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墨書 Inktalez
Is this a farewell gift? Jack's behavior was too unusual. His actions hinted at parting words and the giving of a relic.
"What do you mean?" My excitement was instantly doused by Jack's even more peculiar behavior. I asked him in the most stable tone I could muster.
"This watch is fully automatic; it's hard to damage it even if it falls from a great height. I cherish it."
"What do you mean?!" Jack's words sounded increasingly like a last testament, causing my emotions to waver again. I couldn't help but shout, "It's not time for you to leave a will! If you die, it should be in front of the Eternal Gate. Do you want to die with your eyes open? I won't allow it!"
Jack looked at me in shock, pausing for a moment before saying, "Zhang, you've misunderstood. I'm just showing you the time on this watch. I thought you might have a rough idea of the current time."
I grimaced at Jack. In that brief moment, my mood had swung like a roller coaster, and I felt myself teetering on the brink of madness. I desperately tried to calm myself down and regain control.
"Jack, what's wrong with me? Am I too tense? Don't you have that medical master's degree from Duke University? Take a look; am I going crazy?"
Jack shook his head. "That field is too complex; I didn't study it. But I don't think there's anything wrong with your mind. It would be too difficult for you to be schizophrenic; your behavior seems more like excitement."
With that, Jack handed me the luminous watch.
"Jack, you're overestimating me. How could I possibly know the current time? Ever since entering this Underground Cavern, I've lost all sense of time; I can't even remember how long it's been."
"Eleven thirty." Fatty smugly tilted his head at me.
“Fat Brother, don’t pretend to be clever. How do you know what time it is? Is that old watch of yours even working?”
“Pfft.” Fatty scoffed. “That watch of mine broke ages ago. I sense time instinctively; it’s a gift, you know?”
“Bullshit. If you can sense it, why can’t I? Who are you trying to fool?”
“You’re like a chicken on steroids, not sleeping at all,” Fatty blurted out, then abruptly stopped. Seeing my confused expression, he continued, “Your biological clock must be broken, so of course you have no sense of time.”
Actually, the comment Fatty made struck a chord with me. I realized why I had lost my sense of time. A normal person’s biological clock would remind them when it’s time to sleep; even if they couldn’t sleep, their body would still react. But ever since I came down to the Underground Cavern, I hardly felt tired at all. Even when I did sleep, I remained alert and would wake up after just a short nap.
I looked at Jack with a questioning gaze.
Jack smiled insincerely. “You know your friend better than I do; I won’t comment.”
I shot him a glare. “If you don’t know how to use Chinese idioms, then don’t mess around.”
I took Jack’s watch and glanced at the date and time, doing some quick calculations in my head. I was well aware of when we entered the Underground Cavern, and it didn’t take long for me to figure it out. With a cold laugh, I held up the watch and said to Fatty: “Told you not to show off; you got it wrong—it's already past twelve-thirty.”
Fatty looked shocked. “No way! I've been counting the days! How could I get that wrong?”
He snatched the watch back and checked the date against it, cursing in disbelief and anger. “What the hell is this broken watch? It’s worse than my biological clock!”
He slammed it down onto the ground.
I thought to myself that Fat Man was just using this as an opportunity to take shots at American Guy. For now, Jack couldn’t do anything but watch as Fatty smashed the watch on the floor.
However, Jack remained calm and dismissive. "Don't waste your effort; even a hammer might not break it."
Fatty, unconvinced, picked it up, examined it, and cursed, "Damn, I give up. Just like that American Guy. Tough as nails."
"I checked the time before I came down," Jack ignored Fatty. He pointed upward and turned to me. "It's not the current date; it's four hours earlier. In other words, before I came down, we spent eleven and a half hours in the Underground Cavern."
"You fell down from above and took an hour?" I looked at Jack in surprise. At that moment, I felt that one of us had to be losing their mind.
Jack shook his head. "Not just me; it's us. And it."
He pointed at the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight in my hand.
"He's lost it," Fatty chimed in immediately.
I shrugged. "He's trying to find an excuse for this flashlight. If that's the case, this flashlight could very well be his. At least it makes sense that it drained its batteries in an hour."
"But mine is a fact," Jack waved his hand, directing my gaze elsewhere. "Have you considered what benefit I would gain from faking or deceiving you? There's no need for me to do that."
I felt my mind struggling to keep up. After thinking carefully, I asked Jack, "Are you saying we fell from above and took an hour? What do you mean? Is it deep here, or is time here out of sync with above?"
Deep lines appeared on Jack's forehead as he carefully chose his words. "Is there a possibility that this place isn't the same space as above?"
I looked at Jack; his face was still pale under the flashlight, furrowed brows showing his inner turmoil. He spoke seriously, indicating that he had thought this through deeply. Yet from his expression, it was clear he was equally uncertain and alarmed by this hypothesis. Even though he articulated this thought, there was no sign of relief on his face.
Jack's statement left my mind momentarily blank. I felt like my thoughts couldn't keep pace with Jack's reasoning; I had never entertained such a strange idea before, and I couldn't yet digest the deeper meaning behind his words.
I turned my face toward Fatty in confusion. His face was shrouded in darkness, the light from the One-Eyed Beast Flashlight not illuminating him, while the glow from the torches behind him cast his shadow toward us. A faint light glimmered on his bald head, giving him an almost divine appearance, reminiscent of a deity or a Buddha.
"Do you think we've entered the Eternal Gate?" Divine Fatty spoke with an air of sanctity.
"Yes," Jack replied, his tone tinged with despair and disappointment. He seemed dissatisfied that the person who understood him was Fatty and not me, frustrated that this Fatty had become his confidant.
"Then where the hell is the door? I refuse to believe I've entered this door without seeing it. I didn't fall from above, nor did I close my eyes. What was that saying? I didn't miss a single sight along the way. I haven't seen any door, Qiangzi. Did you see it?"
"I..."
My gaze shifted from Fatty, who wore a halo, to Jack's face and back again. My expression changed dramatically during this process, shifting several times in intensity. I understood Jack's meaning and began to form a vague suspicion.
"I didn't see it, but I might have felt that door." (To Be Continued.)
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