The modern world is like a sieve (13): 

“I really am from Huaguo!!!” Tricked into going to the police station, and then tricked again by police who discovered his identity as a traveler to set up his household registration, the young man looked blankly at the ancient, unfamiliar minor language characters around him. When asked to sign, he was so wary that he refused to cooperate at all—he strongly suspected this group of people had lured him here on purpose, a scam gang setting him up!

Secretly using the chip at the back of his neck to translate the surrounding words, the young man saw the words “Nationality: M Country” written on the paper and immediately burst into anger, shouting loudly: “What are you trying to do? You want to change my nationality?! I was born a Huaguo person, and I will die a Huaguo soul! Don’t think you can harm me!!”

The interpreter called by the police looked helplessly at the young man, while a police officer beside him urged eagerly, asking: “What is this traveler saying?”

The interpreter stammered: “He says he’s Huaguo…”

“Damn!” The policeman cursed in frustration: “That damned Huaguo, always haunting us! When did they get in touch with this traveler?”

“No…” the interpreter replied with doubt, “Rather than saying he wants to join Huaguo, it’s more like he’s insisting all along that he already is from Huaguo. He doesn’t want to change his nationality.”

The police officer looked puzzled.

“Ask him where he’s from,” the police chief on the side ordered.

The interpreter quickly asked: “Where are you from?”

The young man, feeling more and more uneasy, shouted: “Of course I came from Huaguo’s 13th District!”

The interpreter paused, then reported to the chief: “He said he came from Huaguo.”

No wonder his Huaguo language was so fluent.

“But there’s no such place as the 13th District in Huaguo,” the interpreter turned back to the young man: “Which province in Huaguo are you from?”

Panic showed on the young man’s face—everyone around him spoke M Country’s language, used M Country’s characters, which was strange enough already. This whole room filled with ancient furnishings, and the clothing styles of at least tens of thousands of people—there was no way this could be explained away with “we’re filming a TV drama”!

Now hearing the man in front of him probing, asking “Which province of Huaguo,” the young man finally panicked. He jumped up from the chair, looking uneasy, saying: “What province? I’m telling you, if this is some prank filming, stop it immediately! I’m not playing this boring game with you!!”

Seeing his look of resistance, everyone instantly recalled scenes of misunderstandings around the world when humans encountered travelers, caused by differences in common knowledge. They quickly tried to reassure him: “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you… We’re just very curious, how did you appear here? We hope you can cooperate with our investigation…”

“What investigation?! I didn’t do anything!! Let me out!! I want to go home!!”

As he shouted, the young man tried to use the chip in his body to call the police, but found he had no signal at all, not a single bar. None of the networking functions worked. He grew frightened, and began shoving the people blocking his way, desperately trying to escape.

The police around him immediately shouted: “Stop him!!”

“Don’t let him run!!!”

In the chaos of the scuffle, the young man was forcibly pressed back into the chair, a cup of coffee shoved into his hands.

Convinced he had been kidnapped, he sat frozen in the chair, not daring to drink anything here, nearly bursting into tears. He shouted frantically at the nearby electronic devices: “Let me go! Let me out of here!! What are you trying to do?! Fuxi!! Fuxi, help me!!!”

No one understood what the “Fuxi” he was shouting about meant, but in a place they didn’t notice, the police station’s ceiling camera silently aimed at the young man. At the same time, a line of text appeared on the computer screen in front of Si Qi.

“How curious. You humans just recently gave me this name, and now suddenly there’s a traveler claiming to be from Huaguo who is calling me through the surrounding electronic devices.”

Si Qi’s hands paused slightly, analyzing a lot from just this sentence: “A traveler claiming to be from Huaguo? He knows your name?”

The computer instantly displayed the scene inside the police station. Fuxi, the intelligent AI, said: “That young man in silver clothing. Poor thing, he looks like he’s about to cry.”

Si Qi moved his fingers, calculated the young man’s origin, and exclaimed: “He actually traveled from a thousand years in the future…”

He observed the young man’s attire carefully, especially the items he carried with him, then turned to Chu Feng: “An M Country police station has a Huaguo man who traveled from the future. He wants to return to Huaguo.”

Chu Feng nodded knowingly, stood up to take his uniform coat: “I’ll go bring him back.”

Si Qi reminded: “M Country will most likely refuse, or directly claim no such person exists.”

Chu Feng smiled, unconcerned: “Whether he exists isn’t for them to decide.”

No one knew exactly how Chu Feng handled it, but that very day he boarded a plane (since using a teleportation array would count as illegally entering another country), and by the next morning he had already brought the young man back.

Counting the round-trip flight time, Chu Feng basically brought the man away as soon as he landed.

Actually, after a whole day of contact, M Country had already figured out the young man’s background, knowing he came from the future, and had decided not to let him go.

But Chu Feng, leading his subordinates, fought his way directly to the young man, catching the military trying to relocate him red-handed.

Thanks to Si Qi, Chu Feng, who was always with him, was also a key target of attention for all countries. Officially, all travelers in Huaguo fell under Chu Feng’s management, including Si Qi.

In fact, Huaguo’s initial discovery of travelers, the founding of the Traveler Bureau, the recruitment of Si Qi, and the development of his many abilities were all accomplished by Chu Feng alone.

Without Chu Feng, Huaguo would not be in its current strong position.

So the military officers surrounding the future traveler instantly recognized Chu Feng and were shocked.

According to Fuxi, the atmosphere after M Country was caught red-handed was especially awkward. Even more awkward, the traveler claiming to be Huaguo, upon seeing Chu Feng, immediately widened his eyes, ran to him crying out “Director Chu,” declaring “I have no regrets in this life.” One moment he had shown utter disdain for M Country, and the next he was desperately clinging to Huaguo. This abrupt shift made the M Country officers livid with rage.

Based on the convention that “a traveler has the right to choose which country to join,” the young man, who introduced himself as Kedel, happily followed Chu Feng and boarded a flight back to Huaguo the same day.

“Wow, this is an airplane!! I can’t believe I get to ride such a vehicle!! Before, I only saw real planes in museums!!” Kedel exclaimed excitedly, touching everything left and right, full of curiosity yet cautious as if afraid to break antiques.

The political commissar beside Chu Feng smiled at him: “Mr. Kedel…”

“Just call me Xiao Ke!” Kedel flushed, waving his hands: “You must be like my ancestors’ generation, no need to call me Mr.!”

“Alright, I’ll call you Xiao Ke then! Xiao Ke, your Huaguo language is really good. Did you learn it from childhood?” the commissar asked warmly.

“Yes, I’ve spoken Huaguo since I was little, it’s our mother tongue!!” Kedel said excitedly. “You don’t know, in the future, only a few countries remain in the Blue Star Alliance, and the strongest of them all is our Huaguo!!”

He didn’t even need prompting—this patriotic Huaguo youth spilled everything he knew, unable to hold back his eagerness. He told the commissar: “The Blue Star Alliance is the future’s name for Blue Star! Thanks to the teleportation arrays given to us by the Immortal Lord Professors, humanity entered the era of interstellar navigation! By the year 3194, when I came over, the Alliance already had more than twenty habitable planets, of which fifteen belonged to Huaguo!! Each planet is divided into zones, from Zone 1, Zone 2, up to Zone 27, each with different numbers of planets…”

Knowing his words would provide enormous help to present-day Huaguo, Kedel grew more excited as he spoke: “My smart brain even has our cosmic era’s world map, not only the Blue Star Alliance’s territory, but also alien nations you haven’t even encountered yet!! Oh right, a smart brain is… it’s like a computer implanted in your body! You should know computers, right? I remember Fuxi appeared around this time! You should know what the internet is by now?”

The more he talked, the more excited he became, while the bureau staff around him grew increasingly shocked. They suppressed their inner joy, recording every word he said, and asked: “We know computers. That smart brain you mentioned, can we take a look?”

Kedel looked troubled: “This thing is connected to my brain’s nerves. Unless you do surgery, it can’t be removed. Even if you did, I don’t think you could use it—it’s incredibly small.”

Afraid these ancient people wouldn’t understand, he waved his arms, gesturing: “Microns, do you know microns? Or cells? Germs? The smart brain is as small as a germ, implanted at the back of my neck. Just stick a needle in and it activates…”

Hearing surgery was needed, the others gave up the idea of seeing it for now, and asked instead: “Can you transfer the data in your smart brain into our computers?”

Kedel looked bewildered, racking his brain, then muttered: “But it needs a network connection. The smart brain links to the StarNet, while you only have the internet here…”

His voice grew smaller, as if doused with cold water, nearly in tears: “What do I do, I don’t think I can transfer the data to you… So many good things…”

Seeing his sudden gloom, the commissar comforted him: “It’s alright. As long as you can access those files, whether you relay them orally or write them down, it will still greatly help us.”

But Kedel was still troubled: “But I can’t write down star map coordinates… handwriting is too inaccurate, a tiny error could mean missing by thousands of miles…”

Yet throughout, he never once showed arrogance, superiority, or unwillingness—he only thought about how best to help his homeland. Everyone felt warmth in their hearts.

Facing such a young man, there was no need to press him too hard. The commissar shifted the topic: “In the future, you must have family, right? Now that you’ve suddenly come here, don’t you miss them?”

The young man froze, as if only just then remembering.

Everyone watched his face intently, expecting at least some worry. But after a pause, the young man simply said: “No, of course not. Won’t I be able to go back?”

Everyone: “???”

Seeing their reaction, the young man suddenly realized: “Ah, you still don’t know, right? Actually, the travelers left in the third year after they first appeared. I think it was… some date in September? Sorry, I forgot what they taught us in school back then…”

Everyone present instantly became restless.

“The travelers will go back? Why?”

“Did they suddenly disappear? This is very important, little brother, please tell us in detail, anything you can remember, just say it!”

Kodel shrank back against the chair, a bit intimidated by the crowd pressing close, and said: “Alright, I’ll tell you everything I know… As for going back, that was actually something the Immortal Lord told you. He said that the Heavenly Dao has been trying to repair itself. To prevent outsiders from disturbing the order here, once the repair is complete, it will send all travelers back to their own worlds, and even erase all their memories of coming here…”

Everyone’s faces turned pale as they forced themselves to digest this “bad news.”

Travelers were simply too precious. Losing them would be a huge loss not just for Huaguo, but for the entire world.

The only comfort might be the young man standing before them. He said that even though Huaguo lost all its travelers after three years, it still went on to become the strongest nation on Blue Star in the future. That alone was enough to excite every Huaguo citizen who heard the news.

“Look at the bright side. Haven’t some of the travelers always wanted to return to their own worlds? We can’t force them to stay.” A staff member from the Bureau of Travelers forced a smile.

“Yes, they’ve already done more than enough for us.”

Everyone echoed in agreement, trying to chase away their heavy feelings.

Someone noticed Chu Feng’s expression was unchanged. Remembering his relationship with Si Qi, they hesitated before saying: “Boss, about that Immortal Lord…”

Kodel, who had been talking, suddenly stopped and looked at Chu Feng with the same conflicted expression, unable to help himself: “Director, you must cherish these last few years…”

It was said that after Si Qi left, the director never accepted anyone else’s affection for the rest of his life, staying single into old age. He dedicated everything to his work and became a national hero known by all.

Every story about Chu Feng inevitably mentioned the Immortal Lord. Everyone knew about Chu Feng’s deep love for him, and this tragic romance where two lovers could not remain together for life.

The political commissar didn’t know about Chu Feng and Si Qi’s relationship. He wasn’t from the Bureau, but had been sent by higher-ups to handle external affairs. He asked curiously: “I heard that when you were in Country M, you called out the name Fuxi. Is this the same Fuxi as ours now? Didn’t it leave later?”

Kodel: “You could say yes, and you could say no. The future Fuxi is actually a copy of the current one, improved over generations. The difference is quite big.”

Commissar: “I see.” He had thought maybe some travelers might be allowed to stay.

Ten hours later, they got off the plane. Troops who had already received orders were stationed nearby, ready to escort Kodel straight to the Elders.

Kodel was quite excited at the thought of meeting the leaders of this era, but even more concerned: “Can I meet Immortal Lord Si? He’s my idol!”

Kodel pointed proudly at his own silver, futuristic-looking robe: “Look, I’m wearing the same style as the Immortal Lord!”

Everyone: ???

It looked nothing alike!

“I think the Immortal Lord would be willing to meet you. We’ll help submit a request.” The commissar said as he invited Kodel into the car.

Whether it was Huaguo’s future development, the advanced technology Kodel carried, or the “common knowledge” of the future—everything was invaluable information.

Feeling their way step by step could never compare to having a clear guide.

Chu Feng, however, returned directly to the Bureau with his men.

Si Qi was already waiting inside, beside a computer where lines of text continued to appear—messages from Fuxi, who couldn’t resist keeping him informed.

When Si Qi saw Chu Feng, his normally aloof expression didn’t change at all.

But Chu Feng, who knew his lover inside and out, subtly raised his eyebrows.

During the following days, Si Qi never asked him anything, and Chu Feng didn’t bring up the fact that Si Qi would leave Blue Star soon and lose all his memories.

Words of comfort were too weak, explanations too complicated. In the end, Si Qi would eventually recall everything.

But his calm reaction only made Si Qi restless. That very night, he knocked on Chu Feng’s door.

“What is it?” Chu Feng asked, puzzled.

Si Qi looked away nervously, guilty, and said: “Have a drink with me.”

Chu Feng instantly understood and smiled: “Alright.”

Half an hour later.

When Si Qi realized he couldn’t get Chu Feng drunk, he finally lost patience, snatching away the wineglass. “Enough.”

There were only two years left. After that, he would be separated from this man and lose all memories of him.

Chu Feng teased: “Enough of what?”

Si Qi’s voice was low and hoarse with exhaustion: “I… I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Invisible spiritual power bound Chu Feng’s hands, pinning him to the sofa.

Si Qi’s soft, cloudlike robes fell against him as he sat down. His long dark hair cascaded over Chu Feng’s chest. Trembling, Si Qi placed a memory orb on the table to record them, whispering: “I’ll live on with this…”

Chu Feng almost laughed: “That bold, huh?”

For their first time, Si Qi was this daring. Forgetting everything really did make him reckless.

Si Qi glared at him fiercely, but his words were weak and his eyes brimmed with tears: “You don’t even care if we’re separated.”

All the kindness, the confessions—Si Qi was convinced they were just tricks from this cunning Blue Star man to keep a traveler here. He had never been sincere!

Since he would lose this person in two years, then in these two years, he would collect every “debt” of affection, because after leaving, there would never be another chance.

Chu Feng wanted to speak, but Si Qi refused to give him the chance.

Afraid of rejection, Si Qi sealed his mouth with spiritual power, nervously tearing at his clothes, his heart pounding wildly.

Si Qi was too enthusiastic, and Chu Feng couldn’t bear to break free with the world’s power, letting him do as he wished.

But when Si Qi grew so clumsy it was unbearable, Chu Feng finally released himself, flipping him onto the sofa, startling Si Qi: “You… you can move?!”

“Baby, don’t think about that, focus.” Chu Feng kissed him. “You’re adorable.”

Si Qi was speechless, sweat on his forehead, scratching at Chu Feng’s back, biting his shoulder with reddened eyes: “Why are you so skilled, you philanderer!”

“Innocent, I only have you…”

Chu Feng kissed his face. Jealous Si Qi was irresistibly lovable.

For two days, Si Qi refused to let him go, until he worried Chu Feng’s mortal body couldn’t handle it, and reluctantly stopped.

—Better to completely drain him, so two years later he’ll be “useless,” Si Qi thought with gritted teeth.

But seeing Chu Feng moving about as usual, without exhaustion, frustrated him even more.

At least Chu Feng didn’t show any dislike, which calmed him a little.

Still, he remained bitter that Chu Feng seemed unconcerned about their eventual separation. When they returned to the Bureau, his aura finally turned icy and unapproachable.

It was at this moment that Kodel met Si Qi.

Blinded by admiration, the young man wasn’t fazed by Si Qi’s cold presence, circling him excitedly:

“I’m your fan! I grew up hearing about your deeds! I really, really like you!!!”

Si Qi listened reluctantly, still gloomy.

Until Kodel mentioned that after his departure, Chu Feng led Huaguo into an ever-brighter future. Only then did Si Qi casually ask: “And Chu Feng? How did he fare afterwards? Was he alright?”

He didn’t realize that in Kodel’s eyes, he was Chu Feng’s partner from the very beginning. He thought he had hidden his intentions well, that no one could guess his reason for asking.

Kodel let down his guard and answered freely: “Director Chu should’ve been doing well. Everyone respected him. He was Huaguo’s greatest hero! He made enormous contributions!”

Si Qi felt a bit depressed hearing so much without getting to the point.

He couldn’t directly ask whether Chu Feng married or liked someone else, could he?

Even though it would be normal for Chu Feng to love someone else eventually—he couldn’t expect him to stay devoted forever—

But he still cared.

Should he really divine the answer from the Heavenly Dao?

How embarrassing would that be…

And if he did learn who Chu Feng’s future spouse was, it’s not like he could drive them away or go begging Chu Feng for affection again. That would be far too humiliating.

Better to just drain Chu Feng completely tonight, so he never even thinks of finding someone else!