Did the world end today?

Chapter 304 We will die together, and we will be reborn together.

Lin Xu's report began with "Greetings to everyone" and ended with "See you in two years."

In just 10 minutes, he spoke at an extremely fast pace, clearly explaining to everyone watching the live stream everything about butterflies, the apocalypse, limiters, time storms, error correctors, and efficiency improvement plans.

He made no secret of the original intention of the efficiency improvement plan, and also explained that the world is unlikely to survive the apocalypse.

After finishing his narration, he remained in the studio to directly answer questions from the emotionally charged audience.

Throughout the process, Lin Xu witnessed firsthand the changes in the public's psychological reaction to the major event of "doomsday".

"How is that possible? We haven't observed any unusual celestial phenomena, haven't discovered any black holes, and haven't seen any supernova explosions. Humanity has developed to this level; we even have the Acquisition Engine. How could we possibly be destroyed by some kind of apocalypse?"

"That's right. With the Akubieri engine, we can even go back to the past and travel to the future with ease. Why can't we escape the apocalypse?"

Such an argument represents denial.

After Lin Xu explained in detail the limitations of the Acubieri engine and the global and real-time nature of the Time Storm, most people's reactions began to change.

"Why? By what right? Why should this kind of apocalypse happen in our universe?"

"This is so unfair! We have no way to resist this apocalypse, are we just supposed to die??"

This is anger.

Seeing this reaction, Lin Xu could only shake his head helplessly.

fair?

Does the universe treat you fairly?
Based on current clues, the apocalyptic source that caused the destruction of the universe is not even within this universe.

It is quite possible that the apocalypse itself was a tsunami originating from a higher dimension.

If you fail to achieve your goal of dimensional ascension, you won't even have the right to confront it.
Lin Xu explained the clues about the cause of the apocalypse again, and this time, the audience's reaction entered the third stage.

compromise.

"Although this kind of apocalyptic disaster seems unsolvable, we still have ways to deal with it, right?"

"Even with the current level of technology, we should be able to avoid the apocalypse."

"Ascending to a higher dimension is a single path, isn't it?"

Dimensional ascension is indeed a possible path, but the question is, given the current level of technology and productivity in this world, what are the limits it can reach?
That's the limiter.

Further high-dimensional adaptability and other more complex problems are far from being solved, let alone approached.

This answer is despairing, even callous.

But Lin Xu still spoke up.

At that moment, he felt like the only survivor in a team, forced to go door-to-door to inform his comrade's family of his death.

When he finished speaking, the scrolling comments in the live stream even paused for a few seconds.

Everyone was stunned by this uncompromising answer.

Perhaps they thought that the butterfly sitting in the studio should give the answer in a gentler and more appropriate way.

Perhaps they thought that this butterfly should at least give them a sliver of hope.

but no.

Lin Xu simply sat there, answering all the questions like an emotionless robot.

A sense of frustration began to sweep across the land. Lin Xu saw on the screen that small-scale riots had begun to break out in some areas of the city.

Thanks to prior preparations, the unrest was quickly contained.

However, if left unchecked, there is no doubt that the riots will inevitably escalate to an uncontrollable level.

There are 11 minutes left.

Lin Xu knew that the only ones who could quell the riots now were not the loyal soldiers deployed outside.

but yourself.

Every word I am about to say will determine whether everyone in the world continues to sit in front of their screens and listen, or takes to the streets and unleashes a desperate riot.

There's a long way to go from frustration to acceptance.

He had to get everyone in the world across that distance within ten minutes.

What should I do?
The official contingency plan actually lists many different options.

The continuous advancement of technology, 18 years of glorious and brilliant life, humanity's inevitable ascension to a higher dimension, and the future where every individual is destined for rebirth.
But Lin Xu always felt it wasn't enough.

Of all these solutions, there's always something missing.

It is rational, but not persuasive.

Empathy.

Humans can never imagine things they haven't experienced.

From the very beginning, the sole purpose of needing a real, "personified" butterfly was singular.

That is.
To allow the people here to clearly understand the purpose of the butterfly's existence.

After a slight pause, Lin Xu looked up at Qin Feng, then at Jiang Xingye, whose face was full of determination.

The latter nodded to him, and he let out a soft breath before tossing away the manuscript in his hand.

Then he began to speak:
"When I first realized I could enter other worlds, the only thing I wanted to do was to be a porter between different worlds."

After saying this, Lin Xu didn't check the real-time interactive feedback again.

He just kept talking.

"But I soon discovered that I couldn't take things from one world to another."

"So, I turned my attention to information from another world."

"I thought that maybe I could bring information from another world back and resell it for real money."

"After all, information is an asset, and information is very valuable." "I've done this many times, and I thought I was really going to reach the pinnacle of life through this kind of operation."

"Until I discovered the end of the world."

Lin Xu's voice became somewhat low.

His tone seemed to possess a certain magic, and the previously chaotic interactive feedback slowed down a bit in an instant.

His story began, and now the whole world is listening to it.

Lin Xu did not deliberately speed up his speech, nor did he deliberately refine his language.

He was simply describing his death.

He died from severe burning after the flash of white light.

He was shot and bled to death while rushing toward the clues.

In a synchronous orbit, they were torn apart and killed by the powerful gravity.

They died from suffocation and instability after being exposed to space near Mars.

In 2044, 17 years later, he died in the chaos of a time storm due to the failure of the limiter experiment.

Of course, there were countless other times when I pulled the trigger on myself without hesitation, all for the sake of this world.

Lin Xu was remarkably calm when describing his death.

He seemed to be telling someone else's story.

But in the studio, everyone watching him from afar had a subtle change in their expression.

As of 2027, no one truly understands Lin Xu or "Butterfly".

They only established a general outline of butterflies based on Lin Xu's previous description and the limited information provided by Jiang Xingye, without any intuitive understanding.

They knew that the butterfly would restart the world through death, and they also knew that the butterfly must have experienced countless deaths in its previous actions.

But when these bland, cold, and even deliberately restrained words were laid out before them, they still felt a suffocating heaviness.

This butterfly is not a high-ranking "leader".

Of course, he was even less likely to be a speculator.

No speculator would willingly endure repeated, potentially endless, suffering to pursue an uncertain outcome.

At this point, the direction of the discussion in the interactive feedback had begun to change.

The deaths described by Lin Xu are like marks, flashing before everyone's eyes.

And these marks, gradually, have shaped the path he has taken to where he is today.

"I thought butterflies were some kind of high-level, supernatural beings. Turns out you're just a stubborn fool. You've died so many times and still come back? You're practically a god!"

"I thought he was the chosen one, but it turns out he's the chosen unlucky one."

"Honestly, what can a butterfly really gain? In just 20 years, it probably won't even have any normal entertainment, right?"

"It's hard to say that countless worlds are pushing him forward; I can't believe the pressure."

"What can he do? The hopes of the entire world are pinned on his shoulders. If he doesn't do it, who will?"

"Anyway, I'm not going to do it. The world's hopes aren't pinned on him alone. What's the point of him dying multiple times if the other worlds don't cooperate?"

"So this is part of the plan, and we have to cooperate."

"No, butterflies can be reborn after they die, but we can't be reborn."

"That's wrong. We only need to die once. When we open our eyes again, we should already be fished out."

Lin Xu was still recounting his death.

Until the very last time, until the time he was swallowed by a time storm on the shipport when he returned to Earth aboard the Akubierre.

"I once thought we were very close to success."

"But death is always chasing me, chasing all humans in different worlds."

"If this is a long marathon, we've only just run the halfway mark."

"But that's not what I wanted to say."

Lin Xu paused for a moment.

He sat up slightly and glanced at the time.

There's only one minute left.