That statue area was unlikely to offer any more clues, so Lin Xian decided to look around the plaza.

He started down the steps leading from the statue…

"Huh? A dead end?"

Lin Xian had assumed the steps would lead him from the statue's platform down to the plaza below.

But at the bottom of the steps was a tall electronic gate, separating the statue area from the rest of the plaza.

He realized why there were people strolling around the other parts of the plaza, but no one near the statue except for a trash-collecting robot.

The tall electronic gate made the statue's platform a restricted area.

He had only gotten in because he had fallen from the sky; normal visitors couldn't enter.

Lin Xian examined the tall gate, but couldn't find any opening mechanism or keypad. It seemed he couldn't leave this way.

But no matter, this wasn't a problem for him.

The trash robot had been thrown off the edge of the platform, and with his parkour skills, he could just climb down the wall.

He ran back to the edge of the platform, found the spot where the robot had been thrown, and carefully climbed and jumped down.

*Thump.*

After landing, Lin Xian looked at the scattered parts of the trash robot.

He suddenly thought…

If he wanted to return to the statue's platform, he'd have to go through the electronic gate.

He had already checked, and it was sealed shut.

So… how had the VV robot gotten through?

"Was there a special passage? Designed specifically for a trash robot?"

Lin Xian couldn't figure it out.

But he had already dismantled the VV robot, so it was too late to verify.

Leaving the statue area, Lin Xian walked across the plaza toward the main road.

The people in the plaza were dressed strangely, with all sorts of styles, absurd and free.

Looking closer…

Lin Xian was surprised to find that the residents of Sky City weren't wearing simple clothes, but rather a kind of fabric display screen!

He didn't know how to describe this high-tech product…

The clothes of many children changed colors and shapes, like a magical transformation.

The adults' clothes were more subdued, generally not changing color easily, but on closer inspection, many of their patterns were dynamic.

The patterns would move, not like swaying in the wind, but like playing a video, moving freely on the clothes.

Water patterns would have waves, plants would sway, and on clothes with cartoon characters, the characters would make faces and gestures… very magical.

So Lin Xian believed that their clothes must be made of some kind of high technology, a material that was as light as fabric, but could display various images like a computer screen, to easily change clothes.

"That's really convenient."

Lin Xian thought that if this technology existed in 2023, people wouldn't have to worry about what to wear every day.

Wearing these high-tech clothes would be like changing skins for a character in a game. You could change the color and pattern with a tap on your phone, or even set a dynamic loop like a screen saver, a kaleidoscopic Cardcaptor Sakura.

In the plaza, because everyone's clothing style was different and constantly changing, Lin Xian's simple short-sleeved shirt and long pants didn't seem out of place. His appearance didn't attract much attention.

This was indeed a free city, a city with a broad tolerance.

Leaving the plaza, Lin Xian arrived in the real Sky City.

Unlike the superficial prosperity of New East Sea City… the prosperity of Rhein Sky City was truly driven by technology changing life.

High and low, the sky was full of fast-moving vehicles and robots, operating in a complex but orderly manner. Almost all the buildings displayed different changing images, with serious light pollution and many seamless naked-eye 3D effects.

On the street, Lin Xian also saw "garbage disposal robots" that truly fit the Sky City aesthetic.

These robots were large and fast. When they flew by, you couldn't see how they worked… the garbage on the ground was automatically sucked into the garbage compartment.

Incomprehensible.

This was the real city of the future.

If you don't understand, that's right.

Lin Xian's existence in this city was like that of an ancient person from 600 years ago. Anything he could understand would not conform to the development of the times.

So…

This was very contradictory.

Wasn't the purpose of the Genius Club to suppress the development of human technology?

Lin Xian was puzzled.

He had always thought so.

From the stagnant technology in the first dream to the superficial technology in the second dream, he had always believed that the invisible hand of the Genius Club was suppressing human scientific development.

But now, the level of technology in Rhein Sky City had obviously exploded to an incredible level, with no signs of suppression.

Controllable nuclear fusion had also been achieved, and all kinds of high-tech elements were readily available.

If the purpose of the Genius Club was not simply to suppress technological development, but to use this as a smokescreen… then what was their real purpose?

"It's getting more and more confusing."

The only reason Lin Xian could think of was…

Could it be related to the universal constant 42?

Unfortunately, in the third dream, the Big-Faced Cat's father had died of radiation sickness when the Big-Faced Cat was young, and had no achievements in mathematics, so Lin Xian missed this convenient route to figure out what 42 really was.

After walking out of the plaza, Lin Xian saw a sign at the entrance, and learned that the plaza was called Rhein Memorial Plaza.

Whistling, vehicles, and flying were prohibited inside.

It seemed to be a place of high status, very solemn and respectful.

Since Zhao Yingjun was able to have a statue erected in this place, her status in Rhein Sky City must be very high.

What about himself?

He was clearly the founder and president of Rhein Corporation…

What happened during these 600 years?

If he wanted to figure out these things, the easiest way would be to find a bookstore and check the history… of course, if history could be found in this world, and if history had not been artificially fragmented.

Unfortunately, Lin Xian searched for a long time, and even asked passers-by, but couldn't find an open bookstore. Many passers-by looked confused:

"Bookstore? Does anyone still read books?"

In short, he didn't find a bookstore, but he did find a pharmacy.

After going inside and asking, they did have medicine to treat radiation sickness, but not much.

The clerk told Lin Xian that almost no one gets radiation sickness anymore. This immune antigen can be directly absorbed by infants through breast milk, and has even been added to milk powder.

The small amount of medicine they had was just for special situations, and it would probably expire before anyone bought it.

By wandering around the streets, Lin Xian really felt that the people in Rhein Sky City lived a relaxed and free life.

Even the public security was very Buddhist, completely different from the strict patrols in New East Sea City… at least an intruder like himself had not been suspected, questioned, or paid any extra attention, and had perfectly blended into the environment.

"Excuse me, if I want to learn more about the history of Rhein City, where should I go?"

Lin Xian felt that the female clerk in this pharmacy was easy to talk to and very chatty, so he asked her this question.

The female clerk replied without thinking:

"Then go to the Rhein Museum. There are a lot of materials there, and in the innermost part of the museum… there is also a personal exhibition hall for Ms. Zhao Yingjun, with many precious historical relics."

Speaking of Zhao Yingjun's name, a sincere respect appeared on the female clerk's face:

"Unfortunately, the museum is already closed. You can go during the day."

Zhao Yingjun's personal exhibition hall?

Good.

He had unlocked a new map and a new location.

Lin Xian believed that if Zhao Yingjun really left him any important information, it might be hidden in her personal exhibition hall at the museum.

In any case, it was necessary to go there and take a look.

As for the museum being closed at night… he would find a way to sneak in.

If he couldn't do it alone, he would call Big-Faced Cat and the others.

As long as he could accurately locate the gap in the air defense network next time, Big-Faced Cat and the others would definitely be willing to come with him.

In fact, Lin Xian understood now.

The truly terrifying thing about Rhein Sky City was the laser air defense network. Once you got in, there was no difficulty at all, and you could move freely.

Walking out of the pharmacy, Lin Xian looked at his watch. It was 00:40.

Today's time was wasted on wandering around to get familiar with the environment, but as his first time breaking into Sky City, the harvest was full.

"I'll come again tomorrow."

Lin Xian looked at his watch and then looked up at the sky.

Even though technology was so advanced… were humans still unaware of the cataclysm of 00:42?

This really made Lin Xian a little suspicious of his previous guesses.

What exactly was that strange and destructive white light?

Was it the Earth's own explosion?

Or an alien invasion?

Or some kind of dimensional disaster that human civilization couldn't understand?

"There is another possibility."

Lin Xian suddenly thought of movies like The Matrix.

Was it possible…

That this was not the real world, but a world artificially simulated to be the same as the real future, so real that it was completely indistinguishable, conforming to all physical laws and the laws of development… and 00:42 was just the time the server rebooted?

Lin Xian shook his head.

"I don't think it's very likely, but this question is easy to verify. Just wait for 2023, and the Tem Bank in reality will be established."

"At that time, I will store something in my safe deposit box at Tem Bank, and then find Tem Bank again in the dream, open my safe deposit box and check whether the contents are the same… and then I can naturally determine whether this dream is really related to reality."

Thinking of this, Lin Xian looked at his watch.

00:41:20

Still time to ask!

He quickly returned to the pharmacy and found the female clerk:

"Excuse me, I have another question to ask you. Do you know where Tem Bank is in the city?"

"Tem Bank?"

The female clerk shook her head:

"I've never heard of it. Let me check."

After the female clerk finished speaking, she stood still without making any movements. Lin Xian didn't know what she was using to search.

A chip in her brain? Or a visual computer integrated into her retina?

After about ten seconds, the female clerk shook her head again:

"I'm sorry, sir. There is no such bank in any district of Rhein Sky City."

Doesn't exist?

Lin Xian was quite surprised.

Tem Bank didn't exist?

What kind of unprecedented situation was this?

Lin Xian thought that Tem Bank and the safe deposit box with his name on it were as solid as the Big-Faced Cat, and that they would not disappear no matter how the space-time world changed!

And this time…

What kind of space-time change occurred that directly eliminated Tem Bank and the safe deposit box?

What made Lin Xian most uneasy was…

What about CC?

He had met CC in the previous two dreams because she would always come to East Sea to find the bearded man, that is, the safe deposit box left to her by VV, to find the truth that belonged to her.

But now, Tem Bank and the safe deposit box were gone.

Wouldn't that mean…

CC had also disappeared?

"What exactly is going on?"

Lin Xian blinked.

Before his eyes…

Hundreds of butterflies fluttering with blue stardust seemed to rise, their flapping wings stirred countless invisible air currents into chaos, disorder, and disarray.

Like a piano string, violently plucked by an external force.

In the end…

With a bang, it snapped.

Boom!!!!!!

Boom!!!!!!

Boom!!!!!!

The familiar and scorching white light arrived with a bang, burning the sky and the earth to ashes.

…

…

…

In a corner of the bedroom, Lin Xian opened his eyes on the bed.

He frowned and got up, looking at the clock on the bedside table—

00:42

"Why… doesn't Tem Bank exist?"

Lin Xian closed his eyes.

He couldn't think of the anchor point that triggered this space-time change.

The space-time butterfly effect was a chaotic system, just like the space-time law he had initially realized:

Space-time changes are uncontrollable.

It seemed…

That even from the perspective of the law of space-time, nothing was absolutely unchanging or absolutely undying.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change, which was still a matter of magnitude, a matter of elasticity.

That's right.

"Space-time elasticity."

Lin Xian recalled what Oriole had said, reminding him earnestly that the law of space-time elasticity was extremely important, almost containing the answers to all the mysteries.

But he still couldn't understand the deep meaning of this sentence, nor could he understand what deeper meaning this law had.

He also wanted to understand what Oriole said was extremely important, and where it was important.

"Elasticity… isn't it just a kind of space-time toughness? Tolerance within a certain range of change? What other meaning could there be?"

Lin Xian felt as if he was about to grasp some clues, but he was just one step away, unable to grasp that key point.

"Ah, go to bed early."

Lin Xian decided not to stay up late.

He opened his phone and looked at his schedule, and looked at the ticket information Liu Feng sent on WeChat:

"I have to go to the airport to pick up Liu Feng tomorrow morning."

"He said on WeChat that he has a new invention to show me…"

"What could it be?"