The phone rang, and Tong Yang picked it up, her hoarse yet youthful voice came through, “Sister, where are you going?”
With her backpack slung over one shoulder, the goldfish pendant attached to her phone case swayed back and forth. The morning sun slanted down on her, illuminating the fine fuzz on her face. Her loose hair was lifted by the gentle breeze, giving off a comfortable and warm vibe.
“I have two tutoring sessions this morning,” Tong Yang replied.
Tong Le responded with an “Oh,” and said, “When will you be back? Let’s go pick up Xiao Hei together.”
“I’ll be back at eleven-thirty. I’ll go straight to the pet hospital then.”
“Okay then.”
“Yeah, I’ll hang up now.”
“Bye-bye.”
Tong Yang ended the call and put her phone away. Xiao Hei was the stray cat they had encountered in the park last night. After confirming with the park manager that it had no owner, they consulted with Yang Dad and Yang Mom and took it to the pet hospital for a check-up before officially adopting it.
The veterinarian examined Xiao Hei and found its fur to be very healthy, and its weight was normal, so there shouldn’t be any issues. After some minor checks, they could take it home the next day at noon.
Strangely, at the pet hospital, Xiao Hei was very scared and wouldn’t let the doctor get close. It seemed to particularly like Tong Le, only accepting the examination under his comforting presence.
Tong Yang held onto her backpack strap, recalling the day they left the Shuangbai District Public Security Bureau. She had indeed seen this little black cat by the roadside, with the same white fur on its left ear. At that time, she thought the boy feeding it was somewhat familiar.
But nearly a month had passed, and she couldn’t remember what the boy looked like. Perhaps it was because so much had happened recently, she felt that Xiao Hei’s sudden appearance after such a long time, moving from Shuangbai District to Tianyuan District, was not a coincidence.
But if it wasn’t a coincidence, then what could it be? A little black cat couldn’t pose any threat to them.
The tutoring location wasn’t far from where she was, so Tong Yang scanned for a shared bike and rode for fifteen minutes to reach her destination, a very luxurious community.
The community was in a prime location, surrounded by several large shopping malls, and there were three high schools on one street, all reputed to be key schools with strong competition.
Tong Yang informed the security guard of her purpose and waited for him to confirm with the owner.
“Please come in.”
After hanging up the phone, the security guard opened the side door for her.
“Thank you.”
The community was called Half Moon Manor, where the residents were either rich or noble, and they placed great importance on their children’s education.
The family that hired Tong Yang had only one daughter, a fifteen-year-old who had just graduated from junior high and attended the nearby Capital No. 4 High School. Her grades weren’t bad, but she had performed poorly in the high school entrance exam and didn’t make it into the key class in a school full of top students. Her parents had hired several tutors for her, and Tong Yang was just one of them.
The community had one unit per floor, and stepping out of the elevator brought her right to the front of the door.
Tong Yang rang the doorbell and waited for a moment before the door was opened from the inside.
“Teacher Tong, you’re here. Please come in.”
The one who opened the door was their housekeeper, a middle-aged woman in her forties.
“Aunt Liu,” Tong Yang greeted her.
Aunt Liu took out a pair of slippers prepared just for her and said softly, “Qing Qing threw a tantrum and locked herself in her room.”
The student was named Yan Qing, and she had a bit of a temper. Tong Yang had given her a few lessons during this time.
“I understand.”
Tong Yang changed her shoes and walked toward her bedroom, standing at the door and knocking lightly.
“Who is it! Can’t you leave me alone? I told you not to bother me! Can’t you understand human language?” The girl’s furious voice came from inside.
Tong Yang replied in a calm tone, “It’s class time. Please open the door.”
Aunt Liu followed her, looking nervous.
The room was silent for two seconds before the sound of footsteps approached, and the door was pulled open.
A girl with messy hair peeked out from behind the door, her body hidden, and said, “I… I don’t want to go to class today…”
Tong Yang didn’t waste time talking to her and reached out to push the door.
Aunt Liu’s expression visibly panicked, “Teacher Tong! Sir said if Qing Qing really doesn’t want to go to class, it’s fine. You can still get paid for the lesson, or let her take a day off?”
Yan Qing shrank her neck and glanced at Tong Yang, repeating, “I don’t want to go to class today.”
Aunt Liu chimed in, “Teacher Tong, what do you think…”
Tong Yang said, “If you don’t want to go to class, why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
Implying that she had wasted her time coming here.
“I’ll ask you again, do you want to go to class today?”
Yan Qing puffed up her cheeks, looking displeased and slightly angry. When she met Tong Yang’s gaze, she immediately deflated and mumbled, “Why are you being so fierce? I’ll go.”
Aunt Liu let out a silent sigh of relief and smiled, “Then you two have a good class. I’ll go cut some fruit for you.”
“No need, thank you.”
Tong Yang walked into the room, and Yan Qing closed the door behind her.
“Did you finish the homework I left you last time?” Tong Yang sat down on a chair and placed her backpack aside.
“I did.”
“Bring it over.”
“Oh.”
Yan Qing obediently took a workbook from the bookshelf and handed it to Tong Yang with both hands.
Tong Yang took the workbook and flipped through it, while Yan Qing stood beside her like a quail, not daring to move.
Wealthy families often share some common traits: busy parents and children lacking affection.
Children raised in such environments inevitably rebel during their teenage years, and Yan Qing was a very typical example.
Her grades weren’t bad; she ranked within a thousand in the capital’s high school entrance exam. She was quick-witted and sharp, but her temper was explosive, and she had poor relationships with her classmates. She had been recorded for fighting twice, and if it weren’t for her good grades and her parents’ connections, she would have been expelled long ago.
Her parents weren’t bad to her; in fact, they spoiled her in every aspect except for studying. They felt guilty for not being able to accompany her often, so they indulged her in everything that wasn’t related to academics.
On Tong Yang’s first day of trial lessons, Yan Qing’s parents happened to be home. Perhaps to attract their attention, she always caused trouble, attempting to provoke Tong Yang with her words and actions. At first, it was about her clothing, then her teaching skills, and later her family background.
This little girl had learned some words from who knows where, saying that Tong Yang came to Half Moon Manor to fish for a rich husband, to fly up the branches and become a phoenix, and she also said some things that were quite inappropriate.
Yan Qing’s parents were stunned, not expecting her to say such things.
However, what shocked them even more was that after hearing these words, Tong Yang directly dragged Yan Qing back to her room and locked the door, ignoring the frantic knocking from Yan Qing’s parents and Aunt Liu outside.
Just like that, Tong Yang locked them in the room for a full five minutes.
Five minutes later, she expressionlessly opened the door, and under the reproachful and worried gazes of Yan Qing’s parents and Aunt Liu, she said to Yan Qing, “Let’s continue with the class.”
With tears in her eyes, Yan Qing obediently followed her back to the living room.
Neither of them showed any signs of having fought, and it was unclear what had happened.
After the trial lesson, Yan Qing’s parents were very satisfied with Tong Yang’s teaching skills, but concerned about Yan Qing’s mood, they specifically asked for her opinion on whether to hire Tong Yang as her math tutor. To their surprise, Yan Qing actually agreed!
However, after the trial lesson, no matter how tough Yan Qing acted in front of her parents and Aunt Liu, she turned into a mouse in front of Tong Yang, asking what had happened when the two of them entered the room. Yan Qing just shook her head and refused to say anything.
So, while Yan Qing’s parents and Aunt Liu felt that Tong Yang’s teaching quality was good and could manage Yan Qing, they also worried whether Tong Yang would physically punish Yan Qing or do something to her.
After one class, Tong Yang let her take a half-hour break before continuing.
Aunt Liu brought in two plates of cut fruit and saw the two of them sitting side by side at the desk, sunlight streaming in through the white sheer curtains. Tong Yang was looking down at her phone, while Yan Qing curiously leaned over to look at the screen. When caught, she immediately stuck out her tongue and turned her head away.
Aunt Liu’s gaze softened considerably, “Teacher Tong, Qing Qing, you both must be tired. Have some fruit.”
“Thank you, Auntie!”
“Thank you.”
Aunt Liu smiled as she watched the two of them. Yan Qing’s parents weren’t often home, and most of the time, it was Aunt Liu who took care of Yan Qing. She could feel the changes in Yan Qing since Tong Yang became her tutor. Yan Qing no longer threw tantrums at the drop of a hat, nor did she sneak out with her friends. Her relationship with her parents had improved a lot as well.
This morning’s argument with her parents was because…
“Tong Yang Jie, you clearly do well in other subjects too. Why are you only willing to teach me math?” Yan Qing eagerly offered a piece of apple to her mouth, asking curiously.
Tong Yang glanced at her and bit into the apple, “Your parents only hired me to be your math tutor.”
“I can just ask Mom to fire the other tutors! You can teach me alone, right? I think none of them teach as well as you do, and they always complain to my parents.”
Tong Yang replied, “Do I look like I have a lot of free time?”
“But you really need money!” Yan Qing said confidently.
“You teach well, you teach me, and my dad will pay you. It’s a win-win!”
“I’m not that desperate for money, and I’ll quit after a few more lessons. It’s unnecessary.”
“Quit?” Yan Qing’s eyes widened, her expression innocent and foolish, “What right do you have to quit?”
“What right? I don’t need your permission to quit.”
Yan Qing suddenly got angry, her eyes turning red, “What will I do if you quit? My dad is rich; he can make you keep tutoring me!”
Tong Yang looked at her in confusion, “If I quit, you’ll just go to class.”
“I’m not going to school! I told my dad this morning that I want to drop out and let you teach me alone!”
Tong Yang was surprised, “You told your dad that? He didn’t hit you?”
“He scolded me, but as long as I throw a tantrum for a few days like before, he’ll definitely agree in the end!”
Tong Yang looked at her suspiciously for a while and measured her forehead with the back of her hand, “Is your brain okay?”
“Did I give you too much homework and make you silly?”
Yan Qing: “…”
“Get out! Get out of here!”
Yan Qing suddenly stood up in anger, pushing Tong Yang out and shoving her and Aunt Liu out the door, even throwing her backpack out after her.
“I don’t want you as my tutor anymore!”
Tong Yang held her phone in her right hand and her backpack in her left, exchanging glances with Aunt Liu.
“Is your child this rebellious?”
Aunt Liu sighed helplessly, “Qing Qing is like this… Teacher Tong, you sit down and take a break. She’ll calm down on her own, and I’ll go get you a glass of water.”
Tong Yang sat on the living room sofa, not taking the matter to heart. Children from wealthy families, especially only children, tend to be self-centered, thinking the whole world should revolve around them. She wasn’t interested in arguing with a little brat. After all, she only had four classes a week, and after a few more lessons, she would quit anyway.
“Teacher Tong, have some water.” Aunt Liu handed a cup of water to Tong Yang and sat down beside her.
“Thank you.”
Tong Yang was indeed a bit thirsty and took a sip.
Aunt Liu glanced at Yan Qing’s closed room, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Teacher Tong, don’t take it to heart. She’s not a bad child. Yan Qing’s parents aren’t often around. If she really didn’t study well, how could her grades be so good? She causes trouble to get her parents’ attention, wanting them to care more about her.”
“Is that so?” Tong Yang nodded, not quite understanding the significance of Aunt Liu saying this to her.
She was just an ordinary math tutor; as long as she was paid, she would teach. If not, she wouldn’t. Whether the student was a good child or a bad child didn’t make much difference to her.
“Yan Qing really thinks of you as an older sister, so she gets angry. Just don’t take it to heart. Children her age can be a bit willful. She likes listening to your lessons, so she doesn’t want to go to school.”
“I start school in September and won’t have the energy to continue tutoring her.”
“I know, of course, we can’t let tutoring interfere with your studies… I’m sorry, Teacher Tong. Don’t take it to heart. I’m just getting old and tend to talk too much.”
Tong Yang said, “I won’t take it to heart. You go ahead and do your thing.”
Tong Yang wasn’t unable to understand Aunt Liu’s meaning, but she didn’t have much empathy and didn’t care much about others’ thoughts.
Aunt Liu didn’t continue the conversation, getting up to gently coax Yan Qing out of her room.
Tong Yang looked down at her phone and noticed that Officer Lin had called a minute ago. She had put her phone on silent during class and hadn’t noticed.
She walked to the window and called back.
“Hello, Officer Lin.”
“Tong Yang? Are you free now? The people from Bureau 749 have arrived.”
Tong Yang was taken aback and glanced back at Yan Qing’s room, “Can they wait?”
“I’m afraid not. They’ve been busy lately, and today they just happened to be passing by. They have to go to another city this afternoon.”
Hearing this, Tong Yang fell silent for a few seconds and said, “I understand. I’ll head over now. Ye Huai will come along too.”
“Ye Huai? Why him?”
“I’ll explain later. I’m hanging up now.”
After hanging up, Tong Yang opened her social media app and sent a message to Ye Huai, telling him to go to the Shuangbai District Public Security Bureau first. He replied with a simple “Okay.”
Turning off her phone, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked to Yan Qing’s door, knocking lightly, “Yan Qing, I have something to take care of. I’m leaving now.”
Aunt Liu was surprised, “You’re leaving already? But…”
“Sorry, I have something urgent. I only taught one class today, so the fee can be halved, or I can find a chance to make it up later.”
Aunt Liu sighed, “Well, there’s nothing we can do. If you have something to do, Teacher Tong, you can leave. I’ll relay it to Sir and Madam.”
“Thank you.”
There was still no response from inside the door. It would take Tong Yang an hour to get to Shuangbai District, and she didn’t have time to waste. She knocked again, saying, “I’m leaving. If there are any issues, you can message me.”
“Aunt Liu, I’m leaving now.”
Aunt Liu escorted her to the door and nodded, “Take care, Teacher Tong.”
Tong Yang left Half Moon Manor and rode a shared bike to the nearby subway station, heading straight for the Shuangbai District Public Security Bureau.
By nearly eleven o’clock, she finally arrived at the Shuangbai District Public Security Bureau.
“Tong Yang, you’re here? Go on in.”
The police officer on duty recognized her and let her in directly.
Once inside the police station, Tong Yang saw Officer Wan, whom she had met before.
“Let’s go. They’ve already arrived.”
“They?”
Tong Yang was slightly taken aback, not thinking too much about it. Perhaps he was referring to the people from Bureau 749 and Ye Huai.
They walked through several winding corridors, passing a few interrogation rooms. Through the transparent glass walls, she could see some people handcuffed and sitting inside.
Tong Yang noticed that they all had a strange black tattoo on their arms, resembling snakes entangled in thorny vines.
Officer Wan followed her gaze into the interrogation room and explained, “They are members of the organization that recently spread the imitation of the Hai Lin International School missing person case—called the Snake Vine.”
Tong Yang frowned, “Imitation crime?”
“It’s said that this organization firmly believes in the theory of the multiverse and defines the disappearance of Ye Wen as a mark of the multiverse, imitating crimes in hopes of establishing a connection with the multiverse. The victims are mostly children. It took us nearly a month to catch seven people from the organization.”
Tong Yang fell silent. The reason the country chose to secretly establish the supernatural research institution, Bureau 749, was to prevent similar incidents from happening. Once parallel worlds were confirmed, the problems they would face would not only come from the parallel worlds but also from internal and external threats.
The previous kidnapping of Ye Wen was a signal from Dr. Wu to the upper echelons of society. If things continued like this, who knew what uncontrollable situations would arise.
Seeing her deep in thought, Officer Wan sighed and stopped, saying, “Tong Yang, today, just tell us everything you know. After this, don’t get involved in these matters anymore.”
Tong Yang raised her eyes, not explaining. She didn’t want to be involved in these matters either, but ever since May 28th, the timeline had changed, and she couldn’t avoid it.
“Thank you,” Tong Yang sincerely expressed her gratitude, knowing that Officer Lin and Officer Wan were looking out for her.
“Go on in.” Officer Wan looked at the closed conference room door and sighed.
Tong Yang grasped the doorknob and opened it, stepping inside.
Everyone in the conference room turned to look at her.
Tong Yang’s gaze swept over the crowd. Officer Lin and a middle-aged police officer sat on one side, three researchers in white lab coats sat on another, and a man in a Taoist robe lounged on another side. Next to him was a girl with short pink hair, casually crossing her legs; beside her was a boy in a wheelchair, wearing an oxygen tube, with a new type of breathing machine beside him, his face pale.
Then there was a certain someone standing beside a seat, looking guilty.
“Hi there, long time no see.” The pink-haired Xu Junyue waved at her, blinking her grayish right eye.
Chu Shiyu looked visibly nervous and called out, “Tong Yang…”
Both of them had snuck in using Tong Yang’s name.
Ye Tianlin sat in the wheelchair, his face as pale as paper, nodding, “Long time no see.”
Tong Yang: “…”
The others were one thing, but Ye Tianlin looked like he could faint at any moment.
“Actually, you didn’t have to come here,” Tong Yang said with a complex expression.
Ye Tianlin lowered his eyelids, revealing a hint of a thin smile, “Please don’t mind. My health isn’t too bad. It’s just that the air here isn’t good, and under the doctor’s strong recommendation, I had to appear in this state. I apologize.”
Tong Yang gave him a meaningful glance.
Xu Junyue said, “I guess the doctor was crying and begging you not to go out, but you didn’t listen to the medical advice and insisted on going out, so they had to settle for the next best thing and ask you to wear the breathing machine.”
Ye Tianlin shot her a glance, saying lightly, “That’s not true.”
Tong Yang didn’t take it too seriously; Ye Tianlin should know his own health status.
Officer Lin was sitting in his seat, making frantic eye contact with her, while the middle-aged police officer cleared his throat, glancing at the three researchers in white lab coats.
Tong Yang looked over. Two women and one man; the man in the middle looked particularly unwell.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Tong Yang politely nodded to them, “I’m Tong Yang.”
“Miss Tong, do you know how long we’ve been waiting for you here? Our time is far more precious than you can imagine.” The man crossed his arms and frowned like a fierce warrior.
Tong Yang remained calm, “My time is equally precious. Should I just wait here at the police station for you to pass by whenever you feel like it?”
Feeling the man’s rudeness, Tong Yang naturally wouldn’t be polite either.
The man’s face darkened, “I seriously suspect we’re going to waste four hours for nothing.”
“Then you can leave.”
Tong Yang sat down in an empty seat next to Chu Shiyu, “If you don’t want to listen, I don’t want to say it to you.”
“Pfft…”
The woman next to her wearing glasses chuckled, saying, “Sorry, Tong Yang, he’s just messing with you.”
“Officer Lin has already told us that you’re not like ordinary kids.”
The man huffed, “You’re so arrogant.”
Tong Yang lazily shrugged, “I pushed back a tutoring session just to make it here.”
The woman laughed, “That’s our fault for not scheduling properly. We’ll compensate you for any losses.”
Tong Yang readily agreed, “That’s fine.”
The atmosphere eased, and Officer Lin let out a silent sigh of relief, standing up, “Tong Yang, let me introduce you.”
“This is the director of the police station, Director Zhao.”
“This is Dr. Luo, a researcher from Bureau 749.”
“These two are Dr. Lu and Dr. An.”
Officer Lin then looked at the young man in the gray Taoist robe and said, “This is Daoist Tang.”
“You already know the other three, so I won’t introduce them.”
Tong Yang looked at the man in the Taoist robe in surprise, realizing he didn’t seem to be from Bureau 749.
Seemingly sensing Tong Yang’s inquisitive gaze, the Taoist man looked over and said, “Tang Shuyan, an external member of Bureau 749, just here to join the fun.”
Tong Yang nodded and turned to ask Chu Shiyu, “How did you two end up here?”
Xu Junyue said, “My dad heard some rumors, and I overheard him on the phone, so I snuck out. On the way, I ran into Chu Shiyu, and we came together.”
Chu Shiyu nodded, “Right.”
Tong Yang didn’t pay much attention; after all, they both knew the inside story.
“Let’s get down to business. What do you know about the parallel worlds?” Tong Yang asked.
She didn’t immediately reveal what she knew, wanting to see if Bureau 749 had any information she wasn’t aware of; otherwise, it would be a loss for her.
Dr. Luo pushed up his glasses and said, “We don’t know much about parallel worlds. Initially, we only discovered some supernatural phenomena, but after research, we didn’t find any clues. The person who truly confirmed the existence of parallel worlds was Dr. Wu, but unfortunately, he died mysteriously shortly after. Then came the incident at Hai Lin International School.”
Tong Yang frowned, “So you have no understanding of parallel worlds?”
The three researchers exchanged glances, and Dr. Lu, sitting in the middle, said, “Of course not. Recently, we’ve made significant progress.”
“What is it?”
Dr. Lu said, “We captured two people from a parallel world in the south. When we performed an autopsy on the first one, we found that his body would disappear within two minutes after death. We speculate that he returned to the parallel world. Perhaps those who are pulled into the parallel world also return to the real world after death.”
After saying this, he looked at Tong Yang and the others. For ordinary people, this was already an incredible matter, and he hoped to see different expressions on their faces, especially from the seemingly rebellious Tong Yang.
However, the expressions of the young people showed no change; they looked completely unfazed.
“And then?” Xu Junyue asked.
Dr. Lu pursed his lips, unwilling to give up, and continued, “When we were dissecting the second person, we deliberately kept him alive and found that his brain had slight differences from ours, lacking a very thin nerve, as if it had been completely pulled out, yet it hadn’t affected his bodily movements. Such technology is impossible with our current medical level. Even if we were given another twenty, thirty, or even fifty years, we wouldn’t be able to achieve such precision.”
He looked at the young people again, but their expressions remained unchanged.
The three of them had experienced these events and learned about the existence of gene drugs from He Jingjing. Ye Huai, on the other hand, was just like that; he had never shown any significant emotional fluctuations.
“Is that all?” Xu Junyue said in surprise.
Dr. Lu’s neck turned red, “Of course not! But I can’t tell you everything!”
“Oh.” Xu Junyue nodded, always straightforward, “I thought you knew less than I do.”
Dr. Lu: “…”
Dr. Luo explained, “There are some things we can’t disclose to you for now. I’m sorry.”
“Understood.”
Not having obtained any useful clues, Tong Yang could only sigh inwardly and began to recount what she knew.
“We are not the first parallel world to be discovered.”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
Dr. Luo and the others were momentarily stunned.
Tong Yang continued, “Before the discovery of our parallel world, they were discovered first.”
Dr. Luo and the others exchanged serious glances, their expressions turning grave.
“Continue.”
“Tell us everything you know.”
“The reason the parallel world has become what it is now is that the first parallel world’s people have infiltrated their ranks. By the time they discovered it, it was already too late. The two worlds merged, resources drastically reduced, and everything concentrated in the upper class.”
Dr. An opened his laptop, quickly typing down Tong Yang’s words.
“You’ve captured two people, who are referred to as order maintainers in the parallel world, meaning they are from the lower class of the parallel world. Some of them have had their nerves extracted to become order maintainers who only know to follow orders without consuming resources; others have resorted to self-destruction to kill others and obtain resources.”
“I haven’t interacted with the true upper class, so I don’t know their specific situation, but their technology and medicine should be much more advanced than ours. The nerves extracted from the order maintainers have been made into gene drugs that can alter human genes, for example, allowing a frail woman to conceive twins.”
Dr. Luo’s expression grew solemn, “Please continue.”
“They found a way to traverse between the two worlds, and their goal is to seize our resources. Ye Wen’s disappearance was an act to draw the attention of the upper class in society.”
Dr. Lu asked, “What is their goal?”
“To collaborate with the upper class and eliminate ordinary people from the middle and lower classes, sharing the resources of both worlds with the upper class of the parallel world.”
Tong Yang looked at their serious expressions and said slowly, “This is their relatively mild idea.”
“What do you mean?”
“Is their true goal even more terrifying than this?”
Tong Yang said, “Their leaders have diverged in opinions. A small portion wants to keep useful people to share resources, while the majority wants to kill everyone in the real world and monopolize all resources.”
“They want to invade the real world using the method of the first world invading the parallel world.”
At this, everyone gasped in shock.
“Do you know how they plan to enter the real world?”
Tong Yang shook her head, “Not yet clear, but I know how we can enter and exit the parallel world.”
“What method?”
“Do you still have the elevator game steps I gave you before?”
Dr. Luo frowned, “We’ve used it several times at Hai Lin International School, but it doesn’t allow for spatial traversal.”
Tong Yang said, “We can’t do it on our own.”
“Then how can we do it?”
“With the guidance of a human from the parallel world.”
“What?!”
At this, Ye Huai looked up at Tong Yang.
Tong Yang said, “The conditions for creating a space traversal are in a dark and quiet environment, creating order in chaos or chaos in order. Conversely, if there are only people from the real world, it doesn’t meet this condition. Therefore, at least one person from the parallel world is needed to break the rules and create chaos.”
Dr. An’s fingers kept tapping on the keyboard, afraid of missing any important information.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m one hundred percent sure, but this method only applies to us actively entering and exiting the parallel world. Sometimes we can also be passively pulled in, so the parallel world has other methods of spatial traversal, which I don’t know yet.”
“In that case, as long as we can find a person from the parallel world, we can…”
“But for us, that’s like a pipe dream. If those two hadn’t had their nerves extracted, we wouldn’t have recognized them at all. Moreover, the nerves seem to affect their voices, making it difficult for them to produce the correct tones.”
Tong Yang said, “It’s worth mentioning that we have someone from the parallel world right beside us.”
Officer Lin and the three doctors were simultaneously stunned, incredulously asking, “Who?”
“We have someone from the parallel world here?”
“When?”
Tong Yang said, “Whether he admits it or not, I don’t care. Whether he’s willing to help you or not, I also don’t care. However, there are at least fifty people from the parallel world who were sent here long ago. Their purpose is to infiltrate the real world. If they don’t admit it themselves, it’s hard to discover them, and once they choose to betray, they will be immediately pulled into the parallel world and executed.”
“And he might be the only one who can help you traverse space without any restrictions.”
What Tong Yang said was overwhelming for them. They never expected that a seventeen-year-old child could know so much.
They had indeed underestimated Tong Yang!
“Who? Who? Besides Jingjing, who else is from the parallel world?” Xu Junyue asked curiously.
“Could it be Ye Tianlin? Didn’t he jump off a building and die?”
Tong Yang looked at her with mixed feelings. This guy had gone through those events with them and had heard Ye Huai’s last words. Could she really think that she hadn’t realized Ye Huai was from the parallel world by now?
That day, when she left the parallel world under He Jingjing’s guidance, she had said that only someone from the parallel world could take them away.
“It’s me,” Ye Huai said softly.
Everyone stared at him in shock, exclaiming in unison, “It’s you??”
“Probably, I’m the child of Ye Tianlin from the parallel world. To treat my illness, I exchanged conditions with the Ye Tianlin from the real world.”
“Ah?” Xu Junyue looked confused, “It’s you?”
Chu Shiyu said, “But doesn’t the parallel world have gene drugs? That should easily cure your illness.”
Tong Yang shook her head, “Creating that kind of thing should be very difficult, and it’s only used for a very small number of upper-class people. Otherwise, they should be able to seize our resources without any effort.”
“Then you…” Dr. Luo seemed a bit wary, his gaze becoming more alert.
Ye Huai’s expression was calm, “You can do whatever you want. I can help you, and I won’t resist.”
Dr. Luo was slightly taken aback and couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
Ye Huai raised his pale face and turned to look out the window. His cheeks were thin, his long eyelashes fluttered, and the sound of the breathing machine “whoosh” echoed, like a snowflake hanging from the eaves, about to melt, “It’s meaningless anyway.”
Xu Junyue said, “Hey! If you agree to become an undercover agent for the parallel world, maybe they can use gene drugs to cure your illness!”
Ye Huai frowned slightly, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes, “No need.”
After experiencing the incident at Hai Lin International School, Ye Huai’s health had deteriorated, and it was unclear how long it would take for him to recover to his previous state. He posed no threat to the real world.
Dr. Luo pondered for a moment and nodded, “We understand. Ye Huai, take care of your health. There may be times when we need your help in the future.”
“Okay.” Ye Huai nodded slightly, his expression as calm as if shrouded in mist.
“Tong Yang, how do you know so much about the parallel world?”
Tong Yang paused for a moment and said, “Counting the incident at Xili Mall a few days ago, I’ve entered the parallel world four times, and I’ve interacted with people from the parallel world countless times.”
Dr. Luo’s eyes widened in surprise, “Then why can you appear here unscathed?”
Tong Yang said, “Because of certain restrictions, once they want to act against me after entering the parallel world, they can only do so under a common rule. As long as I make good use of this rule, I can leave safely. However, the rule doesn’t apply to actively entering the parallel world. If we enter on our own, they are likely not bound by the rules, so you all should avoid trying to enter the parallel world lightly. It’s better to find out their method of traversing space as soon as possible.”
Hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.
Dr. Luo looked at Chu Shiyu and the others, “You two are also…”
Chu Shiyu said, “We were pulled in with Tong Yang.”
After that incident, they had all tacitly agreed not to tell anyone about Tong Yang’s ability to enter the time loop.
Perhaps it was because of Tong Yang’s warning, or perhaps because Tong Yang had saved their lives.
Daoist Tang said, “Speaking of which, it seems like almost everything revolves around you.”
He shifted his gaze to Tong Yang.
“Is it a coincidence?”
Tong Yang said, “It’s not a coincidence.”
Ye Huai suddenly said, “Mr. Tang, the reason you feel that these events revolve around Teacher Tong is primarily that all the things that happened to her have been discovered by us.”
“In other words, she is one of the few who can survive after entering the parallel world.”
Daoist Tang put his hands in his sleeves, seemingly convinced, and nodded, “That makes sense.”
Tong Yang was about to say something when she heard Ye Huai’s words and decided not to continue.
Tong Yang said, “I’ve killed many people from the parallel world, and I will likely continue to encounter such situations in the future.”
Tong Yang didn’t mention that she was a time anchor.
Officer Lin’s expression turned serious, “Don’t be afraid. We will definitely ensure your safety.”
“It’s useless. I’m confident I can survive, but when I need to contact you, you must guarantee that you can arrive as quickly as possible.”
The police chief raised an eyebrow and said, “Of course.”
“That’s enough.”
“Now can we talk about the information you truly understand about the parallel world?” Tong Yang looked at Dr. Luo and the others.
Dr. Luo sighed deeply, “Tong Yang, the information you know is extremely valuable to us.”
“So?”
Dr. Lu’s expression was complex as he said, “Our investigation results show that things are even more complicated than you imagine.”
“The black market abroad has already established trade with the parallel world.”
——
After leaving the police station, they entered a nearby parking lot with Ye Huai.
The driver placed the breathing machine in the car, and Ye Huai got up and sat in the back seat, leaning against the window and looking at Tong Yang.
Tong Yang greeted Chu Shiyu and walked to the car, asking, “Do you have something to say to me?”
Ye Huai nodded, “Yeah, I’ve thought about it. Your existence is always special to both the real world and the parallel world. Dr. Wu’s intention to recruit you is very clear.”
Tong Yang said, “So what?”
It seemed that Ye Huai had already guessed a bit.
“You’ve gone through these events multiple times, and it’s impossible to explain them as coincidences. However, I suggest that no matter what secrets you have, don’t easily tell the people from Bureau 749.”
The parking lot let in some wind, causing Ye Huai to cover his mouth and cough. Tong Yang turned sideways to block the wind and asked, “Are you worried that there will be problems within Bureau 749?”
So that was why he interrupted her conversation with Dr. Lu earlier and shifted his gaze.
Ye Huai thanked her and shook his head, “No. If you have something uniquely special about you, there’s a high probability you’ll become a test subject sacrificed for humanity.”
“I think you wouldn’t want to give up your life.”
“Of course, provided that you don’t need their help for now.”
Tong Yang stared at him for a while and said, “So, are you willing to become their test subject?”
“Yeah, because it’s meaningless.”
“See you later.”
Ye Huai nodded at her and then closed the car window.
Watching the car drive away, Tong Yang felt a bit complicated.
Interpreting it with Ye Huai’s words, did he think his life was meaningless?
She thought that after Ye Tianlin’s death, he and Aunt Bai would have found peace.
Why did it feel like he was in a worse state than before?
Hadn’t he already guessed his identity long ago?
