39 The Death of Qin Shi Huang
◎From now on, this day every year will be the anniversary of my death◎
Zhu Heng put away the photo of herself from the past, changed into her nurse outfit again, and returned to the old dean's residence.
The courtyard had just been cleaned, and there was still a pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with dust, permeating the entire space.
Zhu Heng lowered his eyes and glanced at him.
The dean's eldest son was communicating remotely with someone at the door. The old silver watch on his wrist flashed in the sunlight, and the strap had been worn and faded.
Listening to the conversation, they were talking about business matters.
"Hey, Secretary Li, this is me. Last time I went on a trip with Mr. Zhang, he said he'd give us a few more days to think about that deal. So, what's Mr. Zhang saying now? Could you please help me find out? Thank you so much."
The boss nodded and ended the call. He glanced into the courtyard with a worried look on his face.
Zhu Heng lowered his head, walked past him, and pushed the cart into the house.
The second child was mixing rice porridge in front of the bed, and while mixing, he was checking the menu in his hand.
When Zhu Heng came in, he heard her whisper to the third child, "...Xiao Heng is right, our mother seems to have a much larger appetite. Did the doctor say it's okay?"
The third brother, without even looking up, was counting the bills. "Mom doesn't have much savings. She gave it all to this poor orphanage. Big brother's business isn't doing well either. We don't know how much longer this little fortune will last. We can't let Mom eat poorly, can we? She's getting better... Hey, nurse, the IV is almost done."
Zhu Heng said nothing, lowered his head even more, arranged the equipment that would be used in the cart one by one, and changed the infusion bottle for the old dean.
The third brother's light voice reached Zhu Heng's ears: "Keeping an extra nurse here will cost money, right? That's another expense..."
There was a noise coming from the bed. The old dean had woken up.
She first glanced at the second and third children beside her, her eyes trembling as if she was looking for someone.
The old dean's gaze passed over Zhu Heng.
Zhu Heng's whole body stiffened.
He felt that gaze, clearer than ever.
Zhu Heng met the dean's gaze with some uncertainty.
But the old man only stayed on him for a second, and quickly moved away, grabbed the third brother's hand and asked: "Where is the eldest brother? Ask the eldest brother to come in, I want to tell you something."
Zhu Heng changed the dressing very slowly, as if in slow motion.
The eldest son was called to the bedside, and the three children gathered together and surrounded the old man.
Zhu Heng looked like an invisible person who was completely out of the matter, and even standing next to the old dean, he had no sense of existence.
He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze fixed on the calendar on the wall.
The movements of his hands froze at this moment, and he even trembled slightly.
Today is July 9th.
The new IV bottle was placed above the old dean's head. She stared intently at the dripping liquid, then suddenly said, "Please remember my will."
The three people looked at each other.
It should just be normal procedure, they comforted themselves.
But then I heard the old man say: "First, from now on, this day of every year will be the anniversary of my death..."
These words were like a thunderclap, sending ripples through the house.
"Mother!"
"Mom, what are you talking about?"
The old man ignored it and continued clearly, "Second, tell Xiaoheng not to come back. I'm leaving now."
Everyone felt that they had difficulty breathing, and then they saw the old man pull out the infusion needle, take out an unknown medicine from under his body, and inject it directly into the back of his hand.
Zhu Heng, who was close to her, immediately tried to stop him, but he was a step too late. The medicine had already been injected into her body by the old man. She could still breathe normally, but everyone at the scene knew that in less than ten minutes, her body would slowly cool down, her breathing would gradually stop, and her muscles would continue to stiffen.
A vibrant but already aging life will completely leave them in a few minutes.
Zhu Heng looked at the old man and his eyes turned red for no reason.
He didn't know what was wrong with him, and suddenly he remembered that when he was a child, when other children bullied him, the old director would carry him back to the house, turn on those colorful old TV dramas, watch them with him, and spend sleepless nights with him.
In fact, he didn't care, but the old dean always protected him well.
She pressed his head and said half jokingly and half seriously: "Our Xiaoheng, from now on, you must fly far away and never come back."
-
On the hospital bed, the old dean suddenly pulled Zhu Heng's hand and called him in a weak voice: "You..."
Zhu Heng came back to his senses and shuddered all over.
The old dean stared into Zhu Heng's eyes, gently hooked his fingers, and moved his lips as if he wanted to say something.
Zhu Heng had no choice but to lean over and get closer to her, feeling her increasingly weak breath.
"You...you have to do what you want to do." said the old dean.
Zhu Heng stared at the old dean who said this to him and was speechless for a long time.
-
Bus No. 1634 finally stopped.
Everyone tentatively looked outside and found that the bus was parked in front of the Qin Shi Huang humanoid computer. The color of the computer was the same as it was at the beginning, withered and gray, without any change.
Tao Ran hesitated: "Could it be that we guessed the time wrong?"
Xie Shen glanced at him leisurely: "Then why did the bus stop?"
"The time should be correct." Wang Kunshu raised an eyebrow. "It's just that the process isn't complete yet. The shutdown should be so we can find the maintenance personnel, tell them the actual time of Qin Shi Huang's computer's death, identify the faulty parts, and complete the restart. Only then will it be considered complete."
"You're right." Xu Wenjun said and took the lead.
She walked to the humanoid computer. The huge iron door was rusty. Xu Wenjun reached out and pushed it with a little force, but found that the door was ajar and not closed.
Has anyone been here?
Xu Wenjun's expression changed, and he pushed the door open and walked in.
Everyone arrived shortly afterwards and was stunned as they entered the iron gate.
All that was visible was a huge, messy and dim space. In the middle, a beam of sunlight shone from the top, landing on everyone's heads. The ground was covered with messy wires of various colors, old machines were silent, and a smell of dust wafted towards everyone.
Xu Wenjun fanned away the dust and just as he put his hands down, he saw a middle-aged man standing under a machine in front of him.
The man, dressed in work clothes, had his back to the crowd, checking machine parts. Hearing the noise behind him, he turned around and glanced at everyone, frowning slightly: "Who are you...?"
"We're here to help repair the computer." Seeing that no one was talking, Tao Ran poked his head out from behind Xu Wenjun and asked, "Are you the maintenance worker?"
"Help with repairs?" The man laughed, his eyes tinged with disdain. "Are you sure the time we found this time is correct?"
As he spoke, he slowly backed away, pulled up a chair and sat down.
this time?
Xu Wenjun sensed a hidden meaning in his words: "Has anyone looked for me before?"
"Someone has looked for it three times before, and they were wrong all three times." The man laughed again, "...and that person was me."
"What's the price for finding fault?"
"Change the timeline," the man said.
Everyone looked at each other, not quite understanding what was said.
The man rubbed his leg, took a deep breath, and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, my leg was injured in a car accident ten years ago. I've been lame for ten years. I just had surgery a few days ago. I can't stand for long. Please forgive me."
The man's eyes wandered off into the distance, seemingly unfocused, as he slowly recalled, "The first time, I found the parts from August 3rd and replaced them. As a result, two timelines, ten years apart, briefly intersected and overlapped. But at the time, I had no idea of the consequences."
Xu Wenjun: "Then how did you find out?"
Hearing this, the man glanced at everyone. He smiled and said meaningfully, "Because of you."
Everyone was stunned.
Xu Wenjun was surprised at first. She stared at the man's face for a few seconds, then suddenly frowned: "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
The man smiled and replied, "After replacing the parts the first time, I found that the computer didn't restart. I knew I had failed, so I tried again. I replaced it with the parts from June 3rd. The two timelines overlapped again, and then I found some strange memories in my mind."
"Is it related to us?" Wang Kunshu asked.
The man nodded. "Yes, you were right at that point where the timelines intersected. Ten years ago, I saw you in front of a fruit shop while riding my motorcycle. Ten years later, a few days ago, I passed by the fruit shop and saw you again. These two encounters were ten years apart, but your appearance and attire are exactly the same. In fact, it wasn't just these two times. I also saw you on the bus. That's why I finally believe that the timelines are messed up because of my maintenance error."
He rested for a moment, rubbed his knees, and exhaled. "That was the first time the maintenance at the fruit shop was wrong. As for the bus, it was probably the second time. Ten years ago, I should have been in the same time and space as you, but I happened to be in a car accident at that time, so I didn't notice you."
Xie Shen asked: "What about the third time?"
"The third time I replaced the parts from July 3rd, I also wanted to verify the issues with the previous two timelines. As it turned out, my guess was correct. The timelines overlapped again, but this time I didn't run into you. The people I saw should be your two companions. One was a man in black who I met when I was rushed to the hospital after the car accident ten years ago."
Wang Kunshu and Xie Shen exchanged glances.
It's Helan Road.
The man continued, "I also met the other one in the hospital. I had surgery there a few days ago, and we chatted in the elevator. Actually, I was the one who initiated it. I used some subtle tactics to start a conversation with him, and he didn't seem to notice the problem with the timeline."
Xu Wenjun's eyes fluctuated slightly.
It seems that Zhu Heng's timeline is the same as theirs; only Helan Dao is on the timeline ten years ago.
Tao Ran sighed, "You're really persistent. You must fix the computer."
"Persistent?" the man laughed. "Ever since the computer went on strike, the track change has caused information delays and scheduling difficulties, leading to countless accidents. I'm one of the victims. So, if not for the sake of the entire city, then just for myself, I have to fix it."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
The man looked at them and asked, "So, what day do you think Qin Shi Huang died?"
Xu Wenjun stated the date confidently: "My answer is September 3rd, according to the Qin calendar. Want to try it?"
【Author’s words】
Sorry! I'm late! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-07-06 02:29:45 and 2022-07-10 18:48:03~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 3 bottles from Shengsi;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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