Die, Replay, Repeat -
Chapter 44: Maybe We Don't Exist
Yang Ming was really annoyed by the looks everyone gave him. "Is it all my fault? It's because of Bai Qi... Okay, never mind. He's not with us anymore, let's drop it." He let out another sigh, his face showing sadness again.
"Okay, that's enough of the secret," Fang Xiu abruptly said. "You usually keep your phone on, don't you?"
Yang Ming nodded. "Yeah, if you manage to call me in the past, I'll definitely pick up. I get lost easily, and I was driving near Qingbei town's mountain area when Bai Qi had his accident. I had my phone connected to the car's GPS at that time, so I'll definitely get your call."
Fang Xiu nodded and said, "Then, wait for the call."
With that, he went silent.
Following his lead, the room fell silent as well. Everyone just looked at him, time seemed to slow down. One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Suddenly, Fang Xiu said, "Why are you all looking at me? Let's get back to the meeting."
They were all caught off guard.
Unable to hold it in anymore, Yang Ming said, "I thought you were traveling back in time. We're all waiting for you to make your move."
Fang Xiu stared at him, almost like he thought Yang Ming was dumb. "When did I say I was going now? And you didn't actually believe I would vanish instantly like in films, did you?"
Everyone stayed quiet. They were really thinking that might happen.
"So when are you planning to do it?"
"No hurry, after the eight o'clock drawing tonight."
Yang Ming was surprised. "Drawing? What drawing?" he asked.
"That's enough, no more questions. Yang Ming, take this confused guy to the holding room now. I'll come soon. His mind seems to be all over the place, I'm worried his Spiritual Energy is getting unstable," Wang Dehai suddenly instructed.
At first, Yang Ming didn't want to, but he noticed Wang Dehai giving him a signal. So, Yang Ming told Fang Xiu reluctantly, "Follow me."
Fang Xiu agreed, walking with Yang Ming to the holding room without causing any trouble. He realized causing a scene at the Investigation Bureau now would be like asking for trouble.
Also, he understood what Wang Dehai must be thinking. Whether his story was real or made up, it shouldn't become public knowledge.
If it was real, the power to reverse time and alter the future was too shocking. If the word got out, it might create a huge fuss.
If false, it would turn into the biggest joke of the year at the bureau, also not something to be spread widely.
Thinking this over, Wang Dehai had Yang Ming escort him away.
Reaching the holding room, Fang Xiu bombarded Yang Ming with numerous questions about Shadow, plus details on Bai Qi.
It turned out that Bai Qi's skill was incredible speed, reaching velocities that were beyond what others in his tier could achieve. This gave him a big edge whether he was on the attack or making a getaway.
Once, he managed to kill a second-tier psychic in just a few seconds. He even got away from a powerful Specter during a tense chase. This allowed him and Yang Ming to work solo since Bai Qi could just sprint away if he couldn't win.
Yang Ming, blessed with luck, was less likely to suffer a tragic end. But this time, Bai Qi was caught off guard by the intel he had, failing to spot the lurking Shadow.
Normally, it was tough for regular Specters to catch Bai Qi due to his quick reflexes and speed. But Shadow was a different case. He stayed in Bai Qi's shadow, and no matter how speedy Bai Qi was, he couldn't shake his own shadow.
During an intense fight with the Human Head Specter, Shadow tracked him closely, striking a lethal blow when he least expected it.
They talked for a bit, but Fang Xiu didn't get much helpful info. Yang Ming might seem rugged and reckless, but he chose his words with caution. He didn't spill any secrets, especially since he wasn't sure of Fang Xiu's ability to alter the future yet.
Around an hour later, Wang Dehai and Shen Lingxue walked into the holding room.
"Fang Xiu, what's your real goal? What are you planning to do with Yang Ming?" Wang Dehai asked straight away as he entered.
"In three hours, after the drawing, all will be revealed," Fang Xiu replied calmly.
"The drawing? I thought you said your skill was predicting the future. Now it's about altering it?"
"What's the difference? After seeing what the future holds, making changes is basically altering the future, right? Like, if I foresee getting hit by a car today, I won't die if I stay home."
Hearing the resolute Fang Xiu, Shen Lingxue chimed in, "But Bai Qi is already gone, this is now an unalterable past. How can you modify past events while here in the present?"
"Huh?" Fang Xiu glanced at her. He argued, "How do you know this is the present? Is it possible that none of us, not even Yang Ming or myself, are real, and everything happening now is just a future vision of my past self?"
At this, Shen Lingxue and the others were taken aback, overwhelmed by a sense of absurdity.
"We're not real?"
Yang Ming said incredulously, "Do you even hear yourself?"
Fang Xiu shut his eyes to rest, not saying anything more. A strange tension hung in the air among the trio. Though Fang Xiu's statement seemed ludicrous, they couldn't shake a faint unease that crept in upon pondering his words: "Do we truly exist?"
After that, everyone lingered in the holding room a bit longer before exiting, leaving only Fang Xiu by himself. They were all members of the Investigation Bureau and had urgent tasks to handle; they couldn't realistically stick around for three hours.
Time slipped by quickly, and in what seemed like a heartbeat, three hours had passed.
BANG!
The detention room door was suddenly flung open. Wang Dehai, Shen Lingxue, and Yang Ming walked in, their faces stern and their eyes fixed on Fang Xiu, who sat calmly with his eyes closed.
All of a sudden, Fang Xiu opened his eyes, meeting the glares of the three with an air of serenity.
SLAM!
Shen Lingxue slammed a sheet of paper with the lottery numbers Fang Xiu had previously provided onto the table, her expression frosty.
She said firmly, "Fang Xiu, the lottery numbers you gave didn't hit at all. They didn't just lose, not a single number matched! Look, here are the actual winning numbers from this round that I just wrote down!"
"Fang Xiu, tell us the truth. Who are you really and who sent you here?" Wang Dehai demanded sternly.
Yang Ming stayed quiet, but his eyes bore a glint of lethal intention as he regarded Fang Xiu.
But Fang Xiu only offered a faint smile and said, "My predictions are never wrong. Did you really think you could trick me with a set of fake numbers now?"
Shen Lingxue became so livid that she found herself short of breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She swiftly pulled out her phone, displayed the lottery results, and shoved it in front of Fang Xiu.
"Look at this! I want to see how much longer you can maintain this charade!"
Fang Xiu glanced at it casually, his grin becoming even more scornful. "So you guys tampered with the lottery results and now you're here to grill me?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the trio grew even colder."
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