Chapter 102: Time Forest

Chapter 102: The Dense Forest of Time

"Not married."

Shen Ji finally said, "It's just decorative."

Li Wuyan tilted his head, "Even if it's not for marriage, wearing it on the ring finger is almost the same. But this ring..." He studied it for a moment while stroking his chin before adding, "Isn't the design a bit too simple?"

Shen Ji: ...

I need to record this line too!

Seeing Shen Ji's expressionless face, Li Wuyan seemed to realize he had said too much. After all, they were strangers meeting for the first time, and this was his engagement ring. Commenting on the ring felt like commenting on the person's partner, which was rather impolite.

...Even though the ring really was a bit too plain and didn't suit his taste.

He looked up at Li Zhiyan, reached out his hand, and tried to introduce himself politely and shake hands.

"Li Wuyan," he said, "My name."

Shen Ji didn't shake his hand, only calmly replied, "Shen Ji."

So Li Wuyan silently pulled his hand back.

"So, Shen Ji, you don't look like an ordinary person. What are you doing here?"

"Dealing with the Prophecy Book." Shen Ji didn't hide it and simply stated his purpose. "Its existence affects how many events unfold. I'm here to destroy it."

Hearing this, Li Wuyan tilted his head curiously, "Oh? But I haven't seen your name in the Prophecy Book."

Shen Ji was puzzled, "Do I need to have my name appear in the Prophecy Book to come and destroy it?"

"I just can't think of a reason." Li Wuyan propped his chin with one hand, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "For most people, the Prophecy Book is a pollutant that does more good than harm, right?"

Shen Ji and Li Wuyan looked at each other.

He noticed the subtlety in Li Wuyan's gaze, an expression that the Li Zhiyan he knew would never show.

‘What does he mean?’

"I'm investigating."

"The Prophecy Book incident started after the Red Mist incident. The officials received several reports about the Prophecy Book. After weighing the options, they decided to temporarily leave it alone."

"Because pollution incidents are breaking out everywhere, but the Prophecy Book can predict pollution outbreaks in various regions, which is beneficial for official rescue efforts..."

The higher-ups don't agree to destroy the Prophecy Book.

Then why is Li Wuyan here?

Thinking this, Shen Ji asked, "What about you? You're here for the Prophecy Book, right?"

"I remember your name appeared on it."

"Exactly because my name appeared on it that I came here." Li Wuyan sighed heavily. "Have you read the Prophecy Book? If you have, you should know that my outcome in it is utterly terrible."

"Why should I sign to donate my body? Even if I die, I should be buried in a valley full of flowers!"

Li Wuyan fumed, "What a terrible ending! I want to file a complaint!"

Shen Ji fell silent for a few seconds, "...But it's a pollutant. It doesn't accept complaint letters."

"So I came here to complain in person!"

"If it doesn't change the ending, I'll beat it up!"

Shen Ji: ...

Li Wuyan is still Li Wuyan, always this abstract and unreasonable.

After a few seconds of silence, Shen Ji finally spoke, "Oh, then I wish you success?"

"I can't take it anymore!" the system let out a wail. "I always thought that in the previous timeline, Li Zhiyan forced the Prophecy Book to reverse time because of righteousness! Because of kindness! Because of the future!"

"But it turns out he was just dissatisfied with the prophecy and came to complain so the Prophecy Book would change the ending!"

"When the ending couldn't be changed, he beat the Prophecy Book so badly it had to reverse time. No wonder the Prophecy Book would rather open a third fake timeline than let Li Zhiyan become a mutant again!"

Shen Ji looked at Li Wuyan with admiration, then sat down beside him.

"Regardless of the reason, our goals are the same."

Shen Ji asked him, "How long have you been here? Found anything?"

"Are you asking about the time I've personally experienced? Or the actual time that has passed here?"

"Is there a difference?"

"The difference is, I feel like I've been here for three days, but in reality, only thirty minutes have passed." Li Wuyan showed Shen Ji the wound on his wrist. "Three days is enough for the wounds to heal."

"In these three days as I experienced them, I haven't slept and don't feel tired, but I'm getting mentally exhausted."

Li Wuyan's voice also sounded a bit weak, "I think this is a trap set by the Prophecy Book."

"It must have created this place just to exhaust me to death."

Shen Ji felt somewhat helpless. He knew Li Wuyan was talking nonsense again. He occasionally did this, spouting all sorts of illogical nonsense while giving off the impression that he was dead serious.

This left others both speechless and convinced, yet confused with a sense of "What are you even saying?"

But more than that...

Shen Ji reached out and grabbed his arm.

Li Wuyan instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but Shen Ji, though looking frail, was surprisingly strong. He couldn't break free. While he was still surprised, Shen Ji had already taken a band-aid from his pocket and casually applied the large band-aid to his wrist. It carried a faint bitter medicinal smell and stung slightly when it touched the wound.

After putting it on, Shen Ji let go. Li Wuyan looked at the band-aid on his wrist and fell silent for a moment.

It was unclear what he was thinking.

Although they were the same person, Shen Ji felt there were subtle differences between Li Zhiyan and this Li Wuyan. While still abstract, there was an unknown quietness about him.

"He hasn't been doing well."

The system suddenly spoke.

Shen Ji was surprised, ‘Isn't he the protagonist of the Prophecy Book? An S-Class Mutant from the early days of the Red Mist incident.’

'Why is he not doing well?'

"Because his Talent is uncontrollable, tsk."

The system checked the data while explaining to Shen Ji, "Li Wuyan's Talent is extremely volatile and almost always goes out of control. It seems that after becoming a pollutant, it counteracted Li Zhiyan's Talent. Becoming a semi-pollutant made him more proficient in controlling pollution, but the human Li Wuyan can't do it."

"After nearly causing the entire city to be burned down, the authorities confined him to a designated area under strict surveillance and control. Even when he needed to be dispatched to a site, he had to wear control devices."

"Three months into the Red Mist Event, he was confined for at least two months."

Shen Ji instinctively glanced at Li Wuyan's wrists and ankles. The angry red marks made him frown slightly.

He had wondered what could have injured Li Wuyan earlier—turns out it was the controller... or rather, some kind of restraint device.

Someone who traveled and adventured all over the world before the apocalypse was now confined to a narrow space.

No wonder he ran away.

Li Wuyan was still looking at the band-aid on his wrist. As he stared at it, he seemed to think of something and laughed.

After laughing, he turned to Shen Ji, "Thanks."

"Just something I had on hand." Shen Ji looked at him, "So, have you found anything?"

"Have I, or haven't I?" Li Wuyan's dark eyes held a hint of amusement, "More importantly, I want to ask you—you said that if the Prophecy Book isn't dealt with, there will be serious consequences. What kind of serious consequences? Tell me."

Shen Ji fell silent for a moment, hesitating for a few seconds.

"Can't say?"

"It's not that I can't say, I'm just not sure if you'll understand."

"If you say it, I'll understand."

"Because the Prophecy Book is a product of the Time Forest. It has the ability to control time. If it isn't destroyed, one day it will rewind time. Like the butterfly effect, even a slight change can alter everything."

Li Wuyan understood, "You're satisfied with the current situation, or rather, the current situation is happy for you, so you want to cut off the possibility of time reversal."

Shen Ji: ...

He understood perfectly. As expected of him.

"Time reversal and starting over? That actually sounds interesting." Li Wuyan's eyes lit up, "If we start over, maybe I won't be a Mutant?"

"That's not possible. Those with the potential to be Mutants will still be Mutants even if time is reversed."

"Then this Prophecy Book is really lame."

Shen Ji thought: Not useless at all.

Just by changing the timing of the Red Mist Event, it was enough to turn an S-Class Mutant into a half S-class pollutant. And because of the butterfly effect, it allowed someone who should have died to survive, pushing the entire prophecy timeline back by 30 years.

How powerful.

Shen Ji never denied the power of the Prophecy Book. He just feared it, worried that it would seize any opportunity to reset the timeline.

"How can we make it reset the timeline?" Li Wuyan pressed.

But Li Wuyan seemed to despise this world.

Shen Ji thought: He really hates it here. So when he heard that the world could be reset, he became even more interested than in beating up the Prophecy Book.

Oh no, did one sentence make Li Wuyan change his mind and decide to alter this timeline?

"Probably not. After all, this is just the timeline before the reversal—a predetermined past."

"You can relax a bit."

Hearing the system say this, Shen Ji felt relieved. He curled his lips into a slight smile, a smile in his dark eyes, "You want to know?"

Li Wuyan looked at the smile on Shen Ji's lips. After a moment, he blinked.

"Yeah, I want to know."

Wait, why is a man so good-looking?

Was he a celebrity before the apocalypse? Although he didn’t watch TV often and spent years running around in the wild, with no signal more often than not, he really didn’t remember a celebrity named 'Shen Ji.'

Is he really not a pollutant with looks like that?

I feel like if I keep looking, I’ll be mesmerized, unable to look away.

Li Wuyan realized that even he didn’t know himself well enough—turns out he’s a terrible sucker for looks, especially when someone who seems serious and quiet breaks into a smile.

Crap, are my ears turning red?

Who’s so lucky to be marrying him?

Wait? Why am I thinking that? Isn’t Shen Ji a man?

Li Wuyan subtly began pondering a question he had never considered since birth.

Could it be that he likes men?

Shen Ji had no idea what he was thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn’t care. He and the system had speculated about Li Zhiyan’s orientation countless times.

In the end, the all-knowing system concluded: "The male lead is GAY!"

"All you need to do is find the true form of the Prophecy Book, then chase it down and beat it up until it can’t take it anymore. To escape you, it will actively reset time."

Li Wuyan was surprised, "Really?"

"Yes." Shen Ji smiled, "Didn’t expect that, did you? I didn’t either at first."

Li Wuyan: ...

For some reason, he felt like Shen Ji’s words were pointed, maybe even directed at him.

But Li Wuyan still made a mental note of it.

Find the true form of the Prophecy Book, then beat it up hard, and the world will reset.

With that, Li Wuyan’s previously weary spirit instantly perked up. He began sharing his intel with Shen Ji.

"I secretly investigated earlier and found the source of the Prophecy Book Event."

The system was surprised, "The Prophecy Book Event has a source?"

Li Wuyan pulled out his phone. Thanks to the timeline chaos, even after three days in this damned place, his phone’s battery was still healthy. Though it couldn’t connect to the internet and had no signal, opening files was no problem at all.

That was a report.

"The Dead Return? The Elderly Reborn? An Investigation! Donglin City Seventh Psychiatric Hospital!"

"This is a report from before the apocalypse, and it's also the earliest Prophecy Book Event that can be traced back," said Li Wuyan. "In this psychiatric hospital, there was a person who claimed to be reborn. He predicted the red fog incident and some pollution incidents, saying he had returned from the apocalypse to the present in time to save the world."

"But he was a psychiatric patient, and since no one believed in the apocalypse back then, no one took it seriously."

"Only this report recorded his words during an interview at the psychiatric hospital."

Shen Ji looked at the report, and as he read, he frowned slightly. "...Who wrote this report?"

"Ah?" Li Wuyan looked at Shen Ji in confusion. "Who wrote the report? I don’t know. Wait, let me see if there’s a name attached."

Li Wuyan searched carefully for a while and finally found a name in one of the images.

"Jian Wen?"

Shen Ji exhaled sharply, then closed his eyes, and fell silent.

Li Wuyan looked at the report, then at Shen Ji. "Do you know him?"

"Is he someone you know?"

"Not my partner, he’s my colleague," Shen Ji retorted. "We’re colleagues from different departments, but we’ve worked together a few times."

Jian Wen was Shen Ji’s colleague who worked on family mediation programs.

In recent years, family conflict mediators had fallen out of favor, with ratings kept dropping. More and more people had lost interest in television, turning instead to short videos and variety shows. On the day his show was canceled, Jian Wen invited Shen Ji out for a night of drinking. The next day, he was transferred to work on "Approaching Science."

The ratings for that show were much higher than for family mediation programs.

Li Wuyan blinked, suddenly understanding. "So you’re a TV host?"

"...A reporter."

"..."

Seeming embarrassed, Li Wuyan lowered his head and continued reading the report. Then he remembered something.

"So, your colleague was contaminated by the Prophecy Book Event? Is he still alive?"

Really, hitting a sore spot.

Shen Ji wanted to say: Not only was he contaminated, but he might have even brought the contamination to me. Otherwise, I would never have found a way to be contaminated by the Prophecy Book. I never expected to find the answer here.

After speaking, Li Wuyan realized he might have said something wrong.

Shen Ji’s silence likely meant the man was dead.

Oh no, had he touched on Shen Ji’s painful memories?

"Anyway, he was probably the first person contaminated by the Prophecy Book," Li Wuyan changed the subject. "After the report, he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in another city for continued treatment—right here. I came to find him."

Shen Ji was puzzled. "This just looks like a residential area, though?"

"But I entered a psychiatric hospital."

Li Wuyan shrugged. "Maybe for mental patients, the psychiatric hospital is their home, so this place turned into a residential area."

Shen Ji: ...

What kind of logic is that?!

But in any case, having a new lead was a good thing. Li Wuyan had followed the trail of the Prophecy Book’s first victim, while Shen Ji had come guided by the system. In the end, they had arrived at the same place, which meant Li Wuyan’s judgment was correct—this was indeed the location of the Prophecy Book’s main body.

"So, which direction do you think the Prophecy Book is in?" Shen Ji asked him.

Li Wuyan was surprised. "You’re asking me?"

"I have the worst luck. The Prophecy Book predicts the worst outcomes. Even when I hike, I trip and bruise my legs!"

Shen Ji said seriously, "I think you can do it."

"Don’t sell yourself short."

"You’re the protagonist of the Prophecy Book."

"...Because Li Wuyan almost destroyed the Prophecy Book in the first timeline, he’s destined to find it."

"Doctor Xiao Ji, still acting even now. Typical of you."

What was that supposed to mean?

Shen Ji was unapologetic.

Acting is the essence of life! And he acted with sincerity! Respect is something you earn yourself, and if people liked him, it was the result of his efforts!

It was unclear whether Li Wuyan was moved or not. He just smiled slightly and then began seriously searching for the direction.

In the end, he randomly pointed at a spot and waved his hand grandly: Let’s go!

The two walked side by side.

As they moved, the red fog dissipated again, and the disordered time returned to normal. Shen Ji once again saw the young men drinking beer and boasting on the street.

This time, Shen Ji didn’t try to scare them on purpose. Instead, he followed Li Wuyan as they turned down an alley.

"I feel like my teeth itch when I look at this place," Li Wuyan said. "So I think this is the spot we’re looking for."

Shen Ji didn’t understand what his itchy teeth had to do with their destination, but he still trusted him completely.

The moment they stepped into the alley, daylight broke.

Sunlight hung overhead, shining brightly on them. Li Wuyan looked up at the sun, then ahead.

Many cars were parked at the entrance. A security guard in uniform sat in the guard booth, and next to him hung the sign for the psychiatric hospital. Unlike other hospitals, this special hospital didn’t have many people coming and going. Those who entered did so quietly and left just as quietly, with few causing a commotion at the entrance.

In front of the hospital was a fairly large flower bed, filled with blooming flowers.

Li Wuyan saw the flowers, and his legs carried him on their own. He ran straight over and began admiring them.

A doctor in a white coat walked out of the hospital entrance. He looked at Li Wuyan, who was poking at the flowers, then at Shen Ji, who stood properly with an elegant and quiet demeanor.

The doctor asked Shen Ji, "Who is he to you? Did you bring him here for treatment?"

Shen Ji: ...

Li Wuyan: ...

"Does he look mentally ill?"

"We're not here as patients," Shen Ji stepped forward. "We're here to visit a patient."

"Is that so?" The doctor cast a skeptical glance at Li Wuyan before saying, "The hospital wing is at the back. Make sure to fill out your identification information—they don't allow unauthorized entry over there."

Shen Ji quickly pulled Li Wuyan, who was still fiddling with the flowers, toward the back.

Arriving at the inpatient area, they were just wondering how to get in when the system spoke up.

"I've already accessed this hospital's system and added you to the visitor log. Just walk right in."

Shen Ji's eyes lit up. 'As expected of an all-capable system!'

"Of course!"

The system boasted, "And I've already found out which room the person you're looking for is in. I'll guide you there now!"

After praising the system a couple more times, Shen Ji and Li Wuyan headed toward the elevator. Inside, Shen Ji pressed the button for their floor.

Li Wuyan glanced at the button, then at Shen Ji.

"You pressed it without any hesitation. Do you know which floor he's on?"

Shen Ji shot a look at Li Zhiyan. "He was interviewed by a colleague."

"So?"

"My colleague is quite responsible. He does regular follow-ups, even for patients in mental hospitals," Shen Ji fabricated while watching the floor numbers change. "So I just had to check his archived records to find this patient's room number."

"Oh, impressive."

Li Wuyan pretended to be serious. "I would have believed you if you'd opened your phone and looked for even a second."

Shen Ji: ...

Ugh, forgot about that.

"Haha, caught red-handed!" the system gloated.

"My Memory Palace **Pollution Talent**," Shen Ji continued lying without flinching. "All the information is stored in my mind. Whenever I want, I can browse through it and find the exact piece I need."

Li Wuyan fell silent for three seconds before asking, puzzled, "Pollution Talent? What's that?"

"Three months after the Red Mist incident started, the authorities only labeled humans with strange abilities as 'mutants.' Most people thought they were superpowers or special abilities. It wasn't until the Pollution Prevention Center was established that they officially named it 'Pollution Talent.' At the same time, the special abilities possessed by pollutants were also collectively called Pollution Talents."

The system taunted again. "You got exposed as a modern person in front of Li Zhiyan, and now you're getting exposed as an apocalypse-era person in front of Li Wuyan."

"Guess you didn't expect that!"

Shen Ji calmly placed a hand on his chin. "Could you pretend you didn't hear any of that and let us start over?"

"Start over so you can make up another excuse?"

Shen Ji locked eyes with Li Wuyan. "So, are you willing?"

Li Wuyan wanted to say no, but after seeing Shen Ji's eyes, for some reason, he found himself unable to say it.

Finally, he sighed. "If time is altered, will I be able to meet you in the next timeline?"

Shen Ji was stunned. "What?"

"I rarely click with someone so well. You feel like you'd make a good friend." Ding, the elevator doors opened. Li Wuyan stepped out, then turned to look at Shen Ji. "So I want to know, if we fail and time still changes in the end..."

"Will I be able to meet you again in the next timeline?"

Shen Ji fell silent for a few seconds.

Since no one was detected, the elevator doors began to close automatically. Shen Ji hurriedly pressed the open button and stepped out.

He thought: Actually, Li Wuyan wouldn't be able to meet Shen Ji.

In the very first timeline, Shen Ji was attacked by a medical troublemaker and, despite life-saving efforts, ended up dying at Donglin City First People's Hospital. By the time the Red Mist incident occurred, his body was likely ash by then.

How could Li Wuyan possibly meet a Shen Ji who was already dead?

In the second timeline, Shen Ji's survival was an accident. Them falling in love was also accidental.

But that's what made it thrilling. This impossible meeting is what made it beautiful.

"We'll see each other again," Shen Ji said with a smile.

"Even if you forget me, I'll seek you out."