As the youngest captain, the very first combat class for these new recruits at Skyvault was taught by Claire Harris. Claire Harris's close-quarters combat skills quickly put those students from prestigious schools, who thought highly of themselves, in their place—they were thoroughly subdued after being beaten soundly. So whenever Claire Harris appeared outside the window, anyone slacking off would instantly be on edge.

The specially appointed lecturer at Skyvault was giving a professional course, and amid the subtle commotion, Claire Harris quickly spotted the person he was looking for.

Ryan Bennett was sitting by the window.

“Space forms the universe we live in. And time forms the universe as we know it.”

On stage, the lecturer manipulated a holographic image, drawing a dazzling, multicolored arc of light. No one knew where it began, and its end faded into nothingness.

Some students whispered in awe.

Ryan Bennett kept his head down, seemingly oblivious to the impressive demonstration.

“Time is like a flowing line, giving us both a past and a future.”

“The past is unchangeable—a person cannot travel back in time to kill their own grandfather; we understand the grandfather paradox. The Russian scientist Novikov also proposed the self-consistency principle, meaning that even if someone could go back to the past, they still couldn’t change the course of history. Simply put, our present is already the final outcome, changed countless times.”

The light shimmered and flowed in the air.

The lecturer continued, “So what about the future? Over twenty years ago, a team of scientists in our country invented Skyvault. They discovered that time is not just a single line.”

With a wave of the lecturer’s hand, the arc of light in the air changed.

The light suddenly split, and from the present moment, countless threads burst forth, radiating in all directions.

“Skyvault’s powerful computing ability allows us to calculate countless possible futures from our present. Its emergence let humanity know, for the first time, about the existence of parallel futures. In the twenty years since the Skyvault system was established, countries around the world have used Skyvault and the actions of guardians in parallel futures to successfully prevent 1,771 potential terrorist attacks, 542 riots, 6 wars, and have averted 3 large-scale natural disasters.”

…

During the lecture, many documentary clips played in succession.

Claire Harris walked to the window: “……”

So this is what Minister Grant meant by “diligent and smart”?

The diligent and smart Consultant Bennett was… intently playing a black-and-white handheld game console popular in the last century during class.

Under his skillful hands, the Tetris blocks constantly shifted positions, falling, merging, and clearing at incredible speed—four lines… five lines… even six or seven lines at a time. The score soared, and each block always fit into the perfect spot in a way that made it seem like the game was about to end at any second, but that was just an illusion.

Undeniably, Ryan Bennett was a Tetris master—there probably wasn’t a second person in all of Skyvault who could play better than him.

Because his head was lowered, the vertebrae at the back of Ryan Bennett’s neck protruded slightly, and his slender shoulder blades were clearly visible.

He looked very focused, his long eyelashes lowered, his profile gentle and quiet. His fingers were long, nails short and clean—just like the impression he gave: someone who had never suffered hardship.

Claire Harris thought, maybe he never intended to endure hardship in the first place.

*

The afternoon before the mission began, everyone gathered for a mission briefing.

As with every previous mission meeting, the giant screen displayed the target map, with several markers attached.

Skyvault Headquarters’ Third Command Center was in charge of this mission’s dispatch. There were thirty or forty people in the conference room; aside from Team Seven, the rest were support staff for the mission. The mission commander on stage was explaining the operation, and even Minister Grant was seated in the audience.

“A month ago, Skyvault calculated a sudden, drastic change in the population of Xijing in Star Era 1460, with a fluctuation as high as a 3% decrease during that period.”

The commander zoomed in on the map, pointing to the flashing red area.

“According to the analysis, after ruling out natural disasters, explosions, and other energy factors, Skyvault has classified this mission as a potential biochemical terrorist attack, with a mission level of A.”

“Biochemical terrorist attack?”

“Didn’t we already handle one of those?!”

“Piece of cake!”

“I’d like to make a request.” Claire Harris sat at an angle, the red dot on the map reflected in his sharp, dark eyes. “After we successfully complete this A-level mission, I request to take on an S-level mission.”

As soon as he finished speaking, whispers spread throughout the conference room.

Everyone knew that the score from one S-level mission was equivalent to five A-level missions.

With as many as twelve A-level missions completed perfectly, Team Seven had made a name for themselves at Skyvault in just two years, charging into the ranks of the most valuable teams like a dark horse. But the fact that they had never completed an S-level mission meant they could never break into the top three, who dominated with overwhelming scores, no matter how hard they tried.

So, Team Seven had always longed for an S-level mission.

Ryan Bennett had heard about this.