Chapter 19 : Changes in the Worldline

Ming Po quickly got up from the bed and strode next door.

Right now, Ming Po had returned one hour earlier, and from the moment he left the dungeon until now, roughly forty-five minutes had passed.

In other words, this should be fifteen minutes before Ming Po originally returned to the present world.

But it seemed he was still a step too late.

The room was almost exactly the same as before.

Pajamas and lounge pants were still tossed on the blanket, and there was still an opened can of Coke on the desk that had not yet been finished. Ming Po had a body now, so he touched the Coke can and found that it still had a bit of chill to it, with condensation beading on the surface.

He should not have left long ago.

…Did I miss him again?

Ming Po frowned tightly, but he soon thought of a solution.

He took out his phone and directly called this disobedient dog of a son.

The call was answered after only one ring. Clearly, the other party was playing on his phone while walking.

And from the other end of the call came a surprised voice. “A-Po? Where the hell did you run off to, you freak? You went missing for a whole week. I fucking thought you were dead!”

“Forget that for now,” Ming Po said seriously. “Where are you right now?”

Hearing Ming Po’s tone, Ai Shiping also realized something and replied seriously, “I’m at Oya Plaza. What’s wrong?”

“Hurry back. Don’t go out these next few days. Absolutely don’t go out, understand?”

Ming Po warned him solemnly. “Why did you suddenly go out?”

“To check out the company.”

The voice on the other end sounded quite lighthearted. “The boss messaged me and asked me to go to the company to hand over some work. I’m getting ready to start next month.”

…Company?

Hearing this, Ming Po froze for a moment.

He asked back, “Which company?”

“No-Face God Studio… Didn’t you introduce it to me? What’s been up with you lately? Is there another flu outbreak or something?”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Of course.”

As he spoke, Ai Shiping gave him an address.

It was precisely the place Ming Po had just gone to, without the slightest difference.

Ming Po’s heart chilled.

He realized that the problem might be bigger than he had imagined.

“Don’t go there for now. No matter who messages you, just push it all onto me. These next few days… no, this next week, absolutely do not go out. Understand?”

“…What about picking up deliveries?”

“Within the residential compound is fine. You can’t leave the compound.”

As Ming Po spoke, he realized his words might have sounded a little too heavy.

If this rebellious son realized something was wrong and had his curiosity and rebelliousness provoked instead, that would be bad.

So Ming Po added a casual explanation as if nothing had happened. “I might come back at any time recently, but I lost my keys.”

“Oh, okay then. You went on a business trip and didn’t even say anything… Where did you go? How come your phone didn’t even have signal? I told you already, replace that useless Apple of yours.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. In any case, keep it secret and wait until I come back.”

After Ming Po finished speaking, he hung up and let out a breath of relief.

He thought for a while, then sat down beside Ai Shiping’s computer.

He searched for Ouroboros Ring, and as expected, saw a large number of guides with over a million views.

He searched for Lawyer Chen again, but did not see this person.

“…So it really is like that.”

Ming Po murmured softly and typed “time.”

The second suggestion in the input method directly jumped out with the current date and time:

May 20, 2023, 14:06:41

“What’s going on…”

Ming Po murmured softly.

But in the next instant

He watched with his own eyes as the date and time inside the input method seemed to be soaked through by a line of dark golden worms, then vanished without a trace.

Ming Po fell silent for an instant, then typed “shijian” again.

And so the second suggestion that popped out from the input method became:

March 4, 2026, 14:00:22

His eyes suddenly widened.

Ming Po realized what had happened, so he immediately searched for Ouroboros Ring again.

But this time, he could not find anything. The things that popped up were either talking about the ouroboros or about the Möbius strip. He even saw something called The Day the Ring Was Shot and some sort of demonstration for Assault Fire.

He opened the browser and checked his search history. Yet he discovered that the record of his search for Ouroboros Ring had vanished into thin air.

He immediately took out his phone again and called Ai Shiping.

“What now?”

The other party asked impatiently.

“Say it again. What were you planning to go do just now?”

“Are you getting Alzheimer’s, A-Po? Are you turning into Granny Po?”

Ai Shiping could barely hold it together. “Didn’t I just say it… A friend invited me to a livehouse and bought me a ticket. Did you change your mind again? I already told them I’m not going.”

In that instant, an indescribable, hair-raising chill spread through Ming Po’s heart.

He fell silent for a few seconds, then said as if nothing had happened, “It’s nothing. Send me that friend’s WeChat. I have something to ask them.”

“Sure.”

“Oh, right.”

Ming Po asked casually, “What games have you been playing lately?”

“Delta Force, and Where Winds Meet.”

“You’re not playing MMOs anymore? Didn’t you like playing MMOs?”

“Where Winds Meet counts as an MMO, right? The main thing is these two are more profitable right now. MMOs haven’t been doing too well these past few years. I made some money playing Naraka with people before, but lately I don’t really feel like playing it. I was originally pretty excited for Aion 2, but that also crashed and burned. Koreans really never disappoint when it comes to disappointing people. Are you planning to play an MMO? FF’s story has been pretty hard to endure lately. At least I don’t really recommend you go back to it. Speaking of which, didn’t you buy an NS2 and ZA? I saw your console and cartridge were delivered ages ago, but you never came back to unbox them. If you’re not playing them, I’ll try them first, okay?”

Ai Shiping rambled on and on.

Clearly, unlike Ming Po, even without Ouroboros Ring, he was still full of passion for games.

“Sure, go ahead and play. Don’t go out recently.”

“Ah, got it, got it. Granny Po, you’re so naggy. You’re coming back next week, right? Or the week after? When you get back, I’ll treat you to barbecue.”

“You’re the one who wants to eat it, aren’t you? Where do you want to go?”

“Hulun Has Beef? That place you said was good last time.”

“…Sure. I still have things to do, hanging up first.”

As Ming Po spoke, he pressed the end call button.

His straight spine seemed to freeze.

Ming Po was silent for a while. Then he slowly began deleting his browser history and search history.

He had never heard of any of the games Ai Shiping had mentioned. Not a single one. He had not even heard of the barbecue restaurant Ai Shiping mentioned… much less had any memory of going there with him for a meal.

Did such a chaotic and collapsed world really need to exist?

Such a thought emerged in Ming Po’s mind.

The entire world was being arbitrarily altered by the power of chips.

A person’s current emotions, past memories, and future actions all collapsed and disintegrated before that indescribable power, wantonly smeared over and modified.

Before it, everything mortals regarded as precious was so fragile… life, experiences, feelings.

It was a power that law, morality, and violence could not stop. It was like an authority that came from a higher-dimensional existence.

“…Is this really a power mortals should possess?”

If he had not already become a Deceiver, perhaps even his own memories would have been rewritten.

That kind of thing was absolutely not allowed.

Ming Po lowered his gaze slightly, but his fists did not clench. Even his tightly furrowed brows relaxed. There was no expression visible on his face, and his gaze was as calm as still water.

But this did not mean he was not angry.

If his friends were here, they would know that this was precisely what Ming Po looked like when he was enraged!

It was the fury of one’s own territory being invadedneither flamboyant nor irritable, but silent, relaxed, and cold.

Like a snake.

Like a wolf.

(End of Chapter)