Once We Lived in Nanjing

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!

Bai Yang sprang from his chair, hands in the air, unsure of what to do. The news was so shocking that his brain had seized up, incapable of processing. A few seconds later, he pressed a hand against his forehead to calm himself down, taking deep breaths while telling himself not to get too excited too soon.

Bai Yang immediately went online to search for exact images of the new manned spacecraft's return capsule to show the other party. After double-checking, he asked the other party to switch the communication mode to audio.

"BG, I've seen this thing, this return capsule, a round-headed and chubby object, big and tall, half buried in the mud, very similar to the picture you showed me. If I'm not mistaken... it's inside that big pit in Life Insurance Square," the girl said on the channel, "I thought it was an unexploded huge bomb."

"When... when did it arrive?" Bai Yang's voice quivered.

"You mean that return capsule? I don't know when it got there, it's been there for many, many years. The first time I passed by from Nan Tu opposite, that big pit was already there."

Oh my God.

Bai Yang whispered.

Time is such a mysterious thing; just when you think it's going to stand you up, it turns out to have been waiting for you for many years.

The girl had passed by the Life Insurance Square opposite Nan Tu countless times and had always turned a blind eye to that big pit. If the spaceship could think, it surely would be perplexed as to why Ban Xia ignored it, but it couldn't speak, it couldn't shout, so it sat weather-beaten in the pit for many years, growing grass on its head and birds making nests, snails slowly climbing up.

That unfortunate spaceship definitely didn't know it had arrived too soon; by the time it reached, the girl hadn't yet recognized it.

Bai Yang wasn't sure what had happened to the spacecraft, but one thing was certain—something had gone wrong in some part of the process, causing the spacecraft to return prematurely and crash into Life Insurance Square. The eight-ton mass of metal smashed down with such velocity that it not only caused surrounding buildings to collapse but also created a huge crater on the ground.

Fortunely amongst the misfortune, the navigation wasn't damaged, and it managed to find the right spot, crashing near Meihua Villa.

I really am blessed by the heavens.

Bai Yang, shivering, immediately took out his phone and called his dad.

·

·

·

At this time, Bai Zhen was squatting outside the conference room in the corridor eating supper. Bai Zhen, Wang Ning, and Zhao Bowen squatted in a row against the wall, one hand holding a disposable paper cup filled with boiled water, the other hand gripping a cold, hard cake. The evening had seen three meetings since starting at 8:30 PM and going until 2 in the morning. They'd take a 10-minute break between each session with different groups of people each time. The refreshments laid out on the table outside the room were almost finished, and no one was refilling them.

The heating in the meeting room was cranked up high; a group of people were arguing behind closed doors, the carbon dioxide concentration in the room dizzying. Only during breaks between sessions could they come out to breathe, but the air quality in the corridor was not much better than inside the meeting room. All were hungry, quickly depleting the snacks outside. Bai Zhen managed to grab two cakes, devouring them one bite at a time.

"From what I see, arguing won't make a difference," Wang Ning squatted nearby, his cheeks bulging, "Their first instinct is to deflect responsibility, just listen to them. On the surface, they appear to be discussing the reasons behind the mission failure, but in reality, they're emphasizing that their own work is flawless—problems are in other project teams."

"Everyone can pass the buck, but who should we blame it on?" Bai Zhen curled his lip, glancing around; other attendees were clustered in small groups in the hallway, chatting.

"Blame it on the Bodhisattva," Zhao Bowen said, "The Bodhisattva and Bodhisattvas from Qixia Temple are the primary culprits, let's just say that."

"And that's what you'll write in the report? Higher-ups will strip you of your job," Wang Ning said.

"They can strip, strip, strip! It'd be a fucking relief," Zhao Bowen cursed, "If they don't, I'm the sucker."

"If you have the guts, say that to the leaders' faces," Bai Zhen rolled his eyes, "If you don't, you're the sucker."

"Fuck that." Old Zhao said.

"You don't have to be so pessimistic. There's an old saying that 'Heaven never seals off all the exits.' Maybe the ship will arrive tonight, there's that possibility, right?" Bai Zhen looked up at the ceiling and stuffed the last half of the cake into his mouth. How come he never realized how delicious this cake tasted before?

After finishing it, he looked around again only to discover that the table had been cleared.

"It's possible, but we can't keep holding onto that hope. We need to abandon any illusions and prepare to fight." Zhao Bowen patted his butt and stood up, "Time to go, time to go, the second half is about to start."

The following meeting was a lengthy one, where leaders of the major project teams intensely debated how to launch the operation again and ensure its success the second time around.

Wang Ning sat below, frowning without saying a word. As soon as these people opened their mouths, he knew what they were going to say, and it felt like his ears were going to develop calluses from listening. Even though everyone seemed to be seriously discussing the mission details, Wang Ning was well aware that it was all pointless. They could talk their mouths raw tonight but it wouldn't push the plan forward by a single step. Everyone was indulging in self-hypnosis, pretending to work hard; as if the bickering here could lead to some actual results. In a way, this meeting room was really a stage, and everyone was tacitly acting, performing for others as well as for themselves. They needed to do something, or at least pretend to do something, amidst the looming catastrophe – it was their duty.

Actually, they'd be better off having the Abbot of Qixia Temple come and chant. That might be more effective.

Ninety percent of meetings in this world are less useful than a monk chanting, Wang Ning had learned that well.

"Secondly, we must ensure that the target is within the effective killing range of the nuclear bomb. This requires manual adjustments. If we deploy the nuclear bomb near Meihua Villa..." The speaker pinched a pen in his hand, pointing here and there on the PPT with the cap, "Transporting the nuclear bomb to the preset detonation point is high risk and should be marked in red."

"Do we still have a way to monitor Swordman's actions again?"

"We need a telemetry satellite."

"The satellite preparation takes time, and the rocket is even more troublesome."

Old Zhao crossed his arms, looking displeased at everyone, with a pout that could hang a beer bottle.

The failure of the mission had caused him a lot of trouble, which made Zhao Bowen not so confident when speaking in the entire headquarters. In his opinion, the second most difficult thing in this world is saving it. The most difficult is leading such a huge team to save it.

"Congratulations on your fortune—! I congratulate you splendidly—!"

The festive voice of Andy Lau suddenly sounded in the meeting room, interrupting the speaker's PPT and breaking the serious atmosphere. Everyone was stunned and turned their heads to follow the sound.

Bai Zhen scrambled to pull out his phone from his pocket and hung up the call. The speaker frowned slightly, showing displeasure. It was common sense to put one's phone on silent or vibrate during a meeting.

After hanging up, Old Bai hid his phone under the table, smiling awkwardly.

"Please put your phones on silent or turn them off during the meeting." The speaker coughed a few times and continued, "Now, let's move on to the third point..."

Under the table, Bai Zhen stealthily replied on WeChat:

"Son, I'm in a meeting. What's up? Call me if it's important."

A few seconds later, Bai Yang replied.

The phone vibrated slightly, and Old Bai opened WeChat to look. His eyes grew wider and wider until they almost popped out of their sockets.

"Holy shit!"

Old Bai suddenly yelled, startling everyone.

The speaker was also shocked, bewilderedly turning to look.

"Holy shit—!" Bai Zhen slammed the table hard, leaping to his feet, "Fuck your mother, fuck your mother! Fuck your mother's Old Zhao! Zhao Bowen, I fuck your mother—!"