Chapter 180 The Trolley Problem and the Information Paradox
[Host, please immediately execute the current main quest and do not deviate from it!]
The system's voice lost its usual playfulness, and its tone was unusually anxious as it tried to stop her.
"It's okay. I'll go back an hour, send them the alert, and then continue with this mission."
After she finished speaking, she decisively pressed "Use".
Ning Shuyin had already made a plan in her mind.
It can both alert the alliance to evacuate and save countless lives, and buy itself an extra hour to think about how to deal with the plot deviation on Olma's side.
[Wait, host, this item...]
The system's voice seemed to come from an extremely distant place, drowned out by a surging tide of time and space.
The world before her eyes shattered into pieces. She could only see a rain of light moving in reverse.
The blinding white light faded, and the world stabilized before her eyes. Ning Shuyin found herself still leaning against the spaceship's porthole, not yet having reached the jump point.
The housekeeping robot that delivers medicine is flying towards her.
She did indeed return to an hour earlier.
She turned on her personal terminal and pressed the emergency call button that Situ Linchen had reinstalled for her without hesitation.
At the same time, she edited a text message.
[Highest Alert! The Mechanical Court is launching a surprise attack on the Alliance Annual Meeting. Evacuate the conference center immediately!]
She sent the message to all the men at the same time, and also copied it to the Alliance Security Center.
But as soon as she finished doing all that and relaxed her shoulders, she realized something was wrong.
After the message was sent, there was no delivery notification, and the message was nowhere to be found in the sent items folder.
The emergency call button she pressed had no effect; it didn't connect, and there wasn't even a notification tone indicating that the call was unavailable.
She tried calling their contact information directly, but there was still no response.
Everything seems to have sunk into the sea like a stone.
[Host, I hadn't finished speaking. While the Key of Retrospection can rewind timelines, it's suppressed by the information paradox of the world's laws.]
The system's helpless voice rang out.
"Information paradox? What is that?" Ning Shuyin asked, puzzled.
The laws of the world resist any attempt to alter the past. If you try to change the past or influence the future by sending messages or making calls, the laws of the world will simply ignore it.
Ning Shuyin: "..."
She felt that these so-called props and world laws were really a scam.
"Since it can't be changed, isn't this prop just pure fraud?" Ning Shuyin said angrily.
[Host, that's not entirely true. You are a physical being from outside this world, a variable that doesn't belong to this worldline. Your physical actions are the key that can disrupt the 'causal chain'.]
Ning Shuyin understood; to prevent this from happening, she had to go herself.
However, once she chooses to go to the league...
[Host, you're right. That's why I warned you earlier to immediately continue with the main quest and not deviate from it.]
[If you choose to go to the Alliance Conference Center in person, you will inevitably miss the crucial plot point of preventing Su Qianqian's arranged marriage.]
[You can no longer inform Su Qianqian by phone or text that this is a trap. Ultimately, her mother will force her to announce her engagement.]
If the female protagonist gets engaged to another man, it means the main storyline is disrupted.
"System, if I choose to go to the Alliance to rescue people, what is the worst possible outcome?"
[...]
The system was silent for a moment, seemingly performing some kind of extensive calculation.
[Host, according to the database analysis of similar world lines, if the female protagonist becomes engaged to or marries another man, at best it will cause an irreversible plot deviation, and at worst it will be considered a complete failure of the main storyline. The specific punishment is unknown.]
Unknowable...
Ning Shuyin bit her lip: "Spaceship, change course immediately! Destination: Planet A, Alliance Conference Center! Activate maximum speed!"
She has already given the order.
She was not intimidated by this so-called unknowable punishment; her mind raced as she analyzed the chess game before her.
She first believed in Su Qianqian's character.
"System, Qianqian isn't the kind of girl who can be manipulated. Being unilaterally announced as engaged isn't marriage, much less some kind of soul bond. With her temperament, she would never let her happiness be arranged like that."
"Besides, I'm only temporarily leaving the main storyline."
"Once I've finished dealing with things at the Alliance Conference Center, I'll go back to help her immediately. Whether it's helping her elope or exposing Olma, I'll do everything I can to get the story back on track."
Moreover, as for punishment... she was willing to bear it, after all, on the other side of the scales were countless living lives and the safety of the alliance.
She couldn't choose to watch the black sphere descend.
[...]
The system remained silent, and Ning Shuyin could sense that it had tacitly approved of her actions.
The coordinates representing the Alliance Conference Center on the holographic star map are getting larger and larger.
Faster, faster!
She had only one thought in her mind. With Kross's help, the spaceship's engines were shut down due to overload.
There was simply no time to connect via the airport.
Ning Shuyin and Cross piloted a small landing craft straight toward the Alliance Conference Center.
There are 15 minutes left before the dark sphere begins to devour.
Inside the magnificent building's lobby, everything was in perfect order.
The alliance's high-level meetings were held in an encrypted conference room. To prevent leaks, the conference room had "double information and physical shielding."
Even an SSS-level expert wouldn't be able to force their way in in a short time.
The meeting had already started early, and the waiters in the corridor, who were responsible for receiving guests, had nothing to do and chatted in twos and threes.
Ning Shuyin rushed straight to the emergency reception area of the conference security department.
"Hello, is this Miss Navigator? How can I help you? Have you lost your jewelry? Or..." The receptionist was very attentive.
"I urgently need to speak with the Marshal. The conference center will be attacked within fifteen minutes; everyone must be evacuated immediately!"
"Marshal? Attack? Evacuate everyone?" The reception staff were taken aback by the amount of information.
He looked Ning Shuyin up and down, trying to make sure she wasn't joking.
"Hurry up, there's no time!" Ning Shuyin urged.
"Ah, this... Your warning level is too high. We need to verify the information from multiple sources according to the regulations. Please wait here."
After the receptionist finished speaking, she ran off to the back of the office.
wait?
Ning Shuyin watched the seconds tick by, her heart filled with anxiety. By the time that bureaucratic process was completed, it would probably be too late.
It seems that official channels are no longer an option.
She left the reception area.
Since we can't get the authorities to issue an alert, we'll have to rely on ourselves and get the people at the conference center to come out on their own.
On her way here, she had already thought of a backup plan.
"Kross, infiltrate the underground energy core and cause a slight leak. Just enough to trigger an alarm, nothing more.
"Yes, my master."
Kross reached out and pulled Ning Shuyin into a heavy curtain at the corridor window.
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