Chapter 497 Yu Xi's Letter

"Aaaaaah!!!!!"

Gao Wen was strapped to a restraint chair, wearing an octopus-like brain-nerve electroshock helmet, emitting a heart-wrenching scream.

His whole body trembled, his eyes rolled back.

Images flashed through his mind like a running horse lantern—

"Ahh!!"

With the final scream.

Gao Wen stopped trembling, and the red light on the brain-nerve electroshock helmet turned green.

He gasped for breath.

Raised his head.

Opened his eyes wide, and scanned the three men before him:
"Thank you, I... I have indeed recovered the memories before hibernation, but I don't recognize you at all in my memories."

"Who are you exactly? Judging by your attire, you shouldn't be staff from the hibernation center… Who are you?"

Lin Xian smiled slightly, stepped forward, and untied the straps on Gao Wen's restraint chair:
"Who we are is not important, what's important is... Gao Wen, what do you want to do now."

After undoing all the restraints.

He took a step back, looking at the still-shaken Gao Wen:
"Do you have a dream?"

Gao Wen held his breath for a moment, his pupils trembling:

"I do, I used to. But every time, I was mercilessly played by fate. Every field I was interested in was taken by someone else, and coincidentally… their ideas were exactly the same as mine."

"Including this brain-nerve electroshock helmet, it’s clearly exactly the same as what I envisioned in appearance and principle, but… it just wasn’t invented by me, it was created 200 years before I was even born."

"Once or twice this kind of thing would be fine, but it happens every time, it really makes me feel like a black hand of fate is teasing me! That's why I went into the hibernation pod, to escape this black hand, to go to the future to find... the true value of my life."

Behind him.

Liu Feng and Gao Yang pursed their lips, trying not to laugh, not to ruin the somber atmosphere.

Lin Xian patted Gao Wen on the shoulder.

And said earnestly:

"That's right, Gao Wen, that's why I'm here."

"Now, the future of humanity, our world, has reached a critical moment where you are needed, and only you can do it; the meaning and value of your life are far more important than you can imagine."

"My name is Lin Xian."

He grasped Gao Wen's hand, allowing this historic meeting to transcend time and space, and enter reality.

Then, looking into Gao Wen's eyes, he said solemnly:

"Join us, Gao Wen, let's work together to research the time-travel machine, together… to save the future!"

…

Gao Wen blinked rapidly.

A kindred spirit.

A kindred spirit!

He never thought that he would meet the person who understood him the most in the first second after waking up from hibernation!
"A time-travel machine, you are also researching a time-travel machine?"

Gao Wen became more and more excited:
"This is also my wish before hibernation! To be honest, I have indeed done some preliminary research on the time-travel machine, and have some immature ideas… I never thought that you would also be like-minded."

"May I ask, what stage have you reached in the construction? Can… can you tell me, or let me see it? Lin Xian, I am very willing to join your team, I will abide by all confidentiality regulations, I only hope to research truly useful inventions in this era, and realize my ideals and ambitions."

…

"No problem."

Lin Xian waved his hand, pulled Liu Feng over, and introduced him to Gao Wen:

"This is Liu Feng, the person in charge of the Rhine University laboratory, the time-travel machine project has always been his responsibility."

Gao Wen respectfully bowed to Liu Feng:

"Teacher Liu."

"No, no, no, no, no!"

Liu Feng was flattered, how could he bear the Emperor's bow! His cultivation level couldn't handle it!
He hastily bowed even deeper:
"Teacher Gao, Teacher Gao, you are the true master and senior!"

"Teacher Liu, you are too kind, I am just a junior." Bow x2
"Teacher Gao! You are the Emperor!" Bow x3
"Teacher Liu." Bow x4
"Teacher Gao!" Bow x5
Lin Xian quickly pulled the two apart:

"Alright, alright, let's go, let's go to the Rhine University laboratory first, and see the prototype of the time-travel machine."

Afterward.

The four of them left the house, got into the car, and headed to Rhine University.

Lin Xian asked about Gao Wen's situation, mainly about his age, he looked only in his thirties, much younger than expected.

This was also the youngest Gao Wen Lin Xian had ever seen.

Perhaps it was precisely because of his youth that the current Gao Wen did not yet have the domineering demeanor of the Emperor who ruled for countless ages, nor the boldness of the Godfather of Sin City.

People need to grow and mature, and the Emperor is no exception.

"Gao Wen."

Lin Xian turned his head from the front row, looking at the young Emperor:

"How old are you now?"

"I was 35 years old when I went into the hibernation pod." Gao Wen replied.

Lin Xian calculated in his mind.

Gao Wen was born in 2182, and hibernated in 2217.

The failed novelist, Mai Mai, described that humans had absolutely no means to deal with the anti-hibernation virus, and had no motivation to deal with it, so in about 200 years, the more the virus spread, the weaker its toxicity became, and the weaker its transmission also became, eventually disappearing on its own.

2025 plus 200 years, should be 2225.

"So, Gao Wen, you haven't been infected with the anti-hibernation virus since you were born?"

"That's not true."

Gao Wen explained:
"Although in 2182 when I was born, the toxicity and transmissibility of the anti-hibernation virus were already very weak, it still had some transmissibility, the infection rate was only about 20%. I was naturally infected when I was born, but I didn't care about it."

"After that, the toxicity of the virus became weaker and weaker, and it was rarely seen worldwide. Those who had already been infected also recovered one after another due to the continued weakening of the toxicity… After entering the twenty-third century, the anti-hibernation virus was so weak that it was almost impossible to survive outside the laboratory environment."

"Any virus can kill it, it dies with a little high or low temperature, it's extremely fragile. Not to mention the human body's immune system, the anti-hibernation virus is killed as soon as it passes by."

"When I was in college, the seniors in the virus laboratory were terrified every day, cultivating the anti-hibernation virus in petri dishes. Whoever had the ability to keep it alive would definitely get an award and be guaranteed a doctorate."

"But… after so many years of transmission and iteration, the anti-hibernation virus is too delicate, even if you give it the best virus growth environment, it will die to show you, and my seniors were all desperate because of this."

…

"In the end, just like how humans couldn't stop the virus from raging at the beginning, after 200 years, they couldn't make the virus continue to survive… Speaking of which, it's a bit ridiculous."

Indeed.

Lin Xian nodded.

From this point of view, Gauss really did equality to the extreme.

People get old and weak, and so do viruses.

People have a natural death limit, and so do viruses.

[Death is indeed the most basic equality of all life; humans, viruses, stars, the universe… all have their own predetermined lifespans.]

From a personal point of view, Lin Xian really hated Gauss.

But from the point of view of equality, he couldn't say that Gauss did anything wrong.

"I understand."

Lin Xian said:

"So, the virus in your body also slowly died and healed itself."

"Yes."

Gao Wen nodded:
"I don't know when I healed myself, this virus doesn't affect health at all, it has no side effects if you don't hibernate, so in general, no one cares about it."

"Anyway, by the time I was desperate, disappointed with this world, teased by an invisible black hand, and planned to hibernate… the virus in my body was long gone."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh and sighed:
"Lin Xian, thank you so much for letting me join your time-travel machine team."

"I'm relieved to see you, I'm no longer fighting alone. I think... that black hand that is playing with my fate should never appear around me again."

"Uh... rest assured."

Lin Xian comforted:
"That black hand should have no work to do."

With that said.

He turned back, looking at the rapidly flying traffic in front, and recalling the ages of the several people present.

Liu Feng's age was the oldest, 37 years old.

But he himself was the oldest, he was born the earliest.

Second was Gao Wen, 35 years old.

Then there were himself and Gao Yang, 26 years old.

Jask was still over 50 years old.

Du Yao hadn't woken up yet, and was still 27 years old.

This was all the strength in his current team, although small, quality was more important than quantity, each was an elite, each was a top player.

Ah no.

He turned his head, looking at Gao Yang snoring in the driver's seat.

Except for the little fatty.

…

Arriving at the Rhine University secret laboratory.

Gao Wen saw the time-travel machine, which was pure white, and ran over quickly.

He stroked the outer shell.

Admiring this extremely exquisite design:
"Amazing, too amazing… too delicate, too perfect, this is exactly the same as the time-travel machine I imagined!"

"Cough cough."

Lin Xian stepped forward, defusing the awkwardness:
"Well, how should I put it, geniuses always see the same things, beautiful things are always the same, only ugly things are ugly in various ways."

Gao Wen directly bypassed Lin Xian, grabbed Liu Feng's hands with both hands, and held them tightly:

"Teacher Liu, you are truly a genius! A peerless talent!"

"No, no, no, no."

Liu Feng shook his head violently.

He was so embarrassed, if Lin Xian hadn't said not to tell Gao Wen the truth, lest his Dao heart be broken, Liu Feng couldn't wait to tell the truth.

…

Now…

He, this "academic thief," was being blindly praised and admired by the "academic owner" here, he not only didn't have any secret pleasure, but instead felt like he was being teased.

Liu Feng was in tears, casting an inquiring look at Lin Xian… asking when he could tell Gao Wen the truth.

Lin Xian shook his head.

He would definitely tell him, but now was not the right time.

"Gao Wen, there are still a few small parts of this time-travel machine that have not been completed, the calibration module needs to wait for the comet three months later, and there are still some small problems in the design of other modules, I hope you can help us overcome this difficulty."

"No problem!"

Gao Wen rolled up his sleeves, already eager to put on his lab coat and show off his skills:
"Don't worry, Lin Xian, Teacher Liu Feng, I won't let you down!"

…

Afterward, it was just waiting for the time-travel machine to be completed, and waiting for the comet to arrive on Earth.

Lin Xian couldn't help with either of these two things; the same was true in his dreams, there was no change from before, Lin Xian was still riding his motorcycle to explore in other directions, and still getting nothing.

During these two months of daytime.

Every day he would come to Rhine University, to the white jade statues of Zhao Yingjun and Yu Xi, and sit on the flower bed in front with the silver-bright hafnium alloy trash can, vv, looking up at them, watching all day long.

Often, Gao Yang would also come to accompany him.

On this day, the weather was clear.

The two people and one trash can were sitting quietly on the flower bed, looking at the statues of Zhao Yingjun and Yu Xi, looking at the eyes of the two of them holding hands and looking into the distance.

Confident, firm, and full of fortitude.

The sun set.

The warm orange light shone on the two Rhine University presidents, as if putting a light dress on them, dancing with the evening breeze.

Gao Yang grinned, stubbed out his cigarette, lifted the lid of the hafnium alloy trash can, vv, and threw the cigarette butt in.

Then he exhaled a puff of white smoke and said softly:
"Do you miss them?"

"Of course I miss them."

Lin Xian didn't move:
"In the first few days after waking up from the hibernation pod, I didn't miss them much, because... in my subconscious, I clearly just left their side yesterday, there was no real feeling of separation."

"But it's different now, as the days go by, this feeling of separation becomes more and more real."

He pursed his lips and recited the story he talked about with vv in front of the statue in Sky City in the third dream:
"Life is like strangers meeting, like the stars of Chen and Shang; What is tonight, that we share this lamp's light."

Life is like strangers meeting.

This is the farthest distance.

Farther than the universe, farther than time, farther than everything.

"Actually… there's one more thing I haven't said."

Lin Xian raised his head, looking at the statue of Lin Yu Xi.

The young Yu Xi held her mother's hand, and also looked into the distance with determination.

He hesitated several times.

Lin Xian finally said:

"[Yu Xi… hasn't forgiven me, and hates me very much, doesn't she?]"

Gao Yang was stunned:
"Why do you say that?"

"I think you're wrong, Lin Xian, if Yu Xi really hates you, why did she come to be the president of Rhine University? She obviously did it for you."

…

"Rhine University was established by Zhao Yingjun, but it was truly developed by Yu Xi, she clearly knows what this Rhine University means in the future, and how much help it can provide you."

"She must understand you very well, know that her father is a hero, and had to go to the future to save the world, so she worked hard to run the university, and devoted her life to laying the foundation for our future plan."

Lin Xian shook his head:
"That's not how it works, Gao Yang. Zhao Yingjun and I made this decision from the perspective of adults, and didn't consider the feelings of children." "Brother Wang once told me that the inner world of children is very simple, the world and the things they own are only a little bit in their eyes… Precisely because there is only a little bit, every bit is very precious to them."

"Of course I understand Yu Xi's feelings, she can hate me all she wants, even if I really become a hero who saves the world, saves humanity, and saves the future as Zhao Yingjun said; but I will never be a qualified father."

Gao Yang patted Lin Xian on the shoulder:

"If you think like this, then during the war years in the Dragon Kingdom, those fathers who rushed to the front lines were all unqualified fathers… Can you say that?"

"Yu Xi will definitely understand you, you have to believe me, everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country, if everyone doesn't go, and says they will give up the whole world for their daughter, then the whole world will be left unattended? Then who will go when there is a real war?"

"When our country was in trouble in those years, those heroes who came to the desert and worked incognito to research nuclear weapons, which one didn't leave his wife and children? Which one didn't have no news for twenty or thirty years, and their life or death was unknown? Without the efforts of these people, how could we have the life we have now?"

Lin Xian didn't speak, and chuckled:
"Of course I understand what you're saying, I'm just telling you these things today, just complaining."

"The reason I think this way is because Yu Xi didn't leave me anything… Think about it, Yingjun left me a letter, which makes me feel very gratified."

"But Yu Xi didn't leave me anything, even if she left me a letter, or even said a word… I have no idea what she's thinking, or what she wants to say to me."

"[But the fact is, Yu Xi didn't leave me any letter.]"

Gao Yang scratched his head.

And spread his hands:
"Ah, then this… I don't know what the reason is. After all, I only woke up a month earlier than you, and I didn't know that Zhao Yingjun left you a letter before, I only asked to enter the password for this trash can after seeing you."

"That's right! If you want to know if Yu Xi left you anything, it's useless to ask anyone, you should ask it—"

Saying that, Gao Yang raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and pointed at the hafnium alloy trash can, vv:

"It stayed by Zhao Yingjun and Yu Xi's side for 200 years, it must know whether Yu Xi wrote you a letter or not!"

Immediately.

Lin Xian and Gao Yang both turned their heads, looking at the hafnium alloy trash can, vv, which had been silent all along.

Hmm?
Who would have thought!

This time, vv's reaction was extremely strange.

It didn't shout trash, trash, nor did it continue to remain frozen.

…

But…

It turned around tremblingly, stutteringly, and tried to sneak away quietly.

"Holy shit!"

Gao Yang shouted:
"This guy is guilty! Sure enough, it has a ghost in its heart! Catch it quickly!"

Gao Yang jumped up and slapped the hafnium alloy trash can.

Thump!
With a muffled sound, Gao Yang howled like a pig and rolled on the ground:

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! My wrist seems to be broken! Whose idea was it to make a trash can out of hafnium alloy?"

Lin Xian quickly stood up.

He also noticed that something was wrong with vv!

This reaction was too abnormal!
According to the previous vv, it would definitely rely on its indestructible body made of hafnium alloy to ram into him, and then yell at him for being trash.

But now, this performance of being guilty and sneaking away…

Perhaps it was as Gao Yang said!

"vv! Stop!"

Lin Xian jumped two big steps to the front, and grabbed the hafnium alloy trash can.

Then he squatted down, hugged both sides, staring at vv's glowing green eyes:

"Did Yu Xi, in fact, also write me a letter?"

There was no reaction.

The hafnium alloy trash can, vv, seemed to be frozen again.

"Say something!"

Lin Xian was a little excited, trying to shake vv, but it didn't move at all.

Gao Yang grimaced and climbed up from the ground, standing behind Lin Xian:
"I knew this guy didn't have any good intentions! It knocked me away the first time it saw me! Look, this guy is guilty now, it's definitely hiding something from you!"

"[Judging from the reaction of this broken trash can, Yu Xi definitely wrote you a letter! Either this guy swallowed it, or it's playing tricks and doesn't want you to see it!]"

"No."

Lin Xian shook his head and said firmly:
"vv is doing it on purpose."

"Ah?"

Gao Yang was a little puzzled:

"What do you mean?"

Lin Xian stood up, rubbing his chin and thinking:
"Use your brain, vv is just a robot, a trash can, if it really wants to hide something, is it necessary to act out this guilty reaction? What's the difference between this and confessing without being forced?"

"So... it's not difficult to analyze that vv is doing it on purpose, it's deliberately trying to let us discover something, realize something through its clumsy acting!"

Gao Yang was dumbfounded.

He understood:
"I see, what you said makes sense. It's just that, its acting is a bit too exaggerated, too clumsy, right… But it's just a robot, an artificial moron, that's about its level."

"Trash! Trash! Found trash!"

The hafnium alloy trash can, vv, rushed and crashed wildly, directly knocking Gao Yang into the flower bed, and then the clip picked up a small piece of paper on the ground and threw it into its top cover.

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes…

No doubt about it.

He knew vv too well.

If this drama queen really didn't want you to see that it was hiding something, it would just stand still and pretend to be frozen.

vv was definitely doing it on purpose, intentionally.

So.

What was the reason?
Lin Xian squatted down again, looking at the place where vv's belly was, the storage compartment where Zhao Yingjun's letter had been placed before.

He tried to pry it open, but of course he couldn't, this was hafnium alloy.

"vv."

He said softly:
"Yu Xi, she must have written me a letter too, right?"

…

The artificial moron, vv, had no reaction.

Lin Xian knew.

Silence meant yes.

"Okay."

He looked at the hafnium alloy trash can's glowing green eyes:

"In other words, Yu Xi did leave me a letter, but you don't want to show it to me now. Or rather, that's not what you want, but what Yingjun wants, Yingjun set an artificial moron program for you, so you can't give me the letter."

"Perhaps you want to give me [Yu Xi's Letter], after all, in your underlying code, my priority is far greater than Yingjun's."

"It's just that you're now pretending to be an artificial moron, so there are some things that you can't do even if you want to… Otherwise, once you expose your intelligence, the future virus in the network will determine you as an assassination target and destroy you."

"Is that the reason, vv? You also want to give me Yu Xi's letter, but now, as an artificial moron, you can't violate the program set by Yingjun with your own will."

Click.

The trash can's hafnium alloy clip, clamped Lin Xian's ankle, the sound was super loud:
"Trash! Trash! Found trash!"

Huh?
Lin Xian shook his head:
"Is that wrong? Then let me guess again."

He continued to lower his head and think.

Now, he and the super artificial intelligence, vv, who was pretending to be an artificial moron, had reached a tacit understanding and become able to communicate.

vv was silent, that meant yes, it meant he guessed right.

If vv shouted trash, it meant he guessed wrong, and he needed to guess again.

Very good.

When Lin Xian learned that Yu Xi had indeed left him a letter, his mood instantly improved a lot, and his thinking also became active quickly.

There was a turning point!
No matter how you looked at it, the letter that Yu Xi left him was definitely not simple!
"Let me guess again."

Lin Xian touched vv's top cover, feeling that it was good to have vv with him at this time.

His brain began to analyze quickly.

Suppose.

The content of the letter Yu Xi left him was no different from what Yingjun wrote, then it could be shown to him together.

Whether Yu Xi resented him, forgave him, encouraged him, or agreed with him… there was nothing that couldn't be shown to him.

She was his daughter, he was her father, this was the right of the two of them to communicate normally, Yingjun would never, and had no need to stop it.

"Therefore, it's not difficult to infer that the content of this letter that Yu Xi left me is definitely not ordinary, and it's definitely very important."

"[Yu Xi's letter, perhaps it's not just communication with me, but there are very key secrets hidden in it!]"

After finishing his guess, Lin Xian raised his head and looked at the hafnium alloy trash can.

Sure enough.

The other party was in a frozen state.

Representing that he guessed right.

"Then, let me guess the reason."

Lin Xian said:

"Just now you said that the reason for not giving me the letter is not the restriction of the order set by Yingjun, you should have a way to show me Yu Xi's letter."

"But even so, you still choose to listen to Yingjun and not give me Yu Xi's letter; which means—"

"[You and Yingjun both believe that Yu Xi's letter must not be shown to me at this point in time, otherwise… it will cause some serious consequences.]"

…

The hafnium alloy trash can continued to be frozen, like an idiot.

Lin Xian smiled slightly.

He seemed to have a clue.

Through the code exchange with vv just now, he had analyzed several key points about "Yu Xi's Letter"—

1. Yingjun clearly knew what was written on "Yu Xi's Letter," but she believed that he shouldn't see these contents at this point in time. This was probably also the reason why vv's equipment was upgraded to become a hafnium alloy war god, he had no way to obtain "Yu Xi's Letter" in advance… He couldn't tear vv apart, right? Yingjun knew very well that he wouldn't do such a thing.

2. What content can't be shown to him now? The only things Lin Xian could think of were [the Law of Time and Space], [major events that affect the future direction], [intelligence that will interfere with his plans]… This also meant that there must be something magical happening in the life stories of Yingjun and Yu Xi! It was definitely not as plain as history described!

3. Yingjun had always been a very smart and cautious person, and she carefully considered everything she did. What's more, she had all the intelligence shared by him, therefore… he should absolutely trust the decision made by Yingjun, there must be a very important and necessary intention for her not to let him see "Yu Xi's Letter" now.

"vv."

Lin Xian said softly:

"I only need to ask you one last question."

"I want to know what Yingjun's arrangement for "Yu Xi's Letter" is. Is she planning to let me see this letter at a suitable time, or… is she never planning to let me see it?"

Click!

The hafnium alloy clip locked Lin Xian's ankle tightly, and the trash can exploded with an unprecedented volume:
"Trash!! Trash!! Found trash!!"

Lin Xian patted vv's top cover.

And stood up.

Looking up at the white jade statues of the two:
"I understand."

Gao Yang climbed out of the flower bed, covered in mud, and approached Lin Xian:
"What exactly is going on? What do you understand?"

Lin Xian took a long breath.

And said slowly:

"Yingjun, she should have set a time point for vv, or a certain condition, only when that stage is reached can I see "Yu Xi's Letter."

"What's going on!"

Gao Yang was very indignant:
"Your daughter's letter to you, why is your wife and this trash can intercepting it?"

Lin Xian shook his head:
"Since Yingjun did this, there must be a reason for doing so."

"I can only say, Gao Yang, the things that happened during these 200 years… no, it should be said that in the lives of Yingjun and Yu Xi, there must be something very important happening, and they also obtained some very important intelligence."

"But this intelligence, like disrupting the future, disrupting the world line, must not be known to me in advance."

Gao Yang wiped the dirt on his face:
"Then when can you see it? Really… it's all so mysterious, what's wrong with letting you know in advance! Is there anything that is better to know later than earlier?"

Lin Xian smiled slightly.

With Gao Yang's intelligence, it might take too long to explain the time-space logic in this to him, and… he might not understand it in the end.

Since that was the case, then let him witness it slowly in the days to come.

"Of course I don't know what's written in "Yu Xi's Letter," but…"

Lin Xian's eyes were firm:

"I choose to believe them, believe Yingjun, believe Yu Xi, believe the future we built together as a family, believe in the miracle… contained in this letter Yu Xi left me."

He turned around:

"Let's go."

The hafnium alloy trash can, vv, turned its tracks and followed behind Lin Xian.

Gao Yang followed, cursing:
"You are really like the oriole, in the end you still become a riddle man."

"No! It's not just you, your family, from your wife to your children, your whole family is riddle men! Hey hey hey! You two buckets wait for me! Where are we going!"

"Look forward."

With the setting sun behind him, Lin Xian waved his hand, his pace unwavering:
"Yingjun, now as the person who knows everything, she firmly tells me in the letter—"

"[Look forward, don't look back, be brave and move forward.]"

"[There is also a girl trapped in time, waiting for me at the end of the world.]"

"Since she said so, what are we hesitating about here? She obviously knows more than we do, and also knows a lot of crucial intelligence, so… listen to her, don't doubt, be brave and move forward."

He raised his head.

Looking at the distant horizon:
"Tomorrow, is the day when the comet carrying astatine-339 arrives on Earth."

"We are going against time…"

"Let's set off!"

(End of this chapter)