“Vv? Vv!!”

Lin Xian frantically tapped his space suit helmet, but received no response from Vv.

The communicator was as silent as death...

Not a single sound.

What was going on?

He understood that even if Vv was a drama queen who loved memes, she always knew her limits and would never scare him by suddenly going silent.

Especially not at such a crucial moment!

Besides...

He had heard vibrations and explosions both inside and outside the spaceplane, which clearly meant...

Something had gone wrong!

*Click.*

Lin Xian directly opened the transparent visor of his space suit, looking at the busy crew in the spaceplane cabin.

Vv had switched the radio channel to one only she and he could hear, and then disappeared without switching it back.

Lin Xian still held a glimmer of hope that Vv would return, so he hadn't switched the communication channel back to the one everyone used. He could only open his visor and communicate directly.

"What happened?"

He turned his head, looking at the startled Chu Anqing and Gao Yang, and the solemn-faced Huang Que.

He sniffed.

The air in the cabin...

Was full of the smell of burning electrical insulation, like a short circuit at home.

"The inspection is complete."

Pilot Wei Cheng frowned.

"All equipment that can contact the outside world, receive signals, or send signals has either exploded or been burned. The spaceplane's external radar, communicators, antennas, scanners, receivers... all experienced a power overload and exploded directly. The capacitors couldn't handle it."

"Internally, the damage... how should I put it? It's not as bad as we thought. There were no explosions. But the ground communicators, network equipment, repeaters, signal transmitters and receivers... all the communication and network equipment has been burned and is unusable!"

"What about the others?"

Huang Que asked immediately.

"Fuel, control systems, engines, oxygen supply and circulation devices... are there any problems with these important systems?"

"No! Everything is normal!"

Wei Cheng's voice was also very puzzled.

"This is too strange. Apart from communication and network devices, all other equipment and functions are completely unaffected, not even a scratch... Why would something like this happen? Such precise destruction, targeting only communication devices."

"Moreover, Commander Huang! Communication and network devices are also very important systems! It's not just about whether it affects the spaceplane's operation... We are now in a state where we have no navigation, cannot communicate with ground control, cannot connect to the Beidou positioning system, and cannot even sense other flying objects and space debris around us!"

"[Right now, this spaceplane is like a blind man! We can't see anything! No... not just a blind man, but also a deaf man! We can't hear anything either!]"

"Flying a spacecraft in space is not the same as riding a bicycle on the ground. Without the command and positioning signals from ground control, we can only rely on my eyes and intuition to fly! It's very dangerous! It's truly the luckiest of misfortunes that other functions haven't been affected. Commander Huang, I need further instructions."

"Now that we've lost contact with ground control, you are the supreme commander. From now on, I will unconditionally obey your orders. Please analyze the situation and make a decision and the next deployment as soon as possible! It concerns the safety of all of us!"

...

Wei Cheng was rarely flustered. Lin Xian had never seen this steady veteran, the Dragon Kingdom's ace astronaut, so panicked.

But it had to be said that Wei Cheng was a man who had seen the world. He quickly calmed down, thoroughly reported all the conditions, and handed over the supreme command to Huang Que.

Presumably, these kinds of extreme situations were also covered in their astronaut training, with simulations and response plans.

After all, Wei Cheng had said,

"99.9% of astronaut training is to deal with that 0.01% of unforeseen circumstances."

And now.

This was that 0.01%!

Lin Xian also quickly calmed down his emotions, accepted the fact that Vv had disappeared, and began to seriously consider the current situation.

Right now.

First, assume the worst-case scenario...

[Vv has been eliminated by the enemy.]

Although he didn't know who the enemy was or what methods they used, Vv had indeed been eliminated.

At least, she couldn't provide him with help in this space mission.

Then.

Consider the matter of the spaceplane's communication and network equipment being destroyed.

Lin Xian believed.

The attack that eliminated Vv must have been launched through these communication channels and network pathways.

After all, they were now in space more than 200 kilometers from the ground, with no network cables or wireless networks.

The only way to communicate was through radar to contact ground control, and through those network relay satellites, Starlink satellites, Beidou satellites, space stations, etc. in the sky...

The enemy must have used one of these information data channels to eliminate Vv.

Then, the question came.

Such a powerful enemy could easily eliminate Vv in space... then they should also be able to directly eliminate this spaceplane!

There was no need to question this.

If they could kill Vv, wouldn't it be easier to kill the spaceplane, which was tens of thousands of times weaker than Vv?

It wasn't scientific or reasonable.

Therefore, from this perspective, it was not difficult to deduce a conclusion...

[The enemy's target was solely Vv, precise and ruthless! On the contrary, the enemy has no hostility towards this spaceplane or the people on it. Otherwise... wouldn't it be more direct and efficient to attack the spaceplane directly?]

Then.

Based on this, continue to reason.

Smelling the burning wires in the air, Lin Xian's mind raced.

Since.

The enemy's target was not the spaceplane, then they certainly wouldn't destroy the spaceplane's communication network equipment.

Otherwise, this spaceplane would have already exploded and they would all be dead.

Therefore.

The answer was self-evident!

"It was Vv."

Lin Xian murmured to himself.

"It was Vv who, in the final moments of her death, destroyed all the communication equipment, network equipment, and signal transmission and reception equipment on the spaceplane... turning this spaceplane into an island that cannot be entered or exited, that cannot be detected or counter-detected."

"It was Vv protecting me."

This conclusion should also be correct.

As Wei Cheng said, the damage to the equipment on the spaceplane was too "gentle"... the functions that affected navigation and control were not damaged at all, and the methods of destroying the communication network equipment were also very considerate.

The external capacitors were locally exploded without damaging the outer shell.

Internally, the wires were directly overloaded and burned, without exploding the capacitors, for fear of affecting other equipment.

It was obvious.

This was not an enemy attack, but friendly self-preservation.

"So, thinking to this point, we can infer two possibilities for the current situation."

Lin Xian walked to the empty passenger cabin, gazing at the blue Earth outside the porthole, summarizing the only two possibilities for Vv's behavior.

1. Vv realized that she was being attacked, so she tried to salvage the situation, thinking about cutting off all network equipment signal systems to isolate the enemy's attack. But unfortunately, she failed. Whether she didn't have enough time or couldn't win... In short, even if Vv destroyed all the communication devices, she still couldn't complete her self-rescue and lost miserably.

2. Vv realized the power of the enemy and knew that she couldn't turn the tide. But in order to protect the spaceplane and protect her own life, the restriction principle in the underlying code was activated – Lin Xian's personal safety was above all else. Therefore, she would rather sacrifice herself than blow up all the communication equipment at the last moment to prevent the enemy from launching an attack on the spaceplane after killing her. For example...

"Kevin Walker."

Lin Xian whispered the name, feeling a chill run down his spine.

This strongest genius hacker on the planet could easily control Starlink satellites, and could easily control the US X-37B spaceplane.

Then!

Of course, he also had the ability to control the Dragon Kingdom's spaceplane!

Before, because the super artificial intelligence Vv was in charge, Kevin Walker had to restrain himself, didn't dare to be presumptuous, didn't dare to directly challenge Vv, and could never defeat Vv.

But now...

Vv had disappeared and was gone.

Then Kevin Walker naturally regained his throne, and no one could stop him! If he really wanted to control this spaceplane, it would be easy now that there was no Vv to guard it!

Only.

A hacker was still a hacker, without network and data transmission channels, he couldn't use his skills.

Perhaps Vv was trying to prevent this situation.

That's why she decisively blew up and burned all the communication network devices on the spaceplane, making it an island while also avoiding the possibility of being hacked and controlled.

*Huff...*

Lin Xian temporarily breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he didn't know what exactly had happened to Vv.

But for now, he still had to thank Vv.

Otherwise, Kevin Walker wouldn't have needed to hijack the US spaceplane to crash into them, he could have directly hijacked the current one and blown it up on the spot.

After understanding everything, Lin Xian came to the equipment cabin, walked to Huang Que, and pointed to the empty passenger cabin.

"Come here for a moment, I have something to tell you."

...

The two came to the passenger cabin, both opened their visors, temporarily turned off the radio channel, and began to speak face to face.

"It was Vv, my super artificial intelligence friend, who destroyed the communication network equipment. She did it to protect us."

Lin Xian told Huang Que his analysis.

Huang Que listened patiently.

However, she only nodded, her expression unchanged.

"You knew all along?" Lin Xian asked in confusion.

"I knew."

Huang Que said softly.

"It's not difficult to guess. Lin Xian, you should be able to sense it too."

Suddenly.

Lin Xian recalled a detail...

The night he gave the cold fusion manuscript to Gao Yan, the president of the Dragon Academy of Sciences, the space-time butterfly effect occurred, and the third dream became the fourth dream.

As soon as he entered the dream, he was surrounded by dozens of soldiers and unable to move.

At that time, he thought of a way to break the situation, which was to trigger the butterfly effect again, skip the fourth dream, and go directly to the fifth dream.

After all... the fourth dream was bad enough, no matter what the fifth dream became, it would be better than the situation in the fourth dream, right?

Therefore, he entered Vv's last ten lines of code into the laptop, thinking that if such a super artificial intelligence came into the world 600 years early, even if the space-time butterfly effect caused was not as big as the cold fusion manuscript... it should be able to slightly change the future direction within 600 years and push the fourth dream into the fifth dream, right?

However, he never expected.

Even if Vv was activated, and quickly grew and learned, and even completely recognized Kevin Walker's trick to attack the Dragon Kingdom's Tianwang...

But!

The fourth dream in the evening hadn't changed at all!

He was still stunned by the soldiers;

The mysterious old man's lines hadn't changed at all;

600 years of history hadn't changed at all;

The space-time butterfly effect hadn't happened at all!

At that time, he felt confused.

He also thought that since he had been locked by the enemy, Vv should have been discovered and eliminated by the enemy long ago.

It was just... who would have thought that this elimination would come so quickly!

Clearly, in the current era, Vv was indeed invincible, and Kevin Walker had to be a tortoise hiding in his shell in front of her, but who else could eliminate her? Who else could kill her in seconds?

Now, looking back as a hindsight strategist, the logic of the fourth dream became clear –

[Precisely because Vv didn't do anything big after being activated, didn't play any important role, and was eliminated before she had a chance to use her skills. Therefore, the space-time butterfly effect she caused... didn't even break through the space-time elasticity, so naturally, she couldn't cause space-time changes and change the fourth dream.]

His mind was clear in an instant.

Thinking carefully.

The super artificial intelligence Vv was indeed powerful,

But in fact, in the half a year since he activated her, she had hardly done anything that could affect space-time, except for banter and memes.

Thinking carefully, it was true!

The super artificial intelligence Vv, who came to the real world hundreds of years early, except for setting off a few fireworks, flicking the refrigerator door a few times, and opening the dormitory door for Chu Anqing...

[She hadn't done anything major that changed the course of history at all!]

That's right, this time she had been brewing for so long, just preparing to show her skills.

She was killed in seconds again.

*Hiss...*

Lin Xian gasped.

No wonder the fourth dream hadn't changed, no wonder Vv's appearance hadn't caused any butterfly effect.

She died too early.

Her intervention in history was too small.

Even Wang Ge's Time Bank was better than her.

Thinking about Huang Que knowing that Vv could operate the robotic arm, but still insisting on letting Gao Yang participate in the training...

Everything was clear.

Huang Que knew long ago that Vv would be eliminated, and she had also prepared a backup plan in advance.

"I think I understand,"

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes, looking at Huang Que.

"When Liu Feng first came to the base, you told me that you could let Vv operate the robotic arm. It's true that you said that, but in fact, you never expected Vv to do it. You had already planned to let Gao Yang operate the robotic arm... and you also knew that Vv couldn't help much in this mission at all. Gao Yang is the real trump card."

Lin Xian thought more and more smoothly.

"You asked me and Liu Feng if we had any friends, saying that if there were any trustworthy friends, we could call them to participate in the space-time particle capture plan. I thought it was just a casual remark, but in fact, you also knew Gao Yang's relationship with me, and you also knew his gaming talent, so you would always call him."

"So, all of this, all of this is a big game you are playing. Even..."

Lin Xian paused.

"[Vv's disappearance is also within your plan.]"

...

The two looked at each other.

They were silent for several seconds, not speaking.

Lin Xian stared at her eyes, which reflected the white light of the incandescent lamps, blue and white, just like the Earth outside the spaceplane's porthole, with the ocean and white clouds interspersed.

He had only just realized why Huang Que knew that Vv would be eliminated on the spaceplane, but didn't say a word or even give a hint.

Because.

Huang Que had never planned to take Vv to capture space-time particles from the beginning.

Although Huang Que didn't kill Vv, it was more beneficial for her actions if Vv wasn't on this ship.

Huang Que was very clear.

Vv would do anything to protect him. If they really encountered danger, Vv would inevitably hijack this spaceplane, then get out of Huang Que's control, immediately abandon the mission and forcibly return home.

But Huang Que's goal was clear, she would grab this space-time particle at any cost, and never consider abandoning the mission and returning home.

For Huang Que, space-time particles were more important than life.

But for Vv, his life was far more important than space-time particles.

Therefore, the "bottom lines" of these two people, Huang Que and Vv, were in conflict and contradictory.

Vv was the biggest obstacle to Huang Que's desperate plan.

Therefore,

In the game that Huang Que was playing, Vv, who was beyond her control, was destined to be a pawn to be discarded.

To be honest.

Lin Xian still had a lot of resentment towards Huang Que in his heart about Vv's matter.

However, now was not the time to say these words that would damage unity.

What's more, it was still unclear whether Vv was really dead, or temporarily disappeared, or shielded and isolated.

Everything needed to be judged after returning to the ground.

...

Finally.

Facing Lin Xian's all-seeing gaze, Huang Que raised her head.

"Lin Xian, you may resent me because of Vv's matter. But I must tell you –"

"[If we don't grab this space-time particle this time, this world, this everything, all of this will become ten thousand times worse than it is now.]"

"So, I have no choice. In order not to repeat the same mistakes, I can only do this."

She turned around, reached out and pressed the button, and accessed the radio channel that everyone was on.

"Wei Cheng, execute my order –"

Huang Que's azure blue pupils were crystal clear, and she said firmly,

"Alpha matter collection mission, continue as planned!"

"Roger that!"

Wei Cheng's steady voice came.

With a jolt, the spaceplane activated the jet propulsion reverse thrusters, passed over the east coast of the United States in space, and began to decelerate.

*Beep beep.*

Huang Que turned off the communicator with her right hand and pressed it against the transparent visor.

She turned her head and looked at Lin Xian.

"I am the commander-in-chief of this mission, so I will naturally be responsible for my team members, but equally, I must also be responsible for this mission."

*Click!*

The transparent visor fell, completely covering Huang Que's face.

She turned around.

And walked towards the equipment cabin.