Zeng Lang frowned slightly, looking at the android in disbelief.
Gu Ya asked calmly, "When did Xuan Heyi buy this?"
The android turned to Gu Ya and said politely, "Esteemed guest, the master purchased this memorial hall seven years ago."
"Seven years ago, the year after Mother passed," Zeng Lang murmured.
"You were still in the cultivation pod then," Gu Ya smiled faintly.
Zeng Lang’s face darkened. He said to the android, "Xuan Heyi has resigned as the head of the Xuan family. I am now in charge of the family! This memorial hall belongs to me!"
The android remained indifferent, continuing to smile as if it didn't understand, looking at Zeng Lang.
Gu Ya walked over quietly and placed his hand on it. The android’s eyes suddenly turned gray, and after a few seconds, they returned to blue.
The android said enthusiastically and humbly, "Young Master, this memorial hall now belongs to you."
"The memorial hall has three floors. The first floor is the daily area, displaying items used by the deceased during their lifetime."
"The second floor is the memorial area, showcasing the deceased's military achievements during their lifetime."
"The basement is not open to the public. Only you have the key."
Gu Ya looked at Zeng Lang and said, "Let's go see the basement."
Everyone followed the android to the backyard and stopped outside a small storeroom. The android said, "This is the entrance to the basement. The program does not allow me to step foot here. Please proceed at your own discretion."
The door was an electronic lock, child's play for Gu Ya.
Upon opening the storeroom door, the lights and ventilation system automatically activated, and a downward staircase appeared.
Everyone walked down the stairs into the basement.
White light strips illuminated the room brightly.
It was a basement less than ten square meters, with no outward windows. Two ventilation grilles on the wall emitted a faint wind noise.
In the center of the room stood a table and a chair.
Gu Ya lightly tapped the table, and a holographic system light screen automatically appeared. After deleting the login password with [Code Tampering], the system’s contents were revealed to everyone.
"This... this is their wedding video," Zeng Lang said softly.
"Wow—!" Wei Ping and Jiang Tingyue exclaimed softly, "Auntie is truly beautiful."
"So heartwarming."
Everyone quietly watched the five-minute edited video. Several folders appeared in the holographic system.
Zeng Lang opened the first folder and examined it closely, murmuring, "This is a record of my experiments."
The records began from the moment the embryonic genes entered the testing pod, numbering hundreds of thousands, extremely detailed, until Zeng Lang completely left the testing base.
Each record had a signature at the bottom right: Gu Hui.
Gu Ya couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Compared to me, his own son, my dad knew you better."
The second file contained only a few photographed records.
The photos clearly showed experimental records of Gu Xingchi and Gu Youran.
The time span of the records was vast, with some blacked out by a marker pen.
The content was basically consistent with what Xuan Heyi had said.
The last page of the record caught Gu Ya’s attention. At the very bottom, there was a line written in oil-based pen, very small and illegible: [Zhuo Yuan City, Gear Street, Number 333].
Judging by the handwriting, it was written by Gu Hui.
"Zhuo Yuan City again..." Gu Ya said thoughtfully.
Zeng Lang asked, "I estimate Xuan Heyi has already sent people there."
Gu Ya nodded.
The third folder contained all of Zeng Yiyao's life photos, including pictures of young Zeng Lang.
Zeng Lang stared blankly, his eyes gradually reddening.
The young Zeng Lang in the photos looked very happy and carefree.
Compared to Zeng Lang's constantly brooding and calculating expression, he was a thousand times cuter. No wonder Xuan Heyi didn't like Zeng Lang.
Combining Xuan Heyi's previous words, Gu Ya could conclude that this was the deepest data repository of the old Tianxuan Group.
There was no need to return to the Gulang Group's data repository to find intelligence.
Gu Ya teased, "Young Master Zeng, how do you want to handle these?"
"I'll send people to take them back."
When everyone emerged from the basement, dusk had begun to fall.
The backyard was quiet and serene.
A few birds flew into the yard, foraged, and then flew back into the sky.
Zeng Lang stopped Gu Ya and said, "Let's go to Mother's War God Mountain tomorrow. My wish will be fulfilled. What's next?"
Gu Ya pondered for a moment and said, "According to the holographic map, the street sign on the note is an old house."
"I'm worried, I want to go to Zhuo Yuan City alone."
Zeng Lang said, "I'll go with you."
"Are you kidding me?" Gu Ya patted Zeng Lang's shoulder and said, "Now that you finally have a chance to come here, don't you have to take the two girls sightseeing? If you don't have a good time, they'll eat you when you get back."
"Hey—!" Liu Feng shouted from the back door, "Lab twins! The ladies are hungry! It's time to eat."
Zeng Lang looked at Liu Feng and said softly, "Gu Ya, what if I find someone to invent a mute pill?"
"Excellent~"
...
After a satisfying meal, the night passed without incident.
The next day, Gu Ya and the others left Caihua City and flew towards the War God Mountain range outside the city.
From a distance, it already looked like a magnificent mountain.
Up close, it was even more breathtaking.
Standing at the foot of War God Mountain and looking up, one couldn't see the entire cloud-piercing sculpture.
This was much larger than the Leshan Giant Buddha, Gu Ya thought.
The pure white rock showed no cracks, appearing as a single, magnificent entity.
After visiting War God Mountain,
Gu Ya checked the time. According to the original plan, they should depart now and reach Zhuo Yuan City in the afternoon.
By staying up one night, they might be able to return to school the next morning, without delaying classes.
As Zeng Lang mentioned, Xie Fangbin was furious, and the school was preparing to deal with Gu Ya's unauthorized absence.
It was Zeng Lang who managed to smooth things over and get Gu Ya’s absence covered.
"Well then, everyone, I'll be going ahead."
Gu Ya bid farewell to everyone through his mecha's communicator.
"Hey! Where are you going without me?" Liu Feng shouted, controlling his mecha and following.
"Scram, scram, scram. Go accompany Zeng Lang. If you encounter any bandits on your way back, you two can look out for each other," Gu Ya said dismissively.
Last night, Liu Feng's snoring was so loud it almost made Gu Ya insomniac.
"Brother, he's with two girls, it would be awkward for me to be a third wheel!"
"Liu Feng, come with me. I'll arrange a place for you that's extremely enjoyable. I guarantee you'll be satisfied," Zeng Lang said with a mischievous smile.
"Oh, alright! Gu Ya, bye-bye!"
The hidden aura radiated warmly, rising into the sky, and with an acceleration, it flew eastward.
Zeng Lang's and the others' mechas grew smaller and smaller.
Gradually, War God Mountain also began to shrink until it disappeared.
This trip to Zhuo Yuan City
was entirely a reconnaissance mission, to get a general impression of the place.
Gu Ya would definitely go there to study in the future and wanted to see the strength of Xianxia's number one mecha mechanics academy.
As he anticipated,
a familiar engine sound came from behind him.
Gu Ya was almost exasperated by her. This Tao Na was like a persistent stain, no matter where Gu Ya went, she could find him.
"Classmate Gu Ya, you're going to Zhuo Yuan City~" Tao Na's communication came through, her voice very sweet and triumphant.
"I don't know why, but the moment you appeared, my anticipation for Zhuo Yuan City instantly dropped," Gu Ya said irritably.
"Oh, don't say that. Which handsome young man doesn't have a beautiful sister accompanying him? Hehe, when you get there, don't leave, and meet my parents by the way." Tao Na said with a shameless laugh.
"Even if you get there, please stay away from me, or I can make you disappear at any time," Gu Ya said sternly.
No matter how Tao Na teased him, Gu Ya ignored her.
It was past noon, and the sunlight cast upon the desolate Gobi desert.
The blue sky and yellow earth formed a stark color contrast, like the flag of a war-torn country in the original world.
Gu Ya checked the navigation; they were halfway there.
He actually found it hard to understand. Xianxia Country was vast, larger than any country in the original world,
yet it only had 24 cities, with the rest being wasteland.
If it weren't for mechas, these high-mobility heavy weapons, enemies could easily advance and strike at the heart of the defense.
But then again,
Gu Ya thought alertly, even with mechas, what good would they be?
If there were military geniuses with super high intelligence in the Black Star faction, they could gather enough intelligence, make strategic preparations years in advance, and utilize various factors to launch an attack on Xianxia.
"Alright, it's not something I should be concerned about anyway," Gu Ya murmured.
A little past three in the afternoon,
at the far horizon where the blue and yellow met,
an inconspicuous black dot finally appeared.
The black dot gradually transformed into a two-dimensional shape, stretching longer and longer.
Soon, undulating lines became visible, and the silhouettes of skyscrapers could be discerned.
Zhuo Yuan City, they had arrived.