ID No. 019 - Chapter 12.2

The instant he stepped out, Chen Yang felt his soul return to his body.

Thank goodness he could still get out.

But he froze in shock at what he saw next.

The man who’d been missing inside the cave was now walking out on his crutches!

Chen Yang first checked his shadow, then closed his dry eyes for a moment, before asking as naturally as he could, “Where did we first meet in the real world?”

Chao Jian didn’t answer.

Chen Yang tried another approach. “Chao Chao?”

Chao Jian’s figure wavered slightly. “What are you sounding me out for? It’s me.”

Despite the vague reply, Chen Yang was somehow sure it was really him. His fear melted away, replaced by confusion. “Then where did you go?”

“I was in the cave the whole time,” Chao Jian replied.

Chen Yang was stunned. “So you didn’t see me or hear me calling?”

Chao Jian nodded. “No.”

It was as though Chen Yang received a heavy blow. He asked, “What’s going on?”

Chao Jian leaned slightly on his crutches, his back bent, gazing at Chen Yang calmly.

Chen Yang felt a tension like being called on by a teacher. Meeting the man’s dark, fathomless eyes, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

“It’s a spatial overlap.”

Everything made sense now.

This explained why Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing had spent so much time in the same stone cave without realizing the other was there. Yet, neither of them had any reason to lie.

They had entered the same cave that existed in separate spaces.

Chen Yang and Chao Jian didn’t immediately discuss it but continued silently testing the cave. Eventually, they discovered that the overlapping space appeared at 10:35 a.m. and vanished precisely at noon.

It lasted for one hour and twenty-five minutes.

Zhou Xiaoxiao and Huang Qing had gone in during that exact time window.

The reason they hadn’t uncovered the cave’s secret was because they’d stayed inside the whole time. They never stepped out and re-entered the cave, only hiding in their respective overlapped space.

If they had left and re-entered after that period, they would have been able to see each other.

“Do you think there are only two spaces in the cave, or could there be more?” Chen Yang’s spirits soared with excitement, sensing a glimmer of hope to return to the real world. “How about we find the others and have everyone try together?”

Chao Jian absentmindedly swept his crutch along the ground. “No need. Two spaces are enough; I can locate the overlap point.”

With that, Chen Yang dropped the idea of looking for Zhang Yan and the others.

Better not to involve them if possible.

They were all scattered now and he didn’t know where they were. It would be hard to locate them and even riskier to do so.

“What do you think about Ah Wu? I get the feeling he knows something about these overlapping spaces,” Chen Yang muttered to himself. “Once you find the overlap, maybe we’ll uncover something connected to the vanished civilization. Then we can find him.”

Chao Jian’s crutch paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

On the ground were complex and abstract formulas that Chen Yang couldn’t make heads or tails of. “You go ahead and think,” Chen Yang said. “I’ll look around and see if there’s anything edible nearby.”

Before he could move, a phone was thrust into his hands.

“There’s no password. Just stay put and play a game,” Chao Jian said.

Chen Yang was lost for words.

In the afternoon, Lin Yue appeared in front of the stone cave. Chen Yang was surprised; he had expected Zhang Yan to be the first one to arrive.

Lin Yue was alone, her clothes stained with dried green liquid.

Noticing Chen Yang’s scrutinizing gaze, she casually remarked, “I did this to blend in with them. It helps slow them down a bit.”

Chen Yang simply responded with an “oh” and refrained from asking further.

It just didn’t feel right.

Seeing him munching on some unripe fruit, Lin Yue asked, “Aren’t you afraid it’s poisonous?”

Chen Yang replied, “I’m fine.”

Lin Yue lightly brushed her long hair away from her cheek. “You might be.”

Chen Yang seemed to ignore her and didn’t offer her either of the two fruits they had, which were the size of apples and had been knocked down by the young man’s crutch. They each had one.

Lin Yue shifted her attention to the young man leaning against the stone cave. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily, looking unwell. “Has he mutated?”

Chen Yang said, “He just has a cold.”

Lin Yue continued to observe him. “Is that so? He doesn’t look too good… Tsk, he has a fever.” She shook her head, sighing. “There’s no medicine here. If we don’t finish the mission soon and get back, he’ll burn up and die.”

Chen Yang furrowed his brow. “Have you seen Zhang Yan and Zhao Yuan?”

“No,” Lin Yue replied, retracting her gaze. “I was with Ah Wu.”

Chen Yang’s hand paused, still holding the half-eaten fruit, and calmly asked, “Ah Wu? Where is he?”

Lin Yue spoke lightly, “He’s dead.”

Chen Yang’s heart sank. He had painstakingly locked onto a suspicious target, and before he could even search for him, he was already dead?

“I was planning to bring him here, but just before it was time, he dug a hole and buried himself, turning into a radish,” Lin Yue said, pointing off to the side. “He’s over there.”

Chen Yang didn’t smell any fertilizer coming from her mouth. “A radish? Aren’t they all turning into plants? There’s even vegetables and fruits now?”

“Yeah, if I hadn’t seen him mutate with my own eyes, I might have thought about digging him up to eat,” Lin Yue replied coolly.

Chen Yang quickly finished the remaining half of the fruit. “Show me.”

Lin Yue crossed her arms and gestured towards the young man with her chin. “What about him? Aren’t you bringing him along?”

Chen Yang wiped his mouth. “It’s not far from here. I’ll be back in a bit.”

The last part was directed at the young man.

After walking away from the stone cave for a short while, Lin Yue stopped. “It’s right there.”

Chen Yang passed by her. “Where?”

“Up ahead,” Lin Yue pointed.

Chen Yang turned his back to her and began searching through the undergrowth. “I don’t see any radishes.”

Behind him, Lin Yue muttered, “It’s right there,” while tightening her grip on the carefully sharpened metal piece. She raised her hand, aiming it right at Chen Yang’s clean neck, and swung downwards. But just before she made contact, she was suddenly kicked to the ground.

The blow was incredibly heavy, sending a jolting pain throughout her organs, and she found herself unable to get back up.

Chen Yang’s face was expressionless. “So you really did want to kill me.”