Chapter Three: Intervention of the Temporal and Spatial Administration Bureau

The dark red rocky beach steamed with a suffocating scent of sulfur. Heat waves, laden with the pungent odor of scorched matter, rushed forward; every breath felt like swallowing hot iron filings, searing Lin Yu’s nasal passages and throat. He knelt on the sharp, fragmented stones, the nanofiber protective suit at his knees already worn through, the jagged rocks scraping his skin and sending pulses of sharp pain through his body.

Lin Yu wedged a deformed protective plate into a crevice. The screech of metal against metal echoed through the deathly silent space like fingernails on a chalkboard, making his teeth ache.

The crystal storage box in his arms emitted a high-frequency vibration that grew increasingly rapid. The skin beneath his radiation-proof gloves was already scorched, the searing heat seemingly penetrating his bones, threatening to melt his flesh into ash. Fine cracks spiderwebbed across the surface of his nanofiber suit at a visible rate, as if being torn apart by countless invisible claws, ready to disintegrate at any moment and expose his vulnerable body.

A piercing sound, like a blade, instantly tore through the stagnant air. Lin Yu instinctively curled into the hollow of the ship’s wreckage, his heart hammering against his ribs as if it might burst through his chest. Seven streaks of silver light, trailing fiery exhaust, pierced the eerie purple veil like meteors, leaving long, glowing trails behind them that filled the air with scorching energy.

They hovered precisely in a circle with a five-meter radius. The powerful energy displacement instantly kicked up a fine sandstorm, and the suspended particles sparked with eerie blue flashes upon violent collision, carving fleeting light trails beneath the dark purple sky—resembling the scythes of death, radiating a bone-chilling aura. Watching this, Lin Yu felt his throat tighten; a shiver raced from the soles of his feet up his spine.

The seven figures looked like entities forged from liquid metal. Silver-and-black combat suits shimmered with complex data streams in the dim light, flickering and shifting as if containing mysterious power. Holographic projections on their visors continuously refreshed battlefield analyses, each data point glowing with a cold light that signaled their ruthlessness.

The space-time oscillation pistols at their waists emitted blue electric arcs that crackled, as if ready to consume life at any moment. The bronze gear emblem on the leader’s chest glowed coldly in the purple light—the executioner’s mark of the Space-Time Administration for suppressing rebels, exuding a chilling sense of intimidation.

On the shoulder guards of their combat suits, faint quantum runes flickered in rhythm with their breathing. As the runes pulsed, the surrounding air seemed to warp slightly, suggesting the presence of mysterious and formidable power.

"Space-Time Administration, S-07 Clearance Unit."

A cold, feminine voice, wrapped in electronic distortion and carrying unquestionable authority, echoed across the barren, rocky beach.

The leader’s tactical boots crushed the crystals on the beach, each step a declaration of sovereignty; the sound of the crystals shattering was crisp and jarring.

"D-class personnel in possession of A-class contraband: surrender, and your sentence may be commuted."

The moment she raised her hand, seven energy chains erupted from the ground. Mysterious runes flowed across the surface of the chains, flickering with an uncanny light. The energy chains sealed Lin Yu’s path into a diamond-shaped matrix. Where they passed, the dark red rocky beach began to crystallize, as if being reshaped by an unknown power, turning the once-loose ground into something hard and smooth.

Lin Yu pressed his back against the scorching bulkhead, the heat bleeding through his protective suit, stinging his skin. The storage box in his palm pulsed violently, as if a savage beast were imprisoned within, straining to burst through the metal casing.

"I am an employee of the Interstellar Courier Company! I made an emergency landing three days ago after encountering a space-time turbulence..."

His words were cut short by the suddenly solidified air. A transparent energy barrier, wreathed in crackling electricity, descended, while a laser beam grazed his ear, melting a charred hole into the protective plate.

He could clearly see that the moment the laser beam pierced the plate, it twisted the surrounding space into a bizarre shape, as if reality itself had cracked, and the air was filled with a pungent, burnt stench.

"Violation of Article 17 of the Space-Time Safety Regulations: unauthorized contact with a space-time anchor point."

The team leader’s visor retracted like liquid metal, revealing a sharp, angular face. Her amber pupils, like precision scanners, locked onto Lin Yu’s eyes, as if intending to peer into his soul.

Two restraints clamped onto his wrists with a sharp snap. The icy touch spread across his skin, suppressing his every movement and rendering him immobile.

"According to Chapter 3 of the Space-Time Criminal Code, you have been placed under permanent interrogation."

The captain’s voice was cold and merciless, as if pronouncing Lin Yu’s fate.

The steel dome of the Space-Time Administration headquarters cut through the blue glow of Earth. In the interrogation room, eighteen holographic recorders formed a circular matrix, acting like eighteen eyes, deconstructing every micro-expression of Lin Yu into data streams.

On the walls, within countless intersecting circuits and pipes, blue energy flowed intermittently, emitting a faint, rhythmic hum, as if the room itself were alive.

Su Yao’s slender fingers slid across the floating holographic screen with an elegance that carried an air of oppression. Lin Yu’s personnel file unfolded behind her like a hundred-meter scroll, every line of text recounting his past. Her fingernails tapped lightly against the screen, producing a crisp sound that seemed to strike at Lin Yu’s heart.

"Twenty-eight years old, three consecutive years with a zero-accident record."

Su Yao suddenly shut down the data stream. The interrogation light cast sharp shadows across her eyelashes, like two blades.

"But this time, you trespassed into an unregistered space-time zone and brought back contraband capable of tearing through dimensions. Do you know how many parallel universes were annihilated the last time a space-time anchor point appeared?"

Her voice held a trace of imperceptible fear and anger, as if she were recalling that horrific disaster, and a flicker of pain crossed her eyes.

Lin Yu swallowed the taste of rust in his throat. From the piercing alarm during the space-time turbulence to the phosphorescent murals in the ruins, those twisted space-time symbols seemed to surface on his retinas once more, each one a riddle yet to be solved. When he uttered the words "space-time anchor point," all the holographic recorders suddenly emitted a high-pitched, piercing whine that threatened to rupture his eardrums.

Su Yao’s pupils contracted sharply. Her tactical watch instantly projected an emergency encrypted communication. On the light curtain, complex codes and warning symbols pulsed, foreshadowing a greater crisis; her expression turned grave and solemn.

When the hidden door opened, Lin Yu heard the ancient sound of gears turning. The sound seemed to traverse long ages, carrying the weight of history as it echoed through the interrogation room. Seven elders wearing golden gear medals filed in. The white-haired leader’s medal was engraved with the year of creation—the era of the Administration’s founding, symbolizing infinite authority.

Their garments were embroidered with ancient totems representing the laws of space-time, every pattern seemingly containing endless mysteries, whispering of the universe’s origin and end. The elders’ footsteps were steady and slow, each step measuring time itself.

"Worse than we anticipated." Chen Yuanshan’s cane struck the holographic projection heavily. The purple sky Lin Yu had encountered spread across the ceiling of the conference room, as if bringing that dangerous world into the present.

"Su Yao, assemble a special investigation team and activate all dimensional monitoring equipment." He turned to Lin Yu, his clouded pupils suddenly emitting a sharp light that seemed to pierce his very soul. "You will participate in the investigation as a key witness—provided you still wish to see another sunrise."

The moment the cane touched the floor, an invisible pressure expanded, causing the air in the room to tremble. It felt as if time itself had frozen, and Lin Yu found it difficult to breathe.

Su Yao’s combat suit shimmered with a metallic luster. She performed a standard military salute with a sharp, crisp movement, displaying her efficiency and loyalty.

"Mission accepted!" When she turned to look at Lin Yu, her tactical visor flashed blue, her eyes filled with scrutiny and warning.

"From now on, your life and death are directly linked to the stability of space-time. I hope those so-called ‘clues’ of yours are not your final words."

At the cuffs of her combat suit, special tactical interfaces flickered into view, ready to connect with various weapons and equipment, a silent reminder to Lin Yu that this was a battle of life and death.

Amidst the hum of the airlock closing, Lin Yu gazed at the shattered nebula outside the porthole. Those tangled space-time turbulences now looked strikingly like the doomsday totems from the ruins' murals, and he had already become the most insignificant yet indelible stroke in this apocalyptic tapestry.

Outside the porthole, strange energy bodies occasionally streaked past, leaving brilliant trails in the dark universe as if mocking his insignificance or guiding him toward an unknown destiny. As he watched, a complex mix of emotions surged within him—fear, confusion, and a trace of defiance.