Early in the morning, in front of an unknown tombstone in Ping County Cemetery.
First, a strange distortion appeared in the air, and then it seemed that some particles were constantly gathering. As the particles became more and more numerous and condensed, the outline became clearer and clearer. Tan Yan, who was carrying Minister Yu, appeared in front of the tombstone, half-kneeling.
Putting Minister Yu down, Tan Yan raised his hand and gently touched the tombstone, whispering, "You saved me again."
After communicating with the person in the tombstone for a while, Tan Yan controlled his emotions and turned his attention to Minister Yu.
A little worried.
He is a little afraid to go home now. The county must have blocked the exits from the city, and someone is guarding his home at the Heping County Public Security Management Office. Scientific researchers are probably concentrated near the traffic booth to conduct surveys, trying to find a way to rescue Minister Yu.
If he appeared in Ping County at this time, even if he was carrying the unconscious Minister Yu on his back, he would be immediately controlled and his movements would be very passive.
Now there seems to be only one choice.
Tan Yan rubbed his aching temples and pinched Minister Yu’s philtrum hard to wake him up.
Minister Yu was suddenly awakened by the stimulation. Unlike most people, he did not shout or panic after waking up. He immediately checked whether the surrounding environment was safe. He breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the familiar Chinese characters on the tombstone next to him, and his muscles were not so tense.
"Are we back?" Although he had countless questions in his mind, the first thing Minister Yu confirmed was safety.
Tan Yan nodded.
Although he somewhat resents the minister for the countless troubles he may bring to himself in the future, he has to admit that this person is really good enough, both in terms of physical function and mental state.
This is a man with strong nerves who can cope with any difficulties.
Minister Yu did not show any surprise when he saw that Tan Yan's face had aged again. He quickly recalled what had happened before, and the first thing he said was, "What do you want?"
Even though Tan Yan had imagined hundreds of possible reactions from Minister Yu, he still hadn't guessed that he would ask such a question.
The hidden meaning of Minister Yu's words is: when everything may be exposed, what is most important to you? Because you may be placed under house arrest or "protected" next, I will try my best to meet your wishes.
"I hope I can still be on the nightly patrol list," Tan Yan replied.
"I'm afraid that won't work." Minister Yu flatly rejected Tan Yan. "Don't worry. I know what you're worried about, but as far as I know, there is a time interval between the appearance of voids. Although the pattern of this interval has not yet been found, it is highly likely that no voids will appear in at least three months."
Tan Yan frowned slightly: "The pattern you know is different from the one I know. Sometimes I will enter the void for three or four nights in a row, but there are also cases where nothing happens for several years."
"It seems that you know a lot," Minister Yu pinched his brows to keep himself awake after the chaos he had just experienced. "Then let me put it another way. The patrol will be replaced. If we find a hole, we will send you there as you wish. Is that okay?"
"In terms of time..." Tan Yan frowned, "The speed at which the void spreads is very fast."
"We have a way to stop the void from spreading, or to stop it from spreading for a short period of time." Minister Yu said, "It seems that what you know is different from what we know. We need to exchange intelligence."
"..." Tan Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "Can I still retire normally?"
Minister Yu: “… We’ll have to discuss this later.”
Three hours later, in a secret base of the National Technology Security Department.
"Minister Yu, everyone in the Ping County Public Security Management Office has signed a confidentiality agreement and will not tell anyone what they saw. We will also send people to monitor those who were present that day." Information officer Xiao Xu, also known as Xu Mingyu, and another young man in a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses are reporting to Minister Yu.
"Got it," Minister Yu, who had changed his clothes and washed off the dirt on his face, said as he read Xu Mingyu's report, "After we disappear, will the hollow reaction also disappear?"
"That's right," Xu Mingyu was a little excited when talking about this, "According to the data we know, in the past 28 years, void reactions have occurred 137 times worldwide. The time, location, void range, and energy reaction of each occurrence are different, but it has never disappeared so quickly, and almost no damage has been caused. This has never been recorded before. Maybe we can find a way to solve the natural disaster of 'voids' so that it will no longer endanger the safety of the earth."
After reading the information, Minister Yu murmured, "The number 137 needs to be verified. Perhaps the actual number of voids that appear is far greater than this record. How long has the longest void we know of lasted?"
At this time, the man with gold-rimmed glasses replied, "We currently define a hole as an unknown natural disaster. People or objects that appear near a hole will be sucked in and completely disappear. Except for you and Tan Yan, there has been no successful return. Each time a hole appears, it will stop expanding in less than half an hour and disappear after about a few hours. The longest hole lasted for 14 hours. It does look very dangerous. But over the years, the damage caused by holes to the earth is not even comparable to a tsunami or earthquake. In the past 28 years, there have been 293 missing persons and property losses of 27.82 million yuan. However, my country has invested more than billions of yuan in research on the 'hole phenomenon'."
"Qiao Zhixue, do you mean that just because the 'void phenomenon' is not very harmful, we should stop exploring and studying it? Such an idea of yours is a blasphemy against life and a contempt for nature! What if one day the void continues to expand and we can't contain it, and countless people, things, and objects are sucked in? We must always be in awe of the unknown and not dare to despise it in the slightest. This is the quality that a researcher should have!" Xu Mingyu almost slammed Minister Yu's desk and yelled at the man with gold-rimmed glasses.
"That's not what I meant," Qiao Zhixue threw a report to Xu Mingyu, "You can just focus on research, but I'm responsible for every penny spent by the institute. If this project wants to continue to apply for funding, you must provide reasons for the benefits it will bring or the harm it may cause."
"Alright," Minister Yu said in a deep voice, "Are you guys playing a double game and forcing me to tell you what I encountered in the cave?"
The two people who were arguing with veins popping out of their necks suddenly calmed down. Xu Mingyu scratched his head embarrassedly: "Minister, you don't say anything. That Tan Yan is also like a taciturn person. We have been studying the "void phenomenon" for ten years. We are really curious about what you have encountered. Moreover, how did you move from the exit of the western suburbs of Ping County to Nanshan Cemetery without any movement track?"
Qiao Zhixue pushed up his glasses and stared at Minister Yu together with Xu Mingyu.
"It's not that I don't want to talk, it's just that some things still need to be sorted out." Minister Yu lightly answered their questions.
He still had a lot to confirm about the fact that there was another world behind the void.
Minister Yu endured the pain from being hit on the back of his neck. After reading all the information, he made a list and handed it to Xu Mingyu: "All the information listed here, I will get the accurate information in an hour."
Xu Mingyu took a quick glance and immediately took the list to check, leaving Qiao Zhixue to stare at Minister Yu.
"What are you looking at? Just because I gave the list to Xiao Xu, does that mean you have nothing to do with it?" Minister Yu pretended to be angry.
Unfortunately, Qiao Zhixue knew his character well and remained unmoved.
Minister Yu sighed: "Don't look at it, go to work, I will talk when I can."
"You have a special energy reaction," Qiao Zhixue took out a miniature instrument from his pocket, "I can only detect it when you are with Tan Yan because of the same wave frequency. It is undetectable after you are separated, but I am sure it still exists. So far, I have never seen this kind of wave frequency on Earth."
"I'll pay attention."
"I know you won't tell me now, but if you need research, please make sure my name is in the research team." Qiao Zhixue said stubbornly.
"Okay." Faced with such enthusiasm, Minister Yu had no choice but to agree.
An hour later, Minister Yu went to meet Tan Yan alone with the information brought by Xu Mingyu.
At this time, Tan Yan was sleeping quietly in bed. Judging from the radio wave detection of outdoor instruments, he should have entered a deep sleep.
Minister Yu gently opened the door, and Tan Yan immediately opened his eyes. The instrument immediately showed that he was awake.
"You are very alert," Minister Yu praised. "If I had discovered a good talent like you earlier, I would have definitely recruited you."
Tan Yan looked at his watch. It had only been four hours since they returned to Earth, so it was still early.
"Let's talk about this," Minister Yu pulled a stool over and sat in front of Tan Yan. "Let me first talk about the country's progress in exploring the void phenomenon."
"Since the first case of cavitation was discovered in northern China in December 1980, there have been 137 known cases of cavitation in the world so far. With the one we just experienced, there are now 138 cases."
Minister Yu noticed that when he talked about 1980, Tan Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly. The movement was so subtle that no one else could have noticed it.
Yes, no one except Minister Yu can see it.
Minister Yu was aware of this and felt confused, but he did not point it out. Instead, he repeated to Tan Yan what Xu Mingyu and Qiao Zhixue had just said.
"The above is all the information known to our country. These are the results of many years of research on the 'void phenomenon'. Professor Qiao firmly believes that there are quantum force fields in the void. These are all top secrets, but I think you need to know."
Tan Yan glanced at the formula code on the paper, then looked away without interest: "I don't understand."
"Oh, it is indeed a bit complicated." Minister Yu said that it took him a long time to understand it.
Seeing that Minister Yu still didn't understand what he meant, Tan Yan continued, "I only have a junior high school education. After graduation, I joined the army and was demobilized and placed in the Ping County Public Security Management Office. How much do you think I can understand about these things?"
Minister Yu: “…”
"And I didn't understand what you just said to me."
Minister Yu: “…”
"I know what you want to ask," Tan Yan said straightforwardly. "At this point, there is no need for me to hide anything from you. I was swallowed by the Hollow when I was 18, and I narrowly escaped in a strange world. Every time I returned to Earth, I was in front of the nameless tombstone in the Ping County Cemetery. So far, I can't remember how many times I have been sucked into the Hollow, but I can be sure that it is definitely more than 138 times."
"Is it always the same world?" Minister Yu asked.
If it is like this every time, then what has Tan Yan experienced in the 40 years since he was 18 years old.
"It's different. The last one was easy."
Minister Yu: “…”
Recalling the terrible high temperature in the lava world, he couldn't help but want to take another cold shower.
Seeing that Tan Yan was very cooperative, Minister Yu continued to analyze: "The longest known cavity occurred on November 4, 2002, in an uninhabited grassland in Africa. The time was 23:12:36 at night Beijing time. It stopped expanding after 15 minutes and disappeared naturally at 13:58:36 the next afternoon."
"Perhaps you think my idea is crazy. I asked Xiao Xu to check your attendance record for that day. It is the most accurate."
The so-called most accurate is not as simple as the attendance records saved in the unit's ledger. Some historical things are relatively vague. For example, if Tan Yan did not go to work one day, and later came back and told his leader that he was out on a field trip, considering that he worked all year round and was diligent at work, no one would doubt his words, and no one would check whether he was really out on a field trip. The attendance record would only show the words "full attendance", but whether Tan Yan was really out on a field trip that day remains to be verified.
It was more than ten years ago, so it was not easy to check. Xu Mingyu sent his men to check all the people who were still on duty at that time, and finally found out from a retired employee where Tan Yan was that day.
"Tan Yan didn't actually go out on duty that day, he went to visit the graves," the retired comrade recalled. "November 5th was my mother's death anniversary, and I also took leave to go to the cemetery. I still remember seeing Tan Yan kneeling in front of a tombstone that day, his clothes were tattered, and he looked like he had a conflict with someone. Tan Yan, who grew up without a father or a mother, is very thoughtful and never tells anyone anything. He's quite pitiful. He knelt for a long time that day with his head down, as if he was crying. He looked so pitiful, and I still feel a little sad when I think about it now."
"November 5th, same time, appeared in the cemetery, can I understand that you just came back from a very dangerous world?" Minister Yu asked.
"I don't remember the exact date, but it was definitely the winter of 2002," Tan Yan confirmed, "I was absent from work that one time."
"Two 'voids' appeared at the same time, one was recorded and the other was not, but they did disappear at the same time." Minister Yu handed Tan Yan another document, "This is a record of the time when 137 known 'voids' appeared, stopped spreading, and disappeared. The notes at the end are the places where they were found. Do you remember these times?"
Tan Yan looked at them carefully and drew a few ticks with the pen: "These few are too difficult and I have some impression of them. I don't remember the rest. There are too many."
In 40 years, a person grows from adolescence to middle-aged and elderly. The time span is too long and the experiences are too much.
"Putting aside the many suspicious points about you, just looking at this information, I can understand that without anyone knowing, you have actually saved the earth dozens or even hundreds of times?" Minister Yu asked seriously.