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Yan Junze was completely puzzled about how the task had been triggered.
He felt he was still far from Zhang Tiantian's office and had no idea that the Spacetime Atlas could detect Different Dimension Energy from such a distance.
However, at the same moment he saw the task, a bizarre idea inexplicably popped into his mind.
If one could infinitely increase this detection range, would it be possible to instantly know the exact locations and related tasks of all the strangenesses in the city?
Crazy, he must be crazy!
Yan Junze shook his head. So far, no one would voluntarily approach and investigate unexplainable, mysterious events, apart from himself.
Looking at the task prompt's "Task Level" column: Trembling with Fear (Low).
Yan Junze remembered that both the [Hair Washing] and [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] tasks were labeled "Anxiety-Inducing," with one being low and the other medium.
But now, the level in front of him had changed to "Trembling with Fear." This meant that the difficulty or horror level was definitely higher than the previous tasks.
Originally, Yan Junze had planned to solve the [The Old Woman Knocking at Mid-Night] task within the next few days, or even tonight, since having someone knock on his door every night was not a small psychological burden for his family.
But now, he was having some difficulty deciding.
The task [Alone with Zhang Tiantian in an Office] had appeared suddenly, and the window of opportunity was brief, right now. Otherwise, once the Exorcist arrived, there would be nothing left for Yan Junze to do.
So, if he wanted to complete it, he had to start now or forever miss the chance.
Yan Junze's heart was filled with unease, as his attention remained primarily on the words "Trembling with Fear (Low)."
The task's difficulty level escalating from "Anxiety-Inducing" to "Trembling with Fear" was a strong, attention-demanding signal. Otherwise, he might not even know how he died.
"Spend 10 minutes with Zhang Tiantian in one office, do I go or not?" Yan Junze hesitated internally. He needed to decide quickly and take action before the Exorcist arrived.
"I've noticed that you've changed since you encountered that strange event," Zhou Dali said without knowing what was on his mind, standing behind him, patting Yan Junze with his fan-sized hand in a comforting tone.
This was exactly the reaction Yan Junze aimed to show as he turned to Zhou Dali and said, "Yeah, go ahead to the internet café and start up a computer for me. I'll be there soon, it will only take about fifteen minutes at most."
"Alright, just be careful," Zhou Dali left.
"Damn, are you setting a flag for me?" Yan Junze cursed to himself.
He felt like a veteran bounty hunter, one day short of retirement, who kept reminding himself he could soon enjoy life at home, just to encounter his last case and then get killed.
He looked up at the office building in front of him. The building had two stairwells, one on the left, one on the right, and an elevator in the middle. Since the office of the USA language teacher was on the second floor to the left, everyone was gathered at the left stairwell, which was definitely not an option to go up.
The central elevator had teachers coming down after hearing the news, and if he took the elevator directly to the second floor, he would easily be seen and suspected, so that was out of the question as well.
That left only the right stairwell.
Yan Junze decided to try the task, as the Different Dimension Energy rewarded was extremely high, reaching 500 points. If he could complete it, he could light at least five more nodes in the Spacetime Atlas.
Currently, two timelines in the Spacetime Atlas were illuminated. Assuming a timeline allowed for about five minutes of Rewind, the total time for both could possibly exceed ten minutes.
Yan Junze's plan was to set the Rewind starting point, enter the office, and endure ten minutes if possible. If he couldn't last or if his life was threatened, he would Rewind immediately and exit without a second attempt.
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The consideration that had ceased was, after all, the mission's level was "Trembling with Fear", and if danger was encountered a second time without the ability to Rewind the timeline, the situation would be irretrievable.
By this time, most of the students had dispersed, with only a small group that enjoyed spectating and more than twenty teachers still at the staircase entrance on the first floor left side.
Yan Junze made his way to the right-hand staircase without drawing any attention, about fifty meters from the left staircase. Teachers were discussing in low voices, and for the moment, no one noticed him.
Yan Junze didn't linger, seizing the opportunity to quickly ascend the stairs. However, upon reaching the second floor, he immediately bent over and hunched his back to walk.
Due to the limited height of the second-floor corridor, walking upright would soon make him visible to those below, and he would be exposed before he reached the office at the very left.
Fortunately, the teachers from the second-floor offices had already evacuated upon hearing the news.
Yan Junze made his way to the English teacher's office of the USA, crouched down, first peeked towards the left-hand staircase entrance to make sure no one was coming up, then reached for the doorknob and turned it, finding it unlocked.
This was understandable; if Vice-Principal Shen He had locked the door, it would certainly have alerted Zhang Tiantian and scared her off.
A folded yellow talisman lay on the ground by the door. It was also Shen He's doing. Whether it was effective or not, if it could have even a slight effect, that would be good.
Out of habit, Yan Junze took a deep breath, then took out his phone, set the screen to stay on, opened the timer, and set it for a 10-minute countdown.
At that moment, he felt a twisting on his back. Ke'er, who had been lying on his back for a long time without moving, now silently slid down, bent her body, the protruding leg bones touching the ground, and stood still against the wall by the office door, dressed in red, facing the wall and not moving an inch.
Yan Junze was momentarily stunned as the chill on his back rapidly faded away.
He then understood that Ke'er, as a Wandering Spirit, must have sensed the strangeness inside the office, so when she realized that Yan Junze wanted to enter, she chose to leave.
But she only left Yan Junze's back and didn't go far, probably just not wanting to clash with the strangeness in that office.
Yan Junze remembered that the Atlas had hinted before that Ke'er's attitude towards him was "neutral", meaning she had no obligation to offend another strangeness on his behalf.
Never mind the little creature, Yan Junze took another deep breath, set the starting point for the time Rewind in his mind, and then set the end point of the Rewind for 10 minutes and 15 seconds later.
Setup successful!
In the Atlas in his mind, the two segments of the illuminated timelines disappeared in an instant, but the four connected nodes still remained firmly in place.
This indicated that it might just be a matter of time, or a need for a brief recovery. As long as the nodes existed, the vanished timelines would slowly reappear.
Yan Junze turned the doorknob, opening a gap just wide enough for him to squeeze through, and then quickly slipped inside and immediately closed the door.
The noisy commotion outside vanished the moment the door closed.
The silence inside formed a stark contrast to the outside, causing Yan Junze's skin to immediately break out in goosebumps, and his scalp began to tingle slightly.
From the moment he closed the door, he started the 10-minute countdown on his phone.
Standing at the doorway, Yan Junze didn't move just yet.
The lights in the room were on, allowing his vision to quickly sweep across most of the office.
But the sofa was now empty; Zhang Tiantian was not lying there.
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