The collision of worlds

Time flows silently.

It was as if all the trivial matters had fallen silent at that moment.

Is this what it feels like to be relied upon?

With such a woman nestled against his chest, fast asleep, no one would want to wake her.

The boy looked at the pristine white clock on the wall. In this era, old-fashioned mechanical clocks were rare. This one had no dial markings, only three black hands.

As for what time it is, you can judge by feeling based on the position of the pointer.

Qin Yiguan suddenly narrowed his eyes.

But the second hand moved forward three times, then backward once, and so on in a continuous cycle.

Um?

Is this mechanical clock running out of power?

Otherwise, wouldn't 3 seconds become 2 seconds, reducing the quietly flowing time by a third?

Qin Yiguan bowed his head.

But then he saw Jiaolong, who was lying on his chest, had woken up at some point. She opened her eyes, her cheek pressed against his chest, and quietly looked at him.

Her beautiful eyes were sparkling clear; after only a five-minute nap, her weariness had vanished completely.

What's with that look on her eyes? Is she trying to cling to me?

Hmm... what should we name our child?

hiss...

Why do I have this thought?

Why am I always so unable to extricate myself from a chance encounter?

Qin Yiguan tilted his head slightly.

But then Jiaolong asked, "Can you see my clock?"

The boy said, "It seems to be malfunctioning."

"Um..."

Jiaolong suddenly sat up and ran her hand through her short white hair. "Sorry, I just fell asleep, but I remember your question. You asked me whether parallel universes can interact, and what evidence you have."

"To express my apology, I will explain this issue to you clearly."

Jiaolong stood up, took her white coat, put it on, and gently zipped it up. "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."

Qin Yiguan's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately stood up.

The two went outside the shop.

Jiaolong gazed into the distance, her short white hair fluttering slightly in the wind. "It's quite far away, hundreds of thousands of kilometers."

"So far?"

Qin Yiguan frowned. "My current identity makes it inconvenient for me to openly use the Three-Legged Cat. Do you... have any means of transportation?"

"No."

Jiaolong calmly replied, "I usually run this distance."

"Run?"

Qin Yiguan was very puzzled, "Hundreds of thousands of kilometers, running there?"

"Um."

"Run there."

Jiaolong reached out and unexpectedly grasped Qin Yiguan's hand.

The latter only felt that the slender palm was warm and cool, and it felt very comfortable to hold.

Jiaolong grabbed Qin Yiguan and started running.

It must be said that this beautiful girl in a white jacket and white trousers, running, is the most beautiful sight on the street, instantly attracting the attention of countless people.

Qin Yiguan followed behind her, watching the scenery on both sides rush past, rows of shop windows of all kinds, and the faces of all kinds of pedestrians flashing by.

Gradually, the scenery on both sides began to blur, like clusters of colorful light and shadow, rapidly receding.

And then...

The surrounding space also became somewhat dark, and the colorful light and shadow transformed into streaks of colorful rays.

It's like traveling through a time tunnel.

Qin Yiguan was stunned.

This feeling... [Time Lag Syndrome]!

Previously, after receiving the CPH4 injection, he experienced the same phenomenon after running at top speed!

Has this speed reached some kind of limit, allowing it to traverse time and space?

But at this moment, Qin Yiguan hadn't injected CPH4; this ability clearly came from...

He looked at his hand being held, then at Jiaolong's back.

She has so many secrets!

In such a 'tunnel', time seems to be a rather vague concept.

I don't know how long I ran.

Jiaolong slowed down and gradually came to a stop.

The surroundings gradually returned to normal, becoming a scene that could be recognized by human eyes.

Qin Yiguan stared blankly at his surroundings.

This place is desolate and lonely.

It resembles a desert, but it's not entirely a desert.

The surface is covered with sand dunes and gravel, and in the distance there are wind-eroded peaks, as well as crisscrossing valleys and dry riverbeds.

From this perspective, it presents an odd red hue.

Everything in sight had a slightly reddish tinge.

Qin Yiguan squatted down, grabbed a handful of sand, and let it flow through his fingers. He could clearly see that the sand was slightly reddish, and although it seemed to have a hot feel, it was actually slightly cool.

"Here..."

Qin Yiguan frowned. "I feel like I've seen this before... maybe in some pictures."

"I have a... flaw, called [Cosmic Phobia], I never dare to look up at the Starry Night."

"But I'm actually very curious about the universe, and I don't understand why I'm afraid."

"I've looked up images of some celestial bodies."

"This terrain..."

Qin Yiguan's expression hardened. "Is this Mars?!"

He suddenly stood up, looking around at the breathtaking scenery, "We've escaped the Metaverse, even escaped Earth... we've reached Mars?!"

"Wrong!"

"The gravity here is just like on Earth. There must be air here too, right?"

But Jiaolong calmly replied, "You're overthinking it. This is Earth."

"To be precise, this is the Core Earth of the Metaverse, only its landscape is a one-to-one replica of the Physical Earth."

"Our current location."

"This is Qinghai, China. 75 kilometers ahead is Lenghu Town in the Qaidam Basin."

Qin Yiguan was taken aback. "This is a location on Earth? Then what's with this terrain?"

Jiaolong said slowly, "This place is known as the most Mars- like place on Earth."

Jiaolong walked slowly forward along the dirt road under her feet, and came to a huge black door frame.

At the top of this door frame sits a silver astronaut sculpture.

The sign next to it reads: -- 315 Interstellar Space Station.

Jiaolong slowly said, "A hundred years ago, this was a famous scenic spot. Passing through this gate, you would reach ' Mars Highway No. 1,' and on both sides of the highway, you could see landscapes exactly like those on Mars."

"This gate is called ' 315 Interstellar Space Station ' because passing through it gives you the feeling of having completed an interstellar journey."

Qin Yiguan nodded slowly. "So, this is a peculiar landscape. The name sounds like something out of science fiction, but I don't quite understand the purpose of our visit."

Jiaolong walked slowly, looking at the scenery around her.

A gust of wind blew from afar, stirring up a cloud of dust and ruffling her short white hair.

It must be said that the Mars landscape around them was incredibly realistic, and with Jiaolong's distinctive short white hair and flawless white skin, she truly gave off the feeling of being an alien life form against this 'alien' backdrop.

In geography.

This type of landform has a professional name: 'Yardang landform'.

"In human understanding, its formation is primarily due to a series of water inflows and outflows, that is, the continuous drying up of rivers and lakes. Then, under long-term geological weathering, the wind carries away the loose sand layer, leaving behind the mudstone layer."

"Later, as the strong winds continued to erode the soil, the sand and soil layers slowly formed wind-eroded valleys and depressions, while the hard rocks formed island-like mounds of varying sizes."

"At dusk, the place is bathed in red; it's practically a second Mars."

Jiaolong patiently explained.

Qin Yiguan nodded upon hearing this, "I've learned a lot. Nature's artistry is truly astounding; many of its sights defy human understanding."

"Really."

Jiaolong looked at Qin Yiguan and said slowly, "After hearing a set of logically consistent statements filled with professional jargon, humans will believe anything."

Qin Yiguan suddenly paused, taken aback.

Jiaolong gazed into the distance and slowly said, "Didn't you ask me before whether parallel worlds exist and what evidence I had?"

"The land beneath our feet is the evidence."

"83 years ago, Parallel Universe No. 2 collided with this universe, but they separated immediately upon contact."

"Ordinary people can't feel any of this."

"Mars debris from Universe No. 2 was left behind on Earth."

This has created what is known as Yardang landforms.

"We are indeed located on Earth, but the surrounding landscape is actually from Mars."

"However, it's from Mars in a parallel universe."

PS: The "most Mars -like place on Earth" really exists; it's the Lenghu Eboliang Yardang in northwestern Qinghai.

Yardang landform

Mars Highway Number One

315 Interstellar Space Station (Entrance)

' Mars Town ' open to tourists