The Whereabouts of the Second Candle
Lin Fan wanted to find more detailed information about the Future Calamity, but his current access level was insufficient to view it. He could access it by upgrading his access level using the power of time.
At this moment, a sense of urgency arose in Lin Fan's heart. If he did not take the initiative to do something, then a terrible future awaited him. This feeling did not come from the influence of his future self, but from his instinct.
"Therefore, the power of time cannot be spared; it must be used when necessary." Lin Fan hurriedly opened the data building, traded three inches of time in exchange for a spell, which was the Time Clone that most people would choose.
[Time Clone: Through the power of time, a new body is created that can move in the past. Please note that unless it meets the needs of the past, the true nature of the Time Clone should not be exposed to others, otherwise the consciousness residing in the clone will be subjected to a strong temporal shock.]
After downloading the information on the Time Clone skill, Lin Fan immediately began to study it carefully. If nothing unexpected happened, he would need to help clear his name tonight, otherwise he would also be affected by the time difference, and might even have to kill Brother Hei and his wife with his own hands.
"Or perhaps the me who killed the Brother Hei couple isn't the me who returns today, but the me from a more distant future." The Time Ring Ritual isn't limited to choosing the day before; if the Time Ring Ritual is strong enough, it can travel to an even more distant past.
Looking at the information on Time Clone, Lin Fan was relieved that the skills weren't too complicated and could be learned in a few hours. It just might take a little longer to execute them. Once he finally mastered the Time Clone, he felt a sense of urgency ease. He turned on his phone, started recording himself, and then drifted off to sleep, feeling a bit dizzy.
It wasn't until 10 p. m. that Lin Fan woke up. His first reaction was to check his surroundings. He couldn't guarantee that his future self wouldn't be born from his body while he was sleeping.
"Fortunately, there are no traces!" Lin Fan quickly glanced at the phone's recording and found nothing unusual. He didn't know if using the phone as an observer could restrict his future actions using his own body, but it seemed that the phone was still somewhat effective for now.
He quickly cooked some noodles to fill his stomach, then checked the time and it was already eleven o'clock. He knew he would find the candles soon, and thinking about what was to come, Lin Fan decided to go back two days ago to gain more time.
Normal members of the Ring of Time and Space can only travel back one day at most, as their physical consciousness cannot support them traveling to the more distant past. However, Lin Fan now feels that with his body strengthened by the candles, traveling back two days should not be a problem.
"Let's go then..." Lin Fan drew a circle with his blood and started the Time Ring Ritual again. This time, he chose to go back two days, where he felt the constraints from the past were even stronger.
"I'm working overtime right now, and I'll be off work soon..." What surprised Lin Fan even more was that he could sense another visitor inside his body, the same person he was a day ago. However, there was a barrier between them, preventing the person from a day ago from discovering him, and he was also unable to communicate with the other person.
The mere existence of this barrier is constantly generating the power of time, impacting Lin Fan, the culprit behind all this. This made Lin Fan realize. "What I observed a day ago was not me. If he had observed me, the past would have already been altered, which is why this barrier exists."
"Finally finished..." Lin Fan saved the file, then shut down the computer. He checked the time; it was already 11 p. m. He turned off the lights, walked out of the office's surveillance range, and entered the elevator, where the surveillance cameras were no longer working.
Then Lin Fan saw himself from a day ago controlling his body from two days ago, performing various movements. A somewhat subtle feeling arose in his heart. "Won't there be another version of me observing the present me later?"
"Don't think about these things, it's time to act." Lin Fan calmed down a bit and began to channel his own power of time, forming a temporal clone behind him. His own consciousness also entered that body as the clone was formed.
If the Lin Fan of the past were to turn around, he would see a naked person standing behind him, exactly like him, like something out of a horror movie. Unfortunately, the elevator had already reached the ground floor, and Lin Fan, bound by his past self, had straightened up and stepped out of the elevator.
Lin Fan stood naked, watching his past self recede into the distance. The elevator doors slowly closed, and Lin Fan felt free once again. He wanted to press the elevator button, but a premonition rose in his heart. If he pressed the button, the changing numbers on the elevator would be discovered, and he would be indirectly observed. The impact of that past time would completely destroy his consciousness.
"So..." Lin Fan looked up at the top of the elevator, where the elevator machine room was located. He could travel between floors via steel cables. If it were his own body, Lin Fan would naturally not have such thoughts, but now he was Time Clone. Once canceled, he could automatically return from the past to the present. As long as he was careful not to change the past, he could move freely.
It took Lin Fan ten minutes to reach the top of the elevator. He then climbed the steel cable to the second floor. His company only rented one floor of the building; the second floor housed an educational institution, which had gone bankrupt two weeks prior. Lin Fan pried open the elevator door, finding it not as difficult as he had imagined.
"Sure enough, the surveillance cameras on the second floor weren't turned on." Lin Fan had only been testing it out, since he didn't feel any danger. He hadn't expected the cameras to actually be off. Naked, he walked into the somewhat deserted second floor. It was pitch black and quiet all around, with only the sound of Lin Fan footsteps. It really did have the atmosphere of a horror movie.
"It seems like I can only move around on the second floor." Lin Fan realized that all the other floors were monitored, so he could only move around on the second floor.
"I'm not going to read the time difference anymore..." Lin Fan went to the window on the second floor and looked at the shooting star that reappeared in the sky. It was then intercepted by something and split into three. One of them should have been thrown towards his past self. Then Lin Fan saw another one hit the top of the building where he was.
"Wait, I remember when I left, that stingy boss was still here..." Lin Fan thought of something, opened the window, and felt as if the past was reminding him that his actions were a provocation against the past.
"We should make it in time!" Lin Fan leaped off the second floor and looked up. Sure enough, the lights on their company's floor were on. What shocked him even more was that someone was jumping down from the rooftop of their building. The person was wearing a mask and a black cloak and seemed to have noticed Lin Fan as well.
However, Lin Fan disappeared the next moment, and a black cloak and mask crashed to the ground.
That's all for today's third update. I'll try for a fourth update tomorrow.