Above the Ghost Eye

After finishing a game, the Little Boy took a moment to look up at Gao Tian:

"Gao Gege? I don't remember your face. I don't recognize you at all.

"Maybe we met in the future. The time just hasn't come yet."

The Memory Ghost didn't seem to be having its usual effect on him.

Gao Tian continued using the Memory Ghost's ability, coaxing him:

"Think carefully. That Transformers toy you have at home? I bought it for you.

"Your dad even chewed me out for a long time, saying I shouldn't buy you everything you asked for, or you'd get into the habit of spending money carelessly."

The Memory Ghost worked by continually reinforcing a specific anchor, deepening the victim's False Memory Point. That way, Gao Tian didn't have to say much. The victim would automatically start making associations based on the false anchor, creating more memories.

The Little Boy put down the game's joystick and turned to face Gao Tian.

His large, dark eyes studied Gao Tian from head to toe:

"I've never had a Transformers toy you bought me at home. Besides, my dad died before I was born. How could he have scolded me for spending money carelessly?"

The Little Boy's response left Gao Tian stunned.

Two things shocked him. First, the Little Boy was completely unaffected by the Memory Ghost. When Gao Tian had faced his "father" and "mother," he'd hesitated several times. But the Little Boy's mental resistance was far stronger than his own; the Memory Ghost had absolutely no effect on him.

Second, the Little Boy wasn't the Arcade Owner's son at all. The Arcade Owner had started to lose his mind and then killed himself only after his son died. But the Little Boy said his dad had already died when he was born. The timelines didn't match.

The Little Boy scratched his head. When he looked at Gao Tian again, a puzzled expression crossed his face:

"Maybe I really did meet you in the future.

"For some reason, your face gives me a faint sense of familiarity.

"Never mind. My teacher will be coming to pick me up soon. If you have any questions, ask quickly.

"Once my teacher shows up, you won't be able to ask me anything."

Among everyone Gao Tian knew, only one person had ever mentioned having a "teacher."

But no, it couldn't be that person. The ages didn't match, and neither did the timelines.

Gao Tian knew the Memory Ghost was completely useless against the Little Boy. So he dropped the act and asked bluntly:

"What's your name?

"Who's your teacher?

"And why are you here playing games all by yourself?"

The Little Boy answered Gao Tian's questions obediently and earnestly. But his answers were earth-shattering.

The Little Boy blinked:

"My name is Xu Yuan.

"Xu as in Xu Xian, Yuan as in abyss.

"As for what I'm doing here, I came to play a few games after school. I'm waiting for my teacher to finish up and come take me home.

"After my parents died, I lived at my teacher's house. My teacher provided for me and taught me how to drive out ghosts. He's no different from my parents."

Cold sweat ran down Gao Tian's forehead. He slowly backed away until he bumped into a machine behind him with a thud. Only then did he stop.

How was this possible?

Xu Yuan was already dead and was definitely a ghost. Gao Tian knew that. But how could this twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy in front of him be Xu Yuan?

Was it just a case of them having the same name?

The real Xu Yuan had completed ten Green Text Missions in the Living Person Apartment. After leaving the Living Person Apartment, he had become President of the Jialan Society; the Ghost Infant had called him President in the chat group. And on the day he was killed by a ghost at Sapphire Mall, he must have been at least thirty. There was no way he could have been an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy.

After Xu Yuan died, the ghost he became remained in the chat group. His body was hidden in the mall. Even if it had undergone Corpse Transformation, it should have been a rotting corpse. How could it have turned into a clean little boy?

Who was this Little Boy who claimed to be Xu Yuan?

Gao Tian's mind was in a whirl. He had no idea what was going on. Was this a ghost's illusion, or...

He picked up the Supernatural Walkie-Talkie in his hand, instinctively wanting to call Shata for backup.

But when he pressed the call button, all he got was silence.

How was that possible...

These Supernatural Walkie-Talkies had been specially modified. They could effectively resist the communication disruptions caused by Supernatural Events.

As he watched Gao Tian pick up the walkie-talkie, the Little Boy casually remarked:

"Are you trying to make a call?

"Don't bother, Gege. You've probably been caught up in a Space-Time Vortex. You're no longer on the same timeline as your original world, so you can't get through."

A Space-Time Vortex?

Gao Tian quickly forced himself to calm down. He looked around and realized that, at some point, an incredibly thin white mist had begun to seep through the arcade. It swallowed everything around them. Figures passed through it in the distance, barely visible. Whenever they came a little closer, they vanished like bubbles.

The Game Console in front of the Little Boy, Xu Yuan, was brand new and plugged in. No wonder he'd been able to play for so long.

Gao Tian understood what had happened in an instant. The Little Boy's explanation had connected all the dots.

It sounded unbelievable. But if you ruled out every impossibility, then whatever explanation remained, no matter how bizarre, had to be the truth.

Gao Tian had accidentally traveled through time, returning to some point in the past to speak with Xu Yuan as a child.

In the Normal World's timeline, Xu Yuan had lived into his thirties before dying in a Supernatural Event. After death, he continued to exist as a ghost in the chat group. But the Xu Yuan Gao Tian was facing was from decades ago. Back then, Xu Yuan was just a little boy. He wasn't dead, wasn't a ghost, and had no idea what the future held.

Seeing the change in Gao Tian's expression, the Little Boy, Xu Yuan, realized his guess had been right. He didn't react much, though, as if he were used to all this:

"Are you curious about who my teacher is? Who is he? To me, my teacher is just my teacher. He isn't anyone in particular.

"When I was little, I often saw things other people couldn't. Some Blood Corpses would slowly crawl up onto the beds of patients in the ward. I knew those uncles wouldn't live much longer.

"I never thought that after I said it, those uncles would really die a few days later. Everyone thought I was a jinx, a harbinger of bad luck. They thought I'd cursed my own parents to death. None of my remaining relatives wanted to take me in. Even at school, everyone shunned me and gave me nicknames."

He swallowed, and recalling that part of his life seemed to cause him great pain. The Little Boy, Xu Yuan, continued:

"Luckily, I met my teacher later on.

"My teacher told me this ability of mine was called the Ghost Eye. I wasn't a jinx or a harbinger of bad luck. I was a born Ghost Hunter. I was meant to do this.

"My teacher was strict with me, but he cared about me too. Every day, on top of going to school and getting an education, I had to learn how to control my Ghost Eye and develop my talent as much as possible.

"Later, I discovered that I could see more than just Vengeful Ghosts. I could even see the future.

"For example—"

He raised his head, his gaze burning as he looked at Gao Tian, as if trying to rip away the fog hiding everything behind him.

"You're not the first person to travel here from the future and talk to the present-day me. But you're definitely the calmest.

"Most of the Gege and Jiejie who accidentally enter my 'domain' panic and scream. They use all kinds of strange Supernatural Items on me, like they think I'm a murderous Vengeful Ghost. All they want is to get out of here as quickly as possible.

"No matter what I say, they won't listen, let alone try to talk to me.

"Once, I met an adult who looked a lot like me. His companion called him Xu Yuan from outside the Space-Time Vortex. I recognized him at a glance. He was me in the future. I was so happy then. I thought at last someone would understand me and talk with me here.

"But the result was a huge disappointment. The thirty-year-old Xu Yuan didn't recognize his childhood self when he saw me. He kept mumbling about the traps in Green Text Missions and ghost illusions. Then he pulled out strange Supernatural Items I'd never seen before and tried to attack me."

At this point, the Little Boy, Xu Yuan, shook his head. If people couldn't even understand their past selves, then what in this world could ever understand him?

He reached into his pocket, wanting to pull out another Game Coin. But after rummaging around, he realized he'd used them all up.

Gao Tian understood Xu Yuan's story.

The Ghost Eye was nothing unusual. Children born with supernatural abilities could see Evil Spirits that ordinary people couldn't, even from a young age. Gao Tian had heard about it many times, in folk tales and supernatural stories.

But Xu Yuan was a one-in-a-million genius. His eyes could do far more than that.

He could even see people who didn't belong in this era. To Gao Tian, Xu Yuan belonged to the past. But to the Xu Yuan standing here now, Gao Tian came from the future.

Across the river of time, Xu Yuan had somehow caught sight of Gao Tian investigating Sapphire Mall more than twenty years in the future and dragged him into the Space-Time Vortex. The two of them had crossed paths in the same place, but in different eras.

How enviable. Comparing people really could drive you crazy.

The kid was already maxed out from birth.

"Since you're from the future...

"Can I ask you some questions?"

The Little Boy, Xu Yuan, sat in his seat and looked cautiously at the strange older boy across from him.

Gao Tian had originally thought he would be the one asking questions. But in the end, he had to answer some of Xu Yuan's questions from the past.

He gradually accepted that this Little Boy came from the past. After all, ghosts existed in this world. Why should time travel be any stranger?

The real question was how to use a child from the past to get things done. That was what mattered.

It wasn't as if he hadn't considered some nasty ideas. If he killed Xu Yuan in the past, could he rewrite history? Maybe Xu Yuan's future ghost would disappear, along with the Jialan Society that had gathered so many Ghost Users. Maybe Gao Tian would never move into the Living Person Apartment, either.

All of those chain reactions had been caused by the Xu Yuan in front of him.

But Gao Tian quickly abandoned the idea.

The Little Boy, Xu Yuan, was a genius in the Supernatural Circle and had shrugged off the Memory Ghost's influence entirely. What made Gao Tian so sure he could kill him?

Besides, quite a few of the other adults caught in the Space-Time Vortex had mistaken Xu Yuan for a ghost and tried to kill him.

But they'd all failed.

"Ask whatever you want.

"If I know the answer in my timeline, I'll tell you."