Ch 14: Text Messages Across Time

【Who exactly are you?！！！】

If this had been a week earlier, once Lin Wu confirmed that the other person was upright and well-meaning and wouldn’t interfere with his goal, he wouldn’t have minded saying that his name was Lin Wu, that he came from twenty years in the future. But that had a condition: it must not affect his objective. And now…

Lin Wu recalled 2004. They had only met twice. The first time, the other had followed him, and the first impression had not been pleasant. The second time, although they hadn’t directly clashed, his seventeen-year-old self clearly didn’t believe him.

He couldn’t interfere with his seventeen-year-old self, nor did he know whether revealing his identity would make things even more chaotic. Countless possibilities flashed through his mind. In the end, he replied:

【I am a prophet.】

“!!!” In the 2004 student dormitory, Qin Weidong was opening a can of cola. When he saw the reply, he nearly spilled it.

He finished the cola, tossed the can into the trash below, steadied himself, and then asked, “What am I doing right now?”

Lin Wu: …

“I don’t know.” That wasn’t something a “prophet” could answer.

“What am I having for breakfast tomorrow? What color suit will the female anchor on Xuhu Evening News wear tomorrow night? What advertisement will play on Channel 3 at 20:27?” Qin Weidong fired off a string of questions.

“A blue suit.” Lin Wu could only look up the second question. He couldn’t answer the others.

“The Evening News anchor often wears blue suits. That doesn’t count.” Qin Weidong spoke as if he had seen through everything. From the start, he hadn’t believed the claim about a prophet. It was completely unscientific.

“Then how did you know about the fire?” Even though he didn’t believe it, he was still fixated on that.

It was now 22:12. Lin Wu didn’t want to waste time proving his identity. He quickly replied:

【I can tell you why I knew, on one condition: tomorrow, go to Class 5, Grade 12 at Xuhu No. 1 High, find Lin Wu, and tell him that Xiao Hulu will be murdered on the night of November 19. The killer is a random murderer. Luo Xiaorong will have a car accident on the night of December 15. If the accident is prevented, she will be murdered on the night of December 17, also by a random killer. So he must stop both of these deaths!】

【Tomorrow night between 22:12 and 22:27, please hand the phone to Lin Wu. I need to speak with him directly.】

【Please make sure to help. Thank you!】

……

After sending the message, Lin Wu felt as if he had expended immense energy. If he wanted to rewrite the tragedy of 2004, the only tool he had was this phone.

During their first exchange, he didn’t know the other person’s identity, so he had concealed some key details, such as describing Wang Jiahui’s death as a car accident.

Now, after two encounters with his seventeen-year-old self, he knew more. Translated on Hololo novels. The other person appeared to be around seventeen, tall, good-looking. From the fact that he faithfully passed on the message, he seemed to have a sense of responsibility. This did not match the suspect profile from the police investigation.

Lin Wu believed the other person was not the killer. Still, to be cautious, he went back to the internet café over the past few days and contacted its original owner.

“Hengxing Internet café? I invested 1.2 million back then. One fire, and it was all gone.”

“Details? I remember! Before the fire, there was a high school student walking around upstairs and downstairs. He was tall and good-looking. He was the first to notice the fire. The evacuation was timely, or a lot of people would’ve died.”

“That student even saved a middle schooler while escaping. Otherwise, given the situation, that kid would’ve been done for…”

“The next day, that student reported to the police, saying he suspected arson. I went to the station too. The surveillance footage was all preserved. It was a natural fire.”

…

The former owner now ran a hardware store. His income was decent compared to ordinary people, but for someone who had managed to raise over a million yuan back in 2004, his life hadn’t gone well.

“Do you still have the footage from back then?” Lin Wu caught the key point.

“What do you want it for?” the owner immediately became wary.

“I’m a physics professor at Jianghe University. I’m currently working on a research project about life trajectories…” Lin Wu introduced himself. At times like this, being a university professor lent him credibility.

Seeing that Lin Wu genuinely needed the footage, they arranged a time and place to meet.

The owner had been forty-two at the time of the incident and was now sixty-two, with hair half gone gray. After exchanging pleasantries, he searched Lin Wu’s information on his phone. Lin Wu was indeed a physics professor at Jianghe University, with numerous research projects and interviews online.

“This is the footage from that fire. I thought it had some memorial value, so I kept it.” After confirming Lin Wu’s identity, he took out a USB drive.

“Thank you.” Lin Wu checked it on his laptop and put it away.

“I’ve been thinking over the years… if our fire safety awareness had been stronger back then, my life would probably be better now. But then again, if no one had discovered the fire, everyone in that café would’ve died. In a way, I was lucky…” Opening the café had been the peak of his life. Now, with Lin Wu listening, he found himself talking more than usual.

“It was a kind of luck,” Lin Wu said.

He thought of the owner’s original fate. As the legal representative of the café, he had been sentenced to seven years. Before going to prison, he had compensated the victims’ families until he was broke. After release, he continued working while paying more compensation. He could never escape the burden of guilt.

The last impression Lin Wu had was a news report: the man, already in his sixties, living like an ascetic, praying for the victims. Translated on Hololo novels. In the original outcome, both the owner and all the victims had been part of a tragedy. Now, the outcome had changed. The fire still occurred, but compared to before, everyone lived to see a new day.

They talked for an entire afternoon. Before parting, the owner asked expectantly, “Will your research project be published in newspapers or journals?” He had looked it up. Professors of Lin Wu’s level usually published in academic outlets.

“This is an internal university project. I can’t guarantee that yet…” Lin Wu pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to use the project as an excuse to take the USB drive, but he didn’t know how else to explain.

“It’s fine. This isn’t any kind of confidential file. I have plenty of backups at home. The police probably have archived copies too. Honestly, I just wanted someone to talk to. It’s been a long time since anyone asked me about the café.”

As if sensing Lin Wu’s discomfort, the owner added that. Just as he said, it wasn’t anything secret. He had agreed to meet simply because he wanted to revisit the past. If the conversation felt right, even if Lin Wu hadn’t been a professor, he would still have been willing to give him the footage.

“Thank you!” Lin Wu said sincerely.

“It’s nothing.” After chatting, the two went their separate ways.

Lin Wu returned to the hotel and immediately opened the USB drive. The footage began recording from 10 p.m. that night. He saw the “unknown number” walk into the internet café with a thin boy. The “unknown number” was replying to messages, likely texting him at the time.

After sending the messages, the unknown number carefully checked the power supply. As the time of the fire approached, he sent his companion away, then continued checking. When he discovered the fire, he ran, evacuating people and rescuing them…

A good person.

That was Lin Wu’s first reaction after watching. From the way the boy deliberately sent his companion away as the fire approached, it was clear he cared about the timing of the fire. Yet he didn’t leave. Instead, he searched again and again for the source, and in the end saved everyone, never once thinking of escaping alone.

After watching, Lin Wu instinctively felt the boy couldn’t be the serial killer. Still, to be certain, he copied the video and sent it to a psychology professor at Jianghe University.

“You want me to judge whether he has homicidal or antisocial tendencies?” The professor was surprised by Lin Wu’s request.

“Yes. Please help me determine whether those possibilities exist.” Lin Wu’s goal was to change the past tragedy. The unknown number was his only bridge, so he had to be absolutely sure the other person was safe.

“Alright, I’ll take a look now.” The professor, over seventy and one of the country’s top experts, had assisted police in solving many serious cases. As he spoke, he began analyzing the footage, jotting notes in a notebook.

“Thank you,” Lin Wu said sincerely.

A day later, Lin Wu received the psychological assessment.

Based on the tall boy’s body language and micro-expressions, he was upright and kind, with a healthy upbringing and mental state. He showed no signs of antisocial behavior. He was a sunny, open, psychologically stable young man.

“When he was checking the area, his brows were tightly furrowed, which shows he was anxious. When he rescued people, he hesitated for half a second, but his body leaned forward, and once he committed, his movements were decisive. That means he had already judged the danger, yet still chose to save others. That takes more courage than acting on instinct,” the professor said with clear approval. “If someone like him had homicidal or antisocial tendencies, then all of us would be potential killers.”

People aren’t unchanging, but everyone has a core nature. This boy’s micro-expressions and choices under danger showed integrity and kindness. He belonged to the type least likely to become antisocial. The probability of him being a killer was extremely low.

“There is one point of doubt in this video. When he checked the power source, it seemed like he already expected a fire to happen here…” The footage was simple. That was the only anomaly.

“Where did you get this?” the professor asked.

“I came across it by chance. I’ve been wanting to learn some psychology, so I thought I’d study it,” Lin Wu replied with a prepared explanation.

“Haha, if you want to study psychology, just come to me. When are you coming back to Jianghe? We should all get together,” the professor laughed.

“I still have some things to take care of at home. I’ll come back after this period,” Lin Wu replied with a polite smile.

That call had taken place earlier that day. Afterward, Lin Wu continued gathering information on the Xuhu serial murder case until night, when he received Qin Weidong’s message.

…

“You said they were car accidents before. Why are they suddenly random murders now? Even the timing has changed!” In the Lide High School dorm, Qin Weidong rapidly typed out a message and hit send.

Three seconds later: failed.

“Damn!” Qin Weidong muttered, rarely swearing.

“What’s wrong, Brother Qin?” The others were playing cards and were startled.

“Nothing.” Qin Weidong forced himself to calm down, then checked the time. 22:28. One minute past the latest time the other person had mentioned.

He lay back on the bed with his arms behind his head. Three seconds later, a cold smile tugged at his lips.

Last week it was two car accidents. Now it’s two murders. Is this some kind of joke?

He had already made a fool of himself once. Why would the other person think he’d do it again?

He looked at the second-to-last message:

【Tomorrow night between 22:12 and 22:27, hand the phone to Lin Wu…】

Oh really. It’s his phone. Since when did the other person get to make demands?

These days there were all kinds of phone viruses and trojans. What if he handed it over and all his credit got drained?

He’d already been foolish once. If he did it again, he’d be a complete idiot.

Qin Weidong spent the whole night thinking in circles and decided to put away his curiosity and stop caring about it. And then…

At 9 p.m. the next evening, “complete idiot” Qin Weidong was squatting downstairs outside Lin Wu’s building.

He looked up at Lin Wu’s window.

It was dark.

He had been waiting from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and no one had come home.

✧˖°.──⋆⭒˚.⋆💌⋆⭒˚.⋆──✧˖°.