Mist only forms such beautiful beams of light, but when he first entered the university, he hadn’t seen any mist at all.

With this doubt in mind, William Thompson suddenly felt a strong urge to leave this place.

He quickened his pace, striding toward the school gate.

The letter of introduction from his advisor was still in the inner pocket of his clothes, but at this moment, he had no intention of following up on any job.

In the rearview mirror, the black pattern on the back of his hand lingered like a fishbone stuck in his throat, refusing to fade from his mind.

Did something grow on his body? Or was he hallucinating?

The crossing, the dreamlike parking lot, and the strange scene he had just witnessed at the school.

All of it seemed like an omen—had he really started hallucinating??

He walked straight out of the university gate in one breath, and William Thompson looked back at the campus.

Many students were dressed formally, preparing to hang banners to welcome successful alumni.

Several media vans slowly drove through the gate, passing right by him, with white lettering of local news outlets printed on their sides.

Farther away, the loudspeakers of the main teaching building began to play melodious instrumental music to set the mood.

William Thompson steadied himself, feeling much more normal. He stood there for a while, watching the media vans until they all slowly disappeared into a shaded bend out of sight. Only then did he turn and head toward the bus stop for his return trip.

On both sides of the street stood rows of leafless, gray-black trees, their withered branches like giant hands clawing at the sky.

William Thompson walked along the street, raising his hand to take a closer look at the back of it.

The skin was clean and smooth, with no scars at all.

He passed two large green trash bins and stopped in front of a dessert shop glowing with soft yellow light.

Facing the glass display window by the shop’s door, he pressed the back of his hand against the glass and looked again, carefully.

Black!

William Thompson felt his heart clench once more.

This time, he saw it very clearly.

There was indeed a large black, tattoo-like mark on the back of his hand.

That mark felt... somewhat familiar.

Just like the patch of little black flowers he’d seen right before he crossed over!

“Would you like to come in and have a look? Freshly baked maple croissants.” The lady inside, wearing a bear-patterned apron, came out holding a yellow wooden tray. Seeing him standing at the door, she greeted him casually.

“Uh... no, thank you.” William Thompson quickly lowered his hand to keep it from being seen.

He followed the gray, chrysanthemum-patterned tiles on the ground, quickened his pace, passed the dessert shop, and hurried on with his head down.

One passerby after another walked past him, but he paid them no mind.

All his attention was focused on the pattern on the back of his hand.

‘What exactly is that pattern?’

‘Were all those things before just hallucinations?’

He had a vague feeling that the black pattern might be the very culprit that brought him to this world.

As for what it was, he’d probably have to rely on himself to slowly uncover the truth.

He kept his head down, hurrying along, and before he knew it, time had passed. When he came to his senses, he had already walked several hundred meters past the bus stop.

He was now on a strange street, with transport trucks carrying vegetables and fruit coming and going along the road.

William Thompson stopped and looked around.

Across the street was a farmer’s market.

At the entrance to the market, under a leafless tree, a group of plainly dressed middle-aged people were gathered, apparently playing chess or cards.

By now, the light was getting brighter and the temperature was rising.

William Thompson withdrew his gaze, ignoring the bustling farmer’s market, and instead looked for a nearby café.

He was a bit hungry and regretted not buying a maple croissant from the dessert shop earlier.

But a café would do. The one he entered was called Yesli Café, which offered self-serve desserts at reasonable prices—one of the best value-for-money options when you’re hungry.

For just thirty yuan, even a two-hundred-pound big eater could fill his stomach.

The café’s front door was white, with a round sign—white background, black letters—floating in midair to the right of the door, supported below by a large silver-black metal cylinder.

‘The latest magnetic levitation technology.’

A flash of common knowledge crossed William Thompson’s mind.

Aside from the sign, the entire storefront was made of transparent glass, with a ring of flowers and plants at the base by the door.

Green leaves, pure white flowers—each one quite eye-catching.

William Thompson waited for a couple inside to push open the door and come out, then quickly stepped forward, grabbed the automatically swinging glass door, and walked in.

What he didn’t notice was that as he passed by the white flowers at the door, a faint black pattern flickered on the back of his right hand.

“Welcome! Please scan the code to order.”

A sweet, automated voice sounded.

Inside the café, the floor was pure white, the ceiling black, with water-like patterns.

There were two floors in total. The counter was right at the entrance of the first-floor lobby, and beside it stood a person-tall black rabbit plastic model.

The rabbit’s eyes blinked, its big ears drooped, and its hands pointed to a black circular code on its chest.

“Please scan here.”

The sweet electronic voice sounded again.

William Thompson glanced at the counter staff, who ignored him, took out his phone to scan the rabbit’s code, and then found a seat to sit down.