The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

She wasn't woken up by an alarm clock, but by Yang Wanqing. The girl had finished washing up at 5:30, stood at her door with a bulging hiking backpack on her back, and knocked three times.

"Yaoyao! Wake up! Let's go, let's go!"

Chen Siyao rubbed her eyes, opened the door, and looked at Yang Wanqing's bag.

"What were you pretending to be?"

"Sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, windproof jacket, thermos, compressed biscuits, first aid kit, mosquito repellent, two power banks, three data cables, selfie stick, folding stool—"

"Are you going to the secret realm or to the market?"

"Better safe than sorry! What if there are mosquitoes in the secret realm?"

Chen Siyao was too tired to argue with her, so she turned around and went to wash her face.

At seven o'clock, the group gathered in the living room.

Chen Hao was wearing an ordinary black T-shirt and casual pants, holding a cup of tea in his hand. He looked so relaxed that it was impossible to tell how outrageous his next task was.

Chen Siyao changed into a neat tracksuit, Yang Wanqing carried her giant hiking backpack, and Xiaoyue ran around the coffee table.

"Let's check the airport first." Chen Siyao opened the flight information on her phone.

The page loaded in three seconds—the entire page turned red.

All flights to the northwest today are sold out.

It's not just the Northwest. Flights to Yunnan and Guizhou, Sichuan and Tibet, western Hunan, and even Changbai Mountain in the Northeast—any destination with "mountain" in its name—are sold out.

Flights to first-tier cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Huadu have an occupancy rate of less than 30%.

Chen Siyao scrolled through social media again.

Of the top ten trending topics, seven are related to travel during the May Day holiday.

The top-ranked item is "#MayDayNationalMountainMountainMountainExercise#".

The third item is "#Man finds fist-sized Flame Spirit Stone while hiking in a wild mountain, estimated to be worth 200,000 yuan#".

The fifth item is "#A scenic spot broke its historical record for visitor flow, and the boardwalk was deformed by the crowds#".

Yang Wanqing leaned over for a look and clicked her tongue twice.

"The whole nation went up the mountain."

"That's right." Chen Siyao turned off her phone and stood on the balcony looking down.

The morning in Baotian City was unusually quiet.

There was hardly anyone in the neighborhood. The parking lot was more than half empty. Usually at this time, there would be a line at the breakfast shop downstairs, but today the shutters weren't even up yet.

Occasionally a car would pass by on the road, and the sound of its engine would be particularly clear on the empty street.

This city, which normally houses nearly 20 million people, was even quieter than during the Spring Festival.

"Even emptier than during Chinese New Year," Chen Siyao remarked.

"Those famous mountains and rivers are probably packed with people by now," Yang Wanqing said, counting on her fingers.

"Mount Emei, Mount Wudang, Mount Song, Mount Tai, Mount Huang... Do you really think you can find those cultural traditions on just any mountain?"

"Let's try our luck. Didn't someone dig up a Flame Spirit Stone in the flower bed in the neighborhood before? Anything is possible."

Chen Hao stared at the faces on his sister's phone. A chill ran down his spine; if they went to the airport like this, he'd be stuck pacing back and forth. He then said to his sister, "Let's take the Xiaoqing (a ride-hailing car) instead of flying."

Chen Siyao quickly took out her phone. "Okay, brother. I'll report this to Director Han." She then sent a message to Han Songyue:

"Director Han, we're departing for the Bahrain Desert today. We'll be taking the air route, using the Three Bluebirds. Please inform the air defense zones and systems along the way, so they don't mistake us for unidentified flying objects and shoot us down."

After sending it, she added another message:

"I didn't report my trip to Penglai last time, which startled the navy. I'm really sorry. I'm letting you know in advance this time."

Han Songyue's reply came quickly, just two words: "Okay."

Ten seconds later, another message arrived: "Chief Fang Zhiyuan of the military regions along the route and the Northwest Special Affairs Bureau has been notified. Wishing you a safe journey."

Chen Siyao put away her phone and followed Chen Hao to the balcony.

The three bluebirds perched on the railing, tilting their little heads as they looked at them.

Yang Wanqing was the first to approach, squatting down and patting his thighs with both hands.

"Little Green, Little Green, grow bigger quickly! I'm about to take off!"

Sanqingniao tilted his head and glanced at her.

The sparrow-sized body began to swell—its wings spread, and its feathers gleamed with a deep blue luster in the sunlight. In the blink of an eye, a giant bird with a wingspan was perched on the balcony.

The wind pressure made Yang Wanqing's hair fly wildly.

Chen Siyao was the first to climb onto the bird's back. The feathers on the three bluebird's back were dense and soft, making it easy to step on. Yang Wanqing followed closely behind, climbing up on both hands and feet.

Neither woman carried much, only a small storage bag. It's so much more convenient to go out now; no need to carry so many bags.

With a leap, Xiaoyue, now much larger, pressed down on the three bluebirds, causing them to sink two inches. The bluebirds turned their heads and cried out in dissatisfaction.

Chen Hao came up last and patted the three bluebirds on the neck.

"Let's go, to the Northwest."

With a flap of its wings, the three bluebirds leaped into the air.

The wind rushed into her collar, and the ground seemed to plummet. Yang Wanqing instinctively gripped the feathers in front of her and let out a scream—which turned into an excited laugh three seconds later.

"Hahahaha, I'm flying—!"

Chen Siyao glanced back at Baotian City, which was shrinking.

The entire city lay prostrate in the morning light, with densely packed buildings and crisscrossing roads, but almost no moving points of light.

It really is a ghost town.

Everyone headed towards the mountain.

They chase after those opportunities that may or may not exist.

The place she was going to was a confirmed otherworld.

The three bluebirds broke through the airflow and flew at full speed toward the northwest.

The speed of the three-bird is much faster than that of a commercial airliner.

The straight-line distance from Baotian City to the Bahrain Desert in Northwest China is more than 2,000 kilometers, and it took less than 40 minutes.

The further northwest you fly, the more monotonous the color of the ground becomes. Cities disappear, farmland vanishes, and rivers turn into dried-up gray channels. In the end, all that remains is an endless expanse of yellowish-brown—the desert.

Chen Siyao lay on the bird's back and looked down. The entire ground was like a yellowish-brown curtain stretching to the horizon, with undulating sand dunes casting long, thin shadows on it.

"It's just ahead," Chen Hao pointed in a direction.

Chen Siyao looked in the direction he pointed.

In the distance, an area on the desert ground was fenced off. Dozens of military green tents were arranged in a ring, with a communications tower and satellite receiver standing in the center. A dozen off-road vehicles and two communications command vehicles were parked around the tents.

Special Operations Bureau's temporary command center in the Bahrain desert.

The three bluebirds began to descend.

A commotion quickly broke out below—someone ran out of the tent, shading their eyes with their hand and looking up at the sky.

Although Han Songyue had given prior notice, the sight of a giant bird with a wingspan of tens of meters and a blue glow swooping down from the sky would startle anyone.

The three bluebirds landed steadily on the open ground outside the command center, their claws sinking into the sand and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Then--

Its body began to shrink. Its wingspan retracted, the luster of its blue feathers faded, and a few seconds later, a bird the size of a sparrow perched on the ground, tilting its head and preening the feathers on its wings.