Ch 175: Is There Really Such a Good Thing? [QT]

At the early stage of the Special Affairs Bureau’s establishment, there was an overwhelming amount of work to be done, and everyone in the office building was extremely busy. Meanwhile, Shen Yunxuan spent her days training in the physical conditioning area on the first floor.

The twenty special forces soldiers were also undergoing extra training. They all understood that their most important mission was to protect Shen Yunxuan. When they saw that she was eager to improve herself, they gained an even greater appreciation for her and would regularly come over to guide her in her movements. Shen Yunxuan progressed rapidly in physical fitness.

However, physical conditioning was a process of gradual accumulation; it was impossible to become exceptionally strong in just one month. Shen Yunxuan wasn’t in a hurry. The system’s marketplace contained items that could enhance physical attributes such as strength, speed, appearance, intelligence, emotional intelligence, and more—everything one could think of. But they were extremely expensive.

She knew she would have to buy them eventually, but for now, she had plenty of protection, and the current dimension levels were relatively low-risk. There was no urgent need to improve her physical attributes yet. Instead, it was more strategic to save up her dimensional coins to buy more valuable items. Her current goal was to purchase a portable storage space, which Elder Xu and Elder Chen both agreed was a good objective.

At the moment, she had over 80,000 dimensional coins in total, with 30% belonging to her personally and the rest allocated to the country. Since purchasing a portable storage space was a shared goal, they would all contribute to the cost together.

The accounting was handled jointly by Shen Yunxuan and Xu Wenyu, each keeping a ledger. In reality, no one else could see the system’s transactions—every contribution of dimensional coins was based on what Shen Yunxuan reported to them. In this regard, the government was entirely reliant on her honesty.

Fortunately, the people currently gathered in this department were all trustworthy. Shen Yunxuan found working at the bureau incredibly comfortable—there was no one trying to challenge her or make things difficult. For the first time, she truly felt the immense power of a national institution. In ordinary workplaces or companies, office politics and scheming were inevitable. But when the government decided to unite a department for a major mission, everyone became comrades who could entrust their lives to each other, all working toward the same goal.

Because of this, Shen Yunxuan felt completely at ease. Her daily routine consisted of eating well, sleeping well, and training diligently—everything else was taken care of.

Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, the eve of the 1st had arrived again.

This time, the team traveling through dimensions included the same group from last time, but also Elder Chen, several experts, and twenty special forces soldiers.

After dinner, everyone changed into specially designed athletic gear and gathered in the teleportation room. Staff members arrived with the supplies for the journey—everything from weapons and clothing to food, all of the highest quality and in ample supply.

Xu Wenyu checked the inventory and handed Shen Yunxuan the list. “Everything’s accounted for. Here’s the checklist—store it away.”

Shen Yunxuan walked up to familiarize herself with the placement of all the supplies in the package, ensuring she wouldn’t have trouble finding anything later. Compared to this, the supplies she had previously bought from discount online platforms seemed like child’s play. This time, everything was military-grade, far superior in both quality and functionality.

She placed her hand on the package, and in an instant, it disappeared. When she looked up, she saw everyone staring at the spot where it had vanished. The special forces soldiers who had never seen this before had shock and excitement in their eyes. They were truly participating in the nation’s most classified operation—what a privilege!

Elder Chen walked over and waved his hand in the air a few times. “It’s really gone! Incredible. This is a physical object—how can it just be stored in some virtual space?”

An expert adjusted his glasses and explained, “It can be understood as an alternate-dimensional space, existing independently outside of our current dimension. As long as a connection is established, it can be accessed and used like a normal storage space.”

Elder Chen shook his head. “I don’t get it, but that’s fine. It’s enough to know it’s amazing. You experts understand this stuff—study it well. If we can figure out how to create something like this ourselves, that would be groundbreaking.”

Another expert chimed in eagerly, “I hope we travel to a futuristic technological dimension this time. If we can bring back a spatial tether for research, that would be a huge breakthrough.”

A botanist and zoologist added, “I’d rather go to a prehistoric jungle! Seeing pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and ancient extinct plants and animals would be an incredible discovery.”

A historian countered, “Ancient history would be the best. We could obtain firsthand historical records.”

“History is already in the past—what’s the point of having the most accurate records? If you ask me, the future is what matters. The things we bring back from there will help us develop.”

Seeing that the experts were about to start arguing, Shen Yunxuan quickly interjected, “Actually, as long as we accumulate enough dimensional coins, we’ll be able to freely choose our travel destinations after reaching Level Five. So for now, our main focus should be bringing back as many unique and valuable items as possible. The more special and irreplaceable they are, the better. At the same time, we should learn and absorb as much knowledge as we can that doesn’t exist in our world. That’s how we’ll maximize our earnings in dimensional coins. Once we have enough, we’ll have complete freedom in choosing where to go.”

Everyone agreed with this logic, and the experts shifted their focus to strategizing how to maximize their dimensional coin earnings. As the top minds in their respective fields, their intelligence was off the charts. They immediately started calculating probabilities and discussing how to optimize their resources for the best returns.

This was an area Shen Yunxuan had no expertise in, but she listened intently, fascinated by their discussions. She realized that being around so many brilliant people every day was helping her grow as well. Just like how her physical training with the special forces had been far more effective than simply following online workout videos on her own, she knew she was benefiting greatly from this experience.

So she actually felt quite happy. As midnight approached, everyone took turns using the restroom, then put on their wristbands, linking up with the people on either side of them until everyone was connected.

Instinctively, they all stared at the clock on the wall, watching the second hand tick forward. The moment it hit twelve, everyone held their breath—then, in the next instant, they found themselves in a completely unfamiliar place!

Elder Chen jumped in surprise. “Where are we? Wait, that was it? We already traveled? Elder Xu, didn’t you say last time you guys waited until three or four in the morning before it happened?”

Shen Yunxuan explained, “The travel time is completely unpredictable—it’s just somewhere within the 1st of the month. Fortunately, we were prepared, and everyone’s here.” She looked around at the group. “Is everyone okay? Any dizziness or discomfort?”

Everyone took a moment to check in with themselves before shaking their heads. Then, curiosity took over as they turned to examine their surroundings.

Shen Yunxuan reiterated, “If we get separated, remember—no matter what, your priority is to survive. As long as you hold out until our return time, you’ll automatically be sent back to the teleportation room. No one can stop you.”

Everyone nodded in understanding, and only then did Shen Yunxuan start observing their environment. This was their first time traveling at Level Three, and they had no idea how many hours they would have. If they wanted to gather a significant amount of resources and knowledge, time would be tight. The danger level would also be higher than before, so they had to be extra cautious.

The twenty special forces soldiers automatically formed a protective perimeter around the others. Shen Yunxuan scanned the surrounding forest and was slightly disappointed—it looked just like the forests in their own dimension. That meant these plants couldn’t be classified as special materials.

The botanists and zoologists examined the flora as well and sighed. “It’s just like Earth—no difference at all.”

With no unique discoveries in the forest, Xu Wen’an used binoculars to scan the area. Suddenly, he pointed south. “There’s a structure over there… It looks like an ancient city wall. Could this be an ancient era?”

The history expert took the binoculars and studied it. “It does resemble one. I can barely make out some people on top of it, but it’s too far to tell much more. We should move in closer.”

They decided to head south. After about ten minutes of walking, the structure became clear—it was indeed an ancient city gate, with people entering and exiting freely.

The history expert examined the clothing of the people at the gate and made a rough estimate of the dynasty. He then asked Shen Yunxuan to retrieve outfits from that era. Everyone quickly changed, putting on wigs as well, making them look convincingly like people of that time period.

However, he hesitated. “To enter, we’d normally need travel permits. We don’t have anything like that, which makes us undocumented. If we just walk up to the gate, we could get arrested. If they throw us in jail and interrogate us, we could waste days there—possibly returning before we accomplish anything.”

Elder Xu surveyed the surroundings. “We have to enter the city. There’s nothing valuable for us out here in the wild. Even if we do get thrown in jail, we could at least gather information about the era and location, which would still earn us some dimensional coins.”

Elder Chen added, “Let’s not be too pessimistic. How about we all rush in at once? Some of us could hold off the guards while the others scatter and hide inside the city, then gather intel and supplies on their own.”

The history expert disapproved. “We haven’t even confirmed what dynasty this is. If we happen to land in a strict regime and they suspect us of being rebels, we could be executed on the spot without a chance to explain.”

Elder Xu agreed. “This is a Level Three dimension, more dangerous than the last. We can’t be reckless.”

Meanwhile, Shen Yunxuan had been watching the city gate through her binoculars for a while. She frowned. “They’re not checking travel permits at all. People are just walking in and out freely. Maybe this isn’t a standard historical society. What if the usual rules don’t apply here?”

A special forces soldier stepped forward. “I’ll go test it out. If I get caught, I’ll cooperate and stay in jail until we return.”

Just then, Shen Yunxuan’s eyes widened in excitement. “That guy has a sword! Look, look! The man who just walked out of the city—he’s carrying a sword! And another one just came out—with a saber! This is a martial arts world!”

Everyone quickly turned to look, stunned into silence. The two men standing at the gate were dressed exactly like characters from wuxia dramas, one with a sword, the other with a saber.

The history expert muttered, “That explains it. Martial arts worlds don’t follow conventional historical laws. The imperial court is usually irrelevant.”

Shen Yunxuan whispered, “Since they know martial arts, they probably have knowledge that doesn’t exist on Earth. Why don’t we follow them and see if we can trade with them? There are only two of them—if things go south, we could use tranquilizers and escape.”

Elder Xu nodded. “Good idea. Martial artists might have heightened senses, so let’s keep our distance and use binoculars.”

Everyone moved cautiously, making as little noise as possible, trailing behind the two men at a safe distance. Fortunately, they weren’t using qinggong (lightness skill), so they weren’t too hard to follow.

The two men walked for a short while before stopping in a clearing. They turned to face each other, clearly about to fight.

The man with the sword was the first to strike. “Xie Feng, where is Master’s secret manual? Will you still refuse to tell me?”

The man with the saber, Xie Feng, assumed a defensive stance. “Chen Dong, Master expelled you long ago! Why would I ever tell you where the manual is? If you insist on taking it by force, then today, I will clean house on Master’s behalf—to bring peace to his spirit in the afterlife!”

Chen Dong’s expression darkened, and his sword was already unsheathed. “You must have a death wish! Since you refuse to tell me, then go see Master in the afterlife!”

The two immediately clashed, the sound of blades colliding echoing through the air. Even from their distance, Shen Yunxuan and her team could hear the intense fight. She glanced around and noticed that all the special forces soldiers were watching with rapt attention, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

They were warriors, trained in top-tier combat techniques on Earth, and prided themselves on their strength. Now, seeing an even higher level of martial prowess, how could they not be excited?

Shen Yunxuan also finally understood why this was a Level Three dimension. In the post-apocalyptic world and the land of giants, the primary dangers had been environmental—overcoming them meant survival.

But in this martial arts dimension, many people possessed combat skills, and some, like Chen Dong, didn’t bother with reason—resolving conflicts with violence instead. This was a true life-and-death risk.

At the same time, this place also offered immense opportunities. Martial arts techniques—what seemed basic to these fighters—would be incredibly valuable in dimensional coins. Martial arts worlds usually had miraculous medicines and legendary weapons, all things she had her sights set on.

She quietly shared her thoughts with the group and found that the experts had already written down similar ideas in their notebooks. They had even analyzed which items they had on hand that might interest the locals for trade. Shen Yunxuan chuckled—having these experts handle the analysis would make her life much easier.

Xu Wenyu was trying to record the fight through her camera and the binoculars, but it was difficult. She muttered, “If only we could see more fights like this. I’d love to get more footage.”

Shen Yunxuan laughed. “You just want to enjoy the show, huh? This could be deadly.”

Just as she spoke, a sharp cry rang out from the distance. Shen Yunxuan quickly raised her binoculars and saw that Xie Feng had already knocked Chen Dong to the ground, but he himself was injured, with blood dripping onto the ground.

Xie Feng raised his saber and stepped toward Chen Dong, clearly intending to finish him off.

The medical expert beside Shen Yunxuan frowned. “In this situation… do we intervene?”

On Earth, doctors were bound by their oath—even criminals would be treated first before facing justice. But here, in a different dimension, it was a much harder decision. Based on what they’d overheard, Chen Dong seemed like the villain, but in martial arts stories, many people were wrongly accused and cast out of their sects. Who could say for sure?

The fight was about to turn into a murder scene, and the medical expert was growing restless.

This was a dilemma they hadn’t considered during their pre-mission meetings. The team exchanged glances, just as Chen Dong suddenly flung a handful of powder into the air. Xie Feng staggered and collapsed, while Chen Dong, having lost too much blood, fainted as well.

Shen Yunxuan immediately stood up. “No need to hesitate. Let’s go save them and move them to a hidden location. We can treat their injuries and question them separately. If they ask about each other, we’ll just say we only found one person.”

“Understood, move out!” No one objected. The special forces team quickly moved in, surrounding the two fighters. They checked their pulses—both were still alive. Then, they swiftly put on protective masks and gloves, searching their bodies. Everything aside from their clothing was packed into sealed bags.

The medical experts requested their first aid kits and immediately began treating their wounds.

While they worked, the soldiers used nearby materials to construct makeshift stretchers. Once the injuries were stabilized, they split into two teams, carrying the unconscious men in different directions to separate hidden locations.

The doctors administered powerful painkillers and a drug to speed up their recovery. About ten minutes later, both men regained consciousness.

Shen Yunxuan was with Xie Feng. When he woke and saw her with two special forces soldiers, he hesitated. “Who are you?”

Shen Yunxuan answered calmly, “We were passing by and saw you injured, so we saved you. How are you feeling?”

Xie Feng took a moment to assess his condition. “It doesn’t hurt as much anymore, but my head is a bit foggy from the knockout powder. By the way, Miss, when you found me, was there anyone else nearby?”

Shen Yunxuan shook her head. “No, it was just you. What happened? Can you tell us?”

Seeing her curious expression, Xie Feng lowered his guard. He sighed. “Sigh… Our sect has had a stroke of misfortune. We took in a selfish traitor who secretly stole our Master’s martial arts manual. When he was caught, he attacked our Master while he was scolding him, taking advantage of his lowered defenses! My Master was gravely injured and expelled him from our sect. Now that Master has passed, he’s come back to steal from us again. But unfortunately, I fell victim to his trickery and got drugged. Otherwise, I would have avenged my Master today.”

Shen Yunxuan sighed along with him. “That’s such a shame. Now that he’s escaped, who knows when he’ll come back for you again.” Then, she smoothly changed the subject. “By the way, how many members are in your sect? I’ve always wanted to learn martial arts. Would your sect be willing to take me in as a disciple?”

Xie Feng studied her, then glanced at the two soldiers beside her. He chuckled. “Miss, you must be a noble lady out traveling with your guards for fun. Learning martial arts isn’t something you can just pick up—it’s a lifelong commitment that requires years of suffering. You’d best head home before nightfall, lest you find yourself in danger.”

“Oh, right,” Xie Feng patted his body, searching for something, then suddenly froze. “Where are my belongings?”

Shen Yunxuan pointed to a spot not far away where some items were placed. “You were covered in blood when we found you. We didn’t know if you were a good person or a bad one, so we set your things aside for safety. I hope you don’t mind.”

Xie Feng laughed. “That’s understandable. It’s wise to be cautious, Miss. My name is Xie Feng. Since you saved my life today, I owe you a favor. I have two hundred taels in banknotes—please take them as a token of gratitude.”

Having spoken with him for a while, Shen Yunxuan felt that he didn’t seem like a bad person. Seeing his willingness to repay her kindness, she decided to test the waters and said, “Actually, my situation at home isn’t great. I’m not lacking in money, but I have trouble ensuring my own safety. I wouldn’t normally accept a reward for saving someone, but…”

Xie Feng asked, “Miss, are you hoping I will accompany and protect you?”

Shen Yunxuan looked at him expectantly. “Would that be possible? Just for three days. After that, I have to return home.” She wasn’t sure how long the Level Three traversal would last, but since Level Two had been eight hours, Level Three likely wouldn’t exceed three days, so she gave a rough estimate.

“Only three days?” Xie Feng agreed immediately and even seemed a little ashamed. “I’m quite injured, otherwise, I would be able to protect you much better.”

Shen Yunxuan waved her hand dismissively and smiled. “That shouldn’t be a problem. You must be hungry, right? Would you like something to eat? We brought some meat buns.”

She opened a bundle she had prepared earlier and took out a few steaming meat buns. Xie Feng thanked her, then accepted them and began eating.

This confirmed Shen Yunxuan’s suspicion that this dimension wasn’t overly filled with evildoers. The reason it was rated Level Three was likely due to the existence of powerful martial arts rather than an abundance of villains. Seeing how little Xie Feng guarded himself—he even accepted food from strangers—she felt more confident about this traversal.

As Xie Feng ate, Shen Yunxuan curiously asked, “Brother Xie, could you tell me about martial arts training? I’ve always loved reading martial arts stories since I was a child and have dreamed of learning how to fight. But my mother passed away early, and my father and stepmother forbade me from practicing, so I never had the chance to learn.

Meeting you today must be fate. Could you tell me a little about it?”

Hearing this, Xie Feng automatically filled in the blanks, imagining her as a mistreated noble lady restricted by her family. Feeling sympathetic, he carefully explained the basics of martial arts.

“Martial artists emphasize their innate talent, usually testing their potential as early as three years old. However, true martial prodigies are rare. Most self-taught martial artists can develop decent combat skills, but—”

Shen Yunxuan and the two special forces soldiers listened attentively. At one point, she sat cross-legged and mimicked a practice pose, closing her eyes dramatically. “Do I do it like this? Should I silently recite a martial arts chant and feel some kind of inner energy flow?”

Xie Feng couldn’t help but laugh. He put down his bun and corrected her. “That’s not how inner energy cultivation works. Let me teach you a couple of basic principles so you can get a feel for it.”

The two special forces soldiers exchanged a glance—they hadn’t expected to obtain a martial arts manual so quickly. It was just two lines for now, but at this rate, getting the full version wouldn’t take long!

As they watched Shen Yunxuan play the role of an innocent noble lady fascinated by martial arts, they suddenly felt like their own undercover training needed improvement. They truly admired her adaptability. In their previous training sessions, they had already been impressed by her ability to endure tough workouts. Now, they saw another side of her—no wonder Elder Xu and the others let her take the lead in making decisions. Shen Yunxuan had an incredible ability to adjust to different environments.

In truth, ever since she had been reborn, Shen Yunxuan had been secretly practicing acting every night using the knowledge she gained from the “Actress Shen Yunxuan” in her memory book. Since traveling through dimensions meant encountering different eras and societies, she figured acting skills would be essential. That was why she had started training early.

In the apocalyptic world, she had managed to talk her way onto a survival team’s vehicle and into their base—entirely because she had acted convincingly.

This time, she had set herself up as a noble young lady with a deep passion for martial arts. This made it easier to gain Xie Feng’s trust without raising suspicion. Plus, all her questions were about the very basics of martial arts. Since Xie Feng had already agreed to serve as her bodyguard for three days, there was no reason for him to withhold such elementary knowledge.

And these foundational martial arts principles were exactly what she needed as a beginner. Once she had a grasp of the basics, she could acquire advanced manuals and train more effectively.

She kept throwing out curious questions, and Xie Feng, seeing her genuine interest, shared more and more information. Excited, Shen Yunxuan eventually said, “Can you take me to buy things that will help with martial arts training? Are there any basic martial arts manuals for sale? And what about weapons—swords, hidden weapons, or even that knockout powder you got hit with? I want to buy them!”

Xie Feng simply assumed she was intrigued by the martial arts world and laughed. “Ordinary martial arts manuals are nothing special. I can give you one myself.”

🌸˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚⋆