"Zzzt..."

Under the flickering lightning of Linmen's sky, inside a villa hidden amid the rain, Bai Yi, with tears streaming down her face, stared blankly at the white cat emerging from countless illusions, her face filled with shock.

Unbeknownst to her, at this moment, Yan Huan looked at her with a similar sense of breathless astonishment.

"A cat?"

The pale face of the girl in front of him couldn't hide her beauty; the tears were like dividing lines of a puzzle, piecing together every detail of the girl that Yan Huan remembered.

So, after observing for a long time, he seemed to finally realize just how miraculous the act of time traveling was.

Because it brought back intact a girl who had completely vanished, placing her right in front of Yan Huan.

Like a missed last train reversing back to the station, like returning to the day of separation with an old friend...

"Bai Yi..."

Yan Huan was filled with emotions, instinctively opening his mouth, speaking with the body of a cat.

However, what came out was not his own voice, but a cute childlike voice indistinguishable in gender, like that of Meow.

I am Yan Huan, returned from the future to the present, just to save you...

That was what he wanted to say, but the moment this thought emerged, the golden glow in his eyes suddenly boiled up.

In Yan Huan's vision, countless worldlines were in tumult, exuding an aura of total annihilation.

"Rumble..."

That was, obliteration.

Yan Huan quickly shut his mouth, only then realizing what it meant when he spoke up.

Letting past entities know of the existence of future beings was inherently a highly paradoxical and shocking thing.

It would generate various paradoxes and inevitably alter the course of events that had already unfolded.

Such stimulation was entirely unbearable for the worldlines.

Meow's advice was correct, changing the past once and for all was completely unfeasible...

Yet, he no longer had Crab Coins or the Universal Key. To continue traveling through time...

"Hey, hey, hey, the cat... the cat talked!!"

However, while Yan Huan was brainstorming, the fact that he spoke scared Bai Yi quite a bit, making her quickly take a few steps back.

Looking at the Bai Yi in front of him, Yan Huan suddenly made up his mind.

Yan Huan tried to recall Meow's actions from the past... although for some reason, all he could recall was the various infuriatingly useless behaviors it had...

But soon, Yan Huan, like a real cat, shook his body, revealing a speechless expression, and said to Bai Yi,

"I am your modifier... that is, the embodiment of that pocket watch in your hand, Meow!"

For some reason, Yan Huan's words ended with an inexplicable "Meow" quirk.

"Em...bodiment?"

"That's right, you can call me..."

At this point, Yan Huan suddenly paused.

He couldn't think of a nickname at the moment, and using Meow's name didn't seem quite right...

After a moment of silence, he said,

"Yanye."

"..."

Bai Yi blinked, with little ink in her brain, she thought for a long time before coming up with two homophonic characters.

Swallow... leaf?

Immediately, she swallowed and looked up again at Yan Huan, behind whom the myriad worlds bloomed like flowers...

At this moment, 4:44 had not yet passed, and the gates of time were still open to them.

Looking at those illusory and twisted spaces, Bai Yi's eyes flashed with a hint of determination, slowly transforming into a resolute color.

She seemingly had a premonition of what was behind Yan Huan,

"...then tell me, what's behind you... what exactly are these things?"

"Meow?"

In truth, Yan Huan faintly had a method in mind, a way to traverse multiple times without using space-time.

And that was...

To touch Bai Yi's ring finger.

If he could disguise himself as the embodiment of the modifier and stick to Bai Yi like before, then perhaps at 4:44, Yan Huan could hitch a ride with her and travel through time together.

In this way, he could watch over Bai Yi at will, preventing her from ultimately disappearing.

But Yan Huan wasn't sure if this method would work; he could only try it first.

"Bai Yi, are you... wanting to change past events, Meow?"

Hearing the cat's words, Bai Yi's eyes widened.

As expected, these things were just as she anticipated!

Previously, she had seen these sights in the morgue at 4:44.

She returned with Indifference to study how to go back to the past.

Initially, she was just exploring, planning to delve into one of them today, but now that she had this "informed cat" to guide her...

"Changing... the past?"

On hearing this, Yan Huan blinked and instinctively licked his paw pad...

But in the next second, realizing what he was doing, he immediately widened his eyes, almost coughing.

Come to think of it, ever since he entered Meow's body, controlling a cat's tail and such actions seemed almost innate, without any adaptation needed...

Could it be because he trained in Hitomi's Barrier?

"Cough cough..."

Fortunately, Yan Huan was an experienced actor and could keep his composure regardless of what happened.

He just looked at Bai Yi and said calmly,

"That's right, and coincidentally...

"I can help you~"

Upon hearing Yan Huan's words, Bai Yi swallowed.

She clenched her fists, a determined look flashing on her pale face,

"Then... tell me! How can I go back to the past, I want to go back to save Yan Huan!"

As expected...

Listening to Bai Yi's words, Yan Huan's cat eyes moved slightly.

She had decided to travel back to the past for his sake.

So, Yan Huan wouldn't forget that he came back to save her.

First, the best way to save Bai Yi was undoubtedly to stop her from time traveling.