Time Inspector

Ethan Yuwen returned to his car and glanced at the time—just past eleven. He took out his phone and dialed Gaolan's number.

"Beep, beep, beep… Hello, Mr. Yuwen? Why are you calling on the weekend? You're not going to ask me to work overtime, are you? I'm out shopping, and that would be such a downer!"

"Relax, I'm not calling you in to work. I need you to arrange a meeting with your cousin. I'd like to express my gratitude."

"Why don't you just call her yourself? You have her number. Why make me do it?"

"Just arrange it for me. It would be a bit too abrupt if I contacted her directly."

"Alright, since today's as good as any, my cousin and I are at Wanda Plaza. We're shopping, so come over here."

"Got it. See you soon."

Upon arriving at Wanda Plaza, Ethan parked his car and made his way to the first floor of the mall. He called Gaolan again.

"Hello, Gaolan, I'm on the first floor of the mall. Where are you?"

"We're on the second floor. Which entrance did you come in through?"

"Let me check… Oh, I'm near Gate 9."

"Alright, take the nearest escalator up. We'll head over there."

Ethan rode the escalator up to the second floor, looking around for Gaolan and Sophia Yi. After two laps of searching, he was about to make a call when he heard someone shout, "Mr. Yuwen!" He turned to see Gaolan waving and jumping from a distance, with Sophia Yi standing beside her.

Ethan walked briskly towards them. Sophia was wearing a light pink high-necked plush mini dress, black leggings, and black suede high heels. Perhaps due to the warmth of shopping, her light-colored wool coat was draped over her left arm. Her face was adorned with light makeup, giving her a graceful and gentle appearance.

As Ethan approached, he extended his right hand towards Sophia for a handshake. She reciprocated, and Ethan shook her slender fingers with a gentlemanly grace. "Dr. Yi, hello. I wanted to meet with you to express my thanks for your meticulous care."

"Oh, Mr. Yuwen, you're too kind. It's simply my duty as a doctor," Sophia said with a smile.

"Not at all. You've opened doors for me and spared me the hassle of long registration lines."

"Let's not stand around in this bustling mall. It's lunchtime, and I know of a nice restaurant upstairs. It's quiet and serves great food. We can eat and chat there," Gaolan chimed in playfully.

"Gaolan, Mr. Yuwen is your superior. You shouldn't be so informal with him," Sophia chided lightly.

"It's fine, Sophia. Mr. Yuwen is very approachable and kind. He's always been friendly with us. Isn't that right, Mr. Yuwen?" Gaolan turned to Ethan with a mischievous grin.

"Ha ha, yes, yes, you're very clever. Lead the way to that restaurant of yours."

Gaolan and Sophia linked arms and walked ahead, with Ethan following behind. They took the escalator up to the fourth floor. This floor was bustling with various dining establishments, and at lunchtime, it was particularly lively, with restaurants handing out menus and promoting their dishes.

Finally, they arrived at the restaurant Gaolan had mentioned, named *Encounter You*. They found a table in a quieter part of the restaurant. Gaolan and Sophia sat side by side, while Ethan took the seat across from them. The waiter brought over three glasses of water and three menus.

Gaolan quickly flipped through the menu to choose her dishes, while Ethan was captivated by a passage on the menu's cover. Sophia also noticed the passage and read it aloud in English: "I never regretted meeting you, because it was you who magically changed the chapters of my life." Ethan looked up at Sophia and translated the phrase into Chinese: "I do not regret our meeting; your appearance has rewritten the chapters of my life."

Gaolan looked up from her menu and glanced between Ethan and Sophia. "You two are so strange, saying such sentimental things right in front of me. Haven't you considered my feelings? I'm getting goosebumps here," she said, dramatically rubbing her arms.

Sophia blushed and said, "Oh, I was just reading what was on the menu's cover." She pointed it out to Gaolan.

Ethan quickly explained, "I was just explaining the meaning of that sentence in Chinese." He took a sip of water, trying to mask his own awkwardness.

Gaolan exclaimed, "Wow, I've been to this restaurant several times and never noticed such a romantic phrase on the menu. I've only ever cared about which dish suits my taste. No wonder my life seems so dull—I'm clearly lacking in romantic instincts!"

The three of them laughed heartily at Gaolan's remark.

After ordering, Ethan said, "Dr. Yi, I noticed your English pronunciation was very precise when you read that phrase. Gaolan mentioned you studied in the United States."

"Yes, I spent over eight years studying and living in the U.S."

"Before meeting you, I couldn't even distinguish between neurological and psychiatric disorders. Gaolan suggested I see a neurologist, which I found confusing."

"Neurological and psychiatric disorders are non-professional terms used by the general public. In medical terms, there's a clear distinction between them, though there is some overlap. Neurological disorders refer to conditions affecting the nervous system, such as various brain diseases, spinal cord issues, nerve function disorders, limb paralysis, sleep difficulties, and sleep disorders. Psychiatric disorders, on the other hand, involve abnormalities in mental states, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, paranoia, reactive psychosis, personality disorders, and sexual deviance."

"So, to put it simply, it's like a computer: the former is like hardware issues, while the latter is akin to software bugs," Ethan said thoughtfully.

"Though not entirely accurate, it's a good enough explanation for a non-specialist," Sophia smiled.

Gaolan suddenly changed the topic. "Have you seen the highly discussed video online recently?"

"What video? Show me," Sophia's interest was piqued.

Gaolan pulled out her phone and showed Sophia the video. "The car suddenly disappears and reappears—how incredible!" Sophia exclaimed, astonished.

"The video has garnered millions of views, comments, and shares. The comment section is abuzz with theories—some say it's extraterrestrial, others claim supernatural forces, or even time travel. There are all sorts of wild explanations," Gaolan said, animatedly.

"Mr. Yuwen, you're a physicist. What's your take on this from a scientific perspective?" Sophia asked Ethan.

Ethan had been pondering this very issue over the past few days. As the person directly involved, he was more eager than anyone to find answers. Now that Sophia had posed the question, he needed to provide a scientific explanation, even if it wasn't definitively correct, but it had to be convincing.

Ethan set down his utensils slowly, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and took a small sip of water. These actions were not just to showcase his gentlemanly demeanor but also to give him a moment to organize his thoughts.

"My perspective is this: The white car appears to vanish before colliding with the vehicle ahead and then reappears in front of it. Given the movements of other objects in the video, it seems unedited. Therefore, the issue likely occurred in the extremely brief interval between the two frames in the video." Ethan took another sip of water before continuing. "Considering the car's movement trajectory, it seems like it was moving toward the stopped vehicle, but since there was no collision and it reappeared in front of the vehicle, there are only two possibilities."

"What are those two possibilities?" Gaolan and Sophia asked in unison, their eyes wide.

"Either it passed through or went around."

"Mr. Yuwen, that's impossible! Passing through would mean a crash, and going around seems implausible since all the lanes were occupied. How could it maneuver around?" Gaolan questioned.

"I'm talking about passing through in the way light passes through glass. There are cosmic phenomena where particles like neutrinos, produced by supernovae, can pass through solid objects like Earth. These are incredibly small neutral particles that quantum mechanics describes," Ethan explained.

Gaolan and Sophia listened, wide-eyed.

"Going around is like having a wall between us that's neither too high nor too low, just blocking our view of each other, but we can still hear each other because sound waves can bypass obstacles," Ethan elaborated.

"Brilliant!" Gaolan and Sophia were impressed by Ethan's explanation, nodding and clapping in appreciation.

"That's the spirit—when in doubt, quantum mechanics. Let's raise our glasses to Mr. Yuwen's brilliant explanation," Gaolan proposed, lifting her glass.

The three glasses clinked together with a crisp sound, elevating the mood of the meal to a high point.

Despite the enthusiastic applause Ethan Yuwen received for his explanation, he knew deep down that it was just a clever use of jargon to baffle non-experts. The theories he proposed had fundamental flaws. The car in the video wasn't a neutrino or a sound wave—it couldn't simply pass through or around the obstacles in the way.

After a pleasant lunch, High Lan invited Ethan and Sophia Yi to join her for a movie. Ethan declined, citing other commitments.

As Ethan drove aimlessly, his mind continued to grapple with the unexplained phenomena. Theories might make sense in theory, but how such phenomena could actually occur remained a mystery. If he could develop a theory explaining how matter could either pass through or transform into waves, he could revolutionize physics—and perhaps even change the world.

Lost in thought, Ethan realized he had driven back to the research institute. He parked in the lot and sat in his car, lost in contemplation, until a red Beetle drove past him. It was identical to the car he had seen at the mortuary days before.

Ethan immediately got out and jogged after it. The red Beetle stopped in the far corner of the parking lot. Ethan slowed as he approached, his breath coming in short gasps, both from the run and from mounting anxiety. He wasn't sure if this was the same car he'd seen before. If it wasn't, he could easily dismiss it as a case of mistaken identity. But if it was, what would happen next?

Ethan cautiously moved closer to the car, trying to peer through the heavily tinted windows into the dimly lit interior. The car remained eerily still, with no sign of movement from within.

He approached the driver's side, using his hand to block out the surrounding light to get a clearer view. Suddenly, the car door swung open, and a woman emerged. Ethan's eyes widened in shock.

The woman was Sophia Yi. "Dr. Yi? I thought you were going to the movies with High Lan. What are you doing here?"

"I'm not Sophia Yi. I'm an inspector from the six-dimensional space-time. My name is Anna Noelle," the woman said, her voice sounding as if it were composed of two different frequencies merging into one.

"Six-dimensional space-time? Time inspector? What does that mean? And why do you look exactly like Sophia Yi?" Ethan was baffled by her words.

"I understand this is hard for you to grasp, so I created some events to prepare you psychologically. For instance, the incident at the mortuary, and preventing a traffic accident."

"Are you trying to prank me? Is this some kind of joke from High Lan? I see through your tricks," Ethan said dismissively.

"This isn't a trivial prank. What you're seeing is merely a projection in your mind. If you don't believe me, walk around the car and see for yourself," Anna Noelle said seriously.

Skeptical, Ethan stepped back and began to walk around the car. He remained focused on the car and Anna Noelle as he moved. Normally, moving around the car should reveal parts of it and change the angle of view, but instead, the car and Anna remained in the same position, like a mirrored image. It was as if the car were transparent, and Ethan was seeing through it.

Ethan was stunned by the sight. He moved quickly to the right, then to the left, confirming that he was seeing a projected image. "What's happening here? Is this some kind of holographic projection?"

"This isn't a holographic projection. It's an image projected onto your retina. It's just a two-dimensional image like anything else you see, formed by the lens focusing on your retina," Anna Noelle explained.

Ethan found it hard to accept. He reached out to touch the car, but his hand passed through as if the car wasn't there. "Is this technology or magic?"

"Ha, for humans, it's technology. For me, it's magic because I don't need any devices—just my mind," Anna Noelle said with a smile.

"Who are you really, and what's your purpose?"

"Technically, I'm not human. My appearance is beyond the comprehension of your three-dimensional beings. So, I chose a form familiar to you, one that would make it easier for you to trust me."

"So, the traffic accident was also your doing?"

"Yes, it was all a projection in your mind. The accident never actually happened."

"What about the surveillance video?"

"Projecting the same image onto the camera's sensor is not a problem for me."

"Why are you here?"

"Your space-time is about to face a time virus infection event. My purpose is to prevent some errors in time and history caused by this infection. You are a volunteer I selected to help me with this work."

"Volunteer? Why me? Is it voluntary? Can I choose to agree or not?"

"Uh, I think you'll agree, given the unique opportunity to be a witness and participant in significant historical events. This extraordinary experience is something few can refuse. Humans typically use less than 10% of their brain capacity, but with my help, you could unlock 50% to 80%. As a scientist, this enhanced intelligence must be appealing."

"Your offer is tempting, but I can't fully accept it yet. This is too fantastical and not entirely explainable by modern science. I need to remain somewhat skeptical."

"That's expected. I chose you for your rational nature and potential to handle higher-dimensional consciousness. But before you can reach that level, you'll need a series of training sessions."

"Alright, but before you start any training, you need to convince me completely."

"That's a necessary step. We'll continue our discussion another time. For today, let's leave it here."

"Achoo!" Ethan sneezed suddenly. He was about to apologize but found himself standing beside his car with the door still open.

At that moment, someone from the opposite parking space greeted him. "Hey, Ethan, catching a cold? Just got out of the car and already sneezing? Afraid of making a mess inside?" The person was Wang Jianguo from the aviation engineering research department.

"You saw me just get out of the car?"

"Yeah, is there a problem? You seemed in a hurry to get out and then sneezed. I figured you were worried about making a mess…"

"Oh, haha, yes, I was afraid of getting things dirty…" Ethan said with an awkward smile.