Different times and spaces, the same ellipse
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning, after Xiao Liunian, the Cat System, and everyone else had breakfast, Xiao Liunian took the Cat System on horseback and then used light footwork to go directly to a place outside Pingjiang City.
"Mumu, how did you pinpoint the location of the treasure?" the system asked.
Last night, while the system was awake, it carefully examined the letter and map left by Tian Yang with its two big eyes.
It can be said that they scanned the map inch by inch, and the poems left on the letters were explored word by word.
So now the cat can recite the poem by heart! But hard work doesn't always pay off, and there are still no clues about the treasure.
“The outline of Pingjiang City can be abstracted as a huge ellipse, with a major axis of 50 kilometers and a vertical axis of 48 kilometers,” Xiao Liunian said.
Based on the map left by Tian Yang and the clues from the mysterious woman—dots, lines, and circles—Xiao Liunian has figured out the clues contained in the poem.
"That's an ellipse? Isn't that a map?" The system cat wondered, its two big eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge.
"Although many of the marked places have disappeared into the annals of history due to the passage of time."
"However, if we check the relevant records of Pingjiang City in historical materials and then carefully compare and analyze them, we should still be able to find some clues," Xiao Liunian continued to explain.
“Some people, in order to get ahead, may have already gone to look up historical records last night to find information about Pingjiang City.” Although Xiao Liunian used the word “may,” his tone was one of certainty.
"If everyone from the Huayue Sect goes outside Pingjiang City, it would be too unconventional and different from others, making them easy targets. That's why you had Lan Sa lead people to check historical records as well. This way, the Huayue Sect won't attract attention, and we can secretly find the treasure first!" The system used two four-character phrases in a row.
"System, you are incredibly intelligent and unparalleled. We are perfectly in sync and truly the best partners!" After hearing Miaomiaomiao's voice, Xiao Liunian started praising her.
"Mumu, the outer outline of Pingjiang City is an ellipse, and then what?" The system remembered the question it wanted to ask at the beginning, so it turned back to the topic of treasure hunting.
“There is also a river flowing through Pingjiang City. Yesterday, I placed the abstract ellipse of Pingjiang City into a coordinate system and found that this river is very special. It happens to pass through the right focus of the ellipse.” Xiao Liunian felt like he was giving a treasure hunt report, and he was the main speaker of this report.
"And then?" The participating cat member nodded in agreement and affirmation, finding the report very interesting, and then eagerly asked the follow-up question.
"You retrieve the letter content entered into the system and use system analysis, not 'cat head analysis'."
"You are a system with super strong computing and analytical capabilities."
When Xiao Liunian groggily opened his eyes in the middle of the night last night, he happened to see two large searchlights, each the size of a copper bell, carefully scanning a map in the darkness.
That was a cuteness that Xiao Liunian could not describe with words.
Because Xiao Liunian really wanted to see the adorable cat again, he didn't remind the cat that it was a system with computational and analytical functions.
I remember there was a poem in the letter:
A river flows against a reef, as if it were on a rock;
With the seven strings in place, the music is complete.
When perfection prevails, all things fall to the ground!
If you wish to ask whose music it is, seek it on the righteous path.
Cat thinks this is a fabricated poem, and even using the system's analysis function, it may not be possible to analyze the poem's meaning.
Tian Yang wasn't afraid that once this poem was exposed, his lifelong reputation would be tainted in a different way.
"Actually, the translation is: Draw a circle with the focus as the center and the chord length seven times that of the focus as the radius."
"The circle intersects the horizontal and vertical coordinate axes. Take the intersection point of the circle with the positive half-axis of the two coordinate axes."
"The treasure is located at the midpoint between these two points!"
“I calculated it last night. The center is (7, 0), the radius is approximately 75, and it intersects the horizontal axis at the positive half axis (82, 0) and (0, 75).
"Then the midpoint is near the position (41, 37.5)." Xiao Liunian, playing a math teacher, begins to answer the question for the only cat student.
The system in Xiao Liunian's arms can only be described as utterly astounding.
"Who exactly is the system?!" the cat roared inwardly.
"Mumu, are you so sure?" The cat was still struggling.
"Ninety percent!" Xiao Liunian himself wasn't 100 percent sure, after all, mathematical modeling data for many practical problems is never very accurate.
"What about the other ten percent?" the cat asked curiously.
The host's demeanor exuded 100% confidence, and the Cat System even considered giving Xiao Liunian an extra 10% praise points.
"Because this is a mathematical model of a real-world problem, the following errors are likely to occur when solving it:"
First, in data processing, rounding some data to the nearest integer can easily lead to errors;
Second, regarding the establishment of the coordinate system, I chose to establish a Cartesian coordinate system with the east and north as the positive directions. If Tian Yang did not establish the system in this way, it would not be considered an error, but a complete mistake!
Third, after determining the location, when heading there, although I tried my best to use my light-footed skills to arrive in a straight line, the actual road conditions could not guarantee a straight path, which would lead to some errors. "Xiao Liunian finished the treasure hunt analysis report.
"Mumu! Mumu! Mumu!" The cat in his arms rubbed its head against Xiao Liunian's neck, its expression seemingly declaring to everyone: My host is the most powerful.
"As for whether we can find the treasure after we go there, let's leave it to fate. There's a saying that goes, 'Man proposes, God disposes.'" Xiao Liunian pressed the cat's head hard with his hand, as if he was drawing some kind of power from the fluffy head.
"What if fate doesn't grant our wish?" the cat in my arms asked anxiously, meowing.
“If this plan fails, then we’ll try again, twice, many times. I have plenty of time!” Xiao Liunian said firmly yet casually.
An hour later, Xiao Liunian and Maomao arrived at their destination.
Both the person and the cat were stunned by the scene before them.
There, a magnificent waterfall, seemingly capable of crushing a thousand pounds, stood vertically on the cliff. According to historical records, this waterfall has stood here for thousands of years.
"Mumu, we're here! Let's go treasure hunting!" The cat system, rubbing its paws and feet, excitedly shouted, ready to go on a big adventure.
The sound of the water is too loud, and the cat, afraid that the energy of its voice will be absorbed by the waterfall, is meowing loudly!
“I believe that God is on our side this time!” Xiao Liunian said confidently.
Xiao Liunian picked up several stones from the side and then, carrying a powerful force that seemed to pierce through the air, rushed straight towards the waterfall in all directions.
Several stones pierced through the waterfall, disappearing from the sight of the man and the cat, and went to another space.
Just as Xiao Liunian had predicted, the world truly is a magical 'circle'! What a twist of fate!
"So, our treasure hunt is going to end before it even begins?" Cat's numb, inhuman state reappeared, but the energy of this sentence was absorbed by the waterfall, so Xiao Liunian didn't hear it.
After taking out the ancient version of the raincoat prepared in the system space, Xiao Liunian and the cat put it on. Then, Xiao Liunian picked up the cat and hid it.
Although the fluffy thing is part of the system and the fur might not get wet, what if it does? If the fur gets wet and the cat becomes a drenched mess, that would be a bit too pitiful.
He then used his lightness skill to rush straight towards the waterfall, following the trajectory of the disappearing stone.
A moment later.
A man and a cat passed through the waterfall and entered the interior, where a natural cave appeared before them, spacious and deep, attracting the brave to explore further.
Xiao Liunian casually picked up a pile of stones and stored them as a spare. He threw them as he walked, listening to the echoes as he threw them to estimate the depth of the cave.
Xiao Liunian lit another torch, held it in his hand, and slowly explored deeper into the cave.
Upon reaching the depths of the cave, a large box was found quietly placed on an open space.
This large box occupies this entire luxurious space, quietly waiting here for the right person to open it.
The box, made of an unknown material, was entirely white jade in color, and its surface radiated a dazzling light that illuminated the vast expanse of land.
Xiao Liunian planted the torch in the open space next to him, and the two of them, one human and one cat, slowly approached the box.
The top surface of the box is a 9x9 grid with a few small squares scattered on it. These small squares are fixed in place and cannot be removed. At the same time, there are many small squares on the right side of the grid, with the numbers 1-9 on them.
"This is Sudoku!!!"
Am I here on a treasure hunt?
"Have I traveled back to a certain time?"
"Why not design a derivative to decrypt the cipher?"
A barrage of comments floated through Xiao Liunian's mind.
A helpful tip is left at the bottom of the table.
Kind tips:
1. Once you are destined to fill in the blanks, you must finish within three minutes, otherwise the box will destroy itself and you will never have another chance to open it.
2. If you are destined to do this, you will have three chances to make a mistake when filling in the blanks; otherwise, the box will destroy itself and you will have no chance to open it again.
3. To the person destined to meet you, I wish you success.
"Mumu, should we move it back to open it, or open it here?" The cat never doubted its host's intelligence and ability.
Opening this box was a piece of cake for Xiao Liunian!
If Xiao Liunian can't open it, the system can too. Cat is a powerful system with strong computing capabilities, how could it not be able to solve this problem?
"Here it is. Give me some time to think it over!"
Xiao Liunian then began to ponder how to mentally fill in the blanks and find the correct answer. That was something no one else could know.
After the cat licked its paws, it scratched its face a few times, or rather, after the cat licked its paws and washed its face for a while.
"Fill it in!" Xiao Liunian began filling in the numbers.
About a minute later, a sound like a lock being opened came from the box.
Xiao Liunian opened the box.
So what's inside the box? Let's explore together from the cat's big-eyed perspective.
"Such a big box, containing only a map and a letter!" The cat stretched out its two paws to show how big the box was.
It brought its two paws together, gesturing that the letter and map were tiny and negligible.
"Such a big box!"
"A suitcase that can fit both of us and our cat inside!"
"All I had was a lonely letter and a map!"
The cat didn't understand, so it continued to display comments.
Meow! Meow! Meow!
“It’s not just a map and a letter all alone. The map and the letter keep each other company, so how can you say they’re all alone?” Xiao Liunian was charmed by the fluffy cuteness and casually replied to one of the cat’s comments.
Xiao Liunian picked up the letter and the map.
"Kitty! We're rich!" Xiao Liunian said solemnly and excitedly, then picked up the kitten and started spinning around.
"Huh?" Dizzy and seeing stars, the cat could only utter a single syllable.
"This is a map showing the distribution of suspected gold, silver, and other mineral deposits! We can mine lots and lots of gold and silver in the future, and we can sleep on gold." Xiao Liunian showed the map he took out of the box to the cat.
"What did the letter say?" The cat itself didn't have a particularly strong desire for gold, since its host wouldn't let it lack money anyway.
And the cat doesn't want to sleep on gold, it only wants to sleep on points!
"A letter that may have been left by a fellow villager or elder to those who came after." Xiao Liunian handed the letter to the system.
The following is the content of the letter.
Hello!
My fellow human, my name is Tian Yang, I come from Earth, and I arrived here during a flight.
Those who came here with me should be all the passengers and crew members of the plane.
But for some reason, we didn't get together after we arrived here, but instead separated. I came to this conclusion because I later met some passengers from the plane.
Did you know that before me, other fellow villagers also came here a long time ago? The martial arts skill level classification was probably set by our fellow villagers.
I don't know how you feel, but I shed a few tears when I learned about the martial arts skill level system here.
Influenced by this, when I later compiled a martial arts manual, I named it "Real Analysis Functions" and popularized it, making it a slightly best-selling book. I hope that if any fellow countrymen come here in the future, they can find some comfort!
After they met, they tried together to find their way home, and named it "Project Home".
However, in this process, some people, unable to escape death, were buried by this land, carrying with them their longing for their families on the other side, becoming a small mound of earth.
They told us that if we found our way home, we should bring them some soil back with us.
Some people met their lovers or friends here and started a new home.
People, seeing no hope of returning home, choose to seal the past away forever in a corner of their hearts.
To start a new life in this world with longing and apologies.
Some people gain many things, such as power, wealth, and status, because of their unique abilities that set them apart from the rest of the world. Then they choose to remain in obscurity and withdraw from the plan.
For about ten years, the progress of the "Return Journey Project" has been zero, and the number of participants in the "Return Journey Project" will also be reduced to zero, leaving only myself.
At that time, I was also very confused, and I even thought about giving up and stopping, or maybe I should just live here.
But a voice inside me keeps asking myself, "Your family and friends aren't here, are you going to give up?"
Your dreams can't be realized here either, are you going to give up?
After much hesitation and procrastination, I've decided to continue, even if it's just me. The "Return Home Plan" must be carried through to the end!
Reflecting on our past actions, I've come to the conclusion that this world is too mysterious, and one person's strength is ultimately limited.
Therefore, I decided to acquire some worldly power, cultivate martial arts, unify the country, and integrate more human, material, and financial resources to explore this world.
Finally, I may have found a way home. I use the word "maybe" because I don't know if this road leads to my hometown, but I had no choice but to try. Maybe I succeeded.
Before I leave, I'm leaving this letter. If you also want to go home, I hope this letter will give you hope.
As for the other mineral distribution map, consider it my start-up capital for my fellow villager!
Finally, I hope that both I, now and you, will be able to return home safely!
Goodbye! See you again!
"Mumu, do you think she went back?" Maomao put the letter Xiao Liunian handed over into her spatial storage.
"Go back now!" Xiao Liunian said with a blessing in his voice.
Such a hardworking person, someone who longs to go home so much, will surely succeed!
"Mumu, do you want to go home?" This was the first time the system had asked its host, Lin Mu, this question.
In the past, the hosts were all selected deceased individuals, but this time, when the system was bound, Cat didn't know what Lin Mu's status was on Earth.
"It's time to go back to Pingjiang City. We need to set off for Ganzhou tonight." Xiao Liunian didn't answer the system's question but chose to change the subject.
Before leaving.
Xiao Liunian put the complete version of "Real Analysis" into the box, along with a pile of gold and silver, and then locked the box again.
Before locking the box, Xiao Liunian increased the number of trial and error attempts to 100 and set the time limit to one hour.
What if someone comes here in the future and isn't good at Sudoku? Let's give them a chance.
If there's another chance in the future, I'll put some other things in!
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