Li Baiyu nodded, repeating Zhao Xinyi's words and began to talk about that dark organization hidden behind the light—a group they once thought was simply existent but was actually like an invisible web silently covering every corner of the world.
"The world we live in is far more complex than you think," Li Baiyu's voice was low and mysterious, "The organization has been manipulating everything from the shadows, from our daily health to the economic lifelines, even the thoughts and emotions of each one of us. Their goal is to achieve an unspeakable plan."
Shen Jingqi widened his eyes, feeling as though his thoughts were being torn apart by an invisible force, trying to accept this reality-defying fact. He looked at Li Baiyu, who still wore that calm smile, but there was a hidden hint of gravity in his eyes.
"The timeline of the observer's test… has arrived." Li Baiyu slowly spoke, his voice carrying a transcendent calm, "Shen Jingqi, you need to ascend dimensions."
A chill ran through Shen Jingqi's heart, ascend dimensions? This term was unfamiliar and mysterious to him.
"Ascend dimensions means you must break out from your original frame of thought, and view and understand this world from a higher dimension," Zhao Xinyi explained, "Only then can you uncover the organization's true face and stop their conspiracy."
Shen Jingqi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He began to attempt examining everything around him with a new perspective, trying to capture those details usually overlooked.
"Notice, the power of the organization far exceeds our imagination. They are everywhere, might even be beside us. Therefore, we must remain vigilant, always prepared to handle sudden situations."
Shen Jingqi felt his heartbeat accelerate, a never-before-experienced sense of tension surged in his mind. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ Novᴇ(l)Fɪre .ɴᴇt
Shen Jingqi furrowed his brows, confusion and shock flickered in his gaze. "What is a timeline?" he asked again, trying to get more answers from Li Baiyu.
Li Baiyu sighed softly as if bearing the weight of a thousand pounds. "It's the things you have seen before, forming memories, but when you see them again, you find everything has changed."
"This indicates, the timeline of the world you are in has been altered."
Shen Jingqi's heart sank suddenly, he began trying hard to recall his past experiences.
Indeed, there were certain moments when he felt the world around him seemed different from his memories.
The books he had read, certain passages seemed to have been altered by invisible hands; the patients he encountered, their conditions and stories seemed different from when he first met them. What he originally thought was just a memory discrepancy or an illusion caused by being too busy, he never expected it was all due to the timeline being quietly changed.
Just a month ago, Shen Jingqi sat in his study, an open yellowed old book laid on the table, one he had repeatedly studied, "A Brief History of the Universe." His gaze lingered on a certain page, brow furrowed, seemingly striving to capture the subtle change amidst the lines.
"Strange," he murmured, fingers lightly tracing the words on the page, "I remember clearly this was about the information entropy problem of black holes, how did it suddenly turn into a detailed analysis of cosmic microwave background radiation?"
He closed his eyes, attempting to dig up all details about this book from his memory. Indeed, he remembered reading this part before, then he had a strong interest in the paradox of black hole information. But at this moment, the words before him were entirely different from what he recalled, as if quietly replaced by some mysterious force.
Shen Jingqi felt a surge of cold creeping up his spine, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked around, everything in the study seemed to remain unchanged, but that unease lingered like a shadow. He shook his head, trying to dispel this unknown fear, muttering in his heart: "Perhaps I've been too tired recently, experiencing an illusion."
However, in the following days, this eerie phenomenon appeared increasingly frequently. Whether flipping through professional medical books or reading literature, he could always find content inconsistent with his memory. Sometimes a key discourse had been replaced, other times the entire chapter's sequence was disrupted. He began suspecting his memory, even considering whether he needed a check-up.
And earlier one night, during his night shift at the hospital, Shen Jingqi encountered a patient who left a deep impression on him—an elderly woman named Li Wan admitted for a sudden heart attack. Inquiring about her medical history, Li Wan recounted an experience of a car accident she had in her youth, the vivid details moved Shen Jingqi deeply.
"That car accident almost took my life," Li Wan's voice carried a slight tremble, "I remember very clearly, I was driving, suddenly a stray dog ran out, I swung the steering wheel sharply, and the car hit the roadside guardrail."
Shen Jingqi nodded while recording the medical history, signaling her to continue. But as he wrote down "stray dog" three characters, an inexplicable familiarity surged in his heart. He looked up at Li Wan, a hint of doubt in his eyes: "Have you previously told me this story?"
Li Wan paused, a perplexed expression emerging on her face: "Dr. Shen, this is the first time I've told you."
Shen Jingqi realized he had lost his composure, quickly apologized and continued inquiry. But deep down, the unease grew wildly like weeds. He was certain he had heard a nearly identical story at some point before, except the details differed slightly—that time, it was a cat that ran out onto the road.
In the days that followed, Shen Jingqi began paying more attention to all changes around him. He found every book he had read, every patient he met seemed to be subtly changing in some way. Sometimes these changes were obvious, like direct content alteration in books; sometimes they were more hidden, like Li Wan's story, just minor adjustments in details.
He started wondering if all this was just his illusion. But whenever he shared these strange findings with colleagues, friends, or family, what he received were blank stares and concerns asking, "Have you been too tired lately?"
Shen Jingqi felt an unprecedented loneliness and helplessness. He tried seeking answers through scientific research, but all theories regarding time, memory, and reality could not explain everything he was experiencing. He began obsessing over various science fiction novels and movies about parallel universes and time travel, attempting to find a trace of clues within them.