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Chen Ling glanced sideways. Upon seeing this 【Embroidery Diagram】, he suddenly froze on the spot.
《【Red Dust】》??
Seeing Chen Ling suddenly stop, 【Yang Xiao】 and 【Su Zhiwei】 both turned around doubtfully. Just as they were about to ask what was wrong, Chen Ling preempted them and spoke:
"Doctor Su, this 【Embroidery Diagram】... may I take a closer look at it?"
"Of course."
Without hesitation, 【Su Zhiwei】 handed the exquisitely mounted 【Embroidery Diagram】 to Chen Ling. The latter narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully observing every single detail on the picture... the flagstone paths, white walls and gray tiles, kitchen smoke, willow trees, and the curling wisps of smoke in the distance that seemed to appear and disappear.
Everything on the 【Embroidery Diagram】 gradually overlapped with the 【Red Dust Domain】 in Chen Ling's impression. Of course, it wasn't the bustling and dazzling 【Red Dust】 【Main City】, but 【Willow Town】.
Similar... it was too similar.
What 【Su Zhiwei】 liked most was precisely this kind of Jiangnan-style scenery. 【Yao Qing】 must have known this, which was why he spent a massive amount of time and energy embroidering this piece of 《【Red Dust】》. And everything in the picture was extremely similar to the 【Red Dust Domain】... All of this seemed to point toward 【Su Zhiwei】's identity.
【Su Zhiwei】 was the 【Lord of the Red Dust】?!
At this moment, a detail that Chen Ling had previously overlooked flashed through his mind.
"Doctor Su." Chen Ling suddenly spoke, "Earlier in 【Shennongjia】, you briefly introduced '【String Theory】'... I remember you saying that the higher the dimension of something, the more likely it is to hide in a microscopic place?"
Although 【Su Zhiwei】 didn't know why Chen Ling suddenly brought this up, she nodded her head:
"That's correct. In regards to '【String Theory】', dimensions can change based on the method and angle of 【Observation】, and the smaller the world, the higher the dimension. If high-dimensional creatures like gods exist in the world, then it's highly possible they exist within a floating speck of dust, or within an inconspicuous cell in our bodies. That's why in some religious theories, there's a saying called..."
"【One Flower One World, One Leaf One Bodhi】!" Chen Ling finished her sentence, his eyes shining like the morning stars!
That was it!
【One Flower One World, One Leaf One Bodhi】... No wonder the entrance to the 【Red Dust Domain】 was located amidst a patch of flowers in the 【Gray World】, inside the most inconspicuous flower. Strictly speaking, it wasn't the "entrance to the 【Red Dust Domain】", but rather that "the 【Red Dust Domain】 is hidden within that flower petal!"
The 【Lord of the Red Dust】, 【Su Zhiwei】, had "hidden" the 【Red Dust Domain】!
All the clues intertwined together at this moment, and Chen Ling was suddenly enlightened... He stood rooted to the spot for a long time, taking a deep look at 【Su Zhiwei】 before handing the 【Embroidery Diagram】 back.
"Why are you suddenly asking about this?" 【Su Zhiwei】 asked doubtfully.
"It's nothing, it just reminded me of some things... Anyway, let's leave here first, we can talk about it later."
The three of them walked to the street entrance. 【Yao Qing】 had already started the car and seemed to have been waiting for a while.
Chen Ling had originally planned to sit in the passenger seat, but seeing 【Yao Qing】's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, he sighed inwardly. He chose to sit in the back with 【Yang Xiao】, leaving the passenger seat for 【Su Zhiwei】.
"Sister Zhiwei, look at the driver's license I just got this year! I passed everything in one go, no retakes."
As soon as 【Su Zhiwei】 sat down, 【Yao Qing】 excitedly showed off his driver's license to her, simultaneously starting the car with practiced ease and driving onto the road.
【Su Zhiwei】 took the license and smiled slightly, "En, very impressive... Knowing how to drive means you're already an adult."
"Let me tell you, the instructor at our driving school was incredibly fierce..."
As the car drove along the road, it was as if a chatterbox had been opened in 【Yao Qing】. He non-stop shared the events of his past year with 【Su Zhiwei】, from selling a piece of embroidery for six figures, down to the face of the driving instructor hinting at him for cigarettes and gifts. He talked incessantly.
...
As the vehicle drove further away, in a certain abandoned house a few hundred meters from the 【Su Estate】, a figure slowly lowered a pair of binoculars and dialed a phone number.
"You guessed right. Three men took 【Su Zhiwei】 away."
"Three?"
【Nie Yu】's voice came from the other end of the line. The piercing wail of police sirens could occasionally be heard in the background. "How could it be three... Did you note down their features?"
"One was wearing a brown trench coat, another in a white jacket... These two went into the 【Su Estate】 and stayed for a bit, then 【Su Zhiwei】 packed her bags and left with them. There was also a youth who looked like a college student, seemingly there as backup."
"Brown trench coat, white jacket? It really is them."
【Nie Yu】 gave a cold snort. The next moment, a massive crash rang out from the phone, and the humming sirens abruptly stopped, as if smashed to pieces by something.
A moment later, 【Nie Yu】 spoke again:
"Has everyone been gathered?"
"Per your request, we transferred everyone available around 【Gusu】 over. However, the timeframe was too short. So far, only one batch has arrived, roughly seven or eight people... There's a second batch of over a dozen more, they should arrive before daybreak tomorrow." He paused for a moment and added, "The equipment and skills of these guys are all top-notch. A few of them are famous assassins and cost a premium... Can you really afford this?"
"I told you, the one thing I don't lack right now is money." 【Nie Yu】's voice was incredibly cold. "I've almost broken out of the encirclement and will definitely be there before tomorrow morning. Have the first batch of men tail them for now, see where they're heading."
"Alright."
"Don't tail them too closely, hide a bit better... That guy in the brown trench coat isn't an ordinary person, don't let him spot you."
"Don't worry, they're all veterans. They know what they're doing."
The man casually hung up the phone. A moment later, several inconspicuous vehicles drove out from various intersections on the surrounding roads, merging into the rushing traffic and slowly approaching the direction of 【Su Zhiwei】's car...
...
Chen Ling sat in the backseat, his ears filled with 【Yao Qing】's incessant chatter as he gazed out the window.
They were currently in the urban district of 【Gusu】. With the heavy traffic, they could only inch forward slowly along the road. At this speed, it would take at least half an hour to exit the city.
"I thought you would take the initiative to drive," 【Yang Xiao】 said from beside him.
"I don't know the way." Chen Ling glanced at the time on his flip phone. "Besides, I might need to take a quick rest soon..."
It had been almost twelve hours since Chen Ling entered the 【Timeline Save File】, and he would soon be forcefully logged out. Of course, this logging out and reconnecting should be seamless within the save file.
【Yang Xiao】 didn't understand Chen Ling's meaning, but nodded slightly.
"From 【Shennongjia】 until now, you haven't closed your eyes once. You really should get some good rest."
Chen Ling gave a hum of agreement and closed his eyes, leaning back against the seat as if falling asleep... About two seconds later, his eyes opened once again.
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