Seeing her face deathly pale, biting her lower lip hard, and her fists clenched tightly, I forced a faint smile, stroked her hair, and said, "It's alright, I'll find Grandpa."

Cousin nodded, then asked me, "The thing that ran out of Grandpa's room, what was it?"

I hesitated for a moment before replying, "I don't know, but I suspect it might be some kind of Gu magic."

"Gu magic?" Cousin looked at me in surprise.

I nodded, walked over to the computer desk, and showed Cousin the copper disk I had pulled from the straw figure.

Cousin took the object, pondered it for a while, and then said, "I've never seen this before; Mom never told me about it either."

I took the copper disk back from her and said, "There's a very ugly toad living inside this thing; that's what was causing the trouble. Maybe when your mother gets back, she can recognize what this is. By the way, when is your mother coming back?"

Cousin bit her lower lip and said, "Probably in the next couple of days. She called yesterday saying Grandma's illness is no longer serious, and she's preparing to return."

I nodded, "That's good. Let's go burn that thing downstairs first; it looks unlucky just sitting there."

Cousin nodded and followed me downstairs.

I found a can of diesel in the garage and walked over to the straw figure.

It wasn't completely dead; its limbs occasionally twitched.

Seeing this, Cousin fearfully hid behind me.

I told her to stand still and not move, then lifted the can of oil and poured it all over the straw figure.

Then I stepped back a distance, took out a lighter, and ignited the line of oil on the ground.

A burst of bright yellow flame immediately shot up, enveloping the straw figure on the ground.

To my shock, the straw figure actually let out a scream that was neither human nor beastly, trembling violently in the fire.

Cousin was terrified and clutched my clothes tightly.

In truth, my heart was also uneasy, and I gripped my fists tightly.

After a long while, the thing finally stopped moving, eventually turning into a pile of ashes.

Next, I made a hand gesture to disperse the residue and poured the ashes into the flowerbed, finally feeling some relief.

Having finished this, my Second Uncle happened to drive back just then.

Cousin and I recounted everything that happened that day to Second Uncle, expecting him to be extremely surprised.

Unexpectedly, Second Uncle said, "Actually, I've long suspected that wasn't Old Man. I know my father too well; he can't stand staying home, and he certainly isn't so obstinate. Clearly, this turn of events isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'd rather the old man be living well somewhere else than have such a father stuck here; he’d only be a burden to us."

I sensed a deeper meaning in Second Uncle's words but couldn't grasp what he was implying at the moment.

Second Uncle, however, waved his hand and said, "Alright, since it has happened, I will notify your Eldest Uncle and your father. You don't need to worry."

I said to Second Uncle, "Second Uncle, I actually feel terrible for letting everyone down. I don't care what happens to me out there, but today I actually invited this kind of thing into our home. Fortunately, it didn't bring any real danger to everyone, or I would be a sinner for eternity."

Second Uncle smiled faintly and said, "Chuan Wazi, it's fine. What hasn't your Second Uncle seen? Back then, when I barged into your Second Aunt's village, I nearly lost my life. You can't be blamed for this kind of trouble befalling our family; it was all brought on by Old Man. I don't think anyone will blame you. To put it plainly, our family was never ordinary. You will understand later."

Although I didn't know what he meant by our family not being ordinary, his words did bring me some comfort.

After all, something like a talking straw figure isn't something everyone could easily accept.

After dinner, I retreated silently back to my room.

Although * instructed me to practice controlling the time deficit, the conditions he described were far too demanding.

First, it required unconscious intent, and it also had to be sincere for it to happen—that was just too difficult.

So, I decided not to force the matter. Instead, I opened my computer and idly scrolled through the news.

To my surprise, I found a piece of news that deeply captivated my attention.

The news reported that starting a month ago, a strange illness had been discovered domestically.

Up to this point, at least a dozen adolescents aged eleven or twelve had woken up overnight with completely white hair and wrinkled skin, looking like seventy or eighty-year-olds.

Moreover, hospital examinations showed that even their bone age was extremely advanced; it was as if they had instantly lived through seventy or eighty years.

These children generally came from remote mountainous areas, and the news hadn't attracted much attention yet, so its impact was minimal.

But it sent shivers down my spine.

The first thing that struck me was the timing of these outbreaks, which coincided exactly with the time we spent in the underground cave, when many people in the giant tree were resurrected. Could it be that the resurrection of these people was achieved by stealing the time of the living?

If so, the stolen time wasn't just in one form, but two.

One was the slow draining of everyone's time, and the second was the massive theft of an individual's time.

It had to be said, this was terrifying.

But just as * said, we couldn't influence anything right now, so for the moment, I could only feel regret for these children.

I managed a bitter, helpless smile and continued scrolling through the news aimlessly.

The second piece of news that caught my eye was about Putin's visit to China.

The report stated that on June 5, 2012, Russian President Putin was invited to China to attend the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, marking his first visit to China since taking office.

During this visit, Putin not only attended the meeting but also brought a large contingent of Russian scientific researchers with him.

Reportedly, most of these scientists were renowned paleontologists and chemists from Russia.

They were invited to collaborate with Chinese scientists on a major biological puzzle, with research expected to conclude by the end of August. However, by early September, not only had these scientists not returned with academic findings, but yesterday, Russia dispatched over twenty more elite scientists to China to support the research.

The reason I focused on this news was my deep interest in paleontology—perhaps because I, too, study ancient life.

What really stood out to me in this report was that this was likely the second time since the founding of New China that such a large number of Russian scientists had come to China for scientific research activities.

What biological puzzle could possibly draw so many scientists to China, and even prompt Putin, who usually didn't grant China such importance, to come in person?

This naturally sparked my imagination.

Lately, I had indeed had quite a few dealings with Russians. Fate had intertwined me with the base they built in Lop Nur.

I glanced at **'s backpack; it contained a large amount of Russian research data.

Although I couldn't understand this data, it might be priceless in the hands of these Russian scientists.

The Lop Nur base was destroyed years ago in a catastrophic internal conflict, and the Russians hadn't had time to retrieve the materials.

Later, relations between China and Russia soured, making it even less likely for them to retrieve these items from China's military restricted zone.

Now, if I could get this data into the hands of a Russian scientist, I could surely ask them anything I wanted.

But how could I find these scientists?

Unless I went to * Square and set myself on fire—might that attract the attention of higher-ups?

I mulled over these thoughts, but I couldn't find a path forward, so I simply took a quick shower and collapsed into bed.

They say coincidence makes the story, and while I wasn't writing a story, such coincidences kept happening.

Just as I was fretting over how to approach those Russian experts, early the next morning, Guo Jing, a female classmate from my undergraduate days, called. She said a Russian paleontologist accompanying Putin on his visit to China was scheduled to give a lecture at Southwest Jiaotong University.

I immediately shot up from ** upon reading the message.

After a quick wash of my face and brushing my teeth, I frantically hailed a taxi and rushed to Southwest Jiaotong University.

The text message said the lecture was scheduled from ten to eleven, and since I had woken up rather late, I arrived at 11:10.

I hurried toward the lecture hall.

I happened to see the Russian scientist standing at the entrance, answering questions from several students, accompanied by a few teachers from Jiaotong University.

I let out a sigh of relief, thinking I was lucky not to be late; otherwise, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

At that moment, someone in the crowd spotted me and called out, "Hey, hey! Nie Chuan! Over here!"

I looked over and saw it was Guo Jing, the one who sent me the message.

I smiled slightly and walked towards her, saying, "It's been two years, hasn't it? You're still as beautiful."

She smiled sweetly and replied, "Two years indeed, and you've become much more talkative."

I waved my hand and laughed, "Let's stop flattering each other. I remember you graduated two years ago, and how did you get from Beijing to Chengdu?"

Guo Jing said, "I came here as an intern teacher after graduation, but I didn't let you know. You know I can't stand staying put in a lab. And recently, this Russian scientist came to Jiaotong to lecture on the effects of special algae on human nerves. We were in the same experimental class in college; do you remember? We conducted the same experiment back then, but we never got results, and you were always very interested in it, so I thought I'd invite you to come and listen."

I nodded and said, "So that's why. Thank you so much for remembering me. By the way, have you gotten close to this Russian professor? I might have some private matters to discuss with him."

Guo Jing smiled confidently and asked, "With this sister's looks and social skills, what do you think?"

Then she moved close to the Russian professor and whispered a few words in his ear...