"Can only witness, not change?" Jiang Ye frowned. "Meaning, I can only watch, but can't personally go there?"
"You can personally go there," Li Nannan said. "For example, opening a time gate in this room. The time behind the gate corresponds to when you first arrived as a colonial governor. Then, you would pass through the gate and arrive at the wasteland in this same location years ago. When you've had enough, you can pass through the gate again to return."
"In that case, how could it not change the past?" Jiang Ye asked. "If I go back, find my past self, and tell him what to do next, wouldn't he be able to..."
"No, it won't change anything," Li Nannan smiled. "As I said before, time gates are a low-level form of temporal technology. The only hard criterion for measuring whether temporal technology is low-level or high-level is whether it can alter a closed time loop. Time gates exist within this closed time loop. No matter what you do in the past or future, it won't cause any changes, because the changes you cause are already accounted for within the closed time loop."
"I heard about this when I was young," Cen Yemeng nodded. "It seems to be like that."
Jiang Ye's brows knitted together, his expression one of painful confusion, like trying to solve a difficult math problem.
"Think carefully," Li Nannan smiled, twirling a finger at her temple. "Use your little brain. Let's see if your ancient head can comprehend modern technology."
"I think I understand, but it feels incredible," Jiang Ye said. "Practice is the criterion of truth. Where can I find a time gate to try out? I want to find my future self and ask him how to get rich and which lightning strikes to avoid."
"Your rank isn't high enough yet," Li Nannan smiled. "Wait a few more years. Once you've conquered Birong Star, and both planets are prosperous, you'll likely qualify to use a time gate."
"What about me?" Cen Yemeng asked. "How can I use a time gate? Do I also have to manage two planets?"
"No, you are husband and wife. When Jiang Ye can use it, you will also have the qualification," Li Nannan said.
"Have you tried a time gate?" Jiang Ye caught something unusual in Li Nannan's expression.
Li Nannan took a slow sip of water. "I have."
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng's four eyes lit up like four illuminated light bulbs.
"Did you go to the past or the future?" Jiang Ye asked.
"I've been to both," Li Nannan continued to smile, her smile quite mysterious.
"How far into the past and future did you go? What did you see?" Cen Yemeng asked excitedly. "Do you know about our family's situation in the future?"
Li Nannan drank water.
She put down the cup.
She picked up her chopsticks to take food.
"Don't eat, Nannan! Say something!" Cen Yemeng urged.
"I only recently gained access to time gates, and only for five-year jumps. That means I can go back five years, or forward five years," Li Nannan said. "To be frank, I just finished a two-week journey into the past and future."
She continued eating.
As she ate, she began to chuckle.
Jiang Ye's face was dark. "Commander, you're doing this on purpose!"
"Sometimes," Li Nannan chuckled. "When others want to know something only you know, and you deliberately don't tell them, and they can't do anything about it, it's a very satisfying feeling!"
Cen Yemeng immediately went to hug her, decisively acting spoiled. "Nannan! Please! You're the best!"
"I won't tell!" Li Nannan burst out laughing.
Jiang Ye was speechless.
His commander sometimes revealed a very childish side.
However, judging by Li Nannan's reaction, things were at least going well five years from now, otherwise she wouldn't have the leisure to joke.
Cen Yemeng hugged her tightly, almost pulling her apart. Li Nannan began to beg for mercy.
Jiang Ye stood by, observing. He had experienced it before; his delicate wife, though appearing fragile, possessed great strength. A strong hug from behind could practically squeeze the air out of one's lungs, making it suffocating.
"Alright! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Li Nannan couldn't take it anymore.
Cen Yemeng immediately let go of her.
"I went back five years, but I thought about it and decided not to contact my past self. Because these past five years have been thrilling, while I was relatively calm back then, and I didn't want myself to be prematurely anxious. So, after returning, I just helped some comrades with their affairs," Li Nannan said. "My comrades' families are going to face several misfortunes in these five years, including traffic accidents, terrorist attacks, and falling objects. I told them detailed methods to avoid these calamities."
"And when I went to five years in the future, I emerged from the time gate in a very remote location. That place has a very high security clearance, and it's impossible to get here in a short time. So, I couldn't see what our family, including myself, would be like five years from now. However, the overall environment of the Galactic Empire is very good," Li Nannan said.
Jiang Ye was disappointed.
Cen Yemeng pouted.
They had hoped to glimpse divine secrets from Li Nannan's words, but it turned out she didn't know either.
...
Three days later, Birong Star.
As soon as Jiang Ye stepped out of the spaceship's cabin, he felt a chill.
Su Yueming, who was waiting to greet them, waved his hand, and several adjutants immediately presented coats. Two large coats were for the General and his wife, and a child's coat was for the "Crown Prince."
"When did Birong Star start its winter?" Jiang Ye walked down the gangway.
"The temperature has already started to drop. In about a month, it will be below zero, and two weeks after that, it will be minus ten degrees," Che Zhen saluted. "All industrial zones are preparing for winter."
"Let's go, let's look around," Jiang Ye nodded.
Jiang Ye planned to stay on Birong Star for three weeks this time, or even longer.
The reason was simple: as the troops advanced along the border, they had encountered four more factions a few days ago.
These four factions seemed to have formed some kind of alliance, jointly occupying the territory of Jiang Ye's faction and taking a large chunk of land.
There were farmlands, factories, and even construction areas. Their strength was not to be underestimated; they were a tough nut to crack.
Therefore, Jiang Ye had come to personally lead the campaign, aiming to reclaim the lost territory within three weeks.
The first thing he did upon arrival was to inspect the territory.
Jiang Ye rode in a military vehicle, inspecting the situation at various industrial zones and military bases.
It had been some time since he last visited. Although he reviewed Birong Star's reports daily, seeing the changes in each location firsthand still surprised Jiang Ye greatly. The development was too rapid!
The initial logging area had already leveled half of the forest. The plains were covered in dense tree stumps, appearing like countless brown springs from the air.
The mini mine, which had only excavated a small area on the mountaintop initially, now occupied more than half of the mountain body. Mining machinery, workers, and robots were as numerous as ants. The entire mountain was shrouded in dust and smoke, and the convoys of trucks hauling ore were longer than trains.
Jiang Ye also saw the embryonic forms of cities near several industrial zones, with large-scale construction clusters and roads. Countless mechanical soldiers and workers came and went, resembling a machine city.
Besides the visual impact, there were also the data.
Birong Star's various data had also seen explosive growth during this period.