A falling leaf returns to the roots1落葉歸根 luò yè guī gēn: lit. a falling leaf returns to the root; fig. all things go back to their source eventually; in old age, an expatriate returns home; a person who has been away from their hometown for a long time would eventually return., a fox dies with its face toward its den2狐死首丘 hú sǐ shǒu qiū: Said of somebody longing for home or mindful of their origin; Analogy to never forgets this; Metaphor of missing hometown at old age..
What’s worse than death is being alone in exile in another world and not being able to see your home again until you die.
The three of them, who were dazzled by Qin Li’s healing ability, gradually calmed down. They are not going on an adventure to the fantastical and mysterious world described in the novel, but are carrying a mission and taking the risk of being left behind at any time.
Qiao Zhixue glanced at the three of them, seeing that their expressions had changed from excited to grave, he nodded in satisfaction: “It’s not stupid, can carry a clear sense of what is important. The hearts of young people are loftier than the sky3心比天高 xīn bǐ tiān gāo: the heart/intention/ambition is higher than the sky., thinking that they can overcome all difficulties and obstacles. In fact, they don’t know that in this world, everyone’s life is thinner than paper4命比紙薄 mìng bǐ zhǐ báo: life/fate is thinner than paper.. They must learn to face all things with humility.”
When he said these words, he focused on Cui Heyu. These few candidates are not bad, each has its advantages and disadvantages, among them Cui Heyu has the most obvious advantages, but also the most apparent disadvantages, he is too arrogant, and he must dampen his spirit.
Ah San looked at Qiao Zhixue with a strange face, based on his understanding of Qiao Zhixue, this person can be said to be a person with super IQ and average EQ, to be able to say such words of life experience, something is not right.
Little did he know that Qiao Zhixue was also nervous, Minister Yu was busy with official duties, not only communicating with the organization, but also arguing with foreign countries. It is not easy to ensure that he is present in every ‘void’, and it is not easy to join the meeting immediately after the personnel comes back. He couldn’t be there in person, so he wrote down what he wanted to say and handed it to Qiao Zhixue, and asked him to memorize it and tell it to the new team members at an appropriate time, which can be regarded as indirectly teaching the team members.
Have I memorized it right or not? Is it a suitable occasion to use it? With such worries, Qiao Zhixue looked at Liang Xian, signaling that it was his turn to speak.
Liang Xian immediately understood and changed the subject: “Then why does Tan Yan turn the Rubik’s Cube so fast? Does this have anything to do with whether the world is collapsing? And the universe is finite and unbounded, how does it rotate with the parallel world like a Rubik’s Cube?”
“Let’s talk about boundaries first. Although finite and unbounded means no boundaries, it also means that there are boundaries everywhere. This space structure is very responsible, of course, it is not as simple as the Rubik’s Cube, it is square, and you can see the end at a glance. I personally believe that human beings are three-dimensional creatures. With the current human brain structure, it is impossible to imagine how the universe works from a macro perspective, just like two-dimensional creatures see the world in two dimensions, when they see a hole in the ground, they will not have a sense of depth in their brains, but will only feel a black circle appears on the plane. Similarly, human beings cannot imagine how the multiverse works and influence each other, and everything can only be guessed one-sidedly from a three-dimensional perspective.” Qiao Zhixue explained.
Why do I feel that you imagined this exercise mode quite easily… Everyone thought silently in their hearts.
Qiao Zhixue confused everyone, only Liang Xian and Cui Heyu were still trying to understand. Liang Xian already knew how terrifying Qiao Zhixue’s brain was, and he simply couldn’t afford the idea of a competition. The difference between him and Qiao Zhixue is the vast amount of knowledge, which cannot be completed in a day or two.
Cui Heyu, on the other hand, gradually fell silent after witnessing the horror of Qiao Zhixue. At first, he felt that he was omnipotent, and only Liang Xian could compete with him, but he was not inferior to Liang Xian, as long as he worked hard, he could win. But facing Qiao Zhixue, Cui Heyu seemed to see an insurmountable mountain. In the world of knowledge, Qiao Zhixue could immobilize Cui Heyu with just one finger.
Seeing that everyone had almost finished digesting (abandon) and understanding (treatment), Qiao Zhixue added: “As for the reason why Tan Yan was so proficient at playing the Rubik’s Cube for the first time, it is very simple. Everyone should know that muscles also have memory, and it is more profound than brain memory. In the same way, consciousness also has memory. Tan Yan has entered different worlds countless times. Although he didn’t notice it, his subconscious mind has already noticed the laws of operation of different parallel universes. Compared with the laws of operation of countless parallel worlds, a mere seventeenth-order Rubik’s Cube is nothing. The subconscious mind had already preceded the consciousness and controlled his hand to turn the Rubik’s Cube.”
Everyone: “…”
Qin Li propped his arm on the table and was already fast asleep. He had given up on understanding since Qiao Zhixue started talking about Rubik’s Cube cosmology.
Yan Yongfeng bumped Tan Yan with his arm: “You’re still taking notes? Can you understand it?”
Tan Yan smiled shyly, he was always timid when it came to studying: “I don’t understand, but write it down first, and then study more to understand.”
When Tan Yan worked in his early years, there was no computer at all, the conditions were the most rudimentary, and there was not even a recorder. All transcript files must be handwritten, and they must be recorded simultaneously when witnesses, plaintiffs, criminal suspects, and related personnel speak. Over time, will develop good handwriting and shorthand.
Yan Yongfeng flipped through Tan Yan’s notes, the writing was beautiful and neat, but the theoretical knowledge inside was so dense that it hurt his eyes.
All was enrolled in the interest group, these days also have been listening to instructor Qiao’s lectures, why is it so hard to understand now?
Ah San knows about Tan Yan’s grades, heard that now he is still worrying about the final exam, and he can still write down all Qiao Zhixue’s words, and even try to understand them in the future, really… let people admire him too much.
Ah San patted Tan Yan on the shoulder: “Heroic.”
Tan Yan smiles shyly: “I don’t understand at all, but it’s a political task, and Minister Yu told me to learn it.”
Because Tan Yan is the key, only when he understands the knowledge of quantum mechanics can he recall the critical points forgotten in his memory. In order to complete the task, Tan Yan also worked hard.
“How far has the research on the tombstone progressed?” Liang Xian asked, this is the most important thing to him.
No matter how strong their abilities are, as long as only Tan Yan can find a way out, they will never be able to separate from Tan Yan’s operation. Let Tan Yan follows every operation in the future, if this changed to anyone else, no one can bear it.
At this time, Liang Xian still didn’t know that Tan Yan could bear it, and he had endured it continuously for forty years.
Qiao Zhixue shook his head: “I checked one by one based on the 437 assumptions I made, none of them were correct. At present, how the cemetery and Tan Yan have quantum entanglement is still a mystery.”
Seeing that he still wanted to speak, Ah San hurriedly said: “Since it’s all wrong, then you don’t need to tell us all the assumptions. You see, Tan Yan’s notebook is almost full, if you say more, he can’t write anymore.”
He was intimidated by Qiao Zhixue. Obviously, his academic performance was not bad, he seemed mentally retarded in front of Qiao Zhixue.
Liang Xian glared at Ah San, he still wanted to hear it.
Qiao Zhixue said: “Let me just talk about the most likely hypothesis. In fact, I have speculated that the people in this cemetery will be Tan Yan’s brothers or even twins. In fact, I am more inclined to twins. Because identical twins are split from the same fertilized egg, there have been experiments before. Even if a pair of twins have been separated since childhood, they still have telepathy. This is probably a kind of quantum entanglement. But I extracted DNA from the corpse in the cemetery and compared it with Tan Yan. They have no blood relationship at all. This phenomenon is really incredible.”
“Slow down!” Liang Xian suddenly said, “You just said that twins may be quantum entangled from birth, we need to find a pair of twins to enter the ‘void’!”
Liang Xian’s proposal made everyone’s eyes shine, yes, there’s still this way.
Qiao Zhixue adjusted his glasses: “Already looking for candidates.”
“Then…” Ah San is very excited, the research has finally made progress!
“We have selected five pairs of twins, two female and three male, who are currently being trained in a secret base, and they will not know why they are undergoing this training. Your most important task right now is to become stronger and keep getting stronger. If the twins are to take their turn in the future, it must be under absolute safety, and their safety level is second only to Tan Yan.” Qiao Zhixue said.
“Understood!” Ah San gave a military salute excitedly, “Guaranteed to complete the task.”
It’s almost ten o’clock, and Qiao Zhixue has to go back to continue to verify his assumptions. It was almost time for curfew in the dormitory, several people returned to the dormitory together.
On the way back, Qiu Qizheng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly rubbed Cui Heyu’s head and said: “Are you convinced?”
“Convinced.” Cui Heyu buried his head on Qiu Qizheng’s shoulder, his voice was very low.
“It would be nice to say a few words less, how embarrassing as it is now.” Qiu Qizheng said.
“Shut up.” Cui Heyu said sullenly.
Ah San, who lived in the same dormitory building with them, sniffed and asked in confusion: “Who’s crying?”
“What?” Yan Yongfeng looked puzzled, “It’s so dark5黑燈瞎火 hēi dēng xiā huǒ: pitch dark; Describes darkness without lights., what are you talking about?”
“I smell it,” Ah San continued to sniff, “The humidity in the air is different. I’m particularly sensitive to moisture, from the volume to salt content, this water is tears, it can’t be wrong.”
Cui Heyu: “…”
It’s incredible to have supernatural powers, even crying secretly, still be taken out for research!
Such an opportunity to attack Cui Heyu, but it’s rare for Liang Xian not to hit a person who is down6落井下石 luò jǐng xià shí: to throw stones at somebody who fell down a well; to hit a person who is down.. Ah San’s reaction made him feel very concerned. The fact that he can use supernatural powers in the real world cannot be hidden for long.
Even if they are unaware of it, people with supernatural abilities will use it unconsciously in their daily lives.
For example, Assistant Teacher Chai’s sensitivity to water, Qin Li’s resilience far beyond ordinary people, and Tan Yan’s movements of playing the Rubik’s Cube, these actions are all wandering on the edge of consciousness. As long as they are given a boost, some people will realize that ‘the real world cannot use power’ is simply a paradox.
Wait, wait… Tan Yan’s movements of playing the Rubik’s Cube?
Liang Xian’s heart was shocked, Qiao Zhixue brought so many magic cubes here today, is it really just to test his theory?
The ‘void’ did not appear that night, so Liang Xian contacted Qiao Zhixue the next day. Qiao Zhixue was probably experimenting, no one answered his calls, and he didn’t call back Liang Xian until evening.
“You called me 27 times in one day? Suck, suck.” Qiao Zhixue asked in shock, “What’s the urgent matter, is the sky falling? Suck, suck.”
“You…” Liang Xian, who was already hesitant to confess, could not speak when he heard such a strange sound, “What are you sucking?”
“After going back yesterday, I have been verifying Rubik’s Cube theory, and then I came out to eat instant noodles, suck, suck.”
Haven’t eaten since last night’s meeting? Liang Xian is a young man who is growing up physically and exercises a lot every day, no matter how much he is addicted to academics, he will not forget to eat, he will be really hungry. Seeing Qiao Zhixue today, he realized what it means to neglect sleep and forget about food7廢寢忘食 fèi qǐn wàng shí: to neglect sleep and forget about food (idiom); to skip one’s sleep and meals; to be completely wrapped up in one’s work..
“I have something I don’t know whether to say it or not.” Liang Xian hesitated.
“Xiao Qiao, give me the phone, you can concentrate on eating.” Liang Xian heard Minister Yu say on the other end of the phone, “What do you want to confess? Did you already know about the fact that ‘powers can be used in the real world’?”
Liang Xian: “…”
He spent a lot of effort to cover up for so long, but it was all useless? The research team already knew?
“Finally, you still know how to confess, otherwise, we will list you as a key observation object, hum!” Minister Yu’s last hum was very dignified.
Liang Xian: “…How do you know it?”
“Professor Qiao guessed that consciousness is not controlled by the world, and we think of your sudden headache when you first moved into the dormitory of the interest group. Chai San and Qin Li both said that after overloading their powers in another world, they would have a splitting headache, lose consciousness, and feel like they are going to be schizophrenic. We did a comparison, which was exactly the same as your condition that day.” Minister Yu said seriously, “Why did you hide it?”
Liang Xian was silent.
“Are you afraid of losing your freedom, or do you not believe in organization?” Minister Yu’s voice slowed down a bit.
“All of them.” Liang Xian said sullenly, “If the news of possessing supernatural powers spreads, it will arouse people’s calculations. As the first batch of supernatural beings, we will also become rare items in the eyes of everyone. The only way to solve this dilemma is to increase the number of supernatural beings. As long as the number increases, even if the incident is exposed, we will not look so obvious. And the more supernatural beings belong to the country, the more they can suppress some evil forces.”
“Um, the idea is quite good, it’s not all selfish, it’s a pity that it’s too naïve.” Minister Yu reprimanded in a deep voice, “Paper can’t contain fire8包不住火 Zhǐ bāo bù zhù huǒ: A well-known phrase. lit. paper can’t wrap fire; fig. the truth will out; truth will come to light sooner or later., the sooner you tell the organization, the better prepared the organization will be. Once something breaks out in the future, we can control the situation as soon as possible.”
Liang Xian remained silent.
“It’s not that you don’t believe in the organization, it’s that you don’t believe in me.” Minister Yu sighed.
It seems that this is not the right time for father-son bonding, Minister Yu said again: “At present, only the three of us know about this matter, but you don’t have to try your best to keep it secret. When it is appropriate, you can disclose it to others.”
“What are you going to do?” Liang Xian said vigilantly.
“Liang Xian, the stronger the power, the more dangerous it is, but this does not mean that supernatural powers are omnipotent, nor does it mean that the country cannot control them. Like Professor Qiao, a person like this. You think between Professor Qiao and Qin Li, who has supernatural power, if both of them were anti-social, which one is more harmful to society?”
“Professor Qiao.” Although very sorry for Qin Li, but the fact is true.
Qiao Zhixue, who was sucking on the noodles on the side: “…”
What does it have to do with him?!
“Don’t take supernatural powers so mysteriously, no matter how powerful they are, they are just powerful weapons. A gun in the hands of ordinary people may not even be as lethal as you with your bare hands. As long as you control it properly, why can’t we treat supernatural powers and supernatural beings properly?” Minister Yu said calmly.
Hearing these words, Liang Xian’s eyes lit up, and the problem that had been troubling him was easily solved.
“What I am most worried about now is that a person may normally behave very well, but when he has power far beyond his imagination, he may become a different person. Your team members are our carefully selected good kids, but they are too young, it’s easy to go astray. So keep an eye on them and give them a hand when they hit a fork in the road.” Minister Yu said, “If you really can’t help, at least don’t let them make more mistakes.”
“I understand, but this task is entrusted to me, why don’t you doubt me?” Liang Xian asked rhetorically, “Because I am Minister Yu’s son?”
“It has nothing to do with me, it’s you who has passed our test these days, both physically and mentally.” There seems to be a hint of a smile in Minister Yu’s voice, “You are a good kid in every way, I’m proud of you.”
“Okay, don’t exaggerate, I know what to do.” Liang Xian said, “But… should I tell Tan Yan about this? He’s this kind of person, hints may not be too effective.”
If hints are helpful, Tan Yan should have discovered his feelings a long time ago.
“When you need help, you can tell him, I believe in the quality of Comrade Tan Yan. Even if he has the power to destroy the world, he will only use it to protect mankind.” Minister Yu said with great certainty.
Hearing Minister Yu’s praise of Tan Yan, Liang Xian’s mood suddenly improved.
“I will make a note of you for concealing and not reporting. As for whether to record it in the file, it depends on your future performance.” At the end of the call, Minister Yu solemnly said.
“Yes, guaranteed to complete the task!”
Professor Qiao get shot even when lying down. 😂
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