24 hours later.
The forbidden ground behind Guihua Sect.
Lin Yi glanced at the time on his Huawei mat phone.
Feeling that the time was about right, he dialed a number.
But unlike the previous Yaoyaoling call,
this time the number was an encrypted communication frequency band specially customized for Lin Yi by Pan Yongnian's team based on wave packet program feedback.
In communication parameters it fully matched Yaoyaoling, allowing a stable connection to the Chongli Command Center, but on the information level it was more secure, with almost no possibility of interference or information theft.
A few seconds later.
The phone body trembled slightly, and Zhou Jianmin's voice soon came through the receiver:
"Hello, this is Zhou Jianmin."
"Phew..."
Seeing the signal connect smoothly, Lin Yi let out a big sigh of relief and greeted Zhou Jianmin: "Director Zhou, this is Lin Yi, good morning."
Inside the Think Tank base.
Zhou Jianmin couldn't help but pump his fist.
Although expert teams had already demonstrated the feasibility of a second communication, after all this involved communication across worlds, and whether the home world's assessment was compatible with the Tianling Realm remained a question mark until an answer was obtained.
Now it seemed everything was going smoothly enough.
At least in the future there wouldn't be that inefficient scenario where two devices recorded a sentence each and passed messages back and forth through the transmigration point just to complete a conversation...
"Comrade Lin Yi, good morning," Zhou Jianmin paused after speaking, then continued, "Yesterday's exchange was too rushed, and Guihua Sect is under enormous external pressure, so many things couldn't be discussed in detail."
"But today is different; we have plenty of time to exchange information. To be honest, I was so looking forward to this that I didn't sleep well all night."
Lin Yi laughed along.
He was much the same.
Not to mention resting, even ordinary meditation made it hard to calm his mind—comparable to drinking two liters of Boya Juexian.
After all, this was a scene he hadn't dared to dream of in the past...
Then he pulled his focus back to reality and asked Zhou Jianmin, "Director Zhou, may I ask you something first?"
Zhou Jianmin agreed without hesitation: "No problem, go ahead and ask."
Lin Yi took a deep breath, unusually nervous: "During the time I was missing... how is my family?"
Inside the Think Tank base.
A look of "as expected" appeared on Zhou Jianmin's face as he relayed information the Think Tank had long gathered: "Comrade Lin Yi, don't worry; your family situation is relatively stable."
"Your brother Lin Cheng graduated with his doctorate in the first half of the year and returned to Lindu two months ago, joining an internet company with good pay, and is currently living with your parents."
"As for your parents... they still haven't fully accepted the news of your death, and their physical functions have declined to varying degrees due to excessive grief, but they haven't slipped into the danger zone."
"As for more specific details, you can see for yourself."
See for yourself?
Lin Yi was stunned.
But he quickly realized something, snatched up a spirit stone, and drew a wisp of spiritual energy into the light ring.
A few seconds later.
With a flash of light, a tablet appeared in the center of the light ring.
The light ring's size shrank slightly.
Lin Yi hurried into the light ring, picked up the tablet, tore off the small note reading "Swipe left to unlock," and swiped left.
A video began playing automatically.
The footage appeared to come from a head-mounted device; at first the scene was inside an elevator.
Then the elevator doors opened, the view turned left, and an old-fashioned security door with some years on it appeared on the screen.
The moment he saw the security door, Lin Yi's old heart began to race.
Then the view moved closer, and the recorder knocked on the door: "Hello, mobile network maintenance!"
A few seconds later.
Click—
The door was pulled open, and a man around sixty with a gaunt face poked his head out, sized up the recorder for a few moments, and expressionlessly stepped aside:
"Master, please come in; the broadband's been out for almost two hours."
Looking at the man's appearance in the footage, Lin Yi's expression suddenly stiffened.
At the same time, the recorder put on shoe covers and followed the man into the house.
Immediately after...
A woman around sixty, with some white at her temples, gaunt, leaning against the sofa, soon appeared on the screen.
This time.
Lin Yi finally couldn't hold back; he opened his mouth, his eyes gradually turning red:
"Mom......."
That's right.
The two people appearing in the footage were none other than Lin Yi's parents!
He hadn't expected that after his "passing," the two elders would have aged so much...
You have to understand.
Lin Yi's parents were both under fifty this year, usually cheerful; his mother Hou Jing was especially known for looking young among her peers.
Yet now the two were so haggard and dejected...
A good while passed.
Lin Yi only barely calmed himself after a while, walked out of the light ring, picked up his phone again: "Director Zhou, when... was this footage filmed?"
"Yesterday afternoon," Zhou Jianmin quickly said, "After your... uh, after the incident, your parents rarely went out, spending most of their time at home aimlessly scrolling through videos."
"So we faked a network outage, posed as carrier engineers to inspect on-site, and quietly filmed this close-up footage—after all, visiting as officials might instead agitate them."
Lin Yi remained silent for a long time: "Thank you, Director Zhou."
"Ah, no need for pleasantries," Zhou Jianmin waved his hand, continuing, "The organization will continue to monitor your parents' health and safety; you can rest assured on that. However, regarding the news that you are still alive..."
"Don't say that under any circumstances!"
Before Zhou Jianmin finished, Lin Yi hurriedly interrupted: "Director Zhou, just make sure to protect their safety; as for the fact that I'm not dead... let's put that on ice for now."
Seventy years away from home.
To say Lin Yi didn't want his parents to know he was still alive would certainly be a lie.
But right now his lifespan was nearly exhausted; he feared he couldn't last even half a year.
To put it bluntly, with bad luck he might kick the bucket in under two months.
So Lin Yi wasn't sure whether, if he really told the two elders he was still alive,
whether they would be delighted that he hadn't died in the car accident but instead transmigrated to the Tianling Realm and lived nearly a hundred years,
or whether they would suffer a second blow to their already fragile minds and bodies from great joy (his son wasn't dead) followed by great sorrow (but he wouldn't live a few months)?
To be honest.
Both were possible, and Lin Yi wasn't very confident.
So he decided to keep the news hidden and not tell the two elders the truth for now.
Anyway, the state wouldn't shortchange his parents, and with his older brother Lin Cheng taking care of them, he didn't need to worry about his affairs after death.
Having figured this out, and having watched his parents' footage again,
Lin Yi wasn't so reconciled as to break into the Song of Guan Yu, but the weight on his heart had indeed been lifted by more than half.
"Comrade Lin Yi."
After a while, feeling the time was about right, Zhou Jianmin spoke up at the opportune moment:
"If you have no other concerns about your family... could you tell us about the Tianling Realm?"
Chapter 21