In the name of the true god

The year 419 of the Divine Religion calendar.

The year 448 of the Divine Religion calendar.

The two events were separated by a full twenty-nine years, which cannot be explained by simply misremembering or miscalculating.

Upon hearing Edmund's words, Tang Ping's mind went blank for a couple of seconds: "...Do we have a different understanding of the Divine Calendar?"

"If you came from a remote tribe in the far north, perhaps that's possible. But since the mainstream world uses the calendar system jointly established by the four holy churches, our understanding of time couldn't possibly differ that much." Edmund's excitement grew. "Alright, let's double-check. I remember the current king of the Kingdom of Florence is Fitch V. What about you?"

This was common knowledge to the original owner of Tang Ping's body.

He first frowned and carefully confirmed the information before speaking: "The current king of the Kingdom of Florence is Leonard II. Fitch... passed away many years ago."

Edmund raised the corners of his mouth, a smile playing on his lips as he surveyed his surroundings. "Like your ring, I can't sense any information from your body. I initially thought it was because the mysterious space was shielding the abilities of wizards... Now it seems it's because we're in different timelines..."

Tang Ping looked at his ring, never expecting that the power it contained was so terrifying.

So, since there's a 29-year time difference with Edmund, it should be difficult for him to threaten my safety. Should I reveal the series of strange events that have happened to me now and ask him to help me solve the mystery?

But before Tang Ping could make a decision, Edmund asked with great interest, "How old are you this year?"

"Twenty-one years old."

"Me too," Edmund pressed. "Have you heard of me?"

In fact, Tang Ping felt that Edmund's name sounded somewhat familiar from the moment he first introduced himself.

However, he wasn't sure if Jude's memories truly reflected Edmund, or if he was simply imagining things.

Seeing Tang Ping finally shake his head, Edmund was slightly disappointed: "...What about the situation of the wizards and resonance sorcerers involved?"

"What do you mean?"

"My goal is to overthrow the four holy churches and save all the implicated wizards and resonance sorcerers who have been framed, misunderstood, and ostracized," Edmund declared, revealing his grand ambition. "If I can truly accomplish this in the future, you should have heard of it twenty-nine years from now."

Tang Ping saw a lingering hope in Edmund's eyes. After thinking for a moment, he answered honestly, "It's not common for wizards and resonance sorcerers to be implicated. I remember when I was a child, a resonance sorcerer was publicly executed by the church."

Edmund's smile faded at a visible speed.

Tang Ping didn't know what to say.

At that moment, both of their vision suddenly blurred. After a dizzying sensation similar to that experienced when entering the mysterious space, Edmund's vision was filled with an endless coniferous forest.

A sparrow flew by.

The sun is setting in the west.

They actually came back like that...

He first took off the Ouroboros ring and then put it back on. Seeing that there was no further reaction, he then faced the tombstone in front of him and sighed dejectedly.

The tombstone is silent.

Edmund gave a self-deprecating laugh, as if he had heard a response: "Father, the path I want to take is indeed not so easy... but that's precisely why someone has to do it, isn't it?"

-

Inside the cheap apartment, Tang Ping suddenly opened his eyes.

The workers living in the same single room were snoring loudly, and the moonlight outside the window was still soft. It seemed that his recent journey through the mysterious space had no impact on the outside world.

Was it a dream?

Or is it true?

Tang Ping looked at the Möbius strip ring on his finger, somewhat dazed.

Having already traveled to another world, it's not so unacceptable to cross time and space again to become friends with a wizard I was involved with 29 years ago.

The problem is... is this thing disposable?

He repeatedly took off and put on the Möbius strip, lamenting why he hadn't seized the opportunity to ask Edmund for advice on how to use his supernatural powers.

Time passed by unnoticed and it was already 4:30 in the morning.

The other workers in the same room got up and dressed one after another, preparing to go to the dock to grab work. Tang Ping, who hadn't slept all night, pretended to be groggy and got up as well.

The original owner of this body, Jude, was introverted and kept to himself at the docks, having almost no friends. Because of this, when the fat wizard asked him for money, he couldn't even scrape together a fraction of the amount. However, this spared Tang Ping too much social interaction, which could be considered a good thing now.

wow...

"Holy crap, it's freezing..."

After splashing his face with icy tap water in the communal washroom, Tang Ping carefully admired his new body in a not-so-clean mirror.

He is about 1.8 meters tall.

A healthy skin tone similar to that of wheat.

Despite an unbalanced diet, he still has firm muscles and a well-proportioned physique, making him a true bodybuilder.

As for this face—

His black hair was messy but not tangled, his face was angular, he had double eyelids, a high nose bridge, and thin lips.

He's kind of handsome!

After washing up, Tang Ping walked out of the apartment with satisfaction.

The capital of the Kingdom of Florence, Montorus, is located close to the sea and is roughly L-shaped, which can be simply divided into the north, east, and central parts.

The northern part encompasses the dock area, industrial area, and slum area, and is traversed by multiple railway lines, resembling a giant, never-ending machine that bears the heavy responsibility of transportation and production.

As Tang Ping walked toward the nearest tavern, the sky was still twinkling with stars.

He looked with curiosity at the docks and lighthouses beside him, and then gazed at the factories in the distance that emitted smoke and dust day and night. He couldn't help but try to recall what the commercial and affluent areas in the east looked like.

Unfortunately, my mind went completely blank.

Could it be that you've been in the capital for three years and haven't even had a chance to explore the city...?

Poor little Jude...

I will definitely make sure you live a good life...

Tang Ping felt a brief pang of sympathy for the original owner of this body, then quickly arrived at the tavern with its doors tightly shut.

Not open yet?

Jude never went to the tavern to relax, and he didn't even know the exact opening hours of the tavern.

Tang Ping had no choice but to stop a passing worker at a tavern. After asking around, he learned that the taverns in the dock area usually opened at 11 a.m. and closed at midnight.

As Sunday is the fixed prayer day for the four holy churches, the tavern can only be open from 6 pm to 10 pm.

Forget it...

I'd rather work as a loader for half a day.

Firstly, it would allow them to assess the situation after the basement fire, and if the situation deteriorated beyond their judgment, they could immediately grab the buckets and run away.

Secondly, I really can't act too abnormally at this critical juncture, lest I give others room for suspicion.

Thirdly, if I really can't find my brother and I don't have any skills, it's better to get used to loading and unloading work in advance than not...

With that in mind, Tang Ping turned around and headed toward a restaurant sandwiched between the pier and the cheap apartments, planning to fill his stomach first.

Most of the workers living in this area eat at this restaurant. Sometimes, for the sake of convenience, foremen and boat owners will even come directly to the restaurant to recruit workers.

As a restaurant primarily catering to workers, the breakfasts, lunches, and dinners it provides daily are naturally quite simple.

Bread and coffee in the morning.

Lunch consisted of bread, potato soup, and stew.

Bread, rye potato pancakes, and salted herring for dinner...

Sometimes, when people get tired of bread and potatoes, the store will also sell corn, which is widely grown because of its strong cold resistance.

"One pound of bread, and a cup of coffee." Tang Ping pulled out a crumpled 'one silver gram' and a 'five copper gram' banknote and handed them to the restaurant owner, then sat down in the food stall filled with the smells of rye and caramel.

In fact, workers who do heavy physical labor such as loading and unloading usually eat two pounds of bread for breakfast alone.

Tang Ping saw that the black bread others were eating was dry and hard, and he really didn't have the appetite to eat that much.

Bread and coffee were served quickly.

Feeling thirsty and chilly, Tang Ping first picked up his cup and took a sip of warm coffee mixed with chicory.

The taste was rather ordinary, but it definitely made my stomach feel much better.

"Hey, did you guys hear? There seems to have been a fire last night."

"Fire? Where?"

"Over at the warehouse. They say a basement was burned down completely, and people died."

Hearing the conversations coming from the noise, Tang Ping raised an eyebrow and slowed down the pace of chewing his bread.

How did news of the basement fire spread so quickly?

He thought he would have to wait until dawn to hear even a few words.

But it's not exactly strange.

There are patrol personnel at the dock at night, as well as workers who work through the night. They might have noticed the abnormality just half an hour after I left.

"What about the goods?"

"That basement wasn't used for storing goods. There was a guy from out of town living there. He was probably drunk, and he got into trouble without anyone noticing."

"Tsk, what bad luck."

Seeing the workers' indifferent tone, as if they were already used to this kind of thing and treated it as just a regular fire, Tang Ping felt a little relieved. Since even they didn't seem to care much, the relevant departments probably wouldn't associate it with anything unusual.

A dozen minutes later.

Before Tang Ping could even swallow the sour and salty bread with his coffee, a foreman came to recruit people.

"The Fern has brought a whole shipload of cotton! I need twenty men here! If they unload before noon, each man will receive seventy coppers!"

"Wow!"

"And me!"

Dozens of people immediately stood up inside the food tent.

The foreman, puffing on his pipe, quickly gathered his men and headed towards the dock.

To appear normal, after finishing his bread, Tang Ping followed a group of workers, led by other foremen, to the dock.

The dock was still so cold that it made people shiver uncontrollably.

Rows of steam cranes lined up on the bank, their boilers glowing red-hot and emitting a deep rumble.

Steel cables hung from the boom, and hooks jingled in the cold wind.

Tang Ping and the other workers registered their names and then entered hatch number three together. Tang Ping was responsible for shoveling the black stones from the cargo hold into the metal bucket, which was then lifted by a crane onto a truck on the shore.

"Damn it..." Seeing the other workers skillfully take out their gloves, Tang Ping rummaged through his pockets, which were even cleaner than his face, and thought to himself that something was wrong.

"Stop dawdling! The captain said we have to clear the ship by 2 p.m.! The next ship is already waiting in the outer harbor!" The foreman, pacing at the hatch, yelled and urged them on.

The workers immediately grabbed shovels and got to work.

Tang Pingguang gripped the cold shovel and gritted his teeth, imitating him.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Most of the black stones were frozen solid, and the shovels made a screeching sound when they were dug down.

Before long, Tang Ping's hands were so cold that they were unbearably painful.

No...

Even if I can't find the original owner's brother, I absolutely cannot waste my time at the dock!

Tang Ping, who had been sweating profusely in the cold for less than half an hour, became even more determined.