Chapter 25: Doomed 01

The moment Yu Bai heard those words, he swore he desperately missed that sensation of the world going black and spinning around. He wished he could respawn on the spot the very next second.

What the hell was this guy saying?!

Why did it sound like he had memories from the time loops too?!

“You just said…”

Just as a terrified, despairing question was about to burst from his lips, Yu Bai suddenly realized something crucial.

After he had abruptly returned from the endless loops to this real timespace, Xie Wufang’s behavior had initially been perfectly normal.

He hadn’t shown any sign of strange new memories. He had simply felt guilty and downcast over the next-door neighbor’s unfriendly words and actions, while also getting a bit distracted from the physical contact with a human.

It wasn’t until that grayish-white small ball suddenly acted strangely that the non-human neighbor’s expression had undergone an obvious change.

With that thought, Yu Bai darted toward the coffee table in a flash. He snatched up the small ball and, almost on instinct, shoved it—

under the cushion of the nearby sofa, then quickly sat down on top, pinning it beneath his body and the thick padding.

…

Sorry, but that was just human instinct when it came to hiding things.

“…”

The confusion clouding those gray-blue eyes did indeed fade because of his action, only for a new bewilderment to take its place.

Xie Wufang watched the figure who seemed to be using every ounce of strength to press himself onto the sofa. With some uncertainty, he spoke softly.

“Are… you okay?”

“Of course I’m not okay!” Yu Bai shot back, his emotions in utter collapse. “What the hell is that gift you gave me?!”

Yu Bai had received this small ball twice in total.

Once in this timespace, as Xie Wufang’s return gift for the watermelon. And once in a loop that had nearly perfectly replicated all the events of this timespace, again as Xie Wufang’s return gift for the watermelon.

But neither time had he gotten the chance to ask what the thing actually was.

Yu Bai had even once simulated the scenario and directly asked Xie Wufang what kind of return gift he would give, but the man had said he didn’t know—he wasn’t good at imagining things.

In later loops, Yu Bai hadn’t tried to replicate the events of this timespace again, and sure enough, he hadn’t received the small ball anymore. Instead, Xie Wufang had given him many different gifts, to the point where Yu Bai had gradually forgotten about it…

Okay, now wasn’t the time for reminiscing.

Yu Bai held his breath, not even daring to blink as he stared tensely at the man in front of him.

Please, please don’t let it be the answer he feared.

Xie Wufang gazed at him, seemingly hesitating for a moment, but then answered honestly. “It can preserve things for a very long time… You can call it the Doom Orb.”

Half of Yu Bai’s heart turned to ice in an instant, though he was still clinging to a dying struggle. “What kinds of things can it preserve?”

The black-haired, blue-eyed god fell silent for a moment before giving up any pretense entirely. In a quiet voice, he said, “Anything that exists, but it can only be used once.”

Yu Bai gave up struggling completely.

Great. A terrifying storage device that could permanently preserve anything at all—and he’d traded half a watermelon for it. Ha ha.

Though that watermelon had been ridiculously huge.

…Could you not be quite so generous, Mr. Mysterious Non-Human?!

No wonder the sight of the small ball turning blue had felt strangely familiar to Yu Bai.

That was the memory of him being stored inside the ball!

He had only wanted to keep the events of the loops forever in his heart—not inside some ball that could last until the end of time!

Seeing the shifting expressions on Yu Bai’s face, Xie Wufang said frankly, “I just now sensed some memories… They felt very familiar, like I’d gone through many moments with you.”

Doomed.

Yu Bai squeezed his eyes shut tight, covering his face with his hands as he replied in a faint whisper, “Oh.”

“But I didn’t have time to recall any more.”

…!!

Yu Bai’s eyes flew open, and he could hardly believe his ears. “Really? You don’t remember the specifics of what happened?!”

Did that mean he hadn’t been utterly mortified after all?

“I don’t remember.” Xie Wufang shook his head. “Now that they’re fully inside the Doom Orb, I can’t sense them anymore. I can’t be sure what’s in there.”

Yu Bai straightened up, dropping his hands from his face. Suddenly, he felt like he could keep toughing it out and living on.

Strictly speaking, tough it out for the time being.

Because what Xie Wufang had said was that he couldn’t sense them for now.

Yu Bai’s mind raced as he looked at the man before him, his emotions ping-ponging between wanting to punch him and being grateful for his honesty.

That said, there was no way he could actually beat Xie Wufang, no matter what.

In one of the loops, he had forbidden Xie Wufang from using any superhuman powers, and then…

Enough. No more random recollections.

Yu Bai tried his best to sort through the memories threatening to overload his brain, attempting to separate the loop world that only he remembered for now from the real world he hadn’t seen in so long.

It was now a week after the elevator’s sudden plunge. Doctor Chen had retired on schedule and set off on a leisurely trip.

Criminal Investigation Captain Uncle Li had dismissed his description of the mysterious neighbor as trauma-induced fantasy. He thought Xie Wufang wasn’t dangerous and had even encouraged him with the saying that a distant relative was no match for a close neighbor.

Sun Tiantian continued running his legitimate business. After learning about the elevator malfunction, he had called someone to replace it overnight. The new elevator was in the process of being installed, and Yu Bai still kept his distance from him and the bodyguards assigned to him.

Master Wang, whom he had met in the faulty elevator, was running his hardware store as usual. Just a couple of days ago, he had enthusiastically helped Yu Bai install full-room soundproofing.

As a result, the strange noises from next door barely affected Yu Bai anymore. He knew they came from a little girl playing inside the walls, but he didn’t know she was He Xi, who was frequently beaten by her drunken father.

Likewise, he hadn’t barged into the long-haired man’s apartment to listen to his physically intense drum performance that wielded life itself.

Besides Yu Bai, Yan Jing was the only one who had personally witnessed the kitchen explosion and restoration, eaten the yoga ball watermelon, and believed that the guy living next door to him—Xie Wufang—was no ordinary human.

Of course, at that time, they still didn’t know the man’s name was Xie Wufang.

Before angrily knocking on his neighbor’s door tonight, Yu Bai had just come back from dinner at Yan Jing’s place. He had been intensely curious about the sunflower that had appeared on the kitchen counter next door, unable to understand why this mysterious non-human, who was so good at learning and mimicking, had chosen to copy his behavior.

…And now Yu Bai understood.

So at this moment, facing Xie Wufang—whose name he had exchanged countless times already—he couldn’t bring himself to say anything too harsh.

After agonizing over it for a while, the whirlwind of thoughts in Yu Bai’s head led him to merely glare at Xie Wufang with a hint of annoyance. “Why didn’t you tell me what it did when you gave it to me?”

Xie Wufang had been about to explain something, but the words didn’t come out. Instead, he quickly admitted his mistake. “Sorry, I thought you’d know.”

How the hell was a normal human supposed to know it was some overpowered storage device!

He had even suspected it was some unknown creature’s egg and tried incubating it with a doll.

Wait… speaking of incubating eggs…

Yu Bai suddenly realized he was sitting right on top of the small ball.

Even if it was through a thick sofa cushion.

…This felt so awkward.

Yu Bai wanted to shift to a different spot or take the ball out, but the moment he moved to act, he forced himself to stop. He was caught in a total dilemma, fidgeting uncomfortably.

In the quiet moment of their locked gazes, Xie Wufang seemed to read the reason for his awkwardness.

The blue-eyed man said softly, “You can take it out. I probably won’t sense any more memories.”

You said “probably”!!

Yu Bai absolutely wasn’t going to risk it.

Keeping a straight face, he said, “I have no intention of taking it out.”

The man across from him yielded to his denial. “Sorry.”

“No more apologies!”

Xie Wufang paused, then said, “Okay.”

…Why was he so obedient to him?

Just like back in the loops, when Yu Bai had led him on adventures everywhere.

Yu Bai felt an indescribable awkwardness.

After discovering he had left the loops, he had clearly decided to keep his distance from this non-human who brought all sorts of unexpected chaos. He wanted to return to those dull, solitary days and live out the peaceful, ordinary life of his dreams.

But…

Still refusing to get up from the sofa, Yu Bai unconsciously directed him. “Turn around now, close the door for me, and go back to your own place.”

This time, however, Xie Wufang didn’t say “Okay.” He stood there quietly, and after a brief silence, he spoke, his eyes filled with deep regret.

“This timespace is continuous. Those memories don’t exist here. Did I leave you trapped in them alone—”

This guy was always too smart in the wrong moments.

Yu Bai hurriedly cut him off, emphasizing with extra force, “It doesn’t matter. I had a great time anyway.”

He really, truly had.

Looking away, he urged, “Hurry back home. I’m closing the door to go to sleep.”

Just as Xie Wufang, who had believed his excuse, seemed about to turn away, Yu Bai couldn’t help calling out. “Wait, I have one more question for you.”

Those beautiful gray-blue eyes, inhuman in their perfection, turned back to gaze at him once more.

Yu Bai asked, “Why did you give me this… Doom Orb?”

A watermelon that was utterly ordinary aside from its size, and a bizarre storage device capable of preserving anything—no matter how he thought about it, they weren’t remotely equal gifts.

The latter was far too grand, grander than any guess he had ever entertained.

Xie Wufang in the Time Loop had often claimed he wasn’t good at imagining things. But now, no imagination was needed. He surely knew the reason why the version of himself from a week ago had done this.

In the one and only correct Timespace, they had an indisputable answer.

Yu Bai waited earnestly for him to speak.

He knew this was a guy who never lied, after all.

Xie Wufang didn’t hold back.

“That night,” he said, “I received the watermelon you’d left at my door. But there were no utensils in the kitchen, so I went out to buy some at the supermarket.”

Yu Bai had witnessed that exact scene firsthand in the Time Loop that had so closely mirrored this Timespace.

He had sat on a small stool in the kitchen, quietly observing the sounds from next door. He had watched Xie Wufang methodically open every cabinet in the kitchen, only to find them all completely empty.

Thus, Yu Bai blurted out on reflex, “But you went straight home after leaving the supermarket. Nothing special happened on the way there, and surely not on the way back either…”

What did that have to do with giving him the Small Ball?

Xie Wufang paused, stunned. “How did you know that?”

“…” Yu Bai’s gaze flickered away. “Never mind.”

At those words, Xie Wufang seemed lost in thought.

“Don’t think about it!” Yu Bai interrupted hastily, having let the cat out of the bag. “Just keep going.”

And so he did.

“On the way,” Xie Wufang said softly, “I saw many sights… and many fleeting moments of time.”

“I had always believed that time was the least important thing.”

Beneath the dim yellow glow of the room’s lights, the icy lake frozen in his eyes lay perfectly still.

Suddenly, Yu Bai understood the reason. He stared off in a daze.

On that clear moonlit night, he had seen Xie Wufang pause in front of a fruit shop brimming with seasonal produce. He had seen him linger at the entrance of a bag shop draped in final-day clearance banners. He had seen him standing before the supermarket shelves, picking up a packaged snack with its fresh, vibrant colors, flipping it over, and silently reading the densely printed fine print on the back.

The human world was filled with time everywhere you looked.

Sichuan peppercorn-flavored instant noodles lasted only six months—a mere blip. Yet a single day could stretch on forever, long enough for dust to gather on the closing-sale banners. A deep green watermelon claimed an entire summer, but once sliced open, its red flesh offered only the sweetness of one night.

Fragile and insignificant, humans hurried onward in their busyness, all the while fixated on those chaotic, ephemeral scraps of time.

And a god blessed with endless, eternal years received his first gift from one such human.

So, he had quietly offered eternity in return.