ISBH - Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Time Travel
When Han Tian woke up, she had no idea what was going on.
Just a moment ago, she had been pushed in the laboratory. Outside was a torrential rainy night. Han Tian felt she was likely dead or dying, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in a pile of rubble under the glaring sunlight. The sun flickered through the debris, hurting her eyes.
Her body felt completely drained of strength, as if all her energy had been suddenly sucked out, leaving behind an empty shell.
Where is this?
Am I still alive?
...
Han Tian's first instinct was to call for help.
But her body was too weak. She tried several times but couldn't make a sound.
After a few attempts, Han Tian gave up on calling for help.
She could only wait for someone to come!
The moment that thought crossed her mind, accompanied by the loudspeaker announcing "collecting pressure cookers, old mobile phones...", an old woman riding a tricycle approached closer and closer. The old woman cursed from her seat: "This damn weather. It hasn't rained for over a month. The water pipes haven't run for half a month, and no one comes to fix them..."
This seemed to be a temporary garbage dump.
The tricycle stopped beside Han Tian. The old woman took out a pair of iron tongs and grimaced as she rummaged around Han Tian...
?
Han Tian slowly widened her eyes:
A grown woman collapsed right here, and the old woman didn't even see her?
But the old woman precisely picked up cardboard boxes one by one and threw them onto the tricycle. She wasn't blind...
Finally, Han Tian rolled her eyes and watched in terror as the old woman's iron tongs poked toward her face...
However, the tongs passed straight through Han Tian's forehead and clamped onto a piece of scrap metal behind her, dropping it into the back of the tricycle with a thud...
The old woman couldn't see her?
Han Tian finally realized belatedly...
What on earth was going on?
...
The old woman rode the tricycle away, gradually fading into the distance. After a while, several workers wearing construction helmets walked over carrying various discarded items.
They threw the scrap directly toward Han Tian's direction. Just as Han Tian had expected, the debris passed right through her body...
These people couldn't see Han Tian either.
"Demolishing the slums in this part of Chengxi is a huge project..."
After throwing the trash, the workers didn't leave immediately. Instead, they took out lighters, lit cigarettes, and started chatting.
"It'll probably take three to five years to finish! The resettlement housing over there isn't built yet either..."
"The higher-ups plan to build an industrial park here. I think it was called... Chunjiang Industrial Park?"
"Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. After this project, I'm going back to my hometown. I miss my daughter. Thinking about it, she should be about the same age as that girl from yesterday..."
"Sigh! That girl looks really miserable. Should we buy some fruit later and check on her?"
"Forget it. You probably won't even find her. I heard Old Zhang say she lost something, and these past couple of days she's been searching outside constantly..."
"Sigh, everything's being demolished now. How could she possibly find it?"
...
As Han Tian listened to the workers' conversation, her eyes gradually widened, and a storm of shock surged in her heart!
Chunjiang Industrial Park was an industrial park near Han Tian's Research Institute. It had already been completed before she returned to the country five years ago...
...
But hearing the workers speak, this industrial park was just beginning construction now...
Han Tian suddenly remembered: before she lost consciousness, she had fallen into the instrument she was researching...
Had her research succeeded? Had she accidentally triggered the device and traveled back to the past?
That would explain why others couldn't see her!
Because in this current timeline, there was another Han Tian across the ocean, struggling to study. Spacetime Rules dictated that two Han Tians could not exist in the same timeline simultaneously. Therefore, the future version of herself was treated as an anomaly by this timeline and remained undetectable to others!
...
Unknowingly, those workers also left.
In the following hours, many more people came to this area: children looking for toys in the garbage, more elderly people coming to scavenge as well, housewives dumping trash...
Not a single person noticed Han Tian's presence.
Judging by their conversations, clothing, and the models of mobile phones they used, Han Tian deduced she had returned roughly ten years in the past.
If no external force intervened, this meant Han Tian would have to maintain this state for ten years. Only after ten years, when only one Han Tian remained in the timeline, would she become visible to others!
...
This was absolutely terrible.
...
The sunlight was warm, wrapping her whole body in a cozy glow. After figuring out the situation, as time slowly passed, the fear and confusion in Han Tian's heart gradually faded, allowing her to finally analyze everything rationally...
Who wanted to kill her?
The Research Institute's main door had fingerprint recognition. Aside from Research Institute personnel, no one else could get in.
Checking the fingerprint clock-in records would almost instantly reveal who pushed her.
Who would take such a huge risk to harm her?
Han Tian recalled her interpersonal relationships at the Research Institute: she focused solely on research, never formed factions, and hadn't offended anyone there...
Han Tian truly couldn't figure out who the culprit was...
For now, she could only hope the researchers would find a way to bring her back soon!
...
She wondered how many people would try to look for her after her disappearance.
The outlook wasn't optimistic:
Han Tian knew: whether her grandparents or her colleagues at the Research Institute, they would surely try their best.
But Han Tian had to prepare for the worst.
Her grandparents and she pursued different research directions, and they had other grandchildren. Even though they would be saddened upon discovering she was missing, just like when her parents died, they would eventually move on...
As for her colleagues, their grief would likely stem more from regret over losing her talent, but the scientific community was never short of geniuses...
If every method failed to locate her, then at most within three years, everyone would fade the pain in their hearts and accept the fact of her disappearance.
By then, would anyone still dedicate themselves to finding her?
And she would be stuck alone in this timeline, maintaining this state of being unseen and unheard for ten years, unable to touch anything...
It was fine for now, but what about five or ten years down the line?
Loneliness was the most destructive force to a person's mind.
The Han Tian of ten years later would very likely turn into a madwoman!
...
What a terribly bleak future!
The sun gradually sank to the west, casting an orange halo around the surroundings. Perhaps because her body had been staying in this era for a while, Han Tian felt some strength slowly returning to her limbs.
This kind of dusk resembled that evening when she slept on Mo Sang's lap.
Han Tian thought of Mo Sang again.
Never before had she wished so genuinely to be Mo Sang's ex-girlfriend. In that case, she would know that throughout the long ten years, even if everyone else forgot her, Mo Sang would always remember her and search tirelessly for her.
Unfortunately, she had already blown her cover in front of Mo Sang...
Wait, not recently. It happened ten years later. She had already blown her cover in front of Mo Sang...
She had impersonated Mo Sang's beloved ex-girlfriend and, through a twist of fate, ended up sleeping with her. The best possible outcome was that Mo Sang wouldn't hate her. How could she possibly try to find her?
...
Han Tian sniffled, feeling a pang of sadness in her chest.
Perhaps she shouldn't have run back then. She should have followed her original plan and said a calm, proper goodbye to Mo Sang.
But thinking about it now was pointless.
...
The sky gradually darkened, slowly sprinkling with countless stars. The night sky ten years ago truly seemed clearer than the one ten years later.
Too much had happened in a single day. After extreme mental tension, her nerves relaxed again, and drowsiness slowly crept in.
Sleep first!
Han Tian told herself: there would be no alarm clock waking her up now, and she didn't need to obsess over research at all times...
Unfortunately, where Han Tian was located wasn't a good place to sleep.
...
First, a young couple ran over and hid in the rubble to engage in indecent activities. Han Tian was forced to eavesdrop for ages.
Finally, after that wild pair left...
The garbage collection truck arrived.
Han Tian watched helplessly as she was scooped up...
This was incredibly thrilling!
But a moment later, something unknown happened. Han Tian suddenly fell off the garbage truck and rolled to the base of a tree...
Han Tian discovered she could move!
But her range of movement was extremely limited, restricted to within a ten-meter radius around her.
This was still better than sleeping on top of garbage! Han Tian comforted herself.
Han Tian yawned and simply lay down under the tree to sleep...
Unknown how much time passed, rustling sounds emerged from the surroundings again.
Bleary-eyed from exhaustion, Han Tian opened her eyes and saw a slender, small figure pacing back and forth among the remaining trash under the dim yellow streetlight, seemingly searching for something...
The child was far too thin.
She wore a grayish dress whose original color was unrecognizable, standing barefoot beside the garbage. Her spine protruded sharply from her back; she was practically skeletal.
Seeming to realize the garbage truck had already taken the waste away, the child grew somewhat desperate. After rummaging for a while longer, she turned around, covered her face, and began to cry softly.
The sobs were suppressed, like the whimpers of some small beast, emanating from her messy hair, making anyone who heard them feel deeply pained.
For a split second, Han Tian forgot that others couldn't see her. Unconsciously, she stood up from under the tree...
Han Tian had never seen a child like this before.
Growing up, Han Tian's world had been relatively simple. Although she had learned from various media about impoverished children everywhere, and had donated to charities for them, she never imagined encountering such a child in person...
"Stop crying!"
Han Tian spoke out, feeling a twinge of sympathy. Only after saying it did she realize she could actually speak, but it was useless. The little girl hugged her head, sobbing bitterly, completely unable to hear her voice.
Han Tian pressed her lips together, feeling somewhat defeated. She took two steps back, planning to shrink back under the tree, when unexpectedly, the child suddenly lifted her head.
The lighting was dim. Han Tian couldn't clearly see the child's face, only catching a pair of tear-stained eyes beneath the messy hair.
For a fleeting moment, Han Tian felt her gaze lock with the child's.
Han Tian paused, stunned.
But in the next instant, the child looked away, as if spotting what she was looking for. Her eyes clearly brightened.
Before Han Tian could react, the child had already darted to the corner, picked up an object, and clutched it tightly in her hand. Fearing someone might snatch it, the child kept her head down and ran off without looking back...
The next moment, Han Tian found herself floating upward...
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