Void Jigsaw Puzzle

"What's going on?" Guo Ling knew that Hou Chang could be in danger at any moment. Her eyes and expression meant that something was happening behind them.

Guo Ling quickly turned around and looked in the direction he had walked up, only to see two men appear at the intersection of the stairs and the alley of Shimeiping.

It was hard to tell whether they were just ordinary passers-by or people looking for Hou Chang's whereabouts. However, this path was very narrow and could only accommodate three or four people side by side. He and Hou Chang were now standing in the middle of the path, one above and one below. Even if these two men were just passers-by, they would block their way.

But now most of Hou Chang's appearance has been wiped away by her own tears and hands, revealing a beautiful woman's face, but she is still dressed like a man. This contrast can easily attract other people's attention.

"We can't let her be discovered by them, even if they are just strangers." Guo Ling thought about this and asked Hou Chang, "Let's hurry up and go up. When we reach the top, we'll go down. It's better to get rid of them. No matter whose wife you are now, I just want to stay with you for a while. So, make sure you are absolutely safe."

Hou Chang had already had this intention, and his eyes showed gratitude and relief. He then turned around and walked up, saying softly, "Follow me."

The two of them, one in front and one behind, soon reached the top of the trail. Guo Ling looked down and saw three roads leading down, none of which were particularly wide, and there were no pedestrians on any of them.

He asked, "Which way shall we go?"

Hou Chang looked down, thought for a while, and then, as if he had made up his mind, walked down the path on the left.

Guo Ling also hurried to follow.

However, before they had taken a few steps, the path on the left turned a sharp corner and continued down. On the inside of this sharp bend, there were several sturdy camphor trees, nearly 30 meters tall, almost covering the entire area.

Another camphor tree.

Before Guo Ling could sigh, he heard Hou Chang say in a low voice: "Come in quickly!"

He was shocked. Just as he looked up at the camphor tree and began to lose focus, Hou Chang disappeared before his eyes.

However, when he looked in the direction of Hou Chang's voice, he saw that she was already at the intersection of the roots of the camphor trees, with only her head exposed!

"What are you still standing there for? Come in quickly! Otherwise someone will see us!"

Hou Chang quickly disappeared at the intersection, and when she disappeared in it, Guo Ling discovered that this was actually the entrance to a tunnel!

The entrance was obviously decorated very concealedly, and was almost indistinguishable from the ground mixed with soil and fallen leaves. If Hou Chang hadn't greeted him, he would not have noticed it at all.

So he quickly jumped down and walked down along the tunnel entrance.

When he entered the tunnel, a wooden door at the entrance above his head slowly closed silently.

This blocks out all light and sound from outside.

Behind the scenes, all movements are isolated, and in front of the eyes, a new world is emerging.

Going down the steps, he soon saw a soft yellow light. Guo Ling exclaimed in wonder and continued walking down towards the light.

After walking up dozens of steps, he found himself in a spacious room. Although the room was deep underground, it was very well decorated. The walls were not simple adobes, but painted, with smooth and neat surfaces. The light just now came from the lamps hanging on several walls.

The room was small, but it had everything: a large bed about 1.8 meters wide, a complete set of tables, chairs, and benches, and even a refrigerator in the corner. There were two doors on either side of the room, clearly revealing a new world beyond them.

Hou Chang stood in the middle of the room, looking at Guo Ling with a surprised expression.

"Okay, now we can have a good chat."

Guo Ling asked, "Is this your hiding place?"

Hou Chang nodded. "Yes, it's quite secretive, isn't it? You're the only one who knows about this, and I trust you won't tell anyone. But, after today, you must leave here immediately, leave Kunlun City, the farther the better, and never come back."

Guo Ling's heart trembled, and he asked, "How did you find such a place?"

Hou Chang smiled bitterly and said, "One of my part-time jobs was to take care of an elderly widower who had no relatives. One time, when I was near here, he fell and collapsed on the path. For a long time, no one came to him. As you can see, this area is probably the most sparsely populated place in Kunlun City. Ironically, it is so close to the most prosperous Shimeiping. At that time, I happened to pass by and saved him. He was very grateful to me. Not only did he ask me to take care of him for the last part of his life, but he also paid me a generous reward. To be honest, I originally came here to find a remote place. "Suicide site—I was practically on the verge of collapse, but by chance I met him, and he saved my life. He died soon after. Before he died, he told me about this place and told me not to tell anyone else, saying I could use it as a safe haven. I never imagined I'd actually have the opportunity to use it, let alone the state-of-the-art facilities, allowing me to observe my surroundings 360 degrees without leaving my room. As for food and water, the adjacent storage room was stocked with canned goods and bottled water to last a whole year..."

Listening to Hou Chang's introduction, Guo Ling felt his eyes were opened.

Then he fell into inexplicable melancholy.

He felt that the possibility of Hou Chang following him and leaving here and returning to Wuming City was becoming increasingly smaller.

However, he didn't want to give up. "It's indeed very secluded here, but do you want to hide forever? If you come back with me, we can get out of this situation. My good friend can talk directly to the leader of the Hydrogen Tribe. I believe that if the Hydrogen Tribe gives up hunting you, the people in Kunlun City, such as Sanjay, will definitely not embarrass you anymore. What's more, by then, you won't live in Kunlun City anymore. If you take Changchang with you, our family of three can be reunited. Isn't that great?"

At this point, Guo Ling suddenly realized that he had missed a very important detail, but he couldn't remember what this detail was for a while.

Right now, he just wanted to use his utmost sincerity to bring Hou Chang back to his side.

Hou Chang's eyes moistened again after hearing this, but he shook his head firmly. "Guo Ling, in my memory, we're a family with beautiful memories. But in reality, we've never spent a single day together. You can't empathize with the experiences I've endured, the pain, and the struggles I've endured. I haven't been a part of the experiences you've entered into. What are we? The most familiar strangers? Xie Cun treats me and Chang Chang very well now. He's my de facto husband and Chang Chang's father. I can't abandon him, nor can I let you take Chang Chang away. Hiding here now is just a temporary solution, but I believe that resolving my problems won't simply involve rescuing me and allowing me to see the light of day again. In other words, that can only solve my individual problems, not collective ones like mine. What Xie Cun and his team are doing, what the Kunlun Front is doing, is to solve all similar problems at once through macro-level, top-level changes, so that what I've experienced won't happen to anyone else."

After hearing Hou Chang's words, Guo Ling felt that the last glimmer of hope in his heart had completely sunk into the abyss.

He suddenly felt a strange sense of powerlessness. Ever since the "singularity moment" in Wuming City, he had been looking forward to a moment like today. However, he had never expected it to happen in this way.

When we say goodbye, it is time to part.

However, Guo Ling couldn't seem to blame Hou Chang, or even Xie Cun. Who could he blame in this whole thing? He could only blame himself for not finding Hou Chang sooner, for not being able to accompany her through those darkest days.

Seeing Guo Ling's face filled with disappointment and frustration, and not a single word uttered, Hou Chang felt a sharp pain in her heart. However, she had no other choice; she had her own persistence and choices. One cannot live in the past; one must always live in the present and toward the future, not the other way around.

She said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I know this isn't the answer you wanted, but I can't be unfaithful to my heart, and I can't lie to you. Rest here for a while, then observe your surroundings. When you're sure no one is around, you can go out and do your own thing. Don't worry, no one in Kunlun City can find me. The only person I need to worry about is Sanjay, so I check on him from time to time. He just went to the government office, probably hoping to find me through their power, but I'm not worried, because the Kunlun Municipal Government has lost its credibility among us."

Guo Ling lowered his head and sighed deeply, then raised his eyes and forced a smile. "It's okay. Being able to meet you again is already a blessing I earned in my previous life. No matter what, even if it's just in memory, we were once husband and wife. I hope you can live well... Where can I see the surrounding situation?"

Seeing Guo Ling's determination to leave, Hou Chang understood and pointed to the side and back of Guo Ling's head. Guo Ling turned and looked, only to see a small hole in the corner of the ceiling. A flexible pipe dangled from the hole, and at the end of the pipe was a device that looked like an observation mirror.

"If you look over there, you can see the surrounding scenery. It's a bit like the principle of a periscope. The real observation port is actually in the trunks of the camphor trees above our heads..."

Guo Ling walked over, put his eyes close to the observation mirror, and took a closer look. Sure enough, everything around him was in full view. The two men who had just come up from the alley on the other side were walking back and forth between the three paths down the mountain, observing and mumbling something.

"We were right to be cautious just now! They are here to look for Hou Chang!"

Guo Ling stayed for a while longer, then went to the observation mirror again. After confirming that no one was in his field of view, he hardened his heart and said to Hou Chang, "Then I'm leaving. You... take care."

Hou Chang also waved at him: "Take care, be careful on the road."

"Will we meet again?"

"I believe it will happen again." Hou Chang said with a smile.

With tears in his eyes.

"Okay!" Guo Ling gritted his teeth and walked up the stairs quickly without looking back.

After emerging from his hiding place, he quickly returned to the path beside the camphor trees. He looked around and saw no one. He was alone in the world. He felt the breeze against his face and listened to the rustling of leaves. Suddenly, he felt extremely lonely.

Guo Ling returned the same way and walked to the top of the trail again. Then he walked back along the path where he had just met Hou Chang to the edge of Shimeiping, facing the alley of Kunlun Municipal Government.

Crossing the alley and entering Shimeiping, Guo Ling felt like he had suddenly entered another world. The tranquility was instantly replaced by a bustle of noise. He stared at the people passing through the square in a daze, feeling as if he had just dreamed. But if it was a dream, why did hugging Hou Chang feel so real? Why were the tears she had left on his shoulder still wet?

I passed by a store and heard a song coming from the store. The melody sounded like an old song from very old times.

"How much love can be repeated, how many people are worth waiting for..."