Oh no! I'm surrounded by female ghosts!

Su Ming touched his eyes.

Why is it this time that's causing trouble again?

He couldn't help but think to himself, "If he opened a hundred or eighty eyes, he would scare you to death."

"Will I be dead in the future?"

With a bang, Su Ming stood up.

He stared at Yu Mengnian in shock.

What the hell?

He had heard this just a few days ago.

Then look at Wen Qi next to him.

Wen Qi shook his head: "I didn't say that."

"Actually, it's not hard to guess."

"This person," she said, glancing at Yu Mengnian across the table, "is probably someone from the government."

"Strange things have been happening in Ninghai City lately, and I heard that a special department has been sent from above to handle it."

She paused for a moment, then uttered five words: "Abnormal Affairs Bureau."

"Given the official capabilities, investigating you wouldn't be difficult."

Yu Mengnian nodded: "The information is blank; this is the first time it has appeared in Pingjiang County."

"After that, I took a green train to several cities, and my destination was very clear: I was looking for a place called Heng'an Middle School."

Su Ming sighed and rubbed his forehead: "Then you can't suspect that I'm an unregistered resident, or that I came from the past, from another world, or that I'm an alien."

Wen Qi covered her mouth and chuckled a few times, then quietly tugged at Su Ming's arm, signaling him to sit down first.

"Actually, it's not hard to guess," Wen Qi whispered to Su Ming.

"If you come from the past, you can find some clues no matter what."

"As for unregistered residents, needless to say, the state apparatus can find out any kind of resident if it wants to."

"In another world, you don't act like you're completely unfamiliar with it."

"As for aliens," Wen Qi smiled, her eyes crinkling, and whispered in Su Ming's ear, "they're hardly a threat."

"There's one more thing."

Wen Qi's voice was tinged with amusement: "You're quite smart, but don't treat everyone like fools."

Su Ming propped his head up with his hand, speechless.

It is said that he had only been in 2003 for four or five days when his secret identity was exposed, almost to the point of being known to everyone.

This is too outrageous.

In other time-travel novels, no one ever doubted it until the very end.

How come I couldn't hide it from myself for a whole week?

Yu Mengnian nodded, agreeing with Wen Qi's statement.

She continued staring at Su Ming, and asked earnestly, "In the future, will I be dead?"

"Depend on."

Su Ming was convinced.

That same phrase again.

Fortunately, Yu Mengnian didn't continue speaking, but waited for Su Ming's reply.

Seeing that Su Ming remained silent for a long time, Wen Qi spoke up: "It should be more terrifying than death."

Su Ming was used to it.

I've really gotten used to it.

He felt that she knew what he wanted to do even if he blinked.

Just like Wen Qi said, don't treat everyone like fools.

Think about it.

Even if it's one in a billion, you can still find 100 people on Earth.

Not to mention Wen Qi, who surpasses millions of students and is always number one.

Yu Mengnian even surpasses the 17 billion people of the Dragon Kingdom and is recognized as the strongest awakener.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are one in a billion.

Even if it's one in a billion, you can still find 10 people on Earth.

"More terrifying than death." Yu Mengnian's gaze fell on Wen Qi.

"Yes, it's worse than death."

The two of them started exchanging words, completely ignoring Su Ming.

"Knowledge pollution?"

"It's highly likely that the farther you go, the deeper the pollution becomes."

Yu Mengnian asked in confusion, "But now that I know, why wasn't it avoided in the future?"

"Three possibilities," Wen Qi said, holding up a finger.

"The first type is those who know it will happen, but still choose it because of a certain purpose."

"The second type is historical revision."

They both looked at Su Ming at the same time.

Three seconds later, the two nodded simultaneously: "It should be historical revision. After he goes back, history will correct our memories, and we won't remember him."

"That's not necessarily true. The general trend of history cannot be changed, but subtle changes can occur. The so-called butterfly effect is actually not enough to affect the overall trend."

"Or perhaps," Wen Qi paused and asked, "Have you heard of the block universe theory?"

Yu Mengnian nodded: "I've heard Chen Zhiwei mention it."

"That's the nature of time in Einstein's theory of relativity; it's a philosophical concept and cannot be verified."

"Past, present, and future exist simultaneously, and the flow of time is merely a subjective illusion of humankind."

Wen Qi continued, "What about the multiverse theory?"

Yu Mengnian replied, "Our universe is just one of countless independent universes, which coexist in parallel and do not interfere with each other."

Wen Qi asked again, "What if we add Schrödinger's theory of the superposition of cat birth and death?"

Yu Mengnian frowned.

What about the parallel slice theory?

Yu Mengnian frowned even more deeply.

"What about now?"

"What about the growth block cosmology?"

This knowledge is currently beyond Yu Mengnian's comprehension.

So she took out her phone and made a call.

"Hey, Zhiwei, I have a few questions for you."

Su Ming stared blankly at Wen Qi.

What are they saying?

I, the person involved, am sitting right here.

They didn't even ask any questions, just glanced at each other and continued chatting.

So, Su Ming rubbed his hands together and asked curiously, "What is the parallel slice theory?"

Wen Qi poked Su Ming's head: "Didn't I tell you about my future self?"

"The general idea is that the past, present, and future are all separate lines that do not interfere with each other."

"Then...then, how about we discuss it now?"

"It's very simple." Wen Qi pointed to the table: "Only now, this moment, is real. The past is gone, and the future has not yet happened."

"Then...what about growing a block universe?"

Wen Qi explained, "This is the most common explanation at present."

"The past and present are real, the future does not yet exist, and the universe grows over time."

"Me," she said, pointing to herself, "the past."

"And you," she pointed at Su Ming, "represent not the future, but the present."

"Doesn't that sound a bit complicated?"

She still enjoys sharing knowledge with Su Ming, just like before.

"To us, you come from the future, but that doesn't matter."

"Because you came to 2003, you are the core."

"Everything should be thought out with you at the center."

"For you, you come from the present; we belong to the past."

"Do you understand?"

Su Ming nodded, bewildered.

It's a bit complicated; he needs to sort it out.

On the other end of the call, Yu Mengnian said, "Causality."

She pointed at Su Ming and said, "Things might change after he goes back."

"Change the future by changing the past."

"But we will never know the answer."

"Because, no one but him can make a comparative judgment on how things will develop in the future."

"Chen Zhiwei told me."

The two of them looked at Su Ming at the same time again.

Su Ming rubbed his forehead and slammed his hand on the table: "Why are you all staring at me like that?"

"How would I know?"

"Do I have the answer written in my eyes?"

"Come, look."

With a series of soft popping sounds, flesh tore open, and one eye after another emerged.

Wen Qi and Yu Mengnian simultaneously looked away and continued their conversation.

It wasn't just the two of them talking.

It seems that Chen Zhiwei also joined in via phone.

Su Ming listened for a while.

My head felt as big as an ox.

The more we talked, the more profound it became, like listening to gibberish.

So he dusted off his clothes, pushed open the door, and prepared to have a smoke in the stairwell.

Wen Qi forbids him from smoking at home.

As soon as the door opened, Zhou Zhengyang was seen standing at the entrance with several people.

Right.

Zhou Zhengyang is now Yu Mengnian's follower, or to put it bluntly, her servant.

Su Ming strongly suspected that Zhou Zhengyang's appointment as bureau chief was entirely due to Yu Mengnian's influence, which is what is known as a "connection."

Want a cigarette?

He patted Zhou Zhengyang on the shoulder.

Zhou Zhengyang thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Draw."

The two went to the stairwell, one sat and the other stood, silently smoking and thinking about their own things.

After a long silence, Zhou Zhengyang broke the silence, his voice hoarse: "You... really are from the future."

"Hmm," Su Ming said, flicking his cigarette ash.

"What about the future?"

Su Ming beckoned to Zhou Zhengyang and began to speak.

Occasionally, he would ask why the Bureau of Abnormalities in 2003 was not hidden, but instead made public.

Zhou Zhengyang told him that this special department had only been established for four years and was not yet fully mature.

The reason for not hiding anything is to help ordinary people deal with these strange things and prevent them from panicking excessively.

Su Ming expressed his understanding.

There were fewer strange objects in 2003, and even fewer that resurfaced.

However, over time, these anomalies will increase.

Putting them in the open will only accelerate the birth of strange creatures and their bizarre resurgence.

Once the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs understands these things, it will definitely go from overt to covert operations.

Then, he told Zhou Zhengyang about the Abnormal Management Bureau in 2026.

This is because it is the future structure and management system of the Anomaly Management Bureau.

Su Ming had heard Gu Yan mention it at the time.

However, after he finished speaking, he suddenly froze.

There's a very strange feeling.

"Is the future structure of the Anomaly Management Bureau something I'm predicting?"

Zhou Zhengyang didn't hear it.

He was diligently writing in a small notebook the detailed division of the five departments: Field Operations Section, Archives and Confidentiality Section, Mysterious Objects Research Section, Logistics Support Section, and Supreme Decision-Making Section.

There are also ideas for a deep web and an official website.

"Su Ming, you're amazing."

"These ideas are simply brilliant."

After taking notes, Zhou Zhengyang's expression towards Su Ming changed completely; he became incredibly enthusiastic.

On the contrary, Su Ming frowned.

He was pondering a philosophical question.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Is he using someone else's resources to create something new, or is he creating something out of nothing?