Chapter 151 Infinite 01

Chapter 151 Infinite 01

The phone continued to carry the voice of his friend.

"Xiaobai? Hello? Why did you suddenly stop talking! You didn't have an accident too, did you?! Damn it, please don't scare me!"

As the sweat from his palm, gripping the cold device, became increasingly sticky, Yu Bai's tone remained calm. "I'm fine, Yanjing. How did Old Zheng disappear? You said he vanished suddenly?"

"It's great that you're alright!" Yanjing hurriedly replied, "Yes! I just looked down at the path for a moment, and both he and his umbrella were gone!"

"I swear, it was only for a second. There's no way he could've run that far in an instant, right? There's nowhere on the road where someone could hide, and there's no pit on the ground either!"

Yu Bai asked, "What were you doing before he disappeared?"

"Huh? Nothing much, we were just walking and talking!"

"What about?"

"About coming to your place! I tried to persuade him not to come since you hadn't agreed, but he insisted. I couldn't do anything about it. It happened to rain a little less, so I thought, 'Why not go...'

"So," Yu Bai heard himself ask in an unusually calm voice, "before he disappeared, he was talking about coming to see me?"

"Yes! What's wrong? Is it because of that? Xiaobai, do you know something—"

The voice in his ear gradually faded. Whatever Yanjing said after that, Yu Bai had no heart to listen anymore.

He recalled the conversation he had with Xie Wufang not long ago.

It seemed to be very concerned about his outing today.

It even asked, "What if they come looking for you?"

What if.

It was a god who wasn't good at imagining things.

Throughout, Xie Wufang had never been accustomed to such fictitious speculations that were common among humans.

Why would it ask such a question?

Unless it wasn't a hypothetical.

But a fact.

It knew that the two of them were going to look for him.

Then, Zheng Zhiyu vanished into thin air.

...It was Xie Wufang's doing.

This matter must have something to do with It.

A powerful intuition enveloped Yu Bai's heart.

Whether due to the simple and direct reasoning at this moment or the faint impression lingering deep within his soul, they all pointed to the same answer.

He released the phone pressed against his ear and stared fixedly at the man on the sofa, enunciating each word. "Was it you?"

His question was abrupt and incomplete, but he believed Xie Wufang would understand.

If It could clearly perceive the actions of two ordinary humans several kilometers away, then his conversation with Yanjing wouldn't be a secret to It.

Yu Bai thought it was his fault.

He always subconsciously overlooked the true identity of the person in front of him in what seemed like an ordinary daily life.

He knew that the other party was an inhuman being who didn't understand human affairs, but he forgot how terrifying the other party could originally be.

A god who could turn the sky into a lake in a moment of distraction was fundamentally above humans, an unimaginably powerful existence.

If It wished, destroying this world would merely require a flick of Its finger.

Let alone detecting the movements of a few humans.

Causing a sudden, city-wide severe weather event to prevent him from leaving.

And... making that human It didn't want to see completely vanish.

A strong wave of turmoil surged in Yu Bai's light brown eyes.

Immediately following, Yu Bai seemed to hear a faint sigh.

Like a feather floating through the air.

He saw the tranquility dissipate as Xie Wufang gazed at him and whispered, "Sorry."

It admitted.

Yu Bai instinctively took a step back.

Upon seeing this, the gray-blue lake gently trembled.

"Yu Bai, are you afraid of me?"

The man appeared somewhat at a loss.

Yet, the hue of the lake was so profoundly cold.

Yu Bai took a deep breath and, instead of answering the question, asked as calmly as he could, "Where's Zheng Zhiyu? Is he dead?"

He knew this was the past, and perhaps nothing that happened here would leave any trace in reality.

Perhaps when he woke up, time would reset, and everything that had occurred would be nothing more than a mistaken anomaly.

Perhaps by tomorrow, when time had flowed on, he would return to the correct timeline where he had gotten drunk after a reunion with old friends, and Zheng Zhiyu hadn't met with any mishap.

...But really, had there been no mishap?

He had been drunk, with no memory of what happened after Zheng Zhiyu mentioned his regrets to him.

Xie Wufang, who had been in the next room at the time, did he know everything that had transpired during their gathering?

Had He also sensed that subtle, ambiguous atmosphere and seen through Zheng Zhiyu's intentions?

And what had He done then?

Why had he inexplicably returned to the past?!

Questions swirled in his mind, his heart pounding faster and faster in his chest. Yu Bai could no longer maintain his composure and shouted loudly, "Bring him back!!"

His rapid breathing and agitated voice echoed in the room for a long time.

It was the first time he had spoken to Xie Wufang in such a tone.

Faced with this straightforward and intense demand, the man lowered his eyelashes, concealing the emotions in his eyes. He didn't immediately agree but asked softly, "Why?"

"You said you didn't want to see him again, that you never would."

Indeed, he had said so.

Just minutes ago.

Yu Bai struggled to suppress the panic in his voice. "So you can just make a living human being disappear forever? That's completely different!"

Before the universe was filled with countless love bubbles, he had already seen through the true nature that the other party had been trying to hide all along.

...Or rather, he thought he had seen through it.

Cold, powerful, indifferent, disregarding emotional laws.

Only restraining that terrifying desire to kill in front of him.

Because He didn't want him to be afraid.

So Yu Bai thought he could accept it.

That's why he even naively, moved by his own sentimentality, told the other party, "You don't have to hide your true self anymore."

Not until this moment, witnessing the disappearance of someone close to him, did Yu Bai realize how foolish he had been.

Humans were creatures that always indulged in false fantasies, often believing themselves strong or tolerant enough, only to freeze in fear when what they had hoped for truly arrived.

Yu Bai was no exception.

He regretted it.

Regretted saying those words to Xie Wufang.

It was because of him that Zheng Zhiyu had vanished from this world.

Another person had died because of him.

A strong sense of remorse roared within him like a tidal wave, and in this instant, it seemed as if even the surrounding world was shaking.

A faint shimmer quickly welled up in his pale eyes. Yu Bai stared unblinkingly at the man who had suddenly fallen silent, stubbornly repeating, "Xie Wufang, bring him back!"

"Back to this world, don't let him die!!"

His mind was blank, barely aware of what he was saying, not even sure who he wanted to call back.

The trembling voice grated in the air but received no response.

Because the world before Yu Bai's eyes was truly shaking.

Everything descended into chaotic darkness.

The darkness he had experienced countless times.

Amidst the overwhelming dizziness, Yu Bai briefly lost consciousness, and everything became hazy and indistinct.

Until a very familiar male voice gradually emerged from the chaos, like a sudden burst of light.

"Xiaobai?"

And it grew clearer and clearer.

"Xiaobai!"

As if right by his ear.

"It's your phone!"

It was Uncle Li's voice.

What phone...

Why would he suddenly hear Uncle Li's voice?!

Far from that, an even richer and more complex symphony of sounds flooded his senses.

The shrill honking of vehicles, the omnipresent hum of daily life, the incessant ringing of mobile phones...

On a sun-dappled summer street, in front of a breakfast shop wafting with the scent of steamed buns, a young man with chestnut hair jolted, opening his eyes in a daze.

What met his gaze were three familiar faces.

Qiao Jinli, holding her phone and talking to her sister.

Li Nanxiao, looking at him with concern.

And...

Xie Wufang, also watching him.

"Xiaobai! Are you alright?" Li Nanxiao's voice was laced with worry. "What's wrong with your eyes? Are they uncomfortable?"

He had overheard Yu Bai's awkward conversation with Xie Wufang, noticing how the former blushed in embarrassment.

So, Li Nanxiao tactfully averted his gaze, deciding to respect the younger generation's privacy.

But why did Yu Bai, who was merely lost in thought, suddenly have tears welling up in his eyes?

As if he was about to cry.

Li Nanxiao's heart tightened, his gaze scrutinizing the non-human who had just spoken to Yu Bai. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden shout interrupted him.

The young man, still with traces of tears in his eyes, looked horrified and incredulous as he yelled at the man beside him: "Xie Wufang!! What have you done?!"

At the sound of this voice, passersby all turned to look with surprised expressions.

Li Nanxiao and Qiao Jinli, standing close by, were shaken by the sonic impact.

Even Qiao Jinmei, who was on the phone with her sister, was startled.

Excitement immediately filled her voice as she exclaimed through the receiver: "What happened? What's going on, Jinli!"

Jinli on this end of the call heard it, as did Captain Li.

Yu Bai heard it too.

After regaining his senses, he quickly realized where he was.

He had somehow returned to a time even further back than when he was woken up by Zheng Zhiyu's phone call on the sofa.

- It was the moment they had just returned from the alternate dimension, the four of them standing in front of the breakfast shop, each receiving different phone calls.

Li Nanxiao received a call from his colleague Lin Xiaoyun, and Qiao Jinli from her sister Qiao Jinmei.

And Yu Bai received a call from his long-uncontacted roommate, Zheng Zhiyu.

The phone in his pocket was still ringing continuously.

The man with black hair and blue eyes, after being yelled at, wore an unguarded expression of bewilderment on his face.

Clearly, Xie Wufang didn't know what he had done either.

He had simply been quietly looking at the soft crown of hair that no longer had a boiling kettle on top.

The man, caught off guard by the outburst, fell silent for a moment before asking uncertainly, "...What happened?"

The confusion and concern in his gray-blue eyes were so genuine.

It made the young man with red-rimmed eyes draw a sharp breath.

Good question.

He wanted to know what had happened more than anyone!

With his mind in a muddle, Yu Bai raised his hand to hastily wipe away the dampness at the corners of his eyes.

Xie Wufang, not getting an answer, asked again, "Are you crying?"

This time, Yu Bai responded.

"I am not!!"

His instantaneous denial still carried a hint of a sob.

"...", Xie Wufang hesitated for a moment before softly saying, "Mm."

Li Nanxiao and Qiao Jinli exchanged glances, unsure of how to react or whether they should intervene.

After all, it was clear that Xiaobai was directing his ire at the non-human.

On the sunny street, pedestrians slowed down, lowering their voices in conversation, all craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

The golden air reverberated with the cheerful ringtone of the mobile phone.

After a long while, Xie Wufang tentatively spoke up, "Do you want to answer the...?"

Before he could finish, his words were cut off by another voice without hesitation.

"Shut up!"

Under the curious gazes of the people around, the young man who had just wiped away his tears abruptly pulled out the incessantly ringing phone from his pocket.

He hung up the call, blocked the number, and turned off the phone in one swift motion.

Then, he lifted his face and glared furiously at the man before him.

"I won't take it!!!"