“I will,”

Lin Xian said solemnly.

He was truly grateful for Chu Shanhe’s trust in him, not even saying a word of reproach.

But...

The promise he had made, the vow he had sworn, he had to fulfill.

No amount of pretty words could compare to bringing Chu Anqing back!

He turned around.

And walked out of the manor…

“Home.”

After getting into the car, he lay back against the rear seat and said with his eyes closed.

…

Not long after.

He returned home.

The professional electricians from Rhein Company had already rewired the electrical lines in his house, and the appliances had basically been replaced with new ones. Except for some large items that had not yet been delivered, the entire house was brand new, and he could live normally.

Lin Xian ordered takeout and filled his stomach.

Only then did he realize that he hadn’t eaten or slept properly for days.

He had been working nonstop.

Running back and forth between the capital, Qufu, the capital, and the East Sea… taking planes back and forth, and going into the deep mountains and old forests to dig graves with Gao Yang, carrying a lot of tools.

Actually, those things were okay.

Before going to see Chu Shanhe, Lin Xian seemed to be using this busyness to numb himself.

But after seeing Chu Shanhe today, he felt a lot more relaxed and a lot more determined.

Just as he had guaranteed to Chu Shanhe.

No matter where Chu Anqing was now, no matter who Chu Anqing was now.

He would bring her back.

Bring her back!

Bring her home!

But words alone weren't enough; in the current situation, he had to find a way to break the deadlock and take things a step further.

After finishing his meal.

Lin Xian tidied up the table and then returned to the bedroom.

He turned on the desk lamp.

Sitting at the desk he hadn’t sat at for a long time, he began to think.

First of all, there was still the problem of the Millennium Stake (Qian Nian Zhuang).

On the way back in the car, he had already figured it out.

The time interval between driving the two Millennium Stakes was indeed 24 years.

But each Millennium Stake disappeared at the age of 20.

Therefore.

From the disappearance of the previous Millennium Stake to the birth of the next Millennium Stake, there was a 4-year interval.

At the time, he was a little puzzled.

What did this 4-year interval mean?

If it was for the sake of continuity of staking, then pregnancy only needed 10 months.

Wouldn't it be more compact if this Millennium Stake had just finished staking and disappeared, and then another Millennium Stake was born 10 months later?

That way, a stake could be driven every 21 years.

In 1000 years, that would be several more stakes.

This detail also made Lin Xian begin to wonder…

If the meaning of the Millennium Stake was really to lock down history, then how many years of history could the disappearance of one Millennium Stake lock down?

For example, Zhang Yuqian and Chu Anqing.

Zhang Yuqian disappeared on January 21, 2000, Chu Anqing was born on March 28, 2004, and then Chu Anqing disappeared on March 28, 2024…

Between January 21, 2000 and March 28, 2004, there were no Millennium Stakes in this world.

What about this period of time?

Was this period of history locked down, or not?

“Logically speaking, locked-down history should be unchangeable, but isn’t what I’ve been doing all along changing history?”

Lin Xian began to spin his pen.

“So, in all likelihood, history can still be changed during the time before the Millennium Stake is driven down… but this kind of lock-down is useless for people in this space-time!”

He realized this principle.

Before Chu Anqing disappeared as a Millennium Stake, he had changed the future development trajectory several times, and the first dream had become the fourth dream. There were too many changes.

Then, on March 28, 2024, the Millennium Stake locked down the previous history, which was true.

But what did that have to do with him?

He had already lived to April 2024, and there were still 4 years until the birth of the next Millennium Stake; there were still 24 years until the next Millennium Stake was driven down…

In these 24 years, the future could be transformed into anything, and perhaps the fourth dream could be updated to the fortieth dream.

So what was the point of driving the Millennium Stake then?

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes and discovered this blind spot –

“So, the existence of the Millennium Stake has never been to guard against people in this space-time, but those space-time travelers from the future! To prevent them from tampering with history!”

Historical lock-down…

Lin Xian recalled this space-time rule.

In fact, those things that had not yet happened were clearly the future for people in this space-time.

Only for space-time travelers like Huang Que, who came from the future, were these things that had not yet happened called history.

It was history in relation to them.

Recalling the phenomenon that happened to Huang Que that day…

She wanted to tell him what the Millennium Stake was, but she was forcibly silenced by some invisible force, unable to say a word.

Not only that.

Her body also became transparent, almost disappearing, which was obviously also punished by some kind of forced power!

At that time, Huang Que also specifically pointed out.

Saying that this situation generally wouldn’t happen, only when [Space-time Rejection] and [Historical Lock-down] were triggered at the same time would it appear.

This was the second space-time rule she wanted to teach him.

No name.

Only phenomenon.

He needed to think, extend, and summarize it himself.

But…

Right now, Lin Xian felt that his understanding of this unnamed space-time rule was not thorough enough.

He always felt that it was indistinguishable from and not very different from the space-time rejection rule.

The understanding of space-time rejection referred to the fact that the actions and words of these space-time travelers would be backlashed and attacked by the power of space-time when they exceeded the space-time elasticity. The attached clause was that even if they didn’t do anything that exceeded the space-time elasticity, they would still be rejected and harmed… eyes turning blue, bodies becoming weak, and so on.

“What is the big difference between these two rules?”

Lin Xian couldn’t understand.

Because the phenomenon of Huang Que being forcibly silenced and stopped could actually be explained clearly by space-time elasticity and space-time rejection.

Why specifically mention it?

Therefore.

Was the key point in that [forced] behavior?

General space-time rejection might be resisted or tolerated.

But force was completely irresistible. Once violated, it would be like being caught like a chick, held in the palm of your hand, unable to move or speak.

“Avoidance…”

Lin Xian recalled that when he was at Time Bank this afternoon, Brother Wang said that there was an avoidance principle in the company’s articles of association.

That was, when customers stored or retrieved things in the warehouse or set passwords, all staff members had to avoid them, not to watch or eavesdrop, or even enter the warehouse.

This [avoidance] principle might be similar to Huang Que’s inability to speak, write, or move.

“So, although I haven’t fully understood this space-time rule, let’s name it first.”

Considering the coerciveness and avoidance of this space-time rule that he had just thought of… Lin Xian directly pulled off the pen cap and wrote the name of this brand-new space-time rule on the white paper –

[Forced Avoidance].

This was the seventh space-time rule after the space-time butterfly effect, space-time change, change anchor point, space-time elasticity, space-time rejection, and historical lock-down: forced avoidance.

It was just that Lin Xian was a little unsure about the naming and understanding of this one.

He always felt.

That something was still missing.

He felt that he hadn’t fully comprehended this space-time rule, and he didn’t know what this space-time rule would bring him after he understood and comprehended it.

But considering that Huang Que had a painful expression at the time and didn’t hesitate to personally demonstrate the phenomenon of this space-time rule.

Presumably… this space-time rule must be very important.

And Huang Que said something intriguing at the end:

“Perhaps, this is the last thing I can teach you.”

Click.

Lin Xian closed the pen cap.

Could it be…

Did she not have much time left?

Would Huang Que also turn into blue stardust and disappear like Chu Anqing?

Or… was there another ending?

Thinking of Huang Que.

Lin Xian thought of Zhao Yingjun.

The two of them were very similar, but sometimes they weren’t.

He felt that the relationship between Zhao Yingjun and Huang Que should be similar to that of the Big-Faced Cat in the first dream and the Big-Faced Cat in the second dream, Li Cheng in the first dream and Li Cheng in the second dream.

Were they the same person?

Obviously, they were the same person.

But because of different experiences, environments, and growth trajectories, their lives and personalities were completely different.

Naturally, there were similarities, but if he were to say that Li Cheng and Big-Faced Cat in the first dream and Li Cheng and Big-Faced Cat in the second dream were the same person… Lin Xian couldn’t really accept this setting.

Big-Faced Cat was okay.

What was the difference between Li Cheng’s position and behavior and changing a person?

Therefore…

Lin Xian believed that the relationship between Huang Que and Zhao Yingjun was probably similar to this.

From a biological point of view, they were the same person.

But they had experienced different lives, different stories, and different environments… therefore, it couldn’t be considered the same person in the strict sense.

At least in Lin Xian’s mind at the moment.

Huang Que was Huang Que, and Zhao Yingjun was Zhao Yingjun. He couldn’t treat these two people as the same person at all.

Because they were inherently different.

“Mirror.”

Lin Xian thought of this oft-repeated puzzle again.

What exactly was the mirror!

He stood up.

And came to the bathroom again, facing the large mirror on the wall of the washstand.

Looking at himself looking back at him.

Lin Xian turned his head to the left, and the Lin Xian in the mirror also turned his head to the left.

What was so good about this thing?

What was there to hide?

The principle of the mirror was so simple, what would happen if you looked at it for a little longer?

“[Look in the mirror more, Lin Xian.]”

“[In the mirror… there is something you want.]”

Suddenly.

Huang Que’s gentle voice echoed in his ears again.

At the same time, he also remembered the answer given by the super artificial intelligence VV in the third dream after thinking for a long time about the mirror puzzle:

“[I think it’s the literal meaning, let you look in the mirror more.]”

“[Lin Xian, have you looked in the mirror for… long enough?]”

Similarly.

There was also the time at the science charity gala when he asked Zhao Yingjun this question again.

The answer given by the other party was also:

“[If it were me… then I think the answer might really be hidden in the mirror, you should really look in the mirror more.]”

“[I just think that if this sentence was really said by me, then it would probably only be the literal meaning, and there would be no deep meaning. After all… I wouldn’t lie to you, would I?]”

…

Okay.

The answers given by VV and Zhao Yingjun to this mirror puzzle were all literal, returning to basics, letting him look in the mirror more.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t looked at it a lot before.

In terms of time, he had once looked at it continuously for 3 hours.

In terms of frequency, he had looked at it hundreds of times in one hour.

He had really exhausted all methods. Of course, he wanted to solve the mirror puzzle more than anyone else, and he also wanted to get the thing that Huang Que said he wanted, he wanted it more than anyone else!

“Okay.”

The current Lin Xian was very sleepy.

But he decided to try again.

He returned to the bedroom and looked at the digital clock on the bedside table, the time displayed:

19:21

Then he directly picked up the square digital clock and put it on the washstand in the bathroom.

He returned to the living room and pulled a chair, placing it in front of the mirror in the washstand.

He yawned.

Lin Xian washed his face, forcibly trying to cheer up, and then directly sat on the chair, staring unblinkingly at himself in the mirror.

“This time… how many hours am I going to watch?”

The longest time before, he had just stared at himself in the mirror like this for a full three hours.

Then he would continue to watch today.

Lin Xian crossed his legs, leaned forward, resting his right elbow on his knee, holding his chin in his palm, looking at himself in the mirror.

He just stared like this, doing nothing.

He blinked, and the Lin Xian in the mirror also blinked.

He yawned, and the Lin Xian in the mirror also yawned.

He really wanted to play with his phone for a while, and the Lin Xian in the mirror was obviously also hesitating, but he touched his pockets a few times and resisted.

He shook his neck, scanning the edge of the mirror.

The mirror in this washstand was very large, occupying the entire wall behind the washstand.

Otherwise, when Huang Que first told him the mirror puzzle, he wouldn’t have imagined… could he pass through the mirror? Just like in cartoons, there was another world inside the mirror?

Of course.

The facts proved that it was too silly.

Lin Xian, who had already posed at the time, was embarrassed.

“Ah…”

He yawned a long yawn again.

The Lin Xian in the mirror was the same, opening his mouth wide and moving his neck.

He was really tired from running to so many places today.

If he wasn’t already sitting here, Lin Xian would have really planned to go back to sleep…

He glanced to the left, looking at the digital clock on the washstand, the time displayed:

20:07

The Lin Xian in the mirror was the same, tirelessly imitating him, looking to the left at the digital clock:

He had been staring at himself for so long.

Less than an hour had passed.

It was too slow…

Lin Xian couldn’t help but lower his head and sigh.

The Lin Xian in the mirror also lowered his head and sighed, without missing a second.

He raised his head again:

“Continue.”

The Lin Xian in the mirror was the same, raising his head and cheering for both sides.

Time passed…

The sound of flushing water from the residents upstairs kept coming from the bathroom pipes.

Whirr, whirr, whirr.

Near bedtime, it was the peak period for washing up and going to the toilet. The sound of running water in the pipes didn’t stop, which also allowed Lin Xian, who had been staring at the mirror, to feel a sense of reality.

He glanced to the side again, looking at the digital clock on the washstand.

The Lin Xian in the mirror was also the same, tirelessly imitating him, looking at the electronic clock to the left:

23:48

“Four and a half hours, are you still going to watch?”

He opened his mouth and asked himself, and the Lin Xian in the mirror also opened his mouth and asked him the same question.

He yawned a big yawn again.

The Lin Xian in the mirror was the same.

Both Lin Xians were too tired, and their eyelids began to fight, unable to hold on any longer.

“Let’s hold on for a while longer…”

Lin Xian and the Lin Xian in the mirror bit their teeth at the same time, closing one eye and forcibly propping up the other eye, looking at each other.

Gradually…

The sound of flushing water in the bathroom pipes was gone.

It was quiet.

Everyone was asleep.

After all, at this time in the early morning… only Lin Xian, like an idiot, was stubbornly staring at the bathroom mirror, watching for five hours.

Another super huge yawn.

Lin Xian and the Lin Xian in the mirror seemed to be able to see each other’s tonsils in their wide-open mouths.

Sleepy…

He was really too sleepy.

Was it about time?

He had been looking at the mirror for five hours!

Lin Xian forcibly opened his half-closed eyes, and together with the Lin Xian in the mirror, glanced again at the digital clock, the time displayed—

00:42

“Forget it, let’s go to sleep. I won’t dream anymore if I stay up past this point.”

As he spoke.

Lin Xian directly got up from the stool.

He raised his head and looked at the mirror he had been staring at for five hours.

In an instant!

His scalp went numb!

Clang!

He couldn’t help but take a step back, kicking over the chair, his back pressed tightly against the tiles behind him!

Cold!

A chill ran down his spine!

He stared with wide eyes at the Lin Xian in the mirror—

It…

It didn’t stand up!

He had clearly stood up, but the Lin Xian in the mirror was still sitting on the chair! Holding his chin! Looking at him! The corners of his mouth slowly rising, revealing a smile!

Lin Xian’s breathing became rapid.

Retreating backward, but there was nowhere to retreat.

In the silent early morning, the Lin Xian in the mirror finally stood up after a delay, and then stretched out his right index finger and held it in front of his lips…

Shhh————

There was no sound, but Lin Xian stared with wide eyes at this terrifying scene.

After the Lin Xian in the mirror made the silencing gesture, he smiled slightly and took out a red card from behind his back, handing it out of the mirror!

It was an invitation that Lin Xian was very familiar with!

At the fold of the invitation, there was also a pressed red wax seal!

The invitation from the mirror was getting closer and closer.

Lin Xian could already see the pattern on the wax seal… that right hand pointing to the sky, and the line of English letters below the seal.

Just like that, silently.

The hand and the invitation in the mirror stretched out together! Stretched out from the mirror! Stretched out onto the washstand!

Then, with a turn of the wrist.

He placed the back of the invitation facing up on the washstand.

Lin Xian lowered his head and looked at the five bright gold characters on the back of the invitation—

Genius Club!