Zhuo Zhan didn't sleep well for several nights in a row, and he didn't sleep well last night.

Today, Saturday, also happens to be Zhuo Zhan's sixteenth birthday, but he has no intention of celebrating this birthday at all. His thoughts at this time are all about the death of his parents.

At that time, due to the confidentiality agreement of the scientific research organization where his parents worked, he was only told that they died in an accident during the research process, and he did not know the details.

The black collar seal said that his parents were framed. Although his father mentioned some situations in his letter to Uncle Wen, they were only vague and vague, leaving him without a trace.

If he wanted to know the truth now, he could only ask Uncle Wen face to face. But seeing Uncle Wen busy preparing for his birthday party, Zhuo Zhan really couldn't speak, and felt uncomfortable in his heart.

At noon, Zhuo Zhan was leaning against the window sill in a daze, but he was almost hit by a flying stone.

When Zhuo Zhan leaned out to take a look, he only saw a black top hat and a black glove sticking out at the corner outside the gate.

Zhuo Zhan knew that it was the Black Collar Group that was urging him.

He had no intention of cooperating with the unknown black collar badge from the beginning, nor did he intend to use that thing called Sikong to exchange information with them.

But the reappearance of this person also reminded him that no matter what, he should have a showdown with Uncle Wen as soon as possible.

Duan Fei, Duan Yue and Zhuangzi came over early in the afternoon, and they were busy working in full swing. Only Zhuo Zhan, the birthday boy, was distracted and stayed on the sofa in a daze.

The dishes for the birthday banquet were carefully prepared by Uncle Wen, and they were all favorites of several people. Almost every dish was eaten away.

Zhuangzi even used chopsticks and spoons from left to right, praising Uncle Wen's craftsmanship as unparalleled in the world.

Before you know it, the feast has turned into a mess.

There was no birthday cake. This was something Zhuo Zhan requested to cancel four years ago. He was afraid of recalling the scene of blowing out candles and making wishes with his parents. So he went directly to the next step as agreed upon, giving gifts.

Duan Yue excitedly gave away the gift that she had prepared for a week, no, a year. She started preparing this time after giving out birthday gifts last time.

A pair of brown leather gloves, Zhuo Zhan flatly said "I like it", Duan Yue was instantly elated and almost died of happiness.

Duan Fei gave Zhuo Zhan a white jersey No. 31 of Schweinsteiger’s Bayern Munich jersey.

Although Zhuo Zhan no longer participates in the school football team, Duan Fei knows that sometimes he will still play football alone on the community field. After all, he has loved sports for so many years and cannot give up easily.

Zhuangzi gave a high-definition aerial photography drone, while Jiang Xueyan gave a transverse flute made of huanghuali.

They are all Zhuo Zhan's past hobbies, because everyone really doesn't know what Zhuo Zhan likes now, so they can only give him things he liked before.

Zhuo Zhan knew that Uncle Wen was going to give it away in the end.

However, before Uncle Wen could push the small box wrapped in blue cellophane in front of him, Zhuo Zhan leaned forward, stared at Uncle Wen solemnly, and spoke slowly:

"Uncle Wen, how did my parents and Mr. Jiang...die? Also, what exactly is Sikong?"

Everyone was frightened by Zhuo Zhan's sudden question and looked at Uncle Wen in unison, not daring to express their anger.

Uncle Wen's expression suddenly changed, he suppressed his kind smile and frowned: "Why do you ask this?"

Zhuo Zhan's eyes were cold and he said in a deep voice: "Someone came to see me. I didn't see him, but he was wearing black gloves and had a very special black collar badge on his collar."

"Black collar badge? Haha..." Uncle Wen smiled coldly, "Then I know, it's Gu San's person. Zhuo Zhan, don't listen to that person's nonsense..."

"Uncle Wen," Zhuo Zhan rarely interrupted Uncle Wen. He stood up quickly, took out a brown paper envelope from his pocket, pressed it with his fingers and slid it in front of Uncle Wen: "Uncle Wen, don't try to fool me.

, I know everything.”

Uncle Wen's eyes fell on the familiar words "Wen Taiqin" on the envelope. He couldn't help but take a breath, and his face instantly turned livid: "So that day you were..."

Zhuo Zhan nodded and stared at Uncle Wen: "Uncle Wen, please tell me, I have the right to know..."

However, before Zhuo Zhan could finish speaking, Uncle Wen stood up angrily and roared: "Zhuo Zhan, go back to the house and don't mention this matter to me again!"

Uncle Wen's voice was like a loud bell, and his angry voice shook the whole house.

The air in the room that was still smelling of food suddenly solidified, becoming so heavy that people couldn't breathe.

Except for Jiang Xueyan who remained calm as usual, the other four people were already shocked and could not even swallow their saliva. This was because they had never seen Uncle Wen, who had always been amiable and amiable, get so angry.

"Duan Fei, Duan Yue, Zhuangzi, it's getting late, you should go home. Clear the table."

After Uncle Wen left these cold words, he turned around and went upstairs. The moment he turned around, Zhuo Zhan seemed to see the tears on his cheeks, and a sourness surged into his heart.

Zhuo Zhan's 16th birthday party ended in an unhappy ending.

**********

That night, Zhuo Zhan tossed and turned again and had no sleep all night. And next door to him, Uncle Wen did the same.

Zhuo Zhan was too tired these days, both mentally and spiritually. Near dawn, he finally fell asleep.

However, just as he was feeling a little dazed, there was a knock on the door.

"Dong, dong dong, dong dong dong"

This way of knocking on the door sounds like Uncle Wen.

Zhuo Zhan woke up suddenly, his heart tightened, he got out of bed and opened the door.

Standing at the door was the haggard Uncle Wen, with two cups of hot tea on the tray in his hand, and his kind eyes full of red bloodshot eyes.

That night, Uncle Wen aged much.

"Zhuo Zhan, shall we have a chat?"

"Uncle Wen..." Zhuo Zhan quickly took the tray and leaned forward to let Uncle Wen enter the room.

One of them sat on the bed, the other on a chair, staring at each other, not knowing how to speak for a long time.

Looking at Uncle Wen's face, Zhuo Zhan knew that he must have gone through repeated mental torture that night before making this difficult decision. And the calmness that Uncle Wen showed in front of him now was the result of many heartbreaking self-digestions.

The result was diluted later.

Zhuo Zhan straightened his back, looked straight at Uncle Wen, and said calmly: "Uncle Wen, I never thought of forcing you... I... I just want to know how my parents died."

Uncle Wen sighed and rubbed his red and swollen eyes tiredly: "Zhuo Zhan, you only know that your parents go to research every time, but do you know where they go to research?"

Zhuo Zhan shook his head blankly.

Uncle Wen sighed again and said leisurely: "You may think it's ridiculous to say it. You know, Mr. Jiang has been obsessed with "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" since he was a child. He has always believed that the absurd generations of mountains and seas that everyone said existed objectively, and those strange people

Weird things, beasts, monsters, witches and gods are all real..."

The Mr. Jiang mentioned by Uncle Wen was also the teacher of Zhuo Zhan's parents, Jiang Youguo. At a young age, he received three doctorate degrees in physics, mineralogy, and philosophy, and was called a "ghost genius" by the academic community.

But Mr. Jiang is by no means an old scholar who only knows how to do experiments and write papers every day. His wild ideas and decisive actions make people who don't know him think that he is more like a prodigal son and a poet.

Therefore, when doing research, he never takes advantage of the legacy of his predecessors and always develops his own unique approach. This is why he did not follow the rules and work at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, but chose to set up his own independent laboratory.

However, such a style of conduct and way of life are extremely unreliable in the eyes of secular people. Very few people would follow Mr. Jiang without hesitation and engage in these bizarre researches.

Zhuo Zhan's parents, and Duan Fei and Duan Yue's father, are a few exceptions. They have been following Mr. Jiang since they were graduate students, and spared no effort to help Mr. Jiang realize one bold conjecture after another.

Fortunately, the laboratory continues to produce small results, and the commercial conversion rate is also very high. Mr. Jiang did not leave these people poor or hungry.

"... Mr. Jiang has never forgotten his childhood dream of exploring the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is more accurately said to be an obsession than a dream. Through research, Mr. Jiang discovered that in the ancient era where the Classic of Mountains and Seas was located, the world between heaven and earth

The laws of gas, magnetic field, and laws are in the differentiation stage between ancient chaos and the civilized world of later generations. Various energies in nature are being stripped and layered. Such evolution makes the laws of space-time operation less rigorous." Article

The uncle looked solemn and said seriously.

"However, the era we are living in now is also a point of differentiation between the old and new eras. It has only taken a hundred years to transform from the old social relations dominated by traditional agriculture that lasted for thousands of years to the modern civilization of electronic technology networks. Society has also changed.

In the period of fission when high banks turn into valleys and deep valleys turn into mausoleums, the barriers of time and space are equally fragile. Only then does it become possible to connect the two time and spaces through a certain medium."

"Uncle Wen, you mean...the two worlds can be connected?" Zhuo Zhan stared at Uncle Wen in surprise.

Uncle Wen nodded: "Lao Jiang's research team spent ten years and finally invented a medium that can connect two time and space, 'Sikong'."

"Is that what the black collar badge asked me to steal?"

"That's right, this Sikong is with me now, the only one in the world." Uncle Wen sighed again unconsciously.

"Hey... after Mr. Jiang died, Sikong's production method was also taken to the grave. In the past four years, I don't know how many organizations and strongmen with evil intentions have wanted to take advantage of this thing. The company and the laboratory have been visited by thieves.

So many times, some even cut through the wall to get out of the safe. The person who came to see you that day was Gu San from the Yintu Gang, and he was also a regular customer who had this idea from Sikong."

Zhuo Zhan suppressed the waves of surprise in his heart and continued to ask: "Then every time my parents do research, they use this Sikong to go to the mountains and seas?"

"That's right, this starts with the 'Shanhai Alliance', the organization that Zhuo Feng and Jin Hong belong to." Uncle Wen took a sip of tea, thoughtfully, and looked straight out the window.

Four years ago, Sikong's sudden appearance did not dare to shock the world on a large scale, but even a small academic circle was still excited.

Although the world continues to be controversial about Sikong, the superiors at that time still tended to explore cautiously and focus on research out of considerations of national interests, and approved the establishment of a scientific research and exploration organization. However, it could not be in the name of an official, but could only be in the name of a private academic group.

form.

Although it is a private academic group, the organization is still extremely strict in selecting and employing people. A confidentiality agreement must be signed, and you must be a leader in each field to have a chance to join this organization.

What Uncle Wen wants to tell Zhuo Zhan is this mysterious informal organization, the Shanhai Alliance.

Uncle Wen looked at Zhuo Zhan who was full of doubts, took a sip of tea, and said solemnly: "This organization is commonly known as the 'Shanhai Alliance', and Mr. Jiang is the 'leader'. Zhuo Zhan, your parents, and your Uncle Chengkui,

They are all in the first echelon of the 'Shanhai Alliance', that is, the research team, a group of people who want to actually travel through time and space."

"To facilitate movement, the number of the expedition team is set at 15, but helpers will be added according to the needs of the itinerary. The expedition team is dressed as an exotic business traveler on the other side, recording and scientifically researching a large number of mountains, rivers, plants, animals, and minerals.

Kao, and later Xue Yan also went there several times."

"Here, it's this photo. It was taken in front of the Shanhaimeng Research Institute before setting off for the first time." Uncle Wen said as he took out a group photo from the pocket of his sweater jacket and handed it to him.

Zhuo Zhan hurriedly leaned over and glanced over. He immediately saw Yinglang's father and his quiet mother beside him. Zhuo Zhan felt his nose sore and subconsciously raised his head.
To be continued...