“…… Mullen? Are you listening? ”

I finally realized that I hadn't listened to him at all. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info this sluggish old fellow.

Pulling a holographic window over from the left, Maren Owen glanced up at the long-faced, hook-nosed speaker across from him, scratching his hair, his tone full of coping and sarcasm: "Of course I'm listening, my old friend. The topic you're talking about is so fascinating that I'm completely hooked on it. What are you calling that? Well...... Gensokyo, right? Uh-huh, a paradise of all sorts of beautiful women, and it seems that most of those beloved and extremely attractive ladies are not human yet? It's an interesting topic, although I feel that there may be some problems with their racial continuity. You also know that for mammals, parthenogenesis have a high chance of exhibiting undesirable traits......"

"You're obviously wrong, Mr. Owen." On the other side, explorer Patrick Dirk, a lifelong friend of the famous electronics engineer, sighed heavily, "...... Well, I don't know anything about biology, but your conclusion should be wrong. It seems that you really didn't listen carefully, so I'll tell you again......"

"Alright, Patrick, I don't want to hear you talk about all that frivolous stuff made up by a bunch of lazy, fanciful guys decades ago. It's just the product of the delusions of a bunch of social losers -- ah, but what do you mean, it seems that its initiator succeeded by virtue of it? Ahahahaha," Mullen waved his hand with a few dry laughs, "but those guys are already old and dead. Right now, what you're talking about makes no sense other than wasting a tiny fraction of the storage space on the web. From this point of view, we should not pay as much attention to it as data fragmentation garbage. I still have my own work to do, the Chinese have once again violently invaded the Internet of Things in Amsterdam this morning...... Bastard, it's like this every time, only relying on the massive influx of junk data to create a firewall vulnerability, do you dare to show chivalry one-on-one...... Damn yellow-skinned monkeys......"

Saying this, Mullen's movements became noticeably stronger, and his choice of window was as vigorous as attacking his enemies with straight punches. Seeing that the person in front of him had once again begun to make his old mistakes, Patrick spread his hands: "Okay, okay, don't be so impulsive." Chinese Cyberattacks on Amsterdam are not a matter of a day or two......"

"That's why I can't stand it! These Far Eastern guys have no idea that their self-esteem as a hacker is so cunning and despicable...... Phew, in a country like this, which is made up of slave owners and slaves under totalitarian rule, God should send a great flood to destroy it so as not to defile humanity and our Mother Earth......"

"Wait, wait, that's the end of the Chinese topic." Whether they destroy or survive, don't they all have nothing to do with us? Hurriedly stopping the engineer who was about to gush on insults at the ancient Eastern country, Patrick forcibly reversed the subject, "So, I said so much, dear Mullen, what the hell do you think?" Come with me ......."

"Looking for Gensokyo? Of course not. Because you're sure you won't find anything, and those things are fiction in the first place. Speaking of this, Mullen rolled his eyes at the other party without surprise, "Patrick, please go to the hospital for a check-up." If your personal doctor is busy, I can help contact me. Precursors of Alzheimer's disease......"

"No, no, dear Mullen, it's clear that you didn't listen to the evidence I just listed. Gensokyo is real, really ......"

"Aha, the Chechen War, a war that has been going on for nearly a hundred years, and a few soldiers in it were hot-headed and gave eyewitness testimony about 'Yakumo Murasaki', which is what you call evidence that proves its real existence? I still think we should go to the Hormuz School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or go to the core to find Isaac's aliens who have defeated the Freemasons and tried to use humans as their slaves...... What kind of place is Chechnya? I've never heard of it. ”

"Ah, it's on the side of Russia......"

"Russia, Russia. They've not been very honest lately either. The second highest number of cyberattacks on Amsterdam this month came from Moscow. Hearing this, Mullen immediately linked it to his own work, "But their attacks are clearly better than the Yankees'...... I guess it's because of what happened in Belarus recently......"

"Stop, Mullen. I don't mean to provoke you, but you clearly missed or deliberately missed another strong piece of evidence that I pointed. Speaking of this, Patrick hesitated, his tone full of temptation, "...... I'm sure you know what I'm referring to, right? ”

"......" face became even more gloomy, and Mullen looked at the scrolling data bar on the holographic window in front of him without saying a word. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, "You mean, that staunch defender of Einstein?" ”

"I'm not a physicist, so I don't understand your metaphors that don't understand anything at all."

"I'm not a physicist either. I'm an electronics engineer. ”

"Come on. Think about what people say when they introduce you to the outside world? Famous physicist, and then ......"

"That's enough, I said I'm an electronics engineer, definitely not a bullshit physicist!" Turning his head and glaring at the other party fiercely, Mullen suppressed his anger and said, "So, you're referring to her?" Yumemi Okazaki? ”

"I know you're going to have this look when you mention that name. Relax, my friend, how long has it been? "When I ran into a black cat on the way, I should have realized that nothing too good would happen today. This is good, the Chinese, Okazaki Yumemi, and Mullen's two major reverse scales were all mentioned in one day. Alas...... With a sad expression, Patrick nodded, "That's right, it's her." You look at the description in that work, women, red hair, genius physicists, very controversial theories, accessories that he likes to carry with him, aspects of interest, and most importantly, names and nationalities. Even her young friend and assistant, Kita-Shirakawa Chiyuri's information is exactly the same, is it a coincidence that there is such a high degree of consistency? ”

"But I don't think you'll forget that Yumemi Okazaki was born in 2031, and she doesn't have any starships or anything like the sky - humans are still messing around in the asteroid belt." The attitude is still tough, and Mullen gave his own rebuttal, "You tell me now, a game brand designed more than thirty years ago predicted the existence of Yumemi Okazaki and Chiyuri Kita-Shirakawa thirty years later? You really should have a good consultation with your personal doctor, Patrick. ”

"But that's not the point. What we do know now is that this astonishing coincidence has taken place, and we cannot bury our heads in the sand like ostriches and turn a blind eye, or give a strong denial because of its apparent irrationality - it is almost like a detective who encounters a murder in a secret room and simply says that it is impossible to close the case in a hurry. What we should do as explorers is to pursue the truth behind this irrationality......"

"Oh, explorer. The truth. Then you can go and find the truth, to find the Gensokyo that only appears in dreams, as an explorer who has won many awards. What I'm supposed to do as an electronics engineer is to squat down at home and do my job. As if the work at hand was over, Mullen waved his hand and drove away all the holographic windows in front of him, and then leaned back in his chair, "Because of the recent situation in Belarus, the EU Ministry of Defense is very tight on the project." Also, it's been five years, and the project that should have come to fruition when the Russians occupied Minsk has not made any progress at all......"

"Wait, Maren. The project you are talking about...... Could it be that? ”

"Ah, yes, R.H.T.P.D. project. I've mentioned this to you many times before, right? Ignoring the EU government's repeated emphasis on secrecy in the emails in front of his friends, Mullen nodded, his tone revealing a deep anxiety and a little decadence, "It's been five years, Patrick." At this point, they could withdraw their funding at any time, and it was impossible for me, even as the head of the network business at NX, to provide the funds to support my research...... What's more, there are problems similar to data support and experimental sites......"

“…… That's also another reason why I'm here today. The expression on his face became serious, and Patrick put his old and powerful hand on the other man's shoulder, this ordinary movement somehow made Maren feel extremely reliable, "My dear Marlen, you should take a break now. ”

“…… Take a break? Me? Asked in confusion, Mullen immediately shook his head, "No, no, no, don't you understand, Patrick?" My ideals are now in grave danger, how can I rest at such a time? I have to work, I have to work. If you can't get results......"

"But you have to remember that you are in control of your ideals, not your ideals!" Raising his voice a bit, Patrick still didn't have the confidence in his heart. He was well aware of the fragile hard work of the brown-haired engineer across from him, which was one of his strengths and his biggest weakness, "You're too impetuous. That's probably why you've been getting nothing for five years. Don't let yourself be so tired, don't push yourself too hard, try to relax......"

“…… Relax, ......" bowed his head deeply, and Mullen repeated the words, "Relax...... But I'm not qualified to relax. R.H.T.P.D. has been stagnant for a long time, and I, as the general manager, will definitely bear the main responsibility. And, judging by the information received from the EU Ministry of Defense, there are already a lot of good counterparts who are already in action. I should not be chased by them...... Time magazine called me 'the von Neumann of our time', 'the king of information network topology', and 'the frontrunner of a new round of information technology revolution', and I cannot live up to their expectations......"

When the other party said this, Patrick immediately noticed, I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, the other party gently dropped a title that also appeared in "Time": a genius expert in the field of information technology. But of course he wouldn't bring it up without interest. If you want to know the reason, you don't need to think about it: Yumemi Okazaki is also praised as a "genius" by the world.

"But sometimes if you keep your eyes on one goal, sooner or later you're going to break down, both physically and mentally." Carefully considering his words, Patrick said, "At that point, you will really, really not be able to fulfill your ideals at all." Rest is part of work, isn't it? ”

"In this way, I get enough sleep every day, and I have ...... tea time."

"Sleep alone is not enough, dear Mullen. What you need is some external stimulus to get rid of that irritability and anxiety completely - even if your psychiatrist is here, he will definitely say that to you. So, going on an expedition with me will definitely help a lot. Remember what you said to me after the two of us climbed Kilimanjaro? 'It feels so good, like I've been sulking out in one breath.' Don't you want to enjoy the feeling again? ”

“…… So we're going to look for a Garden of Eden that is so absurd that it can't exist? ”

"You should think of it as accompanying me, an old man, to go crazy at the last moment of my life."

"I feel like you've had enough of it. Is there anything in the world that you haven't done? When I first heard that you had an accident when you skydived 10,000 meters, I was so scared that my heart almost stopped. Please be calm in the future. ”

"Okay, good, of course, I'll be steady. So this is the last time. Knowing that the other party would have compromised at least to a certain extent, a smile crept up Patrick's face, "I promise you. After this time, I immediately went to buy a farm to spend my old age. And, Mullen, there's another level to why I'm inviting you to find Gensokyo......"

Suddenly, the old man waved his hand and sent a teleportation request to Mullen's computer. Seeing that the other party accepted it with doubt, he nodded: "Marina has been divorced from you for five years, is she really not going to find another one?" Forty-seven years old is still too late. I think if you can really find that so-called Gensokyo this time, you can just find one in there......"

"Hey, don't make such a bad joke." Crying and laughing, he retrieved the information sent by the other party, and Malen understood that he was making fun of himself again, "I have long dedicated my life to the computer." It's my wife. I think that's why Marina ended up leaving me - she felt jealous and helpless. ”

"Hmm, it turns out that our Master Maren has already made the legendary artificial intelligence?"

"Okay, okay, your proposal...... Let me think about it again and at least give me some time to put things into my schedule. Really, when your third grandson has already been born, do you want to leave poor little Jonas like this? ”

"Jonas Jonas still has his parents, and I, an old man, shouldn't be pointing fingers. So," stood up and bowed playfully, and Patrick said, "take a leave and wait for good news." ”