Chapter 35 The Land of Freedom (Part Two) A Sense of Sublimity.
Her handwriting was everywhere in the room; this wasn't Liang's room, but Xia Zhu's.
She sat in front of the computer, wondering if a dream could achieve this level of perfection. Everything here seemed to have been specially created for her, from the handwriting to the writing style—it was exactly Xia Zhu herself.
There's no other way, so let's just assume it's hers.
The notes were filled with vague and cryptic writing, containing data records in both Chinese and English, as well as ambiguous verses with religious connotations. The handwriting became increasingly illegible as one flipped through the notes, suggesting that "Xia Zhu's" mental state was deteriorating.
There was a yellow sticky note in the upper left corner of the computer, with a series of coordinates on it.
"31°4' N, 81°3' E"
If this location matches a real-world map, then the coordinates are likely in the western region.
The west?
Xia Zhu recalled his dream of the giant celestial maiden.
She tore off the sticky note and pasted it into her notebook.
Unsure if the computer was still usable, she tried to turn it on and found that although it could be opened, it required a password.
However, since this is her room, the password might be related to her.
So Xia Zhu entered her birthday, and sure enough, the computer booted up successfully. Perhaps dreams change depending on the dreamer; for example, the password to this study and this computer subtly reflects her presence.
It's as if this is Xia Zhu's home in a parallel universe.
Regardless of their changing identities, their essence remains the same.
To prove her theory, she locked her computer again and entered another date.
The computer booted up successfully again.
This is the day my grandfather passed away.
Now she was certain that, perhaps from Feng Feng and Feng Mian's perspective, there would be scenes very similar to their own. In other words, this room changed according to her will; the password wasn't unique at all. No matter what Xia Zhu entered, it meant what she thought the password would be, and everything would change according to her will.
As for how to get back in touch, she just hopes that the world is only big in appearance, and that in reality, we may not even be able to leave this tall building.
The computer screen was clean, except for a folder named "Countdown Days". Opening it, I found only one picture in the folder.
It is a highly technical data chart. You cannot tell what it is specifically monitoring just by looking at the horizontal and vertical axes and the curve with obvious fluctuations in the middle.
The x-axis is in nanometers, ranging from 0.3 to 2.5. The y-axis is a logarithmic scale for the absorption rate (%). The curve in the graph has a small peak highlighted in red, with the annotation "Helium-3" next to it.
Although it is impossible to know exactly what it is, Xia Zhu guessed that it might be a meteorological monitoring spectrum map of a certain place.
And it's the kind of abnormal one.
The existence of something implies a reason; the presence of an abnormal weather monitoring chart in the computer's only folder must be hinting at something. Regardless of whether it was useful or not, Xia Zhu still roughly copied the chart into his notebook with a pen, writing down some key data values.
The computer was too heavy, otherwise she would have moved it along with the computer.
I walked around the study again. On the right wall were many pictures of cloud observations and soils of different textures. In addition, there was a huge Thangka-style map covered with Tibetan writing.
It looks like a souvenir brought back from a tourist attraction, with the slogan "Welcome to the Sacred Mountain and Holy Lake" written in Chinese characters in the upper left corner.
This "Xia Zhu" appears to be an enthusiast or professional in geology and climatology, not only because her study contains many different kinds of rock specimens.
She faced the wall, staring at the high-quality, beautifully drawn, and not-so-cheap map. After a moment's thought, she decided to peel it off and stuff it into her backpack along with the notebook that was full of notes.
Xia Zhu rummaged through everything that looked useful and portable, hesitated for a moment, and then drew back the curtains in the study. The dazzling sunlight from the hundred-story building returned to this study full of ancient charm. The unfinished biscuit plate was still placed on the small, court-style stool with tassels hanging down, as if waiting for its owner to return home soon.
Or perhaps the homeowner didn't actually leave; they were just tired from working at their desk for a long time and went out for a casual stroll to stretch their legs.
Xia Zhu stood at the doorway and took one last look at the entire room before closing the study door, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, and leaving the room.
She actually quite likes this house; at least the study will be where she spends 20 out of 24 hours a day. In the future, perhaps when she has the ability, she will arrange a study for herself with the same layout.
But the most important thing now is to reunite with Feng Feng and the others.
Towers, plazas, a giant city screen—this place was exactly like Xia Zhu's dream. She wasn't sure if this overly bustling metropolis actually existed in the real world, or if Liang had created it out of thin air. What did the coordinates on the note mean? And how far was this place from the coordinates?
Standing in the crowd, Xia Zhu had the illusion of being a homeless person, not knowing where he was or where he should go. His family and friends were not around, and the city was so big.
Contrary to her expectations, the map was limited to that tall building.
She would immediately lose her way if she went outside, but she couldn't linger in the crowd, so Xia Zhu was forced to walk into the square. A small band was performing there, and a large crowd had gathered, causing traffic congestion.
The violinist, wearing a top hat, made a humorous bowing gesture after finishing the last note, eliciting laughter from the crowd. Some left, some joined, all waiting for the next piece.
A young man, head down looking at his phone, accidentally bumped into a man who suddenly stopped in front of him. The man turned around and gave him a reproachful look. The young man chuckled and apologized, then simply walked to the nearby green belt, waiting to send the message before continuing on his way. The sun shone brightly, the city's greenery grew incongruously upwards, poppies swayed in the breeze low to the ground, the elegant strings of a violin flowed through the gaps in the crowd, the square's paving stones had a medieval pattern, old chewing gum was scattered like raindrops, and an unknown brownish-yellow liquid and some cigarette butts accumulated at the base of the wrought-iron streetlights, but none of this diminished its prosperity.
String music, pop music, laughter, crying, and noise—it's like a grand performance, with extras each playing their part, creating the atmosphere of the city, a vibrant tapestry stretching from the city's edge to the horizon.
Xia Zhu stopped in place, feeling somewhat helpless. All she could see were throngs of people, and the seven main streets led to unknown destinations. She couldn't even decide which one to take.
A shop nearby was playing music for a big promotion. The shop assistant, dressed in a cute mascot costume, was attracting customers at the door. A child was drawn to the shop and grabbed the mascot's fluffy tail, refusing to let go. The parent quickly stopped the child, and in the struggle, the child sat down on the ground and started crying. The small jar in the child's hand fell to the ground, and all the fruit hard candies inside spilled out. A crystal-clear pink candy rolled to Xia Zhu's feet.
She glanced down at the candy at her feet, then instinctively followed her gaze toward the noisy area.
The cheerful music and the child's annoying crying occurred simultaneously. Under the strong suppression of the high decibels, the music became intermittent and distorted. The internal structure of the speaker seemed to be shattered by the child's sound waves and was somewhat overwhelmed.
The young boy next to the green belt suddenly frowned. He suspected that the sound system malfunction was affecting his phone signal. A crucial message to his girlfriend was stuck in the chat window, and there was only a big X on the signal bar at the top of his phone. He picked up his phone and spun it around, but that action was clearly no longer effective.
Questions began to rise from the crowd, and the question mark, carrying an eerie atmosphere, swirled in the air. The music at the store entrance finally gave way, emitting an extremely piercing scream.
Restlessness, discontent.
Xia Zhu also covered her ears.
The sound was so penetrating that it slightly damaged her eardrums, and her head felt itchy, as if some part of her body was resonating with the sound. She could only stare dizzily at the chewing gum that had long since grown into the paving stones. The paving stones could barely be seen to show some of their former glory. If they were washed with water, or if the sunlight were brighter, one could still discern their vibrant rose red and exquisite floral carvings.
If the sun were a little brighter.
But she clearly remembered that just a moment ago the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly, so why did the ground now seem to be hiding in the shadows, as if something was blocking the sun overhead?
Dark clouds? Is it going to rain soon? The weather really changes so quickly.
She lowered her hands from her ears.
"What is that!?"
Someone exclaimed in surprise from the crowd. Xia Zhu came back to her senses and found that the whole world was much darker than before, like a summer afternoon when a storm was about to break in her childhood. Time seemed to have been instantly switched from noon to dusk.
Everyone stopped in their tracks, looking up at the sky. Xia Zhu followed their gaze and looked behind him.
Thick, sickly brownish-yellow gas swirled in the air, carrying a ring of ice-like shards left by an icebreaker. The magnificent halo, seemingly within reach, loomed over the pupils. The ancient and sacred patterns were the sparks from a cosmic explosion, or like a giant eye from the abyss peeking at humanity through a hole in spacetime.
That was a giant Saturn.
Just overhead, amidst the steel jungle of the city, it silently approached the blue planet, carrying a steady cosmic power and a backdrop of twinkling stars appearing across the entire celestial canopy.
huge.
Xia Zhu had studied for so many years, yet at this moment, he couldn't find a single adjective to describe what was happening before him.
She could only feel an overwhelming, unbearable power pressing down on her head, so vast that she felt so insignificant in comparison.
But a kind of indescribable excitement rose within her.
Not only her, but everyone around her, and all of humanity on this planet, wore a subtle expression that was both fear and extreme pleasure.
The forces of nature always surprise civilizations. All of this is beyond the long-standing, unchanging daily experience of this species. After a brief period of fear, the spirit of resistance deep within the human heart will be awakened.
This is a sense of sublimity.
Just as people often crave sudden, extreme weather like a violent storm, on a boring afternoon, with the fan whirring overhead, the world can suddenly change dramatically in the next second. Curtains flutter in the wind, raindrops lash against the skin, and in the restless chaos, no sound can be heard except for the wind and rain. It's like tearing open some iron order, pulling you out of the unchanging routine, and even generating a desire to conquer and resist.
At this moment, we all share the same name, exist as human beings, and stand in opposition as human beings.
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