Chapter 44: Maybe None of Us Exist

Yang Ming was annoyed by everyone's stares: "Is this my fault? If it weren't for that bastard Xiao Bai... Oh, never mind, he's dead now, let's not talk about it."

He suddenly sighed again, his expression once more melancholy.

"That's enough of this secret. " Fang Xiu suddenly spoke up: "By the way, you don't have the habit of turning off your phone, do you?"

Yang Ming nodded: "If you could really go back in time and call me, I would definitely answer it, because I'm directionally challenged. When Xiaobai had the accident, I was driving in the mountains near Qingbei Town. At the time, my phone was connected to Bluetooth and using navigation, so I would definitely have answered the call."

Fang Xiu nodded: "Wait for the call."

Then he fell silent.

As he grew quiet, the scene also grew quiet.

Everyone silently stared at him as time ticked by.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Suddenly, Fang Xiu spoke up, "Why are you all staring at me? Continue the meeting."

Everyone was instantly stunned.

Yang Ming couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going back to the past? We're all waiting for you to act."

Fang Xiu looked at him with a disdainful expression: "When did I say I was going back to the past now? Also, you don't really think I'll just disappear on the spot like in the movies, do you?"

Everyone: "..."

To be honest, that's exactly what they thought.

"Then when will you start?"

"No rush. After the lottery results are announced at 8 PM."

Yang Ming was taken aback: "Lottery results? What lottery?"

"Enough questions, Yang Ming. Take this rambling madman to the detention room immediately. I'll be there shortly. He's already lost his mind and is likely about to lose control of his senses." Wang Dehai suddenly spoke up.

Yang Ming didn't want to comply, but he noticed Wang Dehai giving him a meaningful glance.

So Yang Ming could only turn to Fang Xiu and say, "Come with me."

Fang Xiu nodded and followed Yang Ming to the isolation room without any further action.

After all, with his current abilities, causing trouble at the Investigation Bureau was essentially the same as courting death.

Additionally, he was well aware of Wang Dehai's intentions: regardless of whether what he said was true or false, this matter should not be exposed to the public.

If it were true, the ability to travel back in time and alter the future was too sensational to be believed. If it were to spread, it would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar.

If it was false, it would be the biggest embarrassment the Investigation Bureau had faced this year, and it was also best not to let too many people know.

Wang Dehai had made this decision precisely for that reason, which is why he had allowed Yang Ming to take him away.

Once they arrived at the detention room, Fang Xiu asked Yang Ming many more questions about the Head Demon and Shadow Demon, as well as information related to Bai Qi.

It turned out that Bai Qi's ability was extreme speed, far surpassing the peak speed of his peers, giving him an absolute advantage whether attacking or fleeing.

He had once defeated a second-tier Spirit Master in an instant.

He had also successfully escaped from a powerful and bizarre pursuit.

For this reason, he and Yang Ming were allowed to act alone, as Bai Qi could flee if he couldn't win.

As for Yang Ming, with his luck ability, it was unlikely he would die unluckily.

Unfortunately, this time Bai Qi was limited by intelligence and failed to detect the Shadow Spirit's presence, leading to the ambush.

Ordinary supernatural beings would find it difficult to ambush Bai Qi successfully, as he is both fast and has quick reflexes. However, the Shadow Demon is different; it hides within Bai Qi's shadow, and no matter how fast Bai Qi moves, he cannot shake off the shadow.

During his high-speed battle with the Headless Demon, the shadow remained by his side, then delivered a fatal blow at a critical moment.

The two chatted for a long time, but Fang Xiu didn't manage to extract much useful information.

Yang Ming, though rough and careless in appearance, spoke with precision, never revealing anything he shouldn't. After all, he still couldn't confirm whether Fang Xiu could reverse the future.

About an hour later, Wang Dehai arrived at the detention room with Shen Lingxue.

"Fang Xiu, what are your true intentions? What do you plan to use Yang Ming for?" Wang Dehai asked directly upon arriving.

"There are three hours left. After the results are revealed, everything will become clear." Fang Xiu said calmly.

"Results? Didn't you previously claim your ability was to foresee the future? Why has it now become about altering the future?"

"What's the difference? After I foresee the future, I make corresponding changes. In a way, isn't that equivalent to changing the future? For example, if I foresee that I'll be hit by a car and die today, as long as I don't go out, I won't die in the future."

Looking at Fang Xiu, who spoke with such conviction, Shen Lingxue couldn't help but interject, "But now Deputy Captain Bai is already dead. This event has become an unchangeable past. How can you change the past from the present?"

"Oh?" Fang Xiu gave her a faint glance and countered, "Why do you assume this is the present? Could it be that you, Yang Ming, and everyone else, including me, don't actually exist? Could everything happening now be the future as seen through the eyes of my past self?"

At these words, Shen Lingxue and the others all froze, overwhelmed by an endless sense of absurdity.

"We... don't exist?"

Yang Ming asked oddly, "Do you even realize what you're saying?"

Fang Xiu closed his eyes to rest and said nothing more.

An odd atmosphere permeated the three of them.

Fang Xiu's words seemed absurd and baseless, but for some reason, as they pondered them, they felt a faint sense of dread.

Do we... really not exist?

After a while, the three left the detention room, leaving Fang Xiu alone.

After all, they were all from the Investigation Bureau and had important duties to attend to; they couldn't just wait here for three hours.....

.....

Time flowed like water, and before long, three hours had passed.

Bang!

The door to the detention room was violently pushed open.

Wang Dehai, Shen Lingxue, and Yang Ming walked in with grim expressions, their eyes fixed on Fang Xiu, who was closing his eyes to rest.

Suddenly, Fang Xiu opened his eyes and calmly looked at the three of them.

Slap!

Shen Lingxue slammed the piece of paper with the winning numbers Fang Xiu had written earlier onto the table and coldly said, "Fang Xiu, the winning numbers you wrote didn't win at all. Not only did they not win, but not a single number matched! Look, here are the actual winning numbers I just wrote down!"

"Fang Xiu, you can explain now. Who are you, and who sent you?" Wang Dehai said solemnly.

Yang Ming said nothing, but his gaze toward Fang Xiu carried a hint of murderous intent.

However, Fang Xiu merely smiled faintly: "My predictions never fail. You're just trying to deceive me with a random string of incorrect numbers?"

Shen Lingxue was so enraged that her breathing stalled, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

She pulled out her phone, opened the lottery results, and placed it in front of Fang Xiu.

"Look for yourself! I'll see how long you can keep this up!"

Fang Xiu casually glanced at it, his smile growing more mocking: "You sent someone to manipulate the lottery results, and now you're questioning me?"

At these words, the expressions of the three grew cold.