Pushing open the ajar door, the once-luxurious decorations of the room lay in ruins under the ravages of time. Da Huang’s bones lay on the tattered bed. The girl beside Malin uneasily stepped forward, standing in front of the ghost dog perched atop her own shell. "Da Huang." She called out its name. The ghost dog lowered its head, trying with its head to touch its little owner’s hand. Unfortunately, the warmth of flesh and blood was no more. Now, she and it could only touch through Spiritual Bodies. "Dad was here, but he’s gone now." Xia Zoe couldn’t understand at all. The meeting in the hallway just now, was it Fate showing her and her father mercy. "Didn’t your dad say so? I know he’s in New Hangzhou, he’s waiting for you." Malin finished, looking at the girl mutating before him and sighed: "Didn’t your dad say it? Trust me, do you not even believe your dad?" Malin repeated Xia Nantian’s words, and Xia Zoe stopped mutating. She pouted and instead hugged her Da Huang. Malin walked to the side and picked up the recorder sealed in a transparent box. These transparent boxes were probably safekeeping cases used in that era for fragile items. Malin took out the recorder, opened the panel, and there were three recordings on it. The recordings didn’t have any dates, only numerical order. Malin opened the first recording. ’Today, I received information from Jack. I can’t believe it; there are still those with a conscience in the Los Angeles police department, but the intel they provided corroborated my earlier conclusions. The transport ships mentioned in the intel can all be found listed under the Union’s cargo ships. Although labeled as freight, they fly at human-passenger speeds. I’m so foolish; this intel was plainly visible, yet I hadn’t thought to search from this angle. My daughter Xia Zoe must have been sent up to the space track with those kids. Damn capitalist lackeys, why did we ally with them in the first place? What terrifying calamity have these deranged individuals brought upon our mother planet? Deity... How could those conducting blood sacrifices on children be deities? They are clearly man-eating demons. I must contact the old chief as soon as possible; only he can help me.’ "It’s Dad’s voice... brother, you really are helping me, I’m sorry." Upon hearing her father’s voice, Xia Zoe perked up. She turned to look at her Da Huang and happily hugged it: "Don’t be afraid, Da Huang. No matter what form you take, I will bring you to find Dad." Her Da Huang whimpered, and Malin heard the ghost dog’s Whisper of the Soul, a joyous chirp. Malin opened the second recording. ’The news from the old chief isn’t good. Our covert agents have confirmed that at least six different factions of Echo-level demons have appeared in North America, and they are not all under the same high-level Evil God. The most powerful one has five Echo-level demons, with a unified appearance of undead, decaying bodies carrying diseases conventional medicine can’t understand. One of our covert agents even noticed that within his sect, a believer’s son, who had been unable to walk for seven years due to a terminal illness, miraculously stood up again... The sect members were ecstatic, but they didn’t realize that the black spots on the child’s back were signs of the plague. Our agent knew his days were numbered, deliberately cut off contact, and his body was discovered by a cleanup crew three days later at his home. He had burned himself, but even so, his room was still filled with the virus. The cleanup crew confirmed infection and chose the same end as the agent four days later. The old chief refused my proposal to lead a team to the space track to rescue the children because more evidence proves this world is sliding into the abyss. We found that contract half a year into it... Those damned believers, for so-called immortality, consented to offer all living beings of California State to the so-called High God on the day of descent. That day, if it comes, the Republic will need the dedicated service of every policeman and soldier... Zoe, my daughter, please forgive me. Dad wants to find you, but Dad also has responsibilities. Behind Dad are billions of compatriots. Dad can’t leave them behind. Dad has a harsher Fate to face. Forgive Dad... my daughter...’ At the end of the recording, this father could no longer contain his sobs. Holding Da Huang, Xia Zoe felt helpless. She looked at Malin, her eyes full of tears: "Why is Dad crying? He won’t abandon Zoe. It must be because he has more important work, right? Dad... is a hero, right." "...Yes, your dad is a true hero." Malin said, then walked over to Xia Zoe, reaching out to stroke Zoe’s head. Your father may not be a good father, but he is a true hero. With this thought, Malin opened the final recording. This time, in addition to the audible voice, a projection of a middle-aged man was cast from the wall. ’This is Xia Nantian. I had a dream last night, in which I saw my daughter in the hallway outside. A kid named Malin brought my daughter to see me, saying he was the one sending my daughter back to see me, and said he was from eight thousand years in the future. My daughter is in the 19th nursery capsule of the North America Starry Sky Conservation Group...’ At this point, the man in the projection gave a bitter smile and sighed: "I don’t know if this was a dream or reality, but I will always remember my daughter’s smile. In the long stretch of time after losing her, I’ve never felt such relief as today. Maybe, just like the child in the dream said, my daughter and I ultimately brushed past each other, she in the cold capsule of space, and I not knowing in which corner I died..."