Chapter 1 Aftermath

After telling Angelica his flight information, Lin Xian hung up the phone.

As long as he could get a gun in the US, his combat power would increase several times over, and he would definitely have the power to fight even against that girl.

It's just that the Dragon Kingdom is a country where guns are prohibited. Ordinary citizens cannot legally own and use guns, so Lin Xian's skill is basically useless.

But...

As Angelica said.

In the free United States, it's a different story.

"What's more, the bullets in this gun I want aren't just for the temporal assassin."

This time, the decisive decision to go abroad to the United States may seem like a hasty decision, but in fact... along the way, this was the result of Lin Xian's careful consideration and multifaceted weighing.

There are three reasons that prompted him to make the decision to go abroad:

[The first reason is the most crucial safety issue.]

Facts have proved that the temporal assassin did not attack him abroad, but chased after him relentlessly in Donghai City, determined to take him down.

Although he didn't know the specific reason, it was not difficult to analyze the conclusion by reasoning backwards from the facts: at this moment, Donghai City must be the most dangerous place for him, while foreign countries are safe.

This question also puzzled Lin Xian.

He thought there were two possibilities:

1. The reason why she can attack him so hard in Donghai is because his death or control in Donghai is within the scope of temporal elasticity and conforms to the established historical development route.
2. The attack in Donghai has nothing to do with temporal elasticity. It's simply because the temporal assassin's purpose is to take him to a certain place in Donghai, to someone in Donghai City. Therefore, instead of controlling him abroad and then escorting him, it's better to just wait for him in Donghai City.

These two answers.

Lin Xian couldn't guess which one it was for the time being.

Either one is possible, and it's even possible that both answers are correct.

In short.

It's better not to stay in Donghai. Since facts have proven that Copenhagen and even foreign countries are the safest, why be stubborn?

You only have one life in reality, so you must cherish it absolutely.

Therefore, for safety's sake, the best decision is to leave Donghai immediately and go abroad to a place where the temporal assassin can't find him, or can't easily find him.

Temporal travelers can sense each other, which Huang Que has already proven to him. But he is not a temporal traveler, so the temporal assassin definitely cannot sense his existence; if she wants to find him on this vast earth, it is still a bit difficult...

Except for Donghai!

Donghai City is his main place of activity, his home, company, and friends are all in Donghai, so she can easily find him... Like today, it's too dangerous, it can be described as a close call.

Lin Xian also thought about it.

For this level of deadly killer, he can completely apply for state protection. In addition, he and Liu An, the director of the National Security Agency, are old friends. If he goes directly to the capital, he can even enjoy the highest level of protection, ensuring that the temporal assassin does not dare to attack him.

But...

What is the point of this passive defense?

Under the protection of the National Security Agency, the temporal assassin will indeed not attack him like today, and it is very likely that she will disappear from now on and never appear again.

Then what can he get?

And how should he break the situation?

In a cat-and-mouse game, the mouse can never win; unless the cat voluntarily gives up, then the mouse wins, otherwise... the cat can look for the mouse for a lifetime, but can the mouse hide for a lifetime? Can it hide for a lifetime?

This has already been proven in the cat-and-mouse game with the Seven Deadly Sins. Hiding all the time is meaningless. To win, you must turn from a mouse into a cat, from prey into a hunter! Directly break into the enemy's lair and kill the enemy first! Achieve victory!

He will definitely call Director Liu An later, entrusting him to investigate this matter as soon as possible to see if he can catch the temporal assassin.

If he can catch her, then everyone will be happy, and he can return to Donghai with peace of mind.

But what if he can't catch her?

Who knows if the temporal assassin has any other tricks?

The era she traveled from is obviously much more distant than Huang Que's, at least it is a future era with body enhancement drugs and gene editing technology.

Because not only is the girl's physical fitness explosive, but she is also extremely beautiful, cold and lovely, even more beautiful than the sculptures in New Donghai City and Rhein Sky City.

Comparing Huang Que with this girl, it is not difficult to guess...

Huang Que probably traveled from a few decades in the future.

And the era that this temporal assassin traveled from should be a few hundred years in the future.

With hundreds of years of technological innovation and technological progress, temporal travelers sent back through temporal travel machines must be different and have gaps in many ways.

The overall strength of this temporal assassin should be much stronger than Huang Que.

Moreover, he only has one life, and the situation is changing rapidly now. Every minute and every second cannot be wasted, and he cannot put all his bets on the National Security Agency and the police force.

He also needs to find a way out for himself, a way to break the situation!

This is the second reason why he immediately decided to go abroad—

[The second reason is that the enemy has already come to his door, and he must turn passive into active and directly kill them!]

Lin Xian is very sure that someone must be instructing the temporal assassin behind the scenes.

Either Kevin Walker's faction or Jask's faction.

Currently.

Jask and the temporal assassin are more likely to be in the same group.

No wonder VV left Jask's name on the TV with burn marks. It seems that in addition to identifying Jask as the murderer who killed it... there should be other intentions, hiding some deep meaning.

In short.

Both Kevin Walker and Jask are active abroad.

If he wants to eliminate them, kill them, and complete the double breakthrough in reality and dreams, he will always have to go abroad to find them.

Staying in Donghai City all the time won't eliminate the enemy; the enemy won't take the initiative to come to his door, so he can only go find them himself.

Fortunately, there is Angelica, an enemy of the enemy.

She and Lin Xian have some overlapping goals and both have enemies with the Genius Club:

Angelica wants to avenge Ji Xinshui and Ji Lin, especially Ji Lin, and fulfill Ji Lin's last wish to find the murderer who killed his parents.

And he also has clear goals, wanting to kill Kevin Walker; and also wanting to kill the instigator behind the temporal assassin, suspected to be Jask.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Angelica is thriving in Hollywood, has a wide network of contacts, and has strong strength and means. With a common purpose, she and Lin Xian can form a team and become partners in a joint operation.

Lin Xian is still confident about this.

Because he has something Angelica wants, information she wants to know.

And...

Lin Xian likes people with strong action.

Now that he is fighting alone, what he needs most is a teammate with strong action. It's best if they are ruthless characters who are murderous and can take action.

"I never thought that things are so unpredictable that I would have a day to cooperate with the Seven Deadly Sins."

Thinking of this, Lin Xian couldn't help but smile.

The enemy is an unexpected enemy, and the teammate is also an unexpected teammate.

Lin Xian remembered what Huang Que told him:

"If it's right, just do it. If it's wrong, just be wrong all the way. The only thing that is undesirable is being timid."

Yes.

He also feels it now. While ensuring safety as much as possible and weighing the pros and cons, being timid is just retreating! It's just escaping!

And now.

He just needs to face the difficulties!

This is the third and most important reason why he decided to go abroad immediately—

[The third reason is that only by improving his own combat power can he have the capital to protect himself and kill the enemy.]

Lin Xian is just an ordinary person with a body of flesh and blood.

After seeing the temporal assassin's exaggerated physical fitness, he understood that he had no chance of confronting her head-on.

Unless...

Give him a gun!

Guns, this kind of kinetic weapon, is something that no carbon-based life on Earth can resist.

Even if a thick-skinned elephant comes, it will fall to the ground with a shotgun.

The power of bullets is so simple and unpretentious, and its lethality is huge.

It is true that the temporal assassin's body has been strengthened, but no matter how strong the human body is, it is not steel. The strength of skin tissue, muscle tissue, and human bones has an upper limit.

You can be more resistant to being beaten, but you can never be more resistant than a steel plate;

You can have harder bones, but you can never be harder than a steel plate;

Your muscle strength can explode more powerfully, but it can never compare to the kinetic energy of gunpowder exploding instantly to eject bullets.

This is absolute.

When Lin Xian first encountered the temporal assassin, the girl killer, he was worried that this wouldn't be a super robot from the future like in the *Terminator* movies, right?

Those T800, T1000, and T3000 model *Terminator* robots are too terrifying, they have exceeded the concept of science fiction and started to become fantasy.

If you have to say, the *Terminator* T800 robot played by Schwarzenegger is still within the scope of technology, basically an alloy skeleton + battery + chip.

But being invulnerable to knives and guns is indeed difficult to deal with. To kill them, you must use a large hydraulic press or a steel furnace.

If the temporal assassin girl is also this kind of setting, then it would be useless even if Lin Xian got a pistol.

But the good news is that when the girl was thrown out by the inertia of the brake, her head was broken and she bled, and her arms were also bleeding.

This shows that luckily, she is still made of flesh and blood.

Since falling from the car can break her head and make her bleed, then guns and bullets can definitely kill her.

In the dream world, Lin Xian has been a five-star good citizen every night, training his marksmanship for more than ten years in life-and-death situations... His skills and accuracy have long been engraved in his nerves, forming a conditioned reflex.

This is the main reason why Lin Xian insisted on going to the United States to get a handgun for self-defense.

In addition, with the temporal laws, his advantage is huge.

He can wantonly shoot the temporal assassin, but the temporal assassin cannot kill him.

The situation reversed instantly.

Lin Xian has guns in his left hand and temporal laws in his right, both offense and defense.

"If only I could know the specific boundaries of temporal elasticity."

During this period of calming down.

Lin Xian thought carefully about the issue of temporal elasticity and mandatory avoidance.

There is no doubt that the basis for determining whether mandatory avoidance is triggered lies in temporal elasticity.

Huang Que has also repeatedly said that temporal elasticity is the most important temporal law, and also said that he has never fully understood it.

This sentence is true.

Even today, Lin Xian doesn't have a clear concept... How exactly is the boundary of temporal elasticity defined?

He once thought that it was determined based on life.

That is to say, temporal travelers can harm the lives of this timeline to a certain extent, but they must never kill them.

But now it seems that this way of judging is not accurate.

Let's take the simplest example, Huang Que's high heels.

How many ants has she stepped on? How many mosquitoes has she slapped to death? And because of her eating habits over the years, how many more pigs, sheep, and chickens have died in the Dragon Kingdom?

If simply killing lives is used as the basis for judging whether it exceeds temporal elasticity... then Huang Que would have violated the rules countless times.

Although pigs, sheep, chickens, and mosquitoes are not humans, from a temporal perspective, their lives are no different from human lives.

Therefore, we can now directly deny this conclusion—

The boundary definition of temporal elasticity has nothing to do with the life or death of lives.

Then, what is it related to?

Lin Xian believes that specific matters should be analyzed specifically.

If we use numbers to represent it.

The allowable range of temporal elasticity is assumed to be the interval [-100, +100].

That is to say, as long as the degree of change that temporal travelers' behavior causes to the current established history is within the interval of -100 to +100, it is allowed.

For example.

Killing a chicken will change the trajectory of established history by +2, then this behavior is still within the allowable range of temporal elasticity, so it is allowed and can be done.

For example.

Killing Lin Xian will change the trajectory of established history by +105, then this behavior exceeds the allowable range of temporal elasticity, so it will be prohibited and trigger the mandatory avoidance law.

However, can everyone's life change the trajectory of established history by more than +100 or less than -100?

Lin Xian thinks it must be different, just like killing mosquitoes, pigs, cattle, and sheep. Although lives are not divided into high and low, in fact, everyone's promotion and hindrance to history does have different degrees.

For example.

Killing Gao Yang may change the trajectory of established history by -80. Then this value is also within the allowable range of temporal elasticity. That being said, the behavior of temporal travelers killing Gao Yang is completely within the allowable range of temporal elasticity and will not trigger the mandatory avoidance law.

Similarly.

If he only controls himself and doesn't kill himself, the trajectory of changing established history may only be +70. Then this behavior is also within the allowable range of temporal elasticity and is naturally allowed.

Thinking of this...

Lin Xian suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

He thought of an extreme possibility!

"What if..."

The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt:

"If these damages to temporal elasticity can be added or offset, then killing Gao Yang is -80, and killing me is +105."

"Then if... kill Gao Yang first, and then kill me, wouldn't the numerical values of these two things changing the trajectory of established history only add up to +25?"

"+25, that's within the scope of temporal elasticity! It can be allowed!"

In an instant, Lin Xian was enlightened!

[While disrupting history, if you also synchronize the correction of history, can you offset this damage to historical elasticity?]

He suddenly understood.

He had also corrected history.

That is Time Bank!

In the third dream and the initial fourth dream, because he established Rhein Company, Brother Wang gave up his childhood dream, history was disrupted, and Time Bank disappeared from the timeline.

This is obviously a temporal change, also known as disrupting established history.

But!

He later found the reason why Time Bank disappeared, and he had to tie the bell to untie it. He reawakened Brother Wang's childhood dream and brought back the disappeared Time Bank.

Isn't this his effort to change the cause and effect of something and then correct history back to its original trajectory?

At this moment.

Lin Xian seemed to have understood a new temporal law—

[Historical Correction]

[Relative to the history that has been disrupted, if a certain behavior or practice can make the deviated historical trajectory correct again and return to the original development track... then this behavior or practice is called—Historical Correction.]

"No wonder..."

Lin Xian instantly understood why the temporal assassin didn't kill him in Copenhagen, but could attack him in Donghai City...

This is the temporal law that Huang Que really wanted to teach him.

He didn't know enough about temporal elasticity and mandatory avoidance before... He always thought that everything was absolute and that all judging standards would not change.

But the real situation is not like this.

As early as when they met at the Donghai University laboratory and at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Huang Que mentioned that "elasticity can be changed, the greater the elasticity, the more things can be told."

It turns out that Huang Que's hints had already begun at that time.

Temporal elasticity is variable!

It can even be calculated artificially!

Disrupting history can even be artificially corrected again!

"That is to say..."

Lin Xian rubbed his chin and his brain was thinking quickly:

"That is to say, if you catch me, control me, or kill me in Donghai City... it may be part of historical correction. This means that this behavior will not exceed the temporal elasticity limit, so it will naturally not trigger mandatory avoidance!"

"There must be something else in Donghai City that can offset the historical disruption caused by killing me, so that the overall impact of this series of behaviors on history is not enough to exceed temporal elasticity. Therefore, the temporal assassin can be so unscrupulous."

……

Lin Xian took a deep breath.

He smacked his lips.

He actually realized only now [Historical Correction], a temporal law that is opposite, separate, and offset to [Disrupting History].

Disrupting History is essentially the temporal butterfly effect and temporal change, which is not a new discovery.

But Historical Correction can be regarded as a reverse and directional temporal butterfly effect, used to offset the temporal changes that have already occurred... This is too clever!

His act of bringing back the disappeared Time Bank was completely unintentional.

However, the temporal assassins seem to be able to accurately find the nodes of historical correction and then correct them.

How is this done?

The enemies from hundreds of years in the future... have they become so terrifying?

If they have really mastered the method of historical correction and can clearly calculate the magnitude of the disruption of each action to history... then if they offset one positive and one negative, wouldn't they not need to worry about temporal elasticity and mandatory avoidance at all?

"This is too buggy!"

Lin Xian really felt that the enemy was like cheating... Their understanding of temporal laws was far above his.

"Wait a minute, let me sort it out again."

Lin Xian turned on his phone, took out the calculator, and started to do hypothetical addition and subtraction for temporal elasticity.

"Killing me in Copenhagen, the magnitude of disrupting history is assumed to be +160, which is not feasible."

"Killing me in Donghai City, the degree of disrupting history is +105, which is also not feasible."

"Controlling me in Donghai City and escorting me somewhere, the degree of disrupting history is +80, which is feasible, but it still can't kill me."

"But…"

"If you control me first, the degree of disrupting history is +80; then save two people who should have died, the degree of disrupting history is -160; at this time, the total degree of disrupting history is -80; then kill me at this time, the degree of disrupting history is +105; But because the previous degree of disrupting history was -80, the positive and negative are superimposed and neutralized, killing me has become a behavior of correcting history! Let the degree of disrupting history return to +25, complete a historical correction, and let history return to a closed loop."

"Is… is this idea… feasible?"

Lin Xian looked at the numbers displayed on the phone screen and fell into deep thought.

All of these hypothetical assumptions for digitizing temporal elasticity are derived from his own wild ideas.

Is this true? Is it really as he thinks?

Lin Xian couldn't be sure whether his guess was correct.

But without a doubt.

Historical Correction, this temporal law, definitely exists.

Because he had unintentionally completed a historical correction, allowing the history of Time Bank to re-close.

In fact, as long as you can find the source, historical correction is not difficult.

For example, he can still rename Rhein Cat to Keke Cat, which can also be regarded as a historical correction, right? Although it has no practical significance.

"Sure enough, Huang Que was right."

Lin Xian murmured softly:

"Temporal laws are power. The more you comprehend, the more you understand, the more powerful you become."

At least, now that he understands the eighth temporal law, the law of Historical Correction, Lin Xian has determined that his decision to leave Donghai City was an extremely correct one.

Looking at it this way.

The other party, the unknown enemy, is also unable to fully grasp the historical correction of every event.

Otherwise, why didn't they attack him in Copenhagen?

Therefore, the enemy is not as strong as he imagined, and he still has a chance to turn defeat into victory.

All fear comes from insufficient firepower.

And now...

He is finally going to have firepower!

"Mr. Lin, we're here. The elevated bridge ahead is the exit."

The driver, Xiao Li, in the front row turned his head and said:

"What should I do next? Should I stop the car?"

Lin Xian looked at his watch:

"After getting off the elevated road later, just stop in front of the aviation building. I'll take the VIP channel to board the plane. There's no need to check in so early."

Once he checks in, his whereabouts may be exposed, and the enemy will know which airport he is in. Therefore, it is best to be careful and check in as late as possible.

Then, Lin Xian picked up his phone and dialed Liu An, the director of the National Security Agency.

After a few rings, the call was connected.

"Director Liu, I'm sorry to disturb you at night."

"It's okay, Lin Xian, I haven't slept yet." On the other end of the phone, Liu An's surroundings were very noisy, and it seemed that he was still working overtime:

"What's the matter?"

Lin Xian told Liu An everything about the attack he had suffered.

Liu An was very nervous:

"Then Lin Xian, you should immediately go to the security department in Donghai to receive protection. I will arrange the highest level of protection for you. Before we catch the killer, you should hide in the protection base and don't come out."

"Or if necessary, we can arrange a special plane to protect you to the capital. We can provide you with a higher level of protection here. Of course, your personal freedom will definitely be restricted, but for absolute safety, it's worth it."

Lin Xian refused.

Because he knew that hiding and receiving protection was meaningless.

The temporal assassin can wait, wait for him to no longer accept protection and then come out again. Anyway, he can't do anything under protection.

Even if the temporal assassin can really be caught by the National Security Agency, it is only a temporary solution. Who knows if there will be a second temporal assassin, a third, a fourth?

The key to breaking the situation is still to go abroad to find clues about Kevin Walker and Jask.

"Then Lin Xian, you must be careful and find a safe place to hide."

Director Liu An urged:

"I will personally go to Donghai City to direct the investigation of this matter and catch the girl killer as soon as possible."

Lin Xian nodded:

"My driver Xiao Li has seen that girl with his own eyes. I will let him contact you later to cooperate with your investigation. I'm really bothering you, Director Liu."

"Protecting the safety of citizens is the responsibility of our National Security Agency." Liu An said seriously on the phone:

"Leave it to us."

After saying that, the two hung up the phone.

Lin Xian turned off the phone screen and put it in his pocket.

It was finally over. He lay back on the back seat and looked to the right.

The door on the right side of the Elfa business car had been removed by the girl killer.

Now this luxury business car is already a Syrian war-damaged version, with all kinds of scars on the front, back, left, right, up and down. It is estimated that it is difficult to repair.

"Xiao Li, we may have to change cars when I come back."

Xiao Li, whose nerves were still tense, didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a while, and gripped the steering wheel tightly and replied:

"What kind of car are you planning to change to, Mr. Lin?"

"I have a childhood friend who sells cars and was just promoted to store manager."

Lin Xian thought of Gao Yang:

"Although our Rhein Company has ordered a lot of cars from him... but I promised him that I would buy one from him myself, but I haven't bought it yet. After I come back, I'll go buy one from him."

"Now it seems that it really doesn't matter what kind of car you drive. When you encounter a crazy killer like that, what car can withstand it? Unless you get one that's bulletproof."

"Don't worry, Mr. Lin."

The driver, Xiao Li, turned on the right turn signal, drove off the elevated road, and headed towards the aviation building of Hongqiao Airport:

"The police will definitely catch that killer! By then I'll tell you, and you'll be able to return home safely."

……

An hour later, the plane took off.

Flying to the United States, New Jersey, Princeton, across the ocean.

I hope this time.

It will really break the situation and open it up.

Lin Xian looked at the clouds constantly falling outside the porthole...

"The temporal assassin won't be able to chase me to the United States, right?"

Lin Xian now felt some PTSD when he thought of those eerie blue eyes.

It can't be that...

She'll really stick to the outside of the plane like the *Terminator* or a Super Saiyan, right?

Lin Xian held his breath for a moment.

He carefully put his head on the round glass window.

Slowly turning his head...

Looking towards the wing behind him—

"Hiss."

He took a breath, and then his breathing became smooth.

Luckily.

She wasn't there.

It seems that his spirit is really a little too tense.

So far, the temporal assassin still does not dare to act in public. Whether it was the assassination of Huang Que or the attack on himself, she only took action at night.

Presumably, she also has some concerns and is not unscrupulous.

……

More than ten hours later.

The plane landed at Princeton Airport in the United States. Angelica, who had been waiting here early in the morning, successfully picked up Lin Xian. The two took Angelica's celebrity van in the VIP channel and left the airport.

This van is very high-end and luxurious, far above his Elfa business car.

"Where's what I want?"

As soon as he got in the car and closed the door, Lin Xian stretched out his hand to Angelica.

"You're a really impatient man."

Angelica chuckled, but still handed Lin Xian a small black leather suitcase next to the seat.

Lin Xian took the small suitcase.

Put it on his lap.

Open it—

Inside were two boxes of bullets, four magazines, and two pistols of different models.

Lin Xian took out the first one.

Sig Sauer-P320.

This is one of the best-selling pistol models in the United States. It is all black, and the grip is frosted suede. It is the king of super-caliber lethality and is also known as M17 by gun enthusiasts.

Angelica crossed her legs next to him and looked at the pistol in Lin Xian's hand and introduced:

"This is the latest Sig Sauer. Didn't you specifically ask for a large-caliber, high-lethality pistol? This is the largest caliber you can buy on the market. The latest model has also been upgraded by 1mm, and the caliber has reached 10mm. It can penetrate a 5mm steel plate within 20 meters."

Lin Xian nodded.

He was very satisfied with this gun.

Considering the temporal assassin's exaggerated physical fitness, the larger the caliber and the stronger the lethality, the better.

Then.

He picked up another silver pistol:

"This is…"

Lin Xian looked at this rare item:

"Desert Eagle?"

"That's right."

Angelica smiled appreciatively:

"You're quite knowledgeable. This one is my own collection. You can't buy it through formal channels in the United States, and imports are not allowed. The reason... you should naturally know that the Desert Eagle uses special Magnum bullets, which have huge penetrating power and recoil. It is not something that ordinary people can handle."

"Many people fracture their wrists with one shot when using the Desert Eagle at the shooting range because their posture is incorrect and their grip is insufficient... It was also because you repeatedly asked me to get you some large-caliber, high-lethality pistols that I took out this collection of mine, which has always been well maintained."

"How is it? Which one of these two guns do you like? Choose one."

Click!

Lin Xian loaded the Desert Eagle.

"No."

He smiled slightly:

"I want them all."