Just when Qiu Tu felt he was dozing in a daze,
in a blur, he seemed to have arrived at a brand new world...
It was a vast Primitive Forest, with countless towering trees standing tall, branches lush and leaves abundant.
They appeared to be guarding this ancient Domain, their trunks covered in moss and vines, the marks of years deeply engraved upon these old forms of Life.
The air was filled with the moist scent of earth and the refreshing aroma of trees. Occasionally, a breeze would sweep through, causing the leaves to sway, rustling softly as if forming a symphony of nature.
In the depths of his mind, Qiu Tu felt as if he had formed some miraculous connection with this forest, yet when he tried to comprehend it further, he was unable to find that connection.
However, what he could feel was that his vitality and spiritual power seemed to be increasing at a very slow rate.
If he were not a Second-Order Cataclysmic Awakened with extremely refined control over his body, he probably wouldn't have noticed this subtle change.
Time passed unknowingly.
When he woke from his sleep, he found that there were countless missed calls on his Communicator placed beside the bed.
Startled, Qiu Tu first looked up at the sky outside the rest room window.
To his discovery, it was already well into the day. Clearly, it was the next day.
In that moment, Qiu Tu instinctively felt something was off—although he had been very busy with Tan Huimin yesterday, his Second-Order Cataclysmic physique definitely wouldn't have caused him to sleep for over a dozen hours.
Something else must have happened.
Thinking this, he glanced at Tan Huimin, who was still in a deep sleep, and felt somewhat relieved for a moment: fortunately, his promotion order hadn't come through yet, so he was still the Deputy Division Chief of the Administrative Office, a peripheral figure in the cold and remote Lengshui Yamen, not busy at all.
If he had gone back to the Political Department, let alone being Head of the Political Department, even if he were still a deputy, his subordinates would probably have come looking for him if he got up this late.
Then, to see him and Tan Huimin sleeping naked together would be a huge scandal!
With this in mind, Qiu Tu quietly got out of bed, then left the rest room with his clothes.
Dressed in uniform, Qiu Tu picked up the Communicator to check it and discovered that all the dozen or so calls were from Lin Zuo.
Only... the first call, from an hour ago, was from Qin Shuman.
A question mark slowly formed in Qiu Tu's mind, unable to understand what urgent matter led Lin Zuo and Qin Shuman to seek him out.
So he sat down on a chair and then redialed Qin Shuman's number.
As soon as he dialed, Qin Shuman answered immediately.
After picking up, Qin Shuman said in a hurry, "Qiu Tu? Are you alright?"
Upon hearing this, another question mark slowly surfaced in Qiu Tu's mind.
He replied, "What do you mean alright? Of course, I'm fine."
Relieved by Qiu Tu's words, Qin Shuman, who seemed especially busy today, asked succinctly, "Did you sleep for a very long time last night? And did you also have a very peculiar dream? In a vast forest."
Upon hearing Qin Shuman's words, Qiu Tu was first stunned, then responded, "Yes, how do you know?"
Qin Shuman sighed deeply and then explained, "Because... all the Cataclysmics in Xinjie City had the same dream."
Pausing for a moment, she added seriously, "Or rather, it wasn't a dream! It was a Summoning!"
"Our consciousnesses were all summoned last night to the section of 'Boundless Heart Sea' corresponding to Xinjie City!"