Did the world end today?

Chapter 396 Higher Dimensional Overflow
That's too late.

As Qin Shizhong said, when the so-called "boundary" begins to appear, the disaster has already begun to become uncontrollable.

One fighter jet after another swept across the border, attempting to destroy the boundary that had been distorted by the rules using various methods, but it was clear that none of these attacks based on classical physics would work on the boundary.

The border continues to spread, like a flood spreading across the land, eroding everything around it.

When the size of the boundary expands to a sufficiently large extent, its "edge effects" finally begin to emerge.

"The gravitational constant near the boundary has begun to change."

"This boundary—or rather, a torn, altered high-dimensional channel—is spreading outward rules that do not belong to our world."

"The spread of rules is slow, but it will continue to accelerate."

"We must find a way to re-restrict this passage."

"The only solution now is to build a giant limiter here, but time is of the essence."

At this point, Zhang Liming frowned.

Based on the shape currently outlined by the "electromagnetic wave non-reflection zone," the boundary is expanding at a rate of approximately 1.05 times per hour.

At this rate, the coverage area of ​​the border will more than double in just one day.

Within a week, the area affected by the border will expand from the current 10-meter radius to more than 10 kilometers.

To "restrict" such a large area, the only option is to rely on a limiter array.

And deploy a limiter with a 10-kilometer scale
"There's no time to make it."

Andy, standing to the side, frowned and spoke up:
"Based on the information we have now, the diffusion of this boundary—or, to be more precise, the 'high-dimensional overflow'—is uncontrollable."

"Not only is the speed of diffusion uncontrollable, but the direction of diffusion is also uncontrollable."

“Even if we take the most optimistic estimate and you do have the ability to complete the deployment of the limiter array within 7 days, we cannot guarantee that the entire limiter array will be able to cover all of these high-dimensional overflows.”

"The scale we need is terrifyingly large—based on current industrial capabilities, it's unlikely we could achieve even with the combined resources of all the countries in the world."

"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean we can't."

Zhang Liming raised his hand to interrupt Andy.

"Since it has already happened, we must find a way to solve it."

"Or what do you plan to do? Just stand by and watch this so-called 'overflow' continue to expand?"

"This is also one of the options available."

Andy's expression was quite serious, without a trace of a joke.

"We believe that the higher-dimensional overflow is not infinitely expanding; it should have a fixed energy source."

"This energy source is definitely not generated out of thin air—it is very likely related to the CKC crystal that we put into the high-dimensional channel."

"But the negative energy contained in the CKC crystal itself is not large, and it cannot sustain this overflow for too long."

"The most likely scenario is that once a certain threshold is reached, the overflow will stop spreading."

"It will settle in this desert in some way and won't cause trouble for anyone."

"The way you're talking is starting to sound more and more like your boss."

Zhang Liming rolled his eyes at Andy, then asked in return:
"So you mean you didn't actually cause any trouble for anyone?"

"You mean you can bear the consequences of this experiment entirely on your own?"

That's actually the case.

Andy nodded in reply:
"In my opinion, you're overreacting a bit."

"Exploration itself is risky, but at least for now, the risks are still within our control."

After Andy finished speaking, Zhang Liming fell silent for a moment.

Indeed, judging from the current situation, the most likely solution to this overflow is to stabilize it within a fixed area to a certain extent.

This is not a speculation based on "ether theory," but a reasonable inference based on Qin Shizhong's narrative and the information that Lin Xu, the butterfly, brought back from another world.

If things go as expected, the best course of action for humanity at present is to ignore the overflow.

Furthermore, during the spillover and diffusion process, research teams can be organized to conduct further exploration of it.

The information obtained from this exploration is also of considerable positive significance for the future development of limiter array technology and high-dimensional adaptive technology.
-
But here is the problem.

Is it really that simple?

If the overflow deviates from its course and human response is even slightly slow, making it impossible to control in time.
The consequences would be disastrous.

This is a choice.

The decision is whether or not to invest a large amount of resources in an unknown risk that may not materialize.

If this overflow is to be controlled, it means that the Lop Nur limiter array project will inevitably have to be postponed.

Resources are limited.

Zhang Liming realized that this was no longer a decision he could make.

Thinking of this, he spoke:
"This decision cannot be limited to the two of us."

"Its impact is too great; I need to get advice from a higher level."

"Similarly, you should also seek the opinion of your leaders."

"How is your old man doing?"

As Zhang Liming finished speaking, Andy nodded somewhat awkwardly.

"He has no problems."

"He was just frightened."

"Scared?"

Zhang Liming asked in confusion:
"Where did this fright come from?"

"The moment the passage was cut."

Andy let out a heavy sigh of relief, then replied:

"The scene was indeed terrifying."

"For a moment, we thought the end of the world had come ahead of schedule."

"But thankfully, that's not the case."

"That's not bad."

Zhang Liming chuckled.

"After this, you should be able to wake up a bit."

"Not everyone can handle high-dimensional technology."

After saying that, he turned and left without hesitation.

Back in his temporary office, he immediately picked up the secure phone and got the call from Lin Xu.

After a while, the call was connected.

Zhang Liming briefly explained the situation, and then raised that crucial question.

"So, should we choose to believe Qin Shizhong's intelligence or our preliminary results in high-dimensional technology research?"

"Should we or shouldn't we?"

"Relocate the limiter array project in Lop Nur to Nevada?"

After he finished asking his question, Lin Xu remained silent for a few seconds.

Immediately afterwards, his voice came through the receiver.

Give me two hours.

I will give you feedback in two hours.

Jinling.

In the office, Lin Xu hung up Zhang Liming's phone call.

Jiang Xingye, standing to the side, looked at him with a slightly worried expression and asked:
"How is the situation on his end?"

Lin Xu shook his head and replied:

"The situation remains quite unclear."

"They have developed a system that can detect the trend of boundary expansion through regions without electromagnetic reflection, but that's all." "We still have no information about the physical properties of the boundary, or what they call 'high-dimensional overflow'."

"Because all the detection methods we currently have are ineffective against this high-dimensional overflow."

"To understand its characteristics, we can only go beyond three dimensions and look back from a higher dimension."

"I suspect that the reason why humanity has failed to cross these so-called boundaries in other worlds I have seen is because of this."

"really."

Jiang Xingye nodded thoughtfully.

"Unlike us, when humans in other worlds are able to solve the overflow problem, there is no need to solve it."

"Therefore, this should be an unsolvable problem."

"Even if you go back to that world of the leapfrog era, they probably won't have the answers, right?"

"uncertain."

Lin Xu pondered for a moment, then replied:
"The last time I entered that world, you and I—the you of that world—broadcast a new spell to other worlds."

“This spell is different from the spells we’ve cast before; it points to a direction of ‘technological breadth’.”

"Under this guidance, humanity should no longer blindly pursue the highest level of dimensional advancement, but instead focus on in-depth research in basic technologies, especially gravity technology."

"This technological direction largely overlaps with the direction of high-dimensional overflow."

"They might understand the manifestation of high-dimensional mapping phenomena in low-dimensional worlds better than any other world."

"So, I can give it a try."

If the answer cannot be found

"It won't be too late for us to make a decision later."

"clear."

Jiang Xingye was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke:
"But I always felt that there was a hint of conspiracy in this series of events."

"conspiracy?"

Lin Xu's eyes flickered slightly.

"Are you referring to the US side, or to Qin Shizhong?"

When Lin Xu mentioned these two names, Jiang Xingye knew that he no longer needed to explain further.

"Both."

She continued, "..."

"Qin Shizhong may want to take advantage of this opportunity to enter the higher-dimensional channel. He seems very eager, even a little too eager."

"It is quite obvious that he also exaggerated the dangers of higher-dimensional overflows."

"However, we don't know his motives yet."

As for the Americans

"Then it becomes even more obvious."

"If they can obtain the right to build the first high-dimensional limiter array from this event, it will be a huge breakthrough for them."

"so."

"I see."

Lin Xu raised his hand to interrupt Lin Xu.

"But now, we have no room for regret."

"The only thing we can do is to figure out the situation first."

"Alright, I need to go check out that world first."

"You continue talking to Qin Shizhong."

"We'll meet again in two hours."

"it is good."

Jiang Xingye nodded immediately, while Lin Xu got up and walked towards the lounge inside the office.

He lay back on the sofa and gently touched the bracelet.

A moment later, consciousness was quickly drained.

Immediately afterwards, it fell.
When Lin Xu opened his eyes again, he was back on that familiar meadow.

Jiang Xingye stood opposite him, as always, seemingly waiting for his arrival.

"Lin Xu".

Jiang Xingye didn't waste any time and quickly said:
"Just as we speculated last time, the spell related to gravity led that world in another direction."

"They ultimately failed to achieve a complete dimensional ascension."

"However, they left an indelible message in their world in a very special way."

"Indelible information?"

Upon hearing Jiang Xingye's description, a word immediately flashed through Lin Xu's mind.

tombstone.

In the world of the previous Alliance era, humanity erected a tombstone for itself.

The words recorded on that tombstone will forever drift in a higher-dimensional universe, becoming an eternal mark.

And now, isn't the civilization Jiang Xingye mentioned also using [this technology]?
A similar method?
Lin Xu looked directly at Jiang Xingye, waiting for her to explain further.

Jiang Xingye paused slightly, then replied:
"They threw a message in a bottle into a higher-dimensional universe."

"A message in a bottle containing information that can be decoded."

Message in a bottle.

This information is essentially identical to the information Ayana and Yu Shiliang had received.

The answer they saw regarding the "right path" was delivered through the so-called "message in a bottle"!

"So, what kind of information do they actually contain in the bottles they throw out?"

Lin Xu pressed for an answer, and Jiang Xingye immediately replied:

"A very small amount of information in a message in a bottle."

"Their technology is limited, and their available energy sources are extremely limited."

"Therefore, they can only use the minimum information entropy to summarize their own civilization as much as possible."

"The entire message in a bottle contains information in three parts."

"The first part is a brief summary of the development of their civilization."

"The second part is the most critical technology they have achieved."

"The third part is the key problem that they still cannot solve with their existing technological foundation."

"understood."

Lin Xu nodded slowly.

Compared to the purely commemorative "tombstones" erected by humans in the Alliance era, this civilization clearly aims for something more comprehensive.

They might not even know that butterflies exist, nor do they know whether other civilizations exist in higher dimensions.

Even so, in their final moments before destruction, they decided to give up everything and throw out the message in a bottle that represented their hope.

This is their final gift to this empty universe.

And now, as they wished, they have received their gift.

Lin Xu asked:
"Let's start with the technical aspects."

"Do they possess any technology that we need?"

"I'm not sure if I need it."

Jiang Xingye hesitated for a moment, then replied:
"But there is one technology that we have never paid attention to before."

"That is, what they call the research on so-called 'higher-dimensional overflow'."

(End of this chapter)