Chapter 3, The Still World

He feels as if he has come to know this city all over again

It has become quite lively here

Such matters can also be considered a characteristic of universities, however, there are significant differences in dormitory management among different universities

In order to verify his suspicion, Zhang Heng took the cigarette from between the other party's fingers.

Some of them had locked the door before going to bed, making it impossible to enter, while the dormitories that could be accessed were all, without exception, stuck at the last moment of that day

The fan on the door creaked as it swayed, while the sound of a wild cat's mating call came from outside the window. Someone was running down the corridor, dragging their slippers. Zhang Heng, who had not slept for more than a day, felt a wave of fatigue wash over him at that moment. After plugging his dead phone into the charger, he threw himself onto the bed as quickly as possible and fell into a fragrant dream.

Now this mosquito is lurking by the pillow of Wei Jiangyang in the dormitory, waiting for the opportunity to feast.

Zhang Heng became interested, turned back to the dormitory, switched his phone to flashlight mode, and approached a few of his roommates. Two minutes later, he successfully located his target in the darkness using his 20 million soft light dual-camera.

The pancake stall on the overpass is thriving, with many young white-collar workers just leaving the office at this hour, their stomachs growling as they urgently need a late-night snack to replenish their energy on the way home. Not far away, sanitation workers are silently sweeping the sidewalk with their brooms. Under the platform, two bald uncles in suits are waiting for the delayed night bus while holding their phones. Behind them, a girl with a bear hairpin at the 24-hour convenience store is yawning widely at the cash register.

At the moment he pressed the shutter, he discovered something interesting

It is like a movie scene that has been paused.

Speed up the tower, they dare not advance from their side

Beautiful, this head belongs to me! The Endless Blade can finally be released!

However, there are exceptions to this.

Zhang Heng noticed the alarm clock in front of one person, and the time displayed was also 00:00

During this time when only he can move, everything returns to normal once it is in his hands. The cigarette he holds now, along with the phone, computer, and MP3 player that were functioning normally before, all remain unchanged in terms of the time displayed on them.

When the cigarette butt finally made its way into his hand, it unexpectedly continued to burn

No, I need to go home and recover some health first

In the washroom, someone is secretly smoking, concealing it from the dormitory supervisor. The glowing ember on the cigarette is clearly visible, yet it does not spread downward. The exhaled smoke is suspended at the lips.

The opposite dormitory door was left open, and a light was shining through. Zhang Heng leaned in to take a look and saw four people completely engrossed in playing on their computers

Zhang Heng could not help but take out his phone to capture this miraculous scene

Zhang Heng reached out, gently pinching one of the mosquito's wings, bringing it down from the air and placing it in the palm of his hand

Zhang Heng and their dormitory are located on the third floor, which is considered relatively low. At this height, mosquitoes do not even need to take the elevator; they can simply move in with their bags. Consequently, everyone employs a variety of methods to prevent mosquitoes, including some using mosquito coils, others applying mosquito repellent lotion, and some hanging mosquito nets, yet there are still often a few that manage to slip through the net.

Although Zhang Heng's school has a regulation that the gates close at 12:00, if there is a genuine reason for returning late, one can knock on the window to wake the duty staff, register, and return to the dormitory. However, if this is done frequently, it may result in disciplinary action and criticism

... ...

The cars racing down the road all came to a standstill at that moment

At 00:00, they were all simultaneously frozen in time

At 00:00 again, this time Zhang Heng did not bring his headphones

In the next second, all sounds surged into my ears like a tide

Thus, Zhang Heng leisurely walked out of the dormitory building, looked up at the night sky above, crossed the empty campus, and finally arrived at the school gate

It seems that animals are also not capable of this

But now she seemed to have suddenly gained the ability to see through things, her gaze piercing through Zhang Heng's body, focusing on the doorknob, as if she had not even noticed that a living person had just passed right in front of her.

As long as one intruder sneaks into the room, essentially no one can expect to have a peaceful night.

This is the most common and most disliked animal around most people during the summer—mosquitoes

Zhang Heng had once gone to the station to pick up a friend and had also seen the appearance of this city in the late night

Zhang Heng's school is not large in area, but it is well-located, situated right by the third ring road, directly across from a street. The nights in big cities are always particularly long

He then visited several other dormitories on this floor

What about other living beings besides humans

Meanwhile, continue to test one's hypothesis

All these details that are often overlooked in daily life are now presented in their entirety before Zhang Heng

Zhang Heng unlocked a Mobike using WeChat and rode it enthusiastically through the city, exploring and sightseeing.

As the hour hand on the starfish was about to complete its second rotation, he hurried back to the dormitory before the dormitory supervisor locked the door

Unfortunately, its beautiful dream is destined to be unfulfilled tonight

He can see the chopped green onions sprinkled by the pancake vendor, the calloused hands and dark faces of the sanitation workers, the greasy nose of the bald uncle, and the photo of his full-moon daughter on the phone screen, ... the star stickers secretly hidden by the girl with the bear hairpin under the cash register ...

On the screen, their characters were chasing a low-health Annie beyond the tower, with skills hovering in the air, and the excited expressions on their faces were frozen at that moment, as if they were four vividly lifelike sculptures

Is it really so

The duty dormitory supervisor is standing at the door holding a large U-shaped lock, presumably preparing to lock the door

Zhang Heng walked past the dormitory supervisor with an air of composure. Normally, the latter would definitely have called out to him, asking, "Where are you going so late, student?"

Well, the dormitory building has been explored quite thoroughly, and next it is time to go out and take a look

Like the skill that was halfway through on the screen before, the stationary fan, and now this cigarette butt that never burns out

In this world where time has come to a standstill, not only has everyone been pressed to the pause button, but also those things remain in the state of the last second.

The latter still maintains the posture of waving its arms, like the most dedicated actor, oblivious to the fresh prey brought to its mouth

Zhang Heng pushed open the door to the dormitory, and the corridor was eerily quiet, reminiscent of a morgue in a hospital, with only the sound of his footsteps.

The experiment concluded, and Zhang Heng effortlessly achieved the accomplishment of eliminating harm for the people

Moreover, his ability to touch others seems to have no effect on people. He had pushed Chen Huadong for such a long time in the dormitory, yet the latter did not respond.

However, this is the first time I have observed at such a close distance

Using the faucet in the washroom to destroy evidence, Zhang Heng descended to the first floor