Genius Club

Chapter 76: Chapter 76 Space-time Law

“`

Indeed.

It was the Space-time Law!

The term that Lin Xian came up with in a flash of inspiration, he felt, was quite fitting.

“There must be many, many more Space-time Laws yet to be discovered, many I haven’t noticed, paid attention to, or deduced,”

“But so far, there are only three I have fully grasped…”

He picked up his pen once more and wrote down the three Space-time Laws he had summarized:

[Space-time Laws]

[1. Space-Time Butterfly Effect]: Any action at the current time point will continue to affect history for hundreds of years to come, thereby causing changes, big or small, in the future world. The small ones are imperceptible, while the large ones can overturn the world.

[2. Temporal Flux]: Due to the human intervention in history, the original course of history will be disturbed, resulting in changes in the future world. These changes are referred to as Temporal Flux. It is worth mentioning that Temporal Flux is uncontrollable.

[3. Anchoring Events]: Time points and events that are beyond redemption and can trigger observable Temporal Flux are referred to as Anchoring Events.

…

Lin Xian looked at the three Space-time Laws he had summarized.

He felt that something was missing.

After careful consideration, he noticed that there was a certain conflict between the first law, the Space-Time Butterfly Effect, and the third law, Anchoring Events.

“Is it really the case that every single thing will inevitably trigger a Temporal Flux?”

Lin Xian thought this was impossible.

If any trivial matter could indeed trigger changes in the future space-time, then his Dream World would not have remained unchanged for 23 years.

His three consecutive championships in the Youth Urban Parkour League, a clear change to reality, did not cause even a ripple in the future world. The world 600 years later had not changed at all because of Lin Xian’s minor accomplishment.

Lin Xian looked at the half-filled water cup on the table.

He began to ponder…

Would drinking this gulp of water have any effect on the world 600 years later?

“That would certainly not be the case.”

Lin Xian was certain:

“Unless I drank a ton of water right now. Then I would die on the spot, or if I were resuscitated, I wouldn’t live a long life.”

“In that case, I might never marry or have children. The Lin family’s bloodline would end with me. There would be no future scientist from the Lin family to be born, nor would there be any future criminal from the Lin family to bring calamity to the world, and that would indeed trigger a Temporal Flux.”

“So, this is a matter of ‘quantity changing quality.’ Not every Space-Time Butterfly Effect is powerful enough to influence the future hundreds of years later.”

“Small things like washing or not washing one’s face, brushing or not brushing one’s teeth, or bathing or not, will all be gradually worn down and diluted over 600 years of space-time, leaving no ripples behind.”

Therefore.

Another supplementary clause must be added to the Space-time Laws.

Lin Xian continued to write, adding a fourth Space-time Law:

[4. Space-Time Elasticity]: Space-time itself has a certain elasticity, and not every Space-Time Butterfly Effect will trigger Temporal Flux. It requires an accumulation of changes to a certain degree, or a sufficiently strong change to reality, to break through the elasticity of space-time and cause Temporal Flux, affecting the future world.

Lin Xian guessed that the longer the time scale was stretched, the greater the Space-Time Elasticity would be, the less likely it would be for changes and alterations to occur.

This elasticity is also a form of inertia, smoothed out by sufficiently long spans of time, becoming less sensitive.

However, the conclusion about inertia was not certain, so he did not include it in his writing.

…

“That should do it.”

Lin Xian capped his pen.

Space-Time Butterfly Effect, Temporal Flux, Anchoring Events, Space-Time Elasticity.

These were the four Space-time Laws that Lin Xian had come to understand so far.

“`

“`

Further insights into these principles may still be possible, depending on how deeply one can explore the Dream World.

“Perhaps these laws… on the scale of space-time, are weapons no less formidable than airplanes, tanks, and cannons,”

Lin Xian closed his eyes and began to imagine…

How difficult would it be to level the entire Donghai City to the ground with airplanes, tanks, and cannons, and to cause humanity’s technology to regress to the ’80s and ’90s of the last century?

Very difficult, indeed.

This is not just a matter of how much ammunition is needed. Even if nuclear bombs were to wipe Donghai City off the map, technology would eventually recover.

Moreover, if the enemy truly harbored such intentions, they would have to contend with China’s defensive capabilities. With such strong air and sea defenses, could they really allow their planes and tanks to level Donghai City?

But the Space-Time Law, this kind of “Space-Time Weapon,” is different!

It’s a war without smoke and gunfire.

You can’t even see where the enemy is, you don’t know who the enemy is, and you’re completely unable to defend against their attacks.

“Space-Time Weapons” can fire 600 years in the past, easily altering history and the future with the “Space-Time Law,” leaving you utterly unprepared.

Just like the question just now.

How difficult is it to break through various defenses and level Donghai City?

For those who wield Space-Time Weapons and understand the Space-Time Law, it’s not difficult at all.

A single paper by Xu Yun is enough.

“This is war on a space-time scale…”

Lin Xian looked at the few lines of text on the manuscript paper and felt the enormous power to destroy worlds:

“This is a Space-Time Weapon that only I possess.”

He had a sudden inspiration.

Since his Space-Time Weapon accidentally caused the technology of the future world to regress by decades… perhaps it could be reversed, maybe the future world could be changed again, advancing technology by decades, or even centuries.

“An interesting experiment.”

Lin Xian crumpled the finished manuscript paper into a ball, threw it into the ashtray, and lit it with a lighter:

“But Temporal Flux is uncontrollable.”

“If I don’t want to do more harm than good… I still need to figure out the real reason for the technological regression in the Dream World.”

“Technological regression can’t happen without reason; there must be some special cause.”@@novelbin@@

Lin Xian believed.

As long as one understands and masters enough Space-Time Laws, perhaps one day it will indeed be possible to control the Space-Time Butterfly Effect to some extent, making Temporal Flux something “controllable.”

Whoo…

The flames danced.

Each flame leapt in unpredictable directions.

Lin Xian planned to enter The First Dreamland earlier the following afternoon and quickly investigate everything in the dream.

…

The next day.

While working in his office, Lin Xian received a phone call from his university mentor.

He was quite surprised.

The male mentor had started working at the school after completing his master’s degree, as all formally employed teachers had to start as mentors. Because he was young, he got along well with the students.

Lin Xian had a very good relationship with the mentor during his university days and wondered what he wanted.

As soon as the call connected, the mentor congratulated Lin Xian cheerfully:

“Rhein Cat is really popular now, Lin Xian, especially among female college students—it’s incredibly trendy.”

“`

“Hey, Lin Xian, do you have any free time these days? The freshmen from our college that I’m mentoring were thrilled when they found out Rhein Cat was designed by a senior from our academy. I got a bit too proud and talked up a storm. I said I’d invite you to give a small lecture at our college, maybe share some experience about IP design with the juniors and sophomores.”

Lin Xian gave a wry smile upon hearing this.

Rhein Cat was indeed popular, but it wasn’t his own design… What experience could he possibly share? At most, he could share how to position oneself while dreaming.

But the counselor was insistent, asking him to do it as a favor and to establish some authority in front of the freshmen. So, Lin Xian agreed:

“How about tomorrow afternoon?”

“Sounds good, tomorrow afternoon works.”

Because Lin Xian had planned to enter the Dream World early this afternoon, he scheduled the small lecture for the following afternoon.

“Ah.”

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xian sighed.

Since he had promised, he would need to prepare properly.

He picked up the black notebook on his desk, drafted a speech outline, and planned to take the notebook with him to the lecture tomorrow.

After sorting out his work, Lin Xian went home early, ready to dive into his dreams.

He checked the time.

It wasn’t even six o’clock yet, so if he went to sleep now, he would have a solid seven hours for exploration, which was plenty.

After a quick wash, he lay down on the bed.

And entered the land of dreams.

…

…

…

In this new dream, the summer day was still hot, but there was not even a hint of the muggy summer breeze.

Probably because there were too many haphazardly built houses around, and the paths were too rugged, not even the wind could get through.

Lin Xian opened his eyes.

The “spawn point” was the same as when he last entered the Dream World.

Brick walls, low houses, narrow lanes, lanterns, roof tiles, moss…

It was still the same old, impoverished little village.

“Is this really still Donghai City?”

After all, the city in The First Dreamland was still called Donghai City. But was this place the same?

Lin Xian scratched his head, finding it hard to confirm at the moment.

But it would be easy to find out by asking someone.

“Stop—stop, thief! Young—young man! Help, please!!”

A frantic voice of a middle-aged woman came from behind.

He turned his head to look.

He saw an elegantly dressed old lady panting as she chased a thief sprinting ahead.

The thief was wearing a black hat, cursing under his breath, and it was the same person who had stolen the cash box from the grocery store and killed Lin Xian with a dagger the night before!

“Can’t you pick a different village to steal from?”

Lin Xian was truly speechless.

This thief was really milking one village for all it’s worth, stealing from the grocery store at night and snatching a handbag from an old lady during the day.

“Outta the way!”

The thief in the black hat elbowed past Lin Xian and ran toward the path ahead.

The old lady caught up and grabbed Lin Xian’s arm:

“Young…young man, I can’t run anymore! Can you please help…”

He just killed me yesterday, and you think you can get away today?

“Sure old lady, wait here for me.”

Whoosh!

Lin Xian’s parkour skills kicked in, and he bounded over walls left and right, quickly catching up to the thief.

“Off you go!” “Ah—”

A flying kick brought the thief tumbling down and pinned to the ground.

This time he had learned his lesson.

Instead of immediately trying to grab the handbag back from the thief, he reached for the shimmering dagger at the thief’s waist, yanked it out, and tossed it far away.

Clang.

The dagger bounced a few times before rolling to a stop down the stone steps.

He thought he was safe, but—

Whoosh!

A sweep of icy half-moon blade flashed by as the thief pulled out another sharp knife from his embrace!

“Dual-wielding?”

Luckily, Lin Xian was on guard, leaping back to dodge.

What’s with the world these days?

The last dream’s CC had two guns on him.

This dream’s thief also carried two knives.

Does everyone feel this insecure?

“You son of a—!”

The thief bared his teeth, rubbing his neck that Lin Xian had sorely pressed, and advanced with the pointed knife in hand:

“So, you’re the busybody, huh!”

Lin Xian retreated.

Thump.

There was no escape; he was backed into a dead end.

“Damn it!” The thief’s face twisted viciously, as he waved his sharp knife, closing in on Lin Xian:

“Today, you’re getting taught a lesson!”

“Who the hell do you think you’re teaching a lesson to!!!” a loud shout came from the adjacent alley.

Boom!!!

A pile of kindling stacked at the alley entrance was kicked aside!

A hefty figure, followed by three menacing-looking lackeys, walked out!

Whoosh!

The leader swung his arm, and a meter-long baton appeared in his hand.

“Ptooey!”

He spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, his face contorted with anger, as he stared down the thief:

“Daring to steal on my turf…”

“You’ve crossed the line!!”