“C……C?”

Lin Xian widened his eyes, looking at the incredibly familiar girl before him.

Identical.

The hair color, pupils, even the curl of her hair and the location of her beauty mark were all exactly the same!

Plus, this was CC's hometown, Brooklyn, so Lin Xian blurted out the name CC almost without thinking.

He was momentarily dazed.

He had thought that this trip to 1952 to find the Millennium Stake would be a very difficult, even impossible mission.

He had even planned to start his investigation with Einstein, after all... Albert Einstein was a huge celebrity in this era, and finding him would be much easier than finding the Millennium Stake, about which he knew nothing and had no clues.

But he hadn't expected...

The 1952 Millennium Stake was right there, guarding the space-time rift point.

Could it be that...

[This is inevitable?]

Space-time rifts were generated by the driving of the Millennium Stake, so thinking about it the other way around, didn't the Millennium Stake itself... have the ability to locate space-time rifts?

"Huh?"

The girl was quite surprised to hear the name CC.

She jumped straight down from the roadside railing, looked at Lin Xian, and said in very standard American English:

"How do you know my name? Do you know me?"

Now it was Lin Xian's turn to be stunned.

He had just been blurting things out without thinking.

He knew he had called out the wrong name the moment he said it. This girl couldn't be An Qing, and she couldn't be CC either.

The reason was...

That extremely fluent American pronunciation.

Lin Xian had heard Chu Anqing speak English, and it had to be said that Chu Anqing, whose academic performance wasn't particularly outstanding, spoke English with the same sing-song, Dragon Country accent as millions of other Dragon Country students.

Not to mention, if the other person were Anqing or CC, they would definitely communicate with him in Chinese.

The fact that the warning about stealing the newspaper was in English was enough to show that... the other person didn't know him, couldn't be Chu Anqing or CC, but was the first Millennium Stake, born and raised in this era.

This made sense too.

After all, this was 1952, an era when neither Chu Anqing nor CC should exist.

But the problem was...

[Judging from this girl's reaction, her name really is CC!]

What was going on?

For a moment, Lin Xian couldn't figure out who she was.

"Your name really is CC?"

Lin Xian frowned, looking at the girl who was both unusually familiar and utterly strange.

"Yeah."

The girl's beautiful eyes were even more curious:

"And it's been a long, long time since anyone called me that... It was a nickname my grandma jokingly gave me when I was little."

"Because the first letter of my first name and last name are both C, and both words are very long, and there are a lot of kids in the family, so Grandma jokingly said to just call me CC from now on for convenience... so it just stuck."

"But... how did you know? Only my family calls me that."

Lin Xian was just about to say something.

The little black kid who had finished getting change turned around and glared at the newspaper in Lin Xian's hand:

"Mister! Please pay for the newspaper!"

Tsk.

Lin Xian clicked his tongue.

Ugh, it was all this girl named CC's fault.

If she hadn't interrupted his spellcasting and exposed his crime of stealing the newspaper, he would have already slipped away silently, perfectly succeeding.

Who would have thought...

The stealing skill that had always worked in his dreams had actually been reported and exposed by an "ally" in reality. What a disgrace.

Lin Xian looked at the little black kid and said in English:

"I just took a look, I'm not interested, I'll give it back to you."

As he spoke, he handed back the *Brooklyn Daily Eagle*.

However...

The little black kid took a step back, put his hands behind his back, and didn't take it at all:

"Mister! There's no such thing as returning a newspaper after you've read it. Since you've read the contents, you have to pay to buy it!"

Lin Xian was unconvinced:

"Isn't this forced buying and selling? Where's the fairness?"

"This is [the Brooklyn way]!"

The little black kid shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Help! Someone's stealing! Someone's stealing a newspaper and not paying!"

With that shout...

The black people sitting idly by the street, waiting for work, or wandering around stood up and surrounded him from all sides.

This wasn't good...

Lin Xian pursed his lips.

The history he had learned told him that in 1950s Brooklyn, gangs and mafias ran rampant.

These gangs mostly relied on race and region to form cliques; mainly Irish gangs, Italian gangs, and some more violent and chaotic black gangs.

These people were already at the very bottom of American society and were very unreasonable.

Lin Xian turned his head to look at CC:

"See, it's all your fault for being so talkative, you've caused trouble."

CC crossed her arms and snorted softly:

"You're still in the right for stealing? It's your fault in the first place, honestly pay up."

"But I don't have any money..."

Lin Xian patted his pockets, hoping for a miracle.

But he tragically discovered...

His otter suit wasn't sewn with pockets at all, let alone money inside.

Lin Xian looked at CC:

"How about you lend me a few cents first? I don't want to cause trouble here, I'll definitely pay you back ten times over later."

"I don't have any money either."

CC spread her hands and smiled wryly:

"If I had money for food, who would be sitting here in broad daylight?"

The black people had gradually surrounded them, cracking their knuckles.

Lin Xian looked at the dangerous situation:

"According to [the Brooklyn way], what will happen to me? Will I be beaten to death?"

"Probably beaten half to death," CC said.

"What should I do?"

Lin Xian turned his head:

"Is there any [Brooklyn-style solution]?"

*Pfft*—

CC was amused by Lin Xian's words and grabbed his arm:

"What else can we do? Run!"

With that command...

Lin Xian followed behind CC and started running as fast as he could.

A group of idle black people who wanted to vent their emotions chased after them, cursing.

Fortunately, Lin Xian's parkour skills were maxed out, and CC was also exceptionally agile. Under her skillful guidance, the two of them traversed through the gaps in the Brooklyn buildings, and soon they couldn't hear the sounds of pursuit behind them.

This was also why Lin Xian wasn't flustered and had the mind to joke around just now.

With so many years of parkour training in his dreams, even if he couldn't beat them, couldn't he run away?

No matter how bad the gang situation in Brooklyn was, could it be more stressful than the all-round pursuit by special police, helicopters, snipers, and armored vehicles in the First Dream?

Lin Xian could use his parkour skills to slip away in that kind of extreme situation, let alone shake off a few black people now, it was completely effortless.

Considering firearms, Lin Xian was even less afraid.

If someone dared to pull a gun on him, it would inevitably trigger reverse forced evasion, and he would collapse directly to the ground.

After several tests, Lin Xian had a very good understanding of the entangled space-time particles and his current state.

If the other person punched him a few times or kicked him a few times, it might not trigger reverse forced evasion, but using firearms and bullets would trigger it 100%.

The only thing that surprised Lin Xian was...

[This Millennium Stake girl clearly doesn't know me and doesn't have CC's memory fragments, so why is she willing to run away with me?]

This matter clearly had nothing to do with her. He was the one who stole the newspaper, and those black people who were cracking their knuckles were coming for him. She didn't have to wade into this muddy water at all.

Lin Xian did a few flips, caught up with the figure fleeing in the alley, and narrowed his eyes, looking at the magical ponytail bouncing left and right in front of him.

Could it be...

Is there some other special reason?

In short...

He had to learn more about this 1950s girl who was also named CC, also looked exactly like Chu Anqing, and was also a Millennium Stake.

"Okay."

The two of them were in a narrow passageway. CC clapped her hands, turned her head, and looked at Lin Xian:

"It's safe here. Those black people are very lazy, they'll be too lazy to chase after a while."

"Thank you."

Lin Xian looked at his feet covered in black ash, rubbed them together, and then raised his head:

"Do you know me?"

CC shook her head:

"Of course I don't know you."

"Then why did you want to save me?" Lin Xian asked.

CC crossed her arms and leaned against the wall:

"Before that... shouldn't you answer my question first? Tell me, how did you know my name was CC? Who told you?"

"No one told me."

Lin Xian shook his head:

"I just called it out randomly. I have a friend who looks a lot like you, and her name is CC... I thought I called out the wrong name, but I didn't expect that by some twist of fate, your name is also CC."

CC frowned slightly after hearing this:

"Are you messing with me? Is this how you treat a lifesaver?"

Lin Xian smiled helplessly:

"I'm telling the truth. But..."

He turned his head, looking at the alley behind him, feeling like something was wrong:

"Are you sure we really shook off those black people? I feel a chill on the back of my head."

He rubbed the back of his head and suddenly realized that this wasn't an illusion, nor was it some inexplicable sixth sense.

But... he could really feel something on the back of his head!

Invisible.

Intangible.

But there was indeed something like a [kite string] pulling on the back of his head, forming a subtle connection between his head and the kite in the sky.

He hadn't paid much attention to this feeling when he was in a panic just now.

But now that he was free and calm...

This feeling of being slightly tugged was really uncomfortable.

Where did the kite string come from?

And where was this invisible, intangible, non-physical kite string connected to?

Suddenly.

He widened his eyes.

"I understand."

Lin Xian muttered softly:

"So that's it, this... is the return mechanism of the entangled space-time particles. The kite string is connected to... 2234, the time point when I crossed over."

This feeling was magical.

And it was difficult to describe in words.

But Lin Xian could really feel the existence of this "kite string."

Perhaps...

The crossing mechanism of entangled space-time particles was similar to flying a kite.

The kite flying in the sky was like himself crossing back to 1952. As long as he had this "kite string" pulling him, he could jump around however he wanted. When he wanted to go back, he just needed to tighten the "kite string" and the kite would naturally return to the ground.

But...

If something went wrong, causing the world line to leap, which meant the "kite string" broke, then he would truly become a kite with a broken string, losing contact with the ground, which was his original time and space, and he would never be able to return to the time point where he started in 2234.

Lin Xian closed his eyes.

He immersed himself further in the discomfort on the back of his head, accurately feeling the existence of the "kite string." He could even be sure... that as long as he controlled his thoughts and climbed up this "kite string," he would immediately disappear from 1952 and return to the starting node in 2234.

"Amazing."

He opened his eyes, stopping his subconscious from climbing the "kite string."

It was still too early for him to complete his mission and find out the truth of everything. There was no hurry to go back, let the kite fly for a while longer, as long as the string didn't break.

"Hey!"

CC shouted beside him:

"Why are you so ungrateful? I'm asking you a question, what are you spacing out for? Tch... I knew I shouldn't have saved you."

Lin Xian came back to his senses, turned around, and faced CC:

"What do you mainly want to know? Do you want to know why I knew your name was CC?"

CC nodded.

"Is this name very important to you?" Lin Xian continued to ask.

CC was silent for a moment:

"It's not that it's particularly important, it's just... it's been many years since anyone called me by this name, and I do... miss it a little."

"Can you tell me about it?"

Lin Xian asked:

"What I said just now was true. I do know a girl named CC, but she's definitely not you. I also want to know what relationship she has with you."

"So... if you don't mind, could you tell me your story, your identity, the origin of your name in detail? Maybe I can really find some clues to answer your question from it."

CC blinked, looking at Lin Xian:

"Can you really tell me... my background?"

"I can only say it's possible."

Lin Xian replied rigorously:

"Although the possibility is relatively small, I definitely won't lie to you."

"I also hope you can understand that although I did steal a newspaper from the little black kid, it was a last resort and doesn't mean I'm a bad person."

"I also know that in this era, if the little black kid loses a newspaper, he'll definitely get beaten up when he goes back, so don't worry... I'll definitely pay him back for this newspaper before tonight. I mean what I say and I'll definitely be responsible for it."

…

Currently, Lin Xian could also see that...

This girl, who was also named CC, also had the same kindness as Chu Anqing and CC.

She had definitely exposed his crime of stealing the newspaper earlier to prevent the little black kid from being beaten up when he went back.

This was an act of kindness and justice. Lin Xian had no objection to it and no prejudice. He himself never thought his actions were correct.

After all, this was the reality of 1952, not the endless cycle of dreams.

Therefore...

He had to consider the consequences of doing many things.

He really just wanted to see the address and date at the beginning. Since [the Brooklyn way] was "newspapers can't be returned once opened," then so be it. He would just put it on credit first and get the money to pay the little black kid during the day.

CC looked at Lin Xian.

Her expression also became relaxed.

Sure enough.

His words had worked, temporarily dispelling the negative impression of "despicable thief."

"I was raised by a kind grandmother since I was little."

CC said softly:

"She was a very kind, single grandmother. She was a very good person and had a very good heart. The ruthless First World War took away her family, causing her husband and children to die on the battlefield."

"After the war, she received a lot of compensation, and the country also awarded her many medals. Having lost her family, she decided to use the money to do some good deeds... so she established a welfare home specifically for adopting orphans."

"I don't know who my parents are. I was wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes shortly after I was born and placed in front of my grandmother's welfare home. My biological parents only left a note with my name on it and hoping that the kind and good-hearted grandmother would take me in."

Lin Xian listened silently.

He nodded.

So that's how it was...

He had originally thought that the grandmother CC was talking about was a real grandmother, the mother of her father, the kind with blood ties.

But he hadn't expected that it was the director of the welfare home, a pitiful person who had lost her family in the war.

The First World War started in 1914 and ended in 1918. When the United States officially joined the war, the war was already in its final stages. Although they were going for war profiteering... they still sacrificed some soldiers.

Naturally, this included the kind grandmother's husband and children.

The first Millennium Stake girl disappeared in 1952, so she should have been born in 1932. The welfare home at this time should have already taken in and raised many children.

"There are a lot of kids in the welfare home, more than thirty."

CC continued to tell her story:

"So... Grandma would often use some simple nicknames to call us. She saw that my name was too long, both my last name and first name were too long, so she cleverly only used the first letter and simply called me CC."

"That's the simple origin of this name, there's no deep story. The reason why I was touched by you calling me by this name... is mainly because I miss that time, I liked living in the welfare home, being with Grandma and the other children. Those times are gone forever."

?

Lin Xian caught a blind spot:

"Could it be that... that grandmother..."

"Yes."

CC nodded:

"Grandma passed away a few years ago. The welfare home didn't last for various reasons either. Our group of children were either adopted or ended up on the streets like this."

"No one wants to adopt children my age, I'm too old, so everyone just dispersed and left. I don't know what happened to the others now. At least in Brooklyn, I haven't seen any of my previous friends. They've probably already left here, or... have already died."

"Since then, no one has ever called me CC again. Even if people call me by my name, they call me by my long last name. So... I'm still very curious that you were able to call out the name CC today."

Lin Xian said "oh" in realization:

"So that's how it is. You were touched by hearing me call out the name CC and remembering the past, so you led me to escape and helped me out of the predicament earlier."

"That's not the reason."

CC shook her head:

"I didn't save you because of that. Of course, it's definitely wrong of you to steal someone's newspaper without paying. As long as you pay the little black kid back for it today, it can barely be considered making up for your mistake."

"The reason I saved you... is actually because of your appearance."

Huh?

Lin Xian was stunned:

"Appearance?"

Is being handsome really enough to make a living?

CC smiled:

"Grandma told me since I was little that although my name is an American name, judging by my appearance, I should be a pure Dragon Country person."

"She said that it was a distant country that was always at war, but it was a country with a long history, a great and legendary country. She judged that my parents, or my ancestors, must have smuggled themselves overseas to escape the war."

"So, Grandma taught me that fellow countrymen should help each other, especially when they encounter fellow countrymen in a foreign land. They should lend a helping hand in times of difficulty."

Lin Xian suddenly understood:

"So that's how it is."

But then, he was a little puzzled, pointing to his face:

"However, something is strange. How did you tell that I'm a Dragon Country person from my appearance?"

He pointed to his eyes again:

"Logically speaking, how could a Dragon Country person have these kinds of eyes? Shouldn't you suspect that I'm mixed race first?"

CC tilted her head and blinked:

"Is there any need to suspect something so obvious? Although I can't speak or understand Chinese, when you saw the newspaper and said something in shock, I knew it was the language of Dragon Country as soon as I heard it."

"Besides... you're mixed race? Mixed with what blood? You have black hair, black pupils, and yellow skin... it's obvious that you're a pure Dragon Country person."

???

Lin Xian widened his eyes:

"What did you say? Black pupils?"

"What else?"

CC looked at Lin Xian like she was looking at an idiot:

"Are you colorblind? Even if you're colorblind, you wouldn't see black as another color."

Lin Xian wasn't in the mood to listen to CC speak.

He looked around and found a dilapidated motorcycle parked in the corner, with a good rearview mirror propped up on the handlebars.

He hurried over.

He pried the rearview mirror off and aimed it at his face—

He saw.

A familiar face full of doubt and surprise slowly moved from the left side of the rearview mirror to the middle.

It hadn't changed.

It hadn't changed at all!

His appearance hadn't undergone any spatial-temporal rejection at all, and it was exactly the same as the face he had seen in the mirror every day before crossing through space and time! Not a single bit different!

He widened his eyes.

Looking at his dim and deep pupils in the mirror...

Black.

They were actually black!

There wasn't a single trace of blue light!

"What's going on?"

He suddenly turned around and looked around.

He had clearly crossed over,

He had clearly come to 1952,

He was clearly already a spatial-temporal traveler,

But.

Where was the spatial-temporal rejection?

Where were the blue eyes?

Lin Xian felt a chill down his spine and took a deep breath:

"Did I really... cross over successfully?"