Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When two detectives pushed the door open, Tang Qiu was browsing through the phone of the body she now inhabited with great interest.

It was still 2027, and she'd died at age 27 in both worlds, but the technology of the two worlds was vastly different in Tang Qiu's eyes. The main thing was that Tang Qiu hadn't used a phone in years.

To conceal her whereabouts as much as possible, Tang Qiu never carried any electronic devices. What she carried the most were weapons, all kinds of weapons.

She lingered over it a bit longer, until the female officer, now at her bedside, spoke, then Tang Qiu carefully put the phone aside.

"See you again, Lawyer Tang," said the tall female officer, sitting down on the only chair by the bed. She softened her expression and said gently, "How are you feeling today? Any better?"

Tang Qiu instinctively glanced at the two exits first, then quickly studied the two officers' expressions before calmly replying, "The doctor said there's improvement, but I still feel dizzy and have a headache. I can't remember anything."

Tang Qiu was naturally lying. She had suffered many serious injuries, and injuries like this were nothing to her. However, although she had crossed over into her new body, she hadn't inherited its memories. She knew nothing and could only pretend.

Sitting on the chair, the female officer, who still appeared imposing, showed no change in expression and continued, "Mind if we go check out your place again?"

Instead of answering, Tang Qiu asked back, "Didn't you find anything useful at my place earlier?"

The female officer's smile faded slightly and she said somewhat seriously, "The earlier clues are still being investigated but are still inconclusive. We were hoping you'd have more useful clues after you woke up, but since you still can't remember, we can only dig deeper to solve the case as soon as possible."

Having learned nothing useful, Tang Qiu felt somewhat disappointed but remained composed. She just nodded in cooperation and said, "Of course. I'm about ready to be discharged, so we can go together."

Tang Qiu smiled as she spoke, the expression forced and a little awkward. "Mind if I catch a ride?"

After checking out and picking up her prescription, Tang Qiu carried a thin plastic bag and followed the two officers to their car.

Aside from the initial purposeful small talk, Tang Qiu didn't speak much during the rest of the car ride. The two officers considerately gave her some personal space.

Although it had been nearly a month since she crossed over, this was the first time Tang Qiu had a good look at this world.

Unlike the devastated world she came from, this world was vibrant and lively. Everywhere she looked, there were people—normal people.

Their eyes were lively, free from suspicion or defensiveness. They gathered together without defense, standing under a clear sky, with their own souls and free will, doing what they wanted to do.

Tang Qiu looked at them, then at herself. She was now one of them, but she hadn't adapted yet. However, she would adapt.

They followed the traffic to the complex where the original body had lived. Although she had already observed the area from satellite images, Tang Qiu still carefully studied the terrain, every exit, and every person she could see.

After parking the car in the underground garage, the female officer, who seemed to know the place, led the way to the elevator. She pressed the button and then turned to Tang Qiu, asking, "Lawyer Tang, seeing these familiar sights, does anything come back to you?"

Tang Qiu didn't reply, only shook her head lightly with feigned disappointment.

The female officer showed no reaction, but the other young male officer, who was quiet and always trailed behind her, let out a disappointed sigh, his expression showing some anxiety.

Tang Qiu glanced at him but paid no attention. The female officer also only glanced at him before turning her attention back to the elevator display.

The original body's residential complex was an older neighborhood with lots of greenery. Tang Qiu had cautiously done some preliminary research online. The complex was about thirty years old, built in the early days of low-rise apartments. With large spacing between buildings and a relatively low number of buildings, combined with its location in a bustling area, it appeared ordinary but actually had high property prices. Most importantly, through the original body's phone group chats and bank statements, Tang Qiu discovered that the original body owned many similar properties, and the balances on her various bank cards were very large.

Tang Qiu was not surprised by this, because they shared the same parents. Tang Qiu had also lived a relatively affluent life in her childhood. It was foreseeable that without that disaster, they would have lived similar lives.

The original body's home had a fingerprint lock. Nothing unusual happened, and Tang Qiu got in without trouble.

Having gone through most of the info in the original body's phone, especially photos and videos, Tang Qiu naturally opened the shoe cabinet, first took out the original body's slippers, then took out two pairs of guest slippers. While the two officers changed shoes, she found disposable cups and got water from the water dispenser.

The female officer politely accepted the cup but didn't drink. She greeted them, then she and the young male officer split up to search professionally.

Tang Qiu naturally took the opportunity to separate from them and began to observe and examine this unfamiliar yet familiar home of the original body.

Unfamiliar because of the furniture arrangement and the personal items everywhere; familiar because of some gifts and photos that Tang Qiu had once owned.

Tang Qiu wandered to a photo wall near the entrance. The first thing she noticed was a family photo right in the center.

The photo was laminated but still showed signs of yellowing. In it, the original body, surrounded by her parents in the center, smiled brightly, wearing a white well-fitted dress. That was the original body at twelve years old. How did Tang Qiu know? Because she also had one.

As one of the few clear memories she still had, Tang Qiu remembered clearly: that day, the school held a talent show. Tang Qiu, as the host, was busy the whole time. Her usually busy parents took an entire afternoon and evening, sat in the audience separated by the crowd, and accompanied her all night. They also had a pleasant dinner and went home together. That day she was very happy, chattering all the way while holding her parents' arms, fully expressing her nervousness and sense of accomplishment.

Tang Qiu stared at the two other people in the photo for a long time. The somewhat blurry faces of her parents gradually became clear again.

Seeing this photo, Tang Qiu finally felt a sense of reality. She was the original body, and the original body was her. Across a world, they were parallel versions of themselves.

It wasn't until dusk that the two officers stopped searching.

When they re-entered the living room, Tang Qiu was playing with a crystal ball, shaking it to watch the snowflakes swirl. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of them, she looked up and asked, "Find anything, officers?"

The female officer took off her gloves and casually put them in her pocket, replying, "My name is Lei. Lei Yue. Nothing for now. If there's progress in the case, we'll contact you."

Tang Qiu nodded, not really interested. She saw them to the door and then continued playing with the crystal ball, slowly making a decision.

She was going to avenge the original body—her parallel-world self.

Tang Qiu didn't want to wait for the police. That was too slow, and there was a good chance the case would never be solved. The person who caused the original body's death—Tang Qiu couldn't tolerate that kind of enemy still being alive.

Nearly a month was enough for Tang Qiu to piece together the general picture of the original body.

The life trajectory before age 14 was the same. They had the same parents, went to the same elementary school, the same middle school. The difference was that Tang Qiu's world faced doomsday when she was 14, while in this world, Tang Qiu continued her studies, developed new hobbies, made new friends, and walked a completely different path.

Yet, amid the differences, there were similarities. Tang Qiu died at 27. The original body in this world also died at 27, on the same day. As for their parents, though they died early, there was a two-year difference.

What bothered Tang Qiu most was the way the original body died: she was murdered.

This world had no doomsday. The country was peaceful, the people lived and worked in contentment. The original body had just obtained her Ph.D. and had been working at her dream law firm for only half a year when her life was taken by someone. She was just 27, only 27.

Tang Qiu had died because she was powerless. She had tried to become stronger, but compared to the earth-shattering changes in her world, her strength was too insignificant. So her death was foreseeable; though she didn't want to, she could accept it.

But the original body in this world was different. She was ordinary, hardworking, one of the many. She could have lived a life that was either mediocre or slightly eventful, like others. As long as she didn't end her own life, she could live to 37, 47, or even 107.

Tang Qiu couldn't help but wonder: no matter which world, could they only live to 27?

But why? She wanted to live to 37, 47, even 107. No one should—and no one could—take their lives.

That person could not exist. Whoever it was, they had to die.

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Author's note:

Starting a new story~

A new story set in the same world as the previous one. Since no matter how I thought about the original idea, I couldn't make it more interesting, I completely overhauled the plot.

This book, barring unforeseen circumstances, will be updated daily until completion. If anything comes up, I'll inform in advance. The update time will be as fixed as possible, definitely by midnight.

ps: The female lead in this book isn't exactly normal. She's probably going to be a little crazy.

As per tradition, to celebrate the start of the story, every comment on this chapter gets a red envelope.

Welcome to my new story. I love each and every one of you. Xoxo.