The Staggered Space

When the car turned into Alpha Street and crossed a central square, the scenery on the street suddenly changed.

It was an incredibly eerie scene!

On one side of the square, there were empty streets and buildings, with no one on the road, and in the distance, you could even hear sporadic gunshots and explosions.

However, as the car drove across the square and entered Alpha Street, the street immediately came to life.

Pedestrians, cars, bustling shops, store owners, and even outdoor cafes with chairs set up by the roadside...

It looked just like a normal city, without any abnormalities.

What's even more surprising is that once they entered this street, even the sound of gunshots and explosions disappeared from their ears.

Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao exchanged glances, and both saw a hint of astonishment in each other's eyes.

Chen Xiaolian immediately stepped on the brakes and reversed the car slightly, stopping it at the intersection between Alpha Street and the square.

They watched as a car whizzed by on the road, heading towards the square. Just as it left the intersection, the air shimmered... and the car vanished!

But the square remained empty!

The problem was, pedestrians continued to walk on the road, cars came and went, and it seemed like everyone was completely oblivious to this situation — or perhaps, in their eyes, they couldn't see it at all!

Pedestrians walking out of the street intersection disappeared at the boundary of the square, and the same was true for cars.

Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao exchanged glances and whispered simultaneously, "Spatial rift?"

Chen Xiaolian nodded, "It seems so."

Clearly, the system had fragmented the space within the instance.

For instance, the area where the target characters were located appeared to have people and operate normally, but other areas were entirely empty.

What was most bizarre was that as Chen Xiaolian was inside the car, he saw a car coming towards them head-on, about to collide!

Chen Xiaolian and the others in the car were startled, ready to evade, but the approaching car went right through them!

It was as if... Chen Xiaolian's car was like transparent air! The two cars intersected, and Chen Xiaolian's car passed through the other car without any hindrance!

When the two cars intersected, their cabins merged together, and Chen Xiaolian, Qiao Qiao, and even the driver in the other car, along with a young girl in the extra seat, could see each other...

This scene was incredibly eerie!

Chen Xiaolian glanced at Qiao Qiao, "It seems this is really the case! The space we are in is not in the same dimension as theirs!"

"What about the target individual?" Qiao Qiao exclaimed.

But Chen Xiaolian's eyes showed excitement, "I think maybe we've found the right place! Let's find someone first!"

The car stopped by the roadside, and the three of them got out and walked along the street.

Clearly, here, Chen Xiaolian, Qiao Qiao, and Soo Soo were completely invisible to others! Chen Xiaolian even intentionally waved his hand at a pedestrian who was on the phone by the roadside, his finger almost poking the person's eye, yet the person still ignored them and walked right through Chen Xiaolian.

"Here, we're like ghosts..." Soo Soo exclaimed.

"It's not the same dimension; they can't see us," Qiao Qiao reassured Soo Soo, holding her hand.

Chen Xiaolian walked ahead, carefully searching for house numbers along the way.

After walking about thirty meters, on the left side of the road, next to an outdoor café, there was a narrow door with the number "54" hanging on it.

"This is it."

Chen Xiaolian frowned, reached out to pull the door. When his fingers gripped the cold door handle, he suddenly had a thought and turned to look at Qiao Qiao.

"It seems like we've really found the right place! If it were a different dimension, we shouldn't even be able to touch this door handle! But we can touch it... which means, inside this door, there's a 'special presence' set by the system!"

With a strong pull, the door, although locked, was easily torn open by Chen Xiaolian's force, and the three of them immediately walked in.

Inside the door was a narrow staircase leading upstairs, and it was somewhat dark and damp... It was clear that the people living here were from the lower strata of society.

Above the second floor was a wooden door.

Just as the three of them were going upstairs, they suddenly heard a crashing sound from inside.

It was as if something had been shattered.

Chen Xiaolian raised an eyebrow and quickened his pace.

From upstairs, they could already hear shouting.

A deep and rough male voice was loudly cursing something, accompanied by the screams of a child.

Chen Xiaolian had already rushed up and saw a wooden door suddenly open on the corridor. A slender figure darted out, followed by a fat man who was chasing after them, yelling angrily and cursing. He even threw a liquor bottle out forcefully, which shattered in the corridor, and then with a loud bang, the door slammed shut!

"Get lost! Don't ever come back!!" a roar came from inside the door.

The slender figure rushed out and sat on the stairs, hugging their knees.

Chen Xiaolian stood at the turn of the staircase, standing alongside Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo, watching the slender figure sitting above.

The young boy sitting there appeared to be around the same age as Soo Soo. He was very thin, with messy short curls and a sharp chin, but his eyes were large.

He sobbed quietly while hugging his knees.

Chen Xiaolian approached slowly and stood in front of him.

The boy, upon seeing Chen Xiaolian's shoe tips, slowly lifted his head, assessed Chen Xiaolian with his eyes, and then timidly asked, "Sir, are you here to collect a debt?"

Chen Xiaolian's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "You can see me?"

The child seemed momentarily stunned, then his face turned horrified.

He let out a scream and jumped up, curling himself into a ball, "You, you, you can talk to me? Are you... are you a ghost?!"

A ghost?

Chen Xiaolian was taken aback.

Just then, the door in the corridor opened, and the fat man poked half of his body out, glaring at the young boy, "Why are you screaming again!!"

The boy screamed and pointed at Chen Xiaolian and the others, "Ah!! Ah!!!"

The fat man glanced in Chen Xiaolian's direction... but it was clear that his gaze was vacant. After briefly looking over, he retracted it.

Chen Xiaolian suddenly realized that this fat man might not have seen him at all!

Judging by where his gaze was focused, it seemed to be on the wall behind Chen Xiaolian.

"I've told you, kid! Stop saying those nonsense about ghosts! I've had enough of your lies and pranks!!"

Bang!

The door slammed shut again!

Chen Xiaolian suddenly felt like he had figured something out.

The young boy had been scared so much that his face had turned pale, tears streaming down his face as he looked at Chen Xiaolian.

"Don't be afraid," Chen Xiaolian sighed.

The boy tried to shrink back, but he had already backed into the corner of the wall, with no way to retreat. He pleaded in a trembling voice, "Sir, sir... I really didn't know... I didn't know... I didn't know what you are... I've never had other ghosts talk to me before... really... I thought you couldn't talk! I won't say it again! I won't dare to say that I saw you again! Please don't hurt me... Ah!!"

Chen Xiaolian sighed and suddenly reached out, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

The boy let out a scream, but Chen Xiaolian quickly covered his mouth.

"Hush!"

Chen Xiaolian leaned closer and whispered, "I'm not a ghost."

"Wuwuwu..."

"I really am not," Chen Xiaolian said in a gentle tone, whispering, "Look, you can touch my hand, it's not cold, it has warmth, right?"

As he spoke, he squeezed the boy's fingers and pressed them against his own wrist, saying, "You can feel the pulse, right? See? I'm not a ghost; I'm a human."

The boy became slightly calmer but still looked at Chen Xiaolian with fearful eyes.

"If you promise not to scream, I won't harm you, and we can... talk, okay?"

"Wuwu..." The boy nodded.

Chen Xiaolian released the hand covering the boy's mouth.

"You really aren't ghosts, sir?"

"No, they aren't either." Chen Xiaolian turned and pointed to Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo.

The boy looked at the three of them with astonishment.

"But... but... why couldn't Lucius see you? You were right here! But he couldn't see you just now?!"

Chen Xiaolian smiled, "Well, we can discuss that outside."

After a pause, he reached out to the young boy, "By the way, can you confirm if your name is Will Rezz Belia? Is that your name?"

"Yes, that's my name!" The boy stared at Chen Xiaolian in amazement.

"That's good. Can we find a place to talk then?"

As the young boy reached out his hand and was pulled up from the ground by Chen Xiaolian...

"System Prompt: Meteor Rock Guild has found the target individual Will Rezz Belia. Phase One of the mission completed, took thirty-one minutes, ranking second. You will automatically receive one priority intelligence prompt when Phase Two begins."

After receiving the system prompt, both Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Xiaolian turned to the two girls and said, "Notify Roddy and the others. Tell them to come to us as soon as possible."

...

On the edge of a square in Alpha Street. Sitting on a stone platform, the young boy, under the sunlight, appeared to have calmed down somewhat.

When Qiao Qiao handed him a bottle of cola and a piece of chocolate, he hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, children couldn't resist the temptation of sweets and accepted them.

The street was bustling with pedestrians and traffic, appearing lively. The four of them sat on the stone platform by the roadside.

The young boy sat in the center.

After seeing Will drink half the bottle and eat a couple of bites of chocolate, Chen Xiaolian slowly began, "Will, can you talk to me about yourself? From what I heard you say earlier, it seems like you might be a bit different from others?"

Will shuddered slightly, raised his head, and looked at Chen Xiaolian with fearful eyes. Then he whispered, "Yes, sir... I... I can see things that don't exist in this world."

"Uh? What does that mean?"

"I... I can see ghosts." Will shook his head, his big eyes filled with confusion and fear. "I've been able to see them since I was little, but no one would believe me... They all think I'm a liar."