A Body Like a Child's, a Mind Like an Adult's-A Detective... / The Nonexistent Worldline

"Huh?! Is that so?" Dessidobia was surprised to find out that these guys who always bickered with each other were actually helping Lin find a girlfriend?

"Hasn't Lin always been resentful and wanted a girlfriend, but never made a move?" Kosma sneered. "Then let's just feed him the meat."

"But is it really necessary to do this?"

"..."

"..."

Dessidobia's words silenced Kevin and Kosma, their faces revealing an indescribable, subtle expression.

Kosma's expression was strange. "How should I put it... Lin, isn't he very handsome?"

"Yes."

"Moreover, he's an excellent cook, has outstanding academic achievements, and although he has some personality flaws, he's a genuinely good man. He's also a decent player. Someone like that should be very popular with girls, right?"

"... Oh right."

Dessidobia also noticed something was wrong.

Why can't a guy like that find a girlfriend?

"He always declared himself a homebody, had a terrible attitude towards girls, and was slovenly and unreasonable, which meant that even though he was handsome, no girls wanted to get close to him. But when he was with guys, he was much better, very loyal, and very popular."

"Don't you think he's... dangerous for our dorm?"

Kevin and Kosma's solemn expressions made Dessidobia realize the seriousness of the problem.

"You're suspecting Lin..."

"That's right, that's the real reason we decided to help him find a girlfriend. We're protecting ourselves." Kosma shivered, clutching his shoulder. The thought of sleeping in the same dorm room as Lin every day made him tremble. "Kevin and I have met that girl. She's quite beautiful, and one of the few women Lin doesn't seem to dislike. Lin will most likely accept a confession like that, but what if he rejects her..."

"It's... you?"

Lin was surprised to see this person, because he knew him.

"Magnificent?"

A blush rose on her pretty face, and her medium-length gray hair fell behind her. The person called Hua lowered her head.

Lin had helped this person before. On one occasion, while passing by, he saw several people surrounding this somewhat thin-looking boy. So, with the mindset of helping those in need and taking advantage of the situation to rob the thugs, he went to help.

Hua turned out to be surprisingly good at fighting, and Lin even felt that his intervention was unnecessary.

"You, you, you..." Lin's teeth chattered as he kept looking back and forth between the heart-shaped pendant and the shy Hua.

So that's how it is, Kosma!

"Lin, I've been keeping an eye on you ever since that incident... This might seem quite abrupt to you..."

"Wait a moment!"

Lin shouted to stop Hua, who was taken aback.

"I know you're adorable! Both your looks and your voice! I actually like you a lot! But please forgive me for refusing!"

"Why, why!" Hua asked, feeling somewhat aggrieved, before she could finish speaking, having been rejected.

"Because I..." Lin gritted his teeth, staring at a certain flat part of Hua's body, "Because I don't like your gender!"

"..."

"..."

This roar shook the entire Chienyu Academy, freezing everyone in their tracks, from the onlookers to the three on the rooftop, Kosma and his companions.

Today is a day off

I'm picking up my graduation certificate today, so I can focus on writing from now on.

I see many people are quite interested in who Yan Luo is. You might as well try to guess what she's planning to do. Let me give you a heads-up: she will absolutely not show any mercy to Lin. This is not an act; she will kill him if she has the chance.

He truly hated Lin, and he also truly wanted to save him.

Chapter Thirty-Five: A detective with the body of a child but the mind of an adult...

"Click".

"Ah!"

As Lin pressed down, Pardo let out a miserable scream, but he remained unmoved and continued pressing his finger on the next acupoint.

"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"

Later, Pardo's screams almost became a melody, so Lin grabbed a towel and stuffed it into her mouth to prevent her from yelling and screaming until she lost her voice.

As for what he's doing?

Lin released his grip, Pardo lay exhausted on the mat.

He massaged Pardo after her workout to prevent her from feeling tired and sore for days after a heavy workout.

It must be said that although Pardo is very afraid of getting tired, she was surprisingly obedient and did not try to escape again except for the first day.

"Brother Lin... have you been staying at the Moth of Fire for a long time?" Pardo lazily enjoyed her rest time after the day. It has to be said that Lin's plan and methods were very heavy, but the effect was very good. After the massage, she felt that all the muscles and bones in her body were relaxed, and she felt warm and comfortable.

What's particularly special is that Lin has a faint fragrance about him that you can smell as soon as you get close, which makes people feel comfortable.

"Um."

Wow... that's really good.

Pardo felt that the Fire Moth was like paradise, free from hunger and cold, free from deceit and treachery, and even the crippled Lin could be healed. She wished she could have come to the Fire Moth sooner.

"Then why are you so nice to me, Brother Lin?" Pardo felt that she could tell that Lin took good care of her. Many people described him as a cold, helmeted man, but he was exceptionally attentive to her.

It's also possible that Brother Lin knew she was taking care of him back then...

"..."

This time, Lin did not answer; he got up and left the Second Gym.

Lin has been a junior and a senior, a team leader and a team member, but most of the time he was the one being taken care of rather than the one taking care of others.

Later, the senior disappeared in the ice flames.

The younger generation rests in peace amidst Abyss Flower.

"What if I gave you a chance?"

What?

Lin felt a sharp pain in his brain.

But it was this slight stinging pain, so mild that it was hard for a normal person to notice, that made him freeze for a few seconds.

Pain...?

This feeling, so unfamiliar that he had almost forgotten it, has now reappeared in his body.

"You've read a lot of novels, so you should know that there's a plot where the protagonist travels back in time to undo the tragedy of their previous life. Now, what if you were given a chance to 'go back to the past'?"

Accompanying the stinging pain was a faint, ethereal voice. He vaguely remembered the voice, but it was like a veil covering what was originally clear; aside from giving him a headache, he couldn't recall who it was.

Lately, more and more strange things have been happening. What exactly is going on...?

His consciousness and mind are gradually slipping out of his control, and worse, he doesn't even know what's causing these problems...

No...

Lin stumbled toward Mobius's laboratory, trying to get there before he lost consciousness so that Mobius could investigate what had happened.

Finally, just around the corner from Mobius's laboratory, his legs gave way and he passed out.

"Long, long ago, there was a child who was born with hope in his heart. His appearance was that of a saint, without any flaws. His mind was that of a leader, absolutely rational. His ability was to process information like a miracle."

"There are gods who descended to earth and became human, and there are also humans who were created by humans and attempted to become gods."

"And you... try walking his path again, will things be different this time?"

The voice, which sounded like a game tutorial and an introduction to the game's world, finished reading and then disappeared. Lin covered his head and slowly stood up, but he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

He could only stand steady by holding onto the table leg next to him.

Strange... why do I feel so out of sync with my body...?

Wait a minute, what is he holding onto?

Lin looked to the side and saw an enormous dining table, which was even taller than him.

Not just the dining table, but everything around it was several times larger than normal.

What is this? The giant's kitchen?

However, Lin soon realized that it wasn't that the things around him had gotten bigger, but that he had gotten smaller.

He pinched his smooth, milky skin, his slightly fleshy palms, and his short arms...

"I..." The voice that came out of his throat was completely different, a childish and childish voice.

Incredibly, he was shrunk back to the size of a child, just like the protagonist in a detective comic.

"You--"

Just then, another voice, just as childish as his, rang out, and he turned his head.

Then came an eerie silence and staring contest.

That silver-white hair is so distinctive.

A cute, almost unreal silver-haired little girl stood not far away, holding onto a chair leg, her eyes fixed on him with resentment.

... I see. Even in that comic, there was another woman whose body was shrunk.

Yan Luo seemed to be in a similar situation, unable to adapt to her small and weak body, and could only lean against the chair to barely stand. After a long standoff with Lin, she finally spoke up, "Did you do this?"

"No." Lin shook his head.

He initially thought it was Yan Luo's doing, but now that he saw Yan Luo's appearance, which was no better than his own, he realized that if it was her conspiracy, there was no need for her to do it; he was no match for Yan Luo.

"This is... my body has shrunk?" Lin looked at his body, which was not much different from what he remembered.

"No, it's a problem with your consciousness." Yan Luo directly denied his guess. "Your previous body didn't have touch, smell, or taste, and that won't change even if you've been shrunk. Besides, I don't look like I did when I was a child."

How did you know?

There are no mirrors around, so even Lin can't be sure if he's different from his childhood self.

"... I just knew it."

Yan Luo glanced at his own silver hair, which was still dazzling even after shrinking.

"... Same as last time?"

"Yes, a temporary truce."

Yan Luo is a straightforward person, or rather, she is so confident that she can kill Lin after giving him enough breathing time. Right now, she can't use her abilities, so she will probably need to cooperate with Lin.

"So... first of all, where is this place? Do you have any clues?" Lin asked Yan Luo. When he first met Yan Luo, she was able to break through the constraints of space to find him, which meant that she must be more familiar with places like the Quantum Sea and Parallel World than he was.

"It might be some kind of World Bubble, but I clearly only have consciousness..."

"World Bubble?"

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Non-Existent Worldline

It must be said that although Yan Luo harbored a deep-seated hostility towards him that seemed to come from nowhere, she was still quite responsive to his questions. She explained to Lin, "Imagine your world as a leaf, situated on a Giant Tree that is the origin and source of everything. The leaves are like Parallel World."

"Beneath the Giant Tree lies an endless sea. The tree wants to absorb the sea, and the sea wants to submerge the tree, but they maintain a balance. Nourished by the sea, the tree grows branches and leaves, which are countless civilizations and worlds."

Trees... Sea...

This novel theory made Lin shut his mouth and listen patiently to her explanation. When he heard about the endless sea, he recalled the Quantum Sea that Mobius and May had talked about.

"The tree is called the Imaginary Tree, and the sea is called the Quantum Sea. You will know about their existence and theories sooner or later. For now, you only need to know that our consciousness is trapped in a fragmented world that fell from the Imaginary Tree."

"A flawed world?"

"..." Yan Luo's eyes suddenly turned cold, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she continued, "The Imaginary Tree cannot support the operation of all worlds, so it created an elimination mechanism. Civilizations that are eliminated and deemed unable to continue developing will fall into the Quantum Sea, transforming from complete worlds into incomplete worlds that will disappear completely over time, which are called World Bubble."

Lin hadn't expected to obtain such complete information from Yan Luo, even if he were to go back and tell Mei and the others about it—