Chapter 24 1952

Having said goodbye to Zhang Shi and left his home, Lin Xian and Gao Yang strode towards the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor.

"So, you see, Chu Anqing's disappearance has absolutely nothing to do with contacting space-time particles, or with the space-time particles themselves! No connection whatsoever!"

"These are two completely independent events! Now we can understand, Lin Xian, that when Chu Anqing captured the space-time particles a few days ago, whether she touched them or not, whether she jumped off the plane or not… even! Even if she hadn't participated in this event and had obediently gone back to school, she would still have disappeared at exactly 00:42!"

"It's just that when she turned into blue stardust, she would probably have been in the dormitory, and would definitely have startled her roommates... Which means—"

"Chu Anqing herself is a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang), and it has nothing to do with space-time particles. No matter where she is, no matter what she does, nothing can stop her from turning into blue stardust and disappearing on her 20th birthday, March 28, 2024, at 00:42. This established fact cannot be changed by anything!"

The elevator doors hadn't even closed when Gao Yang excitedly summarized.

"That's right."

Lin Xian nodded.

"Zhang Shi shouldn't be lying. Judging from Chu Anqing's situation, the reaction after touching the space-time particles is quite violent. You saw it too, Chu Anqing just touched the space-time particles and immediately screamed, her nose bled, she held her head in great pain, crying and shouting."

"If Zhang Yuqian had really touched the space-time particles, such a violent overreaction would have been impossible for Zhang Shi and Yan Qin to miss. But according to Zhang Shi's description, the family of three were talking and laughing in the car at the time, and Zhang Yuqian showed no abnormalities at all. Since there was no overreaction, it can be determined that she should not have been touched by the space-time particles."

"So, from this, we can rule out the possibility that Zhang Yuqian disappeared because she came into contact with space-time particles... As you said, whether Zhang Yuqian or Chu Anqing, whether they come into contact with space-time particles or not, it will not affect their fate of disappearing at 20 years old at 00:42."

"That makes sense. Otherwise, if a space-time particle appeared on Earth every twenty years or so, there would be no need to fight so desperately last time, right?"

"And we already verified last time that the space-time particle wouldn't actively seek out Chu Anqing. It doesn't pay attention to anyone, so how could it actively seek out Zhang Yuqian?"

Ding—

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor.

Lin Xian and Gao Yang walked straight out and hurried towards the exit of the residential area.

This trip was really worth it.

Now, they had collected many key clues, and by comparing the Chu Anqing incident with the Zhang Yuqian incident, and analyzing the similarities and differences, they could draw many accurate conclusions—

First, the first point.

[The formation and disappearance of Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang) have nothing to do with space-time particles. These are two completely independent things.]

The disappearance of Chu Anqing that Lin Xian witnessed a few days ago had caused some interference in his judgment, because everything unusual happened after she touched the space-time particles.

But fortunately, there was Zhang Yuqian as a sample, and with Uncle Zhang Shi telling the truth in detail, Lin Xian was able to deduce the absolutely accurate conclusion above.

On January 21, 2000, Zhang Yuqian disappeared into blue stardust without touching space-time particles, and without any signs or abnormalities.

This is probably the correct way to drive in a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang).

Silently.

Secretly.

Without the help of any external force or external object, one can independently complete the staking and lock history.

Of course...

Locking history is currently just Lin Xian's guess.

It's a highly likely correct guess, but he still doesn't understand what a scattered Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang), a missing 20-year-old girl, relies on to lock history?

And what will happen after history is locked?

These are all questions to be explored in the future.

Currently.

As far as the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) situation is concerned, Zhang Yuqian is a real, qualified, and on-schedule Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang).

But looking back at Chu Anqing.

Because she accidentally touched the space-time particles, something unexpected happened.

She should have awakened some memories, or understood some truth and answer in that instant.

She not only knew clearly that she would die at 00:42.

And.

She also knew many other things, many amazing things, even enough to confidently write herself a note... telling herself that as long as she opened the note in the dream world 600 years later and saw the contents, she could know the truth and falsehood of the world.

"Chu Anqing must have gained some memories after touching the space-time particles. That's why her reaction was so exaggerated and violent at the time. Although I'm not sure what kind of memories Chu Anqing gained... but it must have been caused by the space-time particles, and the Oriole (huangque) probably didn't know before that space-time particles would affect Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang)."

Passing through the small square in the middle of the residential area, the two quickly glanced at the old woman peeling pomegranates, and continued walking towards the entrance of the residential area.

After hearing Lin Xian's words, Gao Yang added:

"The Oriole (huangque) probably didn't know that Chu Anqing would gain memories after touching the space-time particles. Because you see, the Oriole (huangque) was also very flustered at the time. Obviously, it seemed like it was also the first time she had seen a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) come into contact with space-time particles."

"I remember, it was Chu Anqing who kept crying and questioning the Oriole (huangque), and the Oriole (huangque) asked in surprise, 'You know?' This shows that the situation at the time also exceeded the Oriole's (huangque) understanding! I actually feel that many things in the space-time particle capture plan that day were not what the Oriole (huangque) expected, and there were all kinds of unexpected situations."

Lin Xian nodded.

"But one thing is certain, the Oriole (huangque) must know that the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) can see the characteristics of space-time particles. That's why she specifically brought Chu Anqing on the space plane, but didn't arrange any specific tasks for her."

"This further confirms that there were no space-time particles around when Zhang Yuqian disappeared on January 21, 2000. Otherwise, even if others couldn't see it, Zhang Yuqian would definitely be able to see it. Now that can be confirmed."

"Not only that, the Oriole (huangque) also knew that the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) would dissipate on her 20th birthday at 00:42, which is also obvious. She knew long ago that Chu Anqing would disappear at 00:42 whether she touched the space-time particles or not, so she shouted out at the time, saying 'I don't need to save her'... Because she was going to disappear sooner or later, so what was the point of saving her?"

Suddenly.

Lin Xian recalled what the Oriole (huangque) had said before.

The woman said that if this space-time particle was lost, the future, the world, and everything would become very bad.

Therefore, in order to change all of this, she planned such a desperate and difficult space-time particle capture plan.

The Oriole (huangque) may have only seen space-time particles before, and knew about space-time particles... but she had never captured space-time particles, at least not this one.

Similarly.

The Oriole (huangque) had seen Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang), knew that Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang) could see the characteristics of space-time particles, and knew the ending that Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang) would disappear on their 20th birthday at 00:42... but she didn't know what would happen after a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) touched space-time particles. This not only deviated from her known history, but also exceeded her understanding.

"No wonder..."

Gao Yang snorted coldly.

"No wonder the Oriole (huangque) agreed so easily to Chu Anqing going out of the cabin to capture space-time particles. Isn't this her original plan? She knew long ago that Chu Anqing would disappear anyway, so she didn't care about Chu Anqing's life or death at all, she just wanted to use Chu Anqing to capture space-time particles!"

"Hey, that's hard to say."

Lin Xian patted Gao Yang on the shoulder, advising him not to think about the past.

No one knows what the Oriole's (huangque) initial plan was.

Thinking positively, maybe the Oriole (huangque) just brought Chu Anqing along as a precaution. After all, if Gao Yang had given it his all and directly captured the space-time particle, there would have been no need for Chu Anqing to take action, right?

Thinking negatively, it's possible that the Oriole (huangque) knew long ago that Gao Yang couldn't catch it, and that the space-time particles would become transparent and invisible, so the only way to catch the space-time particles was to let Chu Anqing out of the cabin to capture them.

"The matter is over, Gao Yang. The Oriole (huangque) may have done something wrong in some places, but the essence is also for my sake. So let's not dwell on this, let's look forward."

The two walked out of the residential area, hailed a taxi, and prepared to return to the hotel to rest.

"You said..."

After the two got into the back seat of the taxi, Gao Yang turned his head and looked at Lin Xian.

"What memories did Chu Anqing awaken in her mind after touching the space-time particles? It can't be Zhang Yuqian's memories, right?"

Lin Xian shook his head.

"I'm not sure, and I can't guess. But I think she should have awakened a lot of memories, and they should be very important. Zhang Yuqian's 20 years of life were too monotonous and simple, and it shouldn't be enough for Chu Anqing to confidently write me that note."

"But this question is not important either, because when I see the contents of the note in the future, I should understand. As Chu Anqing said at the time... I will definitely understand. I believe her."

"So, let's not think about so many unnecessary things now, let's focus on summarizing the inferences about the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang)."

Saying that.

Lin Xian, in his mind, based on the known clues, deduced the second inference about the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang):

[Since the disappearance time of the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) is fixed and cannot be changed... that is to say, the interval between staking of Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang) is a stable 24 years.]

So, a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) is driven in every 24 years... when will this stop?

Is it really going to be driven for a thousand years?

That's not necessary, right...

Is a thousand years very long?

Not to mention on the scale of the universe, even on the scale of Earth time, a thousand years is not a very long time.

If it is really calculated according to 1000 years.

A stake is driven every 24 years.

How many times does it have to be driven?

"1000 divided by 24..." Lin Xian was doing mental arithmetic.

"42."

Gao Yang blurted out.

"It can't be divided completely, rounded up it's 42. If it's 1008, it can be divided evenly by 24, and the result is 42."

Lin Xian looked at Gao Yang in disbelief.

"You calculate quickly."

"Isn't this because I often calculate loans when buying a car..." Gao Yang grinned.

"I calculate this kind of multiplication and division about 12, 24, and 36 every day, calculating interest and interest rates... I calculate so much that I memorized it."

【42】

Lin Xian didn't expect that this mysterious number would suddenly appear again.

If Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang) are really going to be driven for a thousand years, it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly 1000 years, 1008 years can also be called Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang), which is allowed in conventional grammar.

What's more...

The name of the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) itself is not Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang). This is a self-created word by the Oriole (huangque).

But self-creation is not random creation, not blind creation.

Since the Oriole (huangque) chose Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) instead of Century Stake (bainian zhuang) or Myriad Year Stake (wannian zhuang), there must be a special meaning.

Considering this.

Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) may not be an existence that is driven once every 24 years, and is driven a total of 42 times, with a total duration of a thousand years, and a total of 1008 years of history can be locked!

But this is also a guess.

It's still baseless, just a random guess that is multiplied and divided.

……

Lin Xian's thoughts continued to return to the accurate inferences about the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang).

In addition to the above two inferences, a third, and final, obvious inference can be drawn:

[The Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) will exist in reality in the form of a human girl. She will grow up like a normal girl, born at 00:42, and dissipate on her 20th birthday at 00:42, completing a staking. And, every Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) looks exactly the same.]

This is the third inference.

It is inferred based on facts and is absolutely correct.

But Lin Xian doesn't know who is the first Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang), who is the first girl in history to look like this... but it's definitely not Chu Anqing.

From this, it's not difficult to infer that CC is definitely a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang).

"I don't know when CC was born, and I don't know how old she is."

Lin Xian thought in his heart.

If...

If CC's date of birth is August 29, 2604 at 00:42...

Then really, everything coincides by chance.

His dream always ends on August 29, 2624 at 00:42, being destroyed by white light.

So.

Where does the white light come from?

If CC is really also a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang), then she should turn into blue stardust and disappear! Why use white light to bombard yourself? Burn the whole world?

This is also something Lin Xian doesn't understand.

The main reason is...

He still doesn't know what the white light in the dream is.

According to different conjectures, the explanations are also different, and Lin Xian is not sure which one it is.

Maybe that white light doesn't mean that the world is destroyed, but that he is bombarded to death, or simply that the dream is over, etc.

This is another "cone of light" where you can't recognize Mount Lu's true face, just because you are in this mountain.

Because he was destroyed by white light.

So.

He will never know what the world after the white light is like, what the world outside the white light is like, what is the reason for the white light? What is the purpose?

Lin Xian, who is in the "cone of light," is destined to never find the answer.

"Let's take it step by step."

Lin Xian felt that he was thinking a bit far, and now his fourth dream is still stuck.

After he finishes dealing with the various matters in Donghai, he will have to find a way to see if he can revive VV, and then officially start a war with Kevin Walker and start a new round of cat-and-mouse game of you catch me and I catch you.

Once Kevin Walker is successfully eliminated.

He in the fourth dream may be able to move freely as promised and be liberated.

At that time, the first thing to do is two things.

First, come to Time Bank 600 years later, open his safe deposit box, take out the note left by Chu Anqing, and see what is written on it, so as to understand the truth of the dream.

Second, find a way to find CC, ask her about her date of birth and age, and further clarify the relationship between her and Chu Anqing on the basis of confirming that she is a Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang).

"These are all relatively long-term plans."

Lin Xian murmured softly.

If only his dream could be extended for even a second...

As long as it can be extended for one second, he can see whether CC has turned into blue stardust and disappeared.

Suddenly.

Lin Xian was stunned.

His eyes widened slowly.

Could it be...

His dream ends at such a coincidental time...

Just to prevent him from seeing the moment when CC turned into blue stardust and disappeared?

This kind of thing cannot be thought about in detail.

It's just hard to believe why so many events, so many coincidental times, are all concentrated at 00:42?

The more you think about it, the more unreal it becomes, and the more terrifying it becomes.

Squeak————

The taxi braked.

"Let's go, Lin Xian, we're at the hotel. Let's rest for a while and then catch the plane back to Donghai."

Lin Xian nodded.

He and Gao Yang got out of the car together, walked into the hotel, and entered the room.

……

Gao Yang ordered a bunch of takeout food and was feasting on it.

Lin Xian took a hamburger and a Coke, finished eating it on the coffee table chair on the balcony. Then, in the old position, he leaned back on the chair, holding the password diary in his hand, constantly fiddling with the password wheel, trying the password by brute force.

After this period of effort.

The password is close at hand.

It also made him regret it several times... if he were to crack someone else's password book again in the future, he must start from 0000, instead of going back from 9999.

It's really too坑人了 (keng ren le - a pitfall)!

On his hand, the four-digit password wheel has reached 1979.

Lin Xian pressed the lock button with his right thumb.

Click.

It didn't open.

Like a conditioned reflex, he pushed the wheel up.

The password became 1978.

Click.

It still didn't open.

"I suddenly remembered something, Lin Xian!"

In the room, Gao Yang, with a large lump of food in his mouth, turned around with bulging cheeks.

"Since the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) is driven in every 24 years, that means that before Zhang Yuqian, there was another girl! Another girl who looked exactly like Chu Anqing."

Click.

The password diary in Lin Xian's hand still didn't open.

"Isn't that obvious? Calculated, the last time the Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) was driven in should be 1976."

Lin Xian lowered his head and found that the password lock wheel on the diary in his hand just spelled out 1976.

He pressed the lock button hard.

Click.

Still didn't open.

"Hehe, let's see how long you can hide."

Now Lin Xian couldn't help but want to laugh. It's okay to be wrong, there are less than 2000 password combinations left, how long can the correct password hide? Even if you are 0000, you can hide at most 2000 times.

He has endured such a long brute-force cracking time, what can't he endure in the end?

Lin Xian continued to look up.

He turned the password wheel one by one and continued to try the password.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Over there, Gao Yang swallowed a few mouthfuls, and finally swallowed the lump in his mouth, and then picked up another lump.

"You said, in 1976, can we find out who the girl who disappeared and looked like Chu Anqing was?"

"Definitely can't find it, don't even think about it."

Click.

Click.

Lin Xian continued to try password lock combinations.

The numbers above continued to decrease.

1961、

1960、

1959、

……

"1976 is too long ago. You need to know that the Dragon Kingdom only started implementing the first generation of ID card system in 1984. Although it's a bit inappropriate to say this, the only thing that could prove a person's existence in that era was a rough household registration book, and there were no photos on it... so you definitely can't find the 1976 Chu Anqing."

"Not to mention, you have to consider the possibility of being born abroad. This time, it may just be a coincidence that two consecutive Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang) appeared in the country. There are too few samples now, and it is not impossible for Millennium Stakes (qiannian zhuang) to be born abroad."

Lin Xian thought of CC.

She had said that she was born abroad, in Brooklyn, USA.

Click.

Click.

The password wheel in his hand continued to slide.

Gao Yang sighed and wiped his mouth with a tissue.

"Then you said, when will this Millennium Stake (qiannian zhuang) thing end? Even if it's really going to be driven for 1000 years, there always has to be a beginning, there always has to be the first stake, right?"

"1976... 24 years before that... is... 1952!"

1952?

Lin Xian blinked, this year seemed vaguely familiar.

Isn't this...

The year when realistic painter Henry Dawson painted a portrait of Einstein in Brooklyn and created "Sad Einstein"?

Lowering his head.

On Zhang Yuqian's password lock diary, the four password wheels just formed the 1952 password combination.

Lin Xian hesitated for a moment.

Thumb pressed on it——

Click.

A crisp sound.

The diary password lock that had been closed for 24 years...

Opened in response!
Hu Die Lan