The clock struck midnight, the sound drifting from a distant church. Jian stood under the neon sign of the "Forget-Me-Not Café," watching the mist swirl within the cold-toned light. By day, this place was an ordinary tea shop, but at this hour, it radiated a presence that defied the laws of physics—teapots in the window drifted into the air of their own accord, gesturing invitations to passersby.
"Are you sure this is the place?" she turned to Qiyue. He was staring at the navigation app on his phone; the screen displayed no map, but a series of shifting quantum coordinates that eventually locked into the sequence: "Taste Center → Olfactory Synesthesia → Auditory Center."
Qiyue tucked his phone away and touched the Engine Model on his chest. Ever since the incident at the café, the device had flickered in and out of existence, only becoming fully tangible when he concentrated: "The coordinates are correct. And look—"
Chapter 36