Cheng Lin met my gaze but didn't answer, as if weighing how reliable I was. His eyes flickered. He lowered them slightly, then looked back at me, and his expression had changed.
"You weren't brought in here by that thing, were you?" Cheng Lin asked.
I didn't answer, but my silence was as good as confirmation.
According to Cheng Lin, if that thing had brought someone here, someone should come to collect them.
His question had also indirectly answered mine.
I quickly realized there must be a ghost from the future here. There should also be an entrance to a pocket dimension leading to the future.
The entire Yangshan District had been isolated, and everyone here had fallen into a time loop. Both of these things were probably connected. The one behind it was Heaven. It wanted to kill that ghost, and might also want to destroy the entrance to the pocket dimension.
We both fell silent. I was organizing my thoughts, and Cheng Lin was probably doing the same.
After a while, he spoke first.
"I've worked out a rough timeline. From October 2, 2017, when the entire Yangshan District first started having problems, to today, five years have passed," Cheng Lin said. "At first, no one knew what was happening. The government announced that there were problems with the water and power plants, and that water and electricity would be cut off for a while. They told everyone to stay indoors. That night, the water and power really did go out. On top of that, the internet and phone services were cut off. People who lived in Yangshan were all right, but those who only worked or studied here and lived elsewhere were left homeless. Public transportation shut down completely. Taxis and private cars still worked, but most