In the infirmary of the Orion missile cruiser, Jiang Xuezhou, who was covered in bandages, was lying quietly on the medical bed, and the intensive care equipment next to him made a slight dripping sound.

People are still alive.

But didn't wake up.

Facing the gentle electrocardiogram ripples on the holographic screen, Luo Yi, who had already taken off his power armor, frowned slightly, looked at the doctor on the side and said.

"Haven't you woken up yet?"

Before the doctor could speak, the nurse on the side couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"It's so fast, it's a miracle that this kid is alive, okay?"

Luo Yi said with a wry smile.

"I didn't mean to rush......"

He may indeed be a little anxious.

After all, everyone is confused about the situation in front of them.

It's not just him, a lot of people want to figure out what happened quickly.

And what exactly went wrong.

Looking at the screen of the vital signs monitor, Lin Youyou, who had been pondering for a long time and had not spoken, suddenly raised his head.

"It's a little strange to say."

Luo Yi asked as he looked at her.

"What's weird?"

The knuckle of the index finger was against his chin, and Lin Youyou said thoughtfully.

"Her wounds are indeed healing after the tissue repair gel we used, but there is no change in her metabolic level and heart rate......"

As she said this, she suddenly remembered something, and another sentence popped out of her mouth.

"It seems to have been before."

Luo Yi asked.

"Before?"

"The kid named Night Ten." While thinking back to the situation at that time, Lin Youyou said truthfully, "We healed his injuries and repaired his prosthesis, but his metabolic rate and heart rate showed no signs of recovery...... By the way, and his body temperature too, it was not a normal person's body temperature at all, and I was always worried that he would pass out. ”

Luo Yi's brows furrowed slightly.

At this time, a message from the staff of the Eighth Department suddenly popped up on the communication channel.

Without much thought, he immediately pressed the button to turn on.

"Hello?"

"Are you free now?"

"I'm always free to talk about things."

There was no nonsense on the other side, and he said immediately.

"Take a trip to the reserve warehouse on the lower deck...... A warehouse for emergency escape supplies, we have found new clues here. ”

"I'll be there."

Luo nodded, hung up the phone, and then quickly left the infirmary and went to the warehouse mentioned by the colleague in the eighth department on the phone.

The warehouse wasn't far from the room he was working in, but it was still a little far from the infirmary.

It took him about five minutes to reach his destination, only to see the security personnel of the Eighth Department standing at the door of an open cabinet, and the warehouse staff who reported the crime were standing next to them.

"What happened?"

The security officer who had called him earlier raised his hand to say hello to him, and then walked up to him with a tablet.

"We just received a report from the staff of the emergency management warehouse that a dormant pod has been lost in the storage warehouse, and the locks of the storage cabinet have been violently damaged."

Luo Yi asked.

"Just discovered?"

The security officer nodded and said.

"That's right, it was fine when I checked it yesterday, but when I looked at it again today, it was gone. But the strange thing is that the security system is out of order, is it similar to before? ”

Luo Yi frowned.

"Could it be that the colleague in charge of the warehouse made a mistake?"

This is a hyperspace passage, no one can get out, and the lost hibernation pod must still be on the starship.

And most crucially, he couldn't figure out who was going to steal it.

The security officer shook his head.

"I don't think so...... Because of the missing hibernation pod, we've found it. ”

Luo was stunned for a moment and looked at him in confusion.

“…… So what's the problem? ”

The security officer looked at him with a subtle expression and continued.

"Here's the problem...... The lost hibernation pod, we found at the 'scene of the accident'. ”

……

In the sheriff's office on the lower deck, the main participants in Project Dawn stood with expressionless faces.

Including the captain Zhao Tianhe, including the executive officer Wu Mengke, and Dr. Wu of the fifth department, and so on.

Their plan was perfect.

But I don't know why, it still failed in the end.

Looking at the sleeping girl on the screen, Zhao Tianhe stretched out his index finger and thumb to pinch his tired eyebrows, and said with a slow sigh.

"It seems that the universe is much more cruel than we imagined......"

Wu Mengke looked at him, with a hint of sorrow hanging from the crow's feet in the corners of his eyes.

"So we ...... Is this a failure? ”

Zhao Tianhe did not answer.

What they were going through was more complicated than any battle he had ever faced.

His experience is not of any use here.

"No, there is no ......"

At this time, Dr. Wu, who had not spoken, suddenly opened his mouth.

Pairs of eyes looked at him.

Including Zhao Tianhe, including his cousin Wu Mengke, as well as navigators and many other high-ranking officers, as well as Sergeant Luo Yi who was standing at the door and was about to report the situation......

He turned his gaze to the monitoring terminal, looked at the unconscious girl in the holographic screen, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty.

"We succeeded, but the end result was different from what we had imagined......"

Zhao Tianhe frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Wu Xinghuan took his eyes off the holographic screen and looked at the captain intently.

"You judge that the Twins will definitely launch neutron torpedoes after confirming our refusal to carry out the order...... Is that right? ”

Zhao Tianhe nodded and said in an unquestionable tone.

"With what I know about Song Yuchuan, the captain of the Twins, he will definitely do it."

Wu Xinghuan then asked.

"What kind of man is he?"

Zhao Tianhe replied without thinking.

"That guy is a wolf, cruel to others, even more cruel to himself, if there are ten radicals among a hundred civilians on a ship, he will default to the other ninety innocent people as a necessary sacrifice."

Wu Xinghuan said step by step.

"So you didn't hesitate to fire."

Zhao Tianhe did not shy away from it, and simply nodded.

"Yes, there is no other way to deal with the beast, and in that case it is either you dead or I live...... Are we going to discuss this at this time? ”

"We have to talk about it because it's the key to where we're in the situation."

Wu Xinghuan stared at him intently and continued in a serious tone.

"Then now you are the captain of the Twins, or Song Yuchuan himself...... In front of you is someone who knows you very well, and that guy will not show mercy, and will abandon all illusions and make the worst choice at the first moment...... If you were him, what would you choose? ”

Zhao Tianhe's pupils dilated slightly.

It was almost a no-brainer answer, and that option automatically popped into his mind.

“…… I'll start first. ”

Wu Xinghuan stared at him and asked.

"You're going to strike first, you know your opponent knows very well that you're a beast, and you know that your opponent won't have any hesitation or guilt in killing you...... So, how do you plan to start? ”

The air in the sheriff's office was quiet, and both eyes were fixed on the two men.

No one was silent.

Zhao Tianhe was silent for a long time and moved his gaze to one side.

"I will hide the neutron bomb in the landing craft......"

Wu Mengke's eyes widened in astonishment, staring at Captain Zhao in disbelief.

The other officers on the side were the same, and their faces all showed stunned expressions.

It wasn't the commander's choice that they were stunned about.

It's the greatest possible judgment made by their superiors from the other side's position.

At that time, it was quite possible that the landing craft was left unoccupied from the very beginning......

Wu Xinghuan was not satisfied with this answer, and still asked step by step.

"That's all? Die with your opponents? You still have an unfinished mission, and your ruthlessness should not only be to others, but also to yourself......"

This time, Zhao Tianhe was silent for a long time.

But in the end, he still spoke the last resort.

“…… I'll upload the thoughts of the entire crew to the ship's server, kill myself before the neutron torpedo they are about to launch hits us, keep us invincible from the start, and ensure that orders from the Lagrange Point Station are carried out correctly even after we die. ”

Plainly.

They didn't fight for profit, they just fought for the different beliefs of both sides.

They are not enemies.

Even after it's all over, he'll think about atonement for what he's done—

For example, use the files and data backed up on the server to resurrect the teammates you once killed with your own hands.

There is no need to continue to deduce what happened next, they have already understood the whole story, and the truth is far more cruel than they imagined.

Zhao Tianhe's Adam's apple moved.

At that moment, he felt like he was a teenager older.

“…… I'm sorry, comrades-in-arms, but I still underestimated their determination. ”

"You don't have to be sorry, this is what has happened...... It's just that we don't know about it in a superposition. ”

Wu Xinghuan shook his head slightly, then continued to look at the girl on the holographic screen, and continued as if muttering to himself.

"Honestly...... The moment I saw her, I understood it all. ”

"We're both superimposed, and they're two different superimpositions, from two perfectly parallel timelines α and β. There are two intersections in our entanglement, one is the beginning and the other is the end. ”

"The young man named Ye Shi is our starting point, and the girl named Jiang Xuezhou is our end point. And in their own cycle everything is reversed, the girl named Jiang Xuezhou is the beginning of everything, and the young man is the end. ”

"And we, we're dead."

Eventually, he discovered new physics.

Information can travel beyond the speed of light, even through time and space.

Their encounter across time and space is the best proof of this.

Whether the memory is ultimately interpreted as a dream, or whether it is a visual sensation or some kind of psychological effect...... They have left proof of their existence on each other's timelines.

He wanted to give up a name for this astonishing discovery, but after thinking about it, he gave up.

Let's leave it to future generations to summarize......

About this special field of entanglement between information and information.

There was a long silence in the room.

In the end, it was Wu Mengke, the executive officer, or second-in-command, of the starship that broke the silence.

“…… I don't know why, but I was relieved to hear you say that we were dead. ”

She smiled bitterly, looked at the screen of the monitoring terminal with complicated eyes and continued.

"At least...... Their presence proves that we are not wrong in our choice. ”

Zhao Tianhe glanced at her, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Where?"

"Every aspect."

Wu Mengke thought for a moment and then said.

"The teenager we saw earlier was a Vault resident...... This kid must be a wastelander. ”

Zhao Tianhe nodded.

"Perhaps."

Wu Mengke looked at him, and a kind smile suddenly appeared on his always serious face.

"Actually...... Pretty good, isn't it? While they are distinctly different from us, I still see in them many things that we have celebrated, such as love and courage...... There are so many other things that I don't know how to describe. ”

Luo Yi understood the executive lady's thoughts, and pondered for a moment and said.

"What do you want to say...... Wish? ”

Wu Mengke smiled and nodded.

"Probably. Anyway, I think it's good to leave the future to them. ”

They didn't turn into beasts.

They are still people.

In that case, there is nothing to fear.

As for death.

That's just meant to happen.

At the moment, she is like a kind old grandmother.

Although she is not that old, she is only middle-aged.

"Maybe you're right." Zhao Tianhe was silent for a while, and then said slowly.

According to Dr. Wu's theory, the Twins' landing craft was empty from the start, only a fully loaded neutron warhead, and possibly even androids or intelligent programs that had come to take over the starship.

In other words, it is not them and the Gemini that form the superposition, but themselves.

And whether they die at the exit or entrance of the hyperspace passageway, their death is a predestined thing.

In this case, the Daybreak project could not have succeeded from the start.

And they are destined to travel to the future 200 years from now and fulfill their promise with that child.

After a pause, Zhao Tianhe looked at Dr. Wu Xinghuan.

"So according to your theory, we can't do anything...... Right? ”

Wu Xinghuan shook his head.

"Not really, even though our death is predestined...... There are still things we can do. ”

Seeing a pair of eyes looking at him, he took a deep breath and continued.

"Like I just said...... At the moment, we are in a superposition state. Even if our superposition has collapsed in the future, there is still something we can do in the remaining time that does not exist. ”

Zhao Tianhe asked in a deep voice.

"What is that thing?"

"Our export." Wu Xinghuan stared at him intently, and said categorically, "We can decide which future ...... we go to."

And all the people looked at him.

The expression may be surprised, heavy, surprised, or incredulous......

Zhao Tianhe continued to ask.

“…… Can you elaborate on that? ”

At this moment, Wu Xinghuan was unprecedentedly calm, and the chaotic clues were all strung together by him.

“…… We do receive information from the future, right? Because of the quantum entanglement of superposition states, because we don't know some kind of field. In short, we did see them. ”

"We share this shared memory, even if it doesn't appear in our timeline. We know that in 200 years there will be an organization called the Alliance, who will end the Wasteland Age with ideals and passion, sweep everything from the old era to the grave, and then take our children to the new era! ”

"That shared memory is their coordinates, and that's where we're going – there's the future of that pair of children!"

It may sound like a dying fantasy, but the shared memory is not entirely imaginary, but a memory that does exist in their minds.

And it's a memory that resonates with all of them!

It is precisely because of that resonance for the future that they have not given up until now.

Zhao Tianhe looked at him seriously.

"How are we going to get there?"

"It's simple...... It's not easy, we have to close the loop with their timeline! ”

Looking at the dark and serious crowd, Wu Xinghuan set his eyes on Luo Yi who was standing at the door.

"I remember you did the count, and there were 227 people who heard the explosion...... Is that right? ”

Luo nodded and spoke.

"Yes...... Moreover, I have one more thing to report, the hibernation pod that we found in the landing craft is the one we lost. ”

Wu Xinghuan snapped his fingers and glanced around energetically.

"The timeline has changed, and this is the most direct evidence! And at the moment when we sent that child away! ”

"That's why I just said that our 'Daybreak' plan didn't fail, it just didn't work out what we expected!"

"We didn't know we were dead at the time, we thought there would be a group of heavily armed soldiers on the landing craft, until we found out that there was nothing there, and we realized that we were wrong, our opponent was more cruel and tenacious than we thought!"

Zhao Tianhe had already vaguely understood what he meant.

"The timeline is interlaced for the first time...... It takes a second staggering to form a closed loop, right? ”

"That's right!" Wu Xinghuan looked at him with blazing eyes, and then glanced around at everyone at the scene, "We have successfully received information about the future, we already know about our own death, and even know that how many people will survive and how many will die." ”

"A total of 227 people heard the explosion...... Neutron radiation is much faster than sound wave transmission, under what circumstances can the explosion of a neutron bomb be heard? ”

“…… Although this is nonsense, I have to say that only a living person can hear the explosion of a neutron bomb. ”

Luo Yi's eyes widened in an instant, including many people standing at the scene.

He had this vague feeling a long time ago, only to be ignored because he was buried in that trivial clue.

Zhao Tianhe stared at Wu Xinghuan intently, and suddenly laughed out loud.

"Looks like I'm the ghost."

It's not just him.

Including almost all the senior officers who were in the bridge at the time, they did not hear the explosion, nor did they hear the alarm triggered by the explosion.

It wasn't until someone ran up to report that they realized something was wrong with the lower deck.

At this point, he finally understood why.

The equipment did not fail.

It's just that they won't survive the "next second" when the alarm sounds.

However, in this time-stagnant hyperspace channel, they still used an unknown field to complete the exchange of information.

In other words.

In fact, they do not just exchange information with the future, they also have a certain resonance field with each other.

After straightening the look on his face, he looked at Wu Xinghuan without changing his face, and continued fearlessly.

"Go on and tell us...... For the sake of the new era 200 years from now, what can we do for those who are dying? ”

"There's only one thing you can do - and that's to go back to the moment you entered the hyperspace channel and stay where you were...... Then wait for death. ”

Looking at his cousin, Wu Xinghuan couldn't help but say this, and then turned his gaze to Luo Yi who was standing at the door.

"And you ...... Including me, and all the 227 people who heard the explosion, we were survivors of neutron radiation, and although we were lucky not to be killed directly, it was only a matter of time before we died. ”

"But even then, it's still some time before we die of suffocation or starvation...... During this time, we need to complete the loop of time, guide the girl lying on the treatment bed to us, and prepare them with weapons to help them defeat the enemy we have not defeated. ”

"It seems that what we should leave behind is not 'celestials,'" Wu Mengke quipped, "but something else." ”

Luo raised his hand and looked at everyone and said seriously.

"I'll take care of the hibernation pod...... The emergency equipment management warehouse is right next to my office, and when I hear an explosion, I'll open it as soon as I can tow the dormant pod to the landing craft. ”

The koala was silent for a moment, then raised her hand as well.

"Leave the work of guidance to me...... I've heard they've crashed into the lower deck, and my repair room is nearby, and I'm going to make a holographic guidance device to guide the girl...... Uh, to the room where the hibernation pod is located? ”

"It's not enough." Zhao Tianhe shook his head and looked at Wu Xinghuan, who wanted to say something, "She has to start the warp engine of this ship, right?" ”

"That's right, and that's not all," Wu Xinghuan nodded and continued calmly, "The Celestials have captured our starship after two hundred years and gained control of this starship...... At least control of most of the equipment, including weapons systems, and we'll have to help her and her friends regain control of the starship. ”

Koala said sweating profusely.

"This ...... You're a little too embarrassed for me. ”

He didn't even know how long he would live if he left the hyperspace channel for a while.

"Haha, it's okay brother," the AI expert from the Ten Department put his arm on his shoulder and patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "And us!" You're in charge of designing the navigation device, helping her find the switch for the warp engine, and we're in charge of leaving a surprise for the grave robbers on the engine. ”

Koala breathed a sigh of relief and smiled weakly.

"That's good...... I'm really not good at hacking, especially on the other side. ”

Suddenly, someone raised their hand.

"I have a question, can't we design in a stagnant time? Or even ...... Involve the dead in the design of the program. ”

It's always good to have an extra helper.

Besides, there are a lot of talents on this starship, not just the programmers of the Ten Divisions.

However, Dr. Wu shook his head and denied their intention of getting stuck.

"It's useless, everything we make in the hyperspace passage will be erased, except for the memories that have been proven to be preserved...... Nothing will be left. ”

But looking at the disappointed expressions of the crowd, he suddenly changed his words again.

"But it's okay to do it a few times...... And it can be as many times as it takes, after all, information can be retained through the resonance field, which does not violate the laws that we have figured out. ”

Looking at the people who were brainstorming and thinking more and more about the way, Zhao Tianhe's cold face unfortunately had a faint smile, and he made a rare joke.

"I didn't expect a dead man to do so much."

Wu Mengke said with a smile.

"After all, we won't die until the 'next second', isn't this not dead yet."

Zhao Tianhe was silent for a while, the expression on his face was a little relieved and a little melancholy.

"But it's a pity to think about it, I made an appointment with someone I met online...... After the war ended, we went on vacation to Shilong City. ”

In other words, in 200 years, it should be called French Fries Port.

I heard that the scenery is also quite good.

Wu Mengke looked at this unsmiling chief in surprise, as if he was looking at a different species in the wasteland.

Sensing the strange gaze, Zhao Tianhe looked at her with a strange expression.

"Any questions?"

"No......" Wu Mengke shook his head stunned, "It's just that I haven't heard you say it at all." ”

Zhao Tianhe said with a smile.

"Hahaha, what do you do when you talk about that kind of thing at work, it will make you think that I am such a serious person."

All right.

In fact, he is indeed not a serious person, just an ordinary human being.

In places that his colleagues can't see, he also has his own life, and there are some stocks in the virtual machine that he wants to delete but probably can't delete in time.

The reason why I usually always have an unsmiling expression is just because of the needs of work.

And after knowing that he was going to die soon, the burden on his shoulders was lifted and he lived out his original self.

"I'm already starting to feel like this......" Wu Mengke raised his index finger and pressed his eyebrows, with an unacceptable expression, "You should take this secret to the grave, I thank you." ”

"You're welcome! You just thought I was just farting, haha. ”

Zhao Tianhe smiled and cast his eyes on the screen of the terminal, the smile on his face suddenly felt a lot more relieved, and the original melancholy also dissipated.

"But then again, after talking to you for a few words, I suddenly have no regrets."

Wu Mengke sighed.

“…… What do you mean? ”

Zhao Tianhe said with a smile.

"Don't you think that girl ...... And that lad, like our kids? ”

Wu Mengke was stunned, and his eyebrows rose slightly.

"Did you say the same thing when you were dealing with CP on the Internet?"

Zhao Tianhe coughed.

"Alright...... I mean seriously. ”

Wu Mengke looked at the girl lying on the treatment bed on the holographic screen and said slowly.

"That's what I've always thought...... If I had a granddaughter, or a great-great-great-great-granddaughter, I would probably be as brave and strong as her. ”

"Then it seems that I'm sluggish," Zhao Tianhe smiled, "but now that I've come to my senses, in fact, we don't need to go two hundred years later, they are our continuation...... The world we can't see, they will see for us. ”

Wu Mengke quipped.

"If only everybody was as open as we looked."

"That's impossible."

put away his kind smile, and his resolute eyes reappeared on Zhao Tianhe's angular face.

At this moment, he seemed to have become the unsmiling captain again.

Determination is not something that only beasts have.

However, the beasts always seem to misunderstand again and again, thinking that as long as they are more ruthless than people, more bottomless than people, and frighten the people who are standing, they can finally put people in cages.

He'd show the guy on the Gemini and the Lagrange maniacs how wrong they were and how ridiculous their dreams were.

"A bunch of old immortals want to take over Nestlé and fantasize about replacing it when it's all over...... Let's have some special dreams. ”

"Whether it's 200 years or 2000, Lao Tzu has stepped into the grave with both feet, and he has to pull them into the coffin! Lie down together! ”

The original title was actually called Morphological Formation Field, but it always felt like it would be a spoiler to say too much, so I still shut up.

(End of chapter)