Excuses

"Don't think about it too much for now." An Changqing patted her shoulder, comforting her, "We've made it out safely, and that's the most important thing. Let's get on the ship first, and we can slowly figure out the rest on the way back."

As someone standing at the pinnacle of power, Su Yuehe's mother was naturally an extremely dominant woman.

Especially since Su Yuehe was her only daughter. Although she wouldn't overly interfere in her daughter's affairs, it didn't mean she could tolerate such a long period of lost contact.

"Right, right, hurry onto the ship. I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for another second!" Hong Yuan was the first to respond, pulling Su Yuehe toward the ship.

The group boarded the ship, and the warm, comfortable cabin environment formed a sharp contrast with the icy, snowy world outside.

The pilot nimbly conducted the final pre-flight checks.

"All equipment starting, starting, starting, and this too!"

"Hold on tight, everyone, we're going home!"

Accompanied by the faint hum of the engines, the ship ascended smoothly, soon turning into a small silver dot and disappearing at the end of the grayish-white skyline.

Inside the cabin, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than when they had arrived.

Hong Yuan was already counting on her fingers, planning what to eat when they got back, muttering, "Barbecue, hot pot, and desserts, I can't miss a single one!"

Yin Chen leaned back in his comfortable seat, resting with his eyes closed, though a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth, clearly indicating he was in a good mood.

Su Yuehe took out her terminal and began drafting a message to tell her mother she was safe, the worried look on her face gradually replaced by anticipation.

Long Ao sat in the corner. Although he didn't say a word, the tense lines of his shoulders had completely relaxed.

An Changqing was confirming the return route and time with the pilot.

Chen Guan sat by the window. He didn't join his companions' conversation, just quietly watching the rapidly receding clouds outside.

In his mind, he neither recalled that lonely divine throne nor pondered the secrets of the Lord of Nothingness.

What he thought about was An Changqing's welcome back, the palm of Hong Yuan patting his shoulder, Su Yuehe's concerned gaze, Long Ao walking silently by his side, and Yin Chen's teasing remarks.

Those vivid, warm images made him feel an unprecedented sense of grounding.

He didn't need to become some god.

He was Chen Guan, the Chen Guan walking alongside his past self, and that was enough.

As for that past he knew nothing about, to hell with it.

...

Sitting in the vehicle, the faint smile that had just appeared on Su Yuehe's face faded again.

She was looking down at the screen of her personal terminal, her fingertip hovering over the send button, hesitating to press it.

On the screen was a safety message she had been editing for a long time, but she still felt the wording wasn't quite right.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Hong Yuan kept a close eye on the rich sister who had promised to treat her to a meal.

Without Su Yuehe, who would buy her dinner?

Su Yuehe looked up, her clear eyes holding an unconcealable trace of worry. "Three days... we lost contact for three whole days. My mom... I'm afraid she's already received the news."

At the mention of the high-ranking Madam Speaker, whose style had always been domineering, Hong Yuan's bluster instantly deflated by half.

She scratched her fiery red hair and mumbled softly, lacking confidence, "Will... will it be a lot of trouble?"

"It won't be too much trouble."

An Changqing's gentle voice came from the front. He had been confirming the flight path with the pilot, but now he turned around, casually blocking the pilot's hearing to prevent him from eavesdropping on their internal chat, his gaze sweeping over each person's face.

"It's just that we need to get our stories straight. This experience was too bizarre; reporting it truthfully will only invite unnecessary trouble."

His gaze finally landed on Chen Guan, his tone questioning, "Chen Guan, what do you think?"

After this trip, the biggest changes in their story would need to revolve around Chen Guan.

Therefore, Chen Guan's thoughts should be asked first, just like with the Baal incident last time.

Thinking of Baal, An Changqing couldn't help but think of the fleeting Guan Jinyue. Not knowing where she was, An Changqing always felt she wasn't purely a villain. If possible, he wanted to add a genius to the human faction.

For a moment, everyone's eyes focused on Chen Guan, who was sitting by the window.

Chen Guan withdrew his gaze from the sea of clouds outside the window.

"You are the captain."

He spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

He kicked the ball right back to An Changqing.

"I trust your judgment."

When it came to how to fool the system, could he possibly know better than An Changqing?

Chen Guan could see it now; An Changqing was definitely not some clichéd, righteous protagonist, but purely a black sesame dumpling—white on the outside, dark on the inside.

This addition made An Changqing pause slightly, and then a knowing smile appeared on his lips.

He understood what Chen Guan meant.

Chen Guan didn't want to be the one making the rules; he chose to hand the decision-making power back to the team's leader. This was trust.

What a great companion, he sighed inwardly.

"Alright," An Changqing nodded, no longer declining.

He straightened his back. "Then let's discuss it. The principles are simple. First, protect ourselves and avoid unnecessary trouble. Second, protect Chen Guan; his matters must be kept vague. Third, this report needs to stand up to scrutiny and can't be too outlandish."

He paused and looked at Hong Yuan. "So, things like abandoned ancient gods—we absolutely cannot say that."

Hong Yuan irritably scratched her already messy short red hair and let out a long breath.

"If we don't mention that baffling ancient god, we still have to make up a reliable excuse, right?" She held the edge of her giant axe in reverse, her face full of distress.

Yin Chen leaned back, his long fingers interlacing.

"Since the truth about that ancient god absolutely cannot be mentioned, we must find an excuse that can simultaneously explain the three-day loss of contact and the abnormal flow of time."

Yin Chen's tone was calm, methodically sorting through their current situation. "Ordinary circumstances won't fool them; it must be a reason that involves the level of rules."

Su Yuehe nodded slightly in agreement. "My mom's side is very sensitive to this kind of lost-contact incident. We must have a reasonable cover to completely erase the existence of the ancient ruins."

They hadn't finished exploring those ruins, and Su Yuehe was afraid something else might pop up that could point to Chen Guan.

Besides, that place was technically Chen Guan's ancestral property; suddenly making it public wouldn't be fair to him.

An Changqing followed this line of thought, his tone gentle but certain: "What if it was a living creature with spatial abilities?"

"A demonic beast with spatial abilities?" Hong Yuan grabbed her fiery red short hair, interrupting with a face full of confusion. "Don't those things usually hide in the deepest parts of spatial rifts? For us to just stumble upon one while wandering the outskirts... wouldn't that be incredibly bad luck?"