"Could that box of syringes be what modified your body?" Ji Yingying asked in surprise.
"Perhaps."
"Wait nearby and see what changes happen to your body."
"...Don't you already know what changes will occur?"
"No. We need to record it on video."
"Alright, alright... but do I really have to wait here a whole day and night?"
"Exactly."
Autumn Ease rolled his eyes. Very reluctantly, he found a broken sofa someone had discarded. Its springs were shot; it collapsed the moment he sat down. Inside, a nest of mice scurried. With no choice, Autumn Ease stood against the wall.
"Am I witnessing history here?"
"Perhaps," Ji Yingying replied.
The wait dragged on.
Bored out of his mind, Autumn Ease almost pulled out his phone.
But particle transfer had limited capacity—it wouldn’t waste energy on an extra phone.
Besides... could a real-world phone even connect here?
This wasn’t the same world, after all.
Exhausted, he finally sat cross-legged on the ground.
At first, the corpses unsettled him. Gradually, he grew used to them.
Yet every time he saw that face, an eerie feeling clung to his heart.
"I noticed something... no one ever enters this alley."
"Hmm. Logically, people should pass by sometimes. But they all avoid it—as if the entrance doesn’t exist," Ji Yingying agreed.
"Wow, you’re still here?"
"Of course. I stay during combat."
"It’s noon already. Aren’t you tired?"
"In this world, it’s still nighttime."
"Oh, right. Jet lag’s such a pain," Autumn Ease muttered, scratching his head. He stepped out to check.
Outside, pedestrians moved normally. He glanced back—the alley entrance stood clear, yet no one entered.
As if something twisted every passerby’s thoughts.
Autumn Ease turned to return. His own mind resisted fiercely.
Thoughts like *Just detour*, *Why go in?*, *Stick to main roads* flooded him.
His body moved against his will, yet he dreaded entering.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself inside. The mental pressure vanished instantly.
The wait continued.
Waiting always stirred memories.
"I realized—I didn’t transform at midnight today."
"Maybe you can only do that in the true real world?"
"Is that it..." Autumn Ease blamed the world difference, but instinct screamed it wasn’t that simple.
Time crawled to late night.
Autumn Ease dozed off, then woke to a gentle voice.
"Mr. Autumn Ease, please wake up."
"Huh? Ah!" He jolted upright. His body was changing.
Precisely—his corpse in the blood pool shifted form.
It became the dream-girl’s shape, breathing slowly.
Autumn Ease even heard her heartbeat.
Simultaneously, he transformed too—into a girl.
"Huh? Synchronized?" Autumn Ease stared in wonder.
"Perhaps because, in past timelines, you never turned female—you didn’t change at night."
"So it references reality...?" Autumn Ease mumbled, stroking his chin. Then he blinked. "Huh? Water Poem, why are you talking now? What about that willful, unreasonable—"
"Who’s unreasonable?! I was just resting! When was I unreasonable?!" Ji Yingying’s voice crackled through the earpiece, groggy and furious.
"One bad word and you wake up. Better than an alarm clock," Autumn Ease teased.
The girl on the ground rose. Just as she turned to spot him, a large hand grabbed Autumn Ease’s wrist, yanking him behind a corner.
"Who?!" Autumn Ease gripped his dagger. Life-or-death fights did forge quick reflexes.
"Relax." The man—scruffy, in a delivery uniform, helmet on, riding an electric scooter—smiled calmly.
"Who are you?" Autumn Ease stepped back.
Ji Yingying’s voice cut in: "Scanning... bio-signs normal."
Normal meant ordinary.
"I’m Mo Kong." The man offered a hand. When Autumn Ease ignored it, he withdrew it smoothly.
"So who are you?" Autumn Ease pressed, withholding his name.
The longer he looked, the more familiar the face seemed.
Autumn Ease had a bad memory—but he recalled this man. The delivery guy who’d brought food the day after his resurrection.
The realization sharpened the man’s features.
Coincidence? Or fate?
"Just an ordinary person who kept my memories."
"What does that mean?"
"This spacetime loops endlessly. I seek how to fix it—so I find unusual people. Like you." His smile felt like an excuse.
"So you want me to break the loop?"
"Exactly."
"Uh..." Autumn Ease hesitated inwardly. Trusting strangers was unwise.
"Pump him for info," Ji Yingying whispered in his ear.
"Since you found me," Autumn Ease stalled, "you should share intel first."
"Of course." Mo Kong pulled a food box from his scooter’s insulated compartment. "Eat? Let’s talk somewhere seated."
Autumn Ease raised an eyebrow. "Aren’t you afraid of fines for eating customer orders?"
"Don’t worry. The loop resets soon anyway."
"So what’s really happening with this world?"
"World? You’re from another dimension?" Mo Kong caught the slip instantly.
"Idiot, shut up!" Ji Yingying hissed through the earpiece.
Autumn Ease wiped sweat. He couldn’t match this thirty-something’s wit.
"Uh... you go first," he deflected, glancing around.
"Time’s locked in a three-day cycle. On reset, all memories wipe—except mine," Mo Kong said slowly. "And since my memories stuck, I can’t leave this city."
"So the cause is here?"
"Mm."
"How strange..." Autumn Ease stroked his chin.
"You’re no ordinary person. That outfit—combat gear?"
"Uh..." Autumn Ease glanced down. Undeniable. He nodded.
"One more thing: near the fifth day’s end, a pained roar echoes from the city’s south. After several loops, I traced it to a residential building."
"Uh... so we’ll hear it soon?"
"Correct."
"When does the loop end?"
"It’s early morning now. At 24:00 today, it resets."
"And when does it begin?"
"2 PM, three days ago."
"Got it..."
This scruffy stranger had given vital intel. But Autumn Ease couldn’t reciprocate.
Confidentiality bound him.
"I’m sorry. I can’t share much. Only that... I’m here to fix this."
"I know." Mo Kong smiled faintly, mounting his scooter. "Come to the south side with me?"
"Okay... but do you have spare clothes? This outfit’s too eye-catching..."
Though a looping fragment, this world felt real. Staying inconspicuous ensured smooth operations.
Truthfully, Autumn Ease was dead tired. That nap had barely refreshed him.
"Alright. My place first." Mo Kong gestured for him to board.
"Let’s go."
Autumn Ease hopped on smoothly. The scooter sped off.
Wind whipped through his—now her—long hair.
First time riding a delivery rider’s scooter.
"By the way, little girl—your name?"
"Ah... me?" Autumn Ease scratched his head. Best hide his real name. "I’m Ye... Yi."
Ye Yi—a blend of Leaf Grace’s surname and a homophone of his own. Surprisingly decent.
"Ye Yi. A gentle name."
"Is it... haha..." Autumn Ease laughed awkwardly.
