A Trek of Sima Qian

Oh no, this article is **incomplete!** Please don't stare...

* GL
* TW

## **Main Background**

Battlefield Paradise

> *"To restore the altered history and rescue Sima Qian & Lu Ban, Zhuang Zi & the Adapter went back to the era of the first Grand Administrative AI. However, they were caught up in the Test War between Xuanyuan & Yan Di upon arrival, and even had their origins exposed. Thanks to his righteous heart, Xuanyuan won the war as well as Yan Di's trust, but an unknown army attacked them just as they were about to reconcile. The worn-out Xuanyuan & Yan Di had no choice but to retreat. The battle has yet to conclude, and the course of history continues to escalate..."*
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> -Grand Historians 9 Part 2 Quest Info (unofficially translated from TW)
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**A Trek of Sima Qian** is the 32nd Standard Regional Ultimate Quest released for the Taiwanese version of Crash Fever, albeit at Spectre difficulty.

After the events of Battle at Zhulu, Sima Qian, Lu Ban, Zhuang Zi, Hui Shi, Xiao Gu, and the adapter return back to the present, at the Shi Ji room of the Sima Qian's lab. Ban Zhao greets them and notices that Sima Qian came back with them. Mo Zi notices that Sima Qian is very wounded, and orders her subordinates to take Sima Qian to the infirmary. The subordinates take Sima Qian away on a stretcher, while Lu Ban sits in a corner vomiting as a result of travelling through time again. Ban Zhao and Ban Chao see Xiao Gu in her upgraded form and mistake her for Ban Gu, but Xiao Gu quickly corrects them. Ban Zhao realizes that the clothes are indeed Xiao Gu's, and wonders what happened. Lu Ban comes back over, and remarks that she had too much to eat before she came back, and now she feels better after having thrown up. She then explains to the others about Xiao Gu, and Ban Zhao thanks her afterwards. Suddenly, Xiao Gu begins to glow, and in a flash of light she returns to her normal, small form. Lu Ban says she forgot to mention that the program does have a time limit, hence why Xiao Gu just returned to normal.

The adapter then explains to Ban Zhao how Ban Gu seemed to take control of Xiao Gu during their fight with Chiyou. Ban Zhao is surprised at how that could have happened, while Ban Chao wonders what is going on with Xiao Gu. Lu Ban remarks that she is just as surprised herself, and that she doesn't know why it happened nor what triggered it. Xiao Gu says she feels tired now, and would like to return to the system. Ban Zhao does so, causing Xiao Gu to disappear in a flash of light as Ban Zhao praises her for her performance.

Ban Chao asks how Zhuang Zi and Hui Shi are doing, but Hui Shi tells her to not talk to him. He remarks that he thought that he would be prepared for the return trip, but is struggling to not throw up. Zhuang Zi tells him to take a seat and to take a break for now. Mo Zi asks if the adapter is OK, although the adapter insists they are fine and then asks about Sima Qian's condition. Mo Zi says that while she had some bad injuries, she should recover just fine within a few days. The adapter then leaves the room to check on Sima Qian.

Mo Zi then goes to Lu Ban, and asks what she meant when they said they were trapped in the past. Lu Ban just responds that she could ask Mo Zi the same thing, and says that it is because of Mo Zi that she had to go through all of those horrible things to protect Sima Qian. Mo Zi says it must have been hard on Lu Ban, and then tells her to follow her to the shower since she stinks. Lu Ban just responds that Mo Zi is the one who smells so bad it could wake up the dead. Mo Zi tells her to shut up and come with her.

The next day, in the infirmary, the adapter wakes up after having stayed by Sima Qian's side while she healed in the Healing Chamber. The adapter asks Sima Qian how they are doing, and Sima Qian responds she is fine before she suddenly holds onto the adapter and begins crying. The adapter then caresses Sima Qian's head to calm her down, and Sima Qian apologizes that the adapter had to see her crying like this. She thanks the adapter for staying by her side to make sure she was OK, and remarks that they must have been exhausted after having stayed up all night by her Healing Chamber. She comments that she never thought that the fortune that Zi Gu had foretold would come true, but says she always knew that the adapter would come to save her. The adapter consoles her, and tells her that everything is going to be OK.

Ban Chao enters the infirmary to ask if Sima Qian is alright, but notices her crying with the adapter and apologizes for interrupting. Ban Zhao remarks that Ban Chao really has an issue with timing, and then asks Sima Qian if she is feeling better. Mo Zi tells Sima Qian that she hasn't fully recovered from her wounds yet, so she has to go back to the Healing Chamber later. Ban Chao then says that, while she has heard the story from the adapter, she wonders what exactly happened to Sima Qian in the past and how were they captured. Ban Zhao points out that Sima Qian is still recovering from the trauma, and that she shouldn't make it difficult for her.

Sima Qian tells them that it is alright, and shows them the fortune strip that was given to her by Zi Gu. Mo Zi reads it, saying: "Future is unclear; ill fortune awaits. And yet peace shall come as poor luck draws to a close". Sima Qian remarks that she had thought that they were surely going to die in the past, and begins recounting what happened.

In the flashback, Sima Qian finishes time travelling after the events of Tower of Four Perils, although Sima Qian is confused as she expected to finally be back at her lab, but was instead somewhere else. Sima Qian calls out for the adapter, Zhuang Zi, and Lu Ban. She begins to panic as she has no idea where she is, and the device showing when she is in history is malfunctioning, and there is no display shown for the time remaining on her emergency lifeline. She freaks out as everything seems to be malfunctioning and she has no idea what to do, but she composes herself for a moment and says she needs to go find and locate everyone else.

Sima Qian looks around, but can only find tall weeds growing everywhere. She suddenly hears someone throwing up, and recognizes that it must be Lu Ban. She makes her way through the weeds until she eventually finds Lu Ban. Sima Qian asks Lu Ban if she is alright, and if she knows where the others are. Lu Ban says she has no idea, as she continues to throw up. Sima Qian tries to help alleviate her discomfort, and 10 minutes later she is feeling better. Lu Ban remarks that next time she will definitely take pills for motion sickness, then corrects herself in saying she needs to take pills for Time Travel Investigation sickness.

Sima Qian asks again if Lu Ban found anyone else, and Lu Ban just says she didn't while asking where in the world are they. She then preemptively says she can't use one of her devices as she has no map data for that place. Sima Qian then mentions that their returning devices as well as the emergency lifelines have malfunctioned, and asks if Lu Ban can fix them. Lu Ban just says she doesn't have any spare parts in her tool box. Sima Qian then suggests that they should explore where they are at to see if they can find the others.

Some time afterwards, Sima Qian remarks that this isn't working and that running around aimlessly won't help, while Lu Ban expresses that she is very tired. Suddenly, the wind begins to blow. Sima Qian becomes worried that there might be a storm starting. She then notices someone ahead of them, and Lu Ban says that is great while declaring that she will go up to them to ask for directions. Sima Qian grabs Lu Ban to stop her from doing so. She points out that they can't draw unnecessary attention to themselves before they get their bearings, lest they end up having someone who means ill come for them. Lu Ban points out that they don't even know where they are, and if they don't take a chance now they could end up stuck there. Sima Qian then says they can wait a few moments to check who they are.

As the figure draws closer and becomes more clear, Sima Qian mentions that there are more than one person. Lu Ban notes that they can float, and that one of them was a girl with an umbrella. She also mentions that behind them appear to be servants. Sima Qian remarks that the girl seems harmless, but the people with her seem to be far from friendly. Lu Ban says it was a good thing Sima Qian had stopped her earlier. She then mentions that she happens to have an optical barrier device in her toolbox, and she finds it and activates it.

Instead of creating an optical barrier, the device creates a flash of light. Lu Ban curses as she realizes she messed up button configurations. The figures in the distance take note of the flash, and wonder if it is Xuanyuan or Yan Di's forces. One of them suggests to the others that they take a look and investigate. Sima Qian tells Lu Ban that they need to run, while Lu Ban wonders why this is happening to them. Although they run as fast as they can, they end up surrounded.

The figures ask why would someone be there, especially people acting and dressing strangely like themselves. They then tell Sima Qian and Lu Ban to not move and put their hands up. Lu Ban says it is a good thing that she was able to use some extra materials to build something back at the Tower of Four Perils, and throws out a few colorful eggs from her toolbox. The eggs open up into small robots, that declare they will protect Lu Ban. Lu Ban tells the robots to attack their enemies, and then tells Sima Qian that they need to take the opportunity to run. The robots attack the surrounding soldiers with missiles and other weaponry.

One of the figures, Yu Shi, calls out to her big brother, Feng Bo. Feng Bo wonders why Xuanyuan would possess something like that, but then remarks that it won't be enough to defeat them. He suddenly creates a gale that lifts all of the robots in the air, before dropping them down to the ground, which causes them to explode. Chiyou, who was with them, remarks that Sima Qian and Lu Ban are strange, interesting people. He orders his forces to capture them alive. Feng Bo and Yu Shi acknowledge the order.

Exhausted, Lu Ban asks if they have managed to escape, and Sima Qian says she doesn't know, although she thinks they should have gotten pretty far away from them by now. A voice suddenly asks who they have gotten far away from, startling Sima Qian. Yu Shi arrives, and asks them to be good and just surrender, or else her big brother will get upset. Feng Bo tells them to hand over their strange weapons, and they won't hurt them. Sima Qian responds that while she has no idea who they are, she has her reasons as to why she can't comply with their requests, and she apologizes.

Feng Bo responds that, if that is the case, then he will have to be a bit rough. Sima Qian and Lu Ban fight back against Chiyou's troops and manage to defeat some of them, while also fending off Yu Shi and Feng Bo. Chiyou himself proves much more difficult, and he starts off using only a fraction of his power to test them. Lu Ban's gadgets keep misfiring or missing entirely, preventing her from really doing anything against Chiyou. Sima Qian tells Lu Ban to get serious, but Lu Ban insists that she is trying as hard as she can. Intrigued, Chiyou keeps using more and more of his power to test them. As he begins to reach his full power, Sima Qian and Lu Ban get overwhelmed. Sima Qian tells Lu Ban they need to get out of there, as they can't possibly defeat Chiyou.

Lu Ban remarks that just because she didn't use the ace up her sleeve doesn't mean they can underestimate her, but Sima Qian tells her to stop trying to act tough, and to just go. Lu Ban tells Sima Qian to cover her eyes and ears, as she has a shocking surprise for their enemies. Lu Ban throws a flash grenade that paralyzes most of Chiyou's forces. Chiyou just remarks that it's a funny little trick, and then tells Yu Shi and Feng Bo to go after them.

As Sima Qian and Lu Ban try to get away, the fog starts to become thicker, much to Sima Qian's dismay. She notes that her positioning device is still not working, and Lu Ban says the same is true for hers. She states that, regardless, they can't afford to stop running. The weather begins to change dramatically, as powerful gusts of wind and torrential rain begin to form. The strong winds blow away the fog, revealing Feng Bo and Yu Shi. Yu Shi points out that she told them before that those tricks aren't going to work.

Feng Bo summons a whirling cyclone around Lu Ban, trapping her in the winds. She struggles and tells him to let her go. Feng Bo mentions that Chiyou has taken an interest in them, and had given them instructions not to harm them. He begins to imply the consequences if they resist. Yu Shi states that terrible things would happen if they upset her big brother or Chiyou, so she advises them to behave. Still trapped, Lu Ban asks Sima Qian to do something to help her. Sima Qian gives in and surrenders, and says that she is sure they can talk things over. Feng Bo just remarks that she could have surrendered sooner, and spared Lu Ban from being treated like this. He disperses the cyclone, dropping Lu Ban onto the ground. Yu Shi tells Feng Bo to give them umbrellas, and then they are taken into custody by Chiyou's forces.

With the flashback over, Sima Qian summarizes what happened to them afterwards. She explains that Feng Bo discovered that they came from the future, and thus began trying to convince them to give up their technologies and weapons. She mentions that they were kept in different cells so she had no idea what was happening to Lu Ban at the time. She then further explains that they had found that she had the technology to build the Time Travel Investigation device, so they had interrogated her.

Ban Zhao, who had a tear in her eye after hearing the pain Sima Qian went through, goes over to Sima Qian to comfort her. Lu Ban enters the room and notes that this is where everyone went to. She takes note that Sima Qian has woken up, and asks if she is feeling better. Everyone just looks menacingly at Lu Ban, and she asks why they have such serious looks and comments that they all look like they have food poisoning or something. Ban Chao angrily says why should they fear an enemy like Chiyou when they have someone like Lu Ban putting them in danger. Ban Chao then grabs Lu Ban and begins to attack her. Lu Ban calls out to Mo Zi and Sima Qian to help her.

Hui Shi comes in to complain about a ruckus this early in the morning, but also notices that Sima Qian has awakened. Zhuang Zi asks Hui Shi if breakfast ready, and then heads off to eat. Hui Shi tells him to hold it right there, and after grabbing him asks the group what they were doing just then. The adapter recounts the story, and Zhuang Zi remarks that he thinks Lu Ban deserves some credit as well while he munches on some steamed buns. Hui Shi asks Zhuang Zi when he snuck away to eat the steamed buns.

Ban Chao asks why Lu Ban should get any credit considering how badly she screwed up - she threw the wrong grenade, she gave the technology to others, and she messed up history. While still eating, Zhuang Zi remarks that it was precisely because Lu Ban provided the technology that Sima Qian was kept alive. Hui Shi just tells him to shut up and finish eating, as he is scattering his broken logic and bun crumbs all over the place. Zhuang Zi clarifies what he meant, and says that because Chiyou's forces got all of the failed inventions from Lu Ban they took it easy on Sima Qian, although he brings up the point that had they arrived any later, Sima Qian would have been killed by someone from the future.

Ban Chao is just confused about the statement about someone from the future, and asking what Zhuang Zi is trying to do here; is he trying to defend Lu Ban, or make it worse for her? Zhuang Zi continues and says that it is thanks to Lu Ban's research in her spare time that allowed Xiao Gu to be upgraded, and so they could recalibrate the singularity. Mo Zi remarks that Lu Ban's blunders almost led to a calamity that could have been worse than Taowu, but she admits that it was unintentional and Lu Ban did manage to help while adding that Lu Ban's demerits still exceeded her merits. She tells Lu Ban that her punishment will be two days of solitary confinement without research or food, and orders her subordinates to take her back to the Ink Army headquarters. Lu Ban is taken away and asks Zhuang Zi and Sima Qian to help her, but she is ignored.

Sima Qian is reminded of the Singularity Calibrator, and asks where it is at. Mo Zi mentions that when they got back, one of the devices was smoking and broke down immediately. Hui Shi examines it and says that it was the calibrator, and notes that it looks less like a failure on Lu Ban's part and more like it was triggered intentionally. Mo Zi analyzes it, and says that the design of the code for the trigger is clever and nothing like the programming languages they currently have.

Ban Zhao asks Sima Qian about the "person from the future" that they mentioned, and what exactly happened there. Zhuang Zi explains what had happened with Dahong. Ban Zhao remarks that she never knew their actions could have such an impact, but then she wonders what that organization is about. Sima Qian says that they have no clues at all about it, so they should just focus on their mission for the time being. Ban Zhao agrees. Ban Chao points out that information on the Four Perils has surprisingly been limited at best. Mo Zi realizes this as well, and says that it has been a while since they received any details on their activities, and says that it is almost freakishly quiet.

A mysterious figure suddenly appears and says they are right, and mentions that it is because this is just the calm before the storm. Startled, Ban Chao asks who they are, and draws her pistol to aim at them. The figure tells them to not be so nervous, and declares that they mean no harm. The person says all they want to do is to ask Lu Ban some questions. Mo Zi asks what business they have with Lu Ban, and asks what trouble she got in this time. The figure says that it is nothing major, and just wants to ask her about a research project that she worked on previously.

Ban Chao angrily tells them to stop being so cryptic, and demands that they identify themselves. Mo Zi recognizes that the figure exudes a divine aura, so the figure must be someone from the Sages of Justice. Sima Qian becomes worried, but the figure apologizes that they have been required to stay anonymous for certain reasons. The figure greets the adapter and remarks that it has been a long time since they met. The figure says that maybe this would make it easier to talk, and brings out a gourd that emits smoke that turns into the shape of a human body. Hui Shi asks what in the world are they trying to do. The mysterious figure collapses, and the body on the floor stands up. As they stand up, it is revealed that it is Li Tieguai of the Eight Immortals.

The story is continued in The Burning TP City.

## Quest Overview

* [Prologue]
* [Spectre]
* [Epilogue]

## Post Quest Blurbs

* **Sima Qian & Lu Ban:** The rescue mission for Sima Qian and Lu Ban turned out to be a great success. History has returned to its proper course.
* **The Mystery of Dahong:** What exactly is this 'organization?' What is the true identity of Dahong? These secrets have become lost at this point...

## Trivia

* The colorful eggs that Lu Ban throws out that open up to reveal robots is likely referencing the hatcher system of Crash Fever; the robot character in question that was used in the story was Tinrobot, who comes from rainbow eggs when pulled from the hatcher in the Taiwanese version.
* When the Summer version of Sima Qian is brought to the quest, her swimsuit is constantly mistaken for standard battle attire from where she is from, so she has to keep reiterating that she's just wearing a swimsuit rather than a special battle outfit.