How to Save the World / Bubble

At that moment, the communicator on the Hyperion suddenly rang. Real-time communication was almost impossible in the Quantum Sea, but they were currently docked at a clear coordinate point. As long as they had the Hyperion's communication channel and the coordinate point, they could access the communicator.

But besides them and Lin, who else knows about the Hyperion's communication channels?

Rita's fingertips trembled, and her usually impeccably composed face now appeared somewhat gloomy. Delta looked at her with even more curiosity. "Maid, why aren't you answering the communication?"

"Drop--"

The brief beeping of the communicator echoed continuously throughout the vast ship.

Delta seemed to realize something, looking at Rita with a cold expression, while the other party chose to answer the call when the communicator beeped for the tenth time.

"Hello, hello, hello, testing the sound."

The familiar voice didn't surprise Rita; instead, it made Delta open her eyes slightly in astonishment, her pink pupils filled with surprise.

Because that's Lin's voice.

However, the voice was very casual, unlike what that cold-faced man would say.

"Oh dear, it's been a while since I've used real-time communication, so it took a lot of time to debug." The other person chuckled rather nonchalantly. "Hello? Is anyone there? Rita? Are you still on the ship?"

"..."

Delta noticed a dark undercurrent visibly rising in Rita's beautiful eyes, but receiving no response, she continued nonchalantly, "I know you're here, after all, you certainly wouldn't abandon the Hyperion and leave."

"..."

"Still angry? Haha, didn't I guide you to Lin?"

"... Captain, I'm not like you."

"Oh? You're finally willing to speak?"

After receiving a response, the other person's tone became even more relaxed. He chuckled and said, "Which captain are you talking about? The one who left before? Or the one now?"

"You know very well, don't you? Former captain." Rita enunciated the words "former captain" with clenched teeth, which made Delta frown.

The former captain? The one who set the navigation goal?

"I'm sorry, the former captain you're talking about isn't me, but Lin is indeed quite different from me. You probably like this type, right?"

"..."

"Don't be a silent type like him, won't you say something?"

Did you make this?

"You've finally gotten to the crucial point. Unfortunately, I can't give you the answer you're looking for." The other person's tone softened as they slowly explained, "This wasn't done by me. In fact, someone on my end has been helping him. The problem he's facing is both complicated and simple."

"The simple thing is that he created the current situation himself, and he can end it without any problem."

"The trouble is... even if you scratch off a 'thank you' card, you're still not satisfied."

His identity has vanished?

"Although I have never traveled to the Quantum Sea, you are different. You are someone from outside this world. Your ability allows you to easily enter the World Bubble and be accepted by it."

"But since you don't belong to this world, you will eventually be rejected. However, you did two things."

"You have signed a contract with Theresa, and a contract with the moon. Because of your characteristic as a consciousness, these so-called 'contracts' have become a real and substantial existence imprinted on your consciousness."

"The people outside the world have formed too deep a connection with the people in this world, and even with the Aether Anchor. If I'm not mistaken, then the World Bubble's rejection mechanism will malfunction. Simply put, it's... bugged."

Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Method to Save the World

"Although most of the above are just my guesses without enough evidence, Mr. Lin must know more about the Quantum Sea than I do, so he should know whether the reason for all this is you."

Otto enjoyed Kallen and Lin's gaze as much as he enjoyed the fine wine in his hand. He seemed indifferent to the huge hole in the sky outside, and also indifferent to the safety of the entire Canghai City.

"..."

Otto was indeed a shrewd man. By posing the question to Lin himself, he clearly wanted to get a precise answer from Lin.

The Quantum Sea has its own rules.

This can be seen from the existence of the Aether Anchor, the identity arrangement during each consciousness mapping, and the difference between the Intrinsic World and the World Bubble.

However, the Quantum Sea directly rejecting a specific person is unprecedented.

Looking back now, it's possible that Lin, Yue, and Theresa's consciousnesses became entangled under the influence of the Aether Anchor. In the process of Yue killing Lin thousands of times, Lin's consciousness mapping ability was weakened, which was then detected by the rejection mechanism of the Quantum Sea, ultimately leading to the current situation.

In the first two cycles, Theresa's madness was solely due to her own blood thirst. However, as Lin signed a contract with Theresa, her consciousness was mixed with a part of Theresa's. Then, Lin signed a contract with Yue, and his consciousness merged with Yue's. Thus, the rejection mechanism of the Quantum Sea was not only targeting Lin, but also Yue and Theresa were within its attack range.

Initially, it only drove Yue and Theresa mad. This time, Lin planned to imprison the two of them to prevent them from going mad, so the Quantum Sea directly sent a group of Hunter to this World Bubble.

This undoubtedly accelerated the decline of the World Bubble.

"It seems you already have the answer."

"Wait a minute." Kallen's eyes were fixed on the silent, head bowed. "So, you mean, right now, you, Yue, and Theresa will be hunted down by this world, and even by things outside of this world?"

"No." Lin denied this statement. His neck throbbed slightly, and he clenched his fingers. "The Quantum Sea is not hunting down individual people like us. Rather, it triggers various anomalies when we get close—or rather, when we are in the same World Bubble."

This is not an anomaly caused by a single person, nor even entirely by the Aether Anchor, but rather a result of multiple events and individuals, including Lin, working together to lead to this outcome.

In order to revive Kallen, Otto began an experiment. During the experiment, he created Theresa, Kallen, and Yue, and implanted Aether Anchor into Yue's body to use as a magnetic head to cycle time within the World Bubble. Then Theresa and Kallen's escape caused Theresa to suffer from blood thirst syndrome, where she met Lin and formed a contract with him.

Then, in order to resolve the anomaly and fulfill his promise to Theresa Kallen, Lin continued to contact them. During this process, he encountered Yue and a conflict broke out. Yue wanted Lin to become her familiar, but Lin, who did not agree, was killed by her more than three thousand times, which weakened the effectiveness of the consciousness mapping. This made Lin the target of the World Bubble's rejection mechanism, and ultimately, a forced contract was formed. That is, the pseudo-power of the Herrscher of Corruption was used to erode Lin's consciousness, making them completely a "bug" in the Quantum Sea.

If Otto hadn't created Theresa and the others, if Theresa hadn't longed for the world outside the cage, if Lin hadn't continued to fulfill the promise, if Yue hadn't killed Lin three thousand times, then none of this would have happened.

"So... what should we do next?" Kallen had barely understood the whole story, but she knew very little about the Quantum Sea and had no idea what to do.

How do you patch up the huge hole in the sky? Like Nuwa Mending the Heavens?

"It's very simple." Otto put down his glass, extended a hand to Lin, and looked calm and polite. "All you need to do is... Mr. Lin, leave this world."

"..."

Lin Mo silently watched Otto extend his sincere hand, and the other man slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

"Since the problem was caused by the close proximity of Lin, Theresa, and the Herrscher of Corruption's consciousness, then all that's needed is for Mr. Lin to leave this world that doesn't welcome him in the first place, and everything will return to normal and proceed according to the predetermined trajectory."

"Since just now, I've been wondering why their merging of consciousness would trigger..."

Kallen's question ultimately returned to the most fundamental "why," and Otto seemed surprised that Kallen still hadn't fully grasped the reason. So, after a moment's thought, he slowly said, "First of all, the Mr. Lin in front of us is not him in person."

"Not the person in question?"

Kallen scrutinized Lin's unreal appearance once more. Did this mean he was in someone else's body?

"That's not quite accurate. It should be said that it wasn't his physical body, but rather his consciousness that replaced his body and entered the World Bubble."

"..."

Kallen frowned repeatedly as she listened, but she didn't want to ask the blond man any questions. Instead, she looked at Lin, who sighed and explained, "If I enter the World Bubble directly with my original body, there will be many unnecessary troubles, such as the World Bubble's rejection mechanism this time. But if I enter using consciousness mapping, then I will have deceived the World Bubble and become a resident who 'originally belongs to this world'."

"That's right, but just as the human body develops resistance to all drugs, it's just a matter of how much and how long it takes. He was killed frequently in the cycle, and the World Bubble gradually noticed his differences from this world. So the World Bubble had to eliminate Mr. Lin, who did not belong to this world."

Otto picked up another glass of wine from the table, and while still holding out his hand, he offered it to Lin, but all he received in return was an indifferent gaze.

He shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, and continued, "The actions of Theresa and Yue in eroding Mr. Lin's consciousness caused their consciousnesses to merge, leading the World Bubble and even the Quantum Sea to believe that the three of them were a programming error, making it impossible to identify who was who whenever they got close."

"Just because of... something like that?" Kallen murmured in disbelief.

"... The Quantum Sea has its own set of rules, but it is also very 'careless,' more like an AI with a pre-programmed sequence. Anything that does not conform to the program is a virus."

Trying to reason with an AI is simply unrealistic; it has no empathy and doesn't consider the situation.

"So now, the best and simplest solution is for Mr. Lin to leave and never approach Theresa and Yue again." Otto still held out his hand, tilting his head and smiling. "How about it, Mr. Lin? Let's put aside our differences, drink this glass of wine, and then leave to save the world?"

Lin stared into Otto's smiling eyes, not looking at the outstretched hand for even a second.

Chapter Seventy-Eight: A Bubble

The clouds gathered into an indescribable shape, then quickly dispersed in the wind, obscuring an orange halo, but unable to conceal the wound that tore the sky apart.

Thinking is a long process. Weighing the pros and cons and judging the merits and demerits are all part of thinking. When people first start thinking, they will reject the answers provided by their instincts, which is contrary to the act of thinking. However, people are inclined to seek benefits and avoid harms. Often, the answers provided by instincts are more suitable for their own interests than those provided by thinking.

Thinking is a privilege of humankind, but in the end, we still leave everything to animal instincts to decide. Isn't that ironic?

Lin looked up at the sky and, for some reason, remembered what Theresa had said: she wanted to see the end of the sky.

Does the end of the sky really exist?

What he was thinking about was not the end of this sky, but the end beyond the sky, beyond the Quantum Sea and the Imaginary Tree.

An infant's sky is the canopy of a stroller; an adult's sky is a reflection of the atmosphere.

I always thought I had escaped the cage and come to the blue sky, but in the end I was just entering another, bigger cage.

Lin had no complaints. He wasn't the kind of person who wanted to break free from everything and be unrestrained. He just thought... since even the world was deceiving him, what could he believe in?

"Heh, I know what you're thinking. This person in front of you is not trustworthy. He puts the lives of the entire world on a precarious thread, using the moon to complete his experiments. He is indifferent to life, disregards morality, and... is full of lies."

The blond man voiced the concerns of the person before him; he understood better than anyone how he was perceived by others.

"Most importantly, what will I do to Kallen, Theresa, and Miss Moon after you leave? Won't my continued research using the Aether Anchor also threaten the safety of this world?"

His magnetic voice uttered chillingly frivolous words.

Otto disregarded Kallen standing to the side, and he didn't even shy away from Lin, directly stating all the contradictions.

"But if you don't leave, the Quantum Sea and the World Bubble will continue to trigger various phenomena to hunt you down, affecting all the residents of the World Bubble. At the same time, they will not be able to escape unscathed."

"And taking them away is even more impossible. After leaving this World Bubble, there will be no Aether Anchor. If we are even slightly careless... Hehe, I'm sure you remember their fates every time."

This is an unsolvable deadlock.

And all of this seems like a... joke.

Unbeknownst to him, Lin himself became involved in the process of this world's distortion, and he personally created the cage that imprisoned Theresa and Yue.

There was no conspiracy, no way to change it, only cold, malice from the whole world. Even if Otto was eliminated, there was no way to stop this malice.

That's why Otto was so fearless. After a long period of observation, he knew that Lin was someone who would do anything for the safety of the people in this world, even if this world had nothing to do with him.

"Hmm... it seems you need some more time to consider, but I suggest you hurry up, since no one knows what else might come out of that opening in the sky."

After Otto finished speaking, he told Lin to do as he pleased. He did not allow anyone to monitor Lin and let Lin roam freely in Schicksal.

He didn't need to threaten or coerce Lin at all.

A person's conscience can oppress him.

Lin Lian didn't even have the chance to choose between Yue and Theresa, or to choose this World Bubble. The Quantum Sea didn't give him a chance. Either they would disappear with the World Bubble, or... he would have to give them up and leave this World Bubble.

Rita would occasionally say that Lin was a sentimental rationalist, a contradictory assessment that was a true reflection of him.

"Would you like some food or wine?" After a third of an hour of blazing sunshine, Lin heard a soft sigh from behind, followed by a forced, lighthearted greeting, "Or... perhaps you'd like some conversation to help you open up?"

The tall girl walked to his side, leaned against the wall, and together they looked up at the crack in the sky, a scar on the World Bubble, now known as a "doomsday omen" by the inhabitants of this world.

Kallen withdrew her gaze from the deep, piercing crack that seemed ready to unleash a claw at any moment, and instead looked at the man's profile, sighing softly, "Are you feeling guilty? Do you think you caused this situation?"

"..."

Lin did not answer her. He still looked like he was eighteen, like a vibrant young man, but his eyes were already old.

The fragments of memory in his mind were like shards of glass piercing his brain, sinking deeper and deeper, and the bleeding from them increased. Both the memories he didn't want to recall and the memories he wanted to recall attacked his consciousness irrationally.

Accompanied by a low chuckle from the white-haired man.

"I had the same thought as you before."

"..."

"When I first learned that Otto had awakened me from this body, conducted experiments on it, and created Theresa, I wondered if I was the cause of Theresa's suffering. Was it because of me that Theresa, who should not have existed, was born into the world and was punished with pain?"

Lin's dark eyes shifted slightly, and Kallen saw his black and gray eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"But... imposing evil, which is not of subjective will, on subjective consciousness ultimately amounts to nothing more than consequentialism. If one is born meaningless and evil, then was everything the fault of Saintess Kallen, who died five hundred years ago?"

Lin's voice had his own unique hoarseness. "This is different."

"Of course it's different, because Saintess Kallen didn't know that she caused these things after her death, and she wouldn't even feel remorse for it. But you... Lin, maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but you've just taken on a fault that isn't yours."

"..."

"What you need now is to have a good meal, and then work together to figure out how to fix the cracks above our heads," Kallen said, shaking her finger at the silent man. "Instead of being bound by the past, we should focus on the present."

Lin and Kallen looked at each other.

One is cold and indifferent, the other laughs and is optimistic.

Are we bound by the past...?