Mist

Chapter 56: Transfer Station

Blue sky, the sea and the beach.
All of this turned into threads and slowly scattered away.
Everything before Ji Yushi was reorganising. Wall lights, artificial landscapes, a small brook and a bamboo forest….He had arrived at a Chinese-style courtyard filled with heavy cultural atmosphere.

Ji Yushi stood on an exquisite stone bridge. Except for the sound of water, the courtyard was very quiet.

Ji Yushi guessed that, based on the beach he was at just now, this cunning Tianqiong system had probably created exclusive transfer stations for each of them based on information it had obtained from their subconsciousness. The command centre they had stayed at last time was too simple and crude because Tianqiong at the time only wanted to unify everyone’s senses and didn’t want them to realise that it was all just an illusion when they had in fact never left their capsules.
It was different this time. They had seen through the secret behind the transfer station so it had decided to choose a place from their subconsciousness where they could feel most comfortable to rest.
It could be said that this tailored fantasy world was the most relaxing place in the hearts of the people in the seventh squad.

There was no one in the courtyard.
Ji Yushi crossed the bridge and randomly chose a path paved with stones. Very soon, he reached an area with green lawn.
The facilities here were incompatible with the surroundings. There was a sandpit, castle shaped slide, colourful jumping castle and also a swing. At first glance, it looked like a small playground.

Was this……the transfer station Tianqiong had tailored for Song Qinglan?

Ji Yushi walked over but he still didn’t see anyone.
Not sure about whether he should continue walking, Ji Yushi pulled the swing over and sat down.

The weather was fine, and the temperature was just right.
The refreshing smell of the grass filled his nose, calming Ji Yushi’s slightly anxious mood down. It seems that even if Tianqiong had no plans to sent them back, it would try to let them get their rest.

Sitting on the swing, Ji Yushi started to have nonsensical thoughts out of boredom.
He thought, since this was the place that makes Song Qinglan feel comfortable, then it must exist in reality, just like his beach which was from his high school days. As a result, he was also wearing clothes from that time. With this children’s playground…..could Song Qinglan have become a child again?

An immature face that still had baby fat appeared in Ji Yushi’s mind.
The child was younger than the one in Chaos and his chubby arms were like lotus roots. Just a single poke was enough to poke a dent. He clearly looked well-behaved, but his personality was very overbearing, insisting on playing with whoever he wanted to play with and constantly running over to cling onto him whilst calling out his name.
A certain someone’s younger self relied on their weight to win and was practically a demon king in kindergarten.

“Whoosh——-”
Something flew through the air.

A short red arrow appeared on the swing’s wooden support. The suction cup at the tip of the arrow couldn’t hold on so it very soon fell to the ground.

“What are you thinking about?”
A mature male voice sounded from not far away.

Ji Yushi’s heart skipped a beat. He looked over.

Song Qinglan was wearing a simple T-shirt and sneakers. He held a pitiful looking children’s bow as he strode over.

The short red arrow was shot by Song Qinglan. An adult doing this kind of childish behaviour should’ve looked funny but, because of his long legs and strong temperament, Song Qinglan’s aggressiveness couldn’t be concealed.

“Cap Song.” Ji Yushi asked, “This is your place?”

“It’s my grandfather’s place in Ning City.”
Song Qinglan said this as he reached the swing. He bent down and picked up the arrow before looking down at Ji Yushi who sat on the swing, “Advisor Ji, I was just about to go look for you when Tianqiong notified me that you came to find me.”