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“Hold on a second.”

Lin Xian leaned against a moss-covered stone wall, pressing a hand to his forehead as he thought intensely.

The Butterfly Effect of Time and Space was at play again. The dream had experienced Temporal Changes. But what had triggered these changes? What was the source? Where was the anchor point? When had the butterfly flapped its wings?

He opened his eyes, recalling the news he had watched before falling asleep the previous night:

“Donghai University is currently processing and organizing the research materials and unfinished papers of Xu Yun, which will be published globally according to Xu Yun’s last wishes.”

“Perhaps this is the reason,” he mused. His heartbeat slowed, and a sense of security that had briefly slipped away began to return. This was still his dream, undoubtedly. Although he hadn’t checked today’s news, it appeared that Donghai University had indeed published Xu Yun’s research.

“Even if it hadn’t been published yet, just the fact that an official organization had taken charge of Xu Yun’s research would make that moment an Irretrievable Anchor Point,” he reasoned. Official organizations are extensive and reliable; the publication of Xu Yun’s research seemed inevitable. Without their involvement, the research and incomplete papers might have stayed in the lab, unbacked-up and vulnerable to sabotage.

Yet, the butterfly had still flapped its wings, leading to temporal changes. This time, the butterfly’s wings flapped so vigorously that they triggered a storm, transforming the future world 600 years later into something entirely new.

From a temporal logic perspective, this was understandable. But the issue was—

“Why has the future’s technological level regressed?” Lin Xian looked around. The technology, economy, and living standards here were far too primitive. In previous dreams, although they were also slightly behind, they resembled the modern metropolis of 2023 that he knew. But now… even his grandfather’s house from his childhood had more advancements! At least his grandfather had paved roads.

Here, the winding stone paths were too narrow for cars, and even riding a bicycle would be a challenge. Inside the small shop, everything was wrapped in old, greasy paper: tungsten light bulbs, thermos liners, shoelaces, crude hardware, colorful shampoos, and a variety of unappetizing snacks.

What had happened? How did the year 2624 come to resemble the 1980s or 90s? If, after Xu Yun’s paper was published, the dream world had evolved with starships and space elevators, Lin Xian wouldn’t have been surprised. That would make sense. Even Professor Xu Yun had suggested that once the hibernation pod was introduced, the world order might be rewritten, and human technology would advance rapidly, leading to unimaginable futures.

But instead of rapid advancement… why the regression? Lin Xian couldn’t convince himself or accept the reality before him. Even if the technological level had remained the same after Xu Yun’s paper was published, and he was still “born” in that square, he could accept it. But the publication of the paper leading to a technological regression of decades!

“What happened over these 600 years?”

Inside the small shop, an elderly man in a vest stopped fanning himself and looked at the tall, uncertain young man at the door: “What’s the matter, young man? Looking to buy something?”

“No, no…” Lin Xian waved his hand. “Sir, I wanted to ask—”

Crash.

During their conversation, a man in black suddenly dashed out from behind Lin Xian, wearing a black hat. He moved quickly, knocking over shelves outside, grabbing the cash box from the glass counter, and running!

“Hey!” The old man leapt up, grabbing the thief’s arm. “Drop it! Drop it! Ah—”

The thief kicked the old man in the stomach, causing him to collapse beside the glass counter, grimacing in pain. Pointing at the fleeing thief, the old man looked at Lin Xian: “Young… young man… help me… catch him…”

“Uh, okay.” Lin Xian turned and sprinted after the shadowy figure. He had many questions for the old man, so helping to retrieve the cash box might make him more willing to talk.

The thief was clearly familiar with the area. He weaved through the narrow paths with ease, almost outpacing Lin Xian. But Lin Xian wasn’t a novice either. His years of parkour training hadn’t been in vain. With agile maneuvers, he caught up to the thief!

“Gotcha!” A flying kick sent the thief sprawling. Lin Xian quickly pinned him down, grabbed the cash box, and began to tie him up—

Sss!

The sound of a knife sinking into flesh. Lin Xian’s vision blurred with red as he looked down at his chest… The thief had a knife hidden at his waist! It was now deeply embedded in Lin Xian’s heart!

Splurt! As the thief pulled the knife out, blood sprayed from the wound, propelled by high pressure. Lin Xian felt a wave of weakness, struggling to stand…

“Damn you, mind your own business! Mind your own business!”

Sss! Sss! Sss! Sss! Sss! The thief struck repeatedly, targeting Lin Xian’s vital points, stabbing his neck and head!

Thump—

Lin Xian jolted awake, sitting up in his bed! He was breathing heavily, clutching at his chest. His heart was racing, refusing to calm down! Gritting his teeth, Lin Xian reached for the lamp on his bedside table, flicking the switch—

….

Click.

In a lakeside villa in the suburbs of Donghai City, a massive crystal chandelier brightened the living room to daylight brightness.

“If you’re home… then turn on the lights…”

A wrinkled, dry hand moved away from the light switch. The elderly man closed the door, walked in, and looked at the pale young man squatting among scattered books: “I’ve told you many times, this is bad for your eyes… Your nearsightedness is already severe. Or do you think reading by moonlight is cool? You should be past that age by now… Ji Lin.”

Ji Lin was engrossed, not saying a word. He held a Mathematics Monthly magazine in one hand, a pencil in the other, swiftly scribbling on the side pages.

Swish— He quickly finished, tossing the magazine aside. He then picked up the February issue of Mathematics Monthly.

The old man stepped forward, picking up the discarded magazine. It was the January 2022 issue of Mathematics Monthly. Since no one had lived in the villa for a long time, the ordered magazines and newspapers were neatly piled in the living room. The old man turned to the page Ji Lin had been writing on…

It was a Sudoku Puzzle, a very challenging mathematical game. A Sudoku grid has nine squares, each divided into nine smaller squares. Given certain known numbers and solving conditions, using logic and reasoning, you fill the remaining squares with numbers 1-9. Each number must appear only once in each row, column, and square. It’s a game that tests intelligence and mental calculation, even world-class experts take three to four minutes to solve such high-difficulty puzzles.

Whoosh— Ji Lin tossed the February issue over. The old man looked down… The page also featured an irregular high-difficulty Sudoku, and in the time it took to pick up and flip through the magazine… Ji Lin had already solved it.

Looking up, under the moonlight, Ji Lin had picked up the March issue of Mathematics Monthly, flipped to the side page, and began solving a new Sudoku.

“Actually, even if you hadn’t come to Xu Yun’s memorial, I planned to bring you to Donghai,” the old man seemed accustomed to Ji Lin’s indifference, speaking to himself. “Xu Yun… He shouldn’t have died.”

“If he shouldn’t have died, then how did he die?” Ji Lin’s pencil moved across the magazine, not lifting his head, responding quietly for once.

“Because someone killed him!” The old man’s voice was hoarse with gritted teeth. “I know Xu Yun too well… He’s a good person but not very talented. Not even ten Xu Yuns, a hundred thousand Xu Yuns, could ever have developed the hibernation pod solution in their lifetime!”

“So?” Ji Lin blinked, tossing the March issue to the ground, the Sudoku completed without any erasures.

“So, someone tampered with everything!” The old man pulled a rolled-up list from his pocket and tossed it to Ji Lin. “I suspect someone is… Disrupting History!”