Chapter 245 Awakening Thirty Days Ago
Consciousness was suddenly pulled back from the endless darkness, accompanied by a sharp pain that seemed to tear the head apart.
Su Wanqing's body was shaking violently and uncontrollably on the bed, as if she had just experienced a long electric shock.
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the familiar ceiling.
The sun pierced through the gaps in the blinds, casting several beams of light in the air, in which the dust danced quietly.
Outside the window came the sound of car horns and the faint noise of the crowd, which was the vibrant noise of a normal city.
Not the cold metal of a mothership, nor the chaos of space-time turbulence.
She sat up suddenly and looked at her left wrist anxiously.
The jade bracelet that had accompanied her through countless reincarnations was now emitting an unprecedented bright light. The warm purple light flowed, turning her skin into lavender.
A light blue virtual interface automatically unfolded before her eyes. The interface had been completely redesigned with a simple and solemn style.
A few lines of cold words appeared in the center:
【Hello, Time Anchor. This is your 188th attempt. 】
[The core data of gold, silver and red coins have been fully integrated. ]
[Due to the unification of multiple timelines, the resource return ratio has been increased tenfold. 】
[Warning: This is the final reset opportunity. If you fail, all timeline data will be permanently cleared. ]
Su Wanqing stared at the words "permanently cleared" and pursed her lips slightly.
The 188th time. The silver-haired old man did not deceive her. But the words "last chance" weighed on her heart like a heavy lead block.
There is no chance of a comeback this time.
She tried to mobilize her consciousness, and the system interface changed accordingly, becoming more complex and sophisticated.
A countdown is clearly displayed in the upper left corner: [30 days, 00 hours, 00 minutes until the first "collection" outbreak].
Thirty days. The silver-haired old man was right, she had returned to an early enough point in time.
"Ten times the return..." she whispered to herself. It sounded like a huge reward, but she knew very well that the system would never make a deal without a price.
Higher rewards mean greater challenges, or... time itself is collapsing at a faster pace.
She no longer thought about her past failures, the figures who faced despair alone, and the people who she pushed away and wanted to lend a helping hand.
The old man's words echoed in her mind: "A true anchor needs a network to support it."
This time, she had to change.
She concentrated and operated on the system interface. The new "Time Anchor Version" system gave her unprecedented authority.
She turned on a feature called “Real-time Positioning of Key Nodes.”
A three-dimensional map of the city unfolded in front of her, with several flashing spots clearly marked on it.
[Lin Che], the light spot is located in a cafe in the east of the city. Status: civilian, student, part-time job.
Note: Slight residual temporal and spatial memory was detected, with a consciousness synchronization rate of 4.3%.
【Lu Zhao】, light spot in the physics laboratory of City University. Status: university lecturer.
Note: Significant spatial-temporal memory residue was detected, with a consciousness synchronization rate of 11.7%. Related theoretical deductions are currently underway.
[Xiao Ran], the light spot is located on the top floor of the Xiao Group Building in the city center.
Status: Head of the Group Security Department. Note: No obvious memory remains, but there is a strong correlation with the key node [Xiaoling].
[Xiaoling], the light spot is also in the Xiao Group Building, but the location is slightly different, it seems to be the living area.
Status: Protected Person. Note: Gene sequence is dormant, with a high potential for awakening.
Everyone is already in this city. It's as if they were placed in their respective positions by an invisible hand before the final chess game begins.
Su Wanqing closed the map and opened the resource exchange interface. The tenfold rebate mechanism made the entire list different.
Materials that used to cost a huge amount to exchange are now within reach.
She used her consciousness to select the most basic item.
[Exchange for a "Military-grade High-capacity Tactical Backpack", and consume 10 points. ]
The moment the exchange was confirmed, the closet door in her apartment vibrated slightly.
She walked over and opened the door, and a brand new, bulging black tactical backpack was quietly leaning inside.
She unzipped the bag and found compressed biscuits, purified water, a multi-purpose military knife, a first aid kit and a set of high-strength ropes sorted inside.
Everything is real.
She returned to the bed and looked out the window at the peaceful, prosperous world.
In thirty days, this place will become a hell on earth, and she is the only one who knows the truth.
But this time, she won't take on everything on her own.
She reopened the system interface, zoomed in on the map, and locked onto the light spot in the east of the city that represented Lin Che.
The young man with purple eyes who always followed her silently in her memory and protected her with his life was the first support point she must find.
She closed the system interface, and the light from the jade bracelet disappeared. She stood up and walked into the bathroom, where the mirror reflected a young but overly calm face.
She needed to replan everything, starting with finding her first companion.
The warning of permanent elimination hung over her head, and she couldn't, and wouldn't allow herself, to make the same mistake again this time.
Su Wanqing did not choose to take a taxi, but instead took a shaky bus.
The street scene outside the car window rapidly receded, and every frame was filled with the tranquility before the end of the world.
She needed this time to calm her mind and put down the heavy burden of one hundred and eighty-seven failures.
The "Dawn Cafe" in the east of the city is hidden on the ground floor of an old apartment building. The store is not big and is decorated in the simple style that is popular nowadays.
She pushed open the glass door, and the wind chimes hanging on the door made a series of crisp sounds.
The afternoon sun shone in obliquely. Several customers were chatting in low voices in the store. The air was filled with the rich aroma of coffee.
Her eyes passed through the crowd and fell accurately on the busy figure behind the bar.
Lin Che. He was wearing a starched shirt that had turned white, and a brown apron on the outside. His hair was shorter than he remembered, and he looked more refreshing.
He was standing with his back to the door, operating a semi-automatic coffee machine with concentration, and every movement he made seemed skillful and serious.
Su Wanqing's heart skipped a beat. She walked to an empty seat at the bar and sat down, placing her tactical backpack at her feet.
Lin Che did not turn around, but said in a professional tone: "Please wait, I will prepare it for you right away."
That voice, with a hint of youthfulness that had not yet completely faded, yet was so familiar that Su Wanqing couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.
She said in a very soft voice, "The one with cinnamon, remember?"
Lin Che's arm that was operating the coffee machine paused, and his entire back stiffened for a moment.
He turned around slowly, and when his eyes met Su Wanqing, the glass in his hand slipped out of his hand and shattered on the ground with a bang.
Fragments flew everywhere. A faint golden light flashed in his clear purple eyes, and the expression on his face quickly changed from pure shock to confusion, and finally to a complex emotion that even he could not understand.
“Lin Che, what’s wrong?” A middle-aged man, who seemed to be the shop owner, walked out from the back.
Lin Che finally came back to his senses. He lowered his head, avoiding Su Wanqing's sight, and said hurriedly, "I'm sorry, Uncle Zhou, I...I missed."
He squatted down and quickly cleaned up the broken glass on the ground, but Su Wanqing could see that his hand holding the broom was shaking slightly.
He took another cup and made the latte in silence, but his movements were no longer as smooth as before.
When he brought the cup of coffee sprinkled with cinnamon powder to Su Wanqing, his fingers tightened unconsciously, and he whispered two words, his voice so soft that it sounded like he was talking in his sleep: "Sister...?"
This name carries a great deal of uncertainty, yet is filled with a familiarity from another time and space.
Su Wanqing's fingers stopped on the wall of the cup, and she raised her head: "You... remember me?"
Lin Che shook her head in confusion, her eyebrows knitted together: "No, it's just... I don't know why I called you that. Have we met before?"
Su Wanqing did not ask any more questions. She took out a note and a pen from her backpack, wrote down an address, and pushed it in front of Lin Che.
"Can you come to this place after get off work? I want to talk to you."
As she spoke, she deliberately raised her left hand and let her sleeve slide down, revealing the purple lines left by the jade bracelet on her wrist that had merged with her skin.
Lin Che's eyes were drawn to the pattern, and he subconsciously reached out and touched the same spot on his wrist.
There was nothing there, but there was a spark of recognition in his eyes, as if something was about to break free.
He picked up the note and whispered, "I get off work at six."
Su Wanqing nodded, stood up and left. She knew that the seeds had been planted.
At 6pm, the sky was gradually darkening. A newly developed storage area on the outskirts of the city was deserted.
Su Wanqing stood in front of the door of a temporary safe house that she had just redeemed with rebate points.
Lin Che appeared at the intersection on time, carrying a half-worn backpack.
Seeing him approaching, Su Wanqing didn't say anything extra. She just raised her hand, and as her consciousness moved, the light blue system interface unfolded in front of her.
She pointed to the countdown above and succinctly explained reincarnation, the end of the world, and the upcoming "collection."
She was prepared to deal with doubts, but Lin Che's reaction surprised her.
He just listened quietly, with no doubt on his face, but rather a sense of relief and calmness.
“This explains why I have those dreams.” Lin Che looked at her and said softly, “I always dreamed that I was looking for something in the ruins, and you always appeared at the end of the dream.”
After entering the safe house, Lin Che took out a flat old iron box from his backpack and opened it carefully.
There were no personal belongings inside, but dozens of densely drawn hand-drawn sketches and some scattered metal parts.
The drawings showed various strange devices, including energy converters, signal blockers, and the most complete one, which showed a circular device that looked very similar to the core resonance amplifier that Lu Zhao had made in his previous life.
“About six months ago, I started having these strange dreams,” Lin Che explained, “and after I woke up, these things would pop up in my head.
I would draw them, and sometimes I would find parts at the junk market and try to put them together, even though I had no idea what they were for.”
Su Wanqing flipped through the drawings. The structures and parameters on them were so precise that they didn't seem like they were imagined.
One of the sketches marked with a date made her fingertips feel cold - that date was exactly the day when Lu Zhao risked his life to complete the final device in his previous life.
Lin Che picked up one of the dull metal fragments and stroked it: "I have been looking for this for a long time. I always feel that it is crucial to a certain device."
Su Wanqing recognized it as a fragment of the Weaver's technology, with a material similar to the core.
She understood that it was not just her. Time and fate were piecing together the scattered key fragments in a way she could not understand.
"This is not just a dream." Su Wanqing looked at him, "This is a memory, right? Have we really experienced... the end of the world?"
Lin Che put down the iron box, raised his hand, and placed his palm on a metal screw on the table.
After a few seconds, the screw trembled slightly and slowly floated up.
Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and it was obvious that this was quite exhausting for him.
This is the weak energy manipulation ability he retained.
Su Wanqing also stretched out her hand, and when the purple lines on her wrist lit up, a faint light appeared at the same position on Lin Che's wrist.
The lines on the wrists of the two men glowed at the same time, and the suspended screw instantly stabilized, even floating up half an inch.
The resonance remains.
Lin Che took a deep breath, and the last trace of confusion in his eyes disappeared.
He made the decision in an instant: "I trust you. What should we do next? What supplies do we need? Who should we contact?" He had no doubts at all, and that trust seemed to be an instinct engraved in his soul.
Just as the two were about to discuss their next plan, the light blue system interface in front of Su Wanqing suddenly turned into a glaring red without any warning.
【Warning: The Time Observer has locked your coordinates. 】
Almost at the same time, in the dark night sky outside the window, a strange purple lightning streaked across the sky and silently struck the top of a skyscraper in the distance.
At the edge of the roof of the building, a vague black figure was standing quietly, looking in their direction.
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