Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: Each Holds Their Own Word

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“Song Qi, 24 years old, a graduate student and the lead research technician at the Origin Lab.”
“Twenty-three, turning 24 next month,” Song Qi said, lightly brushing her bangs aside.
“So young?”
The interrogating officer, Wang Xu, was a junior to Bai Chen at the police academy and one of the few people Bai Chen could call upon.
Wang Xu glanced incredulously at the woman opposite him. They were about the same age, yet she remained extraordinarily composed, as if casually discussing a matter that had nothing to do with her.
“Don’t believe me?” Song Qi lifted her eyes slightly, her gaze laced with an irresistible allure.
“Well... based on my experience, even if the Origin Lab isn’t an official channel, becoming a core member would at least require...”
“At least ten years, right?” Song Qi fiddled with her fingers, answering nonchalantly.
“Indeed. According to the data available, Professor Hu Chuan selected me when I was just beginning graduate school. Two years ago, I was merely an ordinary volunteer, unaware of the specific operations of ‘The Other Side.’”
Wang Xu nodded, not interrupting, encouraging her to continue.
Her thin lips trembled slightly, curling into a faint smile: “Have you seen Inception? With each layer of the dream, time accelerates tenfold. A year in the fifth-level dream equals just one hour in the real world.”
“What did you experience in ‘The Other Side’?” Wang Xu asked.
“During the experimental phase, ‘The Other Side’ had numerous unknown issues. I only knew that emotionally unstable individuals were easily abandoned or rejected. As one of the most emotionally stable volunteers, I spent nearly ten years inside, leaving hundreds of temporal pathways and assisting the professor in continuously upgrading ‘The Other Side.’”
Wang Xu thoughtfully reviewed the data the police had so far.
“Other physicists have yet to fully understand the principles of ‘The Other Side,’ so it’s unclear if your description is accurate. However, if true, the initial construction required many experimenters to establish stable pathways. The records should show other volunteers, right?”
“There should be.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“No.”
“Their identities?”
“Unknown.”
“Have you ever seen this boy?” Wang Xu said, producing a photo of Jin Jingyang.

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Song Qi sneered, “Does that matter to the case? Besides, I’ve been dealing almost exclusively with machines for the past two years. Even if I saw him, it would have been only once.”
Seeing no progress, Wang Xu steered the conversation back on track.
“What were you doing the night of the incident?”
“From 2:00 a.m., I monitored ‘The Other Side’ data in the room adjacent to the professor’s lab. Usually, if I wasn’t involved in experiments, the professor would entrust me with real-time data monitoring.”
“And during the blackout?”
“The monitoring equipment had backup batteries. At first, I thought it was just an overload during ‘The Other Side’s operation. But after five minutes of observing no abnormalities, and hearing a commotion near the entrance, I left the monitoring room.”
“What happened next?”
“The backup lights outside the monitoring room also went out. I had to use a flashlight. The power box was inside the first security door. I just wanted to restore electricity quickly, never imagining the professor would be in danger... Then I encountered Zou Yao, sweating profusely and panicked. He seemed to be coming from the lab. I was about to ask what was wrong, but he ignored me and rushed inside.”
“But police phone records show Zou Yao was the one who reported the incident.”
The calm sky shifted suddenly. Song Qi’s brows knitted into a stormy frown.
“Because he’s the murderer. It has nothing to do with that innocent student!”
“Normally, Zou Yao doesn’t have access to Origin. Besides my team in the monitoring room, only three people were near the lab. It was pitch black inside. He couldn’t see anything. Why would he appear then and ask me to call the police? I immediately went outside to restore power...”
As Song Qi returned to Origin, she passed Zou Yao hastily leaving.
She saw the lab door wide open, no sign of the female student who had just entered, nor the killer—only Professor Hu Chuan’s corpse.
Mentioning Hu Chuan, Song Qi’s emotions poured out like a sudden storm.
“No one could understand the professor’s vision. Once time-space travel technology matures, everyone will have unlimited time and space. Humanity will leap forward. Such a magnificent vision was destroyed by that jealous bastard!”
Wang Xu pressed, “You mean Zou Yao?”
“Who else?” Song Qi sneered contemptuously. “A total drunkard with no spirit of exploration, never listening to the professor. After years by his side, he still couldn’t enter the Origin Lab. Fueled by envy, he killed the professor!”
—
Meanwhile, the interrogation of Zou Yao proved even more challenging.
“Bullshit!”
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After hearing Wang Xu’s account, Zou Yao slammed the table and roared.
“You believe that vixen’s words? I was the one who called the police! I have credit for that! Why arrest me?”
“As a janitor with lab access, you’re naturally a suspect.”
“Damn janitor! I’m a genuine researcher! The lab can’t run a day without me!”
Yeah, right, Wang Xu thought scornfully. The police had already investigated: Zou Yao’s duties were moving equipment, organizing materials, sometimes driving trucks to dispose of lab waste.
Calling that a janitor job was no exaggeration.
Wang Xu narrowed his eyes, studying the drunken man before him. Zou Yao, 33, held a PhD in Physics from Qingbei University.
“A Qingbei PhD reduced to this...”
“Go ask that biased old man downstairs what spell that vixen Song Qi cast on him.”
Wang Xu frowned. “Professor Hu Chuan was your foster father. Is that how you feel about him?”
“Heh, if he truly saw me as a son, why would he exclude me from the project like a thief? Meanwhile, he doted on that vixen. Hmph, who knows what dirty secrets they shared...”
He was equally blunt with Zou Yao.
“Behave. This isn’t your home. No one’s going to indulge you.”
“Home?” Zou Yao snorted coldly.
“I grew up in an orphanage. What home? Origin? Wandering like a stray dog in that old man’s lab all day. Anyone who doesn’t like it can kick me.”
Wang Xu cut through the nonsense. “Stop wasting time. Answer my questions. How did you know Hu Chuan was dead? And why did you call the police?”
“Why call the police? The lab’s power system hadn’t failed in five years. No matter the difficulty, it always ran smoothly. This time, the blackout happened without warning. Something big had to be wrong! Isn’t it only natural to call the police?”