Chà Chà Novel

Ji Shifeng, a member of the organizing committee, was his brother.

The technical consultant was his subordinate, and he himself was the competition’s new partner.

He also seemed to share some complicated, unspoken history with the Empire.

“Given the circumstances, what do you intend to do?”

The director stubbed out his cigarette and studied Ji Shileng for a long moment.

“We need to find them”

There was no time to return to the committee and discuss a strategy. The moment the livestream stopped, condemnation had erupted across the interstellar network.

With certain people deliberately spreading the news, the announcement that Shang Jianli had lost contact had inflamed public anger.

Every competitor sent by the participating nations was an outstanding talent.

Everyone knew how difficult it was to cultivate such people.

Even the disappearance of an ordinary staff member would cause concern. The disappearance of General Shang Jianli was enough to frighten everyone.

“You mean we’re going straight into the live-combat zone?”

Ji Shileng frowned, getting directly to the point.

The director stood, folded his arms, and looked down.

“Exactly. Time is money. We need to find Shang Jianli first”

Nothing more needed to be said. Ji Shileng understood what remained unspoken.

Find Shang Jianli and ask him what happened.

After all, the communications equipment and satellite navigation had failed after he lost contact.

Upon reaching planet Z06, the oversight director assembled everyone at the staging station.

They held a brief meeting about preparations and the planet’s basic conditions, then distributed supplies.

With communications interrupted, the committee outside could no longer deliver supplies to the designated replenishment points within the combat zone.

Several emergency airdrops had been made that evening. The problem was that they didn’t know where those supplies had landed.

Expressions grave, the team discussed safety precautions, emergency responses, animal attacks, and other possible incidents.

Z06 was, after all, a small planet that had yet to be fully studied. Everything remained uncertain.

As an “outsider,” Ji Shileng said little and mostly listened.

He noted several important precautions in his notebook, then retrieved his communicator from the staff and began contacting people under their “supervision.”

He trusted neither the committee nor his own limited experience. Instead, he contacted rescue and medical teams, commissioning a rescue effort regardless of the cost.

In between, he took calls from Ji Shiyun and Su Ke. His sister told him not to venture carelessly into Z06’s interior, while Su Ke shouted at him for quite some time.

“This is reckless!”

Su Ke was so anxious that his voice had gone hoarse.

“You don’t have any experience, and you’re going into unknown territory to find people? Do you even want to stay alive?”

Both his sister and Su Ke sincerely urged him not to act rashly. There was no need to rush like this.

His sister knew how stubborn he was. She hadn’t expected her call to persuade him; she only wanted him to protect himself.

Su Ke wouldn’t let it go. How could he not know who Ji Shileng was so desperate for?

Other than that man named Shang, he couldn’t think of anyone.

He didn’t understand. Ji Shileng had already resolved to let go. How had it come to this again?

After Su Ke finished his furious scolding, Ji Shileng spoke softly.

“I don’t know either”

“Maybe I’m just being childish”

He wanted Shang Jianli to be unhappy, but he couldn’t bear for something to actually happen to him.

Those two sentences silenced Su Ke.

Perhaps that was the power of an unforgettable first love.

He didn’t understand it.

“I’ll come over”

He left the words hanging sullenly.

Before he ended the call, Ji Shileng sent him the contact details for the rescue and medical teams.

“Communications are down inside the combat zone. Since you’re coming, coordinate with them for me”

Outside, the wind howled. Moonlight shone through a gap beyond the small partition, dazzling and cold.

Ji Shileng narrowed his eyes. His dark hair was disheveled, his profile caught among drifting dust motes, his features almost translucent.

Half an hour later, they prepared to leave, the team moving largely in step.

Z06 was pitch-black at night. Even powerful flashlights were of little use, so they decided to halt, make camp, and recover their strength.

The wind howled like wolves. The moon vanished, and the plants thrashed their arms wildly.

Dim stars dotted the night. In this utterly unknown place, every human sense was magnified, while love and hatred seemed small and useless.

Ji Shileng sat with one knee raised, leaning against a mound of earth outside his tent and staring at the stars.

“What are you thinking about?”

A figure approached and quietly sat beside him.

A hand extended, offering a cigarette.

“Nothing. Just letting my mind go blank”

Ji Shileng waved it away.

The man didn’t mind. He lit his own cigarette and smiled.

“Am I disturbing you, then?”

“No”

Ji Shileng smiled with him.

When his smile faded, he spoke slowly.

“Sometimes I think being human is painful. It isn’t only bad people. Even ordinary people can unwittingly turn a blade on someone else”

The “general’s spouse” had been bullied because he was powerless.

Now Ji Shileng had the Ji family behind him, yet people still tried to drag him into the mud.

Ordinary people became weapons in the hands of the malicious.

“Isn’t that normal?”

The man considered it, then raised his brows slightly, his innate easygoing nature undisguised.

“Come out here and face all these unknowns, and you realize how many obstacles life still has in store”

He didn’t smoke, merely watched the cigarette slowly burn away.

“Take your time. Keep your footing. There’s nothing you can’t get through”

Ji Shileng smiled.

“That’s true”

“Rumors are everywhere. Let them be”

Yi Yi flicked away the ash, putting his finger on Ji Shileng’s unease.

“Whatever happens, you’re a Ji. What do you have to fear?”

Ji Shileng couldn’t answer.

He wasn’t afraid of something happening to himself.

He didn’t care what happened to the other competitors either.

What was he afraid of?

He was afraid something would happen to Shang Jianli.

“You’re right. Nothing to fear. I’ve only got this one life, so I might as well go for it”

They deliberately changed the subject, chatting about all manner of things before returning to their separate tents.

The real work would begin tomorrow. They couldn’t afford to be careless.

The following day, their route took them deeper into the combat zone.

The team that had traveled together began splitting up.

The area designated by the committee was simply too large. If they stayed together, they could walk a dozen kilometers and still find only a handful of competitors.

The wind moaned through the stillness.

Reverence for nature weighed on Ji Shileng’s heart, while everything he didn’t know about it filled him with apprehension.

Yi Yi opened a can of nutrient solution and handed it to him.

“Haven’t had this stuff in ages. Tastes as awful as ever”

Ji Shileng drained it in one go.

“Can’t be helped. Under the circumstances, we can’t be picky”

Following the incident, the committee had also urgently assembled rescue teams and dispatched small warships to drop leaflets.

They read:

Due to an unexpected incident, the competition has been temporarily suspended. All teams must regroup. Do not split up.