Chapter 58 A Miracle

Chapter 58 A Miracle

After Jiang Yi fell into the deep pool's vortex, the bottom of the cliff fell still.

Ke Lin sat quietly nearby and wouldn't leave no matter who tried to get him to.

Bai Nasen summoned a professional underwater rescue team. First, they used equipment to scan the depths of the pool but found no signs of life.

Then, they sent divers down. The water was pitch black, without a trace of moss or algae, and eerily silent.

No matter how they searched or probed, they could find no trace of the giant serpent or Jiang Yi, as if they'd never been there.

If not for the trails of water left by the serpent on the ground, Bai Nasen would have suspected they were hallucinating due to poisoning.

The existence and appearance of the giant serpent couldn't be explained by modern biology.

After days and nights of searching, Bai Nasen and the others tried everything they could think of but found no leads.

Outside, cosmic radiation continued to intensify. With the Director of the research institute missing, everyone was waiting for Bai Nasen to return and lead the research.

Bai Nasen and Xin Ziyu were forced to leave for the time being.

During this time, Ke Lin remained quietly seated, watching the rescue team dive down and resurface.

His expression hardly changed, as if he had forgotten how to move his facial muscles.

Jia Zheyu also stayed by Ke Lin's side without sleeping or resting. The once vibrant young man quickly became gaunt and worn down over these days.

Jiang Yi was the most talented person he had ever met, the youngest Director of a research institute in Federation history, and the hero who led them to discover the new Life Elixir.

He shouldn't have just vanished like this.

In the evening, Wei Yi and Ji Ming arrived at the cliff.

Outside, cosmic radiation grew increasingly intense, on the verge of a full-blown eruption.

After Bai Nasen upgraded the protective shield, the silver liquid was more effective, making the shield much stronger.

This also meant the world outside the shield had become even more dangerous.

Exposure to cosmic radiation now meant a constant risk of cancer or even mutation.

Wei Yi and Ji Ming descended wearing specially designed anti-radiation suits.

Hearing the commotion, Ke Lin turned to look at his other father and suddenly felt his nose sting.

He took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the deep pool.

Under the massive interference of cosmic radiation, Earth's rotation was affected, throwing the lengths of day and night out of whack.

Staring at the blurred reflection of the moon on the pool's surface, he wondered if his master could see the moon from wherever he was.

Wei Yi walked up to Ke Lin, slowly crouched down, and looked his son in the eye. "Ke Lin, come back with me. Once cosmic radiation enters the full-blown eruption phase, only inside the protective shield will be safe."

Ke Lin sat hugging his knees, his gaze clear and stubborn. "I'm waiting for Master to return."

Wei Yi sighed. He had expected this outcome. To outsiders, this father and son seemed cold and distant, but in reality, both were deeply devoted and emotional.

"I'll wait here with you for him, okay?" Wei Yi said.

Ke Lin turned away without a word.

Wei Yi copied Ke Lin's posture and sat down beside him.

From the first time he saw Ke Lin, his eyes had been inexplicably drawn to him.

So this was the power of blood ties.

Although the two had hardly interacted before, sitting shoulder to shoulder now felt neither awkward nor uncomfortable. Instead, it brought a sense of tranquility, as if it would be fine to just keep sitting like this.

On the other side, Ji Ming was also trying to persuade Jia Zheyu to leave.

"What good does it do staying here? Jiang Yi has long since..." Before Ji Ming could finish, seeing Jia Zheyu's expression, he quickly changed tack. "If Jiang Yi can come out, he'll appear sooner or later. If you stay here without eating or drinking, you'll collapse before you ever see him."

Jia Zheyu ignored him. In his life, he had many friends, but those with bonds forged in life-and-death situations like Jiang Yi were few and far between.

He had witnessed Jiang Yi's growth and had seen firsthand the twists and turns of Jiang Yi and Ke Lin's backgrounds, as well as their steadfast affection.

Just when everything was about to get better, how could it all come to such an abrupt halt here?

Ji Ming continued to persuade him, "The cosmic radiation is about to flare up massively. If you don't go back now, once the radiation hits, it'll turn you into a mutant."

Jia Zheyu had long noticed there was something special about this cliff. Heavy white mist hung below the cliff, serving as a protective shield against the radiation. Staying at the bottom of the cliff, they were completely unaffected by it.

Seeing Jia Zheyu as stubborn as an ox and impossible to persuade, Ji Ming simply knocked him out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

Following the direction Jia Zheyu slumped, he caught him in his arms.

Ji Ming hefted him a couple of times to adjust his grip. In just a few days, Jia Zheyu had noticeably lost weight.

Ke Lin was a high-level Esper with dual A-class abilities and the bloodline of a wild wolf. He could last this long without food or water thanks to his formidable strength.

Jia Zheyu, on the other hand, had been fasting alongside him, depleting his own stored fat reserves.

Ji Ming decided that once Jia Zheyu woke up, he would make sure to fatten him up again. Otherwise, if he ever tried to fast alongside someone again, he wouldn't have enough energy reserves to sustain himself.

Seeing Wei Yi simply sitting with Ke Lin and making no move to leave, Ji Ming spoke up to remind him, "Boss Wei, are we going?"

Before Wei Yi could respond, Ke Lin spoke first, "Wei... Boss, you should go too. I think Father needs you."

After a moment of silence, Wei Yi finally replied, "Alright."

He stood up, and Ke Lin rose as well, intending to walk him a few steps.

Wei Yi placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him as if he were a most promising junior. "When you and Jiang Yi come back up together, call me 'Dad,' okay?"

Ke Lin looked at him and nodded seriously. He had indeed been weighing how to address Wei Yi earlier but ultimately chose to call him "Boss Wei."

If he could see Wei Yi again with his Master, he would call him "Dad."

Seeing Ke Lin agree, Wei Yi smiled. "Then I'll head up first. I brought you a supply pack. Even if you're alone here, take good care of yourself. Don't go hungry or thirsty. I'm sure Jiang Yi wouldn't want to see you turn into a haggard Little Wolf."

Mentioning Jiang Yi, Ke Lin finally glanced at the black supply pack not far away and nodded to Wei Yi. "I will."

Feeling reassured, Wei Yi walked over to Ji Ming and Jia Zheyu.

Ji Ming stared at him wide-eyed.

Seriously?

Didn't the Chief tell Boss Wei to knock out Ke Lin and bring him back?

And Boss Wei agreed.

He was still waiting for Boss Wei to sneak up on Ke Lin or something.

If Boss Wei couldn't manage it himself, he was ready to step in.

What's the deal now? They're just leaving Ke Lin here by himself?

Wei Yi shook his head at him.

Wei Yi could sense his son's determination. Even if he forcibly took him back and locked him up, Ke Lin would find a way to return.

It was better to just humor him and let him wait here for his lover.

The pack was well-stocked, enough to meet his basic needs for at least a month. By then, the massive radiation outbreak should be over.

After Jiang Yi was sucked by the vortex into the deep pool, water from all directions instantly swamped him.

Even though he knew how to swim, the violently swirling currents made him choke and lose consciousness almost immediately.

When he woke up again, he found himself standing in another place.

The surrounding water was long gone, and he was completely dry.

He was floating in mid-air, surrounded on all sides by shimmering, multicolored bands of light.

It was as if he had fallen into some kind of spacetime rift.

Jiang Yi didn't have Jia Zheyu's sharp eyes. He could vaguely see various scenes flashing across the light bands but couldn't make out what was happening in them.

Just as he tried to move his body, he sensed a familiar aura from one of the light bands.

This was the exact same aura he had felt just before being pulled into the vortex.

This aura held no malice; it seemed to be summoning him. That's why he had been able to tell Ke Lin that he would be fine.

Jiang Yi closed his eyes and activated his psychic power. Everything before him became countless flowing golden points of light in his mental world.

These points of light flowed extremely fast, like dazzling golden rivers.

Among these countless points of light, Jiang Yi found the ones that felt familiar to him.

As soon as he willed it, his body automatically moved toward them.

When he opened his eyes again.

The points of light before him became clear.

It turned out each point of light represented something happening in a specific place in some world.

The point of light he saw actually contained his rented apartment from before his transmigration.

In the apartment, he was wearing a shirt and dress pants.

Having just graduated with a master's degree, he had already found a good job. Today was his first day at work.

Jiang Yi remembered that he had been electrocuted when he touched the power cord of the electric kettle, but the details were already fuzzy.

Looking back now, it seemed quite strange. He had always been cautious about electrical safety—even if his hands were slightly wet and happened to touch the power source, it shouldn’t have been enough to kill him.

Suspended in mid-air, Jiang Yi watched the glimmering scene showing himself unplug the kettle, pick up his briefcase, and leave for work.

What was going on?

Why hadn’t he been electrocuted?

And why hadn’t he crossed over?

At the same time, Jiang Yi saw his own body slowly dissipating—his fingers began to blur, and his feet and calves gradually vanished.

This was the spacetime system patching him out as a bug!

No wonder such a strange giant serpent had appeared, no wonder he had been brought to this place…

Panicked, Jiang Yi stared at the scene of himself heading off to work as usual. He didn’t want this—he didn’t want to go back!

He knew Ke Lin must still be waiting for him.

That goofy Little Wolf was surely still obediently waiting for him to keep his promise.

Since the mistake had already been made—bringing him to another world and allowing him to form deep bonds with its people—why bother correcting it now?

He didn’t want his previous life; he wanted to return to the other world, to Ke Lin’s side!

Jiang Yi’s psychic agitation grew too intense. All his psychic energy surged out, transforming into a thin white thread that forcibly pulled the golden light spot representing Jiang Yi out of the flow.

There was no need to return to the so-called “right track.” Everything could just stay as it was before.

As Jiang Yi thought this, the psychic thread automatically entered the light spot, and the “Jiang Yi” inside began to rewind.

Having just reached the subway entrance, he rewound back home within seconds.

Watching himself touch the power source again, Jiang Yi’s psychic energy suddenly erupted inside the light spot.

“Jiang Yi” was electrocuted and collapsed. At that moment, a spacetime rift appeared in mid-air, pulling Jiang Yi’s consciousness into the other world.

Everything returned to its original course.

Jiang Yi watched as his hands and feet slowly became solid again.

The past hadn’t been changed—in the end, it turned out he had controlled his own crossing.

Exhausted and with his psychic energy depleted, Jiang Yi saw the light spot, now out of control, drift back into the river of spacetime.

Feeling utterly drained and his mind blank, Jiang Yi slowly closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

Due to cosmic radiation, the sky had been pitch black for over a day, with no sign of dawn.

But Ke Lin didn’t care. By the moonlight, he still gazed fixedly at the water’s surface, waiting for a miracle.

The calm, motionless pool suddenly began to swirl.

A massive vortex mixed with water droplets made it hard to keep his eyes open.

Ke Lin stood up. Even as water droplets and air currents struck his face like knives, he didn’t move an inch.

A moment later, the pond returned to tranquility.

A body floated motionless on the surface.

Ke Lin stared blankly, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes. He broke into a stumbling run toward the water.

After so many days, he had finally witnessed a miracle.

Author's Note: