong Yang exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"
"Mhmm. The bombing frequency will change to once a month."
Tong Yang remained expressionless, but inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief. Changing from three bombings a month to just one had already significantly reduced the losses.
Moreover, the slums covered a vast area, meaning more people would likely survive by chance.
Within a few days, the United Government announced its decision, which differed little from Tong Yang's speculation.
The only unfavorable development for her was that the First World would probably redouble its efforts to find her.
As for the Parallel World getting involved, Tong Yang wasn't worried. As long as she stayed at the training base, the Parallel World couldn't possibly find her.
She was quite pleased with this situation of mutual restraint.
After the bombing frequency was reduced, Tong Yang didn't make any further moves. Over time, this raised no suspicion.
After all, who could guess that the Time Anchor, who had entered the First World alone, not only now had a child with her but had also entered a training base?
However, Tong Yang wasn't entirely certain she hadn't been discovered. It was possible someone in the United Government had already found her and was just going with the flow.
Time flew by, and it was now December 2025. The weather was bitterly cold, and training became even more arduous.
During this period, the Parallel World not only applied to provide living and medical resources to the slums but also conducted a large-scale airdrop of winter supplies as the cold set in.
When Tong Yang learned of this, she found it laughable. The lower-class people in their own world were dying or going insane, yet for the sake of interests, they would actually share their already scarce resources with the slum dwellers.
Be that as it may, it suited Tong Yang's purposes just fine.
The United Government was already highly displeased with the Parallel World repeatedly meddling in its affairs. Relations between the two worlds had become extremely tense. Furthermore, news of Maynard being in the First World had somehow been leaked. Now, with the Parallel World and the First World at daggers drawn, it seemed that once the Time Anchor was found, they wouldn't even be able to maintain a facade of peace.
Naturally, Tong Yang very much hoped to see them fight like dogs.
One noon, Xue Wei came to the training squad. He selected over fifty people, mostly the top performers, including Tong Yang and Meng Xiao, to accompany him by vehicle to another location.
"Instructor, where are you taking us?"
"We've even left the training base."
Xue Wei, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced back at them. "Don't ask. You'll know when we get there."
"Oh."
After nearly two hours of driving, the vehicle brought them to a place resembling an airfield.
"Zhan's Technology Research Base?"
"Oh my god!"
"Instructor, you're not going to show us combat aircraft, are you?"
Xue Wei smiled mysteriously. "Not just show you. You're going to learn."
"Wh-what?"
"Learn how to build aircraft?"
Xue Wei shot them a look. "Learn how to pilot them, of course."
"Huh??"
"You're letting us learn to pilot combat aircraft?"
"Wow! I can't wait!"
Tong Yang, who had been resting with her eyes closed, became somewhat interested upon hearing their conversation. She opened her eyes and looked outside.
"Whoosh—"
"Whoosh—"
Just then, two combat aircraft flew over the group's heads.
"Wow! So cool!"
"I heard only 'Forerunners' are qualified to pilot combat aircraft. Can we really do it too?!"
Tong Yang looked at one of the combat aircraft and saw the person in the cockpit through the glass.
That person also saw Tong Yang and dove the combat aircraft straight toward her, aggressive and swift.
Tong Yang, unflustered, drew the military knife she carried at her waist and hurled it at the aircraft. With a sharp "clang," it struck the aircraft's glass.
Immediately after, the aircraft slowly came to a halt, hovering in mid-air.
The glass window lowered, and Zhan Zicheng stood up, waving both hands at her. "Yang Tong... Ah!"
Before he could finish calling her name, the other combat aircraft slammed into his.
"Miao Ya, what are you doing?!" Zhan Zicheng nearly got knocked right out, cursing loudly.
The girl in the other combat aircraft looked at him coldly, seemingly saying something.
Zhan Zicheng's face stiffened. "Yang... Yang Le, right? I almost remembered it wrong."
Xue Wei also couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Tong Yang's expression remained unchanged throughout. She picked up her knife from the ground.
Ten minutes later, Zhan Zicheng led them into the test flight base. Full of pride, he began explaining the principles of the combat aircraft. However, everyone else was too eager to get up close to the aircraft. Only Tong Yang and Meng Xiao listened patiently to his explanation.
When he mentioned that all aircraft could be considered "sons" of the first-generation aircraft, with all flight data needing to be fed back to it, Tong Yang suddenly thought of something.
"Do the aircraft absolutely require a human pilot?"
Having listened to his lengthy introduction, Tong Yang felt the aircraft's underlying principles were somewhat similar to those of drones.
Zhan Zicheng said, "Not necessarily. They can be controlled via the first-generation aircraft. The first-gen is basically obsolete now, no longer flight-worthy. It's just that there's a connection between each generation of aircraft, allowing remote control through the first-gen. So, the first-generation aircraft only serves to monitor data from the other aircraft now."
Tong Yang thought for a moment. This connection seemed similar to the programs of the Parallel World. Since it was related to magnetic field energy, perhaps all aircraft shared a single program—essentially, one energy terminal.
After a while, Tong Yang asked, "What about the androids? Is there any connection between them?"
"Bionic humans?" Zhan Zicheng frowned. "I don't know what connection exists between them, but bionic humans can also be controlled through the first generation of bionic humans."
So it seemed the first-generation aircraft and the first-generation bionic humans were akin to energy terminals. The magnetic field energy converged on the original systems, allowing the subsystems to be manipulated through them.
Zhan Zicheng said, "However, the United Government, fearing that bionic humans might evolve human emotions and subsequently destroy humanity, executed all the original bionic humans capable of controlling others. Now, only the United Government can control bionic humans."
At that moment, Miao Ya, walking behind them, spoke up: "If I recall correctly, when the United Government created the original bionic humans, they were built exactly like human bodies, almost indistinguishable from humans. This led to one of the bionic humans having a child with a human. That's why the United Government chose to destroy the original generation, and later models were specifically designed to exclude human emotions."
Tong Yang asked, "What happened to that child?"
Miao Ya replied, "The United Government feared that the child of an original bionic human might also be able to control other bionics, so they had the child's body... pulverized."
"Is that so."
Tong Yang lowered his gaze, feeling it was a terrible waste.
If they could find a way to control the bionic humans, their chances in the real world would increase by a significant margin.
After all, they couldn't truly contend with the First World or the parallel worlds on their own.
