The Timeline of the Future, Quietly Changing

Back in the dilapidated little courtyard.

Su Wen leaned the beat-up bicycle, which had been rattling all the way, against the wall and hastily wiped the sweat pouring down his face.

The summers in Jiangnan were truly unbearable.

Especially since he had been doing 'community service' on the roadside, offering his services for free for the better part of the day.

With his life on the line, Su Wen could still restrain himself with a strong will to survive.

But now that the crucial Temporal Closed Loop was complete.

The feeling of being drenched in sweat instantly became his new 'existential crisis'.

Turn on the AC, take a shower, change clothes.

All in one smooth motion.

Having completed the aforementioned steps.

Su Wen looked at his refreshed, handsome, and slimmed-down self in the mirror, as if he were brand new, and 'very objectively' commented:

"Yeah, I'm as dashing as ever, that's reassuring."

He sat down in front of the computer.

System prompts started appearing on the computer screen:

['Time Travel' Character Card Changed:]

[Attribute Enhancement] – [Chief Player has come into contact with the Evolution Origin Point, the initial Origin Mark has been activated, the first Life Transition (Micro-level), has been loaded]

[Because Chief Player has obtained 'Extraordinary Characteristic—Evolution Origin Point—Natural Selection—Trade Winds']

[Newbie Game 'Germination' Game Node Changed]

[Timeline Correction:

1. Night Watcher 'Ashen Watch' warning node removed.

2. Civilization's Home Star 'Gravity Bridge' future plan changed.

3. Kane Corporation 'Star Ring World' outer space project content revised]

[Due to major changes in the three-thousand-year future process]

['Germination' Game Over]

Click.

The death countdown in front of Su Wen finally stopped.

He also breathed a sigh of relief, his words laced with a bit of jest:

"Looks like I don't have to pick out a nice sunny spot for myself just yet."

After that.

The computer screen in front of Su Wen turned into a field of azure stars.

The perspective lowered, arriving at the rooftop of a giant city built with flexible building materials.

It was a lush ecological garden.

A young woman wearing a white researcher's coat, her figure perfectly defined, was holding a data screen and describing:

"Ecological Protection Organization R301 - Rainforest Senior Researcher Qin Xiaodie, seven hundred and fiftieth-first record, Currently, based on the trait analysis of Tier 1 and Tier 2 extraordinary plants, Kane Corporation's excessive waste of terrestrial vein resources is indeed increasing the pressure on the city's Eden Circulation System."

Beside the little house next to the ecological garden.

A middle-aged woman said to her gently:

"Xiaodie, you're just like your father, you can't just focus on work, you need to rest too."

The scene changed.

In a high-rise building, inside a large stepped conference hall.

Su Wen saw the scholar with black-rimmed glasses and a determined face.

Qin Mingyuan stood in the center of the exhibition hall.

Behind him.

The three-dimensional projected azure data model displayed the theme of the conference:

[The Only Home Star of Human Civilization in the Post-Star Sea Era]

The game screen stopped here.

Su Wen suddenly felt a sense of relief, which was completely different from the emptiness he felt when he was usually lazing around in bed.

He smiled and said to himself, as if talking to himself:

"Old Qin, no matter which timeline, you are worthy of respect."

The dialogue spanning three millennia came to a halt at this moment.

[Game Settlement]

[Three-Star Hidden Objective: Find the 'Knowledge Secret Treasure' through the encrypted map, Completed.]

[Game Rating: Three Stars]

[Countdown Reset: Current Death Countdown – 'Fifteen Days', Timer Stopped]

[Obtained Item: Extraordinary Life - Evolution Origin Point - Hyacinth (Herbaceous Plant)]

[Obtained Reward Ability: Appraisal (Low-Tier) (Cooldown: One Hour)]

[Special Settlement Reward: Plant Cultivation R75 Specialized Nutrient Solution (120/Box), Three-Slot Storage Box Function Activated]

[Note: Hyacinth Flower Language – Upward Will, Burned-Out Flame of Life, Reborn Love, Unregretful Determination.]

Su Wen had already experienced the

[Appraisal]

function.

But the Storage Box function was indeed beyond his expectations.

The three-slot Storage Box wasn't large, about the same storage space as a large mountaineering backpack.

A 'backpack function' was standard for games.

But if it could be used in reality, the significance would be immeasurable, such as storing firearms or confidential documents.

This was an absolutely safe, absolutely private personal space.

Su Wen wasn't perverted enough to want to become an assassin for the moment.

But if there was a 'time-travel' game that needed it, this function might come in handy.

After all, the death countdown was only refreshed and temporarily paused, letting Su Wen, this unlucky 'Chief Player,' understand that this was just the beginning.

"I celebrated too early."

Since life is already like this, I can't just give up and do nothing.

Then there's no choice.

Let's just silently enjoy it.

Su Wen took out the only item currently in the Storage Box, a silver iron box.

The box wasn't locked. Opening the first layer, there was a piece of paper on top:

[I seem to have forgotten something, only hearing someone say in my dreams that he was coming to save me.]

[— Qin Xiaodie]

The back of the paper had instructions for the 'Plant Cultivation R75 Specialized Nutrient Solution.'

This was the culmination of life science from the Origin Era, three thousand years in the future.

Assuming Su Wen took one of these to the Academy of Sciences, there was a small chance it would shock the academic world, and his name would be recorded in the history of science next year.

But the greater possibility was that he couldn't make up a source.

And he'd be locked up with that fire-breathing guy, experiencing the second stage of life in prison.

The nutrient solution's effect was too strong. For the currently dormant

[Evolution Origin Point]

, it only needed to be injected into the soil.

Su Wen also considered whether to give himself a shot.

But considering that Qin Xiaodie probably thought someone would do that, and besides, he wasn't a vegetable.

To be cautious, he gave up on the idea.

He fell asleep on the bed.

At night, accompanied by the hyacinth gently swaying in the moonlight, the life ripples of the Silver Sea were also quietly spreading.

Without Su Wen's knowledge, the system prompts were refreshing:

[Chief Player's attributes increased, Life Activity +0.1]

[Chief Player's attributes increased, Spiritual Energy Adaptability +0.1]

[Chief Player's attributes increased, Life Activity +0.1]

The night passed.

Su Wen was awakened by the ringing of his mobile phone, muffled by the blanket.

He answered the phone and groggily asked, "Miss Jiang, what's wrong?"

"Su Wen, it's 8:05 already, why aren't you here yet?

Today's lecture is being given by the department head. If you're any later, she's going to mark you as late. Hurry, hurry."

The voice on the phone was that of his university classmate, Jiang Menghan.

When it came down to it, the concept of a university class was actually very loose. If Su Wen hadn't once been Jiang Menghan's competition partner…

If it were anyone else, Miss Jiang wouldn't even bother with him.

The department head…

That menopausal physics Extinction Master who controlled 87% of the failing grades?

!!!

Su Wen instantly snapped to attention.

He didn't even bother to check his 'budding' state.

He threw on a coat, hopped on his beat-up bicycle, and rushed out the door.

At the Coastal University gate, amidst the crowded throng, the dinging and clanging of Su Wen's broken bicycle was especially loud.

So much so that Lin Xiqing, who had just gotten out of her Porsche and was about to enter the school, heard it clearly.

She was very familiar with this sound.

It was him.

That hero who did good deeds without leaving his name.

Yesterday, Lin Xiqing had even specially asked her grandfather to check the recent volunteer workers at the subdistrict office.

But the date column for yesterday was empty.

This made her even more interested in Su Wen.

That's right.

She didn't see this behavior as that of an oblivious straight man.

On the contrary, the more she imagined, the more she thought Su Wen was so selfless, so sunny and handsome.