Gone again.

  Kane dragged himself out of bed， the searing pain of the apocalypse still rippling through his body like an echo.

  Fuck…

  That hurt.

  It had been a long time since he’d exited the bracelet world this way， and for a split second， he’d even felt a twisted rush.

  What the hell?

  Had he really been conditioned by this thing?

  Kane ran a hand through his hair， replaying the moments right before the apocalypse hit.

  Stella’s panicked， desperate face was still burned into his mind— and honestly， even in her forties， twenty years in the future， she was still stunning.

  She didn’t look forty at all. More like early thirties.

  Especially with her hair flying wild， she looked exactly like the lead in some dramatic， fated music video.

  Woman’s still got it. Good genes really do keep you looking young， even when time passes.

  Wait.

  Why was he even thinking about that?

  His head was fuzzy， like he hadn’t slept enough.

  Kane sat down at his computer， opened a new document， and typed two words in the title.

  Clues.

  He’d never done this before. Not because he was lazy…

  But because he’d never experienced the bracelet world changing because of his actions in the real world.

  He’d always thought the world inside the bracelet ran parallel to his own.

  Even if most things were similar， even connected， it was probably just like a game， with no real link to the real world.

  But now， that theory was clearly wrong.

  That was the real world， twenty years in the future.

  The apocalypse would hit in twenty years， no matter what.

  Twenty years…

  What was he supposed to do?

  He thought for a moment， then started a new line and typed out the clues he already had.

  1. The apocalypse occurs exactly one hour after entering the bracelet world. The world is destroyed on the hour， every time.

  2. The apocalypse presents as a massive flash， but nuclear detonation is ruled out… no secondary damage consistent with nuclear weapons (overpressure， shockwaves， etc.) has been observed.

  3. The human world is completely destroyed after the apocalypse event (no surviving individuals have been found).

  These three clues were the fundamental rules of the bracelet world， verified dozens of times by now.

  He kept typing， adding more clues.

  4. The bracelet world changes in response to actions in the real world. Both worlds exist on the same timeline， or can influence each other to a certain extent (unconfirmed).

  This one he was less sure about. In theory， if the two timelines were truly linked， even the smallest change he made should show up in the bracelet world.

  But that didn’t seem to be the case. Instead， the bracelet world only shifted when“major events” or“key milestones” happened.

  Like him solving the flight control algorithm ahead of time.

  Which meant the link between the two worlds was probably more complicated than he thought.

  That was another problem he needed to solve.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Figuring out the link would make exploring the bracelet world a lot easier.

  Next step: find a way to test it.

  Kane kept typing， moving to the newest， most critical clue.

  Stella.

  5. Stella sent a warning to me through an unknown method right before the apocalypse hit. She had prior knowledge of the event， but how far in advance is unknown (unconfirmed).

  This was the part that confused him the most right now.

  How did she know? How did she find out?

  So he wasn’t the only one in the future who knew the apocalypse was coming?

  Then how did his future self find out?

  These questions were all really the same question， and digging deeper just led him back to the truth of the apocalypse itself.

  Not an easy one to solve.

  Kane hit save on the document， ran to the fridge， and chugged a soda. His fuzzy head cleared a little.

  He checked the time. 10:30 PM.

  Should he ask Stella out for a late-night snack?

  Asking her straight up“how did you know the apocalypse was coming” would definitely get him nowhere… but maybe getting to know her better would turn up some clues?

  Kane grabbed his phone immediately and sent Stella a message.

  “Wanna get a late-night snack?”

  A moment later， she replied.

  Stella (Test Craft Flight Control Team Leader): Dude， are you actually that hungry?

  Kane: A little. Never got to eat， remember?

  Stella: Oh， so you’re finally craving it? Can’t tonight. I’ve got plans.

  Kane: So when are you free?

  Stella: Trying to provoke me? Not gonna work.

  Kane: No， seriously. I’ve got something real to talk to you about in person.

  Stella: Oh… I thought you were just desperate.

  Stella: Alright， let’s go. I’ve actually got something to tell you too. Was gonna wait till tomorrow， but since you’re heading out， we can talk about it then.

  Kane: Gonna confess? Then I’m not coming.

  Stella: Gonna be your stepmom! 10 minutes. Meet me downstairs.

  Kane smiled and put his phone down， quickly changing his clothes.

  He and Stella both lived in the apartment complex right by the office， only a few floors apart. Meeting up was easy.

  He headed downstairs， and the elevator stopped halfway. Stella stepped in， and Kane stared at her in shock.“You’re going out like that?!”

  Stella was wearing a fuzzy， full-coverage pajama set， her makeup washed off， hair loose， carrying a massive water bottle. She looked nothing like she did during the day.

  But…

  She still looked good.

  Stella rolled her eyes.

  “Dude， I just got out of the shower and was about to get in bed.

  We finally wrapped up the project. I haven’t been in bed before midnight in forever. I’m gonna catch up on sleep whenever I can.”

  “Here， hold this for me.”

  Kane took the water bottle and smiled awkwardly.“I thought girls always cared about how they looked when they went out…”

  He looked away， and Stella snickered， a mischievous glint in her eye.

  “That’s just us engineering girls… this is what I wear to go out. If we were going to your place to eat， I’d be wearing something else.”

  “At least the good stuff.”

  Kane pressed his lips together in exasperation.“...Cut the crap. All talk， no action. Every time I call your bluff you tell me to get lost.”

  “What， am I not your type?”

  “I’ll punch you through a wall…”

  Stella rolled her eyes at him. They walked out of the elevator and found a random stall at the small night market below the apartment complex， sitting down at a table.

  Kane wasn’t actually hungry. He’d just burned through a little energy from the bracelet world.

  He didn’t order much— just a few skewers and two bowls of congee.

  Stella wouldn’t let him order soda， saying they needed to take care of themselves after working so hard… so she asked the owner for two cups of goji berry and ginseng tea.

  While they waited for the food， Kane spoke up.“So what did you want to talk to me about?”

  “You’re the one who asked me out. You go first!”

  Stella blew on her scalding tea， then paused and shook her head.“Nah， I’ll go first.”

  “Test Craft 003 is moving to the implementation phase soon. The initial development is mostly done， and the simulations are looking good.”

  “I’m guessing your workload is gonna drop a fair bit on this project.”

  “Hell yeah!”

  Kane grinned.“How long can I slack off for?”

  “Slack off my ass!”

  Stella glared at him in annoyance.“This is a private company， not a government program. You slack off now， you’ll get pushed to the sidelines before you know it.”

  “You’re here to make enough money to retire by 35， right? One more push!”

  “You’ve got a good thing going right now. I recommended you to come with me on the new project.”

  “What new project?”

  Kane asked， confused.

  He hadn’t heard anything about a new project starting at the company— they hadn’t even flown the test craft yet. Were they really starting another one?

  Acting like they were some massive tech unicorn with a few hundred million in assets， trying to compete with SpaceX?

  Stella shook her head at his expression.“It’s not… exactly a formal new project.”

  “It’s that space tourism thing I talked to you about today.”

  “The boss signed off on it. We’re starting the team tomorrow.”

  “You have to join. This project probably won’t be finished anytime soon， but like you said， it’s a huge story for investors.”

  “Nail this， and we’ll be set for life.”

  “Then whether you want to retire or jump ship， you’ll have the cards to do whatever you want.”

  “Got it.”

  Kane nodded gratefully.

  Honestly， Stella was a pretty great boss to bring him in on something this good.

  What was work for， if not money?

  It sure as hell wasn’t for the dream.

  He raised his cup and clinked it against hers， taking a sip. Stella raised an eyebrow.“So? What did you want to talk to me about?”

  Kane paused， hesitated for a moment， then spoke.

  “I’ve got a weird question…

  If the world was ending tomorrow， and you had one chance to save one person. Who would you save?”

  He’d expected Stella to laugh at him.

  But she didn’t hesitate at all. She looked him dead in the eye and replied.

  “You. Of course I’d save you.”