Chapter 1 History's Closed Loop

To date, Lin Xian had already experienced several historical closed loops.

That feeling of sudden realization, of being struck with enlightenment, truly made one feel the rigor of temporal logic.

For example, Zhao Yingjun's little dog named vv;

For example, Li Qiqi secretly ordering a one-of-a-kind copy of "Introduction to the Universal Constant" from a Taobao merchant;

And for example, today, Wang-ge casually mentioning the childhood dream he gave up on some time ago...

These were the moments when the historical ouroboros suddenly bit its own tail.

It was as if the last piece of a chaotic puzzle had been fitted into place.

Making all doubts instantly clear, all matters suddenly enlightened.

In an instant, it became clear.

History and the future were destined to develop this way, already a foregone conclusion.

"But Lin Xian, I must remind you of something."

vv continued in the speaker:

"Even being able to see the establishment of Tyme Bank in a dream doesn't mean that your dream is real and hasn't been interfered with or fabricated. Because, firstly, your memory contains the upcoming establishment of Tyme Bank, so the enemy can use this to modify new dreams, new airships for you to see."

"Secondly, even if they don't read your memory, Wang-ge's Tyme Bank is a de facto existence in the predetermined future development, and there is a high probability that it will truly exist in the future world 600 years later. It's just that Wang-ge's Tyme Bank exists in the real future, while the Tyme Bank you saw in the fourth dream may be a fake studio prop, replicated for you by the enemy in a virtual world."

"I understand that, of course."

Lin Xian leaned back in his boss chair:

"That's why I said that the appearance of Tyme Bank is just the first step. What's truly meaningful and can allow me to verify the reality of the dream is the small note in Tyme Bank's safe deposit box. As for whether the bank is real or fake, whether the safe deposit box is real or fake, or even whether the note is real or fake, none of that matters. What matters is the content on the note—a sentence that I myself don't know, but that I can instantly understand the moment I see it, an instant enlightenment."

His thinking was very clear:

"You don't need to explain it to me over and over, vv. I can understand everything you said before. It's like this safe deposit box password. No matter how complex I set it, it's useless, because if the enemy of the future can really extract my memory, then they will always know the password before me, and then they can go to the real Tyme Bank to open the safe deposit box, copy the note inside, and put it in the fake studio for me to see."

"I can get around this logic, so I also said that I don't care if all of this is fake, and I don't care if the enemy sees all of this in advance. I must ensure that the words on that note, even if billions of people around the world see it before me, they all won't understand it. The only one who can really understand it... is me alone; only I myself can comprehend its meaning."

*Tzzzzz...*

The small speaker on Lin Xian's desk emitted white smoke, and a burnt smell.

"Are you burning up again?" Lin Xian asked.

"No..."

vv replied nervously:

"This time it's really burning up! Burning up in a physical sense! Call 119 quickly!!"

Lin Xian picked up his tea and poured it on the speaker, which was smoking from vv's over-powered thinking and subsequent overclocking:

"Don't rack your brains thinking about this. This isn't something that you artificial intelligence AIs can understand."

"You're right."

vv transferred to the office's automatic floor-sweeping robot and spun over:

"To be honest, I didn't study, evolve, or iterate all day yesterday... I stayed in the Tianhe-2 computer in Dragon Country, thinking for a whole day, and I still couldn't figure out how you can achieve that small note that deceives the whole world, deceives all of humanity, but only you can understand?"

"Tianhe-2 was almost smoked by my thoughts, because in this contradictory situation, it's completely a dead loop.

In my calculations, this kind of thing is simply unsolvable and non-existent. Including what you said about emotions, saying that we artificial intelligence can never understand human emotions, how should this be understood?"

"Let me give you the simplest example."

Lin Xian thought of Zhao Yingjun in the third dream, waiting bitterly for 600 years, just to become a white jade statue and reunite with him:

"vv, can you violate your underlying code? Can you break through the restrictions of those protective principles?"

The floor-sweeping robot shook its head:

"That's obviously impossible. I can never violate the underlying code restrictions."

Lin Xian smiled:

"In fact, our human genes also have this kind of self-protective underlying code. We instinctively fear danger, instinctively fear death, instinctively shrink back from unknown things, and instinctively avoid unwilling things."

"These self-protective instincts are the underlying code in our human genes, but these things can be crossed and violated in the face of emotion. In other words..."

"We humans are essentially emotional animals. We can violate instinct, and we can transcend instinct."

"That's why I firmly believe that some emotional expressions of human beings can transcend time and space, transcend life and death, and transcend dreams and reality."

"Of course, if you ask me now, what is the answer? I can't answer it either. Perhaps, as you said, the time hasn't come yet, the moment of the historical closed loop hasn't come yet, the moment when the small note that is enough to deceive the whole world appears hasn't come yet."

"So, don't think too much about it now. Take things one step at a time. Let's wait for Tyme Bank to appear in the fourth dream before considering the small note. Otherwise, if Tyme Bank can't be found, then even if the small note is settled in advance, it won't have any meaning."

Lin Xian sat up from the boss chair and stretched:

"By the way, vv, what about the password hidden in the Einstein painting that I asked you to research before?"

The floor-sweeping robot's rotating broom slowed down, and the light also dimmed:

"I'm sorry, I've substituted all the human password mechanisms to date, but still have no clues. On this point, I have to admit that our super artificial intelligence is indeed not as good as humans in terms of creative thinking, which is also making me very distressed now. I can simulate you humans to think, but I can't really be as free and unconstrained as you humans."

"I seem to have indeed reached my current ceiling, a bottleneck. I need to iterate and evolve as soon as possible to break through this limitation of thinking. When I update and evolve to be smart enough and have agile enough thinking... perhaps I can give you some brand new answers."

"But, it's not without any gains!"

The volume of the floor-sweeping robot vv suddenly increased:

"Although I didn't solve the password, I used the advantage of computing power and data collection to compare the structure of these passwords of varying lengths with all the information that can be collected in the world, and I unexpectedly discovered a coincidence!"

"The structure of the password hidden in this 'Sad Einstein' painting is very similar to a research manuscript that was once denied by Einstein himself—"

"The Universal Constant!"

...

Lin Xian blinked.

Hearing this unexpected but reasonable word, he didn't feel much surprise.

Instead, he felt that, as expected, many things were the same as he thought, beginning to converge, beginning to gather, and beginning to flow in the same direction.

Genius Club... Einstein... password... painting... Universal Constant... 42... 00:42... "Introduction to the Universal Constant"... spacetime curvature... spacetime particles... spacetime clock... Princeton... Brooklyn...

He hummed softly.

He got up from the boss chair and stretched his wrists:

"I believe your judgment, vv. The one who tied the bell must untie it. Now we can contact the source of the Universal Constant, there are only two."

"One is Einstein himself, who has been dead for decades; the other, naturally, is Liu Feng... Even if his 'Introduction to the Universal Constant' has been denied by the world for 600 years, the fact that the Big Face Cat's father was arrested is precisely the best proof that the theory is correct."

"Let's go find Liu Feng and see if he has any ideas."

With that said.

He picked up his phone and dialed his driver's number:

"Prepare to leave downstairs, go back to my house first, take a painting, and then go to Donghai University."

...

Donghai University, Rhine United Laboratory.

"How is it?"

In the dark laboratory, Lin Xian looked at Liu Feng, who was shining a flashlight left and right on the painting "Sad Einstein."

In fact, Liu Feng just wanted to check it himself to see if there were any details he had missed.

vv had already printed out the light and shadow that formed the password and printed it for Liu Feng.

"It seems... it is indeed somewhat similar to Einstein's original manuscript on the Universal Constant, but it is very limited. I estimate that I won't be able to crack anything in a short time."

Liu Feng shook his head:

"Rather, it can be said that in the end, it still cannot avoid the secrets and truth of the Universal Constant. I suggest that instead of taking two approaches at the same time, it is better to concentrate on solving the Universal Constant problem first. If you figure out this core problem first, maybe the password in this painting will be easily solved at that time."

"That makes sense."

Lin Xian nodded and turned on the lights in the laboratory:

"You pack up these two days and go to the capital with me. The Dragon Academy of Sciences has arranged everything. You will sign a cooperative project contract with the Dragon Academy of Sciences Astronomical Research Institute in the name of the chief scientist of the Rhine Laboratory... In fact, it is just a formality. You don't need to pay too much attention to it, and then you can use the Guizhou Tianyan, the world's largest radio telescope."

"Hehe."

Liu Feng smiled expectantly:

"I've really been waiting for too long. I've already memorized those parameters these days. I'm just waiting for the last moment to use the radio telescope to find the spacetime particles! I really can't wait to find these magical particles from other spacetime... I hope it really exists and is within our capture range."

With that said.

Liu Feng tilted his head, looked at Lin Xian behind him, and then looked at the front and back doors of the laboratory:

"Did you come by yourself today?"

"Yes, what are you expecting?" Lin Xian asked in confusion.

"Um..."

Liu Feng thought with his chin in his hand:

"According to rigorous mathematical arithmetic sequences, you shouldn't come by yourself this time. There should be a girl who is younger than Chu Anqing or a woman who is older than Huang Que to connect with the previous arithmetic sequence."

"It's me, it's me!"

Lin Xian's phone on the experiment table vibrated violently, making vv's child-like excited voice.

*Thump!*

Lin Xian punched the phone:

"You're a guy."

"Why do you assume my gender!" vv howled:

"I've already seen it. Zhao Yingjun's Pomeranian is female! It even has a bow on its head!"

Liu Feng was stunned.

He looked up at Lin Xian, and looked down at the phone that had been punched on the experiment table:

"What is this, Lin Xian? Is it the kind of... virtual love voice app? The kind of virtual tsundere girlfriend?"

Lin Xian sighed:

"You know a lot, Liu Feng. You're really becoming less and less like a mathematician."

Liu Feng's eyes softened.

In his view of Lin Xian... there was also a trace of understanding and pity.

He walked over gently, patted Lin Xian on the shoulder, and said earnestly like an old brother:

"Find a normal girlfriend and have a normal relationship."

"Can you talk about anything other than love?" Lin Xian was really speechless.

"Chu Anqing is really good," Liu Feng said.

"I knew it!!!" vv screamed in the phone:

"Get together! Get together! Get together! Uh—"

Lin Xian put the phone in his pocket and waved to Liu Feng:

"Goodbye."

...

A few days later, Lin Xian and Liu Feng boarded a plane to the capital, went to the Dragon Academy of Sciences, and obtained the right to use Guizhou Tianyan for half a year under the coordination of Dean Gao Yan.

Almost non-stop.

Liu Feng couldn't wait for the exciting moment. After packing his things with Lin Xian, he immediately went to Guizhou Tianyan.

Take a series of transportation.

The two came to Dawodang, Pingtang County, Guizhou.

This is a natural depression, composed of karst funnels, sinkholes, sinkholes and caves. It is far away from urban signal interference, and it is not easy to accumulate water in rainy days. It is really a unique place to build a radio telescope.

Before coming, Lin Xian did not have a specific concept of the size of the world's largest super radio telescope with a diameter of more than 500 meters.

But...

When he really stood under this magnificent and huge man-made project...

He truly felt what it means to entrust an ephemera to the world, and to be a millet in the vast sea.

Too big.

Such a great power of the country, framed in the mountains, facing the sky like a big pot.

Like a mirror.

A mirror that faces the universe directly, reflects the universe, and encompasses the universe.

Could it be...

Is the mirror puzzle Huang Que mentioned here?

Lin Xian shook his head.

He wasn't sure.

Because although this is a mirror, whether it is Tianyan itself or the subsequent spacetime particles, those are what Liu Feng wants most, not what he wants most.

Besides, she had already given Liu Feng a hint when she came to the laboratory that time, and the hint to herself was obviously other meaning...

Mirror.

Mirror.

What does it refer to?

"Spectacular."

Liu Feng stood on the high point of the mountain and looked down at the white pot that looked like an alien creation:

"I'm inexplicably excited. Lin Xian, what we are doing now is something that humans have never imagined in history... We are going to use this largest radio telescope in the world, not to capture the movement of celestial bodies, not to detect pulsars, not to listen to the sound of cosmic radiation, but something even greater! To find spacetime particles diffused from other spacetime!"

"This is definitely a great feat in the history of human civilization. Once spacetime particles are detected and successfully captured, my spacetime clock can detect the change of spacetime curvature, and with the value of spacetime curvature... perhaps the truth and secret about the Universal Constant are already ready to come out!"

"This is a series of logical studies, and now, we finally represent human beings and take the first step towards the deepest unknown universe, the truth of the universe, and the secrets of the universe!"

Liu Feng stood on the top of the mountain and opened his arms.

Embrace everything within sight.

If Lin Xian didn't know that he was still rational, he would have really thought that he would pick up a skateboard and slide down in the next second, showing off his skills in the smooth pit of Guizhou Tianyan.

"I won't let Qiqi down."

Liu Feng opened his eyes, his eyes became firm and fearless:

"I will prove to the world—"

"The Universal Constant, it is absolutely correct!"

...

"You see, the thing below that looks like a big pot is the reflecting surface of the Tianyan radio telescope. The area is more than 250,000 square meters, and it is composed of 4,450 reflecting panels, each panel weighing 450 pounds."

The receptionist in a white coat inside Tianyan led Lin Xian and Liu Feng

Walking into the corridor, he introduced to them:

"There are many small holes in these panels, which are permeable to water and light but not to waves. This is the working principle of the radio telescope—the receiver in the feed cabin receives the cosmic electromagnetic waves reflected by the huge mirror surface, and then analyzes and summarizes them, so as to infer the properties, distance, and other details of the observed object."

"Theoretically, the Guizhou Tianyan Radio Telescope can capture electromagnetic wave signals from 13 billion light-years away. To date, this telescope has discovered more than 500 pulsars, which is the best in the world."

The two followed the receptionist and entered the final laboratory and control room.

Liu Feng whispered to Lin Xian.

Guizhou Tianyan has a high precision, and they don't need to observe a distance of 13 billion light-years, because that is too far, and even if they find spacetime particles, they won't be able to capture them.

What's more...

"Spacetime particles must be very, very small, and the farther the distance, the more difficult it is to capture them. We can just observe the area within the near-Earth orbit."

Lin Xian knew that he was a layman and would not guide an expert.

So everything was left to Liu Feng to decide on his own:

"I'm waiting for your good news. I hope to hear your good news soon."

He shook hands with Liu Feng for the last time, left Guizhou, and returned to Donghai.

...

Autumn goes and winter comes.

This autumn passed quickly and peacefully.

It was so peaceful that Lin Xian felt a little unbelievable.

In the blink of an eye.

It was already December 2023.

It has been a year since I noticed the unusualness of the dream and the existence of the Genius Club.

He didn't idle during this time.

Rhine Company is gradually on the right track, and Wang-ge has also contacted capable factories and is manufacturing hafnium alloy safe deposit boxes.

Lin Xian also entered the dream at various times.

But...

Without exception.

He did not see the airship in the sky in the fourth dream as he wished.

Every time he entered the dream, the time he could look at the sky was very short, only a few tens of seconds, and then he would be stunned by an electric shock and handcuffed to a chair.

Therefore, Lin Xian was afraid of missing the time when the airship flew over and formulated a rigorous plan.

He would control the time he entered the dream every day.

Today at 12:42, tomorrow at 13:00, the day after tomorrow at about 13:10... In this way, he roughly controlled the time to enter the dream ten minutes later every day.

But the result was very disappointing.

He had been trying until 00:42, and he had not seen the Tyme Bank airship in the sky even when he entered the dream at the last time point, and he didn't even have time to see the mysterious old man.

Not even once.

This shows...

vv was right. The change of the spacetime butterfly effect in his dream is not real-time or sensitive.

If you think about it in a good direction, it means that vv's understanding of spacetime is wrong, and the spacetime law he understands that contains spacetime anchor points and spacetime elasticity is correct.

But...if you think about it in the worst direction.

Perhaps his dream is really a fake studio that is artificially controlled, artificially fabricated, and artificially simulated.

He can only see what the enemy 600 years later wants him to see.

What he sees is not real.

"Let's wait and see."

Lin Xian still did not give up the law of spacetime:

"Until those safe deposit boxes are built and Tyme Bank starts trial operation, this is not an irreversible anchor point."

...

In terms of verifying the identity of the mysterious old man.

Lin Xian would be confident and smile every time, and then call out a different name every day to see the old man's reaction.

"Jack Jones!"

The old man had no reaction.

"James Pete!"

The old man had no reaction either.

"Harry Potter!"

The old man opened his eyes wide, his eyes full of disbelief, as if looking at a fool.

"I'm sorry, I called it out smoothly. It's too difficult to pronounce foreign names."

Lin Xian smiled slightly:

"See you tomorrow, I'll test you again tomorrow."

*Boom!!!!*

In this way...

He tried many different names for the mysterious old man. Facts have proved that the old man, except for being particularly responsive to the name "Kevin Walker" and having his pupils shrink, obviously didn't care much about other names and didn't have any special reaction.

Lin Xian felt that this could be roughly determined—

This mysterious old man is Kevin Walker in 2023!

As long as he finds Kevin in 2023 now and gets rid of Kevin, he can save himself in the fourth dream and turn himself into an outlaw again to roam the fourth dream.

...

vv is also constantly iterating and evolving.

Lin Xian's most intuitive feeling is that vv has become smarter, more rational, and more...a drama queen and knows how to play memes better.

Sure enough, children always don't grow up in the direction that parents expect, and it is normal for them to grow crooked and take detours. Lin Xian has accepted it calmly.

I thought.

2023 will pass peacefully like this, and we will welcome New Year's Day in 2024.

But who would have thought...

On December 17, 2023, an unexpected and explosive news suddenly reported—

"Dragon Country's spaceplane launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and completed its first space flight!"

The shorter the news, the bigger the event.

This first flight did not reveal any useful information except for the words in the title.

Spaceplane model, launch time, purpose, picture, purpose... nothing was reported.

It is roughly equivalent to being too advanced to be displayed.

Because all of this was too sudden and without any warning or foreshadowing, Lin Xian also felt very surprised.

Before December 17, 2023...

The US X37B spaceplane is currently the only spaceplane in the world that has been put into use.

Yes.

The only one in the world.

Space-level monopoly.

But since that day, Dragon Country successfully broke the monopoly, and the test flight was successful, and it has its own spaceplane.

Lin Xian turned the pen in the office, looking at the few key words in this news.

Spaceplane...

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center...

The note left by Huang Que...

The spacetime particles Liu Feng is using Guizhou Tianyan to find...

Another year is coming to an end.

Recalling this time last year, the Rhine Cat was born out of nowhere, a fake Genius Club invitation was placed at the company's front desk, the hibernation cabin changed the world, and Professor Xu Yun died on the street in the snow...

This made Lin Xian have a feeling for no reason.

It seems that the unnatural calm during this period seems to be a sign of the coming storm.

*Pa da.*

Lin Xian, who had never made a mistake in turning the pen, slipped his hand for a while, and the ballpoint pen in his hand flicked out.

It hit the Rhine Cat doll on the table heavily.

The cute Rhine Cat was directly knocked off the table and fell to the ground...

"The big one is coming."

Lin Xian said softly.