98: Chapter 98 The earth shakes the high hills, revealing a timeless beauty of streams and mountains.

Inside the activity room, hearing Mary announce the start of the meeting, Parker subconsciously put down the sandwich in his hand and began to clap.

But after clapping about four or five times, he realized the other two weren't moving at all, so his palms stopped mid-air.

"Aren't we supposed to clap?"

Gwen let out a chuckle. "There are only three of us; we don't need to be so formal. Just do whatever feels natural."

Parker lowered his hands and picked up his sandwich again, pretending nothing had happened.

Mary cleared her throat. "As New Era Youth, we must be different from those ordinary people."

She rested both hands on the table and leaned forward slightly, counting on her fingers. "Those students outside—what are they talking about? Exam scores, college applications, weekend parties, which celebrity released a new song."

"But we are focusing on something different. We are looking at human history as it is being rewritten."

Her tone grew more emphatic. "Interstellar trade for the Blue Star has already begun, and Superpower Serums are already on sale. Therefore, as New Era Youth, we should get involved immediately."

She slapped her palm on the table. "So, I've decided that tomorrow we are going to the Wuhu Shop to buy Superpower Serums!"

*Cough, cough, cough!*

Parker was drinking water; when he heard the words 'Superpower Serum,' he began to cough violently. Half the water spilled onto the table, and the other half nearly came out of his nose.

Gwen quickly handed him a tissue. Parker took it and held it over his mouth, coughing several more times before he could speak a full sentence.

"Team Leader Mary, that potion is very expensive." He crumpled the tissue in his hand. "It's a thousand dollars a bottle. Plus, I've seen the news; the probability of awakening is very low. Someone on Wall Street calculated it with Excel, and it's only about five in ten thousand."

Mary waved her hand grandly. "It's fine. Gwen and I will each take ten thousand dollars of pocket money to buy them. If one of us awakens, we'll give all the remaining potions to you."

Parker was stunned by the mention of ten thousand dollars in pocket money, then said in a low, somewhat self-conscious voice, "Alright, but I can only scrape together a thousand dollars of pocket money. I can only buy one bottle."

Mary nodded and said nonchalantly, "It's okay. This is our first group activity as New Era Youth; it's the participation that counts."

Gwen handed over a Chicken Caesar Wrap from the side and comforted him as well. "Parker, don't feel pressured. Whether we buy a lot or a little is up to fate. Who knows, maybe that one bottle of yours will be the lucky one."

Parker gripped the chicken wrap and nodded.

Over the next forty minutes or so, the three of them finished a whole bag of food and three bottles of water.

Mary wrote a few key action points for tomorrow on the whiteboard, her handwriting so large that one had to turn their head left and right to read a single line.

Gwen was responsible for checking the Wuhu Shop's business hours and the latest customer reviews on her phone. When she read a five-star review that said 'Didn't awaken after drinking, but my knees don't hurt anymore,' the three of them burst into laughter.

Finally, the warning bell for the end of lunch break rang. Mary slapped the table and said, "Then the first New Era Youth General Assembly is successfully concluded. Tomorrow morning at eight, meet at the Wuhu Shop!"

——————

At night, the lights on the top floor of the United Nations Headquarters were still on.

This floor was originally the Secretary-General's office area, but it had now been converted into the Ball Chief's private living quarters.

Hanging on the wall was a Gugu Gaga National Flag that had just been delivered this afternoon. The chibi-style Ninth Princess's large head took up two-thirds of the flag's surface, her two ears perked up, and a naive, charming smile hung on the corners of her mouth.

Directly below this flag, Chen Mu leaned back on a custom sofa, one leg crossed over the other, holding a wine glass between his fingers as the red wine inside tilted slightly.

In front of him, a circular mirror surface about two meters in diameter had formed, showing the President and Advisor Cole planning to stir up some conflict.

"So you're already planning." Chen Mu took a sip of red wine. "Testing my standards as a referee by creating a small, controlled conflict—not a bad idea, very reminiscent of the Cold War. But this world only needs one director, and that's me. There's no need for so many directors."

He raised his glass toward the mirror. "Since you've found the actors, it would be a waste of your good intentions if I didn't use them. What's the fun in a small conflict? If we're doing this, let's go big!"

The President and Advisor Cole were completely unaware that their plan was being watched by Chen Mu.

The Time Mirror system Chen Mu developed could theoretically only replay past events, but he had found a clever loophole: setting the replay time to one minute ago.

A one-minute delay was practically non-existent; rounding it off, it was as good as a live broadcast.

He switched the image away from the White House. The faces of the President and Cole crumpled into a ball of light in the mirror before unfolding again to show a dim backstreet in Queens, New York.

In the image, Thompson was walking along the street, his pace faster than usual, looking back every dozen steps to check for any movement behind him.

He was wearing a dark hoodie, looking like a mouse scurrying through an owl's territory.

He stopped in front of a traditional Chinese medicine shop called 'Renhe Hall.' Below the sign, a line of small characters read: 'Century-Old Heritage · Traditional Medicine Family.'

In the glass display window were a few dusty porcelain jars and a faded bronze acupuncture model.

Thompson pushed the door open and entered. The copper bell hanging on the door let out a muffled ring.

The interior decor of the medicine shop was even more old-fashioned than it looked from the outside. A whole row of medicine cabinets with brass locks stood against the wall, each drawer bearing a handwritten label. The air was thick with the pungent scent of Chinese herbs.

Behind the counter sat a portly Chinese man wearing a Tang suit. He was about fifty years old, slightly balding on top, but with three neatly trimmed strands of beard on his chin.

At the moment, his head was down, both hands gripping the latest model iPhone, which was playing a cultivation drama.

The fat man was so engrossed that he didn't even notice Thompson walking up to him.

Thompson cleared his throat. "Excuse me, do you have any eye medicine for clearing heat and restoring vision?"

The fat man's finger paused on the screen. He paused the video, looked up, and sized Thompson up from head to toe.

Then he placed his phone face down on the counter and sat up straight. "Earth tremors on high ridges, a stream and mountain landscape of eternal beauty."

Thompson took a deep breath and said in a 'plastic' Mandarin with clearly incorrect tones, "The gate faces the great sea, where three rivers merge to flow for ten thousand years."

The fat man nodded, stood up, and walked toward the row of medicine cabinets on the left side of the shop.

"Follow me."

He walked behind the cabinets, pulled out a drawer labeled 'Angelica' partway, pushed it back in half an inch, and then gave it a turn to the right.

A crisp click sounded from inside the drawer, and the entire row of cabinets split down the middle, revealing a metal door behind them that looked nothing like a traditional medicine shop.

The fat man pushed the door open to reveal an elevator car inside.

Thompson stepped inside. The moment the elevator doors closed, he felt as if he had been suddenly stuffed from one era into another.

Outside, the shop still smelled of herbs, but inside the elevator, there was only the scent of metal and disinfectant.

The car began to descend. It moved faster than a normal elevator but ran smoothly; only the slight vibration beneath his feet reminded him that he was going very deep.

When the elevator doors opened again, Thompson was shocked to see a scene completely unlike anywhere he had ever been in his twenty-six-year career as a New York police officer.