Chapter 112 Zheng Xiangyue

Hearing CC call out his name, Lin Xian was slightly stunned.

He vaguely remembered...

When he met CC in the Second Dream, she only thought he looked familiar, like she'd seen him in memory fragments. At that time, she didn't know his name, and didn't even believe he was called Lin Xian, even retorting, "Why don't you say your name is Vault?"

Indeed.

Even though Lin Xian had met CC many times and had many stories in the First Dream, he didn't introduce himself every time, nor did they always cooperate amicably.

In the Second Dream, CC only had fragments of memories from the First Dream, specifically the unprecedented cooperation with the four members of the Face Gang, using an oxyacetylene torch to cut open the hafnium alloy safe.

He and CC exchanged information then, but he didn't tell her his name was Lin Xian.

Therefore...

When the two met again in the Second Dream, CC naturally wouldn't know Lin Xian's name.

However, in the Second Dream, CC became Lin Xian's main teammate.

To persuade her to sneak into New Donghai City with him, Lin Xian had to painstakingly repeat a lengthy thesis every time they met, in order to convince CC to believe him.

So...

Now that CC called out his name so easily...

Could it be said...

*Whoosh!*

Another cold club swung over, Da Lianmao (Big Face Cat) striking viciously!

Immediately after, Er Zhuzi's (Second Pillar's) red-tasseled spear also turned, its tip stabbing over, his voice shrill: "Boss! These two know each other! They're definitely in cahoots!"

"Chop him down!"

Da Lianmao commanded the troops: "Chop them all up!"

With that, A Zhuang, Er Zhuzi, San Pang (Third Fatty), and those former teammates charged over with their weapons.

"Lin Xian, run!"

CC wasn't awkward at all with Lin Xian. She pounced over like a cat, grabbed Lin Xian's arm, and ran towards the nearby woods.

"Don't... don't move!"

At this moment, Grandpa Wei Shengjin suddenly jumped out from behind a tree.

His hands trembled as he held a pistol, aiming left and right.

The scene was so chaotic that he didn't know who to aim at.

"Huh?"

Da Lianmao frowned, staring at the thing in Wei Shengjin's hand, unafraid: "What's that broken thing? Trying to scare someone, you old geezer!"

Clearly...

Da Lianmao didn't recognize the pistol.

With Earth's current industrial level, it certainly couldn't produce pistols.

Even if a pistol could be dug up from underground, after one or two hundred years, it would surely be rusted and unusable.

So, it's no wonder Da Lianmao didn't recognize such a delicate weapon, and naturally didn't know its power. Ignorance is bliss.

Da Lianmao's reaction, on the other hand, confused Wei Shengjin.

The greatest use of a pistol is deterrence, not actual shooting; especially for Wei Shengjin, who came to Earth to find his youthful dreams and never thought of killing anyone.

But the other party was illiterate! He couldn't scare him!

"Grandpa Wei, give me the gun."

Lin Xian and CC ran to Wei Shengjin's side, took the gun from Wei Shengjin's trembling hands, and suddenly felt divinely blessed, turning around sharply.

His movements were completely invisible...

*Bang, bang, bang, bang!*

Four shots rang out instantly, the deafening sound leaving Da Lianmao and Er Zhuzi dumbfounded, not knowing what had happened.

But then, they were shocked to find:

"Er Zhuzi! Where's your spearhead!" "Boss, how come I'm only left with a knife handle!" "I don't think this is going well!"

The exclamations of his underlings made Da Lianmao look at the club in his hand again, only to find that it had exploded in the middle, leaving only a small section in his hand.

He couldn't help but gasp.

If that...

If that hit someone's head, wouldn't it directly explode!?

How could that small, black thing have such great power?

He had seen similar weapons before, very precious, called gunpowder guns, completely enclosed, isolated inside and out.

At the village entrance, there was a double wooden door, now wide open.

Many children were running inside and outside the village. There were no lights in the village, only a few oil lamps and candles, and a few burning bonfires.

"How truly heartwarming..."

Wei Shengjin sighed: "Such a leisurely scene certainly can't be seen on Mars, where every inch of land is precious."

The three crossed the river and continued towards the village entrance.

Along the way, Lin Xian observed that a large area of the riverbank and the edge of the village had been cultivated into farmland, planted with various crops and vegetables; from afar, he could see sheds inside and outside the village, indicating that animals were also raised.

In terms of production capacity, self-sufficiency was not a problem at all.

Reaching the village gate, Lin Xian looked at the pattern carved on the gate...

"It really is a Rhine Cat."

This was truly the episode with the highest historical status for the Rhine Cat.

On the two wooden doors, a simple line drawing of a Rhine Cat was carved on each side, like door gods.

The two Rhine Cat drawings were no different, almost identical.

Lin Xian stepped forward, stroking the carvings on the door, stroking the Rhine Cat that had crossed 600 years again: "Logically speaking, after such a major disaster, so many years of war, civilization discontinuity, and historical fragmentation on Earth, such an insignificant toy as the Rhine Cat certainly wouldn't have survived."

"I estimate that this Rhine Cat, as Teacher Wei said, was brought from Mars together with that Village Chief Grandmother."

"Perhaps."

CC waved her hand, beckoning the two to go inside: "I'll take you to see that Village Chief Grandmother first. She'll definitely welcome you. Don't be reserved."

Lin Xian and Wei Shengjin exchanged glances and nodded.

Since they had come to someone else's village, they had to greet the village chief.

The three went together to the stone brick house in the middle of the village. Before they got close, they heard the children's chattering voices: "Village Chief Grandmother! These arithmetic problems are so difficult. Isn't it enough to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division? Why do we have to learn such complicated arithmetic? We don't use it in life at all!"

"Hehe, you can't learn it because you're too stupid! How come we can learn it! Village Chief Grandmother, please teach me more about equations! I'm very interested! Ignore that idiot!"

Listening to the children's laughter, the three came to the front of the stone brick house and looked inside through the open door.

Sure enough, there was a kind and gentle old grandmother.

She rubbed the head of the little girl who liked to learn about "equations" and said softly: "Xiao Yu, it's good to be studious, and it's good to be smart, but you must also respect everyone in this world. This is what I often tell you. Specialization in a field, priority in learning. There are many ways to contribute to society, to the world, to the Earth, and it's not just limited to learning."

"Xiao Ming, although he's not as smart as you, he's good at making handicrafts, parts, tools, and the like, so don't call friends idiots in the future. The wonderful development of a world requires both theorists and practical engineers. Neither is dispensable."

Having said that...

She looked up again, smiling at the little boy who was pouting and blushing: "Xiao Ming, as you said, learning addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is enough to deal with most, even all, of the difficulties in life. But if generation after generation is always satisfied with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, when will they be able to understand more profound and beautiful mathematical formulas and mathematical knowledge?"

"Arithmetic is certainly far from life, but the foundation of all scientific buildings is mathematics. I know you prefer assembling,改造 (gǎizào - modifying), and practicing to boring theories, but you must remember what Grandma says: without advanced theoretical support, all practical disciplines have an upper limit; and if the most basic academic foundation is not laid well, a theoretical building will never be brewed."

"One only hates to have read too little when the time comes to use knowledge..."

The old grandmother touched the little boy's face and continued: "When I first came here more than twenty years ago, your father was only your age. At that time, they didn't know anything and lived a life similar to primitive people. Without medicine, not knowing how to treat wounds, many people died before they reached their forties or fifties."

"Then I started teaching them to cultivate fields, make ironware,烧陶瓷 (shāo tàocí - fire ceramics), and identify herbs. So you see, now you can live a relatively worry-free and happy life because knowledge has changed the destiny of the people in this village."

"It is said that in many of the more developed big cities on Earth, smelting, forging, and textile technologies are very mature, and the quality and level of life are also rising steadily. Grandma also wants you to live that kind of life, and only knowledge can change all of this."

"If you learn equations, you can understand physics knowledge in the future, and maybe you can become a scientist or engineer; isn't that your dream? Keep up the good work, Xiao Ming. You're very smart. Don't waste such a good talent. The reason I leave you two behind for classes every night is because you two are the smartest children in the village. If one day Rhine Village can become strong and make a contribution to this world, it will definitely be through you two."

The words of the Village Chief Grandmother ignited a light in the eyes of the two children, reflecting the only lamp in the house, a pig oil lamp, and they nodded emphatically.

"Alright, that's all for today's study. Go back and rest."

The Village Chief Grandmother had obviously seen the three people waiting outside the door and dismissed the two children early.

Then...

CC led Lin Xian and Wei Shengjin into the stone brick house and introduced them to the Village Chief Grandmother: "Grandma, I met these two in the forest outside. I had a dispute with those people from Face Village, and these two protected me and rescued me."

The Village Chief Grandmother smiled and nodded to the two: "Then I really thank you two. Welcome to Rhine Village. Don't be strangers, just treat this place as your own home. You can stay as long as you want, and if you're willing, you're even welcome to join the Rhine Village family."

"Village Chief, hello."

Wei Shengjin took the initiative to introduce himself: "I also came from Mars on the Earth-Mars cosmic bus. My name is Wei Shengjin, and I'm a university teacher on Mars. I have to say, I'm very touched by your story, Village Chief. You are truly a kind and loving person."

"I often see great figures like rural teachers and volunteer teachers in some ancient books. I never had any real feeling before, and I couldn't appreciate how arduous and great this behavior was. But now, I deeply realize that you are such a great person, willing to leave a happy life on Mars and come to backward Earth to help the people here. I admire you very much."

The Village Chief Grandmother smiled calmly: "It's not a big deal. Rather, my ability is not enough to support me in doing anything great, so I can only come to Earth and let the ink in my stomach have a chance to play a role."

"So it's not a matter of greatness. I'm just trying to do what I can, help others more, and give more love."

"By the way, Teacher Wei, what is your purpose in running thousands of miles to Earth?"

Afterward...

Wei Shengjin told the Village Chief Grandmother about his search for the hafnium alloy safe.

The Village Chief Grandmother turned her head and glanced at CC, suddenly realizing: "So that's how it is. It turns out you've gathered here to find your own safes. I understand you very well, because I also came from the old era through hibernation. After waking up, hundreds of years have passed, and my brain is blank. I don't even know who I am."

"I also want to know what kind of life I lived before, what I was thinking, and what kind of experiences I had. But there's no way. Lost memories are not so easy to retrieve. Even if you see the items stored in the safe, you probably won't remember what you were thinking when you put them in."

"Of course, I still wish you can find your safes as soon as possible. This CC girl is the same. She came for the safe. The reason she had a conflict with the people from Face Village today is because I told her that the people in Face Village had dug up a shiny silver safe a long time ago, which should be what you're looking for."

Lin Xian and Wei Shengjin raised their heads and looked at CC: "Why didn't you tell me just now?" "Little girl, did you see the number and name on the safe?"

CC looked at Lin Xian and explained: "Because it's meaningless. It's not your safe at all. What's the point of saying it? Just like the one you dug out of the soil this afternoon, you threw it away without any interest, right?"

When Wei Shengjin heard that it wasn't his name, his straightened back bent down again.

Indeed.

He wasn't interested in safes that weren't his. What was the use even if there was a pile of gold and silver jewelry inside? He didn't care at all.

"Whose is it?"

Lin Xian continued to ask: "What's the number?"

This question was very important to him.

If...

The number was within 200...

Then in the Taimu Bank warehouse in 2024, he could locate the specific safe!

The following things would be easy.

He could directly transfer the rice cooker containing the space-time particles and the small note from Safe No. 66 to the safe in Face Village, and then reset a password for himself.

This would directly solve all the problems.

First of all, he could see the small note as he wished;

Secondly, CC could also open the so-called Lin Xian's safe, it was just a change of location, the things were the same;

Finally, and most importantly, he could use this safe that had crossed 600 years to achieve定向 (dìngxiàng - directional) transfer of materials from the past to the future, like adding wings to a tiger!

"Safe number 424."

CC's words made Lin Xian's heart half cold.

"The name is..."

CC thought for a while: "Gao Wen, Gao as in tall, Wen as in literature."

Huh?

Hearing this familiar name, Lin Xian's heart, which was half cold, instantly warmed up again.

Gao Wen.

Academician Gao Wen.

Wasn't that the original author of the hibernation pod filling fluid that Professor Xu Yun copied资料 (zīliào - data) from in the First Dream?

Lin Xian remembered clearly.

At first, the hibernation pod filling fluid was invented by Dr. Mike of the United States in 2477.

Subsequently, the butterfly effect of time and space occurred, and the father of hibernation became Academician Gao Wen of Dragon Kingdom, who successfully invented it around 2200.

He just copied Academician Gao Wen's works back to Professor Xu Yun, so that Xu Yun became the new father of hibernation.

He thought that Academician Gao Wen would live in Xu Yun's shadow from then on, be泯然于人海 (mǐnrán yú rénhǎi - fade into the crowd), and never break through again, and he would never hear this name again.

But he never expected it!

He actually saw Gao Wen's safe in such a tortuous, magical, and incredible situation!

Although, it may be the same name, this Gao Wen is not that Gao Wen.

But who knows?

Since Grandpa Wei Shengjin could appear in front of him, why couldn't the hafnium alloy safe dug up in Face Village be the famous Academician Gao Wen's?

"Gao Wen."

Lin Xian secretly念叨 (niàndao - muttered) this name.

He didn't know what he would put in the safe.

Could it be research data?

If so, maybe he could copy it back to 2024 again!

His Rhine Company now urgently needs to become bigger and stronger, and he also urgently wants to have the powerful strength of Copernicus and Jask.

Before, he was worried about being exposed and being killed by the Seven Deadly Sins, so he didn't dare to use the copied scientific and technological achievements himself.

But now, he can't care so much!

Copernicus had already sent "Terminators" from the future world to kill him, and the Genius Club didn't seem as evil as he thought.

In short...

Now that he was about to join the Genius Club, he still had to improve his hard power.

Truth is only within range, and dignity is only on the edge of the sword.

Backwardness invites aggression.

Lin Xian had already decided to become stronger.

Then, under this premise, the things left in Gao Wen's safe might be a huge treasure of technology!

"It's really possible."

The more he thought about it, the more reliable it seemed.

In the movie *Goodbye Mr. Loser*, the protagonist Xia Luo traveled back to the past and sang all the songs of the famous 天王 (tiānwáng - Heavenly King) singer Zhou Tianwang, leaving Zhou Tianwang with no songs to sing.

But did Zhou Tianwang sink from this?

No.

The Heavenly King was still the Heavenly King, though late, but eventually he became popular all over the world with his songs.

The same is true for Gao Wen.

A genius is still a genius!

Not only will he not live in the shadow of Professor Xu Yun, but he may achieve greater achievements in other fields, or stand on Professor Xu Yun's shoulders and develop more powerful hibernation technology products.

"It seems that it's really necessary to take a gamble and see if I can open Gao Wen's safe and see what's inside."

Seeing that none of the three people in front of her were speaking, the Village Chief Grandmother turned her head to Lin Xian: "Then is this young man also from Mars? Young man, are you Teacher Wei's student? Did you come here with him to find the safe?"

"Ah no, he's not."

CC introduced first: "He's my friend. We also met here by chance. He's not from Mars. He's a native Earthling. His name is Lin Xian."

Lin Xian was about to politely say hello.

But suddenly!

The Village Chief Grandmother's eyes widened, she took a deep breath, and straightened her body instantly: "You..."

She even stood up directly, walked quickly to Lin Xian, and grabbed his hands: "You, your name is Lin Xian? Lin as in forest, Xian as in zither string!?"

"Ah, yes, yes, Grandma."

This excited reaction left Lin Xian and CC丈二和尚摸不着头脑 (zhàng'èr héshang mōbuzháo tóunǎo - completely baffled), and Lin Xian could only answer mechanically: "What's wrong, Village Chief Grandmother? Do you know me?"

The Village Chief Grandmother shook her head: "I certainly don't know you, but..."

She walked back into the house, walked to the wooden bedside, and opened a delicate small iron box.

Earth's current level of craftsmanship certainly couldn't make this.

Needless to say.

This small box must have been brought from Mars by her more than twenty years ago.

Her trembling hands searched through it, and finally, she took out a plastic sheet.

It was a plastic sheet with a small piece of paper塑封 (sùfēng - laminated) inside. This kind of lamination technology can allow the paper to be preserved for a long time without being weathered or腐化 (fǔhuà - corroded).

The Village Chief Grandmother walked over and handed the laminated piece of paper to Lin Xian.

Lin Xian took it and moved closer to the only light in the stone brick house, the pig oil lamp, and looked at the contents on the small piece of paper...

Things to do after waking up from hibernation!

1. Bury brother on the moon.
2. Repay Brother Lin Xian well.
3. Be a kind and loving person.

Instantly.

Lin Xian felt like a firework exploded in his mind.

His eyes widened.

Looking at the equally shocked centenarian grandmother in front of him: "You... you are?"

The old grandmother nodded茫然 (mángrán - blankly): "Didn't CC tell you? My name is..."

"Zheng, Xiang, Yue."