Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 270 - 158: You Can Only Pray

Chapter 270: Chapter 158: You Can Only Pray

"Yang, you’ve been flipping through these documents back and forth for two days, is it really necessary?"

The young man driving couldn’t help but ask, seeing the puzzled look on her face.

This Ms. Yang put down the documents in her hand and sighed: "You wouldn’t understand."

"I don’t, it’s just some inexplicable retirement home, yet you had to come in person." The driver mumbled, "You’ve even halted your work abroad..."

"Look around you."

Yang gestured toward the car window.

Under the setting sun, the vegetation in the mountains was so lush it appeared almost black.

"Tell me, in Beijing, have you ever seen this kind of situation this time of year?"

"The experts say, the climate is unusual this year... early plant growth and such... then they added special effects in the live broadcast, making it even more..."

"I’m the one who found those experts," Yang said with a twist of the mouth, "otherwise, who knows how big a storm it could have caused."

The young driver looked at the extraordinary scenery outside the mountain with even more confusion on his face.

"So what exactly is the deal with this retirement home?"

"Let me tell you this way, I’ve consulted with some teachers." Yang continued to explain, "Our current technological capabilities... can’t produce this kind of effect."

"Then... what exactly is the origin of this retirement home?"

"How would I know? Either some mysterious sect is playing tricks, or they’ve acquired some sort of alien technology and are preparing to play modern God... it’s hard to say."

"..."

The driver felt a toothache just hearing this, knowing the matter was very sensitive—mainly because it seemed like there really was something to this retirement home!

"So what do you plan to do, Yang?"

"Do you think I’ve been doing nothing these two days?"

"Huh?"

"We’ve already prepared several contingency plans, in case they’re aliens, in case they’re immortals descending to earth, in case they’re just putting on a show..." Yang explained, "My coming here is just to scout things out."

"Scout out what?"

The driver blurted out involuntarily.

Yang gave him a glance and kept quiet.

It seemed like the driver realized something, his face showing surprise.

"If their identities weren’t sensitive and we didn’t know whether this group were friends or foes, what their intentions might be... they’d probably have come personally."

Hearing this, the driver pressed his lips together, seemingly not daring to ask more: "No wonder they sent you, Yang..."

Yang shook her head, appearing to feel it was better not to say too much, but she took out the documents of several people and said:

"There are five individuals in the retirement home, each with their own background, none of them simple. But among them, these two arrived later, the original core should be these three..." Yang pointed to the files of Zheng Fa, Tang Lingwu, and Old Man Bai.

"Among them, this young girl, besides being exceptionally beautiful, doesn’t have anything special, her family’s somewhat rich but that’s about it."

"The weird part lies with the other two."

"This young Zheng Fa, an orphan, not to mention he comes from the poorest background among these people, after his parents died, he changed the most and has the least information, he’s very mysterious..."

"So he’s an alien?"

"..." Yang hesitated for a moment and shook her head, "I rather suspect it’s Professor Bai."

"Huh?"

"First, he has enough social status. It would be difficult for Zheng Fa to gather such a group of highly educated people. In terms of personal connections, aside from Zheng Fa, all of them are related to him. Professor Tian is his old acquaintance, now husband and wife, Tang Mudao also knew him from earlier years, Tang Lingwu is his relative..."

"Second, this man studied Qigong with others in his earlier years..."

"Third, in a recent live broadcast, he exhibited unusual physical fitness, showing signs of rejuvenation..."

"This person, I’m afraid, is the instigator of all this, while Zheng Fa, perhaps because he’s an orphan, was put out in the open as a distraction..."

Hearing her analysis, the driver couldn’t help but nod.

...

As they were talking, the car arrived at the entrance of the retirement home.

The gates of the retirement home slowly opened, as if they had long known the two were coming.

Yang glanced at the driver, and he pressed against his waist, nodding back at her.

Both of them took a deep breath and drove into the complex.

When they arrived at the main building of the retirement home, a slightly chubby figure came out to greet them, someone they both recognized—It was Tang Mudao.

"This man is no simple character, not to mention his scholarly status abroad, he also brought a Taoist society to prominence."

Tang Mudao quickened his pace and seemed very enthusiastic: "Miss Yang, Mr. Chen, welcome both of you!"

Yang and the driver exchanged a look, becoming more vigilant in their hearts, feeling that the abilities of the people in the retirement home were indeed great, but more importantly—that there seemed to be an underlying tone of showing who’s boss.

Seeing their expressions, Tang Mudao seemed to understand what they were thinking and laughed: "Don’t overthink it, I address you thus only to let you know that we are aware of who you are... it’s our style."

"Style? What style?"

"Knowing is knowing, speaking is speaking," said Tang Mudao with a smile, glancing at them, "Be practical, no need for unnecessary mystery."

Yang was taken aback, her steps momentarily pausing.

Clearly, this was not what she had expected.

But she didn’t ask further.

They crossed the main building of the retirement home and reached the smaller building where Zheng Fa and the others lived.

"It’s not that we intentionally neglected you, it’s just that, apart from me, everyone is very busy, every minute counts," Tang Mudao said apologetically.

Yang was taken aback and pondered for a moment before asking, "You... didn’t deliberately attract us here, did you?"

"Yes!" Tang Mudao nodded briskly, "But our main business is still research—trying to attract you is for further study as well..."

Yang and the driver exchanged glances, adding to their confusion.

As they took a few more steps inside, they began to understand why Tang Mudao had said what he did—

In the agricultural laboratory, Mrs. Tian was busy observing the various crops that had just been harvested, wearing her white lab coat.

It was the cold winter season, but the crops in the field were growing exceedingly well, prompting the two onlookers to take a second glance.

Tang Lingwu was sitting in front of the computer, her fingers dancing across the keyboard.

If you ignored the fact that Tang Lingwu was seated in the lotus position hovering in the air... the scene would seem quite normal.

Old Man Bai, whom they regarded as the big boss in their hearts, was holding a pencil and sketching something on paper, scratching his grizzled hair as if in deep trouble, seemingly unaware of their arrival.

Watching the two electrical wires hanging from the old man’s body, the corners of their eyes twitched a bit.

As for Zheng Fa...

A large monitor was positioned in front of him, probably displaying some electronic book.

He also held a remote, flipping through pages rapidly while his eyes fell on the monitor, as if he were murmuring recitations.

Indeed, Zheng Fa was the only ’normal’ person in this compound!

...

Zheng Fa had actually noticed their arrival a while ago. He wasn’t trying to put on airs, but he was genuinely busy—he had gathered many books and materials related to coding, computer structure, and instruction sets, planning to memorize them all and bring them back for Zhang’s reference.

He didn’t understand this field very well himself.

On the other hand, perhaps one of these books could lend Zhang some inspiration?

So, he had decided early on not to waste a single minute and memorize as much as possible—turning himself into a mobile hard drive.

When the two entered the courtyard, Zheng Fa finally addressed them: "Welcome, both of you."

He led them to the living room on the first floor of the small building, and Tang Mudao quietly left.

At this moment, Yang was startled to realize that this man was indeed the main person in charge of this nursing home.

She also seemed to understand a bit about Zheng Fa’s demeanor and spoke directly: "Mr. Zheng, did you call us here for some matter?"

"I know your position, but I’m not very clear about the extent of your work authority. Please tell me, can you handle these two matters?"

Zheng Fa had no intention of mystifying them; he simply handed over two project proposals.

"’Research on the Electromagnetic Signals During the Twenty-Four Solar Terms’?"

"’A Type of Circuit Composition in Artificial Intelligence’?"

Yang raised her head with a puzzled expression, but then she closed her mouth and began to read through the project proposals.

"This... I need to ask someone about it, and..." Yang smiled meaningfully, "What I can do depends on who you are, Mr. Zheng, and what you intend to do."

Zheng Fa sighed quietly in his heart.

He was a bit annoyed with these cryptic approaches and hoped to speak openly and honestly.

"You’ve seen it yourselves; we are conducting research."

"Researching what?"

"Cultivation."

"I never imagined these two words could be used together like this..." Although Yang had some foreknowledge, the way Zheng Fa put it still made her contemplate; after pausing for a moment, she said, "But Mr. Zheng... this doesn’t convince anyone."

Zheng Fa chuckled lightly and suddenly, he disappeared from their view.

Yang’s eyelids twitched, yet her face remained composed: "Mr. Zheng, this kind of invisibility... some technologies can achieve it as well."

"I just don’t want others to see us, that’s all."

"Us?"

Yang was taken aback, and when she looked down, she discovered she seemed to have vanished into the air as well.

Glancing around, she noticed that their driver had also disappeared without a trace.

"Miss Yang, you’re a local of Beijing, right?"

"Yes."

Yang replied, a bit bewildered.

"Then please, do me the honor of showing me around Beijing."

"Ah?"

The next moment, Yang felt herself enveloped by a force, swiftly being carried toward the direction of Beijing.

It had taken nearly three hours to get from Beijing to this place.

But in less than twenty minutes, they had returned to their starting point.

Zheng Fa seemed very interested in Beijing, visiting several places—yet all the while remaining in the air, completely undetected by anyone.

...

When the two of them left the nursing home, Yang was still somewhat dazed.

She clutched the project proposals tightly in her hand, her neck slightly stiff as if she dared not look back.

"Yang?"

The car had reached the foot of the mountain when the driver finally spoke: "So... are we just heading back like this?"

"What else?"

Yang’s tone contained a hint of self-mockery.

"Then... we just do as they say?"

"Didn’t Tang Mudao mention it? Their goal is cooperation, isn’t it? They just need us to first demonstrate our capabilities."

"... You believe everything he says?"

"Do you think Zheng Fa really just took us for a walk around?" Yang let out a sigh, "With his abilities... who could stop him from doing what he wants to?"

"..."

The driver’s face turned pale as he listened to Yang, who added:

"You can only pray that these people truly want to cooperate with us."

"And besides..." Yang took out a glass bottle, which contained a few green peas, "They did offer their price, didn’t they?"