[Outside the Simulation Shop in the Yellow-Grade Training Area]
As Tendo walked out of the simulation shop, the sunlight hitting his face made him squint.
"Tendo, this is the bill the shop owner gave me. Take a look."
Hearing Caroline's words, Tendo reached out and took the bill, finding that it detailed the losses incurred by the shop due to his simulation pod data error, which caused a temporary shutdown of the other simulation pods.
Although these losses were attributed to Tendo, the shop owner, for some purpose, did not demand compensation from Tendo and instead told him not to worry about it.
As for the 'bill,' it was merely a gesture of goodwill from the owner.
After all, there is a difference between 'letting others know your good intentions' and 'quietly doing good deeds.'
"Alright, I see."
Hearing this, Caroline said no more.
It was just a harmless trivial matter. What she truly cared about was her master's reaction upon learning what happened inside the simulation pod.
It had been a long time since that man had personally taken action.
But based on her understanding of him, once he learned that his younger self's recorded projection had lost to Tendo by half a move,
He would likely be eager to do something about it.
The thought of this gave Caroline a headache.
If Tendo and Enite were to meet, the New Federation might truly descend into chaos.
Because, in a sense, neither of these two was a peace-loving individual.
[Three Days Later, First Floating City - Star Rail Corridor, Star Envoy Association Headquarters]
Creak!
Valentina, the Secretary to the President, pushed open the bamboo gate to the President's courtyard.
Enite was sitting by a stone table, holding a celadon teacup. A faint aroma of tea diffused around him. A dark-blue folder was spread open before him.
The cover of the file was clearly stamped with the words: "Fallen Zone Investigation Report AQ-099 - Longevity Island."
"President, you asked for me?"
Valentina walked to the stone table, her gaze falling on the folder, a sense of confusion rising in her heart.
A new Fallen Zone Investigation Report?
Enite put down his teacup, pushed the folder towards her, and said mysteriously, "Have a look, Valentina. This is a report just sent from the Heavenly Martial Capital branch. I plan to designate this place as the first trial ground for the Starry Sky Ladder students."
With a touch of curiosity, Valentina opened the folder.
The first thing that caught her eye was the configuration information of the exploration team, the 'Moon Wheel Squad,' for this Fallen Zone.
The team consisted of 10 people, three of whom were Tier Three Star Envoys—an experienced exploration squad.
But the more she read the report, the more shocked she became.
Because, even with such a well-equipped team, only one person ultimately 'survived.'
[Name: Fallen Zone First-Phase Investigation Report]
[Fallen Zone Code: AQ-099-0421-Longevity Island]
[Investigation Team: New Federation - Star Envoy Association - Heavenly Martial Capital Branch - Moon Wheel Squad (10 people)]
[Personnel Configuration: 2 Enhancement-Type, 3 Mechanist-Type, 3 Element-Type, 2 Trait-Type. The Captain is Li Mo (42 years old, Tier Three Senior) with the 'Life Perception' Star Source]
[Equipment Checklist: 3 Star Energy Detectors, 10 Emergency Medical Kits, 500ml Star Energy Counter-Burn Agent (Experimental Type)]
[Investigation Time: Star Source Era Year 99, April 12th - April 21st]
[Report Content (Moon Wheel Squad Captain - Li Mo):]
[April 12th 14:00]
Accepted the Longevity Island investigation mission. Landed on the island the next day.
Star Energy detection in the dock area showed $1.2\mu S/cm$. Pale golden Star Energy permeated the air, carrying a faint fragrance of grass and wood. No anomalies were detected for the moment.
[April 13th 15:30]
We established a temporary base in the dock area. One team member noticed golden-glowing vines tangled on a tin fishing boat along the shore. Small, golden flowers bloomed at the tips of the vines.
The petals resembled thin gold foil, reflecting fragmented light spots in the sunlight.
I stopped a team member who wanted to collect a sample, as my intuition told me the flower was not simple.
[April 13th 20:00]
Explored to the central living area and found the first group of 'Islanders.'
But the strange thing was that they not only wore Hawaiian shirts from the last century but each person was also frozen like a paused doll, maintaining actions like 'washing vegetables' or 'repairing a radio.'
Even more bizarrely, a pot of blooming golden chrysanthemums, identical to the vine flowers at the dock, was placed on the windowsill of every house.
On the return trip, three young team members suddenly began repeatedly touching the mouthpiece of a nearby public telephone booth, muttering phrases such as "Mom, I got into university," and pale golden patterns appeared on their skin.
Upon returning to the base, I suddenly noticed that the same strange golden flowers had appeared not far from our base. I do not know what this signifies.
[April 14th 06:00]
The entire island suddenly began playing the song 'Sailor.' An old-fashioned television in the general store automatically lit up, showing a blurry image of a fishing boat heading out to sea.
Two Element-Type team members suddenly got up and walked to a television set outside the base, staring blankly, their eyes hollow.
I tried to forcefully pull them away, but the surrounding Islanders suddenly 'came alive.'
Their pupils reflected the shadow of the golden chrysanthemum. They screamed, "Outsiders, flower pickers die," and began a full-island manhunt against us.
[April 14th 12:30]
The 'Longevity Island Militia' came looking for us and demanded to see our 'Birth Certificates.'
Their uniforms were embroidered with golden chrysanthemum patterns, and they were completely immune to Star Energy techniques.
My 'Life Perception' Star Source could not detect any 'life fluctuations' from them; it was like sensing a pile of plants.
In an emergency, a Mechanist-Type team member decisively helped us quickly forge fake birth certificates and presented them.
The 'Longevity Island Militia' accepted the fake certificates without even looking at them and warned us: "Don't touch the golden chrysanthemum, and don't leave the island, or you will be punished by the 'Elders.'"
[April 15th 19:40]
The two previously comatose team members woke up but did not recognize us. They insisted they were 'the sons of the island's fishermen,' and proactively moved into an empty house belonging to the Islanders. No amount of persuasion worked.
[April 17th 20:00]
A period of time has passed. Not only has our investigation made no progress, but seven team members have already 'defected' and become Islanders.
Only I and two team members over 35 years old remain conscious, but the condition of the other two is still not optimistic.
I finally discovered the pattern: The younger the age, the easier it is to be 'cognitively modified.' Also, the longer the exposure to the golden chrysanthemum, the faster the modification speed.
The two team members who previously accidentally touched the golden chrysanthemum vines were the reason for the so-called 'cognitive errors.'
I must find a way to successfully bring all the team members back.
[April 21st 15:30]
Golden chrysanthemum don't pick consciousness is in...
The report abruptly ended here, indicating that the investigator, Li Mo, was recording under some kind of special circumstances.
With this thought, Valentina turned to the last page of the investigation.
The last page showed a photograph of the survivor, Li Mo.
Looking at this photo, not only Valentina but also the dimension audience on Site 13 were stunned.