Quantum Night Watcher

September 24, 2025, 01:30

The wind atop the Financial Tower slices through the night. Lin Xi’s fingertips brush the cold metal railing at the edge of the rooftop. Three hundred meters below, neon turns the river’s ripples into flowing fragments of gold, while his gaze remains fixed on the glowing blue screen of his wristwatch: Ω value: 137.035.

“Seventeen minutes left,” he whispers into the tiny microphone on his collar, the taste of rust rising in his throat. This is his seventh time standing here, and the seventh time preparing to meet a fate that will leave him shattered. For three years, every fall has ended precisely at 01:47, to the very second the bus disappeared.

Chen Yuan’s electronic voice comes through his earpiece, as cold as the surgical lights above an operating table: “Weather satellites show rooftop wind speeds of 14 meters per second. The projected deviation in your fall trajectory is 23%. Remember, if the Ω value exceeds 137.036, activate the neural blocker immediately.”

Lin Xi scoffs and pulls a crumpled half-cigarette from his pocket. The moment his lighter sparks, the flame eerily forms a vertical blue line, and the Ω value on his watch suddenly jumps to 137.036. He jerks his head up.

The phantom of Route 74 has appeared in the night sky! Figures move behind its rusted windows, while the onboard display flashes a blood-red message: TERMINUS: PLATFORM NINE AND THREE-QUARTERS.

The vision lasts only half a second. The flame resumes its flicker, and the Ω value drops back to 137.035.

“You saw it, didn’t you?” Chen Yuan’s voice tightens. “Quantum entanglement is beginning to manifest physically.”

Lin Xi crushes out the cigarette butt. “Same as always. I jump, you record.”