I, from the Celestial Empire, have parachuted into Teyvat.

To prevent the situation from spiraling out of control and causing panic, Hong Jianjun has ordered the lockdown of the Chengnan District of Qindao City.

However, at that moment, a communications officer suddenly stood up from his seat.

"Report received from the Qindao City garrison that traces of a monster have been found in the sewers near the southern blockade line of Qindao City."

"what?"

Hong Jianjun was startled, and the other commanders and soldiers who were busy also turned around in shock to look in this direction.

The fact that monsters have secretly infiltrated the area near the blockade through the sewers is not good news.

If a group of monsters has been discovered, then there is a high probability that other monsters have also entered the Qindao City sewer system.

Monsters can reach areas close to the blockade line through the sewer system, so it's also possible that they can reach the city center and other areas of Qindao City, such as the north of the city, through the sewer system!

"Order the Qindao City garrison to strengthen vigilance in all areas except the south, central, and north of the city. At the same time, conduct a thorough inspection of the city's sewer system to ensure that any monsters that have entered the sewer system are removed. Also, prepare to broadcast a city-wide alarm to alert all citizens to stay at home or in safe shelters."

"Yes!"

Just after Hong Jianjun issued the order, there was a sudden situation at the communications station for external contact.

"Old Hong!"

Hearing someone call his name, Hong Jianjun immediately went over.

"what happened?"

Xiang Renjie, Hong Jianjun's comrade-in-arms of more than 30 years and now the chief of staff of the Qianhai base command, said: "We just received a signal from the outside world."

"what?"

Hong Jianjun raised an eyebrow: "Are you able to contact the outside world?"

Xiang Renjie shook his head and said, "It's not working yet. The signal we just received was very weak and intermittent. We can't make out the specific information in it."

At that moment, another messenger suddenly raised his hand and reported.

"Report received from the garrison's Ice Wave ship: a large island shrouded in dense fog has been spotted in the waters near Qindao City."

"what?"

Hong Jianjun was startled again; he had lost count of how many times he had uttered those two words today.

How could a new island suddenly appear in the waters near Qindao City?

What exactly happened in the twelve hours since the World Gate incident yesterday?

Chapter 370 The Vanished Qindao City

On the Teyvat continent, at Eagle Harbor in the East Sea of ​​Mondstadt, aboard the Divine Palace ship docked there, Ivan led Xiang Feng and Muzawa Nagahiro into the command room on the island superstructure.

Upon entering the command room, Ivan saw Xu Donghai standing in front of the communications console with a furrowed brow, and asked, "How is it? Have you made contact?"

Xu Donghai shook his head: "Not yet, we can't receive any signal."

Upon hearing this, Ivan frowned.

Since the anomaly occurred at the Gate of the World yesterday, the exploration fleet has been cut off from the rear. Now, although the Gate of the World has returned to calm, it is still not connected, and more than twelve hours have passed.

This is also Ivan's biggest concern, but it may not be the worst time yet.

Ivan has already sent ships to try to return to Earth through the World Gate. If the World Gate closes because of this anomaly, that would be the worst-case scenario.

Fortunately, we are still able to contact the ship that is heading back to Earth. The ship is currently traveling through the thick fog of the World Gate.

Just when things were at their most critical moment, Ivan's phone suddenly received a call.

There is no number, only a note number—0.

Ivan was taken aback. This phone was specially made. It was given to him by Qi Ji of the Security Bureau when he was resting in the rear. Later, it was kept by Xu Donghai for a period of time until Ivan went to Liyue and China established a communication base station in Teyvat. Xu Donghai then handed it back to him. The information in the phone also helped Ivan a lot.

This phone has only two contacts in its address book: 1 and 0. Dialing 1 allows Ivan to directly contact the exploration fleet's flagship, the Divine Palace, while 0 connects him directly to the Chinese Senate!

And it was clear that the call came from the Senate.

Without much thought, Ivan decisively answered the call.

At that moment, a familiar voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Is that Xiao Yi?"

"Grand Elder..."

"It's so nice to hear your voice again. How are things going over there?"

"The situation is alright. The exploration fleet suffered no losses, but communications with the rear have been cut off."

"Yes, the communication interruption is normal. All the relay base stations are unusable. We can only contact you through a temporary base station set up in Beijing."

Ivan raised an eyebrow, sensing something unusual in the Grand Elder's words.

Because the Gate to the World is located in the Bohai Bay near Qindao City, the exploration fleet on the Teyvat continent and the rear areas of China primarily communicate directly with Qindao City. This is why a forward base was established in Qindao City. The exploration fleet also needs to use Qindao City's communication base stations for signal relay to contact the capital or other regions. However, the Grand Elder now claims that all signal relay base stations are unusable...

"Elder, what has happened?"

The Grand Elder's answer to Ivan's question made Ivan's heart sink.

"Yes, something has happened. Since the anomaly occurred at the Gate of the World yesterday, the capital has lost all contact with Qindao City. After the communication was cut off, the Senate sent aircraft from the Eastern Military Region to Qindao City to check the situation, only to find that Qindao City and the Qianhai Base located in the waters near Qindao had all disappeared."

"What!!?"

Ivan's increased volume immediately attracted the attention of the other personnel in the command room.

But at this moment, Ivan's shock made him disregard everything else.

"What did you say? Qindao City and the Qianhai base have both disappeared?"

The elder on the other end of the phone took a deep breath and said, "Although this sounds extremely unbelievable, it is the truth. Qin Island City and Qianhai Base have disappeared from the earth. Now, where Qin Island City was originally located, there is only a large area of ​​dark red and hazy fog covering it. When the plane passes through this fog, all it can see in the original location of Qin Island City is a deep sea. The same is true for Qianhai Base. Both of them have disappeared."

At this moment, Ivan felt his mind go blank; the sudden news had temporarily caused Ivan's brain to shut down.

"Little Yi?"

Hearing the Grand Elder's voice on the other end of the phone, Ivan composed himself and said, "I'm here..."

"Based on the analysis of various parties, there is a high probability that the disappearance of Qindao City was caused by the anomaly of the Gate of the World, so I hope you can find out the truth as soon as possible."

"clear."

"Yes, the current situation is not optimistic for us, and this matter depends on you."

After saying that, the elder statesman hung up the phone.

Ivan took a deep breath.

The elder statesman sounded somewhat tired on the phone.

Ivan could imagine what the Senate would encounter that night.

The strange changes at the Gate of the World will surely be seized upon by certain countries in the Bohai Bay region that have been monitoring the situation for a long time, and now Qindao City has suddenly disappeared...

Although the Grand Elder did not say it on the phone, Ivan knew that the capital authorities had probably temporarily blocked the news about the situation in Qindao City. This was certainly not to hide it from the public, but to prevent this matter from becoming ammunition for certain countries hostile to China to exert pressure on China.

But Ivan also knew that this matter could not be kept secret for long.

Qindao City is a major city in China with a large population. Whether for work, tourism, or other reasons, Qindao City naturally has a large number of outsiders in addition to local residents. When more and more people find that they cannot contact their relatives in Qindao City, the matter can no longer be kept secret.

At that time, certain countries would certainly not let this opportunity pass.

So what Ivan and the entire exploration fleet need to do now is to find out everything as quickly as possible.

At this moment, seeing Ivan put down the phone, Xu Donghai, who had been waiting for a long time, finally couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Yi, what happened?"

Ivan sighed and recounted in a deep voice the situation the Grand Elder had just told him on the phone. Upon hearing the news of the disappearance of Qin Island City and the Qianhai Base, everyone present showed the same shocked expression as Ivan.

"What? Qindao City and the Qianhai base have disappeared?"

Xu Donghai frowned and asked, "How could Qindao City and the Qianhai base have vanished into thin air?"

Ivan shook his head and said, "The situation is still unclear. The analysis from the capital is that it may be related to the anomaly of the World Gate. The World Gate is close to Qin Island City and Qianhai Base, so the probability is indeed very high. Moreover, if it is indeed related to the World Gate, then it is definitely inseparable from the spatial problem, after all, the World Gate itself is a huge teleportation portal."

"In addition, a new communication base station has been built in Beijing. Our communication should now be able to connect to the signal in Beijing. Let's try it a few more times."

At this point, Ivan rubbed his temples and said in a deep voice, "Given the current situation, I need to think about this carefully..."

Chapter 371 News from Inazuma

Inside the embassy in Mondstadt, Ivan put down his pen and then pinched his brow hard.

On the desktop was a timeline he had just compiled, all of which concerned the disappearance of Qindao City.

This is a habit Ivan has when thinking about difficult things; clearly listing each time-related clue helps to sort out the specific circumstances of an event from a complex, tangled mess of events.

However, this method doesn't seem to work this time.

It's been a whole night since Ivan received the call from the Grand Elder yesterday, and he hasn't even closed his eyes. He still has no clue about the situation in Qindao City.

This is not something Ivan can easily resolve using the information about Genshin Impact that he brought from before his reincarnation on Earth; this is an unprecedented situation that has never happened before.

Whether Qindao City has been moved away, physically erased, or "optically invisible" for some reason, Ivan now has to consider any possible scenario.

Of course, since it is highly likely related to the anomalies of the Gate of the World, most of the speculation revolves around the spatial anomalies.

Yesterday, the ships dispatched by the exploration fleet safely returned to Earth through the World Gate, indicating that the World Gate is still usable. This is the best news right now, since if the World Gate had malfunctioned, the exploration fleet would have been basically trapped in Teyvat.

Moreover, the ships returning to Earth not only gloriously completed their mission of exploring the Gate of the World, but also transmitted back images of the other side of the Gate of the World.

After the World Gate's anomaly, its location didn't change much; it remained in the Bohai Bay region near Qindao City. As soon as the ships returning to Blue Star left the fog-covered area of ​​the World Gate, they quickly entered the waters near Qindao City.

Images sent back by the reconnaissance ships confirmed that, just as the Grand Elder had said on the phone, the surrounding sea and region of Qindao City were shrouded in a hazy, blackish-red film resembling fog, and Qindao City itself had completely disappeared from view.

The composition of this membrane is currently unknown, and outsiders can freely enter and exit it without hindrance.

These are almost all the clues we have so far.

With only this few clues, it is indeed difficult to figure out what exactly happened in Qindao City in a short period of time.

This is why Ivan is so anxious now.

Just then, there was a knock on Ivan's door. Ivan sighed and said, "Come in."

The door opened, and Muze Changhui walked in carrying a cup of tea.

"Lord Ivan, the refreshing tea is ready."