Chapter 299 Zero Round (6)
"Is the universe finite or infinite?" Rei Furuya asked.
"Unlimited." - System reply.
“If the universe is infinite, then the world lines you see are only a part of it. The future always holds infinite possibilities, but what you can see is finite. After all, nothing can see infinite things, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be infinite,” Rei Furuya said.
"We've reached the point where we have to discuss this paradoxical problem. Furuya Rei, have you been alone here for too long and are you going crazy?" the system asked.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm seriously discussing this with you guys." Furuya Rei said with a serious face, "My study plan for today is science. I think it has similarities to the magic we learned yesterday, so maybe we can combine our thinking and learn it together."
system:【……】
System: [After learning so much, do you want to become a system?]
Rei Furuya thought for a moment: "Perhaps you could try giving me an external job?"
"You can sign a new contract with us right now and start working in other worlds immediately," the system said. "In those worlds, you'll be able to learn more skills more closely; here, you can't touch anything and have no way to practice."
"What?" Rei Furuya suddenly looked up at the night sky. "You can no longer force me to sign a contract?"
[Yes, but we prefer that you take the initiative and work proactively.] The system said, [We hope you are all willing. Only with strong motivation and desire will you not waver and collapse in each cycle.]
Rei Furuya continued, "You forcibly bound me to a contract without saying a word before, which can be explained by the time loop and Pandora. Others were also bound the moment they gained the ability to travel through time. In other words, you might not actually be able to forcibly bind someone who doesn't want to form a contract with you. That's possible. To prove it, we'll see how long you can wait, and then whether you abandon me or force me to sign a new contract."
system:【……】
After saying that, he denied it again: "That's not right either. My situation is special after all. I've already signed a contract with you once. You might be able to force me to start the next mission without my consent. The reason you're dragging things out now is twofold: first, you really hope I'll work for you willingly; second, you can still squeeze out the last bit of energy by showing the 73rd cycle of the world where everyone is desperately trying to save me but can't succeed, right?"
system:【……】
The system chose not to speak to him anymore.
—All correct.
Without the special energy inherent in that world and the person's consent, even a system cannot force a contract with a person, let alone take them to other worlds.
This is part of the rules.
Without any singularities in this world, if they want to take away people from a world with complete rules, they need the consent of that being.
It's like a ghost knocking on the door; only when the person opens the door and allows it to come in can it enter and kill people.
Of course, if there are energy singularities, then those methods are unnecessary.
Similarly, people who have signed a contract once do not need to obtain their consent again.
The system can indeed forcefully remove the trough zero.
He is no longer even within the rules of this world.
But they saw it: in countless futures, none of the worldlines where Rei Furuya was forcibly taken to other worlds to continue traveling through time had a good ending.
—It's the system that doesn't have a good ending.
Without exception, Rei Furuya, having failed to make a decision and lacking strong obsessions and attachments, gradually went mad. His ability to learn from other worlds grew stronger, and he eventually perished along with them.
Therefore, they need Zero to make up his mind to work hard, and they hope that he still has the greatest hope of going home, rather than simply dying with them.
Of course, they were also reluctant to give up the continuous energy from the 73rd timeline, so they simply waited for Furuya Rei to agree while seeing how long the humans in that timeline could hold out.
Then, in the 73rd playthrough, which was already over, the world line suddenly underwent a huge change.
A new worldline, never before seen by the system, has been born.
The Sakura team actually managed to bring Rei Furuya back.
This is naturally a future that the system cannot allow.
They decided to go to the most critical point and change everything.
*
Ten years after the 73rd cycle.
"Did you deliberately lure us out?" the system asked in Morofushi Kagemitsu's mind.
Countless thoughts flashed through their shared system, but the system was unable to immediately determine which were true and which were false.
This person's brainwaves are also very complex.
[Are your pain and sorrow all a facade? No, that's not right. Such intense energy couldn't be fake.] The system gradually concludes, [You're deliberately letting your emotions grow to attract us? What are you trying to do?]
Something's not right.
—Should we leave first?
—But whatever he wants to do, he can't threaten us. Why don't we stay and see?
“Don’t run away,” said Morofushi Kagemitsu. “I never said I wouldn’t sign a contract with you.”
The rain pattered softly in the dimly lit cemetery, where the black-haired man muttered to himself.
"It's not an act; I really, really want to bring Zero back."
"Are you really willing to sign a contract with us?" the system asked.
“Of course, I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time, but not now,” said Morofushi Kagemitsu. “I still have many concerns about cooperating with you.”
"What are your concerns? Tell us about them," the system said.
Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his eyes, watching the raindrops fall from his hair, and suddenly thought to himself: "Can't you read my thoughts from my mind?"
The system immediately replied: [Yes.]
However, when human thoughts become too chaotic and complex, they become unable to ascertain the true nature of those thoughts.
Strictly speaking, everyone's thoughts are actually very complex and ever-changing, capable of generating billions of different futures in an instant.
Even humans themselves are sometimes unsure of their true thoughts at any given moment, and the choices they make can be completely different under the same conditions.
Under normal circumstances, humans don't have too many thoughts at the same time, which the system can easily capture immediately. At most, it can't distinguish which of those completely opposing thoughts is the choice to be made later.
But it seems that these undercover agents are very good at hiding their true thoughts.
Morofushi Kagemitsu spoke up: "And now?"
system:【……】
Morofushi Kagemitsu said, "Do you know what I was thinking just now?"
System: [You weren't thinking about anything at all.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu laughed: "Are you sure?"
System: [How are you trying to evade our surveillance?]
Morofushi Kagemitsu said, "Who would like to have something living in their head that can know their thoughts at any time?"
System: [If all humans could open their minds, perhaps there wouldn't be so many misunderstandings and conflicts in your world.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu said gently, "Like you? But isn't your world about to be destroyed?"
The system does not shy away from its own demise: "It is a natural process of world progress, a predetermined outcome; even the universe itself is not immortal."
“Hmm.” Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded. “So, your invasion of other worlds is also a way of rebelling against fate and trying to survive? It sounds pathetic, but that's not a reason for your invasion.”
The system disagrees: [This is a win-win situation, not an invasion. We have no intention of destroying your world. Besides, you don't need that kind of energy; it would be a waste to squander it.]
“Sustainable development is parasitism.” Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded again.
"Are you genuinely interested in signing a contract with us?" the system asked directly. "Or are you just trying to extract more information from us?"
“I really want to sign a contract with you, but I don’t quite trust you. I need to make thorough preparations before I can make a decision.” Zhu Fujingguang moved, and ripples spread across the water beneath his feet, blurring his face.
[Aren't you afraid we'll just leave if you act so confidently?] The system felt that he was very bold, even a bit abnormal, and couldn't be judged by common sense.
Morofushi Kagemitsu smirked: "The fact that you didn't leave is already the answer."
"Others speculate that the reason Noah's Ark from the future didn't travel back is because you interfered, preventing us from traveling through time again."
"But there is another possibility: we successfully rescued Zero, so we no longer need to risk traveling through time."
The long-haired man explained calmly.
"In other words, you have failed on this timeline."
"That's why you were in such a hurry, sending Huayuan Wudao away and coming to find me."
"Because you know we will succeed, but you can no longer stop our research; the only way to break through is through human subjects."
“And I am the best choice,” he said.
The system was silent for a moment, then said: "Since that's what you think, why are you still willing to sign a contract with us?"
Morofushi Kagemitsu replied, "When you take action, the timeline also shifts. What if signing a contract with you is a crucial step towards future success? What if you then seek out other people to carry out some dangerous actions?"
His gaze darkened: "What if... Zero has been wandering outside for too long and has run into some trouble?"
【Yes, he's in a lot of trouble right now!】The system answered instantly, almost playing out Furuya Rei's current situation in Zero's Zero loop in his mind, but then suddenly realized that this might be a tactic and immediately shut up.
"What happened to Zero? Where did you take him and what did you do with him?" Morofushi Kagemitsu pressed.
The system cautiously replied, "We can't go into specifics, but the reason we came to you is because he's nearing his limit. If we delay any longer, Furuya Rei will be beyond repair, and we'll have to regretfully give up on him."
A chill flashed in Morobuchi Kagemitsu's eyes.
But he quickly laughed again and said, "I don't believe it. I'm more inclined to believe that you're coming to me at this time because our success is just around the corner, so you want to use me to sabotage the plan."
"What? Is tonight's new experimental meeting the turning point?" he asked.
The system said: [You're overthinking it.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu calmly said, "We've been thinking that, according to the plan, we should have at least created a Möbius strip that would allow Noah's Ark to travel freely through time and space, but we haven't been able to break through that final step."
“You’re the one getting in our way,” he said.
The system did not answer his question, which he had stated affirmatively.
Morofushi Kagemitsu continued, "Experiments always encounter many problems, big and small, but we've encountered far too many, or rather, we've never had a smooth one. We've tried almost every wrong path to get to where we are today."
He stretched out his hand, and the rainwater wet and washed away the floral mud from his hands.
"Could tonight's experiment be the turning point where quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes?" he murmured. "What exactly caused our sudden success?"
The system didn't want to answer him.
It wasn't a sudden success; it was the result of their long-term, procrastinating efforts.
However, sometimes, the blockade and breakthroughs in human technology are unreasonable. One may never be able to figure out a problem in a lifetime, or one may suddenly have a flash of inspiration or succeed by chance.
The systems have tried every possible way to indirectly influence their experiments.
However, the research progress on the cosmic Möbius strip had accumulated to the point where a breakthrough was imminent.
Even if it doesn't happen tonight, it might succeed in the next experiment, or the one after that, at the latest within a year.
If we were to forcefully and drastically reverse this world line by any means necessary, although it could change that future, the cost would be too great and not worthwhile.
The system still wants to try other methods.
According to their calculations, as long as they sign a contract with Morofushi Kagemitsu, they could easily change the world line by using him, and even threaten Furuya Rei on the other side.
Actually, if it weren't for the extreme emotional fluctuations on Morofushi Kagemitsu's side, they originally intended to bind themselves to Sawada Hiroki.
But upon closer examination, Morofushi Kagemitsu was indeed the best choice.
"If you're unwilling to sign a contract with us, then we'll find someone else," the system said. "Actually, choosing Hiroki Sawada would be more straightforward."
"Do I really have to say it a third time?" Morofushi Kagemitsu sighed. "I've already said it, I've been waiting for you all along, and my desire to sign a contract with you is the strongest. You can feel it, right?"
[But you haven't directly agreed to sign a contract with us.] The system truly couldn't understand him, and upon asking the question, it probed his thoughts further: [Besides, you believe you can succeed without the system, so why sign a contract with us? You're contradictory.]
Among countless thoughts, some true, some false, some straightforward, and some concealed, the system finally captured a few that were relatively obvious.
"I've said this before, but you didn't believe me."
Morofushi Kagemitsu knelt down, his pale fingertips gently touching the name on the tombstone, and whispered, "No matter how many theories there are, I'm worried about Zero and want to be by his side to face all the problems."
"You're lying. You clearly want to be tainted by our rules and power, to become the final anchor point of the experiment, and to make the cosmic Möbius strip perfect immediately," the system said directly.
Sakura Team needs an anchor point.
An anchor point that can reach four dimensions is needed to access the rules of four dimensions, thereby establishing a complete and stable cosmic Möbius strip that could even allow humans to pass through.
For example, Pandora, Huayuan Martial Arts, and the system.
A half-finished time machine would have worked, but it wasn't good enough, and it kept failing.
They started thinking about this idea ten years ago. But they couldn't use Huayuan Martial Arts for experiments that would be dangerous enough to kill people, and the system couldn't catch them at all, so it's been delayed until now.
Now, Huayuan Martial Arts has also left.
And after another decade, they still didn't discover that there was a second Pandora in this world.
They could only turn their attention to other worlds again—which was also the topic of their experiment tonight.
In the future seen by the system, they successfully created a worldline detector capable of detecting those with the power to travel through time and space, allowing Noah's Ark to successfully travel to other worlds and come into contact with singularities, thus making Noah's Ark the anchor point.
After Noah's Ark returned, using it as an anchor point, the cosmic Möbius strip was completely completed.
Looking across the entire World Tree, at its end, the Sakura Squad finally discovered Rei Furuya, whose time had been frozen in the Zero Dimension, and successfully brought him back.
This is the future the system wants to change.
The future will indeed change, but Morofushi Kagemitsu's choice is truly incomprehensible to them.
"You are human," the system said. "Doing this could kill you, the kind of death we can't save."
“Yes,” said Morofushi Kagemitsu, “I’m ready.”
"Even if you survive, you will remain bound to us and unable to escape," the system said.
“It’s alright.” Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his eyes and touched the cherry blossom petals. “If we don’t succeed and there’s no way to get rid of you, then Zero won’t be able to escape your control either. At that time, Zero will be taken to some unknown place by you, and we don’t know what dangers he will encounter… I don’t know anything, it’s all just speculation.”
He often worried: Would bringing Zero back be enough? How could they possibly break free from the system's binding? If the system wasn't dealt with, would it really not take Zero away again? Would they be able to find Zero successfully next time?
"Being driven by emotions is indeed humanity's greatest strength and its greatest weakness," the system couldn't help but remark.
“I just thought I should be with him.” Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled and said, “We’re childhood friends, we grew up together, went to school together, went to police academy together, and went undercover together. So, it’s only natural that we sign a contract with the system together to do missions in other worlds, right?”
system:【? 】
The system finally believed his explanation, but still couldn't understand it.
“Even in hell, it’s better to walk together,” Morofushi Kagemitsu sighed. “Wherever Zero is, take me to see him.”
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