The question posed by Yu Sheng made Bai Liqing raise her eyebrow slightly, though it was a small movement.
"There is definitely only one junction," Bai Liqing said, "things like the 'world convergence point' are not mass-produced."
"I meant 'Jie City'," Yu Sheng replied earnestly, "there is only one junction, but what about 'Jie City'? Is it possible for another city similar to this one to exist in the world?"
He paused, gazing into Bai Liqing's eyes, and slowly continued, "Very similar, yet not quite the same. They share the same name and have some places in common, but they aren't extraordinary like this place; they are merely ordinary locations... If this world has an observable range of billions of light-years or even more, could there not exist a city that fits my description within such vastness?"
Perhaps it was Yu Sheng's imagination, but as he shared his thoughts, Bai Liqing's expression turned unusually serious.
The "director" remained silent for several seconds before cautiously speaking, "Regarding your 'hypothesis'—let’s call it that—scholars actually have an assumption. This assumption is as follows:"If the spatial and temporal scales of the entire universe are infinite, or at least statistically speaking, nearly infinite within the limits of human imagination and assumptions, then it would be possible for two identical or highly similar locations to exist within the universe, two planets with similar parameters, two mountains that resemble each other, or even... two very similar histories.
The probability of such a 'mirror' appearing may not be high, but given sufficient time and space, it is never zero.
"Yu Sheng pondered for a moment and gently nodded."
I think I've heard a similar theory...
""Then let me tell you a limitation of this assumption—this is its non-public part,"Bai Liqing said."
Even if the assumption holds true, and even if any place and event in the universe could possibly have a 'mirror' within infinite time and space, there are two exceptions that will not have mirrors.
"One is a planet known as 'Tera'. It is located deep within the stars, far from here, but it has some hidden 'connections' to the junction."
The other is this very junction.
"In other words, there will not be a second 'Jie City' in this world, because this city is a primary component of the junction itself, and the junction... has no 'mirrors'. Even if the universe's space is boundless, and time is infinite, from the past to the future, there will only be this one 'junction', one 'Jie City.'"
Yu Sheng widened his eyes slightly and fell silent for a long time.
"Seeing your reaction..."
Bai Liqing adjusted her sitting posture, "You are nearly convinced that there exists another 'Jie City'—even that you have seen it?"
Yu Sheng forcibly suppressed the tumultuous thoughts in his heart.
He took a deep breath and slowly drummed his fingers on the table in front of him.
"Yes, I have seen it. It's a small town by the sea, where driving from the southernmost tip to the northernmost tip only takes thirty minutes. There is no 'exotic land', nor any special agencies; people live ordinary lives. The sunlight... the sunlight is always wonderful, gentle, not harsh on the eyes, and the sunset is beautiful..."
Yu Sheng described the scenes etched in his memory to the woman opposite him.
He did not hold back any details, knowing that she was already aware of the truth about 66 Wutong Road and that she was specifically in charge of managing matters related to the 'exotic land'.
This 'director' seemed to be the most likely person to help him.
Bai Liqing listened quietly to his descriptions.
Her eyes, lacking color, seemed to always conceal her truest emotional fluctuations.
Nobody could tell what she thought when hearing these accounts.
Only after Yu Sheng finished did she suddenly speak, "Can I take a look?"
Yu Sheng was taken aback.
"Look? How do you plan to do that?"
The woman reached out her hand and pressed it against his temple.
Along with the cool touch came a fleeting moment of daze.
"This is my ability—if you don’t mind, just momentarily open your imagination to me. Of course, if you are concerned, I won’t insist."
Bai Liqing said earnestly.
Yu Sheng frowned, quickly weighing his options before he nodded gently.
He slightly closed his eyes, imagining the appearance of his hometown, the "other Jie City."
The image of that ordinary seaside town surfaced in his mind, and then he sensed another pair of eyes watching along with his memories as he envisioned those imagined scenes.
Moments later, Yu Sheng opened his eyes.
He discovered that Bai Liqing across from him still had her eyes closed, while the café behind her seemed to silently collapse from the distant to the near.
The neatly arranged, infinitely repeating tables and chairs were being rapidly consumed by darkness, and the collapsing structures resembled objects falling into an invisible abyss.
Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned and didn’t know what was happening, "Hey! This place is collapsing! Wake up! This..."
He had barely started when Bai Liqing finally opened her eyes.
"It's fine; it's just a minor side effect of activating my ability."
As she spoke, the collapsing buildings and tables quietly returned to their original state.
Yu Sheng felt a bit embarrassed and laughed awkwardly twice, "Oh, your ability is rather... cool."
Bai Liqing said nothing, gently rubbing her forehead, as if deep in thought.
"You saw everything?" Yu Sheng inquired curiously.
"So, what do you think...?"
"I did see it, and it’s indeed as you described—a peaceful seaside town, many places echoing the essence of this city," Bai Liqing interrupted Yu Sheng, hesitating a little as she spoke, but her uncertainty quickly faded.
"I now believe that you have indeed seen such a 'Jie City', but I am curious—why are you so insistent on this 'place'?"
"For personal reasons, I want to find it," Yu Sheng replied seriously, "but according to your words..."
"Theory is ultimately theory," Bai Liqing shook her head, her tone now less certain than before, allowing for much more leeway in her words.
"In fact, I still don’t believe there’s a second 'junction' in this world, but if it’s just some place that happens to share a bit of architectural and layout resemblance to this city... it’s not completely impossible."
Yu Sheng looked at the woman before him with some doubt. "... Really?"
"Who knows?" Bai Liqing exhaled.
"Some scholars have said that our universe is still quite young; even some new physical laws haven't had a chance to manifest—therefore, all cognition about this world based on human perspective might be incorrect or could be overturned one day in the future. I now believe that the 'Jie City' you showed me exists, it’s just that... it hasn't even been recorded in the junction's archives."
"Then, if one day you find it..."
"You will be the first to know."
Bai Liqing nodded seriously.
Yu Sheng thanked her.
Yet he didn't fully believe it, as his instinct told him that the woman in front of him wasn't entirely "sincere" regarding this matter.
He didn’t know where this feeling came from, but he decided not to continue the topic.
"I have another question," Yu Sheng quickly changed the subject, "it's about a friend of mine."
Bai Liqing nodded.
"Go ahead, I have plenty of time today."
Yu Sheng thought briefly and organized his words.
"Do you know about the 'Alice’s Little House'? Does your special agency know of this organization?"
"Alice’s Little House? Of course," Bai Liqing immediately replied.
"Those 'living dolls' are active in extraordinary domains and have had dealings with us."
Yu Sheng felt a stir in his heart, finally thinking he had found a lead for the little doll: "You mean 'Alice’s dolls'? So this 'Little House' is also registered with the special agency?"
"No, you’ve misunderstood something," Bai Liqing shook her head.
"Alice’s Little House is not some organization registered with the special agency—it is an independent force located outside the junction. Even though they are very low-key, their influence is not less than that of the special agency."
Yu Sheng: "…?"
"There is not only the 'junction' as a special place in this world, and certainly not only the 'special agency' as a major organization. We are just one of the many official organizations interacting with exotic lands and entities.
Apart from us, there are also the 'Bamosa Hermits' established by the Bamosa people, the 'Academy' and 'Archaeological Association' from Tera, the 'Astrological Association' of the Algrayder people, and so forth.
The 'Alice's Little House' you just mentioned is also a similar independent force—they follow an ancient spirit known as 'Alice', a being directly blessed by ancient spirits, and their active period... predates the special agency."
Yu Sheng: "…"
So that Erin's background is so grand?! It turns out those little dolls weren't just boasting!
Yu Sheng didn’t hide his changing expression, and Bai Liqing quickly realized something.
"I remember the report mentioned that you also have a 'doll' by your side?"
"That's right, her name is Erin. She claims to be one of 'Alice’s dolls' but has been accidentally sealed for a long time."
"But I remember the report also mentioned her height was only about this high..."
As Bai Liqing spoke, she raised her hand to gesture the height beside the table.
Yu Sheng awkwardly touched the tip of his nose.
"Ah, well, that's another misunderstanding..."
(Chapter End)