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Chapter 14: Escape
Lin Song was just an ordinary person.
The vast majority of people in this world were ordinary, but even so, acknowledging one’s own ordinariness was a rare and precious quality.
Ordinary birth, ordinary family, ordinary schooling, failing to get into university, serving in the military, getting married, having children—all utterly unremarkable.
If Lin Song’s story were told at a drinking party, it would likely be one of the dullest tales ever shared.
But Lin Song didn’t expect anything extraordinary from life.
He wasn’t like Old Liu, a legendary soldier from a special operations unit, nor was he like Li Xingyuan, a journalist burdened with secrets. He was simply an ordinary man who wanted to go home.
Even his relationship with his wife wasn’t particularly affectionate. Over the years he’d been in the military, he’d returned home only three times: once for matchmaking, once for their wedding, and once when his wife gave birth. That was it.
Yet still, he wanted to go home.
High above the ground, Lin Song sweated profusely. Elevated to greater heights by the gravitational anomaly, his internal organs bore a heavier load. Though outwardly he seemed fine at first, the strain became evident as soon as he exerted himself. He could feel his lungs expanding painfully with each breath, agony spreading throughout his body.
The pain brought tears to his eyes, but he kept moving his hands, inching forward step by step.
Perhaps dying while falling into the sky would make his otherwise ordinary life seem extraordinary. These scattered thoughts crossed his mind as blood once again streamed from his nose, ears, and mouth. For a moment, he considered giving up—this wasn’t something an ordinary person like him should have to endure.
Home.
He thought of his wife’s face. She, too, was ordinary. Her temper was average, sometimes petulant, and their families joked that she had Lin Song wrapped around her finger.
“Focus!”
A sharp bark snapped him out of his haze.
Instinctively obeying the command—a discipline ingrained through years of military training—Lin Song saw Old Liu watching him. The usually stern face now resembled the commanding officers who demanded absolute obedience.
“Lin Song!” Old Liu locked eyes with him. “Climb over here right now. That’s an order!”
Lin Song clenched his teeth.
“Yes, sir!”
As any ordinary soldier would, Lin Song responded to the command. He was accustomed to pushing his body to its limits under orders. He suppressed all distracting thoughts, ignored the pain coursing through him, and focused solely on moving forward.
Finally, Old Liu hauled Lin Song into the truck’s cabin.
“Good!” Li Xingyuan glanced at the tow rope—it hadn’t snapped. Even in this supernatural environment, the superior quality of military-grade materials held firm, ensuring their safety.
There was no time to check on Lin Song’s condition. Li Xingyuan immediately turned his attention to the cargo compartment, which was on the verge of breaking apart.
“Old Liu, be ready to cut the tow rope at any moment!”
Old Liu grabbed Lin Song’s rifle, slinging it over his shoulder, and fixed his gaze on the rope.
Li Xingyuan secured Lin Song with the rear seatbelt—the upcoming journey wouldn’t be safe.
He didn’t tell Old Liu, but deep down, he knew the truth. In such a complex system of multiple forces acting in different directions, their trajectory would be chaotic and nearly unpredictable. They might follow the plan, flying sideways before descending smoothly under gravity’s pull—but it was far more likely they’d veer off course, hurtling diagonally into the sky or crashing straight into the earth. Either outcome would be catastrophic.
But he had no choice. There was no better plan. This was their only chance to survive.
Li Xingyuan stared intently at the tow rope, his focus absolute. It seemed to draw the attention of something dwelling within his mind.
No.
Li Xingyuan tightened his fists. Not now.
This time, however, the light he had once seen didn’t drain his thoughts, leaving him exhausted and weary. Instead, it filled him with clarity, strengthening his resolve.
It was like the moment he had predicted the rain—an inexplicable sense of enlightenment rose within him. He seemed to understand something—but what exactly?
“Old Liu!” Li Xingyuan spoke again, his voice steadier than before. His eyes remained fixed on the tow rope, but something else lingered in the air—something invisible, like slow-moving turbulence.
“When I say ‘fire,’ shoot immediately.”
Time ticked by second by second. Each passing moment made the indescribable turbulence in Li Xingyuan’s vision clearer. It radiated countless lines and points across the air.
Only one line was correct.
At a certain moment, Li Xingyuan noticed a peculiar glimmer appear at a single point, then settle along one of the lines.
“Fire!”
At Li Xingyuan’s command, Old Liu pulled the trigger instantly. The bullet shattered the glass, soaring toward the sky.
In the same instant the tow rope snapped, the truck’s cargo compartment broke free. The gravitational pull from above yanked the compartment upward, slamming it violently into the cab.
Li Xingyuan’s head smashed against the passenger seat, blood streaming almost immediately. When he finally managed to lift his head, the cab was tracing a complex trajectory under the combined influence of elastic potential energy, inertia, and gravity.
Don’t deviate.
Li Xingyuan prayed silently. If the angle shifted even slightly, they were dead.
It won’t deviate.
A voice within his mind seemed to respond.
Like a cannonball fired from its barrel, the gravitational force that should have pulled them upward instead propelled them sideways. They escaped the congested highway leading to the heavens, hurtling toward the starry wilderness.
Their hearts thundered like drums. Heaven and earth, the intricate interplay of gravity and centrifugal forces—two forces capable of killing them in an instant—worked together perfectly in this moment, dragging these tiny fugitives across the sky at breakneck speed.
It wasn’t so much that they flew out; rather, they were squeezed out by the two competing forces.
Their flight path aligned with the arcs traced by the frozen raindrops suspended in the air. Those crystallized droplets struck the roof of the vehicle, creating a cacophony of pattering sounds.
When they finally landed on the soft, fragrant, yet solid ground below, those raindrops remained suspended in midair, frozen as if time itself had stopped. The sight was no less wondrous than the celestial vista above.
Li Xingyuan exhaled, understanding this was the result of two forces reaching equilibrium here.
The next second, torrential rain poured down.
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