Chapter 5: The Story Begins Again From Here
After aimlessly wandering the streets for a while, there was finally no one left on the road. At the intersection, I looked to the left.
My mind was in a mess, and my head felt heavy. I must have been thinking too much. District Six was the old city, and besides the main street, the streetlights on other streets would normally go out at 11 o’clock. This made me think of my own situation – perhaps I had already been defeated by this tragic reality.
This time, I had truly become a lone wolf, homeless like those vagrants.
“…A vagrant, huh…”
I gave a self-deprecating laugh, shook my head, and walked towards another street where the streetlights were still on.
This was just another possibility in life…
Since I had become a vagrant, there was only one place I could go…
Beishan Park was a landscape park. It didn’t have any exercise equipment or large open spaces. It only had winding paths and scenery near the riverbank. Moreover, it was located in the old city, so very few people came here.
Normally, only the elderly who came for their morning exercises would stroll through. At other times, there were very few people. Of course, some couples would come here for dates, as it was secluded and suitable for doing unspeakable things.
Following the path I had walked countless times, I went around the clock tower in the center of the park and arrived at a corner near the vending machine.
The long bench was covered in dust. It seemed that even vagrants didn’t want to rest here, and the light from the vending machine was too bright.
This was my secret base.
I zipped up my jacket to the top, covering my mouth and nose. With my hands in my pockets, I sat down against the back of the long bench and looked up at the sky.
Although there were only a few, there were indeed stars in the sky. It was because I could see this starry sky in the city that I liked to stay in this park.
Looking at the stars in the sky, I felt a little better.
Things had come to this point, and I had no choice but to accept reality.
Although I was still sad, I wasn’t the type of person to be so dejected by emotions that I’d want to commit suicide. Although I had lost everything I once had, at least I was still alive, wasn’t I?
Come to think of it, if I really had to trace it back, everything started from here.
It was because I was hit by a Yata no Kagami that flew here that I gained the ability to see names.
Looking back, that was the ‘turning point of fate’.
And now, I had merely returned to my original state… returned to the ‘starting point of everything’.
Or rather, wasn’t this what the original me wanted?
I wanted a peaceful everyday life… and it had indeed arrived.
There were no anomalies in this world, nor were there various Anomalies. It was just a perfectly ordinary world.
I took a deep breath, pouring my depressed mood into it, and exhaled with my warm breath.
Now, I was free.
Then, it was time to get my spirits up.
First, I really needed to sort out my identity.
Did I have to go to…? But before that, I needed something very important – money.
In modern society, you couldn’t go anywhere without money.
Right now, I didn’t even have enough money to buy a can of coffee. Whether it was for food, accommodation, or even… it all required money. So, starting tomorrow, I had to hustle for a living.
And then, Xiao An.
That child was clearly not from this world either, and she had appeared on that Uninhabited Island with me. There had to be some… connection between us.
In that case, I should be the one to take care of her.
Ah, right. I came straight here after getting off the plane. Xiao An was still at the Principal’s house.
I was really impulsive. Even when I knew I had arrived in a parallel world, I should have realized that no one in this world would be connected to me anymore. Yet, I still ran to my own home like an idiot.
It was a good thing I didn’t see her. What would I have said if I had? I’m such an idiot…
Speaking of which, they had moved? And my eldest daughter had disappeared?
This meant that Zi’ai hadn’t returned to this world yet. What had happened during this lost year? If I hadn’t swapped with Zi’ai, why would I have come to this world?
In any case, I’ll survive in this world for now and investigate.
For now, I’ll go to the Principal’s house to pick up Xiao An.
I stood up from the long bench with renewed energy and was about to leave, patting the dust off my pants, when I noticed that my shoelace had come untied at some point.
As I bent down to tie my shoelace, something flew over my head and hit the ground with a metallic clang.
I looked at the round, flat object expressionlessly, and a sense of relief washed over me, as if I had narrowly escaped a disaster.
“That scared me! It almost hit my head by a few centimeters! What the heck?!”
“Is it the Yata no Kagami again?!”
“Are you trying to trick me again?!”
Why was it a frisbee? The moment the question arose in my mind, my ears caught the sound of intense panting behind me, so heavy it didn’t sound human. Connecting it with the frisbee in my hand, the moment I understood and turned around, I was tackled!
But it wasn’t some beautiful girl who tackled me.
It was a large dog, so big it could probably serve as a mount for a primary school student.
“Woof! Woof woof! Grrr…”
The large dog suddenly barked at me twice, then bared its teeth and growled menacingly.
Up close, it was truly intimidating. I felt like it could bite off my neck in one go, and it had the strength to tackle me to the ground. Was this dog a special forces breed?
However, I didn’t feel any malice from it. A simple scan of its Spiritual Power showed that it just wanted its frisbee back.
It was quite strange, wasn’t it? In this world without Anomalies, I was perhaps the only Anomaly.
“Get off me first, and I’ll give you the frisbee.”
As I spoke, I pointed to the frisbee. The intelligent dog understood what I said, got off me, squatted beside me, and barked once. “Woof!”
Being able to sense the Spiritual Power of other creatures was really convenient. This was equivalent to telepathy, wasn’t it? Although I couldn’t communicate yet, at least it knew I had no ill intentions.
“Pochi! Where are you! Honestly, where did you run off to…”
It seemed its master had found it.
“So your name is Pochi… Amazing, a tank-killing dog?”
“Woof?”
Hey, if you understood my joke, you’d be a genius.
I smiled and patted the dog’s fluffy head, then placed the frisbee near its mouth as I began dusting myself off.
“Pochi! Pochi… Ah! Pochi!” “Woof!”
Seeing its owner toss the frisbee on the ground, Pochi happily barked once, then picked up the frisbee and ran back to its owner.
At this moment, the other party also noticed my presence. She hurried over to me and then looked down to apologize.
“I’m really sorry! I thought there would be no one else out at this hour… The frisbee didn’t hit you, did it? Pochi didn’t hurt you, right?”
“It’s alright, it didn’t hit me, and it didn’t do anything to me. But playing frisbee this late at night…”
“Um, I’m really sorry… I just bought a new frisbee today, and Pochi has been pestering me. I was about to go to sleep, but it was still restless. So, I had no choice but to take it out for a walk… Huh?”
The girl, who was explaining the reason with her head down, suddenly looked up as if she had discovered something new and started staring at my face.
And I finally had a chance to get a good look at her. Since the streetlights had gone out, I hadn’t seen what she looked like.
This girl, dressed in a brown tracksuit, had her hair down her back and wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses.
At first glance, I didn’t recognize her. But on the second look, I realized that this long-haired girl had a very familiar face.
However, because her ponytail was undone and her hair was longer than before, and… perhaps due to her expression and mannerisms, it took me a long time to be sure that she was indeed that person.
Then, I immediately felt it was absurd. This joke was really not funny at all.
“Um, have we met somewhere before?”
Or rather, in my original world, she was a brainless zombie, a ditzy class monitor, and my idiot partner.
A treasure-e-but-a-fool who was a combination of a burden, a foodie, and an idiot.
“That… Li Nai…”
Now, she stood before me as an ordinary girl, and her words and actions were much more ‘girly’ than the Li Nai I knew.
I sort of understood Zi’ai’s feelings. She was familiar with this Li Nai, and then seeing the other Li Nai, she would naturally feel that the character design had collapsed.
I felt the same way now.
Even in a parallel world, this difference was too great…
Cough, it’s not the time to be dazed. Hide my surprise and just give a normal answer.
“No, this is the first time we’ve met.”
“…Is that so…”
Li Nai looked unable to shake off her thoughts and stared at my face for a while longer. Then, she suddenly realized that her behavior was impolite and quickly averted her gaze, suggesting to me.
“I’m really sorry, Pochi dirtied your clothes, right? In that case, how about…”
“Eh? Is this development…?
Am I going to Li Nai’s house?
Speaking of which, if Li Nai in this world isn’t a zombie, then her family must still be alive, right?
What about Mom?
“Juncheng An! If you hear me, answer me immediately! Juncheng An! I’ll give you ten seconds! Appear before me immediately! Hmph!”
That voice was Nana’s… she sounded incredibly impatient!
Oh no! Her anger level had reached MAX!
Most of the time, it was only when I called her ‘Principal’ to her face and used the power of the contract to embarrass her that she would make such a growling sound!
“Sorry, someone’s calling me. I guess I have to go back.”
“Ah… okay.”
“Well then, be careful on your way, and Pochi, remember to protect your owner.”
“Woof woof!”
After saying goodbye, I sprinted at full speed.
There were only five seconds left on the countdown! I had to make it in time!
Otherwise, with the Principal’s personality, she would definitely skin me alive!
“………”
“Woof?”
“I’m fine. I just thought I might have… but I can’t remember where.”
“Woof woof!”
“Speaking of which, Pochi, you’re actually so close to a stranger. You surprised me just now. You even let him pet your head.”
“Woof! Woof woof!”
“Is that so… meaning he’s a good person?”
“Hehe, me too. I hope to see him again.”
Juncheng An received a “Good Person Card”.
