Chapter 171 The Sky Falls (6) (1st + 2nd) [VIP]

As expected, the auditorium was in chaos.

Everything was just like the meeting the day before yesterday. Countless students rushed towards the door. The big hole on the stage was flashing with a familiar blue arc of light.

The crowd had no idea who had just launched the attack, and they ran around like headless flies. Countless students ran past Xu Zichen and ran out through the small door, not knowing that one of the two attacks on Ren Zhiling had just been launched by this man.

They only saw Ren Zhiling, who was standing in the front of the stage holding a microphone, suddenly being shot and then falling off the stage.

Perhaps only the students sitting in the front rows saw that when Ren Zhiling fell under the stage, a figure suddenly appeared, as if he had expected her to fall like this, and caught Ren Zhiling, who had a confused look on her face and had not yet reacted.

Before they could think about what was going on, the blue arc of light "banged" down on the stage, and a big hole was blasted in the floor of the concert hall. Dust, wood chips, and fragments of metal brackets and steel bars flew everywhere. The students in the first few rows subconsciously raised their arms to cover themselves, and the people sitting on both sides of the corridor ran away after a brief moment of stunned silence.

Before the people in the back row could react to what was happening, they saw the students in the front row running quickly towards the back one after another. Without having time to see what was happening, they subconsciously followed them and ran.

Fortunately, there were not many people in the concert hall, and the non-credit speech did not attract much interest. So although the panic spread and caused many people to run towards the exits, there was no serious congestion at the exits. Many people did not know what was going on, and just subconsciously followed the crowd out of the concert hall.

"Brother Xu, you just... shot Ren Zhiling? Is that okay?" Ning Xiao was even more confused than these students. He was dumbfounded by the actions of these two people.

Didn’t Liu Yi just say that the direction of Ren Zhiling’s death was wrong?

Is it really okay to shoot Ren Zhiling and drive her out of Liu Yi's range in order to save her from his past?

Ning Xiao looked around the stage for a while, and finally could only comfort himself that at least Ye Dian was the one who caught the person.

Ren Zhiling fell off the stage. Now the concert hall was full of students running around. He stood on tiptoe and observed for a long time with difficulty, but still could not see her current situation.

Although it is unclear how he ran from here to under the stage in just a few seconds, at least being able to do this shows that the two of them have a tacit understanding and both know very well that this method will not endanger Ren Zhiling's life, right?

After all, it was an emergency and Xu Zichen had no other way to move her out of the shooting range except to shoot her off the stage.

Ning Xiao comforted herself while skillfully opening the temporary group chat: "Brother Xu, should we call Brother Lu Changfeng over now? If Ren Zhiling is sent to the hospital, she will need at least several months to recover from her injury."

"Brother Xu?" Xu Zichen did not reply, so Ning Xiao had to turn around and look at him.

Xu Zichen was also looking at him, his eyes looking at a fool: "Of course not."

"It's an air bullet," he shook the thing in his hand, "Ren Zhiling is an ordinary person who has not received any training. What if I really shoot him and he gets hurt..."

His tone sounded very indescribable: "Otherwise, what if Liu Yi didn't kill her, and I killed her?"

"Yes... yes," Ning Xiao touched the tip of his nose awkwardly, "Brother Xu, you are more thoughtful... is there anything like this in the Foundation Mall?"

An air bullet that can hit accurately at such a long distance, is there such a weapon in the Foundation Mall?

"This?" Xu Zichen put away the gun in his hand and walked towards the direction where Ren Zhiling fell, saying, "I didn't have time to look for it in the mall just now. This was stuffed into my hand by Ye Dian before Liu Yi showed up."

"I guess it has been modified in some way? Ye Dian should have done something to it," he lowered his head to study it for a while, "I feel like I didn't aim very accurately when I raised my hand just now, but the thing shot out from it seemed to automatically calibrate the target, and the trajectory of the ballistic missile didn't follow the direction of the shot."

Ye Dian's intention of stuffing this thing into his hand was obvious. Xu Zichen initially thought that Ye Dian was so confident in his shooting skills that he chose to give it to himself instead of Ning Xiao. However, the moment the bullet was fired, he realized that this thing had undergone some magical modifications.

No matter who comes, this gun can aim at the target accurately.

As for why she gave it to him and not Ning Xiao, it might be simply because he was closer to Ye Dian...

"So powerful?" Ning Xiao was amazed. "I always thought magicians were that kind of..."

A fantasy wizard who takes a small stick, chants some unknown spells, and then launches an attack.

After all, Ye Dian has been looking very cool these days. Although he doesn't dress like the traditional wizard in everyone's impression, in addition to this very impactful trendsetter image, the pile of "spellcasting tools" that appeared on the luggage conveyor belt on the first day, which were said to be judged as carry-on luggage and were dragged out of the personal space, once again deepened everyone's stereotype of wizards.

Even most of the comments on the barrage thought so:

[Fuck, it sounds so nice, but this is a padlock hanger. ]

[Ye Dian actually knows how to modify a gun...]

[My image of the cool and aloof mage was shattered again. 】

[Is it because of Xu Zichen's consideration that this was changed? Otherwise, if he were to launch, who would catch Ren Zhiling? ]

【Too. 】

[He almost shot Liu Yi the first time he chased him.]

[Damn, I don't know why, but it feels so disconnected to associate the mage with the image of Ye Dian.]

Fortunately, apart from the overly trendy highlights and nail polish, Ye Dian’s coolness is still very much in line with everyone’s imagination of a mage.

Xu Zichen: "...Although I don't know what your imagination of a mage looks like, Ye Dian is definitely different from what you imagine."

Based on his impression of [0106], how could there be normal people in this organization... no, normal mages.

As for the members he had seen so far, even if he counted Guan Hongyan, Lu Changfeng, and himself, none of them could be called normal people in good conscience, not to mention the bunch of newly recruited Mary Sue protagonists...

#【0106】The only normal person may be Yun Guang#

"First, tell Song Jirou and the others in the group that we encountered people from the future attacking Ren Zhiling in the concert hall. They were the ones who attacked Xi Enze at the meeting a few days ago. Since she is a civil servant, she must have reported this," he silently put away the gun in his hand and walked towards the stage. As he walked, he instructed Ning Xiao, "Ask her to think of a way to explain why they attacked Ren Zhiling, and then suppress the matter. After all, it happened in public, and in the school. If too many people know about the people from the future, there might be trouble."

The attacks abroad a few days ago could be said to be an attempt by extremist organizations to prevent the meeting from being held, but today's attacks are difficult to explain.

"Then...what if we can't suppress it?" Ning Xiao was shocked. "Although there are not many students in the concert hall, this moment is enough for them to post this matter online. This is inside the school."

Xu Zichen: "Hmm... Is there a possibility that it is easier to control it in school?"

Ning Xiao:?

While he was still at a loss, Ye Dian's very distinctive and slightly hoarse voice sounded: "Have you never been to school?"

He waved his hand in front of Xu Zichen, and Xu Zichen immediately understood and handed over the pistol.

Ning Xiao: "Me? I really... have never been there. The space I was born in is quite special..."

"Oh, no wonder." Ye Dian rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Standing behind him was Ren Zhiling, who, although he had no idea what was going on, still trusted the exploration team members very much.

After hearing their conversation, although she didn't know what they were discussing, she still stood up and brushed off the dust on her skirt, revealing a face mixed with curiosity and frankness: "You can deduct your diploma."

Ye Dian patted Ning Xiao's shoulder: "I'm glad you don't know this kind of operation."

The expression on his face didn't look like he was happy at all. He gritted his teeth for the first time as he spoke: "I hope you will never understand what it feels like to have your diploma withheld."

Ning Xiao: "Ah...?"

"What information are you trying to suppress, this attack?" Ren Zhiling rubbed his aching stomach and turned to look at the big hole. "Is this... the hole that appeared at the New City meeting a few days ago? Is it aimed at me this time?"

It turns out that people need exercise. Compared to the last time when he watched the attack happen in front of him and even cut off the legs of an unlucky guy behind him, this time when facing this kind of attack, Ren Zhiling was able to ask questions with clear thinking.

By the time she reacted to the attack, she was already under the stage and was not facing the explosion scene, which to a certain extent weakened her fear of the attack.

Several members of the exploration team looked at each other. Things had come to this point. If Ren Zhiling was an important figure in the future disaster, there seemed to be no point in hiding it any further.

After all, if we want to change the future, we have to ask Ren Zhiling to cooperate.

Even if it is not for the purpose of preventing disasters from happening in advance, but just to find the rules regarding future disasters, Ren Zhiling's research content is crucial information.

"No way, are you really coming for me?" Ren Zhiling's face turned pale, and his eyes moved between their expressions for a few times. Finally, he casually opened a stool in the audience and sat down, waving his hand, "Let me take it easy, how can I deserve this..."

All the students in the concert hall ran out. The flickering blue arcs of light around the big hole on the stage gradually faded away. Sporadic footsteps were heard at the entrance of the hall. It was unclear whether they were school security guards who rushed over after hearing the sounds, or students who bravely returned after escaping from the concert hall.

"As for this attack, let's talk about it together when everyone is gathered," Xu Zichen finally said.

He rubbed his solar plexus and walked towards the back door. "The situation now is that the fewer people who see this attack, the better. I'll go close the door. Ning Xiao, have you told Song Jirou? Let them come over first."

"They said they would be here soon. The noise just now was so loud that even the teaching building could hear it a little bit."

"I just heard you guys talking about the future or something." Ren Zhiling paused for a long time in the audience, and finally couldn't help but asked curiously, "So how can I know what this has to do with me?"

"Hmm..." Xu Zichen was silent for a moment, "Yesterday's attack was actually aimed at you, not Xi Enze."

*

Song Jirou's fixed attributes are indeed very useful.

She was probably used to cleaning up the mess for her teammates as a civil servant in various spaces. After hearing Ning Xiao's request, Song Jirou's reaction was very calm: [It's a small matter, I'll handle it. I'll ask someone to seal off the venue later. When you guys get there, just take Ren Zhiling away first. ]

Ning Xiao said embarrassedly: [Sister Song, let's wait for you to finish and come together? Can you find a way to change your job to protect Ren Zhiling? ]

Bai Jinshu glanced at the group chat: [Don't worry, let Song Jirou handle this first. ]

Xu Zichen was rarely polite and said: [Indeed, let’s deal with this attack first. Sorry for bothering you, we didn’t expect it to become such a big deal…]

Song Jirou: [I’m used to it.]

Just three short words express infinite sadness.

[Oh my god, she looks so reliable...]

[Angel investors in Song Jirou would like to say something. She is really reliable. I have watched her rise from the low end to the middle end, and gradually from an ordinary exploration team member to everyone's mother.]

[It’s so funny, everyone’s mom, isn’t she the one who takes care of everything that goes wrong? ]

[That's right. After all, with this fixed attribute, it's really hard not to clean up the mess.]

[Official identities are very useful when facing some special situations. They can mobilize people, data, and surveillance, and can also block the scene and block information. For some investigation measures that are very difficult to end after a big disturbance, as an outsider exploration team member, you can directly borrow the power of the natives in the unknown space, which will be much easier. ]

【That is indeed true.】

[And the identity generated by Rou Ma's fixed attributes must be related to the rules, which is equivalent to a large-scale cheat. I would not be surprised if she were promoted to a high-end space one day. ]

[Rather, it would be difficult for her not to upgrade to a high-end space like this, right? After all, just the fixed attribute of a positioning rule can make many confusing space rules appear directly. ]

[Yes, I heard that someone had already invited her, but she thought her ability was not enough to enter the high-end and needed to practice in the middle-end, so she did not agree.]

…

Unlike Song Jirou's identity which was being hotly discussed on the barrage, the members of the exploration team were sitting on the sofa in Ren Zhiling's house, and they were rarely a little restless.

The only people who heard Liu Yi's words at that time were Bai Jinshu, Xu Zichen and Ning Xiao. Bai Jinshu naturally could not speak. Xu Zichen was communicating with Song Jirou, the only member of the exploration team who was not present. Ning Xiao was the only one left who could tell everyone about the current situation.

"Uh... it's like this," he struggled to organize his words, and countless worst-case scenarios flashed through his mind, including the possibility that Song Jirou thought they were mentally ill or delusional. He finally said, "The one who attacked you is a man from the future, named Liu Yi."

"He attacked you because... five hundred years later, a disaster occurred that humans could not prevent," Ning Xiao felt that every word he said was extremely childish. "According to the research of future humans, this disaster is closely related to a scientist named Ren Zhiling five hundred years ago, so they want to stop the disaster by killing you."

"Is it related to me?" Ren Zhiling was wearing home clothes and holding a big, sleek orange cat in her arms. She stroked the cat and widened her eyes with curiosity. "I caused such a big disaster in the future?"

"Yeah, don't you think we are making up a story?" Ning Xiao scratched his head.

"Don't you think so? Aren't you official security personnel? What's the point of making up such nonsense to deceive me?" The big orange cat turned over on Ren Zhiling's legs. She rubbed the orange cat's belly as usual, and her tone was very sincere. "And the big hole a few days ago and this afternoon, it's not something that modern technology can achieve, right? I have long suspected that this thing is abnormal. Those students and researchers have long made up all kinds of guesses, even guessing that they are aliens."

That's true.

The exploration team members didn't expect that what made Ren Zhiling believe them was nothing else but Song Jirou's fixed attributes.

"And then what? I caused a serious disaster and then what?" She continued to ask, "Then people in the future want to kill me, why do you want to protect me?"

She pointed at herself and said calmly, "If killing me can solve the world disaster five hundred years from now, then killing me is more cost-effective no matter how you look at it, right?"

"Aren't you afraid of death?" Yin Liantao couldn't help but asked in disbelief.

"No," Ren Zhiling thought for a moment, "I am definitely afraid of death, but I don't understand why you want to save me. If I die, everyone except me will not suffer any loss."

"Because today we met a Liu Yi who also came from the future," Bai Jinshu said, "He claimed that he came from the future where he successfully killed Ren Zhiling. As long as the past is successfully changed, the memories of future humans will be overwritten. So although he doesn't know what the world would be like if you didn't die, based on the situation in their current world, your death has led to more serious consequences."

"So he went back to the day of my death in the record to prevent my death?" Ren Zhiling held the cat, his face full of confusion. "What disaster did I cause?"

"The sky is getting closer and closer to the ground," Xu Zichen, who had finally finished communicating with Song Jirou, raised his head. "He said that in the future when you die, the sky will get closer and closer to the ground. The distance from the ground to space has changed from 300 kilometers to 100 kilometers, and it is still shrinking."

"He doesn't know why such a disaster will happen in the future," Bai Jinshu crossed his legs, "Do you have any idea what kind of research you have done will lead to such a disaster?"

"Well... no," Ren Zhiling thought for a moment and spread his hands calmly, "My current research direction is related to biology, but it has nothing to do with astronomy and geography. My direction is not even related to the newly discovered artificial embryo at the conference the day before yesterday. If it is really a problem caused by me, it may be caused by my future self."

"After all, who can say what will happen in the future?" She shrugged.

"But if this is your future direction..." Xu Zichen pondered, "Then why would your death in today's meeting also lead to a disaster?"

"Hiss... yes," Ren Zhiling frowned slowly, "If disasters can occur when I am alive, and disasters can occur when I am dead, then it can only mean that whether I am dead or alive will not affect the established direction of the future. What leads to future disasters must be something that will not change regardless of whether I am dead or alive, that is, something that appeared and existed before I died."

"Could it be..." She thought for a long time, "It's my profession?"

"Occupation?" Xu Zichen raised his eyebrows.

"That's right..." Ren Zhiling gestured, "It's very likely that this disaster was caused by a research direction that I have discovered. It's just that I haven't realized the seriousness yet. But if I don't die, I will continue my research in this direction. If I die, my colleagues or juniors in the institute may look through the research records I left behind with a nostalgic mood, and discover this direction and decide to complete my unfinished research and continue in this direction. That's why this disaster will happen regardless of whether I'm dead or alive."

"It's possible..." Everyone nodded. "Anyway, we'll know whether it works or not at 5pm tomorrow."

Since Liu Yi could only travel through time during this period of time, all we had to do was ask what Liu Yi would look like in the future after he traveled back.

If he doesn't show up, it means their method has worked.

In this case, preventing the disaster becomes extremely easy.

Ren Zhiling slapped his thigh and said, "Now that the future people have given up on killing me, it proves that my life or death has nothing to do with the disaster. Then I can just change my career! I can stop doing research. It's no big deal!"

She spoke cheerfully, completely unaware of the stunned expressions on everyone's faces after hearing her words.

"Well..." Fu Yandong said very tactfully, "You have made a lot of achievements in this field now. Are you really willing to give up just like that?"

Although changing careers is not a big deal compared to death, an expert like Ren Zhiling who became famous at a young age is really willing to give up his research...

"Of course I am," Ren Zhiling answered directly, "I don't do this because I like it!"

"I did research only because my family was all doing research, and my ancestors had been doing this for generations, so from childhood to adulthood, everyone was certain that I should be a scientific researcher, and in the end I did choose this career direction."

Compared to the confusion and contemplation when she learned a few minutes ago that her existence had caused a world disaster, Ren Zhiling's face suddenly burst into enthusiasm when she talked about this topic: "In fact, my biggest dream when I was a child was to be a sprinkler truck driver! Because then I could turn off the music and suddenly speed up when I met a cyclist on the road!"

Too...too immoral, my friend.

Everyone present once again showed an indescribable expression.

"But now it's unlikely that I can fulfill my childhood dream," Ren Zhiling sighed regretfully, "Now sprinkler truck drivers need a B2 driver's license, which I don't have."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then you don't have any other career ideas?" Ning Xiao thought for a while and asked.

"Other options..." Ren Zhiling thought for a moment, "Would being a pet blogger count? I was under a lot of pressure when I was doing my PhD, and I often posted pictures of other people's cats on YouTube!"

The big orange cat was lifted above her chest with both hands: "How about we start by publishing the first video? Do you have any experience?"

"I have." Bai Jinshu's voice sounded in the silence.

Among a group of exploration team members who have no idea what self-media is or how to set up a blogger account, Bai Jinshu's proficiency is unlike that of a mage in the group, and his professional identity sounds the least like that of a modern person.

"Do you have a YouTube account? What's your name?" He looked up at Ren Zhiling.

Ren Zhiling was strangely silent for a moment: "...Master and fellow disciples are in heaven?"

“How can one not be crazy while studying for a PhD?”

"Hate everyone equally? This is my last account."

Seeing everyone's indescribable expressions, she coughed lightly and said, "Can the ID be changed?"

Okay, it seems you really hate your job.

The author has something to say:

No one can finish a PhD in a sane manner.