"You see? I told you. It really does react to your voice."

Zhao Yingjun watched the few seconds of video she had just recorded with great interest, and couldn't help but laugh.

The Pomeranian named vv really liked Lin Xian. As long as it heard his voice, it would become docile and obedient, as if it had instantly turned into an affectionate kitten.

Lin Xian also changed his view of the little dog and thought it looked quite handsome.

After all...

They shared the same origins.

Everyone was vv, no need to be shy.

At this point.

Lin Xian understood the origin of all the vvs, as well as the cause and effect of the space-time logic. Most of the things about vv could be explained clearly.

The only thing he couldn't figure out was...

What was the vv that CC mentioned?

Clearly, the Pomeranian's name, the garbage can robot's model, and the name of the Rhine Sky City's central brain were all given by Zhao Yingjun, so they were called vv.

But Zhao Yingjun had never considered herself to be vv.

Whether now or 600 years later, in Zhao Yingjun's eyes, she would always be Lin Xian, and she would never call herself by the name vv.

She set vv as the voice recognition activation password purely because she had just recorded herself shouting vv, so she hid clues all over the Sky City, so that one day she would say the password in front of the persistent garbage can robot.

Therefore.

In essence, the vv in CC's mouth had nothing to do with the vv in Zhao Yingjun's life.

The only plausible answer.

Was that the future self, the one who inexplicably turned into a bearded man, told CC that his name was vv.

This was a bit intriguing.

Why didn't he tell CC his real name?

What's more, now that he knew that vv was a dog's name... who would use a dog's name as a code name?

Wasn't that self-inflicted humiliation?

According to CC, in that memory fragment from an unknown time and space, she met vv when she was still a little girl, not very old, while the bearded man was already middle-aged.

Could it be that he had successfully lived to 600 years later in some future world?

Perhaps.

Anyway, each different dream represented a possible future, which was what Liu Feng called different space-time curvatures and different world lines.

In the third dream, he had already died before 2026, so it was impossible to meet CC in the world 600 years later.

So, if he were to further rewrite the future.

What about the fourth dream? The fifth dream? What would they be like?

It was hard to say...

Space-time changes were uncontrollable, and he could only explore and take his chances step by step.

But first, the most important task now was to become strong quickly. In any case, he had to find a way to survive past 2026 first.

...

Zhao Yingjun watched the video she had just recorded several times, then stood up and put the phone in her pocket:

"I don't know what to say... I've raised it for seven years, and it still treats me like an enemy every day. But you two are good, you like him so much the first time you meet him, you might as well take it away."

Lin Xian smiled. Of course, he could tell that Zhao Yingjun was joking, and explained:

"Actually, from a biological point of view... maybe it's because of the smell."

"Smell?" Zhao Yingjun tilted her head.

"Yes."

Lin Xian stroked the Pomeranian's head repeatedly, stroking the fur on its neck, watching it grunt with extreme enjoyment:

"Dogs have a much more sensitive sense of smell than humans, so they can smell many smells that humans can't. And smell is a very important piece of information for dogs. I guess it's some kind of smell on me that humans can't smell, but dogs can smell that makes it so peaceful and like me so much."

"Just like bats and dolphins can hear sounds that humans can't hear, sounds are divided into ultrasonic and infrasonic waves due to the height of the frequency, and the human ear can't hear frequencies that are too high or too low. Smell is actually the same principle."

"But... I'm just guessing. I don't know where I saw this statement, it may be made up by a marketing account. It may also be as you said, it just likes to listen to my voice."

Zhao Yingjun blinked:

"You are surprisingly knowledgeable. But anyway, you really helped me a lot. With this video... I think when it roars and disturbs the people at night, playing your voice should keep it quiet."

She raised her wrist, looked at the small watch on her wrist, and smiled:

"There's no way to thank you. It's just about time for dinner. There's a good Hunan restaurant at the door. Let me treat you to a meal. Can you eat spicy food?"

"I can handle it," Lin Xian replied.

"v" The Pomeranian made a sweet sound that didn't quite fit the dog's image, and stuck out its tongue to lick the back of Lin Xian's hand.

...

At the entrance of the residential area, there was a luxuriously decorated Hunan restaurant.

Every corner was decorated with pots of fiery red peppers, which showed that the spiciness of this restaurant was really good, and it must be very authentic.

Lin Xian realized that he had not actually eaten many meals with Zhao Yingjun.

And eating Chinese food was a first.

The only previous dining experiences were either at banquets or in Western restaurants. It was really the first time he had come to a Chinese restaurant.

Thinking back to the first time the two of them ate together...

It was at the science charity dinner when he first met Xu Yun.

At that time, the status of the two people was like the difference between clouds and mud. Lin Xian stood behind Zhao Yingjun in a well-fitting but not suitable suit, silently blocking the men who came to invite her to dance.

And now.

The two were no longer in a boss-subordinate relationship.

In terms of position, they could be regarded as equals, each being the president of their respective companies; and he had become a big client of MX company because of the Rhine Cat copyright and chemical substance authorization.

But in Lin Xian's view, he still respected Zhao Yingjun very much.

Not only because of the relationship of Bole who had promoted him, but also because of the 600 years of lonely years in the third dream and the reunion across time that only left a statue, Lin Xian had an unspeakable feeling for Zhao Yingjun.

Today, he really wanted to talk to Zhao Yingjun more.

Thinking of the scene in the projection corridor...

Zhao Yingjun in 2026 closed her eyes, reluctant to leave, and went to sleep in the hibernation pod;

The gradually aging her planned and built the grand Sky City alone;

In her old age, she still liked to sit in that scrapped blue Bentley for a nap at noon;

She often put the garbage can robot in the driver's seat and played games with it in the empty house, picking up paper balls.

Zhao Yingjun...

Actually wanted to talk to him more, right?

"When I was studying abroad, what I missed the most was the strong taste of Chinese food."

Zhao Yingjun looked at the fiery spicy chicken that the waiter had just brought up and said with a smile:

"The food abroad is still too bland. Eating too much always makes people lose energy."

"Spain, right?"

Lin Xian picked up his water glass and said casually:

"It's actually one of the slightly heavier flavors there, but there are fewer types of seasonings. Compared with many countries in Europe, it's already very good. Europe is a real desert of delicacies."

Zhao Yingjun's chopsticks stopped in the air, and she looked at Lin Xian suspiciously:

"You know I studied in Spain?"

"Ah? Isn't that right?"

It was Lin Xian's turn to be stunned. That's what it said in her personal exhibition hall 600 years later. Could this be a fabricated history?

"I did study there, but I didn't stay in Spain for very long. IESE Business School is indeed a Spanish school, but it has five campuses around the world. I went to the Munich campus soon, so... the information I've always given to the outside world is that I studied in Germany."

Zhao Yingjun picked up a piece of chicken, put down her chopsticks, smiled, and looked up at Lin Xian:

"So... I'm quite surprised that you can tell that I went to school in Spain. Did you specifically look up the information?"

"I can't remember where I saw it," Lin Xian said with a laugh, changing the subject.

The two chatted naturally and happily during the meal.

In the previous few meals, Zhao Yingjun had always occupied the dominant advantage because she knew Lin Xian well enough, but Lin Xian didn't know her at all.

But now it was different...

Having been to Zhao Yingjun's personal exhibition hall in Rhine Sky City.

Lin Xian not only knew the history of Zhao Yingjun's first half of her life, but also saw the future of her second half of her life. It was no exaggeration to say that he probably knew her better than Zhao Yingjun herself.

So this time it was naturally much more comfortable to talk, just like meeting an old friend.

"Do you usually like to watch movies too?"

Lin Xian took a sip of water, put down his glass, and asked:

"When I went to your house just now, I saw a lot of Blu-ray discs next to the TV."

"I didn't watch much before."

Zhao Yingjun shook her head:

"But I've watched a lot in the past six months. When I had dinner with you before, you talked a lot about movies, and most of them were science fiction movies, so I was very interested and bought some discs to watch at home."

"Speaking of this, I've watched a few science fiction movies about time and space travel recently, *Pandorum*, *Interstellar*... There are hibernation pods in them, which made me think of Professor Xu Yun's research."

"In the movies, people just go to sleep in the hibernation pods, and when they wake up, decades or hundreds of years have passed. The world has changed, and former relatives and friends have either grown old or died. I feel that this kind of loneliness is too strong. It's the kind of loneliness that is more painful than the death of relatives... Not only being abandoned by the world, but also being abandoned by time. No matter when you wake up from hibernation, you are always alone."

Lin Xian nodded silently.

That was indeed the case.

He had also told Gao Yang that the hibernation pod was a one-way ticket to the future, with no way back and no turning back...

Loneliness.

Time travel sounded cool, but whether it was forward or backward, it brought loneliness.

"So..."

Lin Xian looked up at Zhao Yingjun:

"So, if one day the hibernation pod is really successfully developed, would you be willing to sleep in it?"

"I'm not willing."

Zhao Yingjun answered without hesitation, decisively:

"I will definitely not use the hibernation pod."

She put down her chopsticks, looked up, and looked at Lin Xian:

"That feeling is really too lonely. I think people live in whatever era, then you belong to that era. If you leave this era, you are a ghost without any sense of belonging."

"I will definitely not do hibernation. Even if the future world is better and more developed, I think there are too many things in this world to miss and be reluctant to part with. The Long Kingdom people have had the traditional idea of returning to their roots since ancient times. I think it's not a painful thing to die in the company and blessings of relatives and friends. On the contrary, if you really hibernate to the future world hundreds of years later... no one will see you off after you die, and you don't know where you will be buried after you die."

Zhao Yingjun smiled, lightly and calmly:

"Isn't it very lonely? In a world where only you know who you are, you probably won't be able to find a place that belongs to you after you die, so you can only scatter your ashes in the wind and let them go with the wind."

...

Lin Xian didn't speak.

He felt that the piece of spicy chicken in his mouth, which was clearly very tender and fragrant, had a bitter taste that he couldn't chew, as if he was gnawing on a bone.

He chuckled softly and lowered his head in silence.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Yingjun was a little puzzled:

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no," Lin Xian quickly shook his head:

"I think that's how it is. Many people have this idea. That's what everyone thinks."

"What about you, Lin Xian?"

Zhao Yingjun blinked and looked at Lin Xian:

"Would you take a hibernation pod to the future?"

Lin Xian took a sip of water.

He forced the spicy chicken piece down.

Then he took out a napkin from the paper box next to him and wiped the corner of his mouth:

"If it was before... I definitely wouldn't be willing."

"As you said, that feeling of being all alone is not good. Moreover, I don't think the current life is very bad, and I don't think the technologically advanced future world can provide me with more happiness."

"So... you can say that I'm short-sighted, but I'd rather die young in the present than live a miserable life in an unknown, lonely, and completely unfamiliar future world."

Zhao Yingjun put down her chopsticks, leaned back, and leaned on the back of her chair:

"It sounds like there's something more to it than meets the eye. What about now? From what you mean... it seems like you can accept the hibernation pod now?"

"Yes, my thoughts are indeed different now."

Lin Xian said softly:

"If it's for certain people, certain things..."

He looked up.

Looking at Zhao Yingjun, who was holding her arms in front of her:

"I would."