In the dical room of the Orion Missile Cruiser, Jiang Xuezhou, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, was quietly lying on the dical bed. The severe care device beside him emitted a faint beeping sound.
The person is still alive.
But has not woken up.
Facing the gentle heart rate waves on the holographic screen, Luo Yi, who had already taken off his power armor, slightly frowned and looked at the doctor nearby.
"Still hasn’t woken up?"
Before the doctor could speak, a caregiver nearby couldn’t help rolling their eyes.
"It’s not that fast, it’s a miracle this kid is even alive, okay?"
Luo Yi gave a bitter smile and said.
"I didn’t an to rush..."
He might indeed be a bit impatient.
After all, everyone was puzzled by the current situation.
Not only him, many people wanted to quickly figure out what exactly happened.
And exactly where the problem lies.
Staring at the screen of the vital signs monitor, Lin Youyou, who had been silent in thought for a long ti, suddenly raised her head.
"It’s kind of strange to say,"
Luo Yi looked at her and asked.
"What’s strange?"
With her forefinger resting on her chin, Lin Youyou pondered and said.
"After we used the organ repairing gel, her wounds did start to heal, but her tabolic level and heart rate showed no change..."
As she said this, she suddenly rembered sothing, and another sentence popped out of her mouth.
"It seed to be the sa before as well."
Luo Yi asked.
"Before?"
"That kid nad Night Ten," Lin Youyou recalled the situation at the ti and said truthfully, "We healed his wounds and repaired his prosthetics, but his tabolic rate and heart rate showed no signs of recovery... Oh, and his body temperature too, it was not normal human temperature at all, I constantly worried he might faint."
Luo Yi’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.
At this mont, a ssage from the staff of the Eighth Unit suddenly popped out on the communication channel.
Without much thought, he imdiately pressed the connect button.
"Hello?"
"Are you free now?"
"I’m always free, just say it."
The other side didn’t waste words and imdiately said.
"Co to the lower deck storage warehouse... the ergency escape supplies warehouse, we’ve found a new clue here."
"I’m on my way."
Luo Yi nodded, hung up the phone, then quickly left the dical room and headed to the warehouse his colleagues at the Eighth Unit ntioned on the phone.
The warehouse was not far from his workplace, but it was still a bit away from the dical room.
After about five minutes, he reached the destination, where he saw the security personnel from the Eighth Unit standing at the open cabinet door, next to the warehouse staff who reported the incident.
"What’s happening?"
The security officer who called him earlier raised his hand to greet him, then walked over to him with a tablet.
"We just received a report from the ergency supplies managent warehouse staff, saying a Sleep Cabin from the storage area is missing, and the lock on the storage cabinet was violently damaged."
Luo Yi inquired.
"Just discovered?"
The security officer nodded and said.
"That’s right, it was fine when checked yesterday, but today it’s gone. What’s strange is that the security system failed, isn’t it similar to before?"
Luo Yi frowned and said.
"Could it be a mistake by the warehouse colleague?"
This is a hyperspace passage, no one can get out, the missing Sleep Cabin must still be on the Starship.
Moreover, the most crucial point is, he couldn’t figure out who would want to steal that thing.
The security officer shook his head.
"I don’t think so... because we’ve already found the missing Sleep Cabin."
Luo Yi was stunned for a mont, looking at him bewildered.
"...Then is there still a problem?"
The security officer looked at him with a subtle expression, continued.
"The problem is that... we found the missing Sleep Cabin at the ’accident scene.’
...
In the lower deck security office, the main participants of the "Dawn" project stood expressionless.
Including Captain Zhao Tianhe, Executor Wu ngke, as well as Dr. Wu from the Fifth Unit and others.
Their plan was supposedly perfect.
But for so reason, it still failed in the end.
Looking at the screen with the slumbering girl, Zhao Tianhe pinched the fatigued area between his eyebrows with his fingers and thumb, and sighed slowly.
"It seems the universe is much more cruel than we imagined..."
Wu ngke looked at him, a hint of sorrow hanging in the crow’s feet at the corner of her eyes.
"So we... failed?"
Zhao Tianhe didn’t answer.
The events they were experiencing were more complex than any battle he had encountered before.
His experience was of no use here.
"No, it’s not..."
At this ti, Dr. Wu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
Several eyes turned to him.
Including Zhao Tianhe, his cousin Wu ngke, navigators, and many other senior officers, as well as Sergeant Luo Yi, who was standing at the door ready to report the situation, and others...
He cast his gaze on the monitor terminal, looking at the holographic screen with the sleeping girl, he swallowed a hard gulp of saliva.
```
"We succeeded, but the final result is different from what we originally imagined..."
Zhao Tianhe frowned.
"What do you an?"
Wu Xinghuan moved his gaze away from the holographic screen, staring intently at the captain.
"Did you determine that the Gemini would definitely launch the neutron torpedoes after confirming our refusal to execute the command... right?"
Zhao Tianhe nodded, speaking in an unquestionable tone.
"From what I know about Captain Song Yuchuan of the Gemini, he will definitely do so."
Wu Xinghuan asked closely.
"What kind of person is he?"
Zhao Tianhe replied without hesitation.
"That guy is a wolf, ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to himself. If there were ten radical faction mbers among a hundred civilians on a ship, he would consider the other ninety innocent people as necessary sacrifices."
Wu Xinghuan pressed further.
"So you fired without hesitation."
Zhao Tianhe didn’t evade the question and nodded firmly.
"Yes, there’s no other way to deal with a beast. In such situations, it’s either you die or I survive... Do we need to discuss this issue now?"
"We must discuss this issue because it’s the key to the situation we’re in."
Wu Xinghuan stared at him unwaveringly and continued in a serious tone.
"Now you’re the captain of the Gemini, or rather, you are Song Yuchuan himself... In front of you is soone who understands you thoroughly, and that person won’t hold back and will abandon all fantasies to make the worst choice at the first mont... If you were him, what would you choose?"
Zhao Tianhe’s pupils slightly enlarged.
It’s an answer that hardly requires consideration, that option automatically appeared in his mind.
"...I would strike first."
Wu Xinghuan kept pressing and asked.
"You would definitely strike first. You know your opponent sees you as nothing more than a beast, and you know your opponent would kill you without any hesitation or guilt... So, how do you plan to strike?"
The air in the security office quieted down, pairs of eyes were watching the two of them.
No one spoke.
Zhao Tianhe stayed silent for a long ti and turned his gaze to one side.
"I would hide the neutron bombs in the landing craft..."
Wu ngke stared in shock, unable to believe as she looked at Captain Zhao.
The other officers nearby were equally shocked, all showing expressions of surprise.
They were shocked not by their leader’s choice.
But rather by their leader making the most likely judgnt by putting himself in the other’s position.
At that ti, it’s very likely that no one was on the landing craft from the start...
Wu Xinghuan wasn’t satisfied with this answer, continuing to press on.
"Just that? Perishing together with your opponent? You still have an unfinished mission, your ruthlessness should not just be towards others, but towards yourself..."
This ti, Zhao Tianhe remained silent for a long ti.
Eventually, he still spoke out the final thod.
"...I would upload the thoughts of the entire ship’s crew to the onboard server, killing myself before the opponent’s neutron torpedo hits us, ensuring we stand in an invincible position from the start, and guaranteeing the commands from the Lagrange Point Space Station are executed correctly even after our deaths."
To put it bluntly.
They weren’t fighting furiously for profit, rely for their respective beliefs.
They weren’t enemies.
Even after everything ended, he would consider atoning for the things he’s done before—
Like using the archived records and data from the server to resurrect his teammates he once killed with his own hands.
The next steps need no further deduction, they already know the whole story, and the truth is far more brutal than they imagined.
Zhao Tianhe’s Adam’s apple moved.
At that mont, he seed to have aged by more than a decade.
"...Sorry, comrades, I still underestimated their resolve."
"You don’t need to apologize, it’s sothing that’s already happened... We were just unaware due to our entangled states."
Wu Xinghuan gently shook his head, then continued to look at the girl on the holographic screen, muttering to himself in a soft voice.
"To be honest... the mont I saw her, I understood everything."
"We are all in entangled states, two different entangled states, from two completely parallel tilines α and β. Our entanglent exists at two crossover points, one is the starting point, the other is the endpoint."
"That young man nad Night Ten is our starting point, that girl nad Jiang Xuezhou is our endpoint. And within their own cycle, it’s all reversed, the girl nad Jiang Xuezhou is the starting point of everything, and the young man is the endpoint."
"And we, have already died."
He finally discovered new physics.
Information transmission can not only exceed the speed of light, but even transcend ti and space.
Their encounter across ti and space is the best evidence.
Whether this mory is ultimately explained as a dream, a sense of deja vu, or so psychological effect... they’ve already left proof of existence on each other’s tiline.
He considered giving this remarkable discovery a na but thought for a mont and eventually abandoned the idea.
Let’s leave it for the future generations to summarize...
About this special field of entanglent between information and information.
The room remained quiet for a long ti.
Eventually, the silence was broken by Wu ngke, the executive officer of this starship, or rather, the second-in-command.
"...I don’t know why, but after hearing you say we’ve already died, I suddenly felt relieved."
She laughed bitterly, looking at the screen with complicated eyes and continued.
"At least... their existence proves that our choices were not wrong."
Zhao Tianhe glanced at her, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"In what aspect?"
"In every aspect."
Wu ngke thought for a mont and continued.
"The boy we saw earlier is a resident of the refuge... this kid should be a Waste Land Wanderer."
Zhao Tianhe nodded.
"Perhaps."
Wu ngke looked at him, that always stern face suddenly showed a kind smile.
"Actually... it’s not so bad, right? Although they are obviously different from us, I still see many things we once praised in them, like love and courage... and many other things I don’t even know how to describe."
Luo Yi understood the thoughts of this female executive, contemplated for a mont and said.
"You an... hope?"
Wu ngke nodded with a smile.
"Probably. Anyway, I think it’s pretty good to entrust the future to them."
They didn’t turn into beasts.
They are still human.
Given that, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
As for death.
That’s just sothing destined.
At this mont, she seed like a kindly old grandmother.
Though she wasn’t that old, rely middle-aged.
"Perhaps you’re right." Zhao Tianhe said slowly after a mont of silence.
According to Dr. Wu’s theory, there was never anyone on the Gemini landing craft from the start, only fully-loaded neutron bomb warheads, and possibly even androids or AI programs that ca to take over the starship.
In other words, it wasn’t them or the Gemini that ford the superposition state, but they themselves.
No matter whether they died at the entrance or exit of hyperspace, their deaths were bound to happen.
Putting it this way, the Dawn plan was dood to fail from the outset.
And they were destined not to travel 200 years into the future to fulfill the promise to that child.
After a pause, Zhao Tianhe looked at Dr. Wu Xinghuan.
"So according to your theory, we can’t do anything... right?"
Wu Xinghuan shook his head.
"Not really, even if our deaths are fated... there are still things we can do."
Seeing pairs of eyes fixed on him, he took a deep breath and continued.
"As I just said... we are currently in a superposition state. Even though our superposition state has already collapsed in the future, there are still things we can do in this remaining non-existent ti."
Zhao Tianhe asked solemnly.
"What is that thing?"
"Our exit." Wu Xinghuan stared at him unwaveringly and firmly said, "We can decide which future we go to..."
Everyone looked at him.
Expressions of shock, heaviness, astonishnt, disbelief...
Zhao Tianhe continued to ask.
"...Can you elaborate?"
At this mont, Wu Xinghuan was calr than ever, and those tangled clues were being connected by him.
"...We did receive information from the future, right? Because of the quantum entanglent of the superposition state and so field we don’t know about. In short, we did see them."
"We have this shared mory, even though it never appeared on our tiline. We know that 200 years later, an organization called the Alliance will erge, and with their ideals and enthusiasm, they will end the Wasteland Era, sweep everything from the old era into the grave, and bring our children into a new era!"
"That shared mory is their coordinate, and we must go there—the future where those children exist!"
Though this sounds like a dying person’s fantasy, that shared mory is not entirely imaginary but indeed exists in their minds.
And it’s a mory capable of making them unanimously resonate!
It’s because of that resonance with the future that they haven’t given up until now.
Zhao Tianhe looked at him intently.
"How do we get there?"
"Very simple... yet not simple. We must form a closed loop with their tiline!"
Seeing the serious expressions on the crowd, Wu Xinghuan directed his gaze towards Luo Yi standing at the doorway.
"I rember you did statistics; there were 227 people who heard the explosion... right?"
Luo Yi nodded and said.
"Yes... and I have another thing to report; the sleep cabin we found in the landing craft is the sleep cabin we lost."
Wu Xinghuan snapped his fingers, and energetically glanced around.
"The tiline has shifted, and this is the most direct evidence! And at the mont when our child was sent away!"
"So that’s why I said earlier, our ’Dawn’ plan did not fail; it’s just different from what we imagined!"
"Back then, we didn’t know we were already dead; we thought there would be a group of fully ard soldiers on the landing craft until we found nothing there and realized we were mistaken. Our opponents are more cruel and resilient than we imagined!"
Zhao Tianhe faintly understood his aning.
"The tiline had its first intersection... and it needs a second intersection to form a closed loop, right? Is that what you an?"
"Correct!" Wu Xinghuan looked at him sharply, then glanced around at everyone on scene, "We successfully received information from the future! We’ve already known our deaths, even knowing how many survive and how many perish."
"There were 227 people who heard the explosion... Neutron radiation moves faster than the speed of sound, under what circumstances can one hear the explosion of a neutron bomb?"
"...Though it’s a redundant thing to say, I have to ntion, only the living can hear the explosion of a neutron bomb."
Luo Yi’s eyes widened in an instant, as did many standing on scene.
A long ti ago, he had this vague feeling, only buried under countless trivial clues.
Zhao Tianhe stared at Wu Xinghuan unwaveringly, suddenly laughed aloud.
"Seems like I’m the ghost."
Not just him.
Including almost all the senior officers on the bridge at the ti, none of them heard the explosion nor the alarm triggered by it.
Until soone ran up to report the situation on the lower deck did they realize what was happening.
At this mont, he finally understood why.
The equipnt didn’t malfunction.
It’s just that they wouldn’t live to the "next second" when the alarm sounded.
Yet in this ti-stalled hyperspace passage, with the aid of so unknown field, they completed information exchange.
In other words.
They didn’t rely exchange information with the future, there was a sort of resonance field existing among them too.
Adjusting his expression, he looked at Wu Xinghuan steadily, fearlessly continuing.
"Go on, tell us... what can we dying people still do for the new era two hundred years from now."
"There’s only one thing you can do—return to the mont you entered the hyperspace passage, stay where you were then...and wait for death."
Looking at his cousin, Wu Xinghuan painfully spoke these words, then turned his gaze to Luo Yi standing at the door.
"And you... including , and all the 227 who heard the explosion, we are survivors under neutron radiation. Though luckily not directly killed, death is only a matter of ti."
"However, even so, we still have so ti before we die of suffocation or starvation... We need to close the ti loop in this period, guiding the girl lying on the dical bed to co here, and preparing weapons for them to help them defeat enemies we couldn’t."
"Seems we should leave behind sothing other than ’celestial beings,’" Wu ngke jested, "sothing else."
Luo Yi raised his hand, looking seriously at everyone.
"I’ll be responsible for the sleep cabin... The ergency equipnt managent warehouse is right next to my office. I heard the explosion; I’ll open the warehouse first thing and drag the sleep cabin to the landing craft."
Koala remained silent for a while, then raised his hand.
"I’ll take care of the guidance work... I heard they crashed on the lower deck, my repair shop is nearby, I’ll create a holographic guidance device to direct that girl...uh, to the room with the sleep cabin?"
"That’s not enough." Zhao Tianhe shook his head, looking at Wu Xinghuan who wanted to say sothing, "She must start this ship’s warp engine, right?"
"Yes, and not just that," Wu Xinghuan nodded, calmly continued, "Celestial beings have taken over our starship after two hundred years, gained control of this new ship... At least including most of the equipnt’s control like the weapon system; we need to help her and her friends regain control of the starship."
Koala, sweating profusely, said.
"This... you’re asking too much of ."
He even didn’t know how long he could live once leaving the hyperspace passage.
"Haha, no worries, brother," the AI expert from the Ten Departnt put his arm around his shoulder, smiling and patting him, "We are here too! You design the navigation device, help her find the warp engine switch, we leave a surprise on the engine for the grave robbers."
Koala took a breath, smiled weakly.
"That’s good... I’m really not good at hacking work, especially when the opponent is also a master."
Suddenly soone raised their hand.
"I have a question, can’t we design in stagnant ti? Even...let the dead participate in designing programs."
Having more help is always better.
Besides, there are quite a few talents on this starship, not just programrs from the Ten Departnt.
However, Dr. Wu shook his head, negating their plan to exploit bugs.
"It’s useless, all changes we make in the hyperspace passage will be erased, except for mory that’s proven to be retained...nothing remains."
But seeing the disappointed expressions of everyone, he suddenly shifted his tone.
"But rehearsing several tis is possible... and no matter how many tis, since information can be retained through resonance fields, this doesn’t violate the rules we’ve explored."
Watching the brainstorming crowd and the increasing ideas, a faint smile appeared on Zhao Tianhe’s stern face, rarely teasing.
"Unexpectedly, the dead can do so many things."
Wu ngke laughed.
"After all, we aren’t dead until the ’next second’, still alive in this round."
Zhao Tianhe fell silent for a while, his face showing so relief, yet with a bit of yearning.
"But thinking about it is still a bit regretful, I have an online relationship, planned... after the war ends, to go to Shilong City for vacation together."
Speaking of, two hundred years later, that place should be called Potato Harbor.
Heard the scenery is quite nice too.
Wu ngke looked surprised at this usually stern officer, as if seeing a variant on the Wasteland.
Noticing that strange gaze, Zhao Tianhe looked at her awkwardly.
"Any problem?"
"No..." Wu ngke shook her head dumbfoundedly, "Never heard you talk about it."
Zhao Tianhe laughed.
"Hahaha, why talk about that at work? It would make you think I’m less serious."
Alright.
In fact, he’s not really a serious person, just an ordinary human.
In places where colleagues can’t see, he also has his own life, the virtual machine saves so stuff he wants to delete but probably won’t have ti to.
The reason he often keeps a stern face is purely for work needs.
Knowing he’s about to die soon, the burden on his shoulders was lifted instead, living true to himself.
"I started to think so..." Wu ngke raised a finger, pressing her forehead, barely accepting, "You should take this secret to the grave, thank you."
"You’re welco! Just think of what I said earlier as nonsense, haha."
Zhao Tianhe smiled, turning his gaze to the terminal’s screen, his smile suddenly beca more satisfied, spreading the original yearning.
"But speaking of which, after chatting with you for a bit, I suddenly have no regrets."
Wu ngke sighed.
"...What do you an?"
Zhao Tianhe laughed.
"Don’t you think that girl... and that young man, are just like our kids?"
Wu ngke was stunned, eyebrows slightly raised.
"When you online CP, did you also talk such flirtatious nonsense?"
Zhao Tianhe coughed.
"Alright... I’m serious."
Wu ngke turned her gaze to the holographic screen, to the girl lying on the dical bed, slowly spoke.
"I’ve always thought so... If I had a granddaughter, or great-great-granddaughter, she’d probably be brave and strong like her."
"Seems I was slow," Zhao Tianhe smiled, "But now I’m awake, we really don’t need to go two hundred years later, they are our continuation... The world we can’t see, they will see for us."
Wu ngke jested.
"If everyone could see as clearly as us that would be great."
"That’s impossible."
Putting away the kind smile, a determined gaze reappeared on Zhao Tianhe’s sharply contoured face.
At this mont, he seed to beco the stern captain again.
Determination isn’t sothing only beasts have.
However, beasts always seem to misunderstand, believing if only they are harsher, less bound by constraints, they can ultimately cage humans with fear.
He’ll let the guy on Gemini and the lunatics at Lagrange Point know how wrong they are, how laughable their dreams are.
"A bunch of old imbeciles trying to take over, dreaming of replacing us after everything ends... Dream on."
"Whether it’s two hundred years or two thousand years, even if both feet are in the grave, I’ll drag them into the coffin! Lie together!"
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