Chapter 120: Dimension 27

Chapter 120: Dimension 27

Under the increasingly bright summer sun, this morning's neighborhood was particularly lively.

After making a confident vow, the young man, his face brimming with excitement, no longer spared a glance for the wondrous human who remained stationary for now. Like an arrow released from a bow, he shot off, the flamboyant tails of his shirt flapping in the wind, leaving behind almost a trail of afterimages.

The bystanders, confused and alarmed, stopped in their tracks, staring dumbfounded at the blur that was his back.

"…Why did that guy suddenly start running? And so fast!"

"Holy smokes! He's really fast. I've never run fifty meters this quickly during exams. Is this guy a professional athlete?!"

"I saw a few others in similar clothes run past earlier. Could there be a race going on?"

"But I haven't heard of any such events happening in our city recently… Wait, how is he getting faster as he runs? This should already be his burst speed—"

Speculations buzzed through the crowd on the street.

Qiao Jinli, drenched in sweat, had been walking briskly against the flow of people toward North Second Street when she suddenly halted at the sound of someone else's words.

"—This guy is amazing, he's not even human!!"

…!!

Her expression froze, then, as if a blind spot in her mind had been illuminated, her eyes instantly lit up.

Wait!

Qiao Jinli immediately turned around, her thoughts racing.

That unfamiliar young man's X-shaped scar on his face was comically handsome, his gaze unusually clear and innocent, and his thought process was unexpectedly unique…

Qiao Jinli drew a sharp breath, a conjecture forming in her mind.

The alien prince had actually walked out of animation into the third dimension!

And she had actually found him single-handedly!!

A rare, pure excitement shone on the usually gloomy woman's face. She immediately turned around, disregarding everything else in her haste, ready to chase after him.

At that moment, however, her peripheral vision caught a somewhat familiar figure standing out in the crowd that parted spontaneously on the opposite side of the street.

Upon receiving Yu Bai's call, Li Nanxiao headed straight for North Second Street. After getting out of the car, he strode into the street to pursue the mascot monster.

He wasn't wearing his police uniform today, but dressed casually. However, due to his serious demeanor and the oppressive aura he'd cultivated over the years, passersby subconsciously made way for him as they caught sight of him.

Thus, amidst the sea of people who had naturally parted, the detective captain, whose eyes were already scanning everywhere, spotted a familiar figure.

Was Qiao Jinmei also chasing in this direction?

It seemed like she was turning with purpose. Could it be that she had new information about the mascot monster?

Li Nanxiao immediately called out to the woman across the street, "Ms. Qiao! Which way did he go?"

The woman addressed by him stiffened inexplicably, her eyes revealing a hint of panic and uncertainty about what to do next.

Li Nanxiao was taken aback.

No, Qiao Jinmei's expression and demeanor weren't like this.

This wasn't Qiao Jinmei!

She was more like the proprietress who had been somewhat at a loss in Yu Bai's proactive greeting before arriving in this timeline.

Surprised, Li Nanxiao was about to speak when, through the bustling crowd passing between them, he saw the woman suddenly start running again.

Her momentum to turn around came to an abrupt halt. Instead of turning back, she continued running toward the exit of North Second Street.

"…" Li Nanxiao was caught off guard, not expecting this reaction. "Where are you going!"

In response to his spontaneous question, the woman ran even faster, as if being chased by a monster.

Detective Captain Li, accustomed to chasing criminals, nearly acted on instinct and turned to give chase.

Fortunately, in that split second, he remembered his main task for the day.

He needed to find the mascot-wearing individual suspected to be the alien prince.

Although he didn't understand why Qiao Jinli, who had said she was going out of town on business earlier, would suddenly appear here, this wasn't his immediate concern.

Li Nanxiao quickly retracted his gaze, collected his thoughts, and resumed his search.

He was almost done with North Second Street. Ahead was a three-way intersection, yet he hadn't spotted any suspicious individuals or Lin Xiaoyun, who was supposed to be waiting here to intercept.

Without hesitating too long, he immediately called Yu Bai.

The moment the call connected, a loud exclamation rang through the receiver.

"Holy shit!!!"

Li Nanxiao, whose mind and eardrums were once again assaulted, was left speechless.

Ah.

He wasn't very surprised.

Instead, he felt a strange sensation of "why has the person speaking changed."

…

On the other end of the line, Yu Bai, who was about to speak, glanced sideways and glared at Yan Jing, who was beside him and cursing in shock. "Keep your voice down; it's Uncle Li's call!"

"Ah? Oh! Sorry, sorry!"

Yan Jing stood rooted on the sidewalk, reflexively admitting his mistake, but his eyes remained glued to the rapidly moving figure in front of him, a whirlwind of floral patterns.

"This endurance is incredible, how does he train like that, damn it, damn it! I think he has a buzz cut and is wearing a floral shirt? Xiao Bai, which bodyguard is this? He's so cool, so impressive!"

The figure that had sparked countless astonished gazes continued running without pause, soon disappearing from their sight.

It was as if he was running with a fiery passion that seemed destined to reach the very end of the world!

Yan Jing stared with wide eyes, mesmerized and almost captivated by that highly infectious chuuni spirit, wanting to join in this relentless run.

Fortunately, Yu Bai had the foresight to hold him back.

Actually, it wasn't entirely foresight.

After the battle of clichés ended, Yu Bai and Yan Jing had been seriously searching for the pink-and-white mascot or any suspicious individuals along North Road 1.

When he was walking quickly with his attention focused, the pain in his ankle wasn't too noticeable, but now that he had stopped to answer the phone, the pain suddenly intensified.

He seemed to have twisted his ankle.

Right when Yan Jing, with a face full of aggrieved abandonment, said to him, "Looks like you thought of it too, it's okay, as long as you know in your heart..."

...

Clichés were truly harmful!

Yu Bai endured the pain without showing it, silently gripping Yan Jing's arm for support. The pain lessened somewhat, and for a moment, he didn't pay attention to the whirlwind of floral patterns that passed by, instead exchanging the current situation with Li Nanxiao on the phone.

"Yes, we're still on North Street 1. I'm afraid he might take off his headgear halfway through, so I've been paying close attention to everyone passing by, but so far, I haven't found anyone who could be the prince... Wait, I see Sister Xiaoyun and them coming over."

Three familiar figures appeared near the three-way intersection.

They were Lin Xiaoyun, who still had plenty of stamina and walked briskly, and the two bodyguards in floral shirts, who were slightly exhausted from running for too long.

The bodyguards recognized the policewoman who caught up from behind and hurriedly asked, "That kid ran this way?!"

The policewoman also knew there were bodyguards around Yu Bai and replied, "Yes!"

"Then let's chase after him! Don't let him get away!!"

"He can't escape; Xiao Bai and the others are already coming from the other end of this street! We'll surround him from both sides!"

The air was filled with an enthusiastic atmosphere of cooperation between police and civilians.

Even the onlookers nearby were eager to join in.

"What bread?"

"Is there bread at the other end of this street?"

Until the gazes from several directions suddenly met in mid-air, the three excited people felt their hearts sink: "Xiao Bai? Why are there only the two of you! You didn't catch him?!"

Yu Bai looked bewildered. "...Huh?"

The two slices of bread had converged, but they hadn't surrounded any suspicious person.

"Darn it! We lost him!!"

A short while later, the majority of the participants in this running competition finally gathered near the three-way intersection.

They consisted of: one concerned citizen, two young men, two criminal investigation police officers, and four bodyguards.

As for the remaining intern bodyguard...

He was probably still on the road, running towards the distance.

Under the dazzling heat of the sun, Yu Bai and Yan Jing exchanged a glance, and Yu Bai spoke first. "There's no sign of him in the direction of North Street 1."

Li Nanxiao followed suit. "There's no sign in the direction of North Street 2."

Qiao Jinmei, still catching her breath, immediately maintained formation. "There's no sign in the direction of South Street!"

With all three directions accounted for, Aqiang and the others could only nod in unison, saying in chorus, "None of us found anything!!"

In these powerful words, the earth seemed to tremble slightly, and everyone fell into silence.

Lin Xiaoyun was incredulous. "There are no other exits here, and we attacked from three directions. How could this person have slipped away? Could he be hiding in one of the stores along the way?"

Although she still didn't know why Team Leader Li and the others wanted to find this person, nor did she know what he looked like, she still felt a genuine frustration at coming up empty-handed.

Moreover, that guy clearly ran towards North Street 1, but she indeed hadn't seen any suspicious individuals on her way over, and she trusted that Xiao Bai wouldn't have missed anything.

...!!

Lin Xiaoyun suddenly realized something was amiss and abruptly looked up at Qiao Jinmei beside her. "Why did you say there's no sign in the direction of South Street?"

Qiao Jinmei looked confused. "Because there isn't!"

She had stopped to rest halfway down South Street when she saw the floral-shirted bodyguards coming over. After regaining some of her strength, she continued chasing forward and just happened to meet Team Leader Li near the intersection before she could even say a word, then she saw Xiao Bai and the others.

"But you told me at the intersection earlier that he ran towards North Street 1, so I chased him here."

At that time, the "Qiao Jinmei" she encountered indeed came from the direction of South Street. Strictly speaking, that statement wasn't wrong; the target was indeed not in South Street anymore.

But Lin Xiaoyun still felt something was strange.

Moreover, the proprietress before his eyes seemed to have a different aura compared to earlier...

No, more accurately, it was the proprietress from earlier that had been slightly off.

Because the proprietress he met for the first time yesterday had this same straightforward and bold personality.

Qiao Jinmei reacted reflexively. "When did I tell you—"

But halfway through her sentence, she suddenly froze, her expression abruptly changing as an epiphany washed over her.

Li Nanxiao, who had been lost in thought due to their conversation, watched as the proprietress put on a stunning display of changing expressions.

"—huh?! Let me think." She forced herself to continue her sentence, then her expression darkened, revealing a hint of panic. "Yes, yes, I chased you to the intersection and pointed you in the right direction."

"After you left, I became uncertain again, worried that I might have made a mistake. I thought about going back to South Street to look for you since you were heading north."

"But then, I forgot all about it in the blink of an eye."

Qiao Jinmei looked gloomy, her tone a mix of three parts numbness, three parts apology, and three parts disbelief tinged with sorrow. "How could I become like this at my age? I'm truly sorry! I'm so sorry!"

The only one who knew for sure that Qiao Jinli had appeared nearby, Li Nanxiao: "..."

Yu Bai, who didn't know about Qiao Jinli's appearance but sensed something was amiss: "..."

Yan Jing, who knew nothing and hadn't noticed anything: "..."

His eyes widened, and he couldn't help but lean close to Yu Bai's ear, whispering softly, "Is this a symptom of dementia? She looks so young, just in her thirties. Oh my god, how terrifying. Will I be like this in a few years too!"

"..." Yu Bai took a deep breath and whispered back, "You probably will."

After all, he was already showing signs of senility now.

Lin Xiaoyun, completely captivated by her incredible acting skills, suddenly felt guilty and hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I was just asking casually. You were so exhausted from chasing after us earlier. It's normal for your mind to get a little confused when you're brain-deprived of oxygen. Don't overthink it!"

Seeing this, Qiao Jinmei secretly sighed in relief, maintaining her dejected expression as she cautiously asked, "Should we continue looking for that person? She's already discarded the mascot costume, making her even harder to find. Actually, I don't think she's... cough, I don't think she's the person we're looking for."

She was likely the only native resident of this timeline who knew about the alien prince, so she prudently held back her words at the last moment, not daring to blurt it out rashly.

But how could she reasonably eliminate the suspicion surrounding the mascot person?

Qiao Jinmei furrowed her brows, deep in thought, when she heard another voice speak up.

Li Nanxiao said, "I also think it's unlikely to be her."

Qiao Jinmei was taken aback.

Lin Xiaoyun asked, "Captain Li, why?"

Li Nanxiao spoke calmly, his voice carrying a natural persuasiveness that inspired trust. "I can't quite explain it; it's just a hunch. My instincts rarely steer me wrong."

Qiao Jinmei, who had been staring at him in a daze, quickly joined in. "I have the same feeling. I'm sorry for giving you a useless lead and causing you all this trouble..."

Lin Xiaoyun naturally believed in her captain's instincts and, hearing this, had no further doubts. She volunteered, "What's the point of calling it wasted effort? When we work on cases, we often take many detours! Failure is the mother of success, after all!"

Li Nanxiao nodded and subtly shifted the topic of the mascot person away. "I'll have someone keep an eye out for any other strange occurrences."

Lin Xiaoyun remained enthusiastic. "Strange occurrences? Who exactly are you guys looking for?"

The bodyguards chimed in at the right moment. "We can help you find whoever it is!"

The atmosphere of disappointment quickly dissipated.

By the time Yu Bai, who had been lost in thought, came back to his senses, the surroundings were filled with lively and enthusiastic voices.

And they were particularly lively and enthusiastic.

He had a vague suspicion and didn't oppose Li Nanxiao's decision, agreeing, "So now—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a brief grunt and a stranger's apologetic voice drowned out his words. "Sorry about that!"

Someone rushed past them, colliding hard into Yu Bai's shoulder, causing his entire body to jolt. His hand, which had been holding Yan Jing's, subconsciously released its grip, and his full weight unexpectedly fell back onto himself.

...!!

Yu Bai's eyes instantly widened as he drew in a sharp breath of pain.

Li Nanxiao noticed his odd expression. "Are you alright, Xiao Bai? Did you hit something?"

"It's n-nothing," Yu Bai quickly composed himself, looking in the direction the person had run off. "I was just startled."

He had initially just glanced away as a pretense, but suddenly, genuine confusion arose within him.

"Why are so many people running towards the exit of this street?"

It wasn't just the person who had bumped into him; there were many strangers, some looking bewildered, others excited, all actively rushing forward.

A strangely festive atmosphere permeated the entire street.

Li Nanxiao also wore a puzzled expression, his tone becoming more serious. "Could something have happened over there?"

One of the men in floral shirts had already discreetly inquired and reported back. "Young Master Yu, they say someone is handing out free bread at the end of the street. If they don't go now, it'll all be gone!"

"Really?" Yan Jing's eyes lit up. "Since you're not chasing anymore for now, I'll join the queue to get some!"

Before Yu Bai could stop him, he watched helplessly as his walking stick ran off in large strides, bounding into the crowd with vigor.

His belated attempt to dissuade him was left behind.

"We just came from that direction. Who was giving out free bread?"

His cane!

Yu Bai, rooted to the spot, felt a mix of emotions surge through him. Recalling Li Nanxiao's words from earlier, he suddenly found himself riddled with doubt about their previously agreed-upon plan of action.

Could they truly find the prince by gathering clues on oddities and peculiar occurrences?

Humans were clearly far stranger than any alien!!

Note: The translation aims to convey the essence of the original text while maintaining a natural flow in English. The exclamations at the end emphasize Yu Bai's realization and the intensity of his thoughts.