Chapter 1: A flying car?

11:00 AM, September 1, 1992.

I think I must be ill; otherwise, how could I see a car flying in the sky...

King's Cross Station is very bustling today. Perhaps it's because the school term has started?

Many parents are bringing their children into the station and then coming out alone. They must be sending their children off to some boarding school.

Having lived a second life, I am, of course, not surprised by such things.

What truly makes John's mind unable to process it is that, in broad daylight, he actually saw a light blue Ford sedan fly up out of thin air, and then disappear after leaping over the station's clock tower?

John, standing by the window, rubs the space between his eyebrows with a headache. Could it be that he's been watching too much television lately? Such hallucinations are becoming more and more frequent.

Last time, he saw a person appear out of thin air on the street with a "pop," but the passing pedestrians seemed not to see it at all.

Another time, he saw two people dressed in strange clothes walk through a wall and disappear into the street, and likewise, no one noticed this bizarre scene.

Added to today's scene, John is increasingly convinced that he must be ill.

John Merick, this is his name in this life.

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary corporate slave. One morning on his way to work, in order to save a child, he faced a hundred-ton truck head-on.

The result was that despite giving his all, he could not overcome it.

With a blink of his eyes, he arrived in England at the end of the 20th century.

At first, he also fantasized and hoped that it might be some different parallel universe, but ten years of exploration have led him to discover that this world seems no different from his previous life.

Except for the hallucinations that have appeared frequently lately, there is also the fact that he always feels something churning inside his body.

But he has been holding it back, because he always feels that if he doesn't, something terrible will happen.

Just as John is reminiscing, the sound of the front door opening rings out. It is his parents returning.

His father is an engineer, and his mother is a nurse. Their family conditions are considered very affluent in this era; otherwise, it would have been impossible to buy a house near King's Cross Station.

They were originally supposed to work today, but because of John's schooling, they both took the day off to go to the private London school he previously attended.

"Sorry, John. Dad and Mom talked with the school leadership... they still refuse to rescind your suspension."

Mrs. Merick walks to her son's side, stroking his head and saying apologetically.

"I already said, rather than letting John go back to that kind of school, we might as well let him transfer. It doesn't matter if it's further away."

John's father, Mr. Merick, loosens his tie after entering the door and says irritably.

Of course, his temper isn't directed at John and his mother, but rather he is angry about their encounter this morning.

Just as mentioned before, this world is no different from the previous one, including the fact that school bullying is very common.

John was originally studying honestly and dutifully, hoping that in this life he wouldn't have to be a corporate slave again, and could earn money early to seize future opportunities.

But unfortunately, he was too honest, and some people thought he was easy to bully and wanted to find a sense of existence through him.

The result was that John was blocked in the restroom by the school bully, and then John backhanded the bully and pressed his face into the toilet bowl.

There were quite a few onlookers at the time, and it quickly attracted the school's teachers and leadership.

But this wasn't enough to get John suspended. The real reason John was suspended—

—was because the principal was actually related to the school bully, and he shielded the bully while biting back, claiming John was the bully.

Because at the time, John's behavior did indeed look like he was bullying a classmate...

After that, John happily received the suspension gift package.

But the eyes of the masses are discerning. Quite a few students spoke up for John, collectively reporting the principal for abusing his power for personal gain.

Although the principal was later suspended by the school board for investigation, the fact that John attacked a classmate was an indisputable fact. Even though his parents went to argue with the school board, it did not change his fate of being suspended.

Today is the first day of the new semester. They went to the school early in the morning for this matter, but still didn't get a response, which is why Mr. Merick had an expression of indignation when he returned.

"It wasn't John who made the mistake, so why should John be punished! They are simply too excessive. I'm going to sue them!"

Mrs. Merick also says indignantly. After she learned that John was bullied by people at school, she was, of course, firmly on John's side.

She doesn't think this school is all that great either; she simply thinks that being suspended like this is too much to take.

It clearly wasn't her child who was wrong, yet it was her child who was punished, so she is very unconvinced.

"It's okay, Mom. Entangling with them is meaningless. You don't need to go talk to the school leadership for me anymore."

John takes his mother's hand and, in turn, comforts her.

"It's okay, John! Dad and Mom will find a way for your schooling. You can rest for a while longer. Back in the day, your old man was wishing he didn't have to study."

Mr. Merick, seeing his son is so sensible, feels very gratified and puts his hand on John's shoulder, laughing.

John has been very sensible since he was a child, needing them to worry about nothing. He is excellent in character and learning, the very "child of someone else" in the neighbors' mouths.

He also strongly supports John's behavior of fighting back against the bully; that is what a man should look like.

"By the way, John, have you been in your room the whole time? Did you see a car flying up at the station outside the window?"

"Your mother keeps saying I was so angry I saw things, but how is that possible? My eyes are like a ruler; I could even draw the shape of that car!"

Mr. Merick doesn't want to talk about these unhappy things anymore and turns to ask his son about the bizarre scene he just saw.

When he returned just now, he saw with his own eyes a light blue sedan fly up downstairs, but in the blink of an eye, it disappeared. The child's mother still doesn't believe it.

Now he is just asking his son if he saw it.

"Ah?"

Hearing this, John is stunned. Did Dad also have a hallucination?

That's not right either; how could a hallucination be exactly the same?

"I told you it was impossible. How could a car fly? You must have seen things."

Mrs. Merick, seeing John's reaction, thinks John also doesn't believe it, points her finger at Mr. Merick's forehead, and complains about her husband who has no seriousness.

Mr. Merick scratches his head and mutters, "Impossible, I couldn't have seen it wrong..."

"Dad, was the car you saw a Ford?"

John asks with the mentality of giving it a try.

Upon hearing John's question, Mr. Merick frowns and recalls for a moment, then immediately widens his eyes: "Yes! It was a Ford Anglia 105E! John, you really saw it too! I told you I didn't see it wrong!"

Mr. Merick immediately recognizes the car model through John's hint.

And since his son saw it too, that proves he didn't see it wrong. A car really flew up; it's simply incredible.

John also lowers his head and frowns. Even his dad saw the flying car, so this shouldn't be a hallucination.

Then, could those things he saw before also not be hallucinations?

"Could it be some kind of car-shaped balloon or something? The idea of a car flying is unrealistic no matter how you think about it."

Seeing that his son also saw it, Mrs. Merick still doesn't quite believe that a car can fly and proposes other possibilities.

However, John feels it shouldn't be fake.

Because when he saw that car wobbling and flying up, there were two figures inside. Because it was too far away, he didn't see clearly, but there were indeed people inside the car.

It couldn't be that they were filming a movie, right?

Mr. Merick is not quite sure, because he only saw it for a glance. The car flew over the station clock tower and disappeared. Looking at it wobbling, it really looked like a balloon floating.

Mother is too lazy to argue with her father, who is full of fantasies, and says she is going to get busy with lunch. Father also stops thinking about it; actually, whether it's true or false doesn't matter.

If someone really invented a flying car, the whole world would know sooner or later. If he saw it wrong, it matters even less.

Originally, they thought this matter had passed, and the family prepared to happily spend this rare holiday.

But not long after lunch was finished, someone knocked on their front door.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Merick. We are from the British Ministry of Magic, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes." ===== CHAPTER 2 =====