New World

In an instant, the light and shadows around him shifted, and Zhang Ye did not even have time to react.

Even Pietro, with his super speed, could not mount a timely rescue. In less than a hundredth of a second, Zhang Ye felt his body jerk, then his consciousness and body plunged downward.

Zhang Ye's survival instincts made him look up, only to discover in horror that he was like a camera dropped into the depths of the sea, falling rapidly downward. Other than watching the sunlight on the surface grow farther and farther away, there was nothing he could do.

Zhang Ye wanted to turn and look for Pietro. If he remembered correctly, Pietro should have fallen into that violet glow with him. But to Zhang Ye's astonishment, his field of vision seemed fixed in place; he could not move it at all.

Then, all light vanished into the distance. Every observable substance and ray of light around him disappeared, leaving only Zhang Ye's consciousness drifting through boundless darkness.

"Where... is this?"

Zhang Ye wanted to speak, but found that he could not feel his body at all. Even his most basic senses of touch and taste had vanished, and fear instinctively surged within him.

But Zhang Ye quickly forced himself not to overthink it, much less feel afraid. What mattered most now was figuring out why he had come here and why he was in such a bizarre state.

Where exactly was this place?

Miss Minutes should have teleported him away. Why had he entered this endless darkness? More importantly, where had his body gone?

Unless that portal had separated his soul and consciousness from his body in an instant, there was only one possibility—he was dreaming.

Perhaps that was the only explanation. Zhang Ye was no academic genius, and physics was completely beyond him. He had no way to explain his current state scientifically and could only make a guess based on the most similar experience he had ever had.

And this feeling was undoubtedly closest to the sensation of dreaming.

Suddenly, a faint glow came from "behind" him. Zhang Ye felt something glowing behind him, the light growing brighter and brighter, but he could not control his vision or turn around to see what it was.

Just as Zhang Ye began to grow anxious, he suddenly felt his line of sight shift slightly. He was puzzled at first, but quickly realized that his field of vision was turning. Though slowly, he really was "looking back."

Light gradually appeared on his right, and Zhang Ye's gaze slowly shifted from the darkness toward its source.

At first, there were only faint points of Starlight, like ribbons of flowing light gathered into a Milky Way, glittering in the darkness.

As his view expanded further, Zhang Ye realized there was not just one ribbon, but countless flowing strands of silk. Formed from stars, they also resembled fragments of mirrors reflecting innumerable chaotic dimensions of time and space, merging together into an incomparably massive "tree."

The World Tree?

That was the first phrase that came to Zhang Ye's mind. Though fitting, it still could not compare to the grand spectacle before him. It was not a "World Tree" made up of countless worlds and planets, but rather a terrifying current of time formed as innumerable Multiverses attracted and joined with one another.

Then, those lights grew larger and larger. At first, they had merely been blinding starlight before him, but before long, Zhang Ye could even feel many similar ribbons of Starlight appearing around him.

Countless points of Starlight filled Zhang Ye's vision, and the overwhelming brilliance made him shut his eyes.

The next moment—

Clang! Crash! Splat!

A burst of chaotic noise reached his ears, accompanied by pain all over his body and Pietro's scream beside him.

When he opened his eyes again, light returned to Zhang Ye's vision. The place before him was an empty alley. Several stray cats darted out of a trash can and vanished around the street corner.

"Ah! My leg!"

As Zhang Ye surveyed his surroundings, a cry of pain snapped him back to his senses. Turning his head, he saw Pietro sprawled on the ground, his wheelchair overturned beside him.

"Pietro, are you okay?" Zhang Ye climbed to his feet, ignoring the pain in his body as he hurried over to Pietro.

"I-I'm fine." Pietro clutched his injured thigh. "You never told me our trip would be this exciting. My leg was just about to heal, and it nearly broke again!"

"You can still ramble like that, so it looks like you are not badly hurt." Zhang Ye's words were blunt, but the worry in his heart eased. He righted the wheelchair, then turned to help Pietro up.

"It's fine, I can manage. This is a good thing too, isn't it? At least it proves my leg really is almost healed. Otherwise, it would not be this sensitive. It should be better in a few hours, I think. At the latest, before sunrise tomorrow."

Pietro struggled to his feet with a limp and sat back in his wheelchair. For some reason, Zhang Ye felt that Pietro had become much more talkative, apparently since learning that President X had died. That was a good thing. At least Pietro was no longer as depressed as before.

"That's not bad. I thought you would need a few months." Zhang Ye examined Pietro's leg. It was wrapped up tightly and did not look much different from before.

"Super speed, remember? I'm a speedster. As long as it's not a fatal injury, I can usually recover within a week. I already think this is slow." Pietro grinned, but after glancing around, he asked Zhang Ye, "So... did we succeed?"

Hearing Pietro's question, Zhang Ye slowly picked up the Time Twister from the ground and nodded faintly.

"Yeah, I think we did. The Time Twister is no ordinary thing. It has the power to travel through the Multiverse, so wherever this is, we have already left our previous universe."

With Zhang Ye's confirmation, Pietro's breathing became hurried, as though he were overwhelmed with excitement. His body trembled slightly.

"I-I can't believe it. We actually succeeded. No one has ever been able to activate this device before. How did you do it?"

"I don't know either." Zhang Ye stared deeply at the Time Twister in his hand. Its black screen reflected his face. Recalling what had just happened, he rubbed his temples.

"Zhang, are you okay?" Seeing that something was off with Zhang Ye, Pietro poked his arm.

"I'm fine. What matters now is finding out about this world. Don't forget, we're undocumented here. To be safe, we should gather some information about this world first."

Waving a hand, Zhang Ye moved behind Pietro. Though both of them were dirty, they looked all right overall. Even if they ran into people, they would not draw too much attention.

Following the sounds toward a livelier direction, Zhang Ye pushed the wheelchair as he and Pietro slowly made their way through the gloomy alley toward streets filled with sunlight, laughter, and cheerful voices.

As the sunlit street drew closer and closer, Pietro grew more and more excited. He did not know how long it had been since he had felt this kind of light, warm and comforting.

The tension on Zhang Ye's face finally softened into a faint smile as well. Listening to the increasingly clear sounds of play and laughter, the heaviness in his heart gradually eased.

At last, the two emerged from the gloomy, claustrophobic alley and arrived on a bustling, prosperous street.

Countless pedestrians walked along the road. Several teenagers on skateboards weaved quickly through the crowd, while some women in office attire hurried along with coffee in hand, jogging toward their destinations. Everyone had a goal of their own. Everything felt so natural.

Zhang Ye unconsciously broke into a smile. Looking at the somewhat busy street, he even wanted to shout aloud and vent all the unease and pain that had built up over this period.

Though it was not much different from the foreign streets in his memories, Zhang Ye still found it incredibly novel.

At that moment, he could finally enjoy the wonders of another world without worry. Free from the terrifying pressure that had weighed on him, Zhang Ye could not wait to experience the services of this foreign land.

Shifting his gaze, Zhang Ye looked toward the giant screen atop a high-rise building, where advertisements for all kinds of unfamiliar brands were playing.

But in the next instant, Zhang Ye's smile froze, and his entire face went stiff.

On the enormous electronic screen of a building in the distance, a city slogan was written in colorful letters.

—Welcome to Metropolis!

(Guess which universe this is. There will be another update shortly.)