Space Wormhole

"No." The reply was crisp and decisive.

Hearing Ye Chuan's response, the assistant on the other end of the phone clearly paused. After all, last time, he had already made an excuse about being exhausted, and now, even with a direct invitation, he was being rejected again.

Why on earth?

This was the branch leader of the Super Martial Alliance—a position second only to the Alliance's chief! Normally, even the heads of prominent Super Martial families would find it extremely difficult to get an audience with him. Yet, two consecutive invitations had been outright rejected by Ye Chuan without hesitation.

"Are you too busy?" the assistant ventured, trying to probe.

He had already prepared possible excuses for Ye Chuan—maybe he was swamped with work, or perhaps he had prior commitments that made meeting the branch leader impossible in the near future.

Those would have been understandable. They could even schedule a later time if needed.

Yes, that was what he had assumed.

"Not busy."

Those two words left the assistant speechless. After a long pause, he finally managed to ask, "Then why…?"

"It's too far. A few hours' drive. Can't be bothered," Ye Chuan said.

"……" The assistant fell even deeper into silence. Just a few hours' drive? Was that really all there was to it?

Seriously?

Huh?

Look me in the eyes!

It's just a few hours in the car!

It's not like I'm asking you to spend hours in bed!

"What else? It's far, and the branch leader isn’t some drop-dead gorgeous woman. Plus, he’s not paying me… Oh, wait, will he pay me?" Ye Chuan asked.

"Uh… Unless there’s a formal arrangement, there wouldn’t be any monetary compensation involved," the assistant replied, wiping nonexistent sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Then that settles it. Don’t call me again," Ye Chuan said before pausing briefly.

"Unless there’s money involved."

Click.

Staring at the disconnected call, the assistant in the office was momentarily stunned. The abrupt hang-up left him struggling to process what had just happened.

Wait, he just hung up like that?

Eventually, the assistant set his phone down and got up, heading to the neighboring office.

After knocking, a deep, authoritative voice responded from inside.

"It's me, Little Li."

"Come in."

Entering, the assistant saw a middle-aged man seated at his desk, flipping through some documents without looking up. "That kid with dual attributes—did you set up a meeting yet?"

Shen Bai, the head of the Jianghai Branch of the Super Martial Alliance!

"No…" the assistant replied awkwardly.

"You haven’t contacted him yet? Get it done today," Shen Bai said sternly.

"That’s not it…" Little Li coughed before lowering his voice under the man’s gaze. "He refused."

Refused?

A flicker of confusion crossed Shen Bai’s face, as if this was the last answer he expected. "Little Li, did you make it clear who I am?"

"I did. Maybe… he doesn’t really know about the Super Martial Alliance?" the assistant said hesitantly, unsure how to explain.

"That’s impossible. There isn’t a single Super Martial practitioner who doesn’t know about the Alliance." Shen Bai paused, then seemed to realize something. "That kid… might be from one of those reclusive factions. That would make sense."

If that were the case, his reluctance to engage with the Super Martial Alliance was understandable.

"Chief, what do you plan to…?"

"Never mind. Dual attributes are rare, but the Alliance doesn’t need someone like him that badly," Shen Bai waved it off, unwilling to press further.

Besides, if he really was from a hidden family, he’d have the confidence to refuse the Alliance.

Not cooperating was Ye Chuan’s loss, not theirs.

After settling the matter of Ye Chuan, Shen Bai continued,

"Has the news about the spatial rift in Maple Leaf Park been contained?"

"Yes. There were very few people in the park at the time, and our team has already coordinated and secured the area."

"Hmm…" Shen Bai exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"This world really is changing faster than ever, with these bizarre rifts appearing."

For the past year, strange spatial fractures had been emerging across the country, occasionally releasing odd creatures. Though their strength was negligible and the rifts themselves short-lived, they still caused significant disturbances.

Naturally, the Super Martial Alliance had taken charge of handling these incidents. Alliance experts referred to the phenomenon as [Spatial Wormholes], theorizing they connected to other worlds.

The creatures were likely native inhabitants of those worlds, though so far, none resembling humans had appeared.

For now, the Alliance could efficiently suppress these threats. But as time passed, the creatures emerging from the rifts grew stronger. Combined with the unpredictable timing and locations of the fractures, it was becoming a major problem.

Alliance experts worried that the creatures might eventually surpass the capabilities of Super Martial practitioners, forcing the use of conventional weapons—a move that would inevitably expose the truth to the public.

"If this continues, we won’t be able to keep the wormholes a secret. There’s already murmuring online, though nothing substantial yet," the assistant said.

Too few people had witnessed the events firsthand, and even if they spoke up, most wouldn’t believe them. But if the occurrences multiplied, concealment would become impossible.

"The Alliance’s headquarters has its own plans. That’s not our branch’s concern."

"Understood."

Just then, a slow, deliberate knock sounded at the office door.

Shen Bai’s expression softened slightly. "Come in."

The door opened, revealing a young girl with long hair clutching a stuffed toy. "Daddy…"

"Qingqing? What brings you to the Alliance?" Shen Bai’s stern demeanor melted into warmth as he addressed her.

"Daddy…" The girl spoke slowly, her eyes half-lidded as if she’d just woken up. "I heard… there’s a dual-attribute Super Martial practitioner… like me?"

"Yes," Shen Bai nodded. That was precisely why he had sought out Ye Chuan.

Multi-attribute practitioners were exceedingly rare, and most suffered severe accompanying ailments—just like his daughter. Despite her dual attributes, her constitution was frail, often confining her to hospitals.

But if Ye Chuan refused to engage with the Alliance, he wouldn’t grovel for cooperation. After all, while multi-attribute practitioners were uncommon, they weren’t nonexistent.

"Qingqing… wants to meet him," the girl said.

"There’ll be time for that later," Shen Bai replied before glancing at the assistant. "Take my daughter back to rest."

"Of course."