Klein stretched and quickly dressed, ending his morning nap. Last night, while guarding the Charnis Gate, the doll holding a strangely drawn symbol had given him quite a fright. As Klein gradually regained consciousness, his senses sharpened again. He twitched his ears and heard a considerable commotion outside. He heard his brother Benson seemingly talking to a somewhat familiar male voice.
Benson's colleague? Or Benson's friend? Klein pushed open the door with some doubt and saw Benson smiling and talking to someone opposite him in the living room. Sitting opposite Benson was a man from the Abraham family named "Wei Gao" whom Klein had met on the street before. Considering this gentleman's wealth, Klein was immediately puzzled as to why this businessman would be a guest in his home.
Hearing the door open, the two turned around and immediately saw Klein standing there in a daze.
"Hello, you must be Benson's younger brother, Klein. Benson mentioned you to me, saying you're a good young man," Wei Gao said with a smile in his eyes before Klein could speak. He tapped his cane lightly on the ground. The cane made a soft sound on the ground. Wei Gao continued:
"I've come here somewhat presumptuously today, but I just happen to have nothing to do and have also reached the deal I made with Benson. I was originally planning to go out and celebrate with Benson, but I don't want to take up too much of his precious day off well, according to the custom in my hometown, generally speaking, you should have a meal to celebrate when something good is done."
So this world has such customs too? It's a bit like the tradition of conducting business at the dinner table in the Great Foodie Empire... Wait, could it be that, like Emperor Roselle, the ancestors of this Abraham family were also time travelers? Speaking of which, this surname seems to be one of those surnames from the Bible. This is too much of a coincidence. Could there really be a "time traveler predecessor" in this family?
Klein was lost in thought and didn't notice the strange expression on Gaowei's face.
"Wei Gao, you're joking. We're friends." Benson smiled, feeling a great deal of goodwill towards this generous man with whom he could get along. "In principle, I should have gone out to dinner with you. If it weren't for my own personal matters, you wouldn't have had to wait here for so long. Klein, go and get ready. Let's prepare dinner when Melissa comes back."
Klein responded and headed towards the restroom. Wei Gao smiled kindly and said to Benson, "It's alright, I'm just killing time anyway. Chatting with a humorous man like you is a good way to pass the time. I'm a painter; business is just a side job. I've gained a lot of inspiration from what you said today, so this trip has been worthwhile."
After saying that, Wei Gao said in a joking tone, "You know, Benson. The atmosphere in Backlund is not suitable for art. The arrogant officials there would love for all the painters to work. In fact, even curly-haired baboons know to paint something to cultivate their minds when they are bored."
"That's right. Those who are responsible for making the rules are like machines, only operating according to the functions that the king designed beforehand." Benson smiled. "However, making rules has never been the job of machines, which is very unreasonable, and these officials are often incompetent in some areas."
"Perhaps the machine's quality is substandard," Wei Gao added, shrugging helplessly. He and Benson exchanged a glance and then smiled at each other.
The two chatted idly, waiting for Benson and Klein's sister to return home. About half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. Benson stood up, went to the door, and opened it, only to see a man in a coat carrying two lunchboxes standing face-to-face with his sister Melissa. Benson immediately became cautious, looking at the man and asking, "Excuse me, who are you...?"
"Bring the food." Mr. Z said expressionlessly, suppressing his urge to preach and trying to keep his words concise as he spoke to the man before him. Benson subconsciously turned to look at Wei Gao sitting on the sofa. Wei Gao stood up, nodded, and said to Mr. Z, "Thank you for your trouble. After today's business is finished, you can go back to Backlund. I'll go back myself once I've finished what I need to do here."
Mr. Z nodded and turned to leave without hesitation. Melissa, who had just finished praying at church, stared blankly at her older brother and Wei Gao beside him.
"Benson, who is this…" Melissa asked with some confusion. Benson smiled and said to his sister, "This is Mr. Wei Gao. He's here as a guest today Mr. Wei Gao and I finalized that order this morning."
"Oh, I see. Congratulations, Benson." Melissa turned to Gowy and said sincerely, "Of course, thank you, Mr. Gowy."
Wei Gao waved his hand and picked up the two lunchboxes Mr. Z had brought from the table. By the time Wei Gao placed them on the table, Klein had finished tidying himself up and emerged from his own private space (the bathroom). Melissa put down her things and sat down at the table with Benson. Seeing Klein still standing there blankly, she urged him, "Come on over, Klein, it's time to eat... We have guests today, and you're still so late!"
"Sis... how come you look like your mom at such a young age..." Klein thought to himself. As Klein approached, his nose twitched, as if he smelled a familiar aroma from the food box Mr. Z had just brought. With anticipation, Klein sat down at the dining table.
What a wealthy and generous gentleman! I never expected him to "bring takeout." He's nothing like the nobles I've met in this era... Klein silently thanked Wei Gao in his heart, then sat up straight, waiting for the meal to be served.
"Wei Gao, the food from Intis is really something to look forward to. After all, many of the dishes were invented by that Emperor Roselle. Heh, not only machines, but he also made quite a few innovations in food." Benson said in a joking tone, "Although some of the dishes taste… well, not so good."
"Yes, some of the dishes are a bit too outrageous," Klein suddenly nodded in agreement. Heaven knows how excited he was when he learned that Intis possessed some "emperor-written recipes," only to be disappointed when he discovered that those dishes had ultimately only resulted in a few desserts like "swan pastries" and "bean cakes" in Intis's court it seems Emperor Roselle wasn't good at cooking at all, and hadn't carried on the traditions of the great food-loving empire!
There were also some dishes whose names hinted at the culinary empire's style, but even these descriptions left Klein bewildered after which he decided never to touch those strangely flavored Intis foods again. These foods, having undergone modifications across a different world, made Klein feel utterly irrational just reading about them.
However, Klein was stunned when he saw the food in the lunchbox.
He blurted out in perfect Chinese: "Zongzi?"
"I believe the one speaking to us is indeed the original Klein. Fortunately, he hasn't been prematurely assimilated by the Celestial because of my arrival. If it were the Celestial standing here, he wouldn't be behaving this way. The Celestial doesn't understand human nature; even the most blatant deception won't be as flawless as genuine emotion." The higher-dimensional observer spoke to his counterpart on another timeline. This other, human-like higher-dimensional being sat atop his original body, stroking his chin.
"Do we need to test again? If it's a Celestial Venerable, it's not impossible for him to disguise himself as an ordinary person without any vigilance."
"I think we can reveal some of the details," Wei Gao, sitting opposite Klein, interjected. "Anyway, we're only going to say a small part. Even if Klein really is a Celestial Venerable now, we can still get away unscathed. This small risk is worth it to get what we want to see."
"Didn't we arrange for Audrey Hall to explain the White Moon to Klein at the Tarot meeting? At that time, if it's Klein, his spirituality will definitely fluctuate, and he will believe what we are telling him now."
The entity that looked down from the higher dimension made the decision.
Wei Gao's lips curled up as he slowly said to Klein, "That's right, this dish is called 'Zongzi'. No, in my hometown, it's not a dish, but a staple food, but very few people can 'recognize' it, and those who do know about it mostly call it by a neologism from the Rune region... Ah, I heard from Benson that you studied history before, right? No wonder you 'know' how to use this language."
After finishing their sumptuous meal, the Moretti family saw Wei Gao off. Benson wore a smile, enjoying both the food and Wei Gao's humorous conversation; Melissa patted her bulging belly, realizing she had eaten a bit too many zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for lunch. She quietly burped and said to her brother beside her:
"What delicious food! The way the filling is wrapped in rice, allowing the flavors to blend so perfectly! And it seems to have just been boiled in water, without the complicated cooking process of a Dixie pie; and it's wrapped in rice! Rice isn't cheap these days... Klein, don't you agree?"
Melissa poked Klein, who was deep in thought, with her finger. Klein seemed startled and turned to look at his sister: "Huh? Yeah..."
"Oh, right, Melissa, I suddenly remembered I have something to take care of at the company this afternoon, I have to go!" Klein hurriedly made up an excuse and quickly walked outside. He was determined to find out everything about the transmigrators and the identity of the higher dimension!
"Oh, okay..." Melissa muttered as she watched Klein grab his top hat and cane and quickly walk out of the room, "Klein is really something. Even on his day off, he's always thinking about work... Sigh, but that's probably why he got such a good job, right?"
She changed into her new dress, ready to attend a lecture with Selena and Elizabeth. Melissa pouted as she glanced at Benson, who was engrossed in his grammar book.
Klein walked quickly down the street. But as he walked, his strides lengthened, and he jogged. He ran across two streets based on his memory and saw a familiar carriage parked beside him. Klein hesitated for a moment, but the thought that the "High Dimension" might be a "time traveler" like himself filled him with excitement; moreover, given the High Dimension's current identity, he might be able to learn more about the secrets of their bizarre time travel. He finally made up his mind and walked to the carriage.
"Come in."
As Klein was considering how to begin, he saw Gavy lift the carriage curtain, gesturing for Klein to come and sit beside him. Klein hesitated for a moment, then shook off his thoughts and stepped onto Gavy's carriage, placing his right foot on the frame.
"I've been waiting for you for a while, Klein."
"Ah, sorry." Klein apologized instinctively, leaving Wei Gao momentarily speechless, and the air seemed to fall silent. After a long while, Wei Gao said with a smile, "It's alright, don't be nervous by the way, it's not safe to discuss this here, Mr. Z, let's go home. Let's get to know each other again, Klein. You should know why I'm waiting for you."
The horses pulling the carriage began to trot forward. The sheer volume of information in Wei Gao's earlier statement had momentarily overloaded Klein's brain. He disregarded his previous questions and extracted a key phrase from Wei Gao's words:
Mr. Z!
The driver is Mr. Z from the Aurora Society, the Mr. Z mentioned in Sirius's letter! Wait, if the Aurora Society's messenger can drive, then this 'fellow villager' in front of us must be...
A terrifying thought formed in his mind. Klein's pupils contracted, and he instinctively tried to lean back and roll out of the carriage to escape. But Wei Gao, as if he had anticipated this, reached out his left hand and grabbed Klein's right hand, which was holding the gun, pulling him back from behind the curtain. A spiritual wall instantly rose inside the carriage, severing the connection between the inside and outside, and blocking the transmission of sound between Mr. Z and the two of them. Seeing Klein looking at him warily, Wei Gao smiled and extended his hand:
"Let's get to know each other again. My surname is Wei, you can just call me Wei Gao. Klein, you're a 'time traveler,' right? May I ask what your name was before?"