There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

The astonishing argument finally came to an end. Only the despairing, square-faced young man remained, letting out a deep sigh.

The car engine continued its monotonous, repetitive hum. This machine, created by humankind to traverse space rapidly, had finally succumbed to the ravages of time.

Everyone could only silently contemplate their future fate. Perhaps, as he said, their final end would be being trapped in this vicious cycle, with no way out.

At that moment, a voice suddenly broke in.

The middle-aged man in the room seemed to slowly awaken from his silence, leaning against the car with an air of waking from a deep dream.

"This topic is too heavy, it's suffocating us. How about we talk about something lighter?"

The man suddenly became relaxed and happy.

But to others, all they saw was an ignorant and rude man trying to infect everyone with an out-of-place optimism. It felt like being in a theater, awkwardly supporting a poorly made comedy, where every smile on stage and every laugh from the audience seemed utterly superfluous.

But the man ignored the silence in the room and continued asking and answering questions on his own.

"Where should I begin? Let me think..."

He smiled, as if he were really racking his brains for a topic to talk about.

"Right, let's start with the phone call from my friend."

"It was just a casual chat. My friend, as a professor, has always lacked a sense of humor, and chatting with him is like eating boiled chicken breast. But I often get some professional advice from him, which makes me put up with it for the time being."

"He asked me a question on the phone—are all people destined to die? I could only honestly answer him: yes. I have traveled to almost the entire continent for my wife's illness, just to delay the arrival of death. But, in the face of those beings that we cannot understand, human thinking seems extremely foolish."

“I believe my friend made the most foolish decision. He invited me to travel to the neighboring city the next day for a meeting, promising me a satisfactory answer.”

"This has happened more than once or twice, so I'm happy to go along with his wild ideas."

"So I came here, isn't that ridiculous?"

The middle-aged man told a poorly written story, interspersed with a series of incomprehensible narrations. The final few dry laughs at the end were particularly unbearable.

The round-faced youth couldn't help but fulfill his duty, speaking out in a reasonable way and pushing things forward.

"Sir, we sympathize with your situation. We also sincerely apologize for our teacher's behavior, but saying these things now won't help. So, could you... please calm down for a moment?"

"Calm down? No, you still don't understand what I mean. I'm neither calm nor impatient, I'm just telling my story... By the way, how much do you know about your advisor's research area?"

"Mentor? He has always been committed to the development of new materials and has inherited all the achievements of his mentor, but there has been little progress so far."

"That project involves new materials? You only mentioned a small part of it, didn't you?" the middle-aged man said directly, denying it.

At this moment, it was the square-faced young man who stepped forward to help his companion out of the predicament.

“I know more about that than he does, sir. If you’re just talking about research direction, then ‘new materials’ isn’t quite the right word. My supervisor has always wanted to research a specific type of material; those new materials are just a byproduct of their research.”

"Actually, the subject that the teacher has been secretly researching is that thing that was excavated from a circular ancient tomb decades ago and is called by old experts as the key that contains the secrets of future technology."

"Anti-gravity materials".

Chapter 71 The Ultimate Return

The middle-aged man smiled with satisfaction, as if he had seen his clumsy apprentice finally produce a decent result, and his master's face was filled with satisfaction and joy.

"Yes."

He clapped his hands lightly as encouragement for his answer.

"Your teacher's research area is actually anti-gravity materials."

"I believe he also told you that his achievements all came from his mentor, from the things excavated from that ancient tomb."

"But the plane crash that killed his mentor and classmates completely destroyed this nascent project. He could only piece together his mentor's ideas bit by bit from the ashes of the fire."

"He sought answers from academic papers, daily notes, conversations with close friends, and everything that might be relevant."

"He himself had also personally searched for that ancient tomb, hoping to find a clue to continue his teacher's unfinished work."

"But the result was empty. He not only failed to find any results, but also overdrawn the potential of the project. In order to prove his ability, he wanted to transform the theory into results as soon as possible, so he did not hesitate to modify the previously set plan, which led the project into a major misunderstanding."

"When he was desperate, he devised a grand plan to uncover the treasure left behind by his teacher—this east-west highway!"

"This is where it all began! He believed his teacher had left crucial clues here that weren't written down!"

The square-faced young man said resolutely, "That's impossible! This is just where the research originated. Even if there are clues, they're limited to the initial idea. If the old expert had foreseen everything back then, these plans would have become a reality long ago!"

“That’s right. Your teacher thinks the same way you do, so he’s pessimistic about this.”

"But when the East-West Expressway was laid, what kind of mysterious materials were used? Do you think they were prototypes of technology or new materials?"

"Is there any new material that can support structures weighing hundreds of tons without any swaying, standing firmly in the earthen mountains?"

"I believe that the substance used by the old expert back then is the anti-gravity substance that your teacher has been searching for!"

"Only this thing can meet the project's needs! To complete this arduous task of turning a natural barrier into a thoroughfare!"

"Impossible! Wouldn't all the subsequent research become a joke? If we already possess antigravity matter, why do we need to research any theories at all!"

The square-faced young man said in shock.

But the middle-aged man's face showed no anger at being questioned, only boundless calm.

“I’m not an expert in scientific research, but I can roughly guess what the old experts were thinking back then.”

“He probably knew about the existence of this place through some means, and may have even been here before, but he couldn’t bring himself to come and search for materials. It wasn’t until the old project manager was in trouble that he was willing to make this trip and take out some ready-made antimatter materials for the construction.”

"What he worries about is that society will become complacent with the convenience of technology and reap the benefits without contributing, which will disrupt technological development. If we wait until this unknown technology is fully applied and then some unknown problems arise, then based on our shallow theoretical foundation, it may lead to a huge disaster..."

"Therefore, after obtaining the material, he immediately led his team to intensify their research on it, hoping to overcome the theoretical challenges before anyone else could discover it and reduce the risks that might follow."

"Fortunately, the misuse he feared did not occur, and no one discovered the secret of this technology. But unfortunately, the one who knew this technology best died unexpectedly."

The square-faced youth retorted, "That's just your guess; there's no evidence to prove your claim. Even the teacher..."

"No! You're too naive! Your teacher is much bolder than you think!"

The middle-aged man's tone suddenly became much stern: "You've been limited by your own knowledge and reason, abandoning bold guesses. But haven't you discovered that the exact answer to the problem might lie within those guesses?"

The square-faced young man, reflecting on his own narrow-mindedness, suddenly found himself speechless, his face pale as he fell silent.

"The model you've imagined is just a three-dimensional vortex model, and you've named it the time vortex. But have you ever considered that real time is a fourth dimension!"

"What...impossible!! You mean..."

"You figured it out, didn't you?" The middle-aged man regained his composure. "Time is the fourth dimension, so this model should also be four-dimensional. With the addition of the time axis, all your guesses will be further expanded!"

"As a vortex, it must rotate slowly at the outer edges but move relatively quickly; the inner edges rotate quickly but move relatively slowly. Ultimately, the center of this vortex is not a completely static point, nor will it mean that we will remain permanently stationary if we stay in the center..."

"Did you ever imagine that if a three-dimensional vortex acts on a piece of paper, it will break through the paper and penetrate into the three dimensions?"

"The four-dimensional vortex you envisioned should be composed of countless three-dimensional vortices. Small vortices form large vortices, large vortices form an ultimate vortex, and finally form an ultimate force that rotates, rises, and leaps, breaking through dimensions!"

"This breached dimension becomes the direction of our movement. Even if we stay still, we will be swept along and surge forward!"

"That's space travel!"

The other three were astonished and terrified by this outrageous theory.

They couldn't believe that tonight's bizarre encounter would reveal such a shocking ending. They thought everything was laid bare before the square-faced youth, but it turned out he was just a caged bird, never having truly seen the sky...

"No wonder the teacher said this technology is the key to future technology... It's so terrifying... I always thought it was just a gimmick to get funding..." The square-faced young man clenched his fists tightly, his head bowed in shock as he muttered to himself.

The round-faced youth couldn't help but shake his shoulder and ask, "What do you mean? Tell me quickly!"

"The anti-gravity material discovered by the old experts is being used in this highway project, right?" the square-faced young man asked irritably.

"Yes, Mr. Jackie knows about this too; his father even experienced it firsthand."

"That's not an anti-gravity material at all! It must contain other things that can change the space, and only under certain proportions can it achieve the property of stabilizing space! Its function is neither to stabilize the foundation nor to counteract gravity, but to anchor a piece of space!"

"space?!"

"Yes! It's space! The old experts discovered this long ago. If these materials are used well, they can distort and reshape the space we are in. They can not only anchor space, but at a deeper level of technology, they can probably achieve the feat of containing Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed! Even time travel like we have!"

"So what the old experts are worried about is that rashly using it without understanding the theoretical basis could cause irreversible damage to space and time, and that kind of damage would cause a fundamental crisis in the world!"

"Therefore, this highway is probably also a test site he set up. Through its special foundation layout, it can serve as a site for spacetime experiments to a certain extent!"

The middle-aged man nodded and said.

“That’s right, what you said is probably close to the truth. The old expert’s final trip to the polar regions was probably because, after obtaining enough theoretical results, he wanted to find a secluded place to conduct further experiments, but an accident occurred. Your teacher had to start from scratch, come to this birthplace of science and technology, and rebuild the system.”

"Congratulations on arriving here as participants in the final outcome of this experiment."

"By the way, weren't you curious about what role I play in it?"

"Actually, your teacher probably entrusted me with the responsibility of uncovering the mystery and bringing back the news. He wanted me to take all this information, escape this time vortex, and complete this plan..."

Jackie looked bewildered and asked, "Can you get out of here?"

The square-faced young man said incredulously, "Impossible! How could anyone escape from such a time vortex?"

The middle-aged man smiled and said in a relaxed tone.

“When it comes to going home, probably no one is more eager than me. But for the past ten years or so, I have given up the opportunity to go home and wandered around countless cities. Is it because I don’t want to go back? No, it’s just that it’s not the right time for me to go back yet.”

"But once I'm given the chance to go home, even if I'm in the deepest abyss, or have to cross countless mountains of knives and seas of fire, I'll do it all..."

“My wife is waiting for me, and my children need me. Your teacher knew this, so he tricked me into volunteering for this program. He knew nothing could stop me…”

"Didn't you say that the outside world could change at any time? What if things take a turn for the better and we can get out?"

The square-faced young man said speechlessly, "I'm only talking about the theoretical possibility. To actually get out, you'd need incredible luck and hard work..."

“That’s enough,” the middle-aged man said calmly. “Jackie represents the initial experience in the plan, your partner represents the initial reverence in the process, and you represent the final exploration of the truth. And I am the ultimate return.”

"This process may take hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years. But if you're willing, come with me."

"I'll take you home."

…………

At this point, Sebala took a breather.

But at this moment, the patrons in the tavern couldn't help but close their eyes, imagining a small car full of people in the darkness, driving crookedly along a road lined with trees, its rolling wheels and roaring engine running continuously among the deserted trees.

It felt as if we were approaching the end of time.

Chapter 72 Li Xiaoyao's Wooden Sword Paradox

Sebala told a very, very long story, then took a big gulp of wine, which made his already red nose even redder, and his face became hazy with drunkenness.