Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 78: Paradox Rule

The two He Wei were in a deadlock, neither of them willing to give in to each other. They were both exceptionally familiar with each other, restraining each other while being bound themselves. They stared at each other as if looking into a mirror, easily understanding each other’s thoughts through expressions and gestures.

“Are you thinking that I have a question to ask you, so I definitely won’t harm you?” 

Upon hearing this, the other He Wei chuckled, “Are you thinking that your bullets are definitely faster than my actions, and I absolutely wouldn’t dare to act recklessly?”

With a single sentence, they both revealed each other’s thoughts. Several minutes later, He Wei was the first to break the deadlock. He moved his hand away, coughed a few times while sitting up in his uniform, and tucked his gun into his clothes.

“Although I’m the one who backed down first, it doesn’t mean it’s a sign of weakness.” He Wei paused for a moment, “You are me, and I am you. By all rights, we shouldn’t even meet. So, I won’t answer your questions, and I can’t answer them. If you don’t want to die, don’t ask anything.”

“…” The other He Wei, sitting cross-legged on the ground opposite him, propped up his chin, looking frustrated. “Can I at least ask about things unrelated to Cheng Zesheng? Like when did you appear? Did you have any contact with Cheng Zhenqing before? Are you secretly plotting something together?”

Sure enough, it was going to involve Cheng Zhenqing. And the questions he asked were right on point; no matter which one He Wei answered, he believed the man could deduce some insider information based on the earlier information he had received. He Wei thought to himself, ‘As expected of me, the way he’s approaching these questions is precise’.

Therefore, He Wei chose not to answer. But the other man was persistent, continuing to ask several more questions. He Wei became annoyed and furrowed his brow, “Why don’t you ask me what the lottery winning numbers are?”

“Because I don’t play the lottery, so you definitely wouldn’t be interested.” He replied with a hint of sarcasm. “What, do you think I believe I have a chance of winning five million?”

“…” He Wei sighed and realized he should probably buy a book on the art of conversation.

In the current situation, He Wei couldn’t pry open the other man’s mouth no matter what he did. They both gazed at each other, simultaneously sighing: The greatest enemy in life is truly oneself.

He Wei stood up, dusted off his clothes, and said, “Alright, pretend you never saw me today. Let’s quickly resolve the case of Qiao Ruofei; it’s been dragging on for too long.”

Officer He also stood up, brushing off the dirt from his uniform. “Dragging on for too long? When should it end then?”

“A few days earlier; it’s time to end.”

According to the normal loop, Qiao Ruofei should be taken back on the 11th, and by the 12th, he should have seen that photograph. But based on the current reaction, it seemed that after Cheng Zhenqing realized that He Wei introduced a variable, he didn’t follow the original timeline and just left it to He Wei to clean up.

This was a good thing. If he had already seen that photograph, encountered his future self, guessed the hidden time loop, and acted on his own, causing a variable, things would have gotten complicated.

He Wei already found it difficult to navigate this loop to the end, and he certainly didn’t want his past self to interfere again. Otherwise, if he were killed, he would have to start a new loop, and Cheng Zhenqing’s Morse code numbers would change to “14.”

Having said this, there was nothing more to discuss between the two. Perhaps He Wei had emphasized it enough times that the present-day He Wei no longer pressed for reasons and the truth. He asked He Wei to leave a contact method, but He Wei refused. It was rare to encounter each other by chance, and he actually wanted to stay in touch?

But then he heard Officer He speak firmly, “Until Cheng Zesheng’s case is cleared up, I need to be able to find you at any time.”

He Wei took a deep breath: “I didn’t kill Cheng Zesheng. You know the reason best, right? How can one bear to harm their lover?”

“…Lover?”

This word left Officer He baffled. He Wei, using his agile skills, had already climbed onto an air conditioning unit. When Officer He realized this, he shouted loudly, “Are you together with him? How did that happen? Explain it clearly!”

He Wei climbed over the wall and muttered, “If you want to know the process, go talk to him yourself.”

———

Back in the basement, He Wei stared at the empty safe, lost in thought.

When would his other self open that envelope? After seeing that photograph and considering what had happened today, what choices would he make?

Interactions between individuals from different time periods could have unpredictable consequences. But from his experiences during this period, He Wei concluded that it was unlikely to lead to anything good. In two days, it would be June 16th. Would he be able to smoothly complete this loop?

After much thought, the next day at noon, He Wei proactively contacted Lian Jingyuan, wanting to have a chat with him.

After the call was answered, He Wei used a courteous tone he had never used before, secretly worried that any unpleasant events that might have occurred would create a rift in their years-long friendship. However, Lian Jingyuan was still the same Lian Jingyuan. His voice contained a hint of surprise when he received He Wei’s call, “How have you been lately? Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Doing okay. I just have some things I’d like to discuss with you,” He Wei said, checking the time on his wrist, “Are you at home right now?”

“Yes, you’re in luck today. I’ve made some desserts.”

He Wei said he would be there within an hour. In reality, it wouldn’t take that long to travel from Fusheng Jinlong Garden to Huyue Xingchen by subway, but He Wei also wanted to buy some snacks and toys for Stephen. He didn’t have strong feelings for Lian Jingyuan, but he always held Stephen, whom he often slept with, close to his heart.

Forty minutes later, He Wei arrived at Lian Jingyuan’s home, carrying a bag of pet supplies. As soon as he opened the door, a dark figure leaped from the shoe cabinet. He Wei instinctively reached out and caught a fluffy and adorable cat.

“You little troublemaker, who taught you to be a flying cat?” He Wei held Stephen in one hand and playfully tapped its forehead with the other to scold him. The force was so light that it wouldn’t even kill a mosquito.

“I told it you’d be back soon, and it was waiting at the door. When it heard the doorbell, it perked up its ears and flew out,” Lian Jingyuan explained with a smile.

Stephen lay comfortably and contentedly in He Wei’s arms, responding to He Wei’s questions with different tones of meows. It was so human-like that it was hard to put him down.

Lian Jingyuan served a bowl of taro balls with grass jelly, garnished with sweet red beans and sago pearls. It looked just as good as desserts from a shop. He Wei exclaimed, “If you ever stop teaching and open your own shop, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Lian Jingyuan smiled but didn’t say anything. It was purely because life as a single person was rather boring, leaving him with plenty of time to do these things. Unlike He Wei, who was busy with work and had only a few chances to cook for himself.

“So, what did you want to ask me today?”

He Wei held a spoon and tried to keep his tone calm. “He knows about my existence.”

Lian Jingyuan was surprised. “…You’ve met him?”

He Wei nodded and described the confrontation from last night. Lian Jingyuan murmured, “He actually pointed a gun at you… with you two together, it would be strange if a fire didn’t start.”

“The situation has already occurred, and there are too many variables this time that I can’t control.” He Wei furrowed his brow. “The only person who could help me doesn’t have any ideas either. This is a variable I created myself, so I have to bear the consequences.”

“So… do you want me to give you some advice?” Lian Jingyuan asked with a wry smile. “I’ve said it before; the things you’ve encountered are far beyond my research scope, and I’m probably not qualified to offer advice recklessly.”

“At this point, any advice won’t help. June 16th is approaching, and I don’t even know what will happen when I go back in this loop.” He Wei sighed. “I was initially determined to save Cheng Zesheng, but now I don’t have any confidence.”

Lian Jingyuan wanted to reach out and pat his shoulder but withdrew his hand in mid-air, letting it rest casually on his lap. “I’ve always believed that if you set your mind to something, there’s nothing you can’t achieve. Although there have been variables, you’ve still made it through and are about to reach the loop’s end, right?”

He Wei shook his head, feeling completely different. It was as if he was playing a horror game where an unexpected event could lead to a game over, and he had been imagining what it would feel like to die at his own hands when he pointed the gun at himself last night.

“But didn’t you choke him back then? If you had killed him first…” Lian Jingyuan’s voice suddenly trailed off as he realized something, and he grabbed He Wei’s arm. “Have you ever tried to kill your present self?”

“No.” He Wei found it strange. “Why would I do something like that?”

“I’m just proposing a hypothesis. I’ve mentioned before that going back to the past would create a grandmother paradox, meaning that if you killed your past self, your future self wouldn’t exist either. Originally, I thought you could return to the past without worrying about the paradox because the things you do wouldn’t affect the actual timeline. In other words, you can’t have your own will and actions in this world, which allowed you to safely reach your loop point.”

“But now, you’ve caused a butterfly effect. You not only changed the actual timeline but also met your past self. In this case, there might be an opportunity for you to kill your past self. However, the universe won’t allow such a rule to exist to avoid a paradox. So, if the universe wants to prevent a paradox, it can only create a situation where you can’t kill your past self no matter what.”

He Wei pondered these words, suddenly remembering the day he and Cheng Zesheng were at the mansion when the man in black appeared. The gun had been pointed at him first.

The gun was now in his hand, and if he could successfully complete the loop and then go to the mansion to save Cheng Zesheng, becoming the “killer” in their eyes at that time, it all seemed to fit perfectly.

No matter what, he couldn’t kill his past self. In the previous loop, he might have tried to do so to sever the Möbius loop—so that was why Cheng Zesheng died?

In an instant, a chill ran from his feet to his scalp. He Wei instinctively stared at his hands, thinking about the blood of Cheng Zesheng that had stained them. He felt a deep sense of unease in his heart.