# 776
# Chapter 777: Pangpang's Timeline
The breeze swept across the devastated Sunken Dragon Pass. Lu Qiu stared at the experts before him without saying a word.
After a long while, he closed his eyes and turned to walk toward the city wall at the frontmost line of Sunken Dragon Pass.
"Having gods and depending on gods are two different things. If humans only know to depend on deities for everything, they will someday reap what they sow...
Moreover, the gods of Great Xia are our last trump card.
Three hours. Fix the communication system, or the rescue team is out!
If you have any objections or complaints about my orders, you can file a complaint with headquarters after communications are restored. I accept all criticism and education from headquarters."
As the dark red cloak disappeared into the distance, his voice gradually faded into the howling wind over the sea.
...
"We're approaching the Mist Border."
Lin Qiye rode the Somersault Cloud across the sky, gazing at the rolling mist in the distance. "We're finally arriving at Great Xia."
Baili Pangpang's eyes flickered with excitement. "I wonder what expression Commander Ye will have when he sees us return... By the way, has the Oath Society already transmitted our performance in the Human Enclosure to the Night Watch? Are we going to get medals?"
"Medals are certain." Cao Yuan said with certainty. "We pierced through Takamagahara's Human Enclosure and completely destroyed the theocracy. A Star Sea Medal for the team is definitely coming."
"I remember Instructor Yuan Gang saying that within the last decade, only the Mask Squad has received the Star Sea Medal, right?" Baili Pangpang grinned. "It reminds me of when we were in training camp, how formidable the Mask Squad seemed in our eyes.
I never imagined that just a few years later, we've become on their level.
I wonder what expression they'll have when we stand on the stage in Shangjing City to receive the second Star Sea Medal in ten years?"
Baili Pangpang gazed at the distant sky, as if picturing the scene, his lips involuntarily curving upward.
Lin Qiye, Shen Qingzhu, and Cao Yuan exchanged glances and smiled simultaneously.
"By the way, Pangpang." Lin Qiye seemed to remember something. "I never asked you—when you were the first to land in the Human Enclosure in Japan, what exactly happened? Why did you end up on that Prayer Mat in the ruins?"
Baili Pangpang scratched his head and began to recall carefully.
"After I was washed ashore, I figured out where I was based on what I'd learned in training camp, but something was strange. The timeline here didn't quite match what I knew..."
"Timeline?" Lin Qiye caught the key point. "Approximately when did you land?"
"Based on the Human Enclosure's way of counting, it should be the 51st year after the gods of Takamagahara created the Human Enclosure?" Baili Pangpang said uncertainly.
The 51st year of the New Era?!
Lin Qiye's pupils slightly contracted.
Hearing this, An Qingyu, Cao Yuan, and Jiang Er also furrowed their brows simultaneously.
"This year really confused me." Baili Pangpang didn't notice the others' changing expressions and continued on his own. "If the gods of Takamagahara created the 'Human Enclosure' when the Mist descended, then by reverse calculation, the Mist should have descended 51 years ago...
That doesn't make sense!
According to Great Xia's historical records, the Mist clearly descended over a hundred years ago. How could it be just over fifty years ago?"
After Baili Pangpang finished speaking, he looked up and noticed the strange gazes from everyone. He froze.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Pangpang, the timeline isn't wrong..." Lin Qiye said slowly. "The Mist did descend over a hundred years ago, and Takamagahara's 'Human Enclosure' did appear over a hundred years ago...
The reason you feel the timeline is off is because the point in time you were transported to was over fifty years earlier than ours."
Hearing this, Baili Pangpang fell into confusion.
"I was sent back over fifty years?" Baili Pangpang was puzzled. "How is that possible? Over fifty years ago, not only was our squad not formed, I hadn't even been born yet!
Besides, if fifty years really did pass, shouldn't I be an elderly man with white hair by now?"
"What Seven Nights said is correct." An Qingyu adjusted her glasses. "Our landing time was Year 101 of the New Era, while yours was clearly much earlier. As for why you didn't age even after fifty years... I don't know that either."
"It should be because of that Prayer Mat." Lin Qiye deduced. "When I sat on it before, I discovered that the aurora river flowing within it has some kind of mysterious power that can make one's perception of time extremely blurred.
I originally thought it was only a difference in perception, but looking at it now, the aurora river may indeed have the effect of slowing the flow of time."
An Qingyu continued asking: "Then what? What happened after you landed?"
"After landing, I felt something calling to me." Baili Pangpang recalled carefully. "That feeling was very strange, like something whispering in my ear, urging me to find it quickly...
But I was having too much fun, so I simply ignored it."
"You ignored it?" Lin Qiye was stunned.
"Yeah." Baili Pangpang said matter-of-factly. "Like when you're walking on a mountain path and suddenly hear a stranger on the opposite mountain calling your name, asking you to come find him—would you directly cross a mountain to meet him? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"
Lin Qiye: ...
You make a valid point.
"At that time, I was thinking about finding you guys as soon as possible, so I kept wandering around. I walked from Kansai to Kanto, learned some of the language, got wanted by authorities. Those self-proclaimed oracle envoys gave me trouble from time to time, so I used forbidden artifacts to deal with them, then ran away. They couldn't catch up with me anyway.
Anyway, the journey was quite fun. Oh right, I also grabbed some purple... whatever it's called, the Magatsu Blade? I don't remember clearly. But when I got it, I couldn't draw it out, so I just tossed it in my pocket.
Finally, I arrived near Hokkaido."
Baili Pangpang continued, "When I reached Hokkaido, I felt that whispering voice growing stronger. In the following days, it had seriously disturbed my sleep.
At that point, I'd basically explored all of Japan and had nothing else to do. On a whim, I simply followed that whispering voice to the ruins, and finally walked to that palace, opened the door and walked in...
After that, I don't remember anything.
When I opened my eyes again, I was on that bed at the club, seeing the note you left for me."
After hearing Baili Pangpang's story, Lin Qiye couldn't help but feel somewhat emotional.
Compared to the other people's arduous experiences in the 'Human Enclosure,' Pangpang's was more like a travelogue... eating, drinking, occasional fighting, sitting on the Prayer Mat, and when he woke up, fifty years had already passed.