Chapter 18 Reseeing an Old Enemy

Boom!

Like a bolt of lightning flashing through his mind, illuminating his entire brain cavity, it also struck the crumbling kite, causing the "kite string" behind Lin Xian's head to teeter on the brink of collapse.

Ji Xinshui…

Lin Xian never expected that he would see an enemy he knew, even dealt with, in the real world in such a distant time and space as 1952!

He clenched his fist.

Ji Xinshui was not only his enemy but also the heinous leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, a lackey of Copernicus, and the culprit who took away Xu Yun and Tang Xin's lives.

Therefore, when Lin Xian deceived and killed this 80-year-old man, he did not hesitate at all. He even felt that death by lethal injection was too good for his sins.

Now, Lin Xian never expected…

This old man, who had died in 2023, would "revive" in front of him in 1952 as a teenager.

Boom!

Another bolt of lightning struck the kite. The kite string connecting the future in the back of his head trembled violently, showing an increasing tendency to break.

Lin Xian knew clearly.

[This is the world line issuing a warning.]

If the kite string broke, it would inevitably mean a breach of temporal elasticity, a change in spacetime curvature, and a world line jump…

In that case, history and the future would embark on a completely new and unfamiliar path.

And he would forever lose the ability to return to the time and space of 2234, becoming a ghost that did not belong to the old era, trapped in an unfamiliar time and space and an unfamiliar world line…a temporal wanderer drifting with the tide.

He quickly calmed his intense emotions.

His clenched palm gradually relaxed.

Now.

The moment he learned that little Johnny's real name was Ji Xinshui.

Was a critical choice point that tested the edge of temporal elasticity—

[He now has the ability to change Ji Xinshui's fate, and once Ji Xinshui's fate and life trajectory change, it will inevitably trigger a change in the world line.]

Lin Xian began to think from the beginning.

He had seen Ji Xinshui's information at the Donghai Public Security Bureau before.

This old man of the old era was born in 1938. When he was young, he went to sea with his parents to escape the war. During the reform and opening up period, he returned to China as a returned scientist and worked in the Donghai University laboratory.

Now in 1952, Ji Xinshui should indeed be thirteen or fourteen years old, which is highly consistent with the little Johnny in front of him in terms of both his life experience and age.

So, it goes without saying…

Little Johnny is Ji Xinshui, and he is also the crazy and stubborn old man named "Arrogance" in the future.

Lin Xian traveled here using entangled state spacetime particles. He could ignore the forced avoidance, arbitrarily rewrite history, and freely change the world line.

He could use the pistol in his pocket to kill the child Ji Xinshui, eliminating this scourge from the root; he could also use his admiration for himself to reverse the course of his life, making him stay in the United States for the rest of his life and never return to Dragon Country.

In this way, he could naturally avoid the establishment of the Seven Deadly Sins, and also avoid the deaths of Xu Yun and Tang Xin.

But…

What about the cost?

This would cause the historical trajectory to drift to a completely new world line. The kite string behind Lin Xian's head would instantly break, and he would never be able to return to the original time and space.

The price was too high.

Moreover, even if he could save Xu Yun and Tang Xin, he would only be saving the two people on the new world line. It would have nothing to do with Xu Yun and Tang Xin, who had already died on the world line that Lin Xian had experienced.

It was just that the new Xu Yun and Tang Xin had not died, not that the already dead Xu Yun and Tang Xin had been resurrected.

Lin Xian had understood these logics and spacetime laws long ago.

Only by allowing the future trajectory to advance on its original track could he safely return to 2234 and carry out a series of subsequent plans.

Therefore.

At this critical choice node.

He must proceed with caution.

"Is that so."

Lin Xian remained unmoved, dismissing it lightly.

He lowered the black top hat on his head and took one last look at the little boy with his bright blue eyes:

"Goodbye, Ji Xinshui."

Without saying another word.

Lin Xian pulled open the car door, got into the yellow taxi, and handed the small note to the driver:

"Go to the western suburbs of Brooklyn, this location."

The driver with the stubble took the note, glanced at it, and nodded:

"Okay, sir, I'm very familiar with this area."

With that, he started the car and drove away.

Through the right rearview mirror, Lin Xian saw the departing child Ji Xinshui staring at the car, watching him leave.

Angelica had said.

Ji Xinshui would go to Brooklyn every winter to mourn his best friend.

Now it seems…

Could this friend be himself, Douglas?

Lin Xian was not very sure about this conclusion.

He had only met Ji Xinshui a few times, said a few words, and given him some money.

Perhaps, it was these few casual words…that changed Ji Xinshui's life afterward, making him never forget the "Mr. Douglas" whom he admired most.

Lin Xian closed his eyes.

His palms supported his eye sockets.

Is this the locked history?

Unconsciously, he originally thought he was an unexpected visitor from time and space, but he didn't expect that…he was also a part of history.

"No matter what, I must ensure that I can safely return to 2234."

Lin Xian emptied his mind and felt the kite string behind his head.

Since leaving Ji Xinshui.

The sky seemed to have cleared up, the weather was sunny, and the kite string had become smooth and resilient, without the tendency to collapse just now.

I have to say, this warning mechanism is pretty good.

He was not sure whether Yu Xi and Number 17, who had also used entangled state spacetime particles to travel through time, understood the laws of time and space, or knew that the shaking of the kite string meant that temporal elasticity was running out.

But thinking about it…

Whether they knew it or not, it didn't matter.

They were both professionally trained spacetime agents. For them, obeying orders and completing tasks was more important than everything else, including their lives.

"Fortunately, this only entangled state spacetime particle is finally about to be completely eliminated."

"After I return to 2234, there will be no more spacetime travelers who disregard the laws of time and space."

…

The taxi drove for more than an hour and stopped at a weedy farm.

The stubble driver turned around:

"Sir, your destination has arrived."

The driver pointed to a few old houses in the farm and continued:

"This area is basically private land. Many wealthy people buy land here, planning to build villas, resorts, etc…The newspapers say that Brooklyn will be developed as much as Manhattan in the future, and everyone is betting on investment planning."

"But, in my opinion, how can a poor place like Brooklyn develop? Rich people will eventually go to Manhattan, or even New Jersey, which is much better than Brooklyn."

He patted the numbers on the meter and looked at Lin Xian:

"Sir, this place is very remote, and it's not easy to get a taxi when you leave. I can wait for you here, and the fare can be settled together on the return trip."

"No need."

Lin Xian shook his head and directly handed over a hundred-dollar bill:

"Keep the change as a tip."

He would be meeting with Einstein on this trip. He didn't know how long they would talk or what secrets Einstein had hidden on this farm.

Therefore, he didn't want a third party to be present:

"You can go back to Brooklyn directly. Someone will pick me up. I'll take their car back."

The stubble driver looked at the green hundred-dollar bill, and Franklin on the bill smiled at him. He immediately widened his eyes:

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! You are so generous!"

He skillfully unfastened his seat belt, jumped out of the car, respectfully helped Lin Xian open the door, and bowed:

"I wish you a pleasant life!"

After that, as if afraid that Lin Xian would change his mind, the stubble driver stepped on the accelerator and left at the speed of light, leaving only a cloud of dust.

Lin Xian straightened the top hat on his head.

Touching his raised cheekbones, he looked at the dilapidated farm in front of him.

November 5th.

The day he had agreed to meet with Einstein had finally arrived.

Originally, he was still worried about how to hide his voice and appearance characteristics; but the spacetime rejection reaction was a timely rain, perfectly solving the disguise problem for him.

Now.

His appearance is that of a Dragon Country and Western mixed-blood;

His voice is a hoarse Irish accent;

His name…is Douglas.

This is Lin Xian's new identity in 1952, and he will officially contact Einstein with this identity.

Starting to walk, Lin Xian walked into the huge farm.

There were not many houses on the entire farm. Einstein should be waiting for him in one of them.

Lin Xian pushed the doors open one by one.

Some of the houses seemed to have been lived in by workers, with some bunk beds; some empty rooms were old and full of cobwebs, and some warehouses were piled with rusty tools.

After turning around all the houses, Lin Xian did not find a place similar to a living room, study, or tea room.

"This…"

He scratched his head, a little confused.

Einstein specifically asked him to come to the farm to chat. He couldn't possibly not even have a place to drink tea and water, right?

Every room was so tattered.

He couldn't possibly spend time with Einstein in the cold winter, open their hearts outdoors, and freeze into popsicles, right?

"No, this is definitely not Einstein's style."

Lin Xian paced around the houses on the farm, starting to analyze.

Einstein was a famous scientist, a person with status and status, and also a courteous gentleman.

He chatted so well with himself at the Halloween dance, feeling like kindred spirits. He would never, and could not possibly, ask himself to meet in such a shabby place.

There's a problem.

There must be a problem here.

What made Lin Xian even more confused was—

"Where is Einstein?"

Lin Xian suddenly felt very funny.

Could it be that he stood him up?

The other party clearly vowed that he would stay at the farm from morning to night on November 5th, waiting for him all day long.

But the result was good.

No living room, no place to chat, and no Einstein!

"That's too strange."

Lin Xian bent down and checked the scattered decoration materials on the ground.

They were basically some wood scraps, some tile corners, and after rubbing the ground with his feet, he found a few cut wire skins.

This was enough to show that there was a place in this farm that was being renovated, and it was of a high grade, using very luxurious materials.

"I need to sort out my thoughts."

Lin Xian supported his chin, summarizing the abnormalities of this farm:

1. There are worker dormitories, construction waste, and traces of carpentry and electrician construction, which means that there must be a place in the farm that has undergone luxurious renovation. But the strange thing is that not only are there no workers on the farm now, but there are also no traces of any renovation…Where did Einstein spend his renovation money?

2. Since 1945, Einstein has frequently passed by the entrance of the CC orphanage; it is not difficult to infer that the renovation project of this old farm should have started as early as 1945, and Einstein often came to supervise the work…It is unbelievable that seven years have passed, and this farm has not shown any signs of renovation.

3. Einstein sincerely invited himself to be a guest, and showed that he really wanted to meet himself again, but now not only did he not come out to greet himself, but he has also disappeared, standing him up…This doesn't seem like something a great man would do?

All kinds of things.

Were very wrong.

Lin Xian was now increasingly sure—

[There must be hidden secret rooms, underground bases, and other secret spaces in this farm!]

"I'll look again."

He turned around, bypassed a few dilapidated houses, and walked towards the back of the farm.

…

At the same time.

New Jersey, Princeton, 112 Mercer Street, detached house, in the study.

Einstein, who had been fainted on the desk for three days and three nights, twitched for a while, woke up from his coma, and slowly opened his eyes.

"I, what am I…"

He let out a sigh and supported his temples with both hands.

Lines.

Lines.

Lines, lines, lines, lines, lines…

His brain was full of countless millions of lines!

These intricate lines were as thin as hair, as dense as bees, and intertwined in his mind!

Each line seemed to connect to the future in different periods. He only needed to concentrate slightly, and he could see what was happening at any time point, in any corner, and around anyone!

This was a difficult feeling to describe, but Einstein could clearly recognize…

From the moment he [woke up], he could see all the future! Everyone's future!

For example.

He couldn't be sure how long he had been in a coma, but he clearly knew that the current time was 2:28 PM on November 5, 1952.

There was no calendar in his room, but he could see the calendars in every family in the United States, the dates on every newspaper, and the time reported by the hosts on every television.

"What exactly is going on?"

He stared blankly at the manuscript paper with the number 42 written on it on the table.

All the strange phenomena started from the moment he calculated the answer to the cosmological constant; from that moment until now, he had been in a coma for a total of three days, but he did not feel any hunger or thirst.

This was too abnormal!

He was a 70-year-old man, how could he withstand three days without eating or drinking?

"What exactly happened to my body? I…"

Einstein raised his head and looked at the mirror on the table.

He gasped in surprise.

Blinking his eyes.

He couldn't believe the reflection in the mirror!

He tremblingly raised his right hand, picked up the mirror, and looked at the shocked Einstein inside, looking at the bright blue eyes that did not belong to him—

Bright and crystal-clear blue eyes.

It seemed as if there were flowing starlight rivers in his pupils.

"Blue?"

Einstein frowned.

His pupils were clearly brown. Why did they inexplicably turn blue after being in a coma for three days?

Recalling the blue light that illuminated the entire room before he fell into a coma, and the two small blue electric balls that appeared out of thin air…

"Could it be because of those two small blue electric balls?"

Einstein calmed his breathing.

If.

The future scenes he saw in his mind were real…

Then, what would the future of mankind look like?

[Is it the long-term peace formed by nuclear deterrence, as Douglas said?]

Or…

[As he had always worried about, would humans self-destruct because of uncontrollable power?]

Einstein closed his eyes,

And began to look for the farthest, farthest, farthest line in his mind, looking at the final future of mankind—

…

…

After a long time.

He sighed and opened his eyes.

His face became heavy, his expression became melancholy, as if he had aged dozens of years in an instant:

"I'm sorry."

Einstein lowered his head:

"Douglas…you guessed wrong."

(End of this chapter)