Chapter 344: Eleventh Official Review! (Prelude)
Chapter 344 – Eleventh Official Review!
The frozen time gradually melted.
After an unknown amount of time had pa.s.sed, the two separated.
At this time, a starry sky with no end in sight had already appeared outside the s.p.a.cecraft.
“We’ve flown out of Earth,” Chen Yu said.
“Mhm.” Her cheeks flushed, Xing Biqi lowered her head in embarra.s.sment.
“At our current speed, we’ll be able to pa.s.s through the sun’s strong gravitational field in no time. Although we’re not livestreaming today, so we aren’t limited by time, Sirius is still too far away. So, we’ll still be advancing at 5,000 times the speed of light.”
“We’ll do as you say…” Biting her lip, the girl squeezed the “daily necessity” in her hand and said hesitantly, “B-But, are we just going to stand here and do nothing now?”
“It’s going to be tiresome if we stand all the time. Isn’t the sofa much more comfortable?” Pulling Xing Biqi to the sofa, Chen Yu took a seat and crossed his legs. “Let’s sit down instead.”
Xing Biqi: “…”
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
“I-It’s nothing…”
“Good, then.” Nodding, Chen Yu casually hooked his finger at the empty s.p.a.ce before him. Immediately, a double-door refrigerator appeared in front of him.
Opening the left door, Chen Yu reached out and grabbed a bottle of chilled red wine and two wine gla.s.ses from within. After handing a gla.s.s to Xing Biqi and uncorking the wine bottle, he asked, “Can you drink wine? It’s red wine.”
“I’ve never had any before.” Raising her wine gla.s.s, Xing Biqi stretched out her pink tongue and wet her lips. “I think I can handle it.”
“You’ve never had any before? Nonsense.” While pouring wine into Xing Biqi’s gla.s.s, Chen Yu clicked his tongue and said, “Didn’t you have some when I went to your house for dinner? I don’t remember whether it was wine or beer, but I know you drank quite a lot.”
“Huh?” Hearing Chen Yu’s words, Xing Biqi couldn’t help but be confused. “Dinner? When did you come to my house for dinner?”
“Um…” Chen Yu immediately remembered that he had once used the Amnesia Bat on the girl. Hurriedly, he started drinking from his gla.s.s while mumbling, “I must’ve misremembered.”
“Could you have drunk wine with other girls before?” Xing Biqi asked suspiciously.
“No. I just remembered wrongly. Don’t mind it. Here, cheers.”
“Chen Yu, do you have something you’re hiding from me?”
“Are you going to drink or not?”
“I’ll drink…”
After taking a small sip of wine, Xing Biqi hesitated slightly before eventually deciding not to pursue the topic. “It’s delicious.”
“Drink more then.”
“It’s not the wine itself that’s good. It only tastes good because I am drinking it with you. I really hope we can continue flying like this forever.”
“That’s impossible. We don’t have enough energy.”
Xing Biqi: “…I’m not talking about energy.”
“But it cannot fly without energy,” Chen Yu said inconsiderately.
“Okay…” Placing down the wine gla.s.s, Xing Biqi stood up and looked at Earth’s direction. After a long silence, she suddenly opened her mouth and asked, “Chen Yu, I don’t understand a lot about physics. However, since we were able to see the Earth of four years ago from Alpha Centauri yesterday, is it possible to see a scene from one or two years ago?”
“That’s entirely possible.” Mimicking the wine-swirling technique he saw on TV, Chen Yu said, “Light moves at approximately 300,000 kilometers per second in a vacuum. So long as we move to a location that’s two light-years away from Earth, we can pick up Earth’s light information from two years ago. On this trip to Sirius, I also plan to shoot some scenes of Earth from eight years ago. The only worry is the image’s clarity since Sirius is located much further away from Earth.”
“…” Biting her lips, the girl lowered her head and stared at the red liquid in her gla.s.s. “If I say that I want to see Dalian City’s Ganjing District of 18 months ago, can it be done?”
“You…want to see your parents?”
“Mhm.”
“No problem.” Putting down his wine gla.s.s, Chen Yu said in a low tone, “We’ll fly the s.p.a.cecraft 1.5 light-years away from Earth. At this distance, we can definitely get a clear image of Earth.”
“Can we see their faces?”
“I can’t say for certain, but let’s try it.”
Five minutes later, the Type-R s.p.a.cecraft left the sun’s strong gravitational field. Immediately afterward, it entered FTL navigation mode and flew straight toward Sirius.
It had taken the s.p.a.cecraft only 0.2 seconds to go from 0 to 5,000 times the speed of light.
Meanwhile, the view inside the s.p.a.cecraft fell into a bizarre state once more as light got distorted.
…
“Leader, take a look at this.”
A certain office’s door was suddenly pushed open, and Big Sis Wu walked into the office hastily. She then placed the envelope in her hands onto the wooden table and said, “We just received urgent news from the military network.”
At Big Sis Wu’s words, the middle-aged team leader hurriedly accepted the envelope. Upon seeing the mark on the cover, his expression immediately turned serious. “This kind of information should be conveyed to us from the higher-ups. Why was it sent directly to us instead?”
“Emergency protocols must’ve been triggered, so they prioritized sending the information to us first. The higher-ups might not have received the information yet.”
“Is that so…”
Nodding, the middle-aged team leader tore open the envelope’s seal and pulled out a doc.u.ment from within. After giving it a quick scan, he frowned and muttered, “The Type-R s.p.a.cecraft took off?”
“It took off?” Stunned, Big Sis Wu asked, “Where did it fly to?”
“According to the preliminary results of satellite monitoring, the s.p.a.cecraft left the atmosphere at an angle of 20° north lat.i.tude. And after circling three-quarters around Earth, it flew away towards Sirius.”
“Sirius? What is he going to Sirius for?”
“Who knows what is going through Chen Yu’s mind?” Placing down the doc.u.ment, the middle-aged team leader promptly picked up the phone on his desk and pressed a speed dial b.u.t.ton.
Beep…
“h.e.l.lo, I am the team leader. Has the target disappeared?”
“Yes, Leader,” a calm voice came from the other end of the receiver.
Smack!
Slapping the table angrily, the middle-aged team leader bellowed, “Why didn’t you inform me of such an important matter?!”
“It isn’t time for the scheduled report yet.”
“But this is an emergency disappearance! You have neglected your duties!”
“Leader, this isn’t an emergency disappearance.” The voice coming from through the earpiece still remained calm. “He has simply disappeared from our line of sight.”
Narrowing his eyes, the middle-aged team leader asked, “What’s the difference?”
“The difference is that he is still under our control.”
“…Where is he now?”
“He’s in the grove of the People’s Park.”
“Why don’t you head inside to check?”
“Target 1 and Target 2 are currently being intimate with each other. It isn’t convenient for us to get closer.”
“But the reality is…the two of them are already making their way to Sirius.”
“?”
“You are temporarily suspended. Transfer your duties according to procedures.”
Without waiting for the other party to respond, the middle-aged team leader abruptly disconnected the call.
“Leader, what should we do now?” Big Sis Wu asked worriedly. “Chen Yu is fine since we’ve protected his ident.i.ty well, but Xing Biqi is currently too popular. Many foreign agents and forces have their attention on her. It’ll be very easy for her to cause Chen Yu’s ident.i.ty to get exposed.”
Pulling out the medicine box from his breast pocket, the middle-aged team leader popped a few pills into his mouth and asked, “Do you think he is still afraid of his ident.i.ty getting exposed now?”
“No.” Without even having to process the question, Big Sis Wu said, “We are the ones who are afraid.”
“Yes. He isn’t afraid. He is only worried that he would be caught off guard by the sudden exposure.” Swallowing the pills in his mouth, the team leader said in a low tone, “It is difficult for a person to change their cognitive inertia. Moreover, through his psychological portraits we have collected for the past year, we already know his character. Unless he receives strong stimulation, it is unlikely for him to be willing to break the current status quo. After all is said and done, he is just a high school student. It is difficult for him to control his subconscious mind.
“However, we are different. Society needs development and stability. While Transdimensional Review’s emergence is troublesome, it brings obvious development and benefits. For the moment, the only thing we cannot guarantee is stability. If Chen Yu’s ident.i.ty gets exposed, the complexity of the situation will be magnified exponentially, and it’ll become even more difficult to maintain the situation’s stability.”
Breathing out a long sigh, the team leader continued, “We are afraid. The governments of America, j.a.pan, and many other countries are afraid as well. Everyone is doing their best to find their balance. Hence, they have always maintained a tacit intensity with our country regarding the search for Chen Yu’s ident.i.ty.
“However, not all bodies of a government will share the same opinion. There are plenty of radicals who want to expose Chen Yu’s ident.i.ty. Once that happens, setting aside the series of trouble that will result, just deciding the position and relationship we should maintain with Chen Yu will become a delicate problem.”
Straightening her gla.s.ses, Big Sis Wu said, “More importantly, once Chen Yu has his ident.i.ty exposed, there won’t be a need for him to maintain a low-profile anymore. With his personality, he will definitely cause a lot of problems.”
“This is what makes him such a complicated opponent.” The middle-aged team leader nodded.
“I suspect that America’s intelligence agency has already uncovered Chen Yu’s ident.i.ty. It’s just that, like us, they are afraid of exposing him,” Big Sis Wu said.
Hearing this, the middle-aged team leader laughed in self-ridicule and said, “Even if some sheep discover that there is a wolf wearing sheep’s clothing hiding among their flock, they won’t dare let the wolf know that they have discovered it.”
“A very appropriate metaphor.”
“However, there is bound to be a day where the wolf is exposed. I just hope I will have already retired when that day comes.” While mumbling, the middle-aged team leader picked up the phone once more and contacted the team’s important members to hold an emergency meeting. He would have to clean up after Chen Yu’s mess.
The first problem that had to be resolved was how long Chen Yu would take on his trip. If Chen Yu and Xing Biqi returned at a late hour, both their families would fall into chaos. This was especially true for Xing Biqi’s family.
Moreover, with Xing Biqi’s current popularity and the numerous reporters and agents surrounding her house…
“I changed my mind. I want to retire now.” The middle-aged team leader held his forehead in pain.
…
Roughly 1.5 light-years away from Earth, a flash of light suddenly appeared in the deep, dark s.p.a.ce.
When the flash disappeared, a white s.p.a.ceship appeared out of thin air and entered a stationary state.
“This position should be about right.”
Inside the Type-R s.p.a.cecraft, Chen Yu got up from the sofa, pulling Xing Biqi up while he was at it. “How is it? Do you feel dizzy?”
“No. I closed my eyes during the trip. Can we see them here?”
“It should be possible. Even if there is a discrepancy, we can just maneuver the s.p.a.cecraft forward or backward. Now, all I need is an accurate time from you.”
“Mhm.” Nodding, Xing Biqi stated the date and time in her mind, her accuracy reaching down to the minute.
“Give me a moment to calculate it.”
After saying so, Chen Yu began making mental calculations while having the s.p.a.cecraft repeatedly move forward and backward.
“This spot!”
Two minutes later, Chen Yu snapped his fingers. Immediately, the universe before the two began enlarging to a point where they could start seeing the solar system, Oort cloud, outer planets, Jupiter, asteroid belt…and eventually Earth.
“Dalian City’s Ganjing District…”
For a technology of the 69th century, catching an accurate view of a location 1.5 light-years away was no problem at all. Very quickly, the sight of Ganjing District entered the two’s view.
Whether it was the buildings, parks, or street traffic, everything was clearly visible.
The projected scene’s clarity was much better than the scene the s.p.a.cecraft captured from Alpha Centauri yesterday.
“Go up a little bit. There is a highway next to the bus station.” Xing Biqi’s breathing gradually grew heavier. She then pointed at the scene ahead of her and shouted, “Yes! A little bit higher!”
“Here?”
“Yes, yes! Can you zoom in more?”
“Okay.”
The scene enlarged once more.
At this point, one could even count the red bricks used to line the sidewalk.
The faces of the humans walking on the sidewalk could also be seen with perfect clarity.
This time, even without Xing Biqi’s guidance, Chen Yu had tacitly moved the camera’s focus to a group of people walking out of a hotel.
“Chen Yu, the one wearing the gray coat and swaying around is my dad…” Xing Biqi said, her voice becoming hoa.r.s.e.
“Then that woman helping him is Auntie?”
“Mhm.”
“…” Chen Yu didn’t know what to say in this situation.
“My parents’ faces don’t look quite similar.” Forcing a smile onto her face, Xing Biqi turned to look at Chen Yu and said, “They aren’t that fat.”
“We’re at a distance of 1.5 light-years. The light information we can receive is limited. Most of the scenes you see now are simulated, so it is normal for discrepancies to occur.”
“But I know… I know that they’re my parents. My parents from a year ago. At that time, they were still alive…”
After the group of people bid farewell to each other in the projected scene, Father Xing and Mother Xing got onto a black Pa.s.sat.
The seat Father Xing sat in was none other than the driver’s seat.
For some reason, when Xing Biqi stared at the scene playing out before her, she did not have any thoughts of crying. She merely watched as her parents sat on the car that was fated to bring about their demise.
“Let’s stop watching,” Chen Yu suggested.
“Chen Yu.” Slowly, the girl asked, “Do you think it is possible to travel through time if technology continues to develop?”
“Based on current scientific theories, time is irreversible. In other words, it is impossible to travel back to the past.”
“In that case, are the products you review not from the future?”
“They are from the future, but they weren’t ‘sent’ over to me. Instead, they are replicated using the resources of the current timeline using some method. Someone once explained it to me before. For example, it is very difficult for one to send a basketball from Mars to Earth. On the other hand, if one communicates the method to create the basketball from Mars to a factory on Earth, reproducing the basketball on Earth would be much simpler. However, at the end of the day, both Earth and Mars are parallel worlds.”
“In other words, even if I interfered with the life and death of my parents a year ago, they still won’t survive in this world?”
“Yes.” Chen Yu subconsciously held the girl’s right hand. He then comforted her, “However, technology is even more magical than actual magic. Maybe one day, everything will have a solution to it.”
“Is that so.” What Xing Biqi said was an interrogative sentence, yet her tone made it sound like a declarative sentence.
“Mhm.” After hesitating for a while, Chen Yu nodded. Inwardly, though, he thought, Sorry, it’s a lie…
“It would be nice if my parents could see us as well.”
“Why?”
“If they can see that I am happy now, then they can pa.s.s on in peace. They won’t constantly be calling my name after the car accident…” Pursing her lips, the girl smiled. “It hurts.”
Turning around, Chen Yu stepped in front of Xing Biqi and hugged her tightly…
…
Time, pa.s.sed by in a hurry.
In the blink of an eye, a month had gone by already.
The morning sun rose into the air, its vitality waking up Chen Yu from his slumber.
“Mr. Chen, you’re awake!”
“Mhm.”
After stretching his body, Chen Yu pulled out his phone from under the pillow and unlocked it.
The screen’s wallpaper was a photo of a man and a woman standing amidst a galaxy of stars.
Both of them smiled happily, their smiles looking more eye-catching than the star named Sirius behind them.
Good morning.
After muttering a greeting in his heart, Chen Yu got out of bed, walked up to the window, and yanked open the curtains.
Flutter!
Outside the window, the snow had melted, and green buds had sprouted.
“It’s finally spring. How wonderful.”
“Mr. Chen!” Leaning in toward Chen Yu, Little Peach said, “It’s already 8 AM. There’s only one hour left until the eleventh official livestream. You have to hurry up.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Turning off the phone, Chen Yu opened the window and said, “One hour is more than enough.”
“Mr. Chen…” Narrowing her eyes, Little Peach said, “I seemed to have seen a photo on your phone just now.”
“There isn’t one.”
“There is.”
“There isn’t.”
“There is!”
“Scram.”
“Okay.”