“Recorders always go on missions alone and don’t need teammates, while Guardians are the opposite.” The dispatcher told him considerately, “Consultant Bennett, since this is your first time having a communicator implanted, you might feel a bit uncomfortable. The first time you hear your teammates’ voices in your mind, it might even startle you. But don’t worry, after a while, you’ll get so used to it that you’ll forget it’s even there.”

“Alright,” Ryan Bennett replied.

After the dispatcher left, Ryan Bennett heard someone ask him, “Consultant Bennett, how are you feeling? You don’t look so well today.”

The person asking was one of the twin teammates.

Ryan Bennett did look pale, but his eyes were still bright: “I’m fine, I just went to bed a bit late last night.”

“I see.” Because they weren’t familiar, the teammate spoke a bit awkwardly, “Then, Consultant Bennett, don’t be too nervous. This jump is pretty much the same as the missions you’ve done before. And the task is really simple—we’ll be back by tomorrow.”

Ryan Bennett appreciated the teammate’s kindness and nodded. “Thank you, Helen Ford.”

When Helen Ford went back, his expression was very odd.

Claire Harris: “What’s up?”

“Captain Harris!” Helen Ford looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “He actually told me and my brother apart! He called me by the right name! So many people in the department haven’t been able to tell us apart for years! Just today, just now! William Cooper even got it wrong again!”

David Ford and Helen Ford were 99% identical in height, weight, and appearance—unless you spent every day with them, you’d never be able to tell them apart.

But after just one introduction, Ryan Bennett remembered, even when they were dressed exactly the same. This surprised Claire Harris a little too.

“Just a coincidence,” Claire Harris said indifferently. “He’s alright?”

Helen Ford replied, “He’s fine! Just said he didn’t sleep well.”

Claire Harris: “As long as he’s fine. I just hope he doesn’t hold us back out there.”

Countdown: 3 minutes.

Everyone entered the huge teleportation platform. The silver-white capsule pods were tightly connected, like lotus seeds in a pod.

Ryan Bennett entered his own capsule, sat in the safety chair, and closed the hatch.

[Welcome, Ryan Bennett, you are about to embark on your first A-level mission]

The noisy voices from the command center were completely cut off. It was so quiet he could only hear his own breathing and heartbeat.

Ryan Bennett let the safety chair’s restraints wrap around his calves, waist, abdomen, shoulders, and neck one by one, then saw the control bracelet on his left wrist light up green.

That was the current location and physical status of his six teammates.

Ryan Bennett realized that this time, he wasn’t traveling through time and space alone—he had six teammates with him.

[You are now connected to the public channel.]

After a brief prompt, the transparent panel displayed the Law of the Firmament.

“I am a witness of time, and I swear here.”

“I will never change the past!”

“I will never discuss the present!”

“I will never become obsessed with the future!”

In the public channel, his teammates’ voices rang out in unison, powerful and resolute.

Ryan Bennett had long since memorized this oath, but reciting it with so many others made it feel even more solemn and severe than before.

Only ten seconds left on the countdown.

Caught off guard, Ryan Bennett suddenly heard a deep male voice in his mind, sending a tingling sensation through his auditory nerves.

Claire Harris’s tone was relaxed: “Everyone get ready. Firmament Guardians Team Seven, thirteenth A-level mission, depart!”

*

The pleasant young man’s voice still echoed in his ears.

Just like many previous time jumps, Ryan Bennett took a deep breath. About two or three seconds later, the capsule, which should have been calm and still, suddenly jolted violently!

[Warning! Warning! You have deviated from the target coordinates! You have deviated from the target coordinates!]

Warning lights flashed continuously inside the capsule. On the transparent panel in front, countless colorful images flickered rapidly—bizarre and surreal.

A flash of white light appeared before his eyes.

A sharp ringing filled his ears, and dizziness and nausea, along with a strong sense of weightlessness, swept over him, nearly overwhelming him!

[Illegal jump detected!]

[Illegal jump detected!]

Something went wrong!!

Ryan Bennett gritted his teeth, trying several times to press the warning button, but the capsule was spinning and shaking violently.

With the alert sounding, he had to use all his strength to grip the safety chair’s armrests. The restraints held him firmly in place, protecting him from being thrown against the walls and getting injured.

It felt like an eternity before the capsule finally began to stabilize.

As soon as the capsule came to a complete stop, Ryan Bennett quickly grabbed the nutrient solution handed over by the robotic arm and gulped down a few mouthfuls, taking more than ten seconds to barely recover.

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[：《“LRR”/'l'89'']

The panel displayed incomprehensible garbled text, as if it had completely crashed.

With no time coordinates, Ryan Bennett couldn’t confirm what year it was or what situation he’d landed in.

But through the capsule’s glass window, he could see their landing spot was in a forest, and through the dense canopy, he could vaguely make out a dark gray sky.

Ryan Bennett released the safety restraints and stepped out of the hatch.

“Ugh—”