My cousin, poor as he was, dreamed of getting rich every day. He had practiced ten thousand ways to get rich in his dreams. Later, the Time Gate was ready for use. The network held a lottery for a batch of trial spots. A total of ten billion people registered, with only one hundred spots available – a one in a hundred million chance. He actually won.
He traveled thirty years into the future and met his future self. His future self lived in a very ordinary farmhouse, drinking thin porridge with sweet potato leaves cooked in it. He still looked poor. He immediately asked his future self for lottery winning numbers and information on stocks that were about to skyrocket.
His future self was cooperative but had a meaningful expression. After telling him everything he needed to know, he sighed and said, "It's all fate." Before he could ask what he meant, the Time Gate contracted and sucked him back to his original timeline.
Trembling, he bet his entire fortune on the lottery numbers his future self had told him. When the draw happened, he won, emptying the prize pool and receiving three billion yuan! He was so happy he almost went crazy. He then used this money to invest in stocks. Every stock he bought, the "Green Light" stocks, quickly turned red and soared. His assets ballooned to thirty billion in ten years, even after spending lavishly and indulging in a life of pleasure.
He lived a life of luxury unimaginable to ordinary people, reveling in it for twenty years. Then, he grew tired of it. He suddenly developed a psychological illness; he was bored with everything. He ate the most expensive delicacies daily, saw the most magnificent scenery dozens of times, and dated a string of the most beautiful girlfriends. He had mansions, luxury cars, and also luxury goods and antiques. Suddenly, he didn't know what joy was left in life. Sometimes he would fall into a daze, even doubting if his experiences were real.
Wealth brought him not only happiness but also a heavy burden. The ugly struggles of high society attacked him daily. Several times, he was almost killed by those around him. He no longer had friendship, family love, or romantic love, because all the emotions around him were masked greed and everyone smiled at him only for his money. He hired a large number of bodyguards and installed many security devices, constantly fearing for his life.
Especially when the Dream Pod appeared. Ordinary people could enter the pod for a small fee and enjoy various luxurious things. In dreams, the reality of those enjoyments was almost indistinguishable from reality. They would wake up as ordinary people, without having to worry about any bloody struggles. He even suspected his wealth was all a dream, that he was living in a game space, and that the game would end if someone who coveted his money succeeded in killing him.
Twenty-five years after his sudden wealth, the Galactic Empire erupted in war. He witnessed many war-torn areas, where people suffered immensely, were displaced, and countless people died tragically. Thus, he made a decision: to donate all his assets, half to support the army and half to resettle refugees.
He himself went to a remote village, built a farmhouse, and cultivated land on the hillside to grow fruits and vegetables. His life was simple, but he felt a sense of freedom. He lived quietly like this for five years. One day, his younger self from thirty years ago arrived, eyes gleaming with the desire for wealth, eagerly asking for lottery numbers. He thought about it. Wealth was something that, only after possessing it and then willingly letting it go, could one truly see through it. Although these decades had been filled with torment, without torment, there would be no peace today. So, he told his past self the lottery numbers and sighed, "It's all fate."
Jiang Ye quietly read this travelogue. The entire travelogue was one hundred thousand characters long, detailing the author's and those around him's dozens of time travel experiences, almost like a novel. Each trip changed nothing; everything was destiny.
At the end of the travelogue, the author delivered his final verdict.
After reading so much, everyone should understand.
There are many ways to travel through time in the world. Some may indeed be able to change the future, but the Time Gate is not such a method. Through the Time Gate, you can only travel, you can only experience reality, you cannot change anything.
In time travel through the Time Gate, any attempt to change the past or the future is futile. I will not advise you not to make such an effort, because if you want to do it, you will definitely do it, and any persuasion is also futile.
Jiang Ye pondered for a long time and closed the screen.
He got up and went to the small bed by the window, looked out at the night sky, remained silent for a long time, and then closed his eyes to sleep.
He woke up to find the spaceship had arrived at the space city.
Li Nannan was already waiting, dressed in a military uniform, looking heroic and spirited.
"I'm not accompanying you this time; I have a meeting to attend," Li Nannan said. "Follow me; the Time Gate is ready."
Jiang Ye stepped out of the spaceship and walked behind her through the space city.
"Are there any precautions?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No," Li Nannan replied. "If there must be one, it's to return a few minutes early. You will be automatically pulled back when the Time Gate closes after 24 hours if you stay there. However, some people experience allergic reactions, such as vomiting. If you return a few minutes early, you can avoid this allergy."
"Understood," Jiang Ye nodded.
The two walked to a more open traffic route in the space city and took a vacuum tube train, moving rapidly. They soon reached the terminal station on the other side of the space city.
Jiang Ye saw many nuclear fusion power stations nearby, their number sufficient to power dozens of Jiang Ye stars!
"The Time Gate's energy consumption is terrifyingly high," Li Nannan explained. "These nuclear fusion power stations are for the Time Gate."
"What if one of the power stations suddenly malfunctions and stops providing power?" Jiang Ye worried.
"The arrangement of the power stations here is like that of interstellar missile engines," Li Nannan said.
Jiang Ye looked confused.
Li Nannan helplessly continued to explain, "Suppose a total of eight symmetrically arranged engines are needed to provide full thrust. For safety, ten engines are installed. All ten engines are working, and only a portion of their thrust is needed. If, while flying, one engine malfunctions and stops, a symmetrically opposite engine will also automatically stop, and the remaining eight engines will operate at full power. The overall state remains the same."
Jiang Ye imagined it and understood, "But what if all the engines break down?"
"Then the Time Gate will suddenly abort your journey and pull you back," Li Nannan explained. "In any case, you are safe."
Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
The two finally arrived at their destination.
A heavily guarded district, filled with automatic weapons and identification equipment, with many soldiers on alert. Bright white light strips were everywhere, emitting dazzling light, as if the electricity in this place was excessively abundant. Li Nannan's face was illuminated to be several shades paler, almost as if she were about to melt into the air. Jiang Ye looked at his hand; it was also pale and ethereal.
Jiang Ye verified his identity and moved forward.
Finally, he saw the Time Gate.