Chapter 1 Rhine Joint Laboratory

Donghai University, Rhine Joint Laboratory, second-floor corridor.

Lin Xian had just hung up Zhao Yingjun's inquiry call and walked into Liu Feng's laboratory.

Liu Feng looked up.

Seeing that it was Lin Xian, he casually asked,

"Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"My previous boss."

Lin Xian put away his phone and replied casually,

"Zhao Yingjun."

Liu Feng heard this name.

He began to compare it in the arithmetic sequence in his mind.

Zhao Yingjun.

Female president.

It seems that there is no such person here.

"I don't think I've met this person."

Liu Feng shook his head:

"Or, to be precise, this woman has never been to this laboratory."

Heh.

Lin Xian couldn't help but laugh:

"You're so silly from studying mathematics. Does every woman I know have to show up in the lab once?

"According to your theory, there should also be a teenage girl to complete your so-called arithmetic sequence, but have you seen one in so long?"

Liu Feng pondered for a while.

He nodded:

"But mathematics is so rigorous, the arithmetic sequence is absolute."

"Is this a math problem?" Lin Xian complained:

"The problem is, the other age groups are fine, but where am I going to find a teenage girl to bring over for you? Don't you think it's unrealistic?"

"Actually, this is a very dangerous topic. Don't dream about completing your arithmetic sequence. Your arithmetic sequence has come to an end, it's complete, and there won't be any teenage girls appearing in the lab."

Ring ring ring ring ring!

Suddenly, the phone rang, interrupting Lin Xian.

Why is it so busy all of a sudden?

He took out his phone and saw that the caller ID was Zhao Yingjun again.

Was there something he didn't finish saying just now?

Lin Xian directly pressed the answer button and put it to his ear:

"Hello, President Zhao?"

"Sorry, Lin Xian, I called right after hanging up."

Zhao Yingjun on the other end of the phone smiled apologetically and went straight to the point:

"My father brought it up again, about having dinner with you. You should remember, right? My parents have always been grateful for you saving me at the beginning of last year and want to have a meal with you to express their gratitude in person."

"You were busy a few days ago, are you free tonight? If you are, let's meet."

Lin Xian also reacted after hearing this.

Oh.

That's right.

He had experienced so much in the past few days, from being chased by time-space assassins to the reversal of the real and fake Yu Xi, and then to the sudden appearance of the Fifth Dream.

He was so busy that he forgot all the other trivial things in his life.

He had turned down the invitation from Zhao Yingjun's parents in order to meet with Jask. He was quite embarrassed that day. Her parents had made a special trip from the capital to thank him, but he had something to do and couldn't go.

Turning down an invitation once is nothing.

However, turning it down again and again would be a bit disrespectful to her parents, especially to Zhao Yingjun, and would make him seem insensible.

In any case, this meal had to be eaten sooner or later.

Lin Xian thought about it, and he didn't have any special plans for tonight.

According to his original plan.

He would definitely sleep at noon and sleep until dawn, and then follow the original script to join Face Village in his dream, open Gawain's safe, and study the notebook left by Gawain.

Then, he would postpone the dream by one day.

Anyway, it wouldn't take ten days or half a month to copy the notes on the theory of time-space travel and the construction of the time-space machine back to the real world.

One day later would be fine.

"Okay."

He agreed directly on the phone:

"I don't have anything to do tonight. If your parents are free too, then let's meet tonight. By the way, how about I book the restaurant? It's also to welcome the two elders from afar and wash away the dust."

"Hehe, how can that be?" Zhao Yingjun chuckled:

"I'll book the restaurant. You're the main character today, the guest. There's no reason for you to book the restaurant. After I book the restaurant, I'll send the address and room number to you, and also send a copy to the driver, Xiao Li. Let him take you directly there tonight."

"It's just, there's something I'm a little embarrassed about..."

Zhao Yingjun glanced at Yan Qiaoqiao, who was swinging her legs on the sofa and looking at her with her grandfather Zhao Ruihai.

She hesitated a few times before finally saying,

"If you don't mind, my parents will probably bring a teenage child with them to dinner tonight. It's a child from my mother's hometown, and my parents have been taking care of her recently."

"It's okay, bring her along."

Lin Xian smiled indifferently:

"Brother Wang also told me before that your parents brought a child from their hometown, and you even asked him about the parent-child restaurant."

"Since your parents are coming to dinner tonight, and there's no one at home to take care of the child, just bring her along. I definitely don't mind. Isn't it better to have more people?"

Zhao Yingjun recalled Yan Qiaoqiao's mischievousness and lack of manners.

She couldn't help but have a headache.

She sighed softly:

"It's good that you don't mind. You may not know, but these teenage girls are really noisy and troublesome."

"It's okay, it's really okay."

Lin Xian recalled the teenage girl who had torn his car door and turned the Alphard business car into a hornet's nest, and said leisurely:

"I've seen a lot of rebellious and troublesome teenage girls. I'm very tolerant now. As long as they don't tear car doors or crash down from the sky on motorcycles, they're all gentle and well-behaved in my eyes."

Lin Xian was telling the truth.

The two "Terminators," the real and fake Yu Xi, had directly raised Lin Xian's limit of tolerance for rebellious girls. He didn't think there would be any girls in the real world who were more difficult to deal with than the real and fake Yu Xi.

These two Yu Xi.

One was an agent in a spy movie, saying that she was doing it for his own good, but she was actually tricking everyone, including Jask, and almost succeeded in killing two and a half members of the Genius Club;

The other was a cold-blooded killer with a blank expression, extremely ruthless, who beheaded the fake Yu Xi in front of him and wanted to escort him into a hibernation pod for trial in the future.

In comparison.

How much trouble could the little girl that Zhao Yingjun's hometown brought be?

Compared to the real and fake Yu Xi.

Every little girl is an angel.

On the other end of the phone.

Zhao Yingjun was also amused by Lin Xian's words:

"Of course not. Besides movies and cartoons, there are no such violent little girls. It's good that you don't hate children, because many people around me, including me, are not very patient with children and easily get annoyed and have high blood pressure."

"Then there's nothing else, Lin Xian. See you tonight."

With that,

Zhao Yingjun hung up the phone.

She had always been so decisive, hanging up the phone every time so decisively.

Lin Xian also put down his phone.

He looked up and was met with Liu Feng's smug smile.

"What's up?"

Lin Xian couldn't figure out what Liu Feng was smug about.

"Hmph."

Liu Feng chuckled:

"I seem to have heard you talking about teenage girls."

"That's a relative of Zhao Yingjun's family."

Lin Xian said:

"It's not my relative. I don't know her. Do you still expect her to come to the lab to find me? In your eyes, I may indeed be very charming, but I don't think I can make a girl of that age like me. I even hope that this kind of thing doesn't happen."

"It's hard to say what kind of liking it is."

Liu Feng spread his hands:

"There are many kinds of liking, it doesn't have to be love."

"Respect, admiration, and reverence are all very normal emotions. In short, the appearance of a gun means that the gun will always fire."

"Lin Xian, I'm looking forward to when that teenage girl will come to the lab. At that time, my arithmetic sequence will be truly complete."

Lin Xian didn't think so:

"Then you just wait. If you can wait, I'll give you a win."

"Okay, stop arguing, I'm here to talk to you about serious business."

He stood up, walked to the experimental table in the middle, picked up the rectangular time-space clock, and looked at the reading on it.

0.0000042

Sure enough, no change.

Lin Xian had guessed this result after getting up this morning. After all, Liu Feng was very concerned about the time-space clock every day. The first thing he did when he got up was to observe the value on it.

He didn't receive a call from Liu Feng until he took a car to Donghai University. That meant that the value on the time-space clock had not changed for some reason.

Lin Xian pointed to 0.0000042 on the night scene dial and asked Liu Feng:

"Why hasn't the value on this changed?"

"Because the space-time curvature hasn't changed."

Liu Feng said calmly:

"I've already told you, the space-time clock itself is a device for detecting changes in space-time curvature. Only when the space-time butterfly effect occurs, the future space-time changes, and the world line shifts and leaps, will the space-time curvature change."

"Therefore, only in this case will the value displayed on the space-time clock change synchronously, and the magnitude of the space-time change and the degree of world line transition will be digitally reflected."

"Now that there is no change, it naturally means that the space-time butterfly effect has not occurred, the future space-time has not changed in any way, and we are still on the world line with a curvature of 0.0000042, without any deviation."

Lin Xian waved his hand:

"No, no."

He recalled the scene when he dug out safe number 1277 in the dream yesterday.

He saw it clearly at the time.

The font of the name engraved on the nameplate had indeed changed.

It had changed from a sharp font similar to Song typeface to Microsoft YaHei.

Although this space-time change was small.

But the change did happen!

Then the space-time curvature should have changed more or less, right?

Even if it was just a little bit

Even if it only changed from 0.0000042 to 0.0000043, that would be reasonable.

It was impossible to say that.

The space-time change had obviously occurred, and the details of the future world had also changed, but the space-time curvature had not changed at all, right?

This was logically unreasonable.

"Liu Feng, is there a problem with the accuracy of your space-time clock?"

Lin Xian raised his question, pointing to the last digit on the dial:

"This space-time clock can only detect up to 7 digits after the decimal point. What if the magnitude of the space-time curvature change is very small, very, very small? What if your crude space-time clock can't detect it?"

"That kind of thing won't happen."

Liu Feng walked over and pointed to the LCD dial:

"When I made the space-time clock, I used a full LCD dial, which means that although it looks like it can only display eight digits, it can actually display dozens, hundreds, or even hundreds of digits if necessary."

"Because this is a complete LCD screen. If you want, you can even watch movies and play games as long as you connect to the host. So, do you understand, Lin Xian? The kind of situation you're worried about won't happen."

"I can guarantee you that as long as there is a space-time change and the space-time curvature changes, no matter how small, my space-time clock can detect it, and then it can definitely display it according to the proportional magnitude."

"Even if the magnitude of the change is only 0.00000000001, the reading on the dial will become 0.00000042001. These are not big problems. I already considered this situation when I designed this space-time clock."

"Including the first digit at the very beginning."

Liu Feng moved his index finger forward and pointed to the only 0 to the left of the decimal point on the time-space clock, and continued:

"Only one digit is displayed before the decimal point. What if the magnitude of the space-time change is very large, directly breaking through the sky and reaching hundreds of thousands or millions? Will my space-time clock just crash? Of course not. How could I make such a low-level mistake?"

I see.

Lin Xian understood.

The number of digits displayed on the space-time clock could be automatically adjusted according to the value, so there was no need to worry about accuracy.

That was even more of a problem.

"It's like this, Liu Feng."

Lin Xian explained:

"Don't doubt what I'm going to say next. Just take what I say as true, and then reason and analyze on this premise."

"First of all, I'm very sure that the space-time butterfly effect and the space-time change have indeed occurred. And it happened after the last time-space clock reading became 0.0000042. So, theoretically speaking, the space-time curvature will definitely change, but your time-space clock didn't detect it."

"Secondly, the magnitude of this space-time change is very small, almost without any impact on the future development trend and the trajectory of the world line. Of course, I'm just saying almost. I can't estimate how big it actually is, but it must be there, it must be there, it's just that the magnitude of the change is relatively small."

"So, let's reason about it."

"Why did the space-time change obviously occur, but the space-time curvature didn't change, and the world line didn't leap or deviate?"

Lin Xian's question also triggered Liu Feng's thinking.

He didn't doubt what Lin Xian said.

Because the other party had no need to lie and deceive him.

Therefore.

Liu Feng also accepted the fact that "a small space-time change had indeed occurred" and began to think on this basis.

For a time.

The huge laboratory was silent.

Both of them were deep in thought.

The only sounds that could be heard were the birds chirping in the trees outside the window and the sound of the end-of-class bell from the teaching building in the distance.

Lin Xian closed his eyes.

He began to think about the clues he had missed.

For things like this, if it exists, it is reasonable, which means that it must conform to the laws of space-time.

The laws of space-time.

Lin Xian began to swipe through the laws he had already understood in his mind one by one.

The space-time butterfly effect, space-time change, change anchor point, space-time elasticity, space-time

"Wait a minute."

Lin Xian suddenly opened his eyes.

He recalled his summary of the law of space-time elasticity when he first realized the laws of space-time two years ago.

Space-time elasticity: Space-time itself has a certain degree of elasticity. Not every space-time butterfly effect will cause a space-time change. It is necessary to accumulate a certain degree of change or a sufficiently strong real-world change to break through space-time elasticity and affect the future world.

Now it seems.

This summary of the law is not complete!

He thought of a new way of understanding it.

It's like.

There's a spring in front of you.

If you only use a little force to make it change by a small amount, it will always return to its original state one day.

Whenever you remove the force from your hand, the spring will return to its original state. This is called elasticity!

So, for space-time, how should this elasticity be understood?

Lin Xian tried to summarize it.

Perhaps, just like a small butterfly effect that cannot cause a visible space-time change, a small space-time change is like touching a spring lightly, which is not enough to cause a qualitative deformation. At the same time, it also allows the spring to still have the possibility of being restored and repaired.

Then.

How can you make the spring undergo an irreversible, unrecoverable change?

Everyone knows the answer.

Great power creates miracles!

As long as you use enough force to pull the spring, twist the spring, and break the spring, you can make the spring completely lose its elasticity and never be able to return to its original state.

Perhaps, this is the real explanation for the irreversible anchor point.

By the same token.

Space-time elasticity is the same

Only a sufficiently large space-time change can truly break through space-time elasticity, causing irreversible, unrecoverable changes in the future world; in turn, causing the space-time curvature to change and the space-time world line to shift and leap.

"I see."

Lin Xian suddenly realized, feeling enlightened.

"I understand."

Lin Xian looked up at Liu Feng:

"I understand, Liu Feng, this is the real space-time elasticity!"

He stood up and paced around the lab:

"Small space-time changes have the possibility of being repaired and restored, so they cannot directly cause changes in space-time curvature. Simply put, space-time and history are springs with elasticity."

"If the force used to move it is small, it will always return to its original state at some point. We don't know this principle for the time being. Perhaps space-time and history themselves have a certain degree of repairability, just as the ocean can self-purify. Perhaps space-time itself also has a certain degree of self-repair and self-correction function."

"But we're not considering these things now. We're understanding it in a simple way. I completely understand when the value of the time-space clock will change."

"Only when space-time elasticity is broken through, space-time changes accumulate to a certain value, completely subverting the future world, and causing the world line to shift and leap, will the value of the time-space clock change!"

"And each change in magnitude is probably the tolerance limit of space-time elasticity! At the same time, it's also the dividing point of each space-time coordinate!"

Liu Feng listened to Lin Xian's speculation with a serious expression, his mind racing.

This was a very bold theory.

Could it be that, as Lin Xian said

After the space-time curvature is digitized, can the limit and boundary of space-time elasticity also be digitized?

This wasn't necessarily impossible!

He had also long believed that the concept of space-time elasticity was very important and profound, and there were many places to dig deeper and deepen understanding.

If space-time itself is compared to a spring.

Then Lin Xian's assumption was completely reasonable, and theoretically self-consistent!

"But."

Liu Feng scratched his head:

"Now, your theory is just a guess. To really verify it, we have to wait for the value of the space-time clock to change again before we can draw a further conclusion."

"If the next change in value is indeed regular, and the magnitude of the change is the same as or multiplies the first one, it can prove that your reasoning is correct."

Lin Xian nodded:

"That's right."

"From now on, we can really get a lot of information and knowledge when the next change in space-time curvature occurs."

"We can not only master the changing laws of space-time coordinates, but also learn about the limit and tolerance of space-time elasticity, and even crack some of the basic theories of the world line."

"No wonder the Oriole said from the beginning that the space-time elasticity law was very important. I really didn't expect that even now, two years later, I could still learn knowledge points from this space-time law."

He went back again, to the experimental table in the middle of the lab, and patted the white, square, and unremarkable time-space clock:

"Then now we can only wait for the value of the time-space clock to change again."

"But when will it change?"

Liu Feng tilted his head:

"This change is completely uncontrollable, right? We can only rely on luck."

"No."

Lin Xian shook his head.

He thought of Gawain's safe, and the invention on Gawain's posthumous notebook that was enough to subvert the world again.

The time-space machine.

If he copied that technological crystallization far beyond the era back to the real world again, it would definitely trigger another huge space-time change, using a crazy tornado to sweep, destroy, and reconstruct the future world.

The Fifth Dream would inevitably become the Sixth Dream.

At that time, the value on the time-space clock would definitely change for the second time.

Lin Xian would certainly not listen to Gawain's words and publish the theory and construction of the time-space machine to the world.

This itself was not a product of the current era.

It was enough for him to hold it in his hands.

He didn't know when this thing could be really made, but for his own safety and the stability of the current time-space.

Lin Xian wouldn't let anyone have a time-space machine before him.

The world's first time machine, time-space machine, must be in his hands!

Then.

The primary premise was.

His lab must have the ability to develop and build this kind of advanced technological product.

"Liu Feng, you should study space-time particles more in the future."

Lin Xian pointed to the small refrigerator that Jask had given him on the experimental table in the corner:

"The possibility of space-time travel and time-space machines depends on space-time particles. For the next step in the future, I plan to build a time-space machine. In order to keep it secret, it must still be completed in this kind of private lab."

"I know that you don't have enough manpower now. I will try to find a way to get you a few more assistants. But for now, you are the person I trust most, and you are also the partner I can rest assured. So if possible, I still hope that the future time-space machine project can be led by you."

"Nowadays, there are very few people in this world who know more about space-time particles than you. On this point, you undoubtedly have an advantage. I'll tell you the details after I get enough information. In short, I hope that in addition to studying the cosmic constant, you will put more energy into studying space-time particles, studying the theory and application of space-time travel."

Words are not shocking and endless.

Liu Feng looked at his generous yet often imaginative slacker gold owner with a shocked expression.

He really always liked to give himself difficult problems.

First the cosmic constant.

Then the space-time particles.

Then the space-time coordinates.

Then that sad portrait of Einstein that has not been broken through so far.

Now

Something even more outrageous had come.

He was even asking himself to study the time-space machine!

But.

After the instinctive shock, Liu Feng also understood Lin Xian's thoughts.

Since the Oriole, that elusive woman, was a time-space traveler.

If it exists, it is reasonable.

That meant that time-space travel was feasible!

The theory was self-consistent!

The time-space machine was also a fact that existed and could be made by humans!

He couldn't help but start imagining

If humans could really ride a time-space machine back to the past, what could they do?

They could meet those deceased old friends.

They could make up for those missed and lost regrets.

They could personally experience the magnificent and great history.

They could also be like the Oriole, influencing the future of humanity within the allowed range of elasticity!

Cool.

Too cool!

Liu Feng felt a little excited!

"No problem."

He agreed readily:

"I will study hard."

Lin Xian looked at his watch.

Although he hadn't been here for too long, it was time to leave:

"Then I'll go first. I won't disturb your research."

"Ah?"

Liu Feng was stunned:

"Are you leaving so soon? You haven't been here for ten minutes."

"There's no way."

Lin Xian smiled and spread his hands:

"Tonight is a very important dinner party, I have to prepare in advance, right?"

"Zhao Yingjun's parents have come from afar, and they invited me under the guise of gratitude. If I go empty-handed, it would be too impolite."

"Anyway, Donghai is not too far from Hangzhou. I plan to contact an old classmate from Hangzhou and ask him to prepare some high-quality West Lake Longjing tea, and then have Xiao Li drive it back. It will be in time before dinner tonight."

"Her parents are high-ranking and lack nothing, so whatever I give them as a meeting gift is not as good as the so-called local specialty. This thing, local specialty, can be given on any occasion."

With that,

He waved his hand and left the lab:

"I'm leaving, Liu Feng."

"I hope to see the time-space clock reading change soon, and I also hope to be able to soon."

"Have our own time-space machine."

That night, at six o'clock in the evening, in the suburbs of Donghai, a luxurious villa.

Zhao Ruihai was wearing a suit, and Yan Mei had changed into her carefully prepared cheongsam.

The two of them had dressed up carefully.

They were preparing to go out for dinner.

After all, they wanted to thank Lin Xian, so they had to be sincere and show their respect and etiquette in their attire.

Speaking of etiquette.

The old couple looked at Yan Qiaoqiao, who was watching TV on the sofa, with slight worry.

Would this granddaughter make a fool of herself in front of Lin Xian?

Of course, they knew that Yan Qiaoqiao was not obedient and sensible now, mainly because of her amnesia. She simply didn't know what was right and wrong or what she could and couldn't do. They couldn't blame her for that.

"Or, let's not take Qiaoqiao with us?"

Yan Mei suggested:

"What if Qiaoqiao messes around and ruins the scene? Wouldn't that make us seem uneducated and ill-mannered, making Lin Xian laugh at us?"

Zhao Ruihai thought about it carefully, and it was true.

So he walked to the sofa, touched Yan Qiaoqiao's head, and said with a smile:

"Qiaoqiao, Grandpa and Grandma are going out for dinner. Can you stay at home and watch TV? We'll bring you something delicious when we come back."

Yan Qiaoqiao turned her head, extracting keywords:

"Eat."

"Yes, yes."

Zhao Ruihai nodded:

"We're going out to eat, but the occasion is more formal. Can you wait for us at home?"

However

Yan Qiaoqiao resolutely shook her head.

Her eyes were serious:

"Want to go."

"Eat meat!"

Zhao Ruihai and Yan Mei looked at each other.

They smiled helplessly.

Never mind.

Granddaughter was the most important thing.

Yan Qiaoqiao was in a special period of amnesia, so they should just let her do whatever she wanted.

"Okay."

Zhao Ruihai took Yan Qiaoqiao's hand and pulled her up from the sofa:

"Let's go! Grandpa will take you to eat meat! I'll satisfy you no matter how much you eat!"

At the same time.

In the urban area of Donghai, in the entrance hall of Zhao Yingjun's residential complex.

Zhao Yingjun had dressed up completely.

Neat and bright.

She was sitting next to the shoe cabinet, taking off her slippers and putting on high heels.

"Woof!"

The Pomeranian dog, VV, stood up straight with bright eyes.

Zhao Yingjun looked at it:

"Do you want to come with me for dinner?"

"Woof!"

VV's eyes were serious.

"Hehe, forget it."

Zhao Yingjun chuckled:

"It's your good luck that you didn't become dog meat soup last time. In the future, you should stay away from Yan Qiaoqiao when you're not doing anything. It's too dangerous to be by her side."

"The way her grandparents dote on her, I'm really worried that when I see you again, you'll really be on the table, picked up with chopsticks."

The dandelion-like Pomeranian dog shook its head firmly:

"Woof woof! VV!"

Hearing this familiar groan.

Zhao Yingjun understood.

VV didn't necessarily want to go to dinner, but wanted to see Lin Xian at the dinner party.

"VV, do you want to see Lin Xian?"

"VV!"

The Pomeranian dog, VV, made a cheerful sound.

"Um."

Zhao Yingjun thought for a while.

Indeed.

Lin Xian hadn't been home for many days, and VV hadn't seen Lin Xian for a long time.

VV's mood had been so good during this time, all thanks to Lin Xian's comfort at the beginning.

Now

Let VV do as it wanted, lest it get depressed again.

"Okay."

She put on her high heels, stood up, put her arm around VV, held it in her arms, pressed the elevator button, and couldn't help but laugh:

"It's ridiculous, this time eating with Lin Xian can really be said to be."

"The whole family is mobilized."