Two realities, one Song Qinglan.

One reality was from a month ago, and the other from a month later. When these two realities began to overlap, a call from a month ago was answered by Song Qinglan from a month later. The call unexpectedly connected the two realities, pulling them briefly back together. But as soon as the call ended, the connection was severed, and they were yanked back into the reality from a month later.

Both of them understood that after the connection was lost, even if Song Qinglan dialed the number back immediately, the person on the other end would only be his grandfather from the current reality. They could no longer be drawn back to the original reality.

It was as if they were separated from the original reality by a thin membrane.

They could see it and even touch it, but couldn’t truly join it.

Song Qinglan pondered, “Do you think anyone else might call me from a month ago?”

Ji Yushi replied, “Even if they did, it wouldn’t be at this exact time.”

The other reality was now at point “B,” which, relative to their bubble-like world, remained stationary. The call they received earlier just happened to be made at point “B,” but how likely was it that more calls would come from point “B”?

Calling Ji Yushi was even more unlikely.

First, his phone had just been discarded, and second, his social circle, including family and friends, was limited to the three members of the Ji family.

It wasn’t just that he was off on a mission — even if he vanished completely from that reality, apart from the Ji family, no one else would likely care… Realizing this, Ji Yushi was startled, realizing that negative emotions had quietly crept into his mind again. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have started thinking, “That reality isn’t worth lingering over; there’s no difference between it and this one. I might as well stay here.”

Despite the heat, a chill ran through Ji Yushi’s heart.

The influence of this world was pervasive, attacking from every angle. He looked down at the handcuffs binding his wrist to Song Qinglan’s, and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

At least they were handcuffed together.

Like Song Qinglan had said, he couldn’t run away this time.

Ji Yushi’s thoughts became tangled once more. He lifted his hand, grabbing Song Qinglan’s wrist, seemingly sensing something.

His eyes landed on the other’s watch, its second hand ticking away in steady rhythm.

Song Qinglan asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Yushi’s expression suddenly changed. “We need to get out of here now!”

His memory flashed back to when they were buying tickets at the small station — after Song Qinglan had taken his ID card, he used his injured hand to tap the screen and purchase the tickets. The train schedule appeared under his hand. Although the image had flashed by when Song Qinglan selected the train, it was burned into Ji Yushi’s memory.

Following the levitating train they were currently on, another train would soon pass along the same track! Just like the overturned train they had seen before, the next one would collide with the ghostly image of the train in this reality!

Standing on this sky-high track made of flesh and bone, there would be no way to avoid such a disaster. The danger was unimaginable!

After explaining this, Song Qinglan’s expression grew tense. “How much time do we have?”

Ji Yushi’s mental calculation skills were sharp. “No more than three minutes! We need to move!”

Song Qinglan stood atop the train, his gaze locking onto a maintenance platform about a hundred meters behind them — in the opposite direction from where they had been running. They needed to reach it immediately!

Ignoring the passengers still trailing closely behind them, the two immediately broke into another desperate sprint.

On top of the train, they raced toward the maintenance platform.

Below the train, a group of passengers moved in unison, as if they were mindless zombies.

This scene was eerily similar to when they were at Base No. 2 of Golden Crow, running through the ventilation ducts with zombies snapping at their heels.

They were always fighting for survival in desperate situations.

“Down!”

Song Qinglan skidded to a stop as they neared the platform.

Thanks to their previous experience climbing onto the roof, the handcuffs didn’t cause much trouble this time. One after the other, they cooperated and quickly jumped down to the ground.

Several passengers who had caught up to them emerged from under the ghostly train, silently reaching out to restrain them. For a moment, the two were surrounded, trapped in what felt like a terrifying silent film.

Ji Yushi shouted urgently, “The train’s coming!”

Song Qinglan responded, “You go first!”

They quickly descended the platform, but some passengers followed them down.

More and more passengers were chasing them, but the narrow platform couldn’t hold so many people at once. Ji Yushi looked up and saw dozens of blank faces staring at them.

These people had completely lost consciousness, unaware that death was near.

Halfway down the platform, the sound of something cutting through the air reached them from above.

It was the sound of the train moving at high speed, growing closer and closer in an instant!

“Boom—”

A thunderous explosion echoed as the new levitating train collided with the ghostly image, bouncing violently into the air and smashing into the overturned train beside it, shattering into pieces.

Huge shards of steel spun through the air, slicing through the heads of the passengers lined up on the platform above as cleanly as if they were cut by a blade.

Blood and brain matter splattered as headless bodies plummeted from the sky.

It was as if some of them suddenly woke up and began to scream in terror.

Without stopping, the two continued their descent. Ji Yushi didn’t even have time to glance downward before a giant object appeared in his field of vision — a section of the train car! It came crashing down toward the platform, smashing a gap into the sky-high track just above it!

The platform lost its support and emitted a teeth-grinding screech. It was about to collapse, and if it did, they would be hurled against the concrete ground and walls at the base of the track!

“Jump into the water!” Song Qinglan shouted fiercely.

The lake was only five or six meters away, and without hesitation, Ji Yushi leapt as soon as Song Qinglan grabbed his hand.

“Splash!”

Water splashed high into the air as they plunged into the lake.

As they sank into the water, they could faintly hear the platform’s steel structure crashing into the cement ground. Objects kept falling around them — debris, glass, and perhaps even dismembered heads… In the clear lake water, everything was horrifyingly visible.

Entering the water at the wrong angle, Ji Yushi’s eardrums and chest throbbed with pain as they sank, and he almost spat out blood.

Suddenly, he felt a tightness around his waist — it was Song Qinglan turning him over.

Bubbles floated up through the water.

They could see each other’s faces clearly.

Holding his breath, Song Qinglan wrapped his arms around Ji Yushi, intending to use his strong swimming skills to pull both of them to the surface.

The handcuffs became their biggest obstacle again, forcing Ji Yushi to curl his handcuffed arm behind his back so Song Qinglan could wrap his arm around his waist. Even that wasn’t enough, and driven by survival instincts, Ji Yushi soon wrapped his other arm tightly around Song Qinglan.

Underwater, their bodies pressed together, fitting seamlessly.

Ji Yushi tried to remain still to reduce resistance, leaving Song Qinglan to do all the swimming.

“Splash!”

After what felt like an eternity, they finally broke through the surface, fresh air flooding their lungs as they gasped for breath.

“Cough, cough, cough!!” Ji Yushi choked on water, coughing violently.

Next to him, the water level was dropping — Song Qinglan had already touched the lakebed near the shore and was wading toward land.

As half his body emerged from the water, Ji Yushi realized his legs had somehow wrapped around Song Qinglan’s waist, like a koala clinging to a tree for dear life.

The position was undeniably awkward.

The sun shone brightly down on them.

Song Qinglan’s wet shirt clung to his skin, revealing his smooth flesh and finely sculpted muscles.

Ji Yushi could feel every point where their bodies touched, from the back he was holding to the shoulder his chin rested on, and the waist his legs were wrapped around — all radiating the explosive strength of a fit young man.

Every step Song Qinglan took while holding him like this sent Ji Yushi’s thoughts spiraling further into inappropriate territory.

But with his entire body drained of energy after choking on water, and his chest still aching, Ji Yushi was in no state to walk on his own.

Besides, Song Qinglan didn’t seem to be struggling at all.

So Ji Yushi stayed wrapped around him, pretending he wasn’t aware of how embarrassing the situation was.

Awkwardness was inevitable.

No straight guy would appreciate this kind of “trust.”

Perhaps it was because he was too straight that, after they made it ashore, Song Qinglan actually supported him for a moment longer.

Though the pose resembled cradling a child, when Song Qinglan’s large hand touched somewhere soft and elastic, his fingers sunk in, and both of them froze.

Ji Yushi said, “…I’m awake.”

Song Qinglan replied, “…Sorry.”

Ji Yushi’s voice was hoarse, his eardrums and chest still throbbing in pain.

Song Qinglan set him down on a large rock, though he didn’t seem to be in much better shape. His usually handsome face was pale, and even his lips had turned white, as if he were enduring something painful.

Ji Yushi quickly realized something was wrong.

Song Qinglan’s arm, the one that had been cuffed to his, was hanging limply, looking quite unnatural.

Ji Yushi immediately understood — when they had jumped off the platform, Song Qinglan had let him go first. Because the two of them were cuffed together, the weight of the first person jumping would naturally pull down the second, causing a serious jolt. Song Qinglan’s arm had been dislocated.

Ji Yushi was taken aback. “Captain Song, your arm…”

“It’s fine,” Song Qinglan replied.

Song Qinglan, after speaking, gave a sharp “crack” as he reset his own dislocated arm. The excruciating pain caused him to clench his teeth hard, his whole body trembling from the agony.

Throughout this journey, it seemed like all the injuries had been suffered by Song Qinglan.

His right hand had been hurt by the train door, his face and arms were scratched during the chase, and his left hand was dislocated when they jumped into the water… After resetting his wrist, Song Qinglan took a full ten seconds before opening his eyes again.

Those deep, dark eyes had regained their calm. He didn’t mention his injuries at all, instead asking, “Consultant Ji, can you still walk?”

Before Ji Yushi could respond, Song Qinglan continued, “If not, we can rest for five minutes. We’ll walk along this path toward the platform. After two kilometers, we’ll reach the road.”

Ji Yushi replied, “I can.”

Song Qinglan looked at him but sat down anyway. Glancing at his watch, he said, “Forget it, even if you’re not tired, I am. Even a hanged man needs to catch his breath. Let’s rest a bit before moving on.”

The imagined road to Jiangcheng had seemed simple enough, but reality had shown them what a journey full of setbacks truly felt like.

Fortunately, after the hardship came some relief. After walking the two kilometers in just their socks, they finally reached the road.

The soles of their feet were aching from the rough surface, and the sun had nearly dried them out completely.

Neither of them had ever been this disheveled in their entire lives.

The scene on the road was shocking: constant car crashes, blood everywhere, sirens wailing in the distance, and smoke rising from multiple spots.

Just like the sky-high track, countless ghostly images of vehicles had appeared out of nowhere on the once orderly road. The overlap of the two realities had caused the vehicles to collide with those already in motion.

They decided not to continue forward and found a shady spot near the road to hide.

About an hour later, a bright red sports car sped toward them.

The car was covered in scrapes and scratches, clearly having passed through numerous crash sites along the way.

With a sharp screech of the tires and a stylish drift, the sports car came to a stop in front of them.

From the driver’s seat, Li Chun whistled at his dirt-covered captain and Consultant Ji, then took off his sunglasses. “Gentlemen, need a lift?”

The two got in the car.

Neither wanted to say a word.

Li Chun floored the gas again, and after fiddling with something with one hand, he tossed some water and food into the backseat. “Brought shoes too! Captain Song, size 44. Consultant Ji, size 42! Look at me, handling three things at once—man, my speed is unbeatable!”

Song Qinglan gulped down half a bottle of water. “Does Tang Le know you’re treating his car like this?”

Li Chun: “…”

Li Chun: “Boss, don’t worry about the details!”