I didn't have time to think, because I knew if I stayed lying on the ground any longer, I would certainly catch a cold.

Slowly, I pushed myself up from the floor, surveyed my surroundings, and immediately saw something that defied comprehension.

Because there it stood behind me: the statue of a human torso with a fish tail that I had seen down by the mountain.

On either side of me were two crumbling walls of black stone.

It dawned on me instantly: I was back in that dead-end alley where the statue stood.

"What the hell, did I just time travel?" I muttered to myself, tilting my head up to look at the statue.

My gaze instinctively fell upon the irregular round hole in the statue's forehead, and then I noticed a line of inky blackness slowly trickling from the opening.

I had this strange feeling, a certainty, that I had just fallen out of that small hole!

I knew the idea was bizarre; a grown man, nearly six feet tall, tumbling out of a hole less than four inches wide—if I told anyone, they’d laugh themselves sick.

But I also knew this feeling wasn't unfounded.

"Woof! Woof!"

Just then, two distinct barks sounded directly behind me.

The clarity and familiarity of those two barks jolted my spirit awake.

"Could Lauren be back?" I spun around quickly to look.

And there he was: a large dog covered in black fur, appearing at the mouth of the alley, wagging his tail furiously at me.

A rush of excitement, joy, and a touch of confusion flooded over me.

Finally, I ran toward Lauren.

He bounded toward me too, leaping into my arms and vigorously licking my face with his tongue.

This time I didn't resist; I rubbed the fur on his neck hard.

Lauren licked me a few more times, then turned and barked at the statue behind me.

The scene felt strangely familiar, and before I could process it, footsteps sounded from behind.

Then, DaXiong, Andre, Liang Qian, and that woman in black all emerged.

Seeing these living, breathing people before me, I fiercely pinched my own cheek and whispered, "This isn't a dream, is it?"

The pinch actually hurt, and I couldn't help but grimace.

Seeing the odd expression on my face, DaXiong asked, "What's going on? Why did this big black dog run back here?"

I paused, wanting to ask DaXiong if I had indeed jumped through time.

But then I thought better of it; I couldn't reveal what just happened yet. I'd wait and see; maybe there would be new discoveries.

Judging by the expressions on DaXiong's and Andre's faces, I realized that the current scene was aligning with what had happened before.

It was the moment when we were walking, Lauren suddenly barked wildly at the statue, and I noticed the stream of black sludge running from the statue's forehead.

At that juncture, no one had begun to disappear yet.

And later, not only had the people around me vanished one by one, but eventually, even the statue before me had disappeared.

Now that I knew the trajectory of events, I could foresee and perhaps control certain outcomes, or rather, see things I hadn't noticed before.

I remembered the first strange event after I saw the black sludge flow from the statue was Lauren getting lost, followed by the people around me vanishing sequentially.

So, I secretly resolved to prevent all of it from happening this time.

Looking at the people around me, I mused that others might be so caught up debating the metaphysics of their sudden time travel that they'd neglect everything else.

Yet, I had adapted to this displacement so quickly and even formulated a plan.

Perhaps the previous experience of temporal loss had been so bizarre that I no longer found this kind of event particularly strange.

With a wry smile, I called out to Lauren, motioning for him to come to me.

Lauren barked twice and trotted over, tail wagging.

I smiled slightly, thinking that if I could just grab Lauren, I wouldn't have to fear him vanishing from my sight.

But things didn't unfold as I predicted. Halfway to me, Lauren seemed startled by something, turned abruptly, and bolted onto the street.

Without hesitation, I followed immediately.

But two legs simply couldn't outrun four. By the time I reached the street, I saw a shadow, about half a person's height, flit past through the mist.

Then Lauren was gone again. No matter how much we called, we heard no more barking.

My mood soured. The feeling of tripping over the same rock twice was profoundly unpleasant.

But I also knew this was beyond human control.

And I hadn't gained nothing; at least I had seen something new: that flying black silhouette.

I recalled that the next to vanish were Andre and the woman in black. This time, I absolutely could not let them disappear before my eyes again.

"Look over there! Is that something?" Liang Qian tapped my shoulder, directing my attention to a nearby building.

I knew a crab was about to crawl out of that house.

That crab, with the grotesque human face on its abdomen, was certainly odd, but ultimately, it was just an ordinary crab.

If I turned to look now, Andre and the others would vanish from my sight shortly.

So, I deliberately didn't look, instead turning back to watch Andre and the woman in black behind me.

Then Liang Qian tapped me again. "Look over there! There's something in the doorway—what's wrong with you?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, probably just some animal in there. Let DaXiong check it out."

Liang Qian looked at me with distinct curiosity, sensing my reaction was unusual.

I gave her a smile, then tightly grasped her hand, saying, "Don't stray far from me. I have a bad feeling about this."

Liang Qian was clearly taken aback that I had suddenly taken her hand. A faint blush colored her cheeks, and she gazed at me deeply before nodding.

Meanwhile, DaXiong reacted exactly as before, cursing, "I don't believe there's anything in this world that scares me! Let your mighty Xiong go take a look."

And the woman in black echoed her earlier words: "You can't go. If Lauren was captured by this thing, going there would be useless."

I remembered that this was the last thing the woman in black would say; afterwards, she and Andre disappeared together.

Sure enough, DaXiong shoved the woman in black aside. "Don't stop me."

I knew the time had come. Andre's disappearance was imminent. I turned my head back, focusing on Andre behind me...