Chapter 2 The Next Day

The next day, morning.

Lin Xian rode in a business car to the airport.

This business car was provided to him by Rhine Company, as was the driver.

This was all Brother Wang's idea:

"Whether you come to work or not, whether you're a hands-off boss or not, when you go out, you are always the president of Rhine Company, representing the company's image. A dedicated car and driver are a must. You are our company's business card."

Brother Wang originally planned to equip Lin Xian with a world-class top-of-the-line business car, but Lin Xian refused.

The shot hits the bird that sticks its head out, so why be so high-profile?

Besides, Rhine Company is not yet on the right track. It hasn't even developed any business other than Rhine Cat... it is mainly still in cooperation with MX Company, jointly developing the Rhine series of branded products.

What's more, his company's 4 billion yuan in capital was given to him by Zhao Yingjun and Chu Shanhe under the guise of equity participation. How could he be so embarrassed to drive a world-class vehicle when the company hasn't even taken off yet?

"An ordinary one will do."

Lin Xian told Brother Wang:

"I think President Zhao's is pretty good. It's quite comfortable to sit in."

"C-Comfortable to sit in!?" Brother Wang exclaimed!

Sigh.

Lin Xian sighed:

"Brother Wang, you're already the vice president, can you be a little more serious? Don't fill your head with dirty jokes all day long. You say I'm the company's image, doesn't that mean you, the only vice president, is also the company's image? You should also pay attention to yourself."

In the end, Brother Wang equipped Lin Xian with the same business car as Zhao Yingjun as his dedicated car.

On the airport expressway.

This business car drove very smoothly, with good shock absorption and sound insulation. No wonder Zhao Yingjun loved this model so much.

Lin Xian sat in the soft seat, closed his eyes to rest, and was still thinking about the questions in his dream yesterday.

He also figured it out.

He couldn't just deny the existence of Tyme Bank in the third dream just because of a female clerk's words.

Just because it couldn't be found didn't mean those safe deposit boxes had disappeared.

What if Tyme Bank had been merged, acquired, or reorganized?

That wouldn't be unusual.

Since Tyme Bank in the second dream could go bankrupt, it might be taken over and rebranded by someone else in the third dream. It was very likely that the safe deposit boxes with his name on them were stored in some bank's warehouse, but he just didn't know the name.

Moreover, there was another possibility—

Tyme Bank was indeed not in Rhine Sky City, but it might be in the old Donghai on the surface!

Because there was no New Donghai City in the third dream, so Donghai was not divided into new and old, and was collectively called Donghai, which was where Big Face Cat and Li Ningning lived.

Lin Xian hadn't explored the surface area, so maybe Tyme Bank was in some corner of the surface.

Therefore, it was too early to say that CC had disappeared and couldn't be met.

Lin Xian had a feeling that CC wouldn't disappear so easily.

Her physique was so special, and she could also possess memory fragments from other time and space and other parallel worlds. She was the most Bug-like existence, far more powerful than his ability to dream.

According to the pattern of CC in the second dream possessing memory fragments of the first dream...

If he met CC in the third dream, then she most likely also had memory fragments of the second dream.

He and CC in the second dream had a very deep friendship. Basically, both sides had revealed everything that needed to be revealed, knowing each other well.

So, if they really met in the third dream, then there would be no need for self-introductions. They would be old acquaintances from the start, which would save a lot of trouble.

"Let's first unravel the mystery left to me by Zhao Yingjun. After finding the answer she hid, I'll go look for CC and the safe deposit box... and who knows when this elusive woman CC will appear."

Lin Xian took out his phone and looked at the date on the lock screen.

It was already mid-June.

Half of 2023 had passed in the blink of an eye.

Time... according to the information found in New Donghai City in the second dream, the establishment time of Tyme Bank would be no later than 2024.

"There isn't much time left for Tyme Bank. It's estimated that it will open in the second half of the year."

And as long as Tyme Bank in reality opened, then he would have truly opened the bridge between reality and dreams, past and future, and... he could finally get a glimpse of the secret hidden in the safe deposit box.

...

At the airport arrival gate, he successfully picked up Liu Feng.

He had a lot of luggage.

The driver moved Liu Feng's luggage into the trunk one by one.

Lin Xian was very happy to see Liu Feng's current mental state. He had completely come out of his grief, accepted the fact that Qi Qi had passed away with satisfaction and a smile, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the research of the cosmological constant.

"I can't just wait for Qi Qi to fulfill my wish in heaven, right? If I really want the cosmological constant to be recognized by the world, I must first find a way to prove that it is correct and prove its value."

That was what Liu Feng had told Lin Xian when he called him to communicate about his recent situation.

"Of course, Lin Xian, you are my sponsor, so I will listen to you, and all research results will not be announced to the outside world, and no third party other than you and me will know. Although I don't know what you keep emphasizing for safety means... but a lot of scientists did die unexpectedly some time ago, and I trust your judgment."

This was also what Lin Xian had emphasized to Liu Feng before.

On the matter of the 00:42 killer, Ji Lin and he had the same judgment—

There were two groups of people killing people at this time, and one group was a clumsy imitation of the other.

Now the result was already very obvious.

The one who was really killing people at 00:42 was actually the Genius Club; and Ji Xinshui and the others were just clumsy imitations of this killing behavior.

According to Lin Xian's speculation.

Ji Lin's parents, as well as Big Face Cat's father, should have been killed by the Genius Club.

They all had a common identity—

Mathematician.

Therefore, Lin Xian came to an unverified conclusion.

Was it possible that the real target of the Genius Club was only mathematicians, and that killing other scientists was actually Ji Xinshui's own judgment?

This guess was not guaranteed to be accurate, but it seemed that there was some evidence to support it.

First of all, the Genius Club was indeed related to the mysterious number 42 of the cosmological constant. They took Big Face Cat's father away in the second dream, most likely because they were afraid of this number.

And the cosmological constant was obviously a mathematical problem.

So... even if the Seven Deadly Sins were now basically all dead, Liu Feng was also a mathematician studying the cosmological constant. His crisis was far from being resolved, and he didn't even know where the enemy was.

Therefore, it was still better to be careful.

Regarding the matter of the cosmological constant 42, Lin Xian would not allow a third person to know other than himself and Liu Feng.

...

After Liu Feng got into the business car, the car door closed, and they headed towards Donghai University.

After successfully entering the campus and arriving in front of a brand-new laboratory building, Lin Xian got out of the car with Liu Feng and introduced to him while walking towards the gate of the laboratory building:

"This is the laboratory I prepared for you. This building itself is a laboratory building that Donghai University just built last year. It hasn't been put into use yet, and the things inside are all very new."

"My newly established Rhine Company has reached a cooperation with Donghai University. I won't go into the details with you, but... overall, we are losing money, but there's no way. If we don't bleed a little, how will Donghai University be willing to give us this new laboratory building?"

"It's not enough to just bleed a little. Chu Shanhe also came forward to coordinate. He promised to build a more luxurious and advanced world-class first-class laboratory than this one for Donghai University, so Donghai University finally agreed to give us this laboratory building."

The two walked to the laboratory gate, and Lin Xian pointed to the plaque next to it—

Donghai University and Rhine Company Joint Laboratory.

"It is said to be joint, but it is basically all handed over to us. You can just concentrate on your research here. There are many rooms inside, not only laboratories, offices, data rooms, storage rooms, but also single dormitories. You can live here if you want to study hard."

"In addition, the list you gave me before, saying that you need those high-precision equipment, I have also bought it for you, and it will be installed one after another..."

Some time ago, after Rhine Company was established, Lin Xian contacted Liu Feng and asked him what level of laboratory and what kind of equipment he needed.

Liu Feng was also a practical person.

After hearing Lin Xian's polite sentence "money is no object", he really regarded Lin Xian as someone who didn't lack money, and swiped and wrote a full three pages of experimental equipment... some of which were expensive and difficult to obtain.

But in the end, Lin Xian didn't say a word and started preparing directly.

In fact, according to his original expectations, studying the cosmological constant shouldn't cost much money.

Think about Big Face Cat's father in the second dream...

He had thoroughly studied the cosmological constant in the slums!

A tattered book, ah, it can't be said to be a tattered book, at least it was Liu Feng's book "Introduction to the Cosmological Constant."

Then, coupled with some scratch paper, after more than ten years of research, Cat Dad directly calculated the cosmological constant, and it seemed that he also knew the true meaning of 42, so he was investigated by the Genius Club.

In comparison, the equipment Liu Feng requested was too high-end and too expensive.

However...

Each scientist has different research ideas and different research methods, so you can't generalize.

Big Face Cat's father was able to create the cosmological constant by hand, but that didn't mean Liu Feng had such ability.

There is specialization in skills, and there is a sequence in hearing the Tao, and all roads lead to Rome. Lin Xian decided that as an amateur, he would not guide the expert, and let Liu Feng play to his heart's content.

Anyway, it's just spending more money. There are 4 billion yuan. As long as Liu Feng doesn't ask him for a particle collider, he can afford it.

Besides.

Big Face Cat's father finally produced results, but it took a full ten or twenty years. Lin Xian couldn't wait that long.

If spending more money and getting more equipment could allow Liu Feng to study the cosmological constant sooner, it would still be worth it for Lin Xian. After all, money can be earned again, but time cannot be compressed.

"By the way, didn't you say you had a new invention to show me?"

After taking Liu Feng to visit the entire laboratory building, the two came to an empty laboratory, and Lin Xian asked Liu Feng this question:

"Did you bring it?"

Liu Feng nodded and took out a foam box from his backpack.

He carefully opened the foam box and took out something that looked like an electronic clock from it.

It was rectangular, placed horizontally on the table. The base had a transparent electronic screen on top, displaying bright yellow numbers.

However... this thing was probably not a real clock.

Because the numbers displayed on its screen were not the usual six-digit numbers that jumped constantly in the format of hours: minutes: seconds. Instead, it was a row of zeros that didn't move at all—

0.0000000

Counting the zero before the decimal point, there were a total of eight zeros.

Lin Xian waited patiently for a while to see if there would be any changes in this row of numbers.

As a result.

Nothing at all.

Could this be a stopwatch?

Liu Feng shouldn't be so bored, right?

Lin Xian couldn't find any buttons or switches on this strange device, so he looked up and asked directly:

"What is this? Is it a clock? Or a counter?"

"I haven't really thought about what to call this thing... This is a measuring instrument calibrated by Planck's constant."

Liu Feng explained to Lin Xian:

"Since you left Shanxi, I have been studying the cosmological constant at home. In fact, what you said to me has touched me a lot. Because, I also changed my thinking, just like you said, is it possible that the cosmological constant is not a simple mathematical problem?"

"Once you jump out of the framework of mathematics, countless possibilities are instantly increased. I have also carried out many attempts and returned to the university to borrow a laboratory from my mentor to conduct experiments... Although all the results are still wrong and unfeasible, I think that like you said—"

"The reason why the cosmological constant is incorrect is not because it is incorrect in itself, but because we have not discovered its correct usage!"

Once he talked about professional issues, Liu Feng became energetic and talked non-stop:

"So, I think that the reason why the cosmological constant is incorrect in our conventional theory is perhaps because it is not a constant in the conventional sense. That is to say... because our world is correct and regular, so it is wrong; and if our world is wrong and irregular, perhaps the cosmological constant is correct!"

"Can... can you understand what I'm saying, Lin Xian?"

"I don't really understand."

Lin Xian shook his head decisively:

"Actually, you don't have to analyze it so thoroughly for me. You can just tell me what this thing does."

"Okay, I'll explain it in a different way."

Liu Feng paused and continued:

"You always know the basic concept of Planck's constant, right?"

Lin Xian nodded:

"I know this. This is a concept proposed by the famous physicist Max Planck. Including Planck length, Planck time, etc... Planck length is considered the shortest distance in the universe, and cannot be divided or intercepted; and Planck time is considered the shortest unit of time in the universe, and there is no time shorter than it."

"That's right."

Liu Feng continued to add:

"The specific value of Planck's constant is 6.626*10^34. It is the smallest and most constant unit in the universe. The energy and mass of all matter in the universe are integer multiples of this value."

"I think that since everything in time and space, including the scale of space and time, is composed of Planck's constant... then if the Planck's constant of a universe changes, does it mean that the curvature of this time and space has changed?"

...

Lin Xian pondered Liu Feng's words for a while and said softly:

"You mean... as time and space change and the time and space butterfly effect occurs, the space-time curvature will also change accordingly? And this change in space-time curvature will be reflected in the change of Planck's constant, is that what you mean?"

"So, this thing of yours that looks like a clock is, in essence, an instrument for detecting changes in Planck's constant."

"You understand correctly, that's probably what you mean." Liu Feng explained with a smile:

"If one day, the numbers on this thing you call a clock change... then it means that Planck's constant has changed, the space-time curvature has changed, and my guess is correct!"

Liu Feng said decisively:

"That proves—"

"Space-time curvature does exist, and it is very likely related to the cosmological constant!"

"Of course, what specific relationship it has with the cosmological constant will have to wait until the numbers on this clock change before we can judge. Since you think this thing looks like a clock, I thought about it, then we will name this instrument that measures space-time curvature the Space-Time Clock!"

Space-Time Clock.

Space-Time Curvature.

Hearing these two names, Lin Xian thought of an anime he had seen before, *Steins;Gate*. These two concepts were also mentioned in this anime.

However, the setting in this anime is to use the term "worldline" to explain space-time curvature.

The concepts of worldline and space-time curvature were originally proposed by physicist Albert Einstein. The original intention was not to describe parallel time and space or time line changes.

But later, because of the widespread use of anime and film and television works, it has been given new meanings.

In the current general perception, the worldline can be understood as the development line of time and space and the future. The worldline curvature is the same as the space-time curvature and has become an adjective describing the magnitude of time and space changes.

According to worldline theory.

From the past to the future is a straight line.

If something triggers a time and space butterfly effect, causes time and space changes, and changes the future world... then at this node, the worldline shifts, commonly known as worldline change.

Just like his dream world.

The first dream became the second dream, which is a worldline change, and the space-time curvature changed.

It doesn't even have to be such a large-scale change.

In the beginning, Coco Cat's name became Rhine Cat, which was also a change in space-time curvature, but the value of this curvature was very small, obviously much smaller than the curvature of the first dream becoming the second dream.

"I now completely understand."

Lin Xian raised his head and looked at Liu Feng:

"That is to say, as long as an event that affects the original future trend occurs, the future time and space changes due to the butterfly effect, the value on your Space-Time Clock will change, and this change in value is the so-called space-time curvature, which is also the worldline curvature that everyone often talks about."

Liu Feng nodded and gave Lin Xian a thumbs up:

"You're so smart."

"Then why are the numbers on this still 0.0000000?" Lin Xian asked.

"That means the space-time curvature hasn't changed yet, such a simple thing." Liu Feng spread his hands.

"No, no, no, how could the space-time curvature not have changed."

Lin Xian thought with his chin in his hand:

"When exactly was your Space-Time Clock made?"

"It was made last month."

"Be more specific, was it before May 20th?"

"That's for sure, it was made in early May." Liu Feng replied affirmatively.

Lin Xian smiled slightly and patted the cute Space-Time Clock:

"That shows... your Space-Time Clock is inaccurate. It can't measure time and space changes at all, and it can't measure any space-time curvature."

"How is that possible!" Liu Feng's expression instantly became serious:

"This measurement method is definitely correct! I dare to vouch for it."

Lin Xian shook his head:

"But on May 20th, the worldline and space-time curvature must have changed, and the change was very large. If your Space-Time Clock is accurate, it is impossible not to detect it."

Lin Xian knew this better than anyone else.

On May 20th, after he established Rhine Company, a time and space change occurred. The butterfly effect of time and space changes turned the future world 600 years later upside down. The ground was replaced by the human world, and there was a city in the sky.

If Liu Feng's Space-Time Clock can't measure some small time and space changes because of accuracy issues, Lin Xian can understand.

Such a big time and space change in the third dream, the worldline and the space-time curvature have taken off by 45 degrees, and you still can't measure it with this clock, then there is definitely a problem.

However...

Liu Feng firmly believed that there was nothing wrong with his Space-Time Clock.

The two had only met for less than two hours, and they had already begun to argue fiercely.

"Listen to me, Lin Xian."

Liu Feng was bad at arguing and was flushed with anger by Lin Xian's rebuttal:

"I'll tell you something profound, but you don't understand it, but I really swear to you that the measurement of my Space-Time Clock cannot have a problem! I have completely compared the Planck's constant of our current time and space and calibrated it to 0. Therefore, as long as there is a change in time and space and the curvature deviates from the current time and space, my Space-Time Clock will definitely... will..."

As he spoke, Liu Feng's voice became smaller and smaller.

He himself realized that something was wrong!

Lin Xian chuckled:

"Do you understand where the problem is now, Liu Feng? You've found the wrong frame of reference. It is said that you can't recognize the true face of Mount Lu, only because you are in this mountain. You use the current time and space as a frame of reference and then measure the curvature of the current time and space, then you will measure 0 for the rest of your life! What's the difference between this and carving a boat to find a sword?"

"It's like the two of us now, looking at each other as if we are still. But in reality? If we take the moon as a frame of reference, the two of us are rotating with the earth at a super high speed of 400 meters per second; then if we take the sun as a frame of reference, the two of us are actually revolving around the sun with the earth at a speed of 30 kilometers per second."

"But now, you insist on choosing yourself as a frame of reference and then measuring your own speed, wouldn't that mean measuring 0 for the rest of your life?"

Listening to Lin Xian's words, Liu Feng's face turned red.

It really was...

Darkness under the lamp.

How could he have made such an obvious mistake.

If he wanted to measure the worldline change curvature of the present time and space, he would definitely have to find an object from outside the present time and space, from another time and space, as a frame of reference!

"But..."

Liu Feng said embarrassedly:

"Finding an object from outside the current time and space, from another time and space, as a frame of reference... it's impossible to do that."

"Heh, how is it impossible?"

Suddenly!

A light female voice came from the laboratory door!

Lin Xian and Liu Feng turned around sharply—

A graceful and plump woman was leaning against the laboratory door frame, smiling at the two of them.

Her round face had a youthful and lovely feel, making her look both mature and stylish like a woman in her thirties and beautiful like a young girl.

Her deep and charming blue pupils were like crystal clear glass, making people couldn't help but sink into them.

Likewise, the crystal blue teardrop-shaped earrings swayed, refracting the thin sunlight into colorful colors.

"Huang Que!" (Oriole)

Lin Xian looked at this uninvited guest and was very surprised!

Why was she here?

Huang Que smiled slightly, stood up from the door frame she was leaning against, and walked over slowly with the sound of her high heels clicking:

"Lin Xian, long time no see."