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Chu An Qing couldn’t help but comment, “They really do look like rice cookers.”

Gao Yang chimed in with a grin, “It makes sense! Remember how in the ‘Dragon Ball’ manga, Master Roshi used a rice cooker to seal away Demon King Piccolo? From that perspective, rice cookers are formidable sealing tools. Maybe they can capture those magical particles!”

Yellow Finch shot Gao Yang a skeptical look, her expression screaming, “Are you kidding me?” She quickly took control of the situation, directing Gao Yang, Chu An Qing, and Wei Cheng to another training room for different tasks. “You three head to the other room to continue your projects. Lin Xian and I need to discuss something important with Liu Feng.”

Once Gao Yang, Chu An Qing, and Wei Cheng had left, the spacious training room felt more serene with just Yellow Finch, Lin Xian, and Liu Feng remaining.

“You can speak freely now, Liu Feng,” Yellow Finch encouraged.

Liu Feng gave a nod of acknowledgment, his gaze settling on Lin Xian. “This is indeed the Space-Time Particle Capturer, Lin Xian. Yellow Finch asked me to use ‘Alpha Matter’ as a temporary explanation to avoid revealing too much.”

“No problem, I understand the need for discretion. Please, continue,” Lin Xian responded.

Liu Feng squatted down to open one of the capturers, revealing its internal structure. It was surprisingly simple—reminiscent of a mundane rice cooker’s inside.

“Making a capturer mimic a common appliance… You’re quite the talent,” Lin Xian teased.

Liu Feng, unfazed, explained, “This design is optimal in terms of structure and size. Capturing a space-time particle temporarily isn’t difficult, but I had to consider emergency scenarios—like if a particle escapes. By minimizing the confinement field and increasing its density, we can instantly neutralize the particle’s activity.”

“Activity?” Lin Xian interjected, “You mean it’s still active? I thought you said it was stable.”

“Active in its motion,” Liu Feng clarified with a nod. “When I mentioned stability, I meant its chemical and physical state, not its movement or trajectory. Over the past few weeks, my studies have shown that its movement is unlike anything we’ve previously understood.”

Liu Feng, looking to illustrate his point, tore a piece of paper from the back of Wei Cheng’s notebook, crumpled it, and held up the makeshift ball. “Imagine this is the space-time particle, already beyond Jupiter and headed for Earth, moving through the asteroid belt without slowing.”

He then began to move the paper ball in erratic patterns, illustrating its unpredictable movement. “In our usual understanding, movement in space should be continuous, right?” He shifted the paper ball back and forth and then in wild directions. “Even if we record this movement with a high-speed camera, every frame would show the ball at a specific point along its path. It doesn’t just disappear.”

Lin Xian nodded in agreement, his mind racing to understand the implications. “Right, I see. Every moving object—from a runner on a track, to a plane, to satellites—follows a distinct path.”

“It’s about continuity,” Lin Xian reflected. “But then, what does ‘discontinuous motion’ look like?”

Liu Feng demonstrated by suddenly making the paper ball disappear from his left hand and reappear in his right, then quickly dropped another on the floor to his left. “Like this. The particle doesn’t follow any physical laws we know. It’s not running or flying but blinking forward, moving erratically, disappearing and reappearing.”

“Blinking…” Lin Xian murmured, understanding the term commonly used in gaming to describe such rapid, discontinuous movement.

“You mean,” Lin Xian attempted to summarize, “the particle is generally heading toward Earth, but it isn’t following a linear or predictable path. It’s randomly blinking in and out of existence, making it nearly impossible to track.”

“Exactly,” Liu Feng confirmed with a firm nod and a thumbs-up. “That’s the crux of it.”

“So, how do we capture something like that?” Lin Xian pondered aloud, feeling the weight of the challenge. “If we try to catch it with a mechanical arm equipped with one of these rice cookers, we’d have to somehow anticipate its next blink.”

“That’s where deactivating the particle becomes crucial,” Liu Feng pointed out, tapping the rice cooker. “Even if the lid isn’t shut in time, just getting the particle inside this capturer momentarily will neutralize it, stopping its erratic jumps. After that, its movement becomes predictable and easier to manage. I know it seems counterintuitive, but making the capturer any bigger wouldn’t help; the particle would continue to blink out.”

Lin Xian lifted the rice cooker, noting its heft—substantial, but manageable. Liu Feng clearly needed to get out of the lab more, given his lack of physical conditioning.

“Understood,” Lin Xian acknowledged with a nod. “So, you’re suggesting we install this on the space shuttle’s mechanical arm and start Gao Yang on his training?”

“That was the plan,” Yellow Finch confirmed. “With the Lunar New Year just around the corner on February 10th, we’re short on time. Liu Feng estimates the particle will enter Earth’s atmosphere by the end of March, passing through the layer of suborbital space between ten and a hundred kilometers above us. Gao Yang needs to start his training with the mechanical arm as soon as possible.”

“In this operation, Gao Yang’s role is critical,” Yellow Finch continued, her tone serious. “Even with a flawless plan, if the mechanical arm fails to capture the particle, all our efforts will be in vain.”

“That’s why Liu Feng pushed to complete the capturer ahead of schedule. We’re installing one on the space shuttle’s arm and another on a full-scale mechanical arm simulator for Gao Yang to train with. We need to ensure he’s prepared and doesn’t fumble when it counts.”

Liu Feng, however, appeared skeptical. “Can Gao Yang really handle this? He doesn’t seem all that reliable.”

Yellow Finch smiled reassuringly at Lin Xian. “It’s fine. Gao Yang is mainly the front operator, a sort of last resort. If possible, it might be better to have your other friend secretly assist with the mechanical arm. That would be more reliable.”

Liu Feng looked confused. “Isn’t Gao Yang Lin Xian’s friend?”

“No, I’m talking about another friend,” Yellow Finch corrected gently.

Realization dawned on Liu Feng’s face. “Oh, could it be… me?”

Ignoring Liu Feng’s moment of self-importance, Yellow Finch turned to Lin Xian. “You know who I mean, right?”

Lin Xian nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “I know.”

“You’re incredible, Yellow Finch. She even knows about me!” Liu Feng couldn’t hide his admiration.

Late at night, at 12:43 AM, VV broke the silence through the phone’s camera, rousing Lin Xian from sleep and using the digital clock display to communicate.

“I’ve been wondering for a long time how she knew about me when even Kevin Walker didn’t,” VV pondered.

“She’s too crafty,” Lin Xian replied, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. “Don’t worry about it too much. She knows a lot of things. I sometimes wonder if she’s a time traveler, but I have no proof.”

“Her eyes are strange,” VV noted, his voice coming from the digital clock. “They’re definitely human, not mechanical or artificial. But their color is unlike anything on Earth. If it’s a genetic mutation, it’s a rare one. There are no records of anyone else with eyes like hers. She might not be ordinary.”

“But that raises questions,” VV continued. “Even if she’s a time traveler, she’s still human. Why would she have such unique eye color? In any time, dimension, or parallel universe, those eyes would be an anomaly.”

Lin Xian waved his hand dismissively, “I don’t think it’s important. Compared to other mysteries, her eye color is the least of our concerns.”

“Let’s not talk about this,” Lin Xian said, getting up to pour himself a cup of boiled water, which he quickly drank.

Thud.

He placed the empty cup on the table and sighed. “In my recent dreams, I still haven’t seen the Time Bank airship in the sky.”

“This is so strange…” he frowned. “Yesterday, I called Brother Wang. He said the factory is already producing the aluminum alloy safes, and we’ve leased premises for Time Bank. I told him to buy it outright since we have plenty of money in the company account.”

“This should have formed an irreversible anchor point. When I founded the Rhine Company, the dream changed immediately. But now, with Time Bank progressing, why haven’t I seen the airship in my fourth dream? What’s wrong?”

“My thoughts remain the same,” VV’s voice was calm. “Your fourth dream… it might not be real. It could be a trap, a virtual world designed to keep you confused.”

“They wouldn’t make it too fake, or you’d notice. But it’s still a trap. They limit your movement and time to prevent you from finding inconsistencies.”

Lin Xian shrugged, “I haven’t denied that. I’m working on verifying it. Time Bank is the only anchor point that spans from now to 2624. I need to find it in my fourth dream and the safe with my name inside to proceed.”

“You said the enemy can read my memories from the future, so they know about Time Bank and the airship advertisements.”

“If they know, why not create it in my dream if my memories are transparent and the dream is fake?”

“Simple,” VV said. “Do you know what the safes and logos look like now? They could have changed since you last saw them.”

Lin Xian was silent, acknowledging the blind spot.

He nodded, “You’re right, but I have another thought. If my dream is a fake future, there must be a real future where the enemy lives.”

“Time Bank will open soon and continue for centuries. The enemy could find the real bank in the future and copy it into my dream without needing my memories.”

“Ughh…” VV sighed through the digital clock, “That’s why I said your fourth dream is problematic.”

“I’ve told you before, the fourth dream should have shown Time Bank’s airship by now, like the floating city in the third dream. That would be normal, following time’s logic.”

“Your fourth dream is very strange… after capturing the space-time particle, verify the dream’s reality. By then, Time Bank should be established, and we can use the space-time clock to check time curvature changes.”

Lin Xian nodded. That’s the plan.

In the past half month at the astronaut training base, he dreamed nightly of the mysterious old man, looking for Time Bank’s airship in the sky.

Never once had he seen it.

Is it a problem with time’s laws? Or an issue with Time Bank?

For now, Yellow Finch’s verification suggests time’s laws are fine, and Brother Wang’s Time Bank is set to open.

All signs point to a chilling conclusion: My dream might be a fake world, created by the enemy.

“I need to break this,” Lin Xian said. “VV, I still believe time’s laws are correct. The delay is due to an anchor point not forming yet.”

“I can’t pinpoint the exact cause. But let’s wait until Time Bank opens. The fourth dream should then show the airship.”

“Then, I’ll execute my plan, placing a note in the aluminum alloy safe with my name to verify the dream’s reality.”

VV pondered for a moment and softly said, “Lin Xian, I’ve evolved a lot in these months. My intelligence has increased greatly.”

“Even so, I can’t figure out how your plan will work. How will you write a note that proves the dream’s reality, considering the enemy can read your memory and copy the safe?”

“I’ve calculated billions of times. It’s impossible! A paradox, an unwinnable game.”

“Unless…”

VV paused, then chuckled softly, “Unless a miracle happens.”

Knock, knock.

Suddenly!

In the silent night, there was a knock on the door!

Lin Xian turned sharply, seeing the motion sensor light outside his dorm light up.

“Who is it?”

“Lin Xian… Lin Xian, are you still awake?” Chu An Qing’s cautious voice came from outside.

The digital clock’s display changed to a surprised 0_0.

“Oh,” Lin Xian called out, “I couldn’t sleep and was talking to a friend in the Donghai.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his phone suddenly lit up!

Mimicking his voice, it played at maximum volume: “Do you want to come in and chat?”

“Whoa!” Lin Xian quickly threw the phone under his blanket, whispering angrily, “VV, what are you doing?”

“Eh!?” Outside, Chu An Qing seemed flustered by the voice, “Is… is that okay?”

Click!

The dorm door’s fingerprint lock disengaged!

The hallway light streamed through the crack, gradually opening…