Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 93: Signal

At dusk, the sky began to darken, and shortly thereafter, drizzling rain began to fall. Cheng Zesheng trudged through the mountain path in the rain, asking villagers along the way. After a muddy journey, he finally found the abandoned mansion.

It stood amidst the misty forest, with gray walls, a courtyard paved with blue stone paths, and a rusty lock on the door. Upon pushing it open, the scene inside the mansion was exactly as he had dreamed.

Cheng Zesheng’s black hair was soaked through, making him look like a drowned rat. He searched the mansion thoroughly but couldn’t find any useful clues. This place had been abandoned for a long time, and the only footprints on the floor were his, covered in mud.

“He Wei!”

“He Wei!”

He called out in the mansion and even went to the balcony’s glass window, hoping to catch a glimpse of that familiar figure. Just like before, there was no miraculous appearance. He couldn’t see He Wei, and he had no idea where he might be.

Was there really no way to contact He Wei?

Back in his apartment, Cheng Zesheng stood in the hallway, staring at the large white wall opposite his own. Although the layout of the apartment in his dream was the same as his own, there was a difference in the location of the balcony. In the dream apartment, the balcony faced south and had a direct view of the community gate. This design was only present in corner units.

Looking at the door numbers along the entire corridor, Cheng Zesheng suddenly realized: there used to be an apartment here, 404.

The fourth floor, 404, indeed didn’t sound like a lucky number, but it used to exist, and now it had truly become “Not Found 404.”

How could he find He Wei now?

A picture of Stephen’s clever and beautiful face flashed through his mind. Cheng Zesheng stroked his chin and came up with a bold idea.

That night, Cheng Zesheng ordered a batch of handmade bead necklaces online and, upon their arrival, spent some time making one. He put the necklace on Stephen, and though it fit perfectly, it was hidden beneath Stephen’s fluffy fur collar. Only its body moved while the flowers and colorful beads peeked out.

“Stephen, it’s all up to you now,” Cheng Zesheng patted its head. “If we can find him, you’ll have one more dad.”

Stephen tilted its head, blinked its bright blue almond-shaped eyes, and looked incredibly innocent. Cheng Zesheng led it to the doorway, opened the door, stepped outside, and Stephen followed at his feet, both walking out of the apartment.

Cheng Zesheng knew that Stephen was following him, and as he stepped into the stairwell, he turned around, but Stephen was nowhere to be seen.

He called out a couple of times, confirming that Stephen was not in the corridor. He couldn’t help feeling uneasy, but other than this risky move, he couldn’t think of any other good ideas.

Late at night, the hallway was quiet, with only a dim, small light. Stephen realized that its dad was gone, and it was the only cat in the corridor. It looked around and found the door to 403. Its front paws began scratching at it, and it made slightly louder and coarser meows than usual, echoing in the corridor.

After meowing for a few minutes, Stephen’s fluffy tail drooped, and it started scratching at the door of 405 across the hall. The gentle Ragdoll cat’s nature was to be close to people, and with no one else in the hallway and the dim silence, Stephen twitched its ears and let out even lower and more mournful meows.

He Wei was awakened from his dream. Not only did he hear the cat’s meowing, but he also heard the scratching at the door, as if Stephen was outside, calling for him to open the door.

“Meow, meow—”

The meowing was muffled by the two layers of door panels, but it was undeniably real, and there was indeed a cat outside.

He Wei quickly got out of bed without even putting on shoes, hurriedly went downstairs, and opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, Stephen was sitting there on the floor, swaying its tail and staring at him. He Wei was overjoyed and picked it up, then looked outside the door. “How did you end up here?”

Upon seeing a familiar face, Stephen’s meows immediately turned gentle and affectionate, and its paws climbed onto He Wei’s shoulder. He Wei patted its head and took the cat for a walk outside to ensure that at this moment, the neighbors were all sound asleep in their dreams. This cat had appeared out of thin air once again after disappearing last time.

He Wei brought it back inside, and by now, he was wide awake. He turned on the light and prepared some canned food and cat kibble for Stephen. Stephen circled around his feet, extended its front paws to tap the cabinet, and He Wei placed the bowls on the floor. “Go ahead and eat.”

Stephen indeed buried its face in the bowl and savored the food. He Wei couldn’t be sure whether this cat had come from another world or if it was just a regular lost cat. The crack in the wall continued to bother him, and with the cat’s reappearance, was it suggesting that Cheng Zesheng’s world would once again reveal itself to him?

He had been through so much, and He Wei remained cautious about everything. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that someone was secretly hiding in the shadows, orchestrating all of this and observing him covertly. Perhaps it was even one of his own repressed memories.

After eating about half of the canned food, Stephen was full and sat down to groom itself. He Wei carried it to bed, his hand running through the soft, long fur. Suddenly, he felt something round, hard, and bead-like. He pushed aside the fur collar to take a closer look, and to his surprise, Stephen was wearing a beaded necklace.

This necklace was made of colorful acrylic beads, rectangular cubes, and plastic flowers. The arrangement was entirely random, with beads grouped together in some places, single beads interspersed with cubes in others, and the flowers scattered without any discernible pattern, as if it had been crafted spontaneously.

He Wei hadn’t paid much attention at first. Stephen lay down beside him to sleep, and he leaned on his forehead to count the number of beads, cubes, and flowers on the necklace. Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind, and he sat up, removing the necklace from Stephen’s neck.

That day, he had been reading “By Nightfall” and, feeling tired, he had placed the book on his chest to rest with his eyes closed. It was also the day that Cheng Zesheng kissed him for the first time.

He Wei grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, holding the necklace in his hand. He began to record the arrangement of the colorful beads and cubes. The plastic flowers served as spacers and didn’t need to be included in the sequence.

··/··-·/··/-·/-··/··-/-·-·/–··/···

I FIND U, CZS

The pen slipped from He Wei’s hand and fell to the floor with a “clink.” He held the necklace in his trembling hands, his heart racing. It was really Cheng Zesheng. This cat was also his, and just like He Wei, he couldn’t find him any other way, so he used this method to tell He Wei, ‘I’m looking for you, I’ve always been.’

A surge of emotions overwhelmed He Wei. He still had a chance to see Cheng Zesheng again, and the parallel world had not been erased. But what about the loop? Did the loop still exist or not?

Stephen let out a soft meow, stretched its limbs, and gave a lazy yawn. He Wei stared at it for a moment, then got up, changed his clothes, and took the cat with him as he left.

The late spring night was cool, with a gentle breeze. It wasn’t yet the peak of summer, so He Wei felt comfortable in his coat and pants. Stephen sat in the passenger seat, and He Wei stroked its head, wearing a gentle smile. “Thank you for making me grateful that I haven’t given up.”

In the middle of the night, Lian Jingyuan was awakened by the doorbell. He put on a piece of clothing and, with sleepy eyes, went to open the door. When he opened it, he saw He Wei standing there with a cat in his arms.

“A-Wei, what brings you here?”

He Wei lifted Stephen and presented it to Lian Jingyuan, saying, “Do you recognize this cat?”

Lian Jingyuan looked utterly baffled, squinting at Stephen. He shook his head, “I don’t recognize it.”

“It’s called Stephen.”

Lian Jingyuan recalled what He Wei had said last time and couldn’t help but wear a helpless expression. “A-Wei, I’ve really never owned a cat…”

“I know it’s not yours; it’s owned by the person I’m looking for.” He Wei took out the beaded necklace from his pocket. “This is the signal he left for me.”

As a scientist, Lian Jingyuan had no clue about the connection between this necklace and a secret code. He felt a headache coming on and pinched his forehead. “A-Wei, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

He Wei put the cat down, and Stephen, upon seeing the tiny teacup poodle, curiously approached. The teacup poodle had never encountered a cat before and immediately bared its teeth, displaying a territorial and hostile expression, pinning Stephen down in its nest with a paw.

Seeing that they were getting along reasonably well, He Wei looked at Lian Jingyuan and said, “The last time you asked me how I could prove that I had experienced a time loop, I thought of something. If this exists, it might prove that the loop hasn’t been completely severed, and I’m still trapped in it.”

“So, that’s why you came to me?” Lian Jingyuan rubbed his temples. “I really don’t know what you expect to find in my place to prove your wild theories. Come inside and look around; I’m curious too.”

Without another word, He Wei went to the guest room, with Lian Jingyuan following him. “In here? This room is usually unoccupied, and it’s full of random stuff.”

“I’m not sure; let’s just start looking.”

They pushed open the door to the guest room, and as Lian Jingyuan had described, it was filled with miscellaneous items and hadn’t been used in a long time. He Wei searched through the cabinets and the desk, then pulled out a cardboard box from under the bed. Eventually, he asked Lian Jingyuan for help in moving the bed.

“Do you suspect that it fell behind the bed? The gap is quite narrow.” 

He Wei froze for a moment and looked at him, suspicion in his eyes. “What did you say?”

Lian Jingyuan was in the process of dragging the bed out and was caught off guard. “I didn’t say anything… I just mentioned that the gap is narrow, so it probably didn’t fall behind.”

He Wei stood up, his arms crossed, and he fixed Lian Jingyuan with a scrutinizing gaze. “How did you know the size of the thing I’m looking for? What if it’s a letter? Have you been carrying memories from the previous loop?”

A flicker of regret passed through Lian Jingyuan’s eyes, but he quickly covered it with a smile. “I was just making a wild guess.”

He Wei grabbed his arm suddenly, his eyes sharp and serious. “Lian Jingyuan, do you know something? Or… do you also carry memories from the previous loop?”

Lian Jingyuan was about to refute it, but He Wei spoke in a low voice, “I’ve almost staked my life to save him. Lian Jingyuan, you mustn’t hinder me in this matter.”

Lian Jingyuan hesitated, his lips trembling, and then he seemed to concede defeat. He sighed, “I precisely because I guessed that you might risk your life, that’s why I didn’t want you to disrupt our peaceful life.”

With this statement, He Wei understood that the thin veil had been lifted, and there were no more secrets between them.

“I actually don’t remember what happened before,” Lian Jingyuan confessed, “when you came to see me, I thought you were under too much stress, maybe you were getting sick, and I didn’t take it seriously. But last week, when I was doing a big cleanup at home, I found this thing and suddenly realized that maybe everything you said was true. However, I also got scared, scared that you might get caught up in it again.”

He Wei loosened his grip on Lian Jingyuan’s arm and allowed him to leave the guest room and return to his own room. He Wei followed, watching as Lian Jingyuan opened a drawer and pulled out a wrapped object, handing it to He Wei. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

He Wei took it, removed the thin cloth covering it, and revealed a black Type 92 pistol. When he saw the gun, He Wei’s pupils dilated, confirming that the time loop had not been severed at all. The Möbius loop was still in constant motion. This was the same gun from the previous loop that Lian Jingyuan had not let him take back. Now, everything else, including Cheng Zesheng, the arsenal, and 404, had been erased, but this gun remained.

“Listening to you, I was so happy and relieved that you said you severed the loop,” Lian Jingyuan sighed again and patted He Wei’s shoulder. “I’m sorry; it seems like I did something wrong. I didn’t want you to disrupt our peaceful life, but maybe this is your destiny, and I shouldn’t have interfered.”

He Wei stared at the gun, a sudden realization flashing through his mind about what he needed to do. Rather than hindering him, Lian Jingyuan’s previous “interference” had played a decisive role in the time loop, such as now.

He Wei embraced Lian Jingyuan’s shoulder, then put the gun away. “Please take care of the cat for me.”

“Sure, I will.” Lian Jingyuan agreed, his tone filled with unease. “Once everything is resolved, you must come back to get it.”

He Wei smiled, made a confirming gesture, and then left.

Back in the Future Domain, He Wei found a shovel in his toolbox at home and stood in front of the white wall. The crack in the wall had deepened since a few days ago and was now visible to the naked eye. He Wei picked up the shovel and started chipping away at it.

Soon, a round hole was dug out. He Wei took out a flashlight and shone it inside. On the other side of the hole, it seemed like a pitch-black abyss, with no sign of the typical brick wall structure.

He Wei’s suspicions were confirmed. He dug harder and soon chunks of wall plaster fell away. The corridor remained eerily silent as he continued to dig, and no neighbors came out to investigate.

The crack grew larger, spreading like a spiderweb across the entire wall. He Wei lifted the shovel and thrust it upward. With a sharp “crack,” the wall shattered like a broken eggshell in front of him.

On the other side was a dark void, emitting a faint, eerie aura, like an endless abyss, its gaping maw wide open.

However, He Wei showed no fear. He discarded the shovel and stepped confidently into the void.