Chapter Twenty: Kieran’s Stopwatch of Time

After conducting a thorough search of the entire cruise ship, the numerous Natashas were left deeply disappointed—they found absolutely nothing. In their eyes, there was nothing extraordinary about the vessel that could have possibly triggered a time loop.

“So, what now? Should we just go in hard? We have plenty of time and more than enough people. If nothing else works, we can interrogate every single person onboard. I refuse to believe that what’s happening on this ship has nothing to do with anyone here!” Scarlett addressed the others. The bodyguards on the ship were no match for them—ten to one wouldn’t be a problem. With the added advantage of surprise, they could easily seize control of the entire ship.

Unfortunately, as solid as this plan sounded, the truth was that what was happening really had nothing to do with anyone on board.

Seeing that they were about to hit a dead end, Yang Qiu reluctantly abandoned her last hope and began guiding An. Since a new element had been introduced, the script would need a slight adjustment.

“Everyone! I found the anomaly!” Natasha Five burst through the door and called out to the others.

“You found it?! What is it?!” asked another Natasha.

“A cat. Just come with me.”

A few minutes later, all the Natashas gathered their attention on the edge of the cruise deck, where, sure enough, there was a black cat. Its forepaws rested on the rail as it craned its neck, peering at something below.

Natasha observed the cat carefully. Its fur shone with a lustrous black, its build was healthy, and its claws bore signs of recent trimming. Clearly, this was a pet, not a stray. Thinking back over everything she’d seen, Natasha was certain that she had never spotted this black cat before.

“Whose cat is this?” Natasha whispered to Scarlett beside her.

“No one’s. I checked with Corey. He’s certain nobody brought a pet on board. What should we do? Should we try to catch it and see what happens?” Scarlett replied in a low voice.

“Let’s not rush. Why don’t you go out and see what the cat’s actually up to?” Natasha suggested. As long as they didn’t appear together, Scarlett would still be seen as just another prominent family member.

“No problem.” Scarlett rapped her fingers on the wall, communicating with the others in Morse code, then strode out.

Her steps were graceful as she approached the deck’s edge. She tilted her head to glance at the black cat, then followed its line of sight downward.

Below the ship, blue-pouched fish swam merrily just beneath the surface.

Fish? Was the cat after sea fish?

Scarlett glanced at An, just as An licked her whiskers and rubbed her paws.

She really did want fish! But what was so special about these fish?

Scarlett looked down at the blue-pouched fish, growing increasingly certain that there was something unusual about them. When she lifted her eyes again, she suddenly realized An was gone!

She scanned the deck, but there was no sign of the cat. She waved Corey over.

“Miss Scarlett, is there something you need?” Corey bowed slightly.

“Did you see the black cat on the deck just now? Quite a beautiful one—would make a fine pet,” Scarlett said softly.

“Black cat?” Corey blinked. He had been watching Scarlett the entire time and hadn’t seen a cat at all. But since this was her first request, he had to oblige. “Don’t worry, we’ll see to it right away. We’ll find you the purest-blooded, most docile black cat.”

Scarlett could tell Corey was just humoring her and couldn’t be bothered to respond. She walked away.

“Did any of you see exactly when it disappeared?” she asked once she was back in the shadows.

“No, not at all…” Natasha answered gravely.

They were all top agents—losing track of a cat, even a cockroach, while actively observing, was unthinkable. There was only one explanation: all of them had been affected.

“What’s our next move? Should we try catching one of those fish to lure the cat out?” Black Widow suggested.

“It’s worth a try, though I wouldn’t get my hopes up. That cat isn’t ordinary, and any fish that could tempt it must be special as well. But it can’t hurt to try,” Natasha said, massaging her temples.

So, the elite agents launched a full-scale assault on the blue-pouched fish. As Natasha suspected, every bit of bait they put out vanished, but not a single fish was caught. Even their rods and nets all ended up as fish food.

In the end, some of the fish even raised their heads, waiting expectantly for the Natashas to feed them.

The look in the fishes’ eyes seemed almost mocking, as if they considered the “fishing” a self-serve banquet.

Natasha, who had taken down countless terrorist organizations and slain elite soldiers by the dozen, now found herself outwitted by a bunch of fish—a farcical turn of events.

Another chime rang out, the cruise ship reset once more, and the number of Natashas increased by one.

This time, however, they didn’t have to search for clues. At the sound of the bell, An appeared in the dining room.

Natasha wasted no time on speculation. Five or six of her worked together to secure the room, then they stood five meters away, watching An.

Act Three: The Eerie Clock

An gazed up at the swinging clock before her. From her perspective, each swing sent ripples through the space around it.

Following Yang Qiu’s instructions, An reached out a paw to swipe at the clock. But every time she tried, her paw passed through thin air. The clock became a phantom, impervious to her touch.

Natasha noticed this. The action was a clear clue from Yang Qiu. Recalling every reset, she remembered always hearing the sound of a bell.

But now she realized—the clock in the dining room was nowhere near loud enough to ring out so clearly each time! That was the anomaly.

“She’s gone again!” Scarlett nudged Natasha, gesturing toward the clock.

Natasha snapped out of her thoughts. Sure enough, An had disappeared once again, though the clock remained in place.

“What now? Should we check out the clock, or wait for the cat to reappear?” Scarlett asked.

“Let’s vote,” Natasha replied, looking around at the circle of “herself.” She felt a headache coming on. What was this? A whole crowd of herself voting on what to do next, like a person with multiple personalities making decisions—a truly absurd situation.