Chapter 130: Mission Accomplished, Liang Bing Departs

Having caught his competitor so easily, Gao Ning was in a pretty good mood, though tinged with a slight sense of regret.

Prior to this, he had tried his best to overestimate his opponent, even preparing a comprehensive plan. He had never expected that before he could even execute his first move, the other party would completely self-destruct.

With his competitor locked in a cage, his own time became much more abundant and far freer.

Since there was no need to rush, it was better to focus more on developing his career in film and television.

Now that the cultural investment company had been established and was backed by ample funds, the simple phrase "bringing capital to join the crew" would allow him to sweep through the majority of the industry.

As for producing an independent variety show to interact with the audience, gaining a massive following would be effortless.

If things went well, he could even travel to other countries, purchase an independent television station, and tailor a program specifically targeting both domestic and international fans.

*If You Are the One* seemed like a good choice; dating shows, whether domestic or foreign, always attracted a huge audience, which was a fantastic way to gain followers.

While Gao Ning was still plotting his subsequent plans, preparing to draft a simple outline and then mobilize funds to make a big move, his car had just driven out of the district when a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"The hostile team has abandoned the mission. The passenger automatically wins."

"In view of the special mission and the special plane, the 24-hour stay is canceled. The return procedure will be initiated within 10 seconds!"

Gao Ning was slightly stunned. "Wait, how did the mission finish just like that? As long as the other party forfeits, I win? Can they even play like this?

"Let's negotiate. Can you let me stay a little longer? I haven't helped my second uncle take revenge for his broken leg yet!"

"Forced retention will consume time currency at five times the speed. The passenger's current time currency is 5 hours. Completing the mission awards 50 hours, resulting in a current total of 55 hours, which allows for a forced stay of 11 hours. Confirm?"

"Negative, return immediately!"

Gao Ning said decisively.

Faced with the exorbitant consumption of time currency, his second uncle and the like could just fend for themselves!

A few seconds later, with a somewhat helpless expression on his face, Gao Ning returned to the mysterious train amidst a flash of white light.

Feeling slightly dazed, Gao Ning blinked, his vision gradually clearing.

Only then did he notice that Liang Bing and another young woman had also returned at the same time.

The expressions of both women were rather strange; it was impossible to tell whether they were sorrowful or joyful.

After a few seconds of silence, Liang Bing recovered first. She reached out and tapped the coffee table, and several cups of milk materialized instantly, piping hot and steaming.

"Right before I returned, I was just getting ready to sleep. I never expected this return to be so sudden!"

Liang Bing picked up a cup of milk and drank it in small sips.

Gao Ning rubbed his stomach, only then remembering that he hadn't eaten breakfast either. After finishing the concert and signing autographs, he was supposed to rest, but unexpectedly he had run into classmate Xu.

He shook his head, picked up his cup of milk, and gulped it down in one go.

After returning to the mysterious train, the physical enhancements and various abilities had recovered once again, so Gao Ning didn't feel anything about the scalding temperature.

"Did the mission succeed or fail? This time it seemed to be a special mission. I wonder if the few of us had the same one. Oh right, what's this young woman's name again?"

"My name is Ye Zimei. Before this, I was just an ordinary high school student, but now I suppose I can be considered a voice actress."

The young woman pulled out a small mirror from somewhere and looked at herself left and right, a trace of pleasant surprise on her face, as if she were rejoicing over regaining her youth.

Gao Ning gave her a quirky look. "How many years did you stay in your mission world?"

Ye Zimei sighed. "Thirty-five years. When I first got there, I was just an ordinary high school student, and I originally wanted to hitch a ride with the movie protagonist. Who would have thought he was exceptionally arrogant? Every time he spoke, he acted as if I were in love with him.

"He kept trying to make me his mistress, which gave me goosebumps all over. Later on, I just ignored him, studied honestly, and went abroad to Japan.

"Working part-time while studying voice acting courses, relying on the fragmented memories of the future in my mind, I managed not to starve to death, but the entire learning process lasted a full ten years!"

Ye Zimei revealed a nostalgic look. Judging by the vicissitudes in her brow, she had indeed lived through a bitter period.

She didn't speak the rest aloud, but both Gao Ning and Liang Bing could guess that she had spent the subsequent twenty-five years struggling in the voice acting industry, belonging to the type who slowly ground their way to the top.

Liang Bing couldn't help asking, "So your mission succeeded?"

Ye Zimei looked puzzled. "It succeeded, yes. I even gained 50 hours of time currency. I did a brief study of it, and it seems I can pause and accelerate time—it's a very peculiar ability!"

Liang Bing looked at Gao Ning again. "It shouldn't have taken you that much time!"

"My side probably only took a few months," Gao Ning said. "Around two or three months; I didn't keep track of the exact time. Originally, I was prepared for a protracted war, since this mission was quite bizarre.

"Later on, I caught an opportunity, dragged my opponent right out, and casually locked him in a basement.

"So he voluntarily gave up. The moment he forfeited and initiated an active return, I automatically won!"

Gao Ning spread his hands. "Though to this day, I still haven't figured out what his forfeiting has to do directly with me becoming a megastar, I certainly got the mission reward!"

Liang Bing massaged her temples. "It seems that among the three of us, I am the only one who failed! Were your backgrounds also *Goodbye Mr. Loser*?"

Both of them nodded simultaneously.

"Well, this is the first time I've encountered a parallel space modeled after book pages where a duel is the mission. Perhaps it's also because I've experienced very few mission planes myself."

Liang Bing shook her head. "My intervention identity was a high school teacher. I wasn't young anymore, and the nature of the role leaned somewhat toward a disciplinary director, though not all that strict.

"My opponent always maintained a very good disguise. I searched for him for a while, but found nothing.

"Before the millennium, there were no talent platforms like *Star Boulevard*, so the actual resources a female teacher in her thirties could utilize were extremely limited.

"After much deliberation, I could only choose the path of writing. I persisted for over two years, and just as I was starting to gain fame, the prompt announcing the other party's successful mission suddenly rang in my ears..."

Liang Bing glanced at Gao Ning, her eyes full of speechlessness.

Gao Ning smiled and comforted her, "It was not a failure of strategy; take no blame to heart."

Ye Zimei said, "Are we just going to keep reincarnating like this, playing different characters in different planes, completing so-called missions, and never being able to see our parents again? Will we never be able to return to our homes?"

"You're clearly not as sharp as the previous ones!" Gao Ning shook his head.

Ye Zimei looked puzzled. "What do you mean by the previous ones? Are there other people here?"

Liang Bing quickly chimed in, "You'll understand these things later, no need to rush! Don't waste your time currency. Once you return to your exclusive compartment, you'll know how to use it! Consuming time currency can exchange for return time—50 hours can extend your lifespan in your own world by another two days.

"Of course, if you want to go further on the mysterious train, I suggest you don't exhaust all your time currency. This stuff is quite useful!"

Having experienced a mission world, all three of them found the time spent extremely protracted. Although their physical bodies weren't fatigued, their minds were deeply exhausted.

After briefly exchanging intelligence, the figures walked directly toward their respective exclusive compartments.

Gao Ning stood at the back, watching Liang Bing teach Ye Zimei how to use the time currency.

After Ye Zimei went inside, Liang Bing suddenly turned around and asked, "After completing this mission, you should receive an invitation letter. Will you accept the invitation? Have you decided?"

Gao Ning shook his head. "I still prefer my current mode; it's much freer! I don't like overly thrilling lives. Having experienced so many planes, I still prefer a peaceful and stable life.

"Even if the missions on some planes are weird, it's still an experience after all. It's much better than being forced to fight and kill strangers in an unfamiliar place, isn't it? What about you?"

Liang Bing was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Perhaps your choice is the right one. Yet, after all, there is a sense of reluctance. Since there's an opportunity to witness higher scenery, why not give it a try?

"Especially after experiencing this mission, I never want to go through this kind of inexplicable feeling a second time.

"I want to try it out!"

Gao Ning nodded and smiled. "You've always been that kind of person. Follow your heart and don't violate your own nature.

"On the mysterious train, time is fundamentally a manipulable object. Perhaps after leaving here, you'll find me appearing before your eyes in the very next second?"

Liang Bing broke into a smile. "I hope so!"

Gao Ning was surprised. "You actually smiled? Hey, now that's a rare sight!"

Liang Bing's smile instantly froze on her face. She glared fiercely at Gao Ning, placed her hand on the doorknob, and her figure vanished directly.

Gao Ning paused for a moment, shrugged helplessly, and muttered, "Women!"

Afterward, he also stepped forward and entered his own exclusive compartment.

As usual, he slept heavily for a few days, took out the games and movies he had collected from the castle space, and arranged them neatly in the study.

For the period that followed, Gao Ning lived the happy life of a shut-in.

Following its last upgrade, the space had expanded significantly, and the entire hill, lake, and waterfall had become his private territory.

Every day, Gao Ning wandered around his private garden, swimming when he had nothing to do, building a wooden cabin in the woods, or simply living off the grid in the wild.

Alternatively, he would hole up in the study for stretches of time, playing several games in a row.

Or he would systematically study military skills—only combat-related system books.

The Red Alert interface was so powerful; every time he entered a new plane, Gao Ning was effectively bringing a brand-new squad to the front lines.

He didn't necessarily need the abilities of a group commander, but the skills of a frontline commander were an absolute must—preferably those of a special forces commander.

After immersing himself in study, or rather, self-relaxation for half a year, Gao Ning finally grew restless once again.

He waved his hand, clearing away all traces, and the messy items automatically straightened themselves out, returning to the places where they ought to be placed.

With a thought in his mind, Gao Ning applied to return to the mysterious train.

Only this time, instead of teleporting directly out, a strange invitation card suddenly appeared in his hand.

"What is this?"

The patterns on the invitation card were very bizarre, seeming to change every moment, much like a section of dark clouds snatched right out of the sky.

The back was completely blank, with only Gao Ning's serial number in the lower right corner, while the front bore the three characters of the invitation card.

"Detected that the passenger has experienced five mission planes, completed five missions, and accumulated 155 hours of time currency, meeting the criteria. Issuing invitation letter automatically.

"Holding the invitation letter, the passenger may apply to arrive at the terminal station at a time deemed appropriate. By then, a new journey will await the passenger to explore.

"Use it now?"

So this was what the invitation letter turned out to be.

Gao Ning held it in his hand and flipped through it carefully, finding nothing particularly unusual, yet whenever he pinched the object in his palm, the image of a massive city would faintly surface in his mind.

The vision was extremely brief, lasting less than a second, but the information it provided was vast.

Gao Ning remained silent for a while, and then selected 'No'.

What he had said to Liang Bing earlier was indeed what he felt in his heart.

Gao Ning always felt that there were still secrets hidden within the mysterious train, and what they had touched upon so far was merely the surface, not even reaching the critical pieces of information.

Moreover, his time currency was still in a vigorous state of growth, and exchanging it for upgrade cards could rapidly enhance his abilities.

Accumulating a bit more strength, experiencing a few more mission planes, and unearthing some of the hidden mysteries within the mysterious train would likely be more advantageous.

With a calm selection of 'No', the invitation card vanished instantly.

Gao Ning could sense that the invitation card was right beside him, hidden within the cracks of space. Though he couldn't touch it directly, he only needed to reach out his hand, and the invitation card would undoubtedly materialize in his palm the very next moment.

He shook his head, a thought flickered through his mind, and he returned to the mysterious train.

Glancing back, only two colors remained on the doors; the color representing Liang Bing had completely disappeared.

She had left after all!

Gao Ning shook his head.

She truly was a career-driven woman!

That said, aside from her tough personality, Liang Bing was a top-tier choice in both appearance and figure, it was just that her iceberg expression made people somewhat intimidated.

Perhaps some people specifically enjoyed such high-difficulty challenges, but Gao Ning did not belong to that category. Furthermore, he didn't like women much older than himself.

Besides, having entered the mysterious train and facing an endless cycle of reincarnation through worlds, the number of women he could potentially encounter was simply too vast.

Gao Ning still held to his original philosophy: "Fragrant grass grows everywhere under heaven, why complicate teammate relationships?"

Well... although that attempt with Jennifer hadn't succeeded either, at least he had tried.

Walking over to the sofa area, Ye Zimei was already seated there.

Having gone through the adjustment of her exclusive compartment and her return to the real world, Ye Zimei appeared quite cheerful and had become much more familiar with the various rules of the mysterious train.

Placed on the table was Japanese green tea; the aroma was rich, and its green hue carried a desolate depth.

Watching the young woman hold a bamboo whisk and continuously stir the liquid in the bowl—her movements elegant and practiced—truly presented a pleasing sight to the eyes.

Seeing Gao Ning emerge, Ye Zimei greeted him happily, "Big Brother Gao, you're here! Where is Sister Liang? Should we wait for her a little longer?"

Gao Ning shook his head. "She has reached the terminal!"