Chapter 53: Life for Life Why did he die and a jerk like you still…
In the mall atrium not far away, the fire alarm was still blaring.
In this unnoticed corner, the agents have blocked all escape routes.
Wen Yi stood in the middle of the crowd and looked around.
Good, there are no irrelevant people here.
She was ready. Once the agents took action, she would resist at all costs, even if it meant a fight to the death.
However, the agents were slow to step forward.
Just as she was hesitating whether to strike first, Zhang Mingyuan slowly stepped forward, his tone calm but with the pressure of a superior:
"Think carefully before you act. Every decision you make may have unintended consequences."
Wen Yi was stunned for a moment.
He did not order her to be rounded up, nor did he threaten her with a gun, he just stared at her quietly.
"The greater your power, the more variables it brings. Are you sure you can bear the consequences?"
The air was silent for a moment.
Wen Yi's breathing stagnated slightly, and many thoughts flashed through her mind.
Cao Mo's instructions before leaving, those people she failed to save, and the fate she wanted to change but couldn't.
She once thought that she had the power to change the future, but she found that she could not control cause and effect.
A trace of hesitation flashed across Wen Yi's eyes, and she suddenly lost the courage to continue fighting.
Zhang Mingyuan took a step closer, his tone softening. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I just want you to know that you're here looking for an answer. And I can give you that answer."
He slowly extended his hand and made an inviting gesture.
Behind him, the agents quickly made way for him.
*
Yunhe High-tech Park
When Wen Yi followed Zhang Mingyuan into the building, she thought she would be taken to a cruel human laboratory.
But this time she guessed wrong.
Zhang Mingyuan's research facility resembles an ordinary university professor's office. No metal tables or restraints, just long tables piled high with physics books, walls densely covered with diagrams and formulas, and high-performance computers of all sizes.
Several researchers are sitting at their desks typing code, which looks more like the R&D center of a technology company, developing new systems rather than studying how to manipulate time and space.
"Didn't you... capture me to do experiments?" Wen Yi couldn't help but ask.
Zhang Mingyuan glanced at her and said, "You know more than I thought. This is the core laboratory of the 'Energy Modeling Group'. We don't conduct human experiments here, nor are we responsible for manufacturing 'time-space shuttles'."
Wen Yi was confused: "Then why did you want me to come..."
Zhang Mingyuan poured her a glass of water and handed it to her: "Can you tell me where you are from?"
Wen Yi looked down at the water in the cup and after a moment of silence, she replied, "From... the future."
Zhang Mingyuan was not surprised at all: "Why are you here?"
Wen Yi's heart tightened. She originally thought she came here to change her fate, but now she was not sure what she was doing.
"I...I want to save someone."
"Did you succeed?"
“…” After a long time, she shook her head.
Zhang Mingyuan said calmly, "Even the flutter of a butterfly's wings can cause a storm. If you really want to change your fate, you must first learn to understand it."
Wen Yi looked up and met his gaze, confusion in her eyes.
Zhang Mingyuan walked to the computer and showed Wen Yi a criss-crossing network diagram, which reminded her of the light cube she saw every time she went back in time.
"Time isn't a straight line," he explained, pointing to a diagram on the screen. "It's more like a multidimensional web, with each node representing a branch of time. Every choice we make, every action we take, creates a new branch on the timeline."
Wen Yi listened quietly. Ever since she awakened her powers, she had been jumping around in time, and now she was truly understanding it.
"Perhaps you think you have the ability to influence time and can change your fate at will." Zhang Mingyuan's eyes fell on her, "But in fact, some nodes cannot be changed."
Wen Yi turned around and looked at him: "What do you mean?"
“Some things, no matter how hard you try, will develop in a predetermined direction. Even if you force your way out of it, fate will always find another way to ‘set things right.’”
Her heart was shocked: "That is to say, even if I go back to the past, I may not be able to change the final result."
"You could say that." He nodded. "Believe me, you're not the first person who can go back to the past. There are always people who try to change history, but only a few succeed. Because once those key nodes are broken, they will be automatically repaired."
Wen Yi was silent for a moment, as if accepting this explanation: "Then what can I change?"
“You can’t change everyone’s destiny, but you can influence certain nodes.”
A glimmer of hope immediately ignited in her eyes: "Then what should I do?"
"First, you have to find those nodes that are allowed to be changed—we call them 'mutable nodes.' Second, you need to have enough energy to force that change."
Zhang Mingyuan pointed to the countless derivation formulas on the wall and said, "The mission of our institute is to identify those variables that can be manipulated. We build mathematical models and predict the consequences of these changes."
Wen Yi suddenly remembered something and looked up to ask him, "Then why do you capture people with special abilities for experiments?"
Zhang Mingyuan's facial wrinkles deepened. "When we attempt to travel through time and space, we not only need the hardware support from Xu Xiaoyi, but also a stable energy model. To build this energy model, we need to test different variables. The special energy fluctuations released by spacetime psychics are essential data for research."
Wen Yi looked at Zhang Mingyu's calm face in disbelief: "So those inhumane experiments... were just for a bunch of cold data?"
Zhang Mingyuan didn't deny or defend himself, but simply replied calmly, "Scientific progress is never kind, and sometimes even cruel. It comes at a price and requires sacrifice, just like changing one's destiny requires a price."
Wen Yi suddenly smashed the cup in her hand to the ground, splashing water all over the floor.
When the researchers who were working heard the noise, they quickly left the office.
There were only two of them left in the room.
"Stop making sarcastic remarks here!"
She glared at him, "Have you ever seen how cruel those experiments were? I've been through it! I know every bit of the pain those people went through!"
Her voice was filled with anger. "They are living people, not statistics! What you are doing is inhumane! You are not sacrificing yourself for science, you are using blood to verify your theories and human lives to realize your ideals!"
Zhang Mingyuan's expression remained unchanged. "I don't think I've done anything wrong. Behind every major scientific breakthrough, there are sacrifices. You're just too idealistic."
"You!" Wen Yi opened her mouth, Xu Xiaoyi's face flashed through her mind, and her heart suddenly ached.
Pain, guilt, and anger were running rampant in her mind. She couldn't help but curse, "If you were going to sacrifice your life, why didn't you sacrifice your own? Why?! Why did a good man like him die, while a rotten person like you is still alive! Why don't you just die?!"
The room suddenly became quiet.
"You——" Zhang Mingyuan opened his eyes wide, his expression changed for the first time, and his hands suddenly clenched.
Then he quickly regained his composure and slowly said, "It's not that I don't want to sacrifice myself."
He said word by word, “If I had that ability, I would also be willing to sacrifice for science.
But I didn't. I could only get the answers through research and find a way to change my destiny, even if it meant sacrifice."
Wen Yi sneered: "So you feel justified in sacrificing others?"
Zhang Mingyuan was silent for a moment. "Now I am only one step away from success. There is no turning back. If I give up now, all my sacrifices will be in vain."
His dark gaze fell on Wen Yi, "Don't you want to save people? If you want to save others, you must make a choice. Do you want to let these people sacrifice in vain? Or are you willing to join the game?"
Wen Yi stared at Zhang Mingyuan, anger burning in her eyes: "Speak clearly."
"You are a successful traverser. I need to obtain complete energy fluctuation data through you."
Wen Yi raised her eyebrows and sneered, "Okay, I can cooperate with you in the experiment, but I have one condition. You must personally undergo the same experiment."
Zhang Mingyuan's face turned cold and he didn't answer immediately, as if he was measuring the weight of her words.
Wen Yi couldn't help but sneer: "What? Are you hesitating? Didn't you say shamelessly that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for science?"
After a long while, he slowly said, "I don't think this sacrifice is necessary."
"No! I think it's necessary! Why is the sacrifice of others necessary?"
She suddenly raised her voice. "You traded other people's suffering for data. Now it's your turn! Will you trade your life for it?"
Zhang Mingyuan avoided her burning gaze, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
He tried to soften his tone and said, "I understand your anger. But their sacrifice is not what I want."
He tried to propose to Wen Yi: "If you are willing to cooperate with me in obtaining the necessary data, I can promise you: this is the last experiment. I will personally destroy all experimental equipment and terminate the entire project."
This proposal seemed like some kind of compromise, which made Wen Yi feel a little hesitant.
Can he believe what he said? She stared at Zhang Mingyuan's face, trying to find even the slightest trace of sincerity.
Experience and lessons taught her that she shouldn't trust strangers easily!
The office was dead silent.
Wen Yi's silence has already given the answer.
Zhang Mingyuan's expression finally turned cold, and the forced smile on the corner of his mouth completely disappeared, returning to that condescending arrogance.
He slowly walked to his desk and pulled out a palm-sized metal device that resembled a flashlight from a drawer.
This is the suppressor he designed, which uses high-frequency pulses to interfere with brain wave resonance and is specifically used to subdue people with special abilities.
"In that case," he approached slowly, his eyes revealing a hint of cruelty, "then we can only use another method."
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