Chapter 79 Cube
"Let's go quickly! We can't use the children as shields!" Brother Xiaosheng shouted anxiously.
Yan Zhen shook his head and said, "No, don't worry, it won't harm the children."
"What's the meaning?"
"I brought you here not to use the child as a shield, but because the security level here is the highest."
"Can you explain it more clearly?"
"If there is an attack here, the defense system will immediately send an alarm throughout the building." Yan Zhen threw the key in his hand up and caught it again, "Then the security committee will come as soon as possible."
"ah……"
"After that it's all about the criminal and the people on the committee."
As soon as he finished speaking, a man strode in from the entrance. He wore a deerstalker hat, a long dark windbreaker, his face was wrapped in layers of bandages, and he held a black cane in his hand. He looked like a mysterious bandage detective from the Victorian era.
"This person is the key he lost." Brother Xiaosheng looked at him and said.
The bandaged man asked, "Who are you?" He looked at Xiaosheng and Yan Zhen with a puzzled tone, "Are you local humans?"
Yan Zhen said, "Greetings to you, member of the Security Committee. We are guests of Mr. Han and are being hunted by a thug with red claws." He handed the key to the bandaged man, "Is this the key you dropped? Maybe it was the smell of this key that made the thug mistake you for someone else."
The bandaged man took the key and said, "Yes, I lost it." Brother Xiaosheng saw a blue electronic screen the size of glasses light up in front of his eyes, as if it was scanning his and Yan Zhen's information.
"…Identity information confirmed." He said, "Okay, you are safe now. I am a Level 3 Inspector of the Ninth Division of the Security Committee. It is my responsibility and obligation to protect the citizens of the legally independent civilized zone. You can call me Projection. My current duty is to hunt down the criminal who defies the law."
This sounds like the last appearance of the sheriff in some third-rate crime drama, Xiaosheng thought to himself.
A sharp, hissing laugh suddenly tore through the air. "Really? That's great."
A rumbling sound was heard, which meant the arrival of the murderer.
Pieces of concrete debris were carried up by the air wave, hitting the glass wall behind them and quickly rebounding. Inspector Sheying stood there, motionless. Yan Zhen blocked Xiaosheng behind him, and pieces of debris brushed past Yan Zhen, but none of them really hit him.
The pale man stood in the swirling wind behind the broken wall, his sticky black hair fluttering in the wind. He smiled and opened his arms. "Ah, finally, Security Committee member's lackey, I knew that staring at that little bug would lead you out. Long time no see, Inspector Projection."
"Shark Tooth, look at what you look like now." Inspector Sheying said coldly, "It's disgusting."
"I'm really touched by your greetings after not seeing you for a long time." The man named Shark Tooth laughed strangely.
"This is a civilized and independent area. It's not a place for you to come."
Shark Tooth laughed and said, "Your adjutant tone is disgusting. Brother Sheying, oh no, the current detective has naturally forgotten a lot of things."
Bang! The wind pressure suddenly increased, and the bullet finally arrived. It spun and rushed, turning into a blazing red light, whistling towards Brother Xiaosheng! Inspector Sheying turned around and raised the black cane in his hand. Bang!!! The cane hit the bullet with incredible accuracy and speed. The bullet broke apart in an instant, and a dazzling fire flashed by. Inspector Sheying raised the cane slightly, and the wind blew away the remaining smoke.
"Fuck, that's awesome." Brother Xiaosheng couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when he saw that the floating bullet that had been chasing him to death was killed so easily. He heard Yan Zhen mutter beside him, "This is the benefit of having a weapon. That cane is also very expensive."
"You shouldn't attack unrelated locals. Shark Tooth, you are now completely corrupt and have no honor." Inspector Sheying sighed and shook his head. He raised the cane, which was wrapped in the blue energy field and made a sizzling sound. "Don't even think about escaping today."
"No honor?" Shark Tooth raised his voice and said with a strange smile: "Who is the one who has no honor at all? Open your eyes and take a good look. You are living in lies!"
The Shadow Detective charged forward, his energy staff drawing a light-colored trajectory, like a flash of lightning, mercilessly slicing at the enemy. And the Shark Fang's claw sickle was like an agile venomous snake, vicious, fierce, precise and fast.
Their figures intertwined, and the collision of weapons constantly made a hissing sound of energy colliding.
Xiao Sheng watched their fight intently. Although his naked eyes could not capture the whole picture of their fight, the shock of watching this inhuman and wonderful duel up close surpassed all the film and television experiences he had ever seen. He stared blankly and almost completely forgot that he was just a few seconds away from dying.
Yan Zhen frowned and looked around, then he whispered to Brother Xiao Sheng: "It's a pity, we can't leave now."
Xiaosheng, who had come to his senses, said, "Ah?"
"The inspector set up a protective shield to prevent harm to other people around. So we can't get out now." Yan Zhen said, "It looks like we have to wait until they finish fighting before we can leave."
"Oh." Xiaosheng didn't feel any regret at all, "That's great, let's just watch them fight, it's so exciting."
"Uh." Yan Zhen said, "Have you ever thought about the possibility that the inspector was killed by that Shark Tooth?"
"… …" Brother Xiaosheng was silent for two seconds, then he waved his fists and shouted: "Come on, Inspector! Inspector will win! Kill that boss!!!"
Each of Inspector Projection's strikes was full of precise rhythm, but it could not break Shark Fang's defense. The Inspector slashed at Shark Fang and asked, "Shark Fang! Answer me! Why did you betray your oath!!"
Shark Fang dodged and clawed back, sending Inspector Sheying jumping back. The claw was extremely sharp, and the wind blade it created tore through the Inspector's windbreaker. "Betrayal?" He narrowed his eyes and laughed softly, "Won't you consider joining me, Inspector?"
"You are hopeless!" The inspector took a step forward and swung his cane again. The blue light wrapped around the cane and jumped, making a hissing sound. Shark Fang jumped to dodge. In one round, the inspector seized a flaw and smashed towards his face. Crack, Shark Fang raised his claws, and the red claws instantly imprisoned the cane like a spider's web.
"Sheying, have you ever thought about what if the mentor is lying?"
Inspector Sheying stared at him angrily and tried to pull out his cane, but it didn't budge.
"Come to think of it, you carried the Akkat Cube with you, didn't you?" Shark Tooth smiled, a strange and subtle smile, like a hunter witnessing his prey step into an inescapable trap .
"you……"
"See, I knew you would definitely carry the cube with you." Sharktooth laughed sharply. A mechanical gun barrel popped out of his chest, and it suddenly fired!
A ball of white light burst out from between the Shadow Detective and Shark Fang!
Everything was swallowed up by the white light.
…
…
When all the muffled sounds faded away, Xiao Zhen opened her eyes.
He was standing on a street.
There is no Shadow Detective, no Shark Teeth, no ruins after the battle, and not even Brother Xiaosheng.
It was a street in the early morning, and the rising sun cast a faint golden hue on the leaves. He turned his head and looked around. This street was familiar yet strange. It was just like the road he took to go to school every day, but the scenery was a little different.
Xiao Zhen walked forward. The morning mist gradually became thicker, silently hiding the surrounding bushes and low walls. After walking for about ten minutes, Xiao Zhen saw a tail appear in front of him, followed by a small, soft body.
It looked like Mr. Cat, and he was talking to a human.
Xiao Zhen quickly stepped forward and shouted, "Mr. Cat! Why are you talking to a human?"
Then he saw the human who was talking to Mr. Cat. It was a human girl, between adult and underage. Her face looked very familiar to Xiao Zhen.
"Who are you……"
The girl looked at him in surprise, fear flashed in her eyes. Xiao Zhen saw the words on her school uniform: [Class 2, Grade 2, Fourth Middle School].
"Luo Qingxi! What are you daydreaming about?" Another voice sounded, and a tall boy appeared behind the girl named Luo Qingxi. He was tall and handsome, and his school uniform had the same name, Class 2, Grade 2 of the Fourth Middle School. When he looked up at Xiaozhen, everything disappeared in the fog.
It was as if there had never been a street, a girl, and a boy who was inexplicably familiar and intimate.
"..." Xiao Zhen looked at the thick fog in silence, then he turned to look at Mr. Cat beside him. Mr. Cat was also looking at him thoughtfully.
"Why are you here, Mr. Cat?"
But Mr. Cat did not answer him directly. His golden eyes stared at him seriously. "You have illegally occupied the human body. You have violated the law, sinner."
"..." Xiao Zhen touched his chin, "Oh. I see. It seems that this is a time slice from the past. Hello, Mr. Cat, I am your friend from the future."
Mr. Cat looked him up and down and said, "My name is not Mr. Cat."
"It doesn't matter. You'll call yourself that in the future anyway."
"Another established fact?" Mr. Cat whispered, "So that's how it is."
"It looks like we're about to be separated." Xiao Zhen said, as the figure of Mr. Cat in front of him became gradually blurred.
"Goodbye. Remember this meeting. It is neither the beginning nor the end. We will meet again, in the past and the future." Mr. Cat said, "Mr. Cat does sound like a good name." It turned its head and disappeared into the thick fog.
Xiaozhen raised her feet and continued to move forward in the thick fog.
Brother Xiaosheng felt that his dream was becoming more and more endless.
At this moment, the scene in his dream suddenly changed. The projection inspector and the terrible boss Shark Tooth disappeared. The Qingfeng Building that he could never leave also disappeared. He was standing in a garden, with green grass under his feet and lush flowers and trees around him.
Not far away, a familiar figure was squatting under a tree.
Brother Xiaosheng walked towards him, "Yan Zhen! Where is this place?"
The boy turned around, and Xiaosheng noticed that he had changed his clothes. He stood up and dusted himself off. There was confusion and scrutiny in his eyes: "Who are you?"
Xiao Sheng couldn't help but get angry. Who am I? I let you pretend!
He said viciously: "I am your father, Brother Xiaosheng!"
The boy standing opposite him looked at him in surprise, then he smiled as if he found it very interesting, "I heard about you from Liu Xingquan. Hello, Brother Xiaosheng."
Then he raised his head slightly, his black jade eyes sparkling, and he said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Yan Zhen."
Of course I know you are Yan Zhen! Xiao Sheng wanted to yell. But Yan Zhen in front of him was very polite. Seeing that his face was full of sweat, he invited him to go home with him to drink some water. Xiao Sheng did not refuse. He followed Yan Zhen. Just after walking a few steps, the surrounding scenery began to rotate and twist. In an instant, Yan Zhen, the garden, and the trees in front of him disappeared.
…
…
…
Brother Xiaosheng was walking on a familiar street, the old street where he lived when he was a child. The environment here was so familiar. The crooked alleys were lined with old shanties of all kinds. This alley was broken and dirty, but it carried all his childhood memories. He stared blankly at a small alley in the alley that was only wide enough for one person to pass. He knew this damp alley, it was a place he had walked countless times when he was a child, and his grandfather's home was at the end of it.
His grandfather passed away three years ago, and the alley was completely demolished five years ago.
But now, everything has returned to the way it was five years ago. Xiaosheng stared at the dark alley. If he walked in now, would he be able to see his favorite grandfather?
Nothing has changed here, it's still the same as he remembered from his childhood. Xiao Sheng thought to himself, then grandpa must be here too. He raised his foot and was about to step into the alley when someone grabbed him from behind.
"You can't go in anymore! This is not something you can interfere with." Yan Zhen said behind him.
The strong wind swept Xiaosheng brother. He could neither see nor hear. His consciousness and perception seemed to be swept away by the strong wind. After the strong wind crushed all his senses, he gradually regained consciousness.
He was on a floor of the Qingfeng Building. The battle was over. Under his feet were the concrete debris from the battle. Yan Zhen stood beside him. Not far away was the Shadow Detective, but Shark Fang was nowhere to be seen.
"I'm sorry to involve you." Inspector Sheying said. He looked down at a cube emitting blue light in his hand. It was more like a fragment than a cube.
"We have just been caught up in a chaotic time slice." Yan Zhen said to Inspector Sheying.
"It was Shark Fang who used his energy to smash the Akat Cube, causing the space-time storm. This kid took the opportunity to escape." Inspector Sheying said hatefully, "I will definitely catch him." He collected the fragments of the cube and sincerely apologized to Yan Zhen and Brother Xiaosheng.
The incident seemed to have come to an end, except that the criminal was not caught.
After the inspector left, Xiao Sheng asked Yan Zhen: "What does it mean to be involved in a time slice?"
"It's just a clip of a period of time in the past." Yan Zhen said, "Brother Xiaosheng, you should have seen some scenes from the past."
The scene just now flashed through Xiaosheng's mind. Yes, the vivid touch and vision seemed to still remain in his consciousness. That's right, that was the place where he and his grandfather lived in the past.
"Did I just go back in time?"
"To be precise, it is an intrusion into a certain time slice."
"This is so cool. I've seen similar time-manipulation movies! The Back to the Future trilogy! X-Men: Days of Future Past, Avengers: Endgame! And that Magical Girl Madoka Magica. With that cube, can we change the past?" Brother Xiaosheng was very excited.
"Of course not." Yan Zhen replied, "The past cannot be changed, and cause and effect cannot be reversed."
"Ah? But we just traveled through time and space back to the past, right?"
"Going back to the time slice to observe the past and interfering with the past that has already happened are two completely different concepts. Unless it is an established fact, you will be immediately ejected by the time force field." Yan Zhen said, "Did you want to see your grandfather in the past just now? If I don't pull you away, you will be punished by the time force field, which will be very dangerous."
"Then this time travel is really too boring." Brother Xiaosheng sighed, and he said, "But I just saw your past self. That was your past self, right?"
"My past self?" Yan Zhen was stunned, then he smiled and said, "Oh, it's the Yan Zhen of the past."
