Chapter Thirty-Three: Return... and the Establishment of the Space Base

Inside the Temporal Management Bureau, the two exchanged a few brief words, added each other as friends in the dimensional network, and then allowed the Bureau to send them back to their respective worlds.

Meanwhile, Mu Siyu and the other two gifted individuals were elated to see Wood eliminate the monster. Suddenly, Wood vanished into thin air, startling them greatly. At that moment, the zombies in Biao City seemed to be losing their vigor—their movements slowed, some collapsed and could not rise again, and others shuffled sluggishly, no longer posing a threat to humanity.

The two hurried to where Wood had been and found two mysterious oval-shaped metal objects on the ground. One of them was the item Wood had thrown into the air to distract the monster. The victory owed much to his quick thinking.

The three stood stunned when the space around them twisted, and Wood emerged as if from nowhere.

Mu Siyu, overjoyed, rushed forward and embraced him. Wood patted her back and smiled, "It's all right, it's all right!" He reached out, and the two mysterious metal objects flew into his hand. This was his telekinetic ability, acquired after his psychic mutation. Though he couldn't wield it as skillfully as Lu Bingyi, it was effortless to retrieve objects.

The two gifted individuals had wanted to ask about Wood's miraculous disappearance and return, but seeing the intimacy between him and Mu Siyu, they refrained from interrupting and swallowed their questions.

"Beep... Agent of the Basic Matter Plane has completed the trial mission. You must return to your designated plane within twenty-four hours. Would you like to return immediately or wait a moment?" The little assistant reminded him.

"Wait a moment," Wood replied quickly. He had already shared intimacy and affection with the two women in this plane, and felt he owed them an explanation.

"What? Brother Wood, you're leaving? Where are you going? Didn't you promise to always take care of Qiao'er?" Back at the warehouse occupied by the two gifted individuals, Wood stated his intention to leave. The two gifted ones were calm, but Kong Yangyun and his wife, along with Qiao'er, were shocked.

"Mr. Wood, wherever you go, as long as you don't mind, we'll follow you!" Kong Yangyun said. Wood pondered for a while, then pulled them aside and spoke quietly, "The place I'm going is very special—completely unlike here. I may never return. You all have family, roots, and connections here. If you follow me, you may never come back."

This made Kong Yangyun hesitate. After all, leaving one's homeland is difficult; everyone has feelings for their native land.

Mu Siyu said, "I will go with you. I have no family left in this world." She lowered her head sadly, recalling her husband who had abandoned her, and felt a sharp pain in her heart.

Mu Siqing added, "If my sister goes with you, I will follow as well."

Qiao'er pouted, "You promised not to abandon me, you can't go back on your word."

Wood was pleased that these three beautiful women wished to follow him, but he still cautioned, "If you truly follow me, there will be no turning back." He took out a book and said, "To come with me, you must sign a contract and enter this space. Once you sign, your fate will be in my hands, and there will be no regrets."

Everyone's expressions changed. Kong Yangyun stammered, "Mr. Wood, who are you really? How do you possess such powers?"

The four women shared the same doubts. Wood smiled, "I can't really explain. Simply put, I am a being from another world. If you decide to follow me, you most likely will never return."

Qiao'er exclaimed excitedly, "Are you one of those legendary immortals?"

... Wood was speechless; it seemed every plane had its own immortal legends.

Mu Siqing asked, "You won't keep us locked in the book forever, will you? We'd die of boredom."

"Of course not," Wood replied. "Each page of this book has five hundred square kilometers of space and can contain various life forms. There are different areas—beaches, villas, forests. At present, there's no other life inside, but if you feel bored, I can let you out once we reach my plane."

"Oh... really?" Qiao'er exclaimed excitedly. "There's a beach and a villa? I'll choose a villa by the beach!"

"As long as there's a peaceful life, anywhere is fine," Mu Siyu said. Her life had been utterly destroyed by the zombie crisis, and peace mattered more than anything.

"Siqing, you..." Mu Siyu felt a complicated understanding; once inside the book, she and Qiao'er would become Wood's companions, and she was reluctant to let her sister follow. She worried for Siqing's survival in this world, feared her sister would become another's companion, and dreaded that she might defy Wood in the future...

"Of course I follow you, sister!" Siqing said cheerfully. "I want to keep an eye on Wood so he won't bully you!" She was the only one who dared to call Chen Mu by his nickname.

Wood touched his nose, thinking, If I wanted to bully your sister, could you stop me? In truth, she already let me, and willingly at that!

Seeing Kong Yangyun's hesitation, Wood said, "Old Kong, you shouldn't come. Take care of your wife and live a good life." He produced a small box of gold and said, "Now that the zombies are disappearing and order will be restored, this gold will be useful. I've left a large supply of food in the 'Puma' car. Find a city that hasn't been too badly polluted and settle down with your wife."

Kong Yangyun hesitated, then finally took the gold, choking up, "Mr. Wood, thank you! You saved my wife, and now you give us these things!"

Wood patted his shoulder, "No need for thanks. The gifted ones here will look after you for my sake. When you leave, don't repeat what I said earlier—just tell them I have other matters to attend to."

With tears in his eyes, Kong Yangyun and his wife bowed to Wood and left.

Wood then opened the book, performed the seals taught by Master Xiaoyao, and brought the three women into the book. He then activated the dimensional system and returned to the Basic Matter Plane.

The familiar haze enveloped him. When he regained consciousness, Wood was back in his villa, in the very room he had departed from. Though nearly a month had passed, it felt as if he had left only yesterday. Upon his return, he sensed a psychic link, and Invincible No. 1 appeared at his side.

"Master, where did you go? I couldn't locate your psychic link."

"Ah, I accidentally triggered the hidden trial protocol, and the Temporal Management Bureau must have severed our connection."

"Master, Invincible No. 2 sent a message—their space base is complete. Would you like to inspect it?"

"How do I get there?" Wood was intrigued by the prospect of visiting outer space.

"The spatial portal!" Invincible No. 1 pointed to a small door in the room, "It was just installed. Master can use it to go directly to the space base."

"Excellent!" Wood was delighted and prepared to open the space portal. Suddenly, he thought to ask, "Is it outer space on the other side? Will there be air?"

"Don't worry, Master! Passing through the portal will place you in a sealed chamber prepared with an energy shield to ensure your safety."

Wood called out, remembering his dimensional system had upgraded to level B, granting him a new function—Survival: the agent can live in various planes and cosmic spaces.

Inspired, Wood summoned the three women from the book. They were bewildered and about to ask questions when he drew them into the space portal. Darkness enveloped them, as though they entered a black passageway. Countless streams of light flashed past, and after a few seconds, their vision brightened—they found themselves in a small room.

A translucent, circular shield like a magical barrier appeared around each of them. The iron door of the room swung open with a "whoosh," revealing a corridor ahead. As they walked, Wood noticed a peculiar sensation—their bodies felt light, as if gravity were only one-sixth of Earth's. He wondered where in space the base was located.

Invincible No. 2 greeted them at the entrance, "Welcome, Master, to the space base!"

"Let's wander around," Wood said, uncertain where to begin. The lighting was bright but clearly artificial. Above was a dome of transparent glass, but beyond it was utter darkness—nothing could be seen.

"Please follow No. 2 to the observation deck," No. 2 explained as he led the way, "This small planet covers about five thousand square kilometers, and is three hundred thousand light-years from Earth. According to its orbit, it is absolutely safe from collision amid the asteroid clusters. We've installed multiple high-energy laser cannons throughout this planet. If needed, we can convert it into a satellite fortress..."

Listening to No. 2's introduction, Wood was overwhelmed with joy. The technology of the Silicon-based Plane was truly extraordinary—building a space base so quickly! If he summoned Nanshan and acquired another spacecraft, he could explore other planets. The thought thrilled him.

"But transforming it into a satellite fortress would require enormous investment and time. For now, this is just the basic base unfolded by the base vehicle, and its functions remain incomplete," No. 2 continued, leading them to the observation deck.

However, the view from the deck was unremarkable—darkness everywhere. Apart from distant engineering robots mining meteoric iron, there was nothing spectacular.

Qiao'er’s eyes sparkled as she tugged Wood’s arm, "Brother Wood, can we go out and explore space?"