JFWCM Chapter 76

The Unfinished Birthday Promise

Jiang Wan’yuan’s birthday arrived, and the city was shrouded in a faint silver mist, as if veiling the sorrow in Yi Shang’s heart with a thin gauze. Yi Shang arrived early at Jiang Wan’yuan’s doorstep, clutching a carefully selected bouquet of interstellar blooms. The petals shimmered with a dreamlike luster; they were Jiang Wan’yuan’s favorite flowers, trembling gently in the dim light, like Yi Shang’s trembling heart.

Yi Shang stood silently before the door, her eyes blankly fixed on the closed panel, as if she could penetrate it and see Jiang Wan’yuan’s joyous figure running out to greet her in the past. She slowly crouched down, gently placing the bouquet at the door, her movements so gentle as if afraid to disturb something. Tears welled up in her eyes, finally unable to be held back, and slid down her usually aloof cheeks.

“Wan’yuan, today is your birthday…” Yi Shang’s voice was so low it was almost a murmur, filled with endless sobs and longing, echoing in the silent doorway. “Where on earth are you? I’ve been looking for you for so long, almost all over the galaxy, but why is there still not a trace of you…” Her shoulders trembled slightly, her past strength completely shattered by longing at this moment.

“Do you know? Without you, everything becomes meaningless. Before, I always thought that scientific research was my everything, until you walked into my life, I realized that you are the most dazzling light in my life. You are so cheerful and lively, like a little sun, illuminating my originally cold and lonely world.” Yi Shang raised her hand, gently stroking the door, as if she could feel Jiang Wan’yuan’s former warmth.

“We used to stroll under the starry sky on campus together, talking about our future dreams. Those times are the most beautiful memories of my life. You said you wanted to explore every corner of the universe, to discover those unknown mysteries. I thought at the time, no matter where you want to go, I will be by your side. But now, you suddenly disappeared, leaving me alone to search in this vast galaxy.” Yi Shang’s tears flowed non-stop, wetting the ground beneath her feet.

“I rejected all the invitations from top scientific research institutions. I don’t care about those honors and positions. I just want to find you. I modified the spaceship and traveled alone between galaxies. Every time I arrive at a place, I inquire about your whereabouts everywhere. I’ve been to bustling interstellar trade centers, where people come and go. I held your photo and asked everyone I met, but I always got disappointment. I have also been to those remote and desolate abandoned planets, searching for your traces among the ruins, even if there is only a glimmer of possibility, I will not give up.” Yi Shang’s voice became hoarse from excessive grief.

“Today, I came here again. How I wish you could suddenly appear in front of me, smiling and telling me that you were just playing a joke on me. Wan’yuan, where on earth are you? I miss you so much…” Yi Shang lowered her head, burying her face in her hands, her body trembling violently with sobs.

She didn’t know how long had passed when she heard Jing Xiao and Zhang Yao calling her name anxiously in the distance. They had been searching for Yi Shang everywhere and finally found her at Jiang Wan’yuan’s door. Zhang Yao’s eyes turned red when she saw Yi Shang so sad. She rushed over and gently hugged Yi Shang, comforting her, “Yi Shang, don’t be too sad. We will definitely find Jiang Wan’yuan. You have to believe that she must still be waiting for us somewhere.”

Lin Jichuan also stepped forward, patted Yi Shang on the shoulder, and said firmly, “Yes, we can’t give up. Although today is a sad day, we can treat it as a new beginning, re-sort out the clues, and there will definitely be new discoveries.”

Yi Shang slowly raised her head, looking at them with gratitude and helplessness in her eyes, “Thank you for always being with me. But I’m really tired, I feel like I’ll never find her…”

Lin Jichuan frowned, thought for a moment, and said, “Let’s carefully sort out the clues we investigated before, maybe we can find some details that we have overlooked. Maybe Jiang Wan’yuan left some special signals, but we haven’t deciphered them yet.”

Zhang Yao nodded in agreement, “Yes, let’s go back to the spaceship, there are all the materials we collected. Maybe on this special day, we can find a new direction from those clues.”

Yi Shang took a deep breath, tried to calm her emotions, stood up, and followed Lin Jichuan and Zhang Yao back to the spaceship. They sat around the console of the spaceship, placing the clues they had collected about Jiang Wan’yuan’s disappearance one by one in front of them. There were surveillance records from all over the galaxy, research data related to Jiang Wan’yuan’s father, environmental analysis of the last place they appeared before they disappeared, and some vague descriptions from eyewitnesses.

Yi Shang stared at the data, her eyes gradually becoming focused. She carefully read each document, trying to find a trace of connection from those trivial pieces of information. Suddenly, her gaze stopped on a report about Jiang Wan’yuan’s father’s research project. She had read this report countless times, but this time, she discovered a detail she had overlooked before.

The report included a description of a special energy fluctuation, which was very similar to the abnormal energy fluctuation Yi Shang detected on an abandoned planet on the edge of the galaxy. At the time, she didn’t associate the two, because the abandoned planet was very far from the place where Jiang Wan’yuan disappeared, and such energy fluctuations were not uncommon in the galaxy.

“Look, could this energy fluctuation be the key clue?” Yi Shang said to Lin Jichuan and Zhang Yao, pointing to the content on the report.

Lin Jichuan leaned over to take a closer look, thought for a moment, and said, “It’s possible. Jiang Wan’yuan’s father has been researching energy-related projects, maybe this energy fluctuation is closely related to their disappearance. We haven’t investigated this abandoned planet in depth before, maybe we should start here.”

Zhang Yao also nodded in agreement, “Yes, and Jiang Wan’yuan seemed to be inquiring about energy-related information before she disappeared, maybe all of this is related.”

So, they immediately began to look up more information about the abandoned planet. After some effort, they discovered that this abandoned planet used to be the location of a highly developed interstellar civilization, but it was destroyed by an unknown disaster. And recently, some interstellar explorers have discovered some strange phenomena there, such as inexplicably appearing energy vortices, and some unexplainable signal fluctuations.

A spark of hope ignited in Yi Shang’s eyes, “Let’s go to this abandoned planet and see if we can find Jiang Wan’yuan’s clues.”

The three quickly prepared the spaceship and set off towards the abandoned planet. The spaceship shuttled through the galaxy, and Yi Shang’s heart was both nervous and expectant. She stared at the spaceship’s display screen, and Jiang Wan’yuan’s figure constantly appeared in her mind.

As the spaceship approached the abandoned planet, they felt a strong and chaotic energy field. Yi Shang carefully controlled the spaceship, broke through the interference of the energy field, and slowly landed on the surface of the planet.

The scene before them was desolate, with huge ruins scattered everywhere, as if telling the story of past glory and destruction. Yi Shang, Lin Jichuan, and Zhang Yao put on special protective suits and stepped out of the spaceship. A pungent smell filled the surroundings, and strange lights flashed in the sky from time to time, making people feel a chill.

They turned on the detection equipment in their hands and began to explore the ruins. Yi Shang carefully observed the surrounding environment, not letting go of any details. Suddenly, the detection equipment emitted a rapid beeping sound, indicating that there was an abnormal energy reaction ahead.

Following the direction of the energy reaction, they found a hidden underground entrance in a ruin. The entrance was covered with dust and gravel, and it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. Yi Shang squatted down and carefully studied the traces around the entrance, finding some strange symbols that were similar to the encrypted symbols in Jiang Wan’yuan’s father’s research report.

“These symbols may be the key to opening the entrance,” Yi Shang said. She began to try to decipher the meaning of these symbols, and after some effort, finally found a way to open the entrance.

The entrance slowly opened, and a stale breath rushed towards them. They carefully walked into the underground passage. The passage was dimly lit, and they could only rely on the lighting equipment in their hands to move forward. The walls were covered with various strange patterns and texts, as if telling an ancient story.

At the end of the passage, they found a huge room. In the center of the room was an energy device that shimmered with strange light, surrounded by a circle of control panels, which were also covered with symbols.

Yi Shang stepped forward and tried to activate the control panel to see if she could obtain more information. The moment she touched the control panel, the lights in the room suddenly turned on, and a holographic image appeared in front of them. In the image was a person wearing a white robe, his face was blurred, but his voice was clearly transmitted.

“Outsiders, welcome to this forgotten place. A great secret is hidden here, related to an energy that can change the fate of the galaxy. Once, this civilization prospered because of this energy, and it also led to its destruction. Now, the fluctuations of this energy have appeared again, foreshadowing the arrival of danger. If you want to stop the disaster from happening, you must find three keys, which are hidden in three different places in the galaxy. Only by collecting all three keys can you unlock the secrets here, and find the answers you want.”

After the holographic image disappeared, Yi Shang, Lin Jichuan, and Zhang Yao looked at each other. They realized that the discovery on this abandoned planet had dragged them into an even more complex mystery. But in order to find Jiang Wan’yuan, they had no intention of retreating.

“It seems we’re going to start a new adventure,” Yi Shang said, her eyes revealing a firm determination. “No matter how difficult it is, we must find these three keys, solve this mystery, and find Jiang Wan’yuan.”

Lin Jichuan and Zhang Yao nodded in agreement. So, they began to study the control panel, trying to obtain clues about the whereabouts of the three keys. After some effort, they learned from the information on the control panel that the first key might be hidden on a mysterious planet called “Moonlight Forest.” This planet was shrouded in a mysterious moonlight and was full of dangerous creatures and mysterious powers.

Without hesitation, the three returned to the spaceship and set off towards the “Moonlight Forest” planet. On the spaceship, Yi Shang’s heart was filled with anticipation and worry. She didn’t know what was waiting for them in the “Moonlight Forest”, but she knew that every clue could be the key to finding Jiang Wan’yuan.

As the spaceship approached the “Moonlight Forest” planet, they saw that the entire planet was shrouded in a soft, silver moonlight, like a huge pearl suspended in the galaxy. However, when they tried to land, they were repelled by a powerful energy.

Yi Shang frowned and carefully observed the energy field around the planet, “This energy is very strange, it seems to be a defense mechanism. We must find a way to crack it before we can land.”

So, they began to scan and analyze the energy field on the spaceship. After some effort, Yi Shang discovered that the frequency of the energy field matched a special interstellar signal. She quickly adjusted the spaceship’s communication equipment and sent out the corresponding signal.

The repulsive force of the energy field gradually weakened, and the spaceship finally landed successfully on the “Moonlight Forest” planet. As soon as they got off the spaceship, they were shocked by the scene before them. Tall trees shimmered with silver light, as if they were condensed from moonlight. The ground was covered with soft, silver grass, and mysterious sounds came from the distance, as if countless eyes were watching them in the dark.

They carefully walked into the forest. Yi Shang tightly gripped the weapon in her hand, vigilantly observing the surrounding movements. Suddenly, a huge silver beast rushed out of the forest, its eyes flashing with fierce light, opening its bloody mouth and roaring at them.

“Be careful!” Lin Jichuan shouted, quickly taking out his weapon to prepare for battle. Yi Shang and Zhang Yao also immediately entered combat mode. The silver beast pounced on them. Yi Shang nimbly dodged the beast’s attacks while searching for its weakness. Lin Jichuan, with his strong physique, engaged in close combat with the beast. Zhang Yao used the weapon in her hand to attack the beast from the side, providing support for Yi Shang and Lin Jichuan.

The battle was extremely fierce. The power of the silver beast was beyond imagination, and each attack carried a powerful impact. In the process of dodging the beast’s attack, Yi Shang accidentally fell to the ground. Seeing this, the beast took the opportunity to pounce on her. At this critical moment, Lin Jichuan quickly rushed forward and stabbed the beast in the leg with his weapon, successfully attracting its attention.

Yi Shang took the opportunity to stand up and, together with Lin Jichuan and Zhang Yao, focused their fire on the beast’s head. After a fierce battle, they finally managed to repel the silver beast. The beast let out an angry roar and turned to disappear into the forest.

Yi Shang and the others panted heavily, looking at each other. “This is just the beginning, we have to be more careful,” Yi Shang said. They continued to move forward in the forest, looking for the whereabouts of the first key.

Deep in the forest, they found an ancient temple. The temple gate was tightly closed, surrounded by a circle of mysterious runes. Yi Shang stepped forward and carefully studied these runes, trying to find a way to open the gate.

At this moment, a group of mysterious people wearing silver robes walked out of the forest and surrounded them. The mysterious people wore silver masks on their faces, making it impossible to see their faces.

“Outsiders, why have you trespassed into this sacred place?” the leading mysterious man asked coldly.

Yi Shang looked at him calmly and said, “We are looking for a key, which is said to be hidden here. We have no malice, we just want to solve a mystery and find our friend.”

The mysterious man was silent for a moment and said, “The key is indeed here, but it is a treasure we guard and will not be easily given to outsiders. If you can pass our test and prove that you are qualified to obtain it, we will give you the key.”

Yi Shang, Lin Jichuan, and Zhang Yao looked at each other and said without hesitation, “We accept the test.”

The mysterious man nodded, waved his hand, and a huge chessboard appeared on the ground, with various strange chess pieces placed on it. “This chessboard is the crystallization of wisdom left by our ancestors, and it contains the mysteries of the universe. You need to solve the puzzle of the chessboard within the specified time to pass the test.”

Yi Shang and the others stepped forward and carefully observed the chessboard. The arrangement of the chess pieces on the chessboard seemed to be random, but Yi Shang gradually discovered the rules with her outstanding wisdom and knowledge of interstellar knowledge. She began to direct Lin Jichuan and Zhang Yao to move the chess pieces, arranging them in a specific order and manner.

Time passed by, and their foreheads were covered with sweat. Finally, at the last moment, they successfully solved the puzzle of the chessboard. A dazzling light emitted from the chessboard, and the gate of the temple slowly opened.

The mysterious man looked at them and said, “You have passed the test, this key now belongs to you.” After saying that, he took out a key that shimmered with silver light from the temple and handed it to Yi Shang.

Yi Shang took the key, her heart filled with joy and gratitude, “Thank you.”

With the first key, Yi Shang, Lin Jichuan, and Zhang Yao left the “Moonlight Forest” planet. They knew that there were two more keys waiting for them to find, and each search would face new challenges, but they firmly believed that as long as they didn’t give up, they would one day find Jiang Wan’yuan and solve all the mysteries.