Is There Life in a Wormhole?

At Yue Province University, in the academic lecture hall, Li Banfeng entered the venue to witness an academic debate.

Such debates are rare at Yue Province University and even in the entire Huan Kingdom.

Normal academic conferences typically invite several industry experts as guests to give presentations in their areas of expertise. Even if there are discussion sessions, they are usually guided by the moderator, where participants share their experiences from the research process.

Today's situation is completely different. There was no presentation session; the discussion went straight into exchanges and discussions. The two main guests at the conference have completely opposing views on many academic issues, and their discussions are likely to turn into a debate.

The main issue we'll discuss today is the gravitational tides during the process of traversing a wormhole.

Li Banfeng found a seat in the back row of the venue and sat down.

Teacher Song was not sitting close to him. She had also achieved many scientific research results in the field of wormholes and was one of the guests at the exchange meeting. She sat in the first row and was ready to participate in the discussion.

On the podium, Professor Yan Youjun, a 72-year-old absolute authority in the field of wormholes in China, was the first to speak.

He did not prepare any presentation slides or speaking materials because, in his view, today's topic was not worth any preparation.

"The tidal effect felt by travelers when passing through a wormhole must be small enough. This is a basic requirement for traversing a wormhole. To be honest, I don't think there's any point in arguing about this topic anymore. What do you think, Xiao Yu?" Yan Youjun took a sip of tea and looked at the forty-eight-year-old Yu Yaoming with a kind smile.

At forty-eight, Yu Yaoming is not considered young in most fields, but in front of Yan Youjun, he must recognize his position as a junior.

"It's not just him," a female classmate sitting to Li Banfeng's left adjusted her glasses and whispered to Li Banfeng, "In the field of wormholes in China, any academic argument that does not conform to Yan Youjun's understanding is absurd, naive, and not worth arguing about."

Li Banfeng didn't look at the female classmate or respond to her. He continued to listen to Professor Yan Youjun's explanation of the so-called tidal effect, which is the difference in gravitational force experienced by different parts of an object in a non-uniform gravitational field.

To give a simple example, imagine a person crashing headfirst into a black hole. The head is closer to the black hole, while the feet are farther away. The gravitational force on the head is greater, while the gravitational force on the feet is relatively smaller. At a certain distance, the difference in gravitational force between the two is enough to tear a person apart. This is the tidal effect.

"The same applies to wormholes," Yan Youjun said, taking another sip of tea. "In extreme cases, the tidal effect of a wormhole is no different from that of a black hole, and most wormholes are not traversable. Based on this common knowledge..."

I don't think there's any need to argue about this topic.

Of course, many people here are still not very clear about the concept of wormholes. Here, I can give you some basic information. A wormhole is a narrow tunnel in the universe that connects two different spaces. It is also called a spacetime tube and is a channel for achieving long-distance space travel in a short time.

Listening to Yan Youjun's explanation, the female classmate said to Li Banfeng, "Look how disgusting he is. He knows it's common sense, but he still deliberately explains it in detail, as if he's explaining the formula for solving a quadratic equation to a mathematician, as if the other person is a beginner. Yan Youjun likes to use this method to suppress and disgust others."

This method is indeed disgusting. At first, Li Banfeng thought that Yan Youjun explained it in a simple and easy-to-understand way, which was quite friendly to an outsider like him.

After finishing the basic theory, he went on to talk about the history of wormhole research, from the concept of wormholes first proposed by physicist Austria in the early 20th century to the connection between general relativity and wormholes. Yan Youjun kept using basic knowledge to lecture a scientist who had made certain achievements in the academic field, just like an elder explaining the uses of soy sauce to a famous chef.

"Wormholes are not a new field of scientific research. Countless predecessors have already pointed us in the right direction. What we need to do is to look for newer results in the right direction, rather than wasting our precious time on meaningless disputes."

"Even an undergraduate physics student can clearly explain the concept of tidal effects. It's shameful and laughable that this issue needs to be discussed in an academic forum within the field!"

After nearly half an hour of explaining the basics, the old professor finally made his point clear: in his view, Yu Yaoming was a clown who couldn't even understand the basics.

The female classmate sitting next to Li Banfeng said, "If I remember correctly, you didn't continue your studies after graduating from university, right?"

Li Banfeng chuckled dryly and said, "You still remember me?"

The female classmate laughed and said, "How could I not remember you? How many times have you rejected me since high school?"

This female classmate's name is Fang Yufei. She was Li Banfeng's classmate in high school. In her second year of high school, she confessed her feelings to Li Banfeng, but he rejected her.

After the college entrance examination, Fang Yufei suggested visiting Li Banfeng's home, but Li Banfeng again because he was sleeping under a bridge and it was inconvenient for him to receive guests.

Both of them were admitted to Yue Province University, but not to the same major. During their university years, Fang Yufei confessed her feelings to Li Banfeng three times, but was rejected each time.

Even today, at the academic exchange meeting, Fang Yufei could still recognize Li Banfeng.

Her feelings for Li Banfeng were special, but being able to recognize a Yunshang House Cultivator among a crowd is not something that can be explained by feelings alone.

Fang Yufei smiled as she looked at Li Banfeng. It had been more than two years since they last met, and she was still as beautiful as ever. She was the class beauty in high school, and in College of Science, only Lu Xiaolan was her equal.

But she was different from Lu Xiaolan passed all her exams with great difficulty, and even needed He Jiaqing's help for some of them.

During her undergraduate studies, Fang Yufei's grades were among the best in the entire College of Science. After taking the postgraduate entrance examination, she became a graduate student at another well-known university in Yuezhou. Such an outstanding girl is never short of suitors.

Right now, there's someone by her side named Han Yuelong. He and Fang Yufei are from the same major, but they don't have the same advisor.

Fang Yufei's mentor is Yu Yaoming. Han Yuelong came to this academic exchange meeting today because he wanted to spend more time with Fang Yufei.

Han Yuelong didn't know Li Banfeng, but overhearing their conversation, he realized their relationship was more than just ordinary. So he deliberately made a sarcastic remark to Li Banfeng: "You only graduated with a bachelor's degree? You'd better not come to this kind of exchange meeting. Even if you're just joining in the fun, you have to be mindful of the occasion. There's too much here that you simply won't understand."

Li Banfeng remained silent. If it weren't for the extra lessons he received from Teacher Song during this period, there were many things that Li Banfeng truly wouldn't understand.

Fang Yufei turned to Han Yuelong and said, "He says he doesn't understand, but what do you understand? How much more knowledgeable are you than him?"

Han Yuelong retorted, somewhat unconvinced. "I'm a third-year graduate student, this is my research area, I'm at least an expert in this field, how can you compare me to an undergraduate?"

"An expert?" Fang Yufei laughed, shaking her head as she laughed. "You're not an expert. There are very few experts in this academic lecture hall; you can count them on one hand."

Han Yuelong was angry. Although he was actively pursuing Fang Yufei's words just now seemed to have hurt his pride. "Then by your standards, what level would be considered an expert?"

Fang Yufei looked at the podium, her eyes filled with respect and admiration. "Listen to the expert's explanation. This knowledge shouldn't have been given to you before; it will benefit you for a lifetime."

After Yan Youjun's long lecture, another professor, 48-year-old Yu Yaoming, finally had the opportunity to speak.

"The main focus of today's discussion is whether the sufficiently small tidal effect experienced by travelers when passing through a wormhole is a necessary condition for traversing a wormhole."

As Professor Yan just mentioned, if the tidal effect is too strong, a person approaching a wormhole would be torn to pieces, becoming the most basic particles. This certainly sounds like common sense.

But we overlooked another question: what state was the person who approached the wormhole in at that time?

In what form does his life exist? Given the severe distortion of space, would his body still be affected by tidal effects?

Yan Youjun took the microphone from the host and interrupted Yu Yaoming directly, "Are your statements based on any theoretical basis, or are they just wild imaginations? If they are just your imaginations, I don't need to waste my time with you."

Yu Yaoming smiled and said, "Professor Yan, this is just an assumption I made during my research. Of course, I conducted a lot of mathematical verification on this assumption. Although there are still some problems in the derivation process, the overall idea is very clear. For example—."

Yu Yaoming had just displayed his derivation process on the big screen when Yan Youjun interrupted him halfway through his sentence: "Don't think that you can solve all problems through mathematical proof. You can also use mathematics to prove that the world is two-dimensional, but what's the point of proving such a hypothesis?"

Fang Yufei said with a stern face, "Ignorant old man, interrupting others several times, look how ill-mannered he is!"

Han Yuelong exclaimed in surprise, "Professor Yan Youjun is a leading figure in this field; he is internationally recognized!"

How can you say he's ignorant?

Fang Yufei said with a mocking expression, "He only gained the approval of a bunch of laymen. He's lived such a long life in vain; he knows nothing about wormholes."

Han Yuelong said, "That's going too far. So many experts are here today because of Professor Yan. Are you saying he knows nothing? Are all these experts blind? Are they all fools?"

"Yes," Fang Yufei nodded, first looking at Han Yuelong, then at Li Banfeng, "They are all blind, all fools, and so are you, and I used to be the same."

Fang Yufei's gaze lingered on Li Banfeng: "I used to think you were so special, so unique. But actually, you're no different from them; you're all so ignorant and foolish. I feel ashamed of myself because I have so little understanding of wisdom, life, and the world. That's why I always believed you were an extraordinary person, and why I wasted so much emotion and fantasy on you."

Fortunately, you are lucky. You have come to the right place today. Use your eyes to witness, use your ears to listen, and carefully observe the power hidden within wisdom.

Han Yuelong felt that Fang Yufei was acting very strangely today; she was overly excited.

Li Banfeng didn't pay much attention to Fang Yufei's state; he was intently looking at Yu Yaoming's courseware.

Yu Yaoming presented his derivation process section by section on the courseware. "In the life forms we are familiar with, there is a limit value for withstanding tidal effects. If this limit is exceeded, the molecular structure of our bodies will be damaged."

This is a basic assumption based on our existing knowledge, because none of us have actually been close to a wormhole, and no one knows what changes would occur near or inside a wormhole.

If we adopt a different hypothesis, we might evolve from carbon-based life to silicon-based life. Our life form could break down our current molecular structure, or even atomic structure, to adapt to the extreme changes near wormholes.

Or perhaps our structure itself doesn't change, but under the influence of some kind of energy, a negative energy density appears in a localized area, creating a relatively stable environment near the wormhole.

Yan Youjun smiled and interrupted Yu Yaoming again, "Professor Yu, did you think carefully about what you wanted to say before you came? Don't bring up atomic structure. Even if the molecular structure changes, is it still life?"

If you burn a living person to ashes, do you think that person can come back to life?

"This analogy is inappropriate," Yu Yaoming continued, demonstrating the derivation process. "Burning a living person into ashes does not involve a change in the essence of space, but a change in the essence of space will bring adaptive evolution to the environment and life."

"You're talking about evolution? With current human science, we can't even reconstruct the evolutionary process of life. You're telling me that life evolves near wormholes? Don't you think you're acting like a comedian when you say that?" Yan Youjun found it absurd, and he had prepared even more inflammatory words.

Several experts watching the debate below became restless and turned their attention to Lu Jianpeng, the vice principal in charge of the exchange meeting.

"Old Lu, is it appropriate to make things so tense?"

"This is hardly an academic exchange meeting; these two are practically fighting! Where's the atmosphere for academic discussion?"

"I think this is the atmosphere that academic discussions should have," Lu Jianpeng said, very satisfied with the current situation. "How were academic exchange meetings conducted in the past? Five or six experts would take turns giving presentations, and after each presentation, they would give interviews and flatter each other."

"Once the exchange is over, those on stage are flattered and feel comfortable, while those in the audience are almost falling asleep. After the event, the field remains the same, the perspective remains the same—what results can be achieved?"

The people around fell silent. They noticed that Principal Lu was speaking very forcefully today, seemingly influenced by the atmosphere on stage.

He was indeed inspired, which was his original intention in holding this exchange meeting. He wanted to change the landscape of the academic field of wormholes and to win more attention for this field.

On stage, the debate between Yu Yaoming and Yan Youjun became increasingly heated. Every point of view of Yu Yaoming was refuted by Yan Youjun, and every rebuttal of Yan Youjun was countered by Yu Yaoming.

"Professor Yan, biological evolution is the process of adapting to changes in the environment. I have conducted specialized research in biology on this topic, and the rate of biological evolution under extreme conditions is astonishing—."

Yan Youjun interrupted Yu Yaoming again, "Don't talk about research. You were originally a biology student. You majored in biology for your undergraduate degree, then switched to astronomy for your master's degree, and then to quantum physics for your doctorate."

Nowadays, academics are constantly talking about breaking down professional barriers and mixing seemingly unrelated disciplines together.

"By fooling experts from all walks of life, publishing papers quickly, and winning many awards, is this what academic work is?"

Fang Yufei, listening from below the stage, gritted her teeth. "This old bastard's started resorting to personal attacks! That's all he's capable of!"

Han Yuelong asked from the side, "Yufei, do you care about Professor Yu that much? Just because he's your mentor, you can't stand to see him suffer even the slightest grievance?"

Fang Yufei nodded and said, "Yes, he can't stand being wronged, especially not by these fools. These fools are so ignorant. Every time they provoke the professor, it's a desecration of wisdom."

People around Fang Yufei heard what she said and looked in her direction.

Han Yuelong was sweating profusely. Today's exchange meeting was already tense, and Fang Yufei's condition was even more worrying.

"Yufei, stop talking—"

"So what if I told you?" Fang Yufei smiled contemptuously. "You're just one of those fools. You have no idea what true wisdom and power are."

She originally wanted to make a sarcastic remark to Li Banfeng, but Li Banfeng was listening attentively to Yu Yaoming's explanation and was very interested in Yu Yaoming's point of view.

Yu Yaoming said to Yan Youjun, "Professor Yan, I have listed a large amount of the argumentation process here. Please read it before we proceed to the next stage of discussion."

Yan Youjun shook his head. "I won't look at your baseless arguments. The basis of these arguments is all assumptions you made up out of thin air."

"Then at least let me explain my point of view completely, please don't interrupt me so often."

"I'm going to interrupt you. You've established an absurd viewpoint and used an absurd derivation process to guide other people's thinking. This is a classic case of misleading others; this is a classic case of academic fraud!"

Teacher Song shook her head, and Yan Youjun began to label people.

She observed Yu Yaoming's reaction, and so far, Yu Yaoming's emotions seemed to be normal.

"Professor Yan, if you accuse me of fraud, then please point out which of my arguments or evidence is fraudulent."

"You don't need to explain further. Just tell me, do you really believe that organisms can adapt to the tidal effects around wormholes through evolution?"

"Yes," Yu Yaoming nodded, "I even believe that life exists around the wormhole, or even inside it."

"Everyone heard that, right? He said there's life inside the wormhole," Yan Youjun said, smoothing his white hair and laughing.

Yu Yaoming didn't laugh; he remained serious throughout. "The internal environment of a wormhole is much more stable than the surrounding area. As long as we successfully enter the wormhole, I believe we can live inside it."

"We can even live inside wormholes," Yan Youjun laughed even louder. "Don't you think there's life near black holes too?"

Yu Yaoming nodded again. "I think that's possible."

Yan Youjun laughed and said, "Have you ever imagined that several giant dragons guard the entrance to the black hole, and anyone who tries to enter will be swallowed by the dragons?"

"I don't think it's necessarily a dragon. I think it could be other life forms, or even life forms we are more familiar with. Some life forms may be exactly like us, and may have even created civilizations inside black holes."

Yan Youjun nodded and said, "Why don't you go write science fiction?"

Yu Yaoming replied very seriously, "If this were Literary Salon, I would be willing to discuss issues about novel writing with you, but this is an academic discussion, and all our discussions must be based on academic theory."

"You still know this is an academic discussion?" Yan Youjun's smile faded, but his tone remained sarcastic and mocking. "Then please give an example of life evolving near a wormhole to support your absurd viewpoint."

"You want an example?" Yu Yaoming held up the pen in his hand. "I'm saying that this pen might have acquired some life-like characteristics because it was close to a wormhole."

"A fountain pen has life characteristics." Yan Youjun laughed again, and many people in the audience, including the host, laughed as well.

Han Yuelong sighed, "How could the academic exchange meeting turn out like this? Professor Yu is too stubborn; this has become a farce."

"Professor Yu is not biased at all, and this is not a farce!" Fang Yufei rolled her eyes at Han Yuelong. "Listen carefully to Professor Yu's theory. This is one of your few chances to get rid of ignorance."

Han Yuelong didn't want to talk to Fang Yufei anymore; he felt that Fang Yufei was just as stubborn as Yu Yaoming.

Fang Yufei looked at Li Banfeng again. Li Banfeng was looking at the formula on the big screen and listening attentively to Yu Yaoming's explanation.

The idea that pens have life, and that everything has life, was something Li Banfeng had heard, his Wife had said, and even the projector had said.

This view has been proven by examples such as projectors and sickles.

Yu Yaoming's viewpoint is not absurd.

However, the others had different ideas from Li Banfeng, and there was constant discussion and chatter at the scene, as if they all suspected that Yu Yaoming had gone mad.

Yu Yaoming, holding the pen, looked at Yan Youjun and said, "I told you this pen has signs of life, don't you believe me?"

Yan Youjun laughed for a long time, "If you think pens have a life of their own, how am I supposed to communicate with you?"

"That's such a shame." Yu Yaoming tossed the pen away.

The pen flew towards Yan Youjun, piercing straight through his forehead.

Yan Youjun sat on the sofa, his smile gradually freezing, and blood slowly flowed down his forehead.

His eyes dimmed instantly, and he lay back on the sofa.

The host was stunned, and all the experts and professors were stunned.

The room fell silent for a few seconds, followed by screams.

This is academic exchange; this is academic debate.

Han Yuelong shouted loudly, "What, what happened? Someone was killed? What happened to Professor Yan?"

"He's dead," Fang Yufei said calmly. "These stubborn conservatives are stumbling blocks to scientific progress."

He deserves to die, he should have died long ago! He will pay the price for his stupidity and tyranny!

Yu Yaoming stood on the podium, quietly watching the audience.

Amid screams, the audience rushed frantically toward the exit of the auditorium.

Several security personnel were trying to maintain order, but were unable to stop the out-of-control crowd.

"Yufei, run!" Han Yuelong grabbed Fang Yufei, trying to escape from the lecture hall, but Fang Yufei shook him off.

"Get out of here, you idiot," Fang Yufei said mockingly to Han Yuelong. "I told you, you know nothing."

You had no idea what true wisdom and power were, but today you have witnessed them.

Han Yuelong stopped talking to Fang Yufei and rushed towards the exit with the crowd.

Fang Yufei turned to Li Banfeng: "You should leave too. It's really dangerous here. Get out of here quickly. I know you're a little better than those fools. You may have felt the shock of wisdom, and you may have learned what true knowledge is."

But like them, you know nothing of true power. Professor Yu is furious; the power he's about to unleash will exceed your comprehension. To you, that power is equivalent to the wrath of a god, tantamount to the destruction of the world.

You are a mortal, and you haven't yet found the path to transcend mortalhood. I also possess some power, so while I can still protect you, you should leave this place immediately.

She reached out to pull Li Banfeng, but found that Li Banfeng had disappeared, leaving only a few afterimages in front of her.

Where did Li Banfeng go?

Why did he suddenly disappear?

Fang Yufei looked surprised and searched around for Li Banfeng.

On the stage, the host had already fled in fright, and all the other experts and professors had also left, leaving only the corpses of Yu Yaoming and Yan Youjun.

Yu Yaoming bent down to pick up the pen, when he vaguely heard someone say in his ear, "Don't move it, that's the murder weapon. You'd better put it back where it was."

"Who!" Yu Yaoming looked in the direction of the voice, but did not see the other person.

"You're under arrest. I have a few questions for you—"

Before the other person could finish speaking, Yu Yaoming immediately picked up his pen and flicked a spray of ink towards the source of the sound.

The fountain pen is special, and the ink is also specially made. If the other party uses some kind of invisibility spell, the ink can mark the other party's location.

But the ink left no trace; it was simply flung onto the red carpet on the podium.

"If you don't want to answer questions, fine, but don't just throw out your 'ink' nonsense. It will cause a lot of trouble for the investigation and evidence collection."

Also, your presentation slides are very interesting, may I borrow them to take a look? If you have any more detailed materials, please lend them to me as well.

Yu Yaoming realized something was wrong, put away his pen, and jumped onto the roof of the lecture hall, trying to escape the scene.

Bang!

Li Banfeng appeared on the rooftop and kicked Yu Yaoming into the audience.

Yu Yaoming fell hard and couldn't get up from his knees.

Li Banfeng grabbed him and placed him in the seat. The whole process was extremely fast. Yu Yaoming couldn't see Li Banfeng's figure and couldn't break free from his grasp.

He possesses certain abilities, but judging from his physique, he is probably not a cultivator.

Fang Yufei adjusted her glasses and saw Li Banfeng.

Her glasses were special, a highly valuable piece of advanced equipment, but her brain was currently unable to function.

Li Banfeng injured Professor Yu.

To Fang Yufei, Professor Yu was like a god; when he could no longer tolerate the stupidity of mortals, he would unleash the power to destroy the world.

She was willing to be Professor Yu's staunch follower, and under his guidance, she found the path to transcend the ordinary.

But it only took a split second.

Li Banfeng subdued Professor Yu.

Who exactly is he?

The lecture hall was in complete chaos, and it seemed that no one noticed Yu Yaoming's condition.

Fang Yufei also wanted to run away, but suddenly Teacher Song appeared in front of her. "Your name is Fang Yufei, right? I remember you."

You were once a student at Yue Province University.

Fang Yufei suddenly dodged, trying to get around Teacher Song, but Teacher Song pressed down on her head.

"You saw him? I shouldn't have ignored you; I didn't expect you to be sitting next to him."

Teacher Song didn't speak, but Fang Yufei could hear her voice.

"The person you saw is not Li Banfeng. Remember that, he is not Li Banfeng. He is a stranger, a stranger you have never met before, and you do not know him at all."

Fang Yufei felt a tingling sensation on the top of her head, as if an electric current was passing through her.

"You don't know him." The same words were repeated several times before Fang Yufei fell into a coma.

P. S.: Teacher Song once said that no one could listen in on her phone calls.