Chapter 125: We can restart a sealed memory...

In the office, Gao Yiyuan sat in front of the computer, while Gu Yifeng and Wen Yi stood quietly on both sides of him as they did in the past.

As he typed the last line of instructions on the keyboard, a confirmation prompt popped up on the screen:

[Biometric data updated successfully] Personnel information has been synchronized to the Zero Laboratory access control system.

"Done." Gao Yiyuan looked up, his eyes sweeping over the two of them. "Now, you are members of the task force and can enter and exit the lab freely."

"Is that all? You can actually obtain project authorization from Zero Laboratory! You are such a genius!" Wen Yi exclaimed.

Gao Yiyuan waved his hand. "It's impossible to fabricate a scientific research project out of thin air. I simply tampered with a time-travel mission that existed in the system, secretly changing the target time and coordinates, and had you two carry it out under my guise."

Wen Yi: ...Oh shit, that’s brilliant.

Gu Yifeng took over the conversation. "Creating a new mission requires numerous approvals and a significant investment. Tampering with an existing mission is much easier. All we have to do now is deceive the lab director and execute this 'mission'."

Wen Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Finally, she whispered to Gao Yiyuan, "Anyway...thank you."

Gao Yiyuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled. There was no politeness, only a natural familiarity: "What are you thanking me for?"

Gu Yifeng said: "The reward will be transferred to your overseas account later."

He shook his head, stood up, stretched his shoulders, and said casually, "No need, it's just a small favor. When you're done, just come and adopt a cat."

He looked at the two of them with a calm gaze: "I'm helping you not because you know my secret, nor because of the money."

"It's just..." He scratched his curly hair and coughed softly, "It was just a spur of the moment."

Wen Yi chuckled, her heart nudging as if struck by some invisible force. It turned out their fate had been predetermined from the moment they met. Some connections, somehow, didn't need memories to maintain them.

Gu Yifeng raised his eyes and suddenly asked, "Do you want to work in the Investigation Bureau? With your abilities, you can help more people."

Gao Yiyuan smiled and shook his head: "No need. Why would I go to the Investigation Bureau?" He looked at Gu Yifeng and said half-jokingly, "Unless you are here too, it would be boring for me to be alone."

The room was quiet for a moment, and the three of them remained silent, each with their own thoughts.

The moment the door opened, the morning light shone obliquely on the clock on the table, and the glass dial reflected their shadows like a faded old photo.

"Take care." Gao Yiyuan waved without looking back, "Don't let me work in vain."

*

Gu Yifeng and Wen Yi stood side by side in front of the Zero Laboratory door.

This is Wen Yi's third time here. The cold glass curtain wall reflects her expressionless face, which gives her a sense of being ready to die.

"Let's go." Gu Yifeng held his head high and chest out, pushed the door open and walked in. He was wearing a researcher's uniform with an ID card hanging on his chest, and he looked really like the real person.

Wen Yi was wearing the same uniform, but it felt like borrowed clothing, making her feel uncomfortable. Guilty, she adjusted her glasses, lowered her eyes, and followed him into the building.

The door of the core laboratory opened, and Xu Xiaoyi walked out from behind the console. He exchanged a few words with them, his eyes fixed on the task instructions that had just been synchronized on the tablet.

After a while, his brows slowly furrowed.

He glanced up at them, then lowered his head to study the task content, and finally shouted to someone not far away: "Cao Mo, come here."

Cao Mo came over, took a quick look at the task, and fell silent, which was unusual for him.

Wen Yi's heart skipped a beat - would the secret be exposed?

The atmosphere in the office was solemn.

"Your mission destination is Yuexi Mountain fifteen years ago?" Xu Xiaoyi glanced sharply at the two people standing opposite the desk.

Gu Yifeng's expression remained unchanged: "That's right. UAFS-233 mission, time coordinates fifteen years ago, space coordinates at the northern foot of Yuexi Mountain."

"Oh?" Cao Mo called up the mission plan on his tablet: [Mission Name] Moon Gap Mountain Retrospective Observation Project

He glanced at the mission details and then looked up. "So you're going to be in Moon Gap Mountain, monitoring the neutron flux?"

Xu Xiaoyi was surprised and asked, "Neutrons? Isn't that the product of a nuclear reactor chain reaction? Is there a reactor in Yuexi Mountain? When was it built?"

Gu Yifeng didn't even blink: "In theory, there are space-time folds in certain places that can reflect the quantum afterimages of distant facilities. We are verifying 'cross-field resonance'."

Cao Mo scoffed, remaining noncommittal. His fingertips slid across the key parameters, his eyes amusement introspective. "Yuexishan Plant Power Load: 4.2 MW."

Xu Xiaoyi's hands trembled. "Power for the factory? 4.2 megawatts! Seriously? Is there a nuclear power plant hidden in Yuexi Mountain, or are they secretly launching rockets?"

Wen Yi: ...

Gu Yifeng: ...

"Could you please explain it to me?" Xu Xiaoyi swiped his finger, magnifying the small text at the end of the log. "...What is 'Cat of Time'?"

Wen Yi's pupils shrank—Oh no! Gao Yiyuan must have made a typo. This guy has gone crazy with cats.

"Such a low-level typo wouldn't appear in a top-level authorization document. The director wouldn't approve a mission so riddled with flaws." Xu Xiaoyi put away his smile and calmly closed his tablet. "There's something wrong with this authorization."

"I will not execute it lightly. I will report it to my superiors for re-verification."

Wen Yi clenched her hands so tightly that her nails almost dug into her palms.

It's over.

It's all over.

She was worried that the plan would fail, but she didn't expect it to fail so soon!

Wen Yi raised her head and met Xu Xiaoyi's gaze. There was no anger or malice in those eyes, only a calm scrutiny.

In the suffocating silence——

Xu Xiaoyi suddenly said: "You and I..."

He hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "Have you met?"

The sudden question was like an arrow piercing my heart.

Wen Yi was shocked——

Unable to conceal the shock that flashed across his eyes, he instinctively raised his hand to cover his mouth and turned his head away.

"I have met you." Xu Xiaoyi nodded affirmatively.

Gu Yifeng remained silent, and Wen Yi felt uneasy.

"Come here."

He looked up and waved at her.

"Sit down." He pointed to the chair next to him, "I want to ask you something."

Now it was Cao Mo's turn to be completely stunned: "Old Xu, what are you doing? Aren't you going to report this?"

Wen Yi sat down next to Xu Xiaoyi trembling with fear, her fingers clenched unconsciously.

The next second——

Xu Xiaoyi pulled out a dark green paper box from under the table, opened the lid, and saw a few green dumplings lying quietly inside.

He picked one up at random and put it into Wen Yi's hand.

"Try it."

She was startled, and took it with both hands in panic, feeling a little at a loss.

Xu Xiaoyi lowered his head to flip through the mission plan and took a bite of the qingtuan: "The old brand ones still taste the best."

Wen Yi lowered her head and took a sip. The soft, sticky food melted between her teeth, and the aroma of mugwort filled her mouth. Her memory instantly flowed back to the past, when the two of them had shared snacks and the secret of time travel in a deserted lab.

She didn't look up, afraid that he would see the sudden moisture in her eyes.

Xu Xiaoyi pretended not to notice and asked casually, "What on earth are you doing going to Yuexi Mountain?"

Wen Yi's eyes flickered slightly, and she told him the plan in detail.

Cao Mo was shocked after hearing this: "Such a major plan... why don't you cooperate with the Investigation Bureau? Why do you have to take such a risk on your own?"

Xu Xiaoyi remained calm, stuffed the last bite of the green rice dumpling into his mouth, and wiped his hands slowly.

"I understand and support your plan of action."

Cao Mo was stunned: "Ah?!"

"But there is one thing—your plan is not appropriate."

Wen Yi and Gu Yifeng looked up at the same time.

"From what Xiao Wen has described, you're unsure of your actions upon arrival at your destination, and the probability of failure is extremely high. More importantly..." He paused, "If the crossing is successful, even a brief disturbance could impact the main timeline, and even create new branches."

Gu Yifeng tapped the armrest with his fingertips: "What do you think, Director Xu?"

Xu Xiaoyi casually picked up a piece of white paper from the table and drew a straight line: "Suppose this is our main timeline, the only stable reality in the current world."

He drew another short branch from the straight line: "This is the 'new branch' generated by the disturbance of time and space travel."

"There are two views in academia: one is that it will collapse and disappear; the other is that it will become an independent parallel universe."

He tapped the branch with his pen. "I have a different view. These new branches haven't disappeared, nor do they constitute a new world. Instead, they are the main timeline's complete preservation of 'major disturbance events.' It's a bit like an interactive closed system. It can be returned to and interacted with, but all changes only exist in that 'simulation layer.'"

"I call it—memory."

Gu Yifeng paused his fingertips on the armrest and fell into deep thought.

Wen Yi's voice trembled slightly. "Director Xu, what you mean is that I can return to the 'memory afterimage' created by my time travel and retrieve my blood sample from that time?"

Xu Xiaoyi nodded. "Memory remnants are interactive quantum retrospective states with temporary causal chains, allowing for limited physical interaction. However, all results will automatically reset to zero at the end of the mission, without disrupting the main timeline."

He circled that branch line heavily. "I can try to use the 'Anchor of Time' to restart a sealed memory."

"You go in and complete the mission. I can also verify my theory. And it won't cause any disturbance to reality."

He raised his eyes, the corners of his lips slightly raised: "How about this deal?"

Cao Mo opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Gu Yifeng's look.

"Then how do we enter the 'Memory Afterimage'?" Gu Yifeng asked.

"To restart a sealed memory..." Xu Xiaoyi tapped the table with his fingertips. "Two conditions must be met—a quantum entanglement signal and a memory anchor point. Simply put, under the guidance of the 'Anchor of Time', we can retrieve a certain emotional memory and amplify it into a key to restart time, opening the channel to the memory."

He raised his eyes and glanced at Wen Yi: "Have you decided which memory to go back to?"

Cao Mo blurted out, "They've already decided to go back to Moon Gap Mountain fifteen years ago. Children are so relatable."

She shook her head. "When I was a child, I was surrounded by layers of guards. Children are also sensitive and fragile. Once they encounter a threat, their latent abilities may be triggered, which is difficult to control."

Cao Mo frowned: "Then is there any other choice?"

Wen Yi lowered her eyes: "Now that I think of it, there is another possibility."

Everyone looked at her instantly.

"After the first space-time disturbance... I woke up in a completely new timeline. At that time, Gu Yifeng was the director of the 10th Bureau of the Investigation Bureau, and I was his wife. In that timeline, I had not awakened my superpowers, and my genes had not yet merged. Perhaps... it was possible."

Cao Mo's eyes lit up and he nodded immediately: "That's easy! We're all adults, so we can discuss it in person."

"It's not easy..." This time, it was Gu Yifeng who spoke. He looked at Wen Yi with a deep gaze, "Outsiders may not even be able to see her shadow."

Wen Yi: ...

Cao Mo: ...

Xu Xiaoyi, on the other hand, remained calm and composed, seemingly unsurprised. He leaned back in his chair and spoke slowly:

"Decide."

"You...are you going back to her childhood and looking for her at Moon Gap Mountain?"

"Or should we go back to Director Gu's residence to meet her after she comes of age?"

-----------------------

The author has something to say: Thank you for your parents’ support [come on]

Entering the final stage, I hope to get encouragement [dog head holding a rose]

Cao Mo: Damn, are you playing some shameful little dark room game?

Wen Yi: [rolling eyes] I want to report Director Gu under my real name for being an inhumane person!

Director Gu: How can we call a place with a beautiful woman hidden in a golden house a small dark room? [shy]

Xu Xiaoyi: See through but don't speak out [狗头]