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Chapter 419: Chapter 419: Revisiting Old Haunts

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Binjiang Garden Subway Station, dormitory housing.

A knock on the door came from outside.

Wang Baihu looked through the peephole and saw Lin Qing standing outside the door. He opened the door a crack, "What’s up?"

"I want to see Mr. Chen." She said, "His phone isn’t reachable."

"Come in." Wang Baihu let her in and then locked the door again, "Sit on the sofa for a while, he’ll be here soon."

"Eh, is he sleeping around this time?" Lin Qing glanced at the wall clock. It was just past 4 PM, which seemed to have nothing to do with a nap or a midday nap.

Of course not. Wang Baihu thought, he’s not even in this world; it’d be strange if the phone went through.

To ensure someone is always in the room, Wang Baihu, Jiang Siqi, Liuli, and Xu Xuanling take turns staying here. If Chen Xuan is not around, guests are not let in. However, Lin Qing is an exception; if she comes, she can be let in regardless of Chen Xuan’s presence.

"He probably didn’t sleep well last night."

Wang Baihu found an excuse to leave the living room and directly returned to the shop’s second floor through the bedroom’s "back door," where he sent a message to Chen Xuan.

Within three minutes, Chen Xuan appeared in the bedroom.

"Sorry for disturbing your rest." Lin Qing said slightly apologetic.

"No, I wasn’t actually sleeping." He waved his hand.

"Ah?" Lin Qing and Wang Baihu were both taken aback.

Especially the latter who looked at him with innocent eyes, his slightly open mouth silently muttering, "Wasn’t this the excuse we agreed on?"

"I just rushed over from the other side of the world," Chen Xuan sat opposite Lin Qing, "and there’s no subway signal there at all, so even if you enter the blocked zone and then call, it won’t connect."

"I see." Lin Qing suddenly realized, "I thought your identity card ran out of battery—"

She paused halfway, "Wait, you said you came from where?"

"Another world, more precisely... it’s the past time of the same world. Because the two places differ so much, I habitually regard it as another world."

Lin Qing tilted her head, "Mr. Chen, did you... not take enhancement medicine?"

"Do you remember I told you... about another version of you?" Chen Xuan slowly asked.

"I remember... the other timeline’s me." She spread her hands, "On that side, I’m a future warrior and fought against the Dimensional Limit Mechanism with you."

"Yes. But I didn’t say, these are not two parallel timelines, nor are they two parallel worlds. I didn’t reveal this earlier because I was worried you couldn’t accept so much information all at once."

Chen Xuan extended two fingers, left and right, touching at the tips, "Lin Qing’s disappeared past still exists, and I can go to the past and future anytime."

"Uh..." Lin Qing was speechless for a while before scratching her head, "Sorry, I want to believe what you’re saying, but it’s just too... too..."

"Too incredible, I understand." Wang Baihu empathetically supplemented.

"You know too?" She looked at him in shock.

"Yeah, I’ve been there, done that."

"Not just Wang Baihu, we all come from the past." Chen Xuan stated frankly, "By the way... what’s the reason you’re looking for me, is it urgent?"

Lin Qing stammered, "N-no, not urgent, I just wanted to tell you the phantom subway plan is progressing more smoothly than expected. It might be implemented by the end of the month, and we need a meeting to discuss some details..."

"That’s perfect." Chen Xuan stood up, "Since it’s not urgent, I’ll take you to see. Once you see the past world with your own eyes, you’ll naturally understand I’m not lying."

Lin Qing’s eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

"Why, do you not want to go?"

"No, of course, I do!" She immediately shook her head, "Even if it has nothing to do with me, I want to see where you all come from!"

Chen Xuan had already guessed she would say that.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have joined an adventurous search team.

"Follow me."

Chen Xuan got up and led her to the bedroom, where she promptly noticed the unusual iron door on the wall. Although its look was quite similar to most of the subway station’s doors, being worn, rusty, and paint flaking, its position was very odd. The opposite side of the wall was either another dorm room or a blast-proof outer wall. In the space-constrained subway station, each refuge room was built to maximize area usage, making the existence of an extra room impossible.

He opened the door and went inside first.

Lin Qing followed closely.

Stepping over the threshold, she was surprised to find the room larger than the living room, with simple decoration yet a freshness absent from shelters. The bed was new, the wall paint was new, even the blanket and pillow were new, a sight rarely seen anywhere in Jiang City.

Passing through Honglian’s room 206 and going downstairs, Lin Qing realized something was amiss.

Not to mention such a complex space underground, the sunlight streaming in through the window spoke volumes.

How could there be sunlight in a subway station!?

"Here is..."

"The past. To be precise, it’s Jiang City in 2026." Chen Xuan pointed outside, "Want to go out and take a look?"

She rushed out the door without a word.

The cold air made her sneeze.

But compared to the shocking scene before her, this bit of cold wind was nothing.

Lin Qing saw a picture full of city life: steam rising from a row of shops at the end of an alley, crowds bustling around the shop entrances, scanning to buy the food they fancied. From afar, the sound of sizzling iron plates and the bubbling fryers could be heard, carried along by a tempting aroma in the wind.

Some people hurried away after buying their food, while others leisurely sat at small wooden tables chatting and eating, creating an atmosphere that seemed chaotic yet harmoniously blended.

Further away were small buildings, the sunlight filtering through their frost-bitten walls, casting a warm yellow hue, more reminiscent of morning than dusk. Many windows had iron racks installed outside, clothes of various colors swaying in the wind like flags.

"...It’s really... just the same..." Lin Qing murmured.

"Same as what?" Chen Xuan walked to her side.

"The scenes in movies." She whispered.

Everyone reminisced about the good old days, about the era before the outbreak of war; Lin Qing was no exception. She had read many books and watched movies depicting the last century, imagining what life would be like in such times. But as those familiar scenes turned into reality, the shock was still beyond words.

"You’ve arrived." Someone said from behind.

Lin Qing turned around to find Honglian.

She wasn’t wearing a hat or mask, her red hair shining brilliantly in the morning light.

"Is this really the Jiang City from the past?" Lin Qing asked.

When she asked, she realized she didn’t need an answer.

No matter where this was, it was unmistakably the past.

Because people wore no marks of war, nor did their eyes reflect ingrained anxiety and caution, even standing on a complex street — this indicated that people were not worried about bombs falling from the sky or some electric motorcycle suddenly becoming a nano-living body.

In the eyes of a searcher, they were all still "innocent" children.

"I can take you somewhere later." Chen Xuan replied.

Lin Qing’s mind worked fast, "Binjiang Garden?"

He nodded, "There’s a subway station there too."

"Why is it later?" She asked impatiently.

"Because it’s currently rush hour." Chen Xuan replied helplessly, "I don’t want to get stuck in traffic."