Ordinary Chapter 97: Turning Back Time

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey

 

Right, an unknown data-class Survivor, who had hacked into the Special Unit’s system to steal a large amount of information, and also gave some of the information to the Underworld Trade Union. The Underworld Trade Union based on this information constantly pulled people to sell insurance, collecting benefits under the interest and protection.

Shen Si actually didn’t understand what the big deal was about the organization Underworld Trade Union, in fact even Xi Luo was not sure until he found out that the leader of Underworld Trade Union was not the explicit Lin Chao, but Lin Chao’s special ability, which was Lin Chao’s mirror self.

“The relationship between Lin Chao and him in the mirror is complicated, only the main body can exist, so even if his ability has the ability to think independently, it will protect Lin Chao.”

Shen Si nodded, “So asking the mirror means asking the chief in the mirror?”

“That’s right. Right aside, brother, are you sure you want to come over?”

“It’s okay to ask, although I don’t have much attack power but they can’t hurt me.” Shen Si spoke up, “I do have a lot of questions I want to get to the bottom of.”

Xi Luo nodded, “I know, then come over. Now your news has long been spread in the major organizations, so I guess no one dares to stop you after you arrive. When you come straight in, just say that I told you to come.”

The phone hung up, Shen Si took Jian Nian’s wrist and walked out. Just out of the neighborhood, people had arrived at the entrance to help the community. They stopped Shen Si and Jian Nian, after determining their identity asked them where they were going.

“The earthquake has just passed, and there’s no telling when the aftershocks will come again, so it’s better for you two to go to a safe place.”

“Our brother is now in another place and Shen Si can’t contact him. Staying here can only worry, so we are ready to go over to see.” Jian Nian stepped in front of Shen Si before he could speak, his voice had a bit of grief in it, along with a trembling voice from the cold made it sound like he had been crying, “We’re really worried about him.”

The people present looked at each other, then they returned their ID cards to them, “Since you have to leave, it’s none of our business if something happens.”

Jian Nian hastily agreed, and he pulled Shen Si and ran out with a very distraught look, until Jian Nian stopped after the neighborhood was completely out of sight.

“It looks like this earthquake has quite a range. It’s not the Special Unit nor the police that are coming, it’s even only the neighborhood property that is being managed.” Jian Nian opened his phone and looked at the latest news release now, “Global earthquake, magnitude 6, quake duration five seconds… There really is an earthquake of this scope?”

“There is.”

“Hmm? There really is?”

“The earthquake before Survivors came back was a global earthquake, stronger than the current one and lasting twice as long.” Shen Si looked at Jian Nian.

Jian Nian pressed out the phone screen, “…You mean something terrible might happen again?”

“Who knows.”

But Jian Nian felt that Shen Si did know, and Jian Nian had that feeling since his personality changed.

Shen Si seemed to know something that no one else did, carrying some burden that only he understood. Shen Si’s smile and gentleness came back too abruptly, and occasionally at home Jian Nian would find Shen Si looking at the plants on the balcony with a focused expression, and he was wondering what he was thinking about.

For Shen Si, what does the past and future look like in the end?

“Shen Si, when you get to that place, what things are you going to ask?”

Shen Si tucked his hands in his pockets against the cold wind, but he was still blown through by the wind, he avoided the wind and looked at Jian Nian, “If it really has questions to answer, it will probably ask something about the current weather or my ability. Team Leader He called me one day, as if he was worried about my health. What about you?”

“Me?” Jian Nian thought for a moment, and then he muttered, “Ask when this cold day will pass.”

Shen Si nodded, “That’s really a good question.”

Walking side by side with Shen Si on the road, Jian Nian kept his head down, his mind etched with the appearance of Shen Si when he was young. The memory of the not-so-clear little Shen Si taking his hand and walking towards the forest, stopping every now and then because he was out of breath and finally stopping at the roadside, just observing the weed-like plants at the foot of the hill.

Shen Si had always been willing to accommodate him since he was a child.

If there was a mirror that knew everything, Jian Nian would ask it what Shen Si was thinking now, what he was worried about and what he was longing for.

The future he was longing for, with or without his existence… 

By the time they arrived at the place, two hours had passed. The major organizations were still assembled, and they were getting along well, as everyone noticed the moment Shen Si stepped here.

“Hey, does this guy look familiar?”

“Where’s your brain? Did you forget? He’s the one who was here before to turn the whole playfield backwards in time until it was gone.”

“Ah, that time ability Shen Si!”

The people in the room looked at Shen Si curiously, most of them with caution in their eyes in addition to curiosity. Almost all organizations so far put Shen Si in the same class as S-Rank Survivor, even if Shen Si was not as good as the three S-Rank Survivors, it wasn’t that far off.

There were a few people who wanted to go over and get to know Shen Si, maybe they could even get some information, but the people around them were quietly watching these people, not even making a sound.

The people of Karmic Fire Heaven made a booing sound, and after a moment they pushed out a person, who sneered and went over.

“You’re Shen Si, the one with time powers?” He looked Shen Si up and down with a face full of disdain. He was a member of Karma Fire Heaven’s organization and naturally carried hatred for the Special Unit, “I’m telling you, we don’t welcome people from the Special Unit here!”

Shen Si looked at him, after a moment he nodded, “Okay I understand. Now please move aside, I’m in a hurry.”

“Are you looking down on me?! Did you not hear me when I told you to get lost?!”

Just as he was about to push Shen Si a little, a man clutched his hand from behind Shen Si’s back, the cold touch of the offender made his whole body shiver.

The man froze for a moment, he looked behind Shen Si. Jian Nian leaned on Shen Si’s shoulder, down jacket hood blocking his eyes, “Just now, what did you say? Tell who to get lost?”

“Jian… Jian Nian?”

Jian Nian smiled and pushed hard, the man let out a miserable scream as he fell to his knees, “It’s me, it’s me who should get lost! It’s my fault! Please let me go!”

The hand was released, and the man hurriedly scrambled and crawled to the range of Karma Fire Heaven. Several people present didn’t even look at him and completely ignored him, only focused on Shen Si and Jian Nian.

Originally, the people of Karma Fire Heaven didn’t care about this person, but this guy had to think he had some strength, if he was foolish enough to provoke this mysterious person, they would let him. Now being beaten back by Jian Nian, he really deserved it. He made such a big fool of himself, he was probably going to get cleared out by the chief.

However, they didn’t expect it would be Jian Nian, the legendary strongest S-Rank Survivor, who actually knew Shen Si and had arrived here together.

Who did they intend to find? Which organization?

Anyway, it couldn’t be Karma Fire Heaven. Karma Fire Heaven’s reputation was notorious, and Jian Nian wouldn’t go to Karma Fire Heaven even if he suddenly turned his nature to join the organization.

The crowd only dispersed when Shen Si and Jian Nian walked into the Underworld Trade Union’s organization, and they speculated in their hearts about the reason why these two came, and various conspiracy theories kept pouring out.

The Special Unit wouldn’t be so stupid as to ask them to persuade Xi Luo to return.

When they were trying to contact Xi Luo, a man fell from a tree. Shen Si froze, and Jian Nian didn’t even spare it a glance, not even caring if someone had fallen or not.

“That hurts!” The man got up from the ground, covering his waist and wailing, “Little Right you are too much, how can you treat your brother like this!”

Shen Si clutched his phone and looked at the person on the ground, “Cheng Xiangwen?”

“Ugh? Who called me?” Cheng Xiangwen sat on the ground and turned his head, then directly met Shen Si’s eyes, as well as the Jian Nian who was looking at him subtly next to Shen Si.

No longer wailing, Cheng Xiangwen hurriedly climbed up and hid behind a tree, looking very worried that he would be killed by Jian Nian, but his voice was as spontaneous as ever, “So it’s Shen Si, long time no see! I heard you’ve entered the playfield again and brought out hundreds of Survivors. That’s awesome! Congratulations.”

“Little Right?” Jian Nian looked at him, after a moment he shifted his eyes to look up the trunk of the tree. Up on a branch, a person who wrapped himself tightly with black cloth was holding a tablet computer, the whole person was almost fused with the trunk of the tree.

Becoming aware of Jian Nian’s line of sight, the person slightly lifted his gaze from the tablet, locking eyes with Jian Nian. The next instant, he disappeared directly, leaving only a tablet that fell directly from the tree and hit the ground.

Jian Nian looked at the tablet that fell to the ground, “Data body?”

“It’s a data body, yes. This is Xiao Right’s ability.” Cheng Xiangwen walked out from behind the tree and picked up the tablet on the ground, “Come with me.”

“To where?”

“To see that mirror.” Cheng Xiangwen waved at them, “Take advantage of the fact that Lin Chao is not here now. Let’s hurry up and meet and leave, if that guy sees it I don’t know how long it will take.”

Shen Si and Jian Nian looked at each other, and after a moment they followed.

While walking, Cheng Xiangwen was still chattering, the words in his mouth were more and faster than his footsteps, and in a short while he was shaking the black history of Lin Chao, the leader of Underworld Trade Union, to the core.

The name Underworld Trade Union was indeed given by Lin Chao, because he was a guy who had little appreciation and was extremely middle-aged, and could live until he came out from the world of unlimited flow all because of his ability. His ability was himself, a complete opposite of himself.

His mirror image was mature, sensible and powerful, an independent individual, and in certain circumstances could come out of the mirror and become one with Lin Chao to deal with difficulties. But also because of this, Lin Chao quickly became a person attached to himself, and it wasn’t clear whether it was considered narcissism.

There weren’t even five people in the entire organization who knew about his ability, and no one who had seen his ability, because Lin Chao’s jealousy didn’t allow him to contact anyone in the mirror.

Like a child.

But… The Lin Chao in the mirror was indeed a very scary person.

“Here it is, the person is inside.” Cheng Xiangwen held the tablet and pointed inside, “Shen Si you want to know what to ask, I promise, little Right is definitely not harming you.”

“What is that Right to you?” Jian Nian blocked in front of Shen Si.

Cheng Xiangwen smiled, “Little Right is my brother, we are twins. I am Cheng Xiangwen, he is Cheng Xiangyi. So he is Little Right, I am Little Left. He is a Survivor, and I am also a Survivor.”

“You’re a Survivor?”

“Other than the fact that I am not an undercover agent planted by the Special Unit, I am not lying to you.” Cheng Xiangwen put his hands together in a pleading gesture, “People are inferior, and my inferiority is that I like to mix the truth with lies, I can’t change it, forgive me.”

Shen Si peered inside, but before he could enter, he felt his wrist was pulled. Shen Si looked behind him, to see Jian Nian’s disapproving expression.

“It’s okay.” Shen Si smiled a little, “I’ll be fine.”

Looking at Shen Si’s smile, Jian Nian reluctantly let go of his hand, and turned his head to look at Cheng Xiangwen, “Okay then, I’ll stay here and keep an eye on this person. If anything happens to you, I’ll finish him off as a sacrifice.”

“Hey!” Cheng Xiangwen almost jumped up, “Don’t be so grumpy, and Shen Si will really be fine!”

It was only when Shen Si walked in that Jian Nian took two steps back, leaned against the wall, and his entire body exuded an aura of ‘Do not approach the living’.

Jian Nian had a feeling of right or wrong. He felt that maybe many things would be answered today, maybe from now on everything would enter a new phase, and what the future was like no one could say clearly, since variables always exist in life.

However, he hoped Shen Si could always smile as happy as when he was a child.

No matter if he existed in Shen Si’s future or not.

… 

The room was a mess, there was broken porcelain everywhere and things were scattered on the floor. Shen Si carefully avoided the porcelain fragments and looked around. The room was incomplete, only a mirror facing the bed was intact, so Shen Si went around to look at the mirror. A man was sitting in the middle of the mirror.

The moment he saw Shen Si, the man in the mirror frowned slightly, as if he was a little surprised that an outsider had come in here.

“You’re the man in the mirror?” Shen Si looked at him.

“Hello, I’m Lin Chao.” The person in the mirror sat on the chair and looked at him, “I know you, Shen Si.”

Shen Si nodded, “Someone came and asked me to ask you questions, saying that you know a lot of things.”

“Of course.” Lin Chao smiled a little, “I know a lot of things because the mirror carries time. Even if time is reversed I remain the same, at most I am just locked in the mirror unable to see reality.”

Shen Si nodded, “Okay, I understand.”

“What do you want to ask me?”

“The first question, how long will it take to get to the future timeline again?”

Lin Chao looked at Shen Si, “Have you already sensed that?”

“I have the ability of time, how can I not detect it?” Shen Si sat on the bed, he sighed, his voice wasn’t too loud, “The timeline going on now is not the future, but the past that was reversed, right? The first time I noticed this was at my parents’ car accident. The things I can change are the present and the future, only the past can’t be changed no matter what. Since this is the past being reversed, there will be a point where time is rewound in, so when is that point in time?”

“A week later.” Lin Chao answered Shen Si’s question, “A week later is the day you rewind time.”

Shen Si put his hand on his chin and after a moment he nodded, “A week later, I see. So, how many times have I reversed time?”

“With this one, seven times.”

“Seven times?” Shen Si was taken aback, “That many?”

Lin Chao nodded, “As long as you reverse time, I will be sealed in the mirror again, until Lin Chao outside enters the world of unlimited flow and finds me. So far, it is indeed the seventh time.”

“One last question.” Shen Si spoke, “Why do I have to reverse time?”

The Lin Chao in the mirror looked at Shen Si, as if he was looking at some strange creature, after a moment he shook his head and didn’t answer Shen Si.

“Don’t you know?”

“You’ll remember before that point in time came, whether it was those seven reversals of time or why you made that decision. I think you also have a slight impression of the past now, after all, you are the ability of time, so even if you seal your memory, you will remember something the moment you get the ability. So, don’t ask me.”

Shen Si looked at him, and after a moment he nodded, “I understand.”

Just as the words left his mouth, a man pushed open the door and walked in, cursing and kicking away the debris on the floor. He walked to the middle of the house before seeing Shen Si sitting on the bed.

“You, who are you?!” Lin Chao outside the mirror pointed at him in horror, “Why are you here?!”

Shen Si stood up, he walked to Lin Chao and smiled gently at him, then patted his shoulder and walked out, Lin Chao looked at Shen Si’s back in bewilderment, completely didn’t understand what was happening. Finally, he remembered his precious mirror, so he hurriedly ran to it, “Are you okay?! Did he hurt you?”

The Lin Chao in the mirror felt the mirror he was in was moved, and because of the sight he saw Shen Si who was walking outwards.

“Shen Si.” The Lin Chao in the mirror suddenly called out to him.

Shen Si stopped in his tracks and looked back at the mirror, his dark eyes and snow-colored hair overlapped with the youth in his memory in a flash.

Not true… They were originally the same person.

“Is life now what you expected it to be?” The Lin Chao in the mirror spoke, “Can you grab your future now?”

Shen Si smiled, he waved his hand towards the mirror, then turned to leave. His steps were smooth, with full confidence, Shen Si was still the same Shen Si, no matter how many times time rewound, he would always be this way.

Perhaps, he could really succeed.

“Hey, do you know him? Who is that guy?” The Lin Chao outside the mirror asked him nervously, “Is it a new friend you made? Shen Si? His name is Shen Si? Why does it sound a bit familiar?”

“Shen Si, who has the time ability, is the one our guild is fighting to join.”

“I can’t believe it’s him!” The Lin Chao outside the mirror jerked to his feet, “I know, I’m going to think of a way to keep the person now!”

Looking at his fiery self outside the mirror, Lin Chao shook his head slightly, then closed his eyes to recuperate.

He could very much look forward to the future development.

Will a new future be ushered in, or will it be… Time once again being turned backwards?