Chapter 103: Dimension 10

Chapter 103: Dimension 10

Is he even human?

He's not human.

He is human.

The teenager's heartfelt doubts rang out with conviction, echoing in the confined space of the elevator car.

Abnormally clear, it reached everyone's ears.

Actually, Yu Bai was momentarily stunned.

While their reactions to the elevator incident were indeed somewhat unorthodox,

the candid and blunt commentary from this unfamiliar teenager was a bit too direct.

And...

Yu Bai subconsciously observed the reactions of those around him.

Xie Wufang's originally calm expression indeed showed a subtle shift.

A faint ripple spread across his heterochromatic eyes, the emotion complex and indescribable, neither intense nor easily encapsulated by an animation effect. His jet-black hair remained empty.

...because he really wasn't human.

Yu Bai felt like laughing again.

On the other side, the already terrified assistant, who had tears welling up in his eyes, shuddered once more at these words, almost wishing the elevator had just plummeted straight to the bottom!

How did he end up with such a troublemaking master!!

Having walked the line between life and death, the assistant, resigned to his fate, erupted in a roar: "Master, lower your voice! AAAAAH!"

The teenager, still clinging to him, was startled by the sudden scream in his ear, abruptly releasing his grip and recoiling. Without thinking, he retorted, "Then why are you so loud! Telling me to be quiet, you scared me to death!"

The assistant, amidst the sparkling tears flying in all directions, mustered the courage to accuse, "You scared me first!!"

"What did I do to you! It wasn't me who caused the elevator to suddenly drop!"

"But you, you you—"

"You you—what's wrong with me? Hey, why are you crying? Still scared?"

Although being frightened to tears might make one seem cowardly, that was the normal human reaction.

Unlike some people...

At this thought, the teenager couldn't help but cast his gaze towards the two individuals in the corner of the elevator, suspicion clouding his features, question marks sprouting above his head.

And the lightbulb of inspiration flickering intermittently amidst his frantic contemplation.

The assistant, watching all this with wide eyes, was enveloped in a despairing gray cloud. He frantically waved his hands, attempting to obscure those highly targeted animated effects.

"Brother! Brother, stop analyzing them, I beg you, brother. They can see us, you know!!"

The assistant shed tears as thick as noodles, his fingers slicing through futile air, a chill wind blowing behind him, his gaze dazed yet fearful, within which sorrow lurked.

Such complex emotions were almost too much for the animated effects to handle.

The teenager, lost in some mystical reverie, paid no heed to his words, casually swatting him away. "What are you moving around for? Don't interrupt my thoughts."

Witnessing this, Yu Bai covered his face, nearly suffocating from laughter.

After he laughed enough, he cleared his throat, barely maintaining a composed tone as he advised, "It's alright, but you'd better not move around randomly. Try to keep your positions unchanged; there's still a possibility the elevator could continue falling."

At his words, the two froze instantly.

They exchanged a slightly terrified glance before instinctively hugging each other tightly once more.

...it wasn't necessary to use the exact same position.

But Yu Bai didn't elaborate further.

Mainly because he feared that if he opened his mouth, his uncontrollable laughter would echo infinitely within the elevator.

And what everyone failed to notice was that on the mirror-like inner walls of the elevator car, reflections of their figures had been present all along. Among them, the reflection of the teenager's face bore an expression entirely different from his own.

There were no additional emotional effects overlaying the reflected face.

But the expression was visibly speechless.

And it let out a soft sigh.

As if disappointed in someone's inability to live up to expectations.

Unaware of this, the teenager was stretching his neck, trying to peer over the assistant's head, curiously observing the two. "You seem quite experienced."

This comment was directed at Yu Bai.

Because he had already deftly dialed the emergency number for elevator rescue, now standing as calmly as Xie Wufang, leaning against the handrail inside the elevator car, waiting for someone to open the doors.

In fact, there was no need to call for help. This was a bustling commercial building; such an obvious elevator malfunction would surely have already been noticed by people outside.

"More or less," Yu Bai replied. "I often encounter similar elevator malfunctions, so I'm not particularly nervous."

It also served as an explanation for their peculiar reactions earlier.

It's better not to scare ordinary humans.

"Really? So you fix elevators?" The boy immediately followed up with another question. "Both of you? You don't look like it... Hey, stop headbutting me already!"

The assistant, who was tightly clinging to the boy, had given up on stopping him from talking nonsense. His expression was calm and weary, occasionally nudging the boy with his head as a form of protest, barely fulfilling his duty.

"No," Yu Bai watched the two furry heads bumping into each other, unable to suppress a chuckle. "I guess I'm just unlucky, so I always end up in situations like this."

Apart from the unexpected first time, all the subsequent elevator incidents were ones he had actively experienced within the loop.

The boy became even more curious. "Every time you encounter it, does the elevator stop mid-air without plummeting to the bottom?"

"..."

That was indeed a good question.

Yu Bai paused for a moment before responding tactfully, "If I had already hit rock bottom before, I wouldn't be here now."

"That's not necessarily true," the boy blurted out. "What if you're a ghost now!"

"..." The assistant, who was buried in Yu Bai's shoulder, shed tears like thick noodles, his spirit of sarcasm awakening even more. "Haha, let me be the ghost then."

"You already are," the boy said without hesitation. "A coward."

The assistant immediately headbutted him.

He retaliated with a powerful headbutt.

Their two skulls collided with a crisp sound.

As if they had clinked glasses with the water in their brains.

Yu Bai didn't mind this question that sounded a bit like innocent childishness.

He just laughed until his face hurt.

"I'm not a ghost," Yu Bai's eyes sparkled with an effect that conveyed sincerity. "I'm human."

The boy quickly chimed in, his tone matter-of-fact. "Me too!"

And he looked at the other stranger in the elevator, his eyes filled with earnest expectation.

"..." The man beside Yu Bai hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but paused, ultimately remaining silent.

He probably thought it would be silly to say such words.

He couldn't bring himself to say them.

The assistant immediately cast a weary, understanding glance at the unknown black-haired man, saying weakly, "Yes, yes, we're all human... Sigh, when will someone come to rescue us?"

Xie Wufang, who hadn't understood the meaning behind the glance, had a question mark floating above his head. He awkwardly shifted his gaze in this lie that he had inadvertently answered.

The experienced Yu Bai said, "It should be soon. I've already heard movement outside."

The bold and fearless boy, who was curious about these two humans, said, "Why are you in such a hurry? We'll get out eventually. Being stuck in a malfunctioning elevator is quite fun, actually."

He asked Yu Bai and Xie Wufang, "By the way, which company on which floor are you going to? Are you job-hopping? Or are you new artists? I've never seen you guys before."

There were several talent agencies in this office building, clustered together.

Due to the sudden malfunction, the elevator floor buttons were currently dark, making it impossible to tell which floors had been pressed previously.

In fact, Yu Bai had a similar question in his mind.

The unfamiliar boy in front of him, who talked a lot, wasn't very old and was quite good-looking, resembling a classic, well-behaved, and beautiful little prince from a fairy tale, despite his personality being completely different from his appearance.

From their conversation, the boy seemed to be an artist currently filming, although Yu Bai usually didn't pay much attention to entertainment news. However, the boy's personality and appearance were highly distinctive, and he dared to run away from filming halfway through, suggesting that he was a somewhat famous celebrity. Yet, Yu Bai had never seen this face before.

Was he a newcomer who didn't know his place?

Also,

Yu Bai remembered the assistant's mention of "Brother Ming" earlier and recalled the person he and Xie Wufang were looking for...

Given his body's dramatic constitution full of adventures, could this Brother Ming be the same Xiao Ming they were seeking?

So, were they heading to the same destination?

Yu Bai pondered for a moment and honestly replied, "We're going to the eighteenth floor to find a talent agent named Xiao Ming."

The two conjoined sculptures, still huddled together, simultaneously experienced a shock to their pupils.

This was the assistant: "Eh? Eh? Eh? You're looking for Brother Ming? He's back at the company?!"

This was the boy: "Huh? Didn't he have something to take care of? Wait, could the thing he's busy with be meeting you?!"

This was the sudden opening of the elevator doors: "Clank, clank, clank—"

What the rescuers saw was a baffling scene that left them scratching their heads.

"Okay, the door is now open. The trapped people can come out. Walk slowly, no need to panic—uh."

On either side of the elevator, the scenes were distinctly different. On one side were the trembling, seated conjoined twins, while on the other were two overly relaxed adult men.

Outside the elevator stood a large crowd, consisting of the rescue team, the building's front desk staff and property management, employees from the building who had heard the news, and the talent agent Xiao Ming, who had just arrived downstairs at the company...

However, there were no reporters or photographers coincidentally following the rescue team on this mission to write news articles.

Thus, after the gray-blue gaze inside the elevator swept over these people, it revealed a genuine tinge of regret.

There should have been a group photo.

But an extra figure appeared—a tall, lanky agent who was supposed to be busy outside.

After meeting Ming's astonished gaze, the fluffy head in the elevator instantly retreated behind the assistant's head.

The guilt-ridden assistant was doing the same.

Another round of head wrestling ensued!

As for the last one left, a completely genuine human being with no regrets or guilt...

After taking in all the scenery around him, he couldn't help but let his lips curve upwards. So, he quickly turned away, silently rubbing his face that was aching from smiling too much.

In this world, there are three things you can't hide.

They are—

the regretful little ghost, the sweat pouring down from sheer guilt, and the smiling golden flower.

...not the coughing, poverty, and love from those heartwarming stories.

Because it's an animated world!