"So that's how it is."

Inside a small conference room at Rhein University, Liu Feng stroked his chin and nodded.

Only Lin Xian, Gao Wen, and Liu Feng were in the conference room.

Just now.

Lin Xian, after rushing to the United States and then rushing back to Donghai City, had summoned Liu Feng and Gao Wen to tell the two brains about his experiences in 1952, the Genius Club, and Einstein's dissipation, asking them to help analyze.

They say three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang.

What's more, with a genius of Gao Wen the Great's level participating, they might really be able to discover some overlooked blind spots.

……

After listening in detail, Liu Feng stood up and looked at Gao Wen, who was also thinking with his head lowered:

"Professor Gao, this is a lot of information. I suggest we reorganize it in chronological order. What do you think?"

Gao Wen was flattered:

"Professor Liu, please do as you see fit. I'll follow your lead!"

Liu Feng was in the middle of a brainstorming session and didn't stand on ceremony. He walked to the electronic blackboard, picked up the special electronic chalk, and wrote a year—

1952.

"According to Lin Xian's time-traveling experiences, 1952 is the origin of all the incredible things."

"This should have been an ordinary and unremarkable year in human history, but because Einstein calculated the answer 42 for the cosmological constant, two space-time particles spontaneously tore through space-time and came to our world, completely changing the history and future of the next few hundred years."

"Of these two space-time particles, one created the Millennium Stake; the other allowed Einstein to live forever, which in turn led to the formation of the Genius Club."

"It's worth mentioning that the Genius Club's original intention was good. It was founded by Einstein to save humanity's future; but it was precisely this obsession of his that was exploited by 'mysterious forces,' turning a good deed into a bad one, saving the world... instead becoming destroying the world and pushing human civilization step by step into the abyss of eternal doom."

Gao Wen nodded and continued to add:

"We can analyze the Millennium Stake later. Let's just talk about what happened to Einstein..."

"Why does calculating the result 42 for the cosmological constant trigger the attention of the 'mysterious forces' and cause them to immediately intervene?"

"This shows that, similar to the so-called nuclear deterrence and nuclear retaliation, it seems that the 'mysterious forces' are also afraid of the cosmological constant 42, so they have set up a feedback mechanism like this—"

"Once someone calculates the cosmological constant 42, they immediately send out two space-time particles, one to drive down the Millennium Stake to lock in history, and the other to control the genius who calculated 42, allowing him to see a false future and preventing him from continuing to discover the truth of 42."

However.

Lin Xian shook his head:

"Gao Wen, there are three points in your idea that don't make sense—"

"1. If they are really afraid of the cosmological constant 42, wouldn't it be simpler and more convenient to directly kill Einstein, who calculated the answer, or even directly destroy the Earth? I believe that the so-called 'mysterious forces' can manipulate space-time particles, so directly destroying something like this is easy for them."

"2. I'll tell you something you don't know: Einstein wasn't the only one who calculated 42, but only Einstein and the first-generation Stake CC were actually hit by space-time particles... Since then, no one who can live forever and see a false future has appeared, and there hasn't been a second Millennium Stake."

"3. According to your explanation, the Millennium Stake mechanism and Einstein's behavior have no strong connection. But I think this is unreasonable. Those two space-time particles appeared at the same time and performed their respective functions... It's impossible for their purposes to be completely unrelated, right? I believe that the roles of these two space-time particles should complement each other, and there must be a connection between them."

Knock, knock, knock.

Liu Feng knocked on the blackboard, showing Gao Wen and Lin Xian the lines of text he had just written:

"My thoughts are the same as Lin Xian's. There must be some key logic that we have overlooked. I have listed the important facts and unsolved mysteries that occurred in 1952, and we can think about them together."

Lin Xian and Gao Wen turned around and looked at the text listed on the blackboard:

[1. The second space-time particle was originally aimed at Lin Xian, but it accidentally hit the first-generation Stake CC.]

[2. Huang Que said that the role of the Millennium Stake is to lock in history. The fact also proves that history did indeed begin to lock in from the moment the Millennium Stake disappeared.]

[3. Locking in history and letting Einstein see a false future is a combo move of the "mysterious forces," and there should be a deeper connection.]

[4. One easily overlooked point is that Newton and Copernicus have been hunting down scientists and mathematicians who study the cosmological constant 42. They must know more about the clues about 42, but without a doubt, these clues still come from Einstein, who saw a false future.]

[5. For the "mysterious forces," which has a higher priority: locking in history, or preventing humans from calculating the cosmological constant 42 and grasping the truth of 42?]

[6. Einstein was clearly able to say a lot of things before, but as soon as Lin Xian revealed Douglas' identity, Einstein seemed to be artificially arranged to forcibly trigger a forced avoidance. What is the reason behind this?]

[7. The "mysterious forces" clearly have the ability to directly kill humans and destroy the Earth in seconds. Why go to so much trouble and roundabout ways? What is their purpose? And what do they hope to gain from this?]

……

These seven questions really touch the core.

It always feels like there is a hidden thread hidden in the messy clues, connecting all the mysteries... But what is it?

Gao Wen looked at the first question and raised his hand:

"I do have some insights into the first question. I think it's most reasonable that the space-time particle was aimed at Lin Xian."

"In the 1952s, the first-generation Stake CC, like everyone else, was no different and had nothing special about her. There was no reason for the space-time particle's target to be her."

"But Lin Xian is different. In 1952, Lin Xian was the only time traveler in the world. I think—"

"That space-time particle was originally aimed at erasing Lin Xian, erasing Lin Xian, and then turning Lin Xian into a Millennium Stake!"

"This is not only conducive to the stability of space-time, killing the time traveler who is most likely to disrupt space-time, but it also does not prevent the 'mysterious forces' from driving down the Millennium Stake, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone."

"It was entirely because the first-generation Stake CC took action to save Lin Xian, causing the space-time particle to be deflected and mistakenly turning CC into the Millennium Stake... Although the impact is not significant, anyone can be the Millennium Stake; but for the 'mysterious forces,' not being able to eliminate the time traveler smoothly should still be a regret."

Liu Feng nodded at Gao Wen's conclusion:

"That's what I think too. Although I don't fully understand the mechanism at present, things related to space-time, things with space-time attributes, seem to always attract each other."

Lin Xian supported his chin.

He looked at the fifth question on the electronic blackboard:

"The fifth question is very interesting. We have never thought about the priority of these two things before, and this is precisely the respective purpose of the two space-time particles."

"But according to my guess... Compared with locking in history and the cosmological constant 42, it seems that the 'mysterious forces' are even more afraid of the cosmological constant 42."

"It can be said that using the Millennium Stake to lock in history should be their main purpose. Even if it fails, it won't have much impact. They may be able to drive down other Millennium Stakes."

"As for the cosmological constant 42, the 'mysterious forces' are obviously much more cautious and careful. Combining the upper and lower questions, it is not difficult for us to find that... Copernicus and Newton also seem to have been misled by Einstein to kill those scientists who study the cosmological constant 42; and after Einstein realized that he was deceived by a false future, he wanted to tell me some truths about 42, but he was directly silenced and forcibly dissipated."

Lin Xian changed his sitting position, paused, and continued:

"Under normal circumstances, there is no need for Einstein to dissipate so quickly. He understands the laws of space-time better than anyone else. Knowing that he can't say it, there is no need to continue trying after a couple of attempts."

"The fact is also true. After Einstein was forcibly silenced and avoided, he only tried once, and then shut up and never spoke again."

"Huang Que also demonstrated forced avoidance to me before. It was also forced expression in a silent state, but the result was only becoming transparent and weak. He didn't disappear at all because he said a few more words... According to this rule, Einstein shouldn't have dissipated just by saying those few words."

"But even so... Einstein still turned into blue stardust and disappeared, which shows—"

"[Einstein knew clearly that his dissipation was unavoidable. Even if he shut up and didn't say anything, he couldn't change his fate of dissipation... Because, there were 'mysterious forces' that made him forcibly dissipate and forcibly destroy him unreasonably.]"

The more he thought about it, the clearer Lin Xian's thoughts became:

"So that's how it is, no wonder... No wonder Einstein's expression when he was lying on the ground at the end was very sad and helpless. I originally thought he might be because of guilt and self-blame, but now it seems that it was completely helplessness and powerlessness... He didn't want to disappear either, but he couldn't stop anything."

"At that moment, he clearly knew that he had been deceived and used, and that he would be forcibly disappeared, unable to change this fate, and unable to make up for any mistakes, so in the end, he said with regret... 'I'm sorry for everything.'"

"But he didn't do nothing either. Einstein brought Newton to me at the last moment before disappearing, as if he wanted to tell me that the priority of the cosmological constant 42 is much higher than everything else, much more important."

……

Liu Feng listened to Lin Xian's analysis and paced back and forth in place.

Then.

He shook his head:

"Lin Xian, your analysis does make sense, but there are also some inaccuracies in your judgment."

"Don't forget, Einstein said one thing to you. He said that he couldn't see the doomsday white light and the Millennium Stake girl that we were talking about."

"This shows that Einstein doesn't know enough about the Millennium Stake, and it's even possible that he doesn't know as much about the Millennium Stake as we do, so he will naturally make wrong judgments."

Gao Wen stood up.

He walked to the electronic blackboard and pointed to the last question:

"I think the key issue is still here, the seventh question. We need to think about the intentions of the 'mysterious forces' and reason from their goals and what benefits they can get."

"From the current point of view, murdering human mathematicians or preventing humans from calculating the cosmological constant and understanding the truth of 42 doesn't bring them any substantial benefits. As Lin Xian said, if they are really afraid of something, wouldn't it be better to just destroy humanity?"

"But... [Locking in history] is the real benefit and interest they can get."

"But."

Liu Feng spread his hands:

"Is it locked?"

He looked back and forth between Lin Xian and Gao Wen:

"This is also what I have always been puzzled about. They keep saying that the Millennium Stake can lock in history, but what exactly is locked? To put it in outdated words from 200 years ago... it's just locked in loneliness."

"Millennium Stakes are constantly being driven down, but isn't history also changing back and forth? And it's better not to drive down stakes. We can't travel back to the past; driving down stakes gives us time-space cracks to travel back to the past. Isn't this shooting ourselves in the foot?"

Lin Xian also stood up and shook his index finger:

"There are two possibilities."

"One is that the Millennium Stake locks in a single world line. We did change the future before, but at the same time as the change, our world line also jumped... That is to say, we just jumped to a new world line and didn't really change the original world line."

"The second is... Is it possible that the history locked in by the Millennium Stake is not our human history at all, but the history of the 'mysterious forces'?"

He put forward a brand new idea:

"Remember when we first discussed it, saying that Huang Que has been traveling here for so many years, stepping on a lot of ants and eating a lot of chickens, ducks, and geese, which is actually considered interference with history, but it has not broken through the space-time elasticity."

"I'll make an assumption here. If I pour hot water into all the ant nests in Donghai City and kill thousands of ants, do you think it can break through the space-time elasticity?"

Liu Feng shook his head:

"Even if you kill all the ants in Longguo, I don't think you can break through the space-time elasticity."

Instantly, Liu Feng suddenly realized:

"You mean..."

"[In the eyes of the 'mysterious forces,' maybe our human civilization is just ants! Our impact on the curvature of space-time and world lines is negligible from their scale!]"

Lin Xian nodded:

"Look, the greatest extent of our current changes to the world line is from 0.0000000 to 0.0001764. In fact, this value is really small, and even if we do our best, we can't affect the number in front of the decimal point of the space-time curvature."

"Is it possible that our desperate struggles are completely meaningless writhing like ants in the eyes of the 'mysterious forces'; only that doomsday white light and the cosmological constant 42 are the space-time elasticity that is really worth caring about for the 'mysterious forces.'"

"From the normal development of human civilization to complete extinction, it's only from 0.0000000 to 0.0001764... Liu Feng, have you ever thought about what the world line before the decimal point looks like?"

"World Line 42, World Line 4200000, what kind of world is that?"

Listening to the debate between Lin Xian and Liu Feng.

Gao Wen closed his eyes.

The ant nest that was poured with hot water and completely wiped out kept flashing in his mind.

For the ant colony, isn't hot water the doomsday white light?

And looking at the entire universe.

The insignificance of human beings is far from being an ant or even a speck of dust... The number of stars in the universe is more than the number of grains of sand in the desert, and the Earth is just one of the planets of the remote star called the Sun.

"History..."

He whispered.

What is history?

Does the history of ants count as history?

Then does the history of mankind count as history?

Is the history of ants worth locking in?

Then is the history of mankind worth locking in?

Instantly.

Gao Wen widened his eyes and swept over the seven questions listed by Liu Feng, from top to bottom.

He seemed to have found a knitting needle.

Like threading a needle, he connected all the question marks in the seven questions one after another, connecting them into a line, connecting them into the only answer!

"I... I thought of it."

Gao Wen's voice trembled slightly.

He snatched the electronic chalk from Liu Feng's hand and wrote down a time—

August 29, 2624 00:42.

"This is the arrival time of the doomsday white light!"

Gao Wen's voice was excited:

"At the same time, this is also the time when Lin Xian and Gao Yang calculated that the last Millennium Stake would disappear on her 20th birthday!"

"The disappearance of the Millennium Stake and the doomsday white light are both futures that Einstein can't see, but they coincide at the same time... No, this is definitely not a coincidence, there is a connection!"

"It seems that all of this is actually serving the Millennium Stake! Even the arrival of the doomsday white light is because of the Millennium Stake!"

He frantically clicked on the third question on the blackboard with the electronic chalk:

"So now, let's go back to the original question... Two space-time particles, respectively creating the Millennium Stake and Einstein, what is the connection and secret of this combo move?"

Gao Wen took a deep breath and turned around:

"I seem to know the purpose of the 'mysterious forces' deliberately showing Einstein a false future... To put it bluntly, they are so powerful that they simply don't take our little human writhing seriously."

"In their eyes, all our value combined is not as good as a single Millennium Stake; all our threats combined are not as good as the secret of the cosmological constant 42. The 'mysterious forces' are not afraid of our human technological explosion and rapid development... They are only afraid of the cosmological constant 42. This is the only thing that can threaten them!"

He swallowed and said solemnly:

"I guess..."

"[The Millennium Stake wants to lock in, not our history, but their history.]"

"[And the real purpose of deceiving and using Einstein is not as simple as destroying humanity... but a deeper one, to prevent humans from understanding the truth of the cosmological constant 42, in order to ensure that the Millennium Stake can be driven down smoothly and lock in history!]"