Inside the sealed space.
Looking at the latest deduction results concerning Lilani, Xu Yun's expression shifted slightly.
He had already noticed that the little brat treated him differently, but he hadn't expected that, in the future, he would affect her so deeply.
To be honest.
When Xu Yun had met Lilani, the little brat had been only five years old. So whatever she felt for him clearly wasn't "liking" in the adult sense.
At the time, William and his wife had been fretting over their losses on the goods. Elula and Andrea, the twin sisters, had formed a little world of their own, while their eldest daughter, Lisa, was absorbed in chattering away with Little Ox.
As a result, Lilani's social circle was extremely limited. No one understood her—or even cared about her.
That was one of the main reasons she'd become such a little brat. Put simply, she hoped her rebellious behavior would earn her acceptance.
Against that backdrop, Xu Yun's "punishment" had been so different from anything she'd experienced that it left an indelible mark on her young heart.
At the same time, in the simulated history of the deduction, Xu Yun's disappearance had come without warning.
Perhaps he'd vanished in the crush of a crowd. Perhaps she'd woken up one day and found him gone.
Either way, it had been another massive psychological blow for Lilani.
All these factors combined to make Xu Yun an obsession she couldn't erase from her heart.
It was impossible to say that Lilani had liked him deeply, let alone "loved" him. Unless the little brat had been a reincarnator too, a five-year-old girl couldn't possibly understand what love was.
Her actions were more about finding an answer to her childhood and finally letting go.
Like how many fishermen hoped to catch a big fish—not to eat it, but to fill a void in their hearts.
But unfortunately,
the girl hadn't been very lucky. She had died during the voyage.
Fortunately, this was only a deduction for the evaluation, not a fixed reality.
In the timeline Xu Yun had returned to, Lilani was still a little girl with unresolved feelings.
Xu Yun let out a long breath, then continued reading.
Elula Askew, Andrea Askew:
William Askew's younger twin daughters. In the original history, they married one after the other in 1671. Poor nutrition due to the family's poverty led to their deaths at the ages of thirty-eight and forty-one.
After the "Wall-facer" intervened, their nutrition gradually improved before they reached adulthood. They married normally and had children, then both died at the age of sixty-six.
William Askew and his wife:
Isaac Newton's uncle and aunt. After the "Wall-facer" intervened, the William family not only paid off their debts but also became Lincolnshire's largest ketchup distributor.
Later, driven by a desire for political status, William entered politics in early 1686. In October 1688, James II knighted him.
A month later, with the Glorious Revolution nearing its end, James II fled to France. The new monarch stripped Sir William of his title. After paying a hefty fine, he was released. Disillusioned, William returned to Woolsthorpe. While going through the family tree, he discovered a trace of African ancestry in his family.
Xu Yun: "..."
Well, this one was another classic unlucky fellow. He'd already lost a pile of money in business before all that.
His gaze slid down again, and his expression gradually grew serious.
According to the dialogue box, the characters' results were arranged in ascending order.
In other words, the remaining few had been affected more directly or indirectly by him.
Isaac Barrow:
Isaac Newton's teacher and Lucasian Professor at Trinity College, Cambridge University. In the original history, he resigned because of Hooke, devoted himself to theology, and died young at forty-seven.
In the "1665" instance, under the influence of the "Wall-facer," Barrow continued his research into mathematical theory.
In 1668, Barrow and Newton coauthored a paper titled Lecture Notes on Formulas. It introduced differential calculus, curve lengths, variable substitution in definite integrals, and even the beginnings of the Implicit Differentiation Theorem.
In 1673, Barrow became Vice President of Cambridge University. In 1680, he officially took over as president and began reforming the school.
In 1683, Barrow improved methods for solving higher-order equations and outlined a shift from geometric to analytical methods. This led to the related theories of Euler, Lagrange, Laplace, and others appearing anywhere from several years to over a decade earlier.
In 1685, Barrow proposed Series Theory, a major breakthrough in the concept of functions. He also wrote the renowned mathematical work The Elements of Arithmetic.
In later generations, Barrow was called "Newton's strongest pillar" and "the giant who raised up a giant," among other titles.
In mathematics, Barrow held a position equivalent to Fourier in the "Wall-facer's" history: one of the great founders of the field.
[Special weighting: 6]
After reading Barrow's deduction results, Xu Yun couldn't help but breathe a little easier.
Though he hadn't even met Barrow during this time, and had no idea whether he was tall, short, fat, or thin,
from the perspective of a later-generation researcher in mathematics and physics, Xu Yun was naturally glad to see such a remarkable figure escape obscurity.
In humanity's long history of civilization, countless geniuses as brilliant as Barrow had died before their time.
Among them, Barrow was actually one of the lucky ones, since he'd left behind manuscripts. At least later generations could learn of him and admire his achievements.
Some people's fates were far crueler than Barrow's. They faded away without a sound, leaving not even a ripple behind.
A genius who might have rivaled Newton or Einstein could have died in a single war or famine. No one could say for sure.
So, as a researcher, Xu Yun was genuinely happy for Barrow.
It was just a shame that the Barrow of the original history couldn't be changed. Otherwise, modern mathematics could probably have been advanced by twenty or thirty years. As for how much harder that would make high school and university math, Xu Yun couldn't care less. He'd already graduated from university. The harder things were for his junior schoolmates, the better!
What did it matter to him if the students who came after him failed their courses?
Xu Yun composed himself, then looked at the name second from the bottom.
Robert Hooke.
Robert Hooke, a pioneer and founder of several physical theories in the original history, and the discoverer and namer of the cell.
Under the influence of the "Wall-facer," Robert Hooke failed to challenge Barrow in 1665 and devoted much of his energy to deriving and analyzing the linear strain of a medium occupying space. But without the necessary mathematical tools, he made no progress for years.
In April 1672, Hooke proposed that light waves were transverse waves, only for Newton to deal him a crushing blow with the Dispersion Equation a month later.
In March 1674, Hooke proposed a theory of planetary motion. But before he could send the letter, Newton publicly unveiled the Formula for Square Ratio of Elliptical Orbit.
That August, Newton presented Hooke's Law—which Hooke had originally been set to propose in 1678—under the name "Newton's laws of mechanics." For a time, all eyes were on him.
After realizing he'd reached a dead end, Hooke shifted his attention to optical instruments. But just two weeks before his theories were about to make a breakthrough, he saw Newton publish the Product of Refractive Angles Formula.
In 1675, Hooke developed the balance spring. In the same period, Newton published no research updates, but on the day Hooke's paper came out, Eloise Bryce gave birth to Barrow's third child.
In 1682, Hooke fell ill from depression and died twenty-one years early.
However, since Hooke had spent years being thoroughly outclassed by Newton in this timeline, his portrait was fortunately preserved after his death instead of being destroyed.
Later generations called Hooke "a great biologist" and "the founder of optical instruments." His nicknames included "British Zhou Yu" and "Great Britain Experience Baby," among others.
Xu Yun: "..."
Then he lowered his gaze to the final part of the dialogue box.
[Worldline deduction complete. The "1665" instance will next open based on the "Wall-facer's" progress] [Current instance lock time: 1665.11.8] (I checked the 1665 calendar. The first Sunday was the 1st, so the market on the second Sunday was on the 8th.) [Novice Mission: Heard you have a lot of things you can't let go of? Try living a little more freely!] [Mission difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆] [Mission requirements: Become friends with the young Isaac Newton in any sense of the word. Do not casually interfere in historical events that you were not personally involved in.] [Mission completion/expected completion (weighted score): 51/4] [Mission evaluation: Something you could've finished by giving Newton your gold wire glasses turned into a timeline-changing mess. You must have some misunderstanding about what "Novice Mission" means. There's no saving you. Just wait to die. I'm out!] [Reward for mission completion has been determined!]
A moment later,
three reward items appeared in front of Xu Yun: a card, a golden egg, and a piece of parchment.
Xu Yun reached out to touch them without thinking. They floated toward him on their own, and the related information appeared in his mind:
[Newton 30-Minute Mind Experience Card] X1: Activate it and you'll briefly gain the speed of Newton at his peak, age twenty-two. Go have a mental brawl with Yan Ruyu! [Reality Mystery Egg] X1: Nyah nyah nyah! [Fifth-Generation Imidacloprid Formula] X1: This is a good thing, but actually mastering it won't be easy.
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