Awakening 2

"Director Wu--" "Director Wu!" The experimenter who was observing the real-time data of the insulation chamber looked up when she heard the voice, and saw that the director of the experimental center came to inspect today. She greeted the old man with some panic, and therefore did not capture the data that was a little unusual at this moment.

"What was your original calculation for the completion of the experiment?" Wu Chuannan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the constantly jumping data on the display screen. The green timer next to him was also increasing the numbers second by second. "Based on the observation of the electron beam and the radioactivity analysis, the experiment should have been completed two days ago, but..."

He frowned slightly as he listened to the experimenter's report of the results. "It's just—it's just that we didn't calculate when the volunteer would wake up?" The young experimenter looked down at the messy calculations in his hands and nodded. "Director Wu, you know... this was originally in the experimental stage. If it weren't for the violent quantum fluctuations, it would have been declared a failure." His voice gradually faded. "Besides, the volunteer's physiological data is not within our priority observation range."

Wu Chuannan was silent for a moment, listening to the experimenter finish what he wanted to say. Realizing that he might have been too serious, he slowed down his tone and said, "We only have three volunteers left... but the experiment isn't even halfway through. So every volunteer's data is valuable." He paused at the right moment to remind his student, "Wait three more days. If there's any emergency, be sure to save the data first. It's all we have left."

The experimenter responded and returned to the display, continuing to record the various reactions of the electron beam, preparing to conduct the routine, repetitive experiment. Wu Chuannan adjusted his glasses to look at the volunteer's profile on the nameplate. Li Rong, 23 years old, had average physical indicators. Did he have a sister who was also undergoing medication?

He pondered the connection and had a rough idea of ​​the other person's situation. Three days remained. The nutrient solution in the incubator was being replaced by a machine. It felt like he had spoken to him the last time he came. But that didn't matter anymore. He should check on the other two volunteers. It looked like they would lose another one during this phase.

The timer ticked. Thirty-four hours and eleven minutes remained before the experiment was forced to be interrupted. The surrounding experimenters meticulously recorded data, every second potentially crucial to the final result. As they moved, they occasionally glanced at the person trapped in the incubator, hoping he would wake up so they could proceed to the next phase of the experiment.

The experimental center had ample power supply day and night, and the large instruments inside maintained normal operation, providing a wide range of data for observation. Li Rong felt like he had been closed for a long time, and when he regained consciousness, he inevitably choked on the nutrient solution he hadn't fully expelled. He lay flat on his back, coughing out the liquid that had seeped into his mouth and nose, his chest aching.

The experimenter standing next to the incubator quickly opened the hatch and pressed a button to rapidly drain the nutrient solution through the pipes. The green numbers stopped at the moment Li Rong woke up. For now, the experiment was considered a success. They all looked up at the timer, which had stopped, and then busied themselves recording the quantum fluctuations and other relevant data.

As usual, Li Rong lay flat in the incubator, allowing the robotic arm to collect biological samples for analysis. He waited until all indicators returned normal before moving. He suppressed an inexplicable cough, subconsciously relaxing his muscles as the probe slipped through his veins, his mind still groggy.

The line of sight was facing the instruments outside the insulation cabin. A complex network of pipes was distributed in the air. The particles inside moved in an orderly manner and flowed into the surveying instrument. Occasionally, dazzling flashes would be emitted. The miniature explosions were suppressed in special pipes to minimize possible impacts.

All of this felt strange yet familiar to him, and his headache only grew more intense. Was he Li Rong, or was he Li Ziqu? The clamor of voices still seemed to ring in his ears, but he immediately recognized the things he regretted: A Niang and the others, Su Si... and Xue Heng, who must be Xue Zhuozhi.

A chaotic cascade of memories filled his mind. He vaguely remembered an unfulfilled promise. To whom had it been made? His body still stagnated with intense pain. He was lost in thought, consumed by the regrets he couldn't fathom. He still clung to something, perhaps a letter, a patch of red, or perhaps just a butterfly startled by a child on a spring day.

Li Rong shook his head slightly, trying to quiet the chaotic voices in his head for a moment. Then, a clearer voice echoed in his ears. "The examination is complete. Would you... like to stand up and walk around now?" The experimenter asked softly after recording the last bit of data. He felt a certain sympathy for the volunteer who was almost declared dead, but was secretly delighted by the large amount of new experimental data he had obtained. At least they didn't have to worry about the experimental project being halted.

Li Rong tried to speak, but his voice was hoarse, as if he was squeezing out a "OK" from his throat. He subconsciously looked at the person who had just spoken. This voice cleared up some of his confused mind, so he realized that he was still in the experiment, but the specific situation was not so clear.

He let the lab technician help him by the arm, using it to help him walk out of the incubator. His weakened muscles were only just beginning to function, and every step tingled with pain. Li Rong endured the pain as he walked around the lab center. The lab door slid open, and he saw the old man he had met before. "Director Wu—" the lab technician beside him called out the name he remembered.

Li Rong extended his hand and shook hands with him again. This time, Director Wu stayed a little longer, constantly checking the data just obtained with the experimenters around him. He did not hear any information related to his current situation from the old man.

The lab technician who was supporting him also strictly followed the time and soon pushed the wheelchair over to him. Li Rong sat on it and watched them take him into the small room connected to the laboratory.

The injection was injected into the other arm, where blood had not been drawn. Li Rong fell into a new trance, recounting the chaotic memories in his mind over and over again, unable to remember what he had said. When he regained consciousness, he was the only one left in the room.

He was pushed out by the experimenter who came in, and clenched the paper that briefly described the situation in his hand. The lines of black words on it told him the current situation. The almost panic-inducing blankness in his brain was occupied by even stronger emotions.

He didn't know how his sister's drug trial was going. Now he had lost a large part of his memory about his sister, but he knew that only if he continued the experiment could his sister receive better care - and there would be experts who would do their best to maintain her life.

Li Rong completed the day's rehabilitation according to the schedule given by the experimenter and slept in a separate room prepared for him. The warm-colored bed sheets and the furnishings in the room were carefully designed, and monitors were hung in every corner of the room to prevent any unexpected situations.

He nodded in agreement as the experimenter injected him with a sleeping drug, but he vaguely felt that without the aid of the drug, he would probably not sleep well, or do things he didn't want to dream about, even though there was also a certain desire mixed in that he couldn't explain.

The next morning, after Li Rong had a specially prepared breakfast, a lab technician wheeled him over to his sister. Li Qingyue—he gazed through the transparent window at the girl lying in the hospital bed. If he'd said it aloud, it would have been a beautiful name. He couldn't think of anything else. Enduring a headache, Li Rong focused on the scene ahead, watching the medicine drip from a height into a thin tube.

He raised his wrist, his fingertips tracing the familiar face. After the next phase of his experiment was over, the experimenter said, his sister would wake up and talk to him. Even though he couldn't remember anything about her, he still looked forward to this promise. He just didn't know if he would be able to see his sister wake up first.

He asked the experimenter who had pushed him back to his room, but received no definitive answer. Li Rong then spent the remaining two or three days as arranged, resting in his room or rehabilitating his muscles to maintain a normal physiological state.

This time, time seemed even more rushed. Even before the third day was over, the lab technicians who had received the notice had returned to the lab center with him. Li Rong tried to reach out and touch the flashing tubes, but was stopped by someone nearby. He listened quietly to the injunction, then withdrew his trembling fingertips and placed them on the wheelchair armrests.

The lab technicians were busy preparing to record new data. Li Rong leaned against the outer wall of the insulated chamber, and with the help of the lab technician accompanying him, he lay down flat. He gently closed his eyes, knowing that there would be a tedious process to go through soon, and he would be trapped here waiting for the familiar pain and sounds.

The hatch detected his gesture and rose from the bottom, closing completely. He quietly counted the seconds in his mind to ease the emptiness in his mind. That was something they had repeatedly told him not to explore during the experiment, and it was also something he inexplicably hesitated to think about.

"All anchor connections completed—" He heard the voice again, letting the nutrient solution begin to pour into the insulation chamber with a subtle sound. Li Rong thought, just think of it as a long sleep, and when he wakes up, he will have his wish fulfilled.

"Please repeat the guidelines."

"The only rule for an observer is to respect time and escape paradox." He whispered these words, and before he realized what they meant, intense pain swept through his body, and the nutrient solution filled the insulation chamber. He was distracted for a final moment - what is a paradox?