Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

She held her chopsticks, moved closer to Xiangzi, and gestured with her thumb towards the lively crowd behind them.

“Look at the people behind us. They have all found jobs and are living stable lives. Isn’t it exactly the same as before?”

"Yeah." Xiangzi nodded.

"Pretty good, isn't it?" Del smiled as he looked at the people behind him who were beaming with happiness. "If I hadn't made up my mind to help you, I might have given up on researching supercausality and plunged headfirst into the pit of expanding and renovating the shelter."

Xiangzi turned his head in the direction of her gaze.

Under the warm yellow light, droplets of beer and sake splattered in the air, shimmering with a soft glow.

For a fleeting moment, she did think that maybe she should give up and just live a peaceful and stable life, which was pretty good as it was.

But it was only for a moment.

“They could have had a better life,” Xiangzi said. “The world shouldn’t be like this. There should be more people living, and this kind of life would just be an ordinary one.”

“Yeah.” Del picked up his juice and took a sip. “The more I look at it, the more I realize…we’ve done so many terrible things—ah, I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about…”

“…Don’t try to absolve me.” Xiangzi picked up his teacup. “I’m also a culprit, even the heaviest one.”

Del silently lowered his head, looking at his reflection in the juice. "It's because you think that way that I feel even more... Oh well, it's all done anyway."

She tilted her head back, as if she had made up her mind, and downed the juice in one gulp.

"What have you done?"

“I make this for myself,” Del said. “It has nothing to do with you.”

"So mysterious." Xiangzi rolled his eyes at her.

"Alright!" Del stood up abruptly, hands on his hips. "If you've eaten and drunk your fill, it's time to get back to work!"

Seeing her energetic demeanor, Xiangzi exchanged a glance with Hemu, then picked up his belongings and stood up. She first escorted them both outside, then turned and paid the bill with credits from the shop owner.

Stepping outside, a cool night breeze blew in from outside the alley.

Xiangzi walked towards Del, bathed in the cool evening breeze.

"Let's go, I'm ready."

The daily routine should come to an end.

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 823 MKII and MK

After returning from the underwater city, I rested for quite a long time. Now, this leisurely time, which felt like retirement, is coming to an end.

It's like a dream; it's time to wake up.

Xiangzi followed Del to the third basement level.

When the gate on the third underground floor was opened, the first thing Xiangzi saw was an unexpected figure.

"Flame?" Xiangzi's eyes widened. "How did you get here?"

"First of all, congratulations on successfully bringing back the supercausality." Flame's lips curled up slightly. "Then, regarding the question of why I came here, it has something to do with the time machine."

"As expected, you still can't let go." Xiangzi revealed a knowing expression.

She knew that Yan had said she had let go, but she hadn't really.

The memories gained from the "future" have become reality, but for her, she hasn't yet reached the point where she can transmit her memories back to the past.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Yan cannot simply give it up.

Flame nodded and followed them down to Del's laboratory—not the one she usually stayed in, but another one, a much larger room that occupied a third or more of the three underground floors.

Xiangzi stared wide-eyed at the enormous creature before him—or rather, three creatures.

"This is......."

What shocked her was not the size of the devices in front of her, but the devices themselves... One of the devices looked like a capsule, very similar to the one she had seen in Del's basement before. Another one was covered by a cloth, so she couldn't see what it was. And the last one was the source of her shock.

Because it was a two-way revolving door.

The two-way revolving door represents something that everyone here has personally experienced.

“No wonder you said you needed me.” Flame looked at the revolving door with a knowing expression. “So that’s why.”

“This is just a prototype,” Del said. “It’s not operational yet; it needs…”

Del shrugged, gave him a knowing look, and then looked at Xiangzi.

“Xiangzi, I have separated the pure supercausality.” She took out a black box from behind her and placed it on the table in the middle of everyone. “As for the time machine, I have also made two models.”

She walked over to the capsule-shaped time machine and patted it on the shoulder.

“This is my improved time machine, which I call the ‘MKII Time Jump Machine.’ It can send your memories back to a certain point in the past.” Delton paused. “Theoretically, that’s how it works, but this device is still unstable, and the probability of it malfunctioning is about 30%.”

"Why is it so high?"

“This is just a theoretical probability; in reality, it’s 100% error rate so far,” Del said. “But that’s not a problem with the machine; it’s the pure supercausality itself that’s difficult to control.”

Seeing that Xiangzi and the others all looked bewildered, Del sighed and explained.

“The essence of this machine is to simulate human ‘making a wish’ and achieve the ability to jump through time by making a wish to a supercausal entity.” She paused. “The purest supercausal entity will respond to the strongest desire of a living being, but what exactly the strongest desire is, the living being itself probably doesn’t know very well, let alone a machine. So no matter how I adjust this machine, I can’t find a way to make it stable.”

Then, Del walked to the front of the revolving door.

“Thus, the 'MK Time Reversal Machine' was born. You can probably tell from its design that it's based on the flower-shaped 'Forgotten Shore,' representing both this shore and the other shore,” Del explained. “This thing allows people to enter the 'other shore' and return to the past by reversing time. This method is much more stable and controllable than jumping from a fixed time coordinate, but the problem is…”

“A person who enters the other shore must stay on the other shore for the same amount of time as they wish to return to a previous time.” Xiangzi’s voice became a little lower. “If I want to go back to thirty years ago, to the time when Chaoyin and Chuhua disappeared together, I must… stay on the other shore for thirty years.”

“Correct.” Del crossed his arms and nodded. “So, I’m going to give you the choice.”

Is it a matter of taking the risk and going back to thirty years ago as quickly as possible, or staying on the other side for the full thirty years? The choice is mine.

Xiangzi twitched the corner of his mouth.

"It feels like it would be better to only have one option," she sighed.

“There’s no rush, you can take more time to think it over,” Del said.

“No need to think about it anymore.” Xiangzi’s gaze drifted toward the revolving door. “Since you yourself can’t optimize MKII, why should I take a 30% or even higher risk to gamble? I’ll bet on supercausality to save Mu because Mu has to be saved, but MKII only saves time to reach a certain point in time. Is this a necessary gamble?”

"Exactly what I thought."

"Of course, the two sides of the scale are not symmetrical at all, so this can't even be considered a choice." Xiangzi gestured towards the direction of the revolving door. "This is it. How exactly do I operate it?"

She never mentioned how she had survived the past thirty years.

“Activating MK requires not only pure supercausality, but also Flame herself, because she has the ability to reach the other side. Her presence can help supercausality anchor 'desire' more quickly.”

"Anyway, they need my help." Flame nodded.

"When can we begin?"

"Final debugging will take one night, the earliest is tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or even next month, it depends on you."

"Then tomorrow," Xiangzi said.

Suddenly, she felt someone tugging at her sleeve. She turned her head and saw Mu's not-so-bright expression.

“Actually, no matter which method you choose, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Xiang himself…” Mu leaned close to Xiangzi’s ear and whispered, “I can do it too.”

"No." Xiangzi shook his head. "This is something I have to do, and only I can do it."

“At the very least, I can be with you,” Mu said.

“I need you to wait for me here.” Xiangzi turned around and put his arm around Mu’s shoulder. “With you here, I have the will to keep going back here.”

She looked into Mu's eyes, leaned forward, and lightly touched Mu's forehead with her lips.

"You are my anchor point in this time, Mu, I need you."

"This..." Mu's face flushed red instantly, and her tone became unusually hesitant, "Xiang... I..."

"Is it decided then?"

“…Hmm.” Mu nodded.

Xiangzi leaned in and gently hugged Mu.

"Don't worry, I think I should be back soon if everything goes well," she said. "You won't have to wait long for me."

The Tale of Transcendence: Stars and Us: Chapter 824 Time Reversal

The official opening time was set for the next morning, and Del and Flame were to stay and make final adjustments to start the machine.

During this period, Xiangzi once again found himself in a state of idleness.

To say she was doing nothing wouldn't be accurate, after all, this was her last night here. Saying goodbye to acquaintances, indulging one last time, having a good late-night snack, living like a death row inmate facing execution—it didn't seem so bad. After all, who knows what might happen in thirty years of going against the tide?

However, Xiangzi did not do that in the end. She was not Miaomeng and had no desire for these indulgent ways.

Instead of all that, why not just wander around the small town at night?

When they returned from the third floor to the second floor, it was only around nine o'clock in the evening, which was the time when the most people were out and about. Xiangzi held Mu's hand and wandered aimlessly around the small town.

Before I knew it, I had wandered to the central square.

The central square is bustling with activity now, with fountains, lights, children playing, and vendors selling late-night snacks. In the middle of the square, there is also a public piano.

Xiangzi walked towards the piano, and by the time she sat down, the crowd had already subtly surrounded her.

This wasn't her first time here. She would spend her free time here, and in just a few days, she had become the center of attention, attracting crowds wherever she went.

There was no other reason; she played the piano exceptionally well, so well that even the surrounding noise would stop for her sake.

Slender fingers danced across the black and white piano keys, head bobbing freely to the rhythm, blue hair swaying up and down.

First came the poetic "Nocturne," followed by the melancholic and farewell "Ballade No. 1," then the lively and cheerful "Little Dog Waltz," and finally, the magnificent "Polish Waltz" served as the closing piece.

Before we knew it, half an hour had passed.

When the last note fell, Xiangzi breathed a sigh of relief and removed his hands from the piano keys, at which point a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted around him.

Mu remembered clearly that Xiangzi had been practicing Chopin since she was a child, and she was still as adept at it as ever. No wonder so many people were attracted to her and gathered around the piano.

After the piece was finished, Xiangzi shifted his position, making room for half of the piano chair, turned around, and patted his chair in Mu's direction.

What does it mean?

Invite yourself to play along?

Mu blinked, suddenly remembering that she had once practiced piano for a while. But that was so long ago, decades ago. Since the war began, she hadn't even touched a guitar, let alone the piano, which she had given up when she was very young.

Mu shook his head, indicating that he dared not.

But Xiangzi stubbornly patted the chair again, pouting as if to say, "If you don't come over, I won't be friends with you anymore," acting like a child throwing a tantrum.

Mu bit her lip, walked forward awkwardly, and sat down next to Xiangzi.

"I thought you didn't want to," Xiangzi whispered in Mu's ear. "I was so heartbroken."

"I... can't play it well," Mu stammered.

“I’ll bring you here,” Xiangzi said. “Come on.”

She placed her hands on the piano keys again, ignoring whether Mu agreed or disagreed, and pressed the keys on her own.

The notes once again emanated from the piano.

This time, unlike the previous Chopin performances, the notes that floated from the keys seemed to have no pattern, free and unrestrained.

Even so, Mu could still discern the main melody within the seemingly chaotic notes.

“Jazz…” Mu swallowed hard. “…Really?”

"FLy Me To The Moon, you play the main theme."

The faint main melody disappeared, clearly leaving a space for Xiangzi. Mu swallowed hard, placed his hands on the piano keys, and took a deep breath.

Amidst the free and unrestrained jazz notes, a main melody that can truly grab your attention emerges.

The environment and atmosphere were completely different from the focused listening experience when Chopin was being played. Driven by the cheerful notes, the surrounding audience unconsciously began to move. The simple notes, accompanied by the brilliant improvisational jazz, became even more deeply resonant. The spontaneous improvisations seemed to leap through the air, guiding the audience around the square to dance along with the music.

"Me?" Xiangzi suddenly said, "I've actually been running away all along."

"Xiang?"

"Just play with peace of mind and listen to me." Xiangzi closed his eyes, his fingers dancing across the keys, completely unaffected by his vision. "Back then, Chuhua said that I no longer had to bear everything alone. I took her tolerance as an excuse to escape, hiding in my own world and making you wait for so long."

She slightly opened her eyes.