Mysterious Appearance of the Sports Shoes

Inside the grilled fish restaurant.

After perfunctory goodbyes to Li Yi, Xu Yun leaned against the wall, pulled out his phone, and directly opened Weibo.

As expected, as soon as he scanned the trending topics list, he saw the topic Li Yi had mentioned:

#Newton Portrait, Anta#

The trending topic had already dropped to eighth place, below '#Snowy Slow Motion#', and further up was '#Stilts Box Office#'.

Xu Yun couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Weibo was ultimately more entertainment-focused. Plus, the brand name at the end likely caused some users to dismiss it as an advertisement, leading to a topic that would have certainly topped the charts within the physics community to be in such a middling state on social media.

Xu Yun then swiped the screen a few times and selected a post from a major media outlet. He found that the post contained two images extracted from a foreign media outlet, accompanied by a long block of Chinese text.

"According to Great Britain's 'Underworld Television' BXC, renowned British collector Belham Brisson passed away last Monday from liver cancer. His will stipulated that his collection of over 80 items be donated to the British Museum."

"The donation ceremony began yesterday at 8 PM Beijing time. Over 50 media outlets were present to cover and broadcast the event, with approximately 200 people in attendance."

"The Newton portrait that sparked the discussion is item number 34. A reporter from Peninsula Television discovered while taking photos that a table behind Newton in the painting depicted a pair of modern-style sports shoes."

"This immediately raised questions from some media present. One reporter suggested on the spot that the painting might have been modernly altered. However, the director of the British Museum, Puzemeisluo Mills, stated that as one of the world's four major museums, every piece entering the collection undergoes precise age analysis. He guaranteed that the portrait was created by the renowned 17th-century painter Aesvid and presented the appraisal report on the spot."

"Several internationally renowned experts also analyzed the portrait on-site and unanimously concluded it was Aesvid's original work. The expert panel included two renowned scholars from Huaxia Academy of Fine Arts, @Yangmei Chen Yiping and @Yangmei Gu Guangtao."

"However, Puzemeisluo Mills also admitted that the museum had never found these suspected modern sports shoes during previous appraisals and tests. It was as if they had appeared in the painting overnight."

Xu Yun then enlarged the images in the post and examined them carefully.

The main subject of the portrait was an elderly Newton, whose temperament and appearance were noticeably different from Little Ox's. However, from the eyebrows and facial contours, one could still vaguely see the shadow of the young man who loved to reason with people.

In the painting, the elderly Newton wore elegant blue robes, held a Holy Book in his arms, and gazed forward with a solemn expression.

Behind him, one could see a fireplace, lounge chair, and other furnishings. On the table to his right rear, the side of a pair of sports shoes could be faintly seen.

Xu Yun was very familiar with these sports shoes. He had spent 328 yuan to buy them from a physical store, the same pair that Little Ox had taken.

It was obvious.

Under the influence of some special power, parts of his experiences in a parallel universe had been reflected in the history of his own world.

If nothing unexpected happened, this should be the easter egg reward.

How to put it...

After experiencing rebirth and time travel, Xu Yun's acceptance of such situations was already quite high.

So, rather than being shocked, he felt a hint of joy, or rather, the excitement of knowing the truth that no one else did.

Just as Xu Yun's thoughts were racing, his junior classmates beside him were also sharing their opinions.

"I think the possibility of it being a coincidence is higher."

The speaker was the last male student among the five, named Ren Yongcun, who was also Xiao Zhao's classmate and roommate, currently in his first year of graduate studies.

"I remember Brogues from the 17th century had laces, right? Maybe Old Master Newton had a whim and modified a pair of shoes? After all, paintings aren't cameras. Perhaps by chance, it just happened to match that pair of Anta shoes."

Hearing this, Tang Yiqiu shook her head and pointed at the photo.

"Senior Ren, we're all science students. We shouldn't be too sentimental in our thinking. Honestly, how likely do you think this is?

Look here, the shoe upper has red and white with a small patch of black, exactly like that pair of Anta shoes. It's really hard to describe such a situation as a coincidence."

"Exactly, exactly."

Zhou Peiyao puffed out her cheeks and chimed in, then pointed at Tang Yiqiu's bowl.

"Chuchu, want a beef ball? My side dishes don't have any, I'll trade you a potsticker!"

"It's Qiūqiū, no, it's Yiqiu."

Tang Yiqiu softly argued, then reluctantly put a beef ball into Zhou Peiyao's bowl.

"Senior, be careful. I ordered the super spicy. You might not be able to handle it."

Zhou Peiyao grinned and reached into the hood of Tang Yiqiu's down jacket, rubbing it repeatedly.

"Got it. You're from Jiangxi, right? You probably use chili water to brush your teeth."

"."

Seeing the relationship between his junior classmates gradually warming up, Xu Yun couldn't help but show a hint of joy.

Although the character of Li Yi and the other four was beyond doubt – those with bad reputations or lacking ability wouldn't pass Xu Yun's initial screening – for a team to progress smoothly, individual ability alone was meaningless. Mutual understanding was also crucial. At the very least, they couldn't be strangers throughout.

Xu Yun's original plan was to use this meal as an icebreaker, guiding the atmosphere to make everyone more relaxed. He was quite experienced in such matters, having attended plenty of banquets in his previous life, and could learn a lot just by observing.

Unexpectedly, before he could even speak, this trending topic on Weibo provided everyone with an opportunity to get to know each other better. After several rounds of discussion and speculation, the five of them had clearly become much more familiar.

Zhou Peiyao, in particular, was almost in a relationship with Tang Yiqiu now.

When he had time, he would take them out for barbecue again. The interpersonal relationships within the temporary research group would then be mostly solidified.

Afterward, the group chatted for a while longer. Once everyone was full, Xu Yun settled the bill.

As they walked out of the restaurant, Xu Yun was about to tell everyone to head back to the lab when his heart suddenly tensed.

He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking to Li Yi, the only second-year graduate student among the five:

"Xiao Li, take Xiao Tang and Xiao Zhao back to the lab first. I still have some paperwork to sort out with Director Tian. You guys listen to Old Qiu's instructions until I get back. You can contact me anytime if anything comes up. I'll be back before 3 PM."

Li Yi nodded:

"No problem, Xu God. Go ahead and do your thing. Is there anything you want me to relay?"

"Nothing else. Be careful during the experiment."

"Got it!"

After parting ways with Li Yi and the others, Xu Yun quickly returned to his home, locked the door, and entered that secluded space.

At this very moment, the number displayed on the door representing the 1665 Instance was a striking

3/100!

If anyone has any fun black technology ideas, feel free to leave a comment. Nothing too grand, just write down whatever comes to mind.