Chapter 916: Believe

Crunching loudly, Chen Hongyu grabbed a handful of chips from a bag and stuffed them into her mouth. She shifted her gaze from the TV to Li Huowang, who was passionately speaking to Qing Wanglai and Zhao Shuangdian.

"What's this kid raving about now?"

Zhao Lei's fingers, which had been rapidly tapping his phone screen, suddenly paused. He looked up at Li Huowang, then buried his head back in his phone, resuming his typing. "He says he can reverse time. He's trying to convince them."

"Huh?" Chen Hongyu's face showed surprise at this. "I thought his special ability was creating things out of nothing. When did it upgrade? How come I didn't know?"

At this point, Zhao Lei couldn't be bothered to say anything more and continued to stare at his phone. Meanwhile, Li Huowang's voice continued to pour into his ears from across the room.

"Everything I'm saying is true! It's all real! This has happened before, which is why I'm so sure! Why won't you believe me? That factory was a Si Ming! Because we dealt with this Si Ming, it completely vanished from existence—including from your minds!"

Hearing Li Huowang's excited words, Qing Wanglai leaned over to Zhao Shuangdian. He whispered something in her ear, and after a few moments, Zhao Shuangdian nodded in agreement.

Although they didn't say anything, Li Huowang knew what they were thinking from their expressions. He had seen that look countless times before.

"What do you mean? Do you think I'm crazy?! I'm not sick!! No, wait! I *am* sick! But my illness only causes delusions! It couldn't possibly erase everything about a Si Ming from everyone's memory!"

Qing Wanglai raised both hands, gently pressing them downwards toward Li Huowang. "Alright, Li Huowang, don't get agitated. We're not saying your condition has worsened, it's just that this is difficult to understand."

Li Huowang took two steps forward, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. "What's so hard to understand? That factory was a projection of a Si Ming! The death of a Si Ming means a complete disappearance, with even its causes and effects entirely erased! The Great Si Ming has no past and no future. The Si Ming's protection, and what comes from it, is likewise! I finally understand what that passage Zhuge Yuan wrote on his fan all those years ago truly means!"

"Huh? Who's Zhuge Yuan? Why are new characters popping up in this conversation?" Wu Qi, who was watching from the side, asked.

"And what's a Great Si Ming? Did you call us here just to ramble on?" Ba Nanxu, leaning against the wall with a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked at the agitated Li Huowang with impatience.

"I get it. I understand what he's trying to say." Qing Wanglai explained to the others, "He's talking about things within *his* worldview. Li Huowang seems to have grasped some kind of truth within his reality."

"Tch, how is that any different from what I said? Isn't he still just rambling?" Ba Nanxu flicked his cigarette and blew a puff of smoke towards Li Huowang.

"Shut up!! I'm trying my best to understand *your* worldview! So you should try to understand mine! And this is extremely important; it even concerns the enemies we'll face later!"

"What you're saying is indeed correct, but you're talking about time reversal, which is a bit too inconsistent with *our* worldview." Zhao Shuangdian pointed out the most critical contradiction. "I've studied all existing worldviews, and none of them mention the ability to reverse time as you describe."

"Do you think what you believe is necessarily correct? And this isn't the first time I've encountered this; it's the third! It's only now that I've fully understood what happened before!"

Seeing Li Huowang still trying to argue, Zhao Shuangdian interrupted him. "Alright, I understand. You don't need to explain anymore. So, does this mean you're sure you'll join us on the sixth of next month?"

"That's not the point right now! What I'm saying is—"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes."

Zhao Shuangdian's words made Li Huowang feel like he was punching cotton. He knew that no matter what else he said, she would only agree outwardly but remain unconvinced.

"Alright, that's it for today. I have a meeting later, so let's communicate via WeChat if anything comes up." Zhao Shuangdian stood up, slipped a smartphone into Li Huowang's arms, then followed the others out of Qing Wanglai's villa.

"Sister Zhao? Leaving already? Aren't you staying for dinner? Qing Wanglai is a good cook," Wu Qi asked politely.

"No, I'm on a diet. I'll skip lunch. See you next month." As Zhao Shuangdian spoke, she reached for the doorknob and pushed it down.

"Wait!!" Zhao Shuangdian frowned, turning her head towards the sound. It was still Li Huowang.

"Your weapon of choice is a sniper rifle, isn't it?" The hall fell silent instantly, with nothing but the sound of the TV.

Seeing Zhao Shuangdian standing still, Li Huowang smiled. This time was different; it was completely unlike the previous times. Although the cause and effect had been severed, and they didn't remember what happened, *he* knew! He had remembered some undeniable information from that experience!

"You never told me that. Now, can you guess how I know?" Li Huowang's face showed a confident smile.

Zhao Shuangdian immediately looked at Qing Wanglai. "Did you tell him?"

The amiable smile that usually graced Qing Wanglai's face vanished. He slowly shook his head. "No, I didn't tell him anything about you."

As soon as Qing Wanglai finished speaking, Li Huowang immediately continued. "Not only do I know you're skilled with a sniper rifle, but I also know you have a young girl named Ling by your side! She can use a computer to guide us! And she's also sick! Her face twitches constantly!"

"Think back to before! How could I have known you were going to retaliate against them when you hadn't said anything?"

Li Huowang's words weighed heavily on Zhao Shuangdian, one layer after another. At the same time, they bolstered Li Huowang's own confidence.

Normally, Li Huowang shouldn't have known any of these things. The fact that he *does* know this information proves that what he's saying is true, and Zhao Shuangdian's current demeanor confirms everything.

"Everything I experienced couldn't have been fake!! Everything I went through was real!" Li Huowang declared firmly.

"Wait here for a moment." Zhao Shuangdian pulled open the door handle and walked out. A moment later, she returned, holding a laptop.

As she opened the laptop and her fingers rapidly tapped the keyboard, Li Huowang knew she was truly taking him seriously; she was finally beginning to believe what he had been saying.