Mist (Web Novel CN)

Chapter 43: 43

Who Am I

Chapter 43

Take care of his body?

Did Song Qinglan know that he couldn’t sleep well at night?

Or was it because he had showed too much weakness before, and Song Qinglan truly believed that he was very frail?

While Ji Yushi was pondering over the meaning of those words, Song Qinglan instead called directly.

Ji Yushi accepted the call. For some reason, after the call was connected, both of them were silent for a moment.

Ji Yushi didn’t know what to say but Song Qinglan seemed to be waiting for something.

After confirming that it was quiet on Ji Yushi’s end, Song Qinglan spoke first. His tone didn’t sound great, “Advisor Ji, how did your mission report go?”

Ji Yushi: “Mission report?”

Song Qinglan stiffly made a sound of agreement and asked, “Is it inconvenient for you to talk now? I can’t remember some details about our Ouroboros mission and want to ask you about it now.”

There was only Ji Yushi and his cat at home, so it wasn’t inconvenient.

Song Qinglan’s attitude however didn’t seem like an inquiry at all. If sounded like he would teach Ji Yushi a lesson if he dared to refuse. He right now seemed more like a stern captain than usual.

Ji Yushi, “Now?”

It was early morning.

Song Qinglan said, “Yes, now.”

Although he didn’t understand why Song Qinglan had to write the report in such a hurry, Ji Yushi couldn’t sleep anyway so he agreed, “Alright.”

Song Qinglan really began to ask.

Not to mention Song Qinglan, even for Ji Yushi, the mission report was difficult to write. The so-called ‘Tianqiong of all eras’ was difficult to explain but there were at least several experts in Tianqiong already analysing this. As for the appearance of the zombies and the energy sources, they weren’t within their professional scope so there would be experts who would analyse them based on their mission reports.

The first problem facing the seventh squad was how they should describe the concept of a ‘time anchor’ in the report.

As mentioned before, the time anchor was something that had been banned a long time ago by the research and development team.

A necessary condition was set at a certain anchored time coordinate and once that condition is triggered, one would return to that anchored point in time. This would consequently lead to serious time paradoxes such as letting someone live forever within a certain period of time or letting a certain historical event never happen. It creates a time bubble along the timeline which in turn affects the normal progression of the original timeline.

So how was this banned method developed? How long had it existed for? And what kind of chain reaction will it cause?

These problems required Ji Yushi’s memory to reproduce. They had to write every cycle they experienced in full detail.

That was the first problem. The second problem they faced was the countless colonies in the parallel universe.

They had limited understanding of PU-31 and they knew next to nothing about PU-18 except for their encounter with Big Beard. The most important thing the authorities wanted to know was the reason why Earth was destroyed.

Comparing these two problems, the last one about the time crevice was much easier to deal with.

Everyone knew very well that although the three-month vacation was said to be granted to give them time to recover, it was in fact to give everyone enough time to write that massive report.

Song Qinglan and Ji Yushi had to bust their brains to do it so Li Chun and the other study slags would probably end up in tears. If they knew that the two top students in their team had stayed up all night copying homework from each other, they would probably start to doubt life itself.

While conversing through the phone, the two opened holographic projections to make notes.

Even Ji Yushi noted down a few things to help himself sort out everything from beginning to the end. With that, even the most lengthy report in history shouldn’t be too difficult to complete.

Song Qinglan stopped midway and asked strangely, “With us talking for so long, we won’t affect the others?”

Ji Yushi said they wouldn’t.

The phone call lasted for several hours. When they were almost done, it was dawn.

Outside the window, the early morning rays of light had started to peek through.

Looking at the clouds in the distance gradually turning brighter, Ji Yushi finally felt a trace of sleepiness.

Little Orange had returned to the bed. It’s fleshy paw pad stepped over the bedsheet one after another, leaving little footprints, and then it rolled over to reveal its snow-white belly.

As Ji Yushi listened to Song Qinglan speak, he reached out and gently scratched its belly. He somehow remembered that Little Orange liked it when he did this.

Perhaps fatigue and sleepiness made it easier for him to talk.

Ji Yushi suddenly spoke up, “Cap Song, many things have changed around me.”

Once started, the rest was much easier to say. He continued, “Say, do you think we’re still in a time anchor and had never truly escaped from that world? Or are we in a new instance and had in fact never been successfully intercepted?”

After talking for so long, Song Qinglan’s voice was a little different and it carried some hoarseness that belonged to the early morning.

He asked, “Why do you think so?”

In fact, Ji Yushi regretted it as soon as he asked.

They already knew that no matter how self-aware Tianqiong was, it was impossible for it to construct a seamless world and he couldn’t even prove that the ‘original’ memory of his was real. If it was real, then everyone else’s memories had been overwritten by the new timeline and he was the only one who remembered. He didn’t know if he was lucky or unlucky.

Ji Yushi changed the topic and asked, “Cap Song, have you ever heard of ‘brain in a vat’?”

Ji Yushi had learnt too many things and read too many books, so his knowledge was vast.

Song Qinglan couldn’t keep up and, for a moment, he couldn’t answer.

But Ji Yushi didn’t seem to be needing him to answer. After asking the question, he didn’t stop to wait and just ended the topic, “I’m sleepy, aren’t you sleepy? We’re almost done with the discussion so why don’t we end it here. If you still have any questions or thoughts, you can call me any time.”

Before Song Qinglan could say anything, Ji Yushi said “goodbye” and hung up.

Ji Yushi laid back on the soft bed and stared up at the ceiling.

On the other end, Song Qinglan rubbed his temples as he listened to the dial tone. He had no right dictating Ji Yushi’s private life and apart from work he had nothing he could talk to him about. Even if it was talking about work, it was his first time talking to someone on the phone until sunrise.

Song Qinglan tapped on the virtual keyboard and searched the words: Brain in a vat.

This was a hypothesis proposed by a philosopher named Hilary Putnam.

Suppose a person had their brain taken out by surgery and is put into a vat that could keep it alive. People outside could manipulate the brain with devices to input the five senses, memories and even arbitrary codes to make the brain think that it was still alive and even feel what the manipulator wanted it to feel.

How would one tell whether they are living in reality or in a fantasy?

This hypothesis was similar to Zhuangzi’s ‘The Butterfly Dream’. If we delved even more deeply, the question was —– Are we actually real existences? (KKnotes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi_(book))

Song Qinglan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. He then extinguished it.

He picked up his phone and was about to call Ji Yushi.

But he can’t yet.

Having not slept all night, Song Qinglan went downstairs with bloodshot eyes. Father Song was already drinking morning tea: “Where are you going?”

Song Qinglan walked quickly, “I’ve been away for a month and haven’t seen grandfather yet.”

Father Song: “Going to Ning City?”

“Yes.”

Outside the window, Song Qinglan strode across the lawn with his long legs, got in his car and drove off.

*

Ji Yushi slept until the afternoon and then drove his black off-road car to the Ji residence for dinner.

As the familiar villa got closer and closer, the hyacinths and wisteria flowers in the courtyard were no different from what he remembered. There was a hand-carved rabbit placed in front of the porch. The knife skills were awkward; it was something he carved when he was a child. Walking in, the decorations were still on the windows. Those were the work of Aunt Su during Spring Festival. They had pasted them up together on the first day of the new year.

Everything in the house was the same.

Aunt Su walked out wearing an apron. She seemed to be cooking for him upon hearing that he was coming back.

As soon as she saw him, she felt distressed, “Jian Jian, why are you thinner? Did they not feed you at all in Jiang City?”

The familiar show of concern made Ji Yushi’s heart soften, “Auntie.”

The two embraced. Aunt Su patted her younger son on the back, “Teacher is upstairs. Having been gone for a month, he’s not in a good mood. Be good and go and coax him.”

Sure enough, Professor Ji was waiting in the study. Seeing him return, he didn’t act like what Aunt Su and Ji Minyue had said and didn’t talk much. As usual, he closed the holographic projection in front of him and pushed up his reading glasses. His first line was, “I heard Chief Lin say that you were in shock when you returned?”

The seemingly dangerous things the teacher and student pair did behind the backs of that mother and son duo had always been something the two knew very well about.

But this time, Professor Ji probably wouldn’t be able to imagine how dangerous the mission was for Ji Yushi.

Of course, Ji Yushi wouldn’t tell him either.

“It wasn’t that serious.” Ji Yushi’s expression was calm, “It was just that the intensity was a little stronger and my body couldn’t adapt. All the teammates had the same reaction.”

“I heard that too.” Professor Ji nodded. He didn’t ask about the content of the mission and only said, “The people above are always true to their words. They will increase the points for this mission for you….I have received news that your mission may be regraded this time and it should be higher than A-level.”

Ji Yushi knew what his teacher meant.

He was originally on 89 B-level missions. With an A-level mission added, it would add up to 99 points which was one step away from his goal. If this A-level mission was to be reassessed, he would easily reach his goal and the thing he had always wanted to do would be possible.

Professor Ji: “The day you go back and untie that knot in your heart, you should withdraw from Tianqiong.”

Ji Yushi was silent.

“Teacher.” After a while, Ji Yushi asked seriously, “If a person accidentally changes the past from a future world and then returns to the present, what will happen?”

Professor Ji wondered, “Without going back to the past, how could one change the past from the future?”

But it really happened.

“For example, people from different time periods were trapped at the same point in time and they unintentionally affected each other’s timeline, ultimately changing the past in a future world, and then they return to the present, “Ji Yushi said, “I know this may sound illogical, but if we assume that it is true —– What would happen?”

“It’s too contradictory.” Professor Ji thought for a while and took off his reading glasses. He pinched the centre of his brows and said, “Since ‘history’ has changed, they will no longer be the so-called ‘present’. If it must be established, it will only produce a parallel world as a result of the butterfly effect. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise.”

In the quiet study room.

Professor Ji said, “Jian Jian, never change the past, never talk about the present and never be obsessed with the future; these three Tianqiong laws were something I watched your father write. No one in this world knows their meaning better than you. I hope you can untie that knot in your heart soon. Don’t become a prisoner of time.”

After dinner, he left the Ji residence.

Ji Yushi received a message from Song Qinglan.

Cap Song: [I found some information about “Wang Xiaoqian”.]

Ji Yushi’s eyelashes trembled. Almost at the same time, he called Song Qinglan, “Cap Song? What information?”

Chief Wang didn’t disappear?

That’s great.

Song Qinglan said, “The information is incomplete and I’m not sure for the time being whether she is the Chief Wang you were talking about. Also, while I was reading through the information, I seemed to have also noticed the changes you mentioned.”

Song Qinglan also noticed it?

Ji Yushi’s grip around his phone tightened, “Then can I take a look?”

Song Qinglan asked for his address.

Ji Yushi subconsciously reported it and then found it strange, “Cap Song, why are you asking me this?”

Song Qinglan seemed to have laughed, “I’m on my way to Ning City.”