I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

Wang Guifen immediately responded, stood up, and untied her apron with movements so nimble that she didn't seem like someone nearing sixty.

"We need to go for a walk! The square dance team is rehearsing a new dance today, so I need to get there early to secure a spot!"

"And Old Zhang! He just called me to play chess, saying we'd have a final battle until dawn!"

As Lin Dezhu spoke, he walked towards the door, not even bothering to put on his shoes properly:

"Hey, Mo'er, you and Xiao Qing chat at home. Leave the dishes untouched, we'll wash them when we get back!"

"Yes, yes, don't move! The fruit is on the coffee table, Mo'er, wash some fruit for Xiao Qing!"

The elderly couple worked together incredibly well, faster than an emergency assembly.

From standing up to changing shoes and leaving the house, it didn't take a single minute.

"Bang!"

The door was slammed shut.

The room, which had been bustling just moments before, suddenly fell silent.

Lin Mo stood by the dining table, glanced at the closed door, and then looked back at Ye Qing, who was sitting in a chair with a half-smile.

"Um... cough. Sorry for the poor presentation~"

Lin Mo cleared his throat, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.

Ye Qing put down her cup, stood up, and straightened her clothes.

"I think it's great."

She glanced around the living room, her gaze lingering for a couple of seconds on the family photo on the wall:

"The uncle and aunt are lovely and genuine. I envy this kind of family atmosphere."

"It's too messy here, and there's a smell of cooking oil." Lin Mo pointed to a room at the end of the corridor:

"Let's go to the study; it's quieter there. You also need to complete that... psychological follow-up task."

"Okay." Ye Qing nodded, picked up her bag from the chair, and followed behind Lin Mo.

The study was small, with an old wooden desk placed by the window.

The window was open, and the noise from the small square downstairs drifted in on the wind.

That was music for square dancing, mixed with the laughter of the older women and the screams of the children.

Lin Mo walked to the water dispenser and took two disposable paper cups.

"There's only plain water, just make do with this."

Ye Qing didn't take out the recording pen and evaluation book. She just leaned back in her chair, looking out the window at the figures moving under the streetlights below.

"Lin Mo".

Ye Qing suddenly spoke, her voice not loud, but it could be heard clearly in the quiet room.

"I noticed you were very tense at the dinner table just now."

She turned her head, her gaze falling on Lin Mo's face, her eyes calm:

"Does your parents' pressure to get married put a lot of pressure on you?"

Lin Mo's fingers unconsciously traced the edge of the paper cup.

He was silent for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the huge old locust tree outside the window.

"The pressure is definitely high."

Lin Mo's voice was somewhat low: "Who doesn't want to make their parents happy? But... my situation is special."

Ye Qing didn't interrupt him, but listened quietly.

Lin Mo took a deep breath, his chest heaving.

"Dr. Ye, you know that."

Lin Mo turned his head to look at Ye Qing, his voice tinged with weariness:

"That thing on me, that portal system, is classified. I can't tell anyone, including my future... um... if I have a partner."

Lin Mo smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in his eyes, and pointed to his chest:

"I am the core of Project Tianmen. Sounds pretty grand, right?"

"But in reality, I am a ticking time bomb."

Lin Mo stood up, walked to the window, and placed his hands on the windowsill.

"Every month I disappear for a few days. I go to places full of monsters, viruses, and death."

"I may come back, or I may not."

Lin Mo's voice became somewhat hoarse:

"If I find a girlfriend or get married, how should I explain it to her?"

"They said I'm on a business trip? I go on business trips every month? Where did I go? What did I do? Why can't I get through to them on the phone?"

Lin Mo turned around, leaned against the windowsill, and looked at Ye Qing:

"Look at the guards outside, they're risking their lives too. But what if... I mean, what if they really did die?"

"The government will send a pension to their families, and a national flag will be draped over their urns."

"But what about me?"

"If I fail in a mission and am eliminated by the system, I simply disappear."

"There wasn't even a body, not even ashes. It's even possible that Long Fei and the others won't be able to return!"

"It's as if I never existed in this world. My parents, my wife, I can't even leave behind a memory."

Lin Mo lowered his head and looked at his toes:

"This is unfair to that girl. I can't give her a stable life, or even a certain future."

"All I can do is give her endless waiting and the possibility of bad news at any moment."

"The secret I carry forbids me from having these things; even the thought of them is a luxury!"

The study was very quiet.

Ye Qing put down the paper cup in her hand.

She stood up and walked to Lin Mo.

The two were less than half a meter apart.

"Lin Mo".

Ye Qing's voice was soft, yet powerful:

"You did well today."

Lin Mo paused for a moment, then looked up at her blankly.

Ye Qing smiled slightly and reached out to straighten Lin Mo's slightly crooked collar:

"You were much more open than during your last therapy session. Does it feel better to say these things out loud?"

Lin Mo nodded subconsciously, then shook his head:

"It's no use saying it. The facts are the facts, and no one can change them."

I understand how you feel.

Ye Qing withdrew her hand, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned against the edge of the desk, adopting a relaxed posture.

"This secret, this fear, truly separates you from the lives of ordinary people."

"Your parents don't understand, and your future partner is unlikely to understand either."

Ye Qing paused for a moment, then looked at Lin Mo:

"But perhaps there is someone who can help you."

Lin Mo frowned.

"Dr. Ye, please stop teasing me."

Lin Mo sighed and turned to get the water glass from the table:

"Given my condition, even a god couldn't save me. Unless the system disappears, or I die."

"I know you're just trying to comfort me. It's your job skill, I understand."

"hehe."

A soft laugh came from behind.

"I didn't trick you, and I didn't use any special techniques."

Ye Qing's voice carried a hint of playfulness:

"There really is someone who can help you and solve all your problems."

Lin Mo turned around, looked at Ye Qing who was full of confidence, and his face was full of disbelief:

"Who?"

Ye Qing did not speak.

She stretched out her finger and pointed to her nose.

"It's far away, yet right before our eyes."

Lin Mo was stunned, his mind went blank.

He stared at Ye Qing, his mouth slightly agape, unable to react for a long time.

"What...do you mean?"