2077: V really knows how awesome he is

Chapter 193 The Night of Echoes

"Affected by the warm and humid airflow on the periphery of the subtropical high, our city will experience continuous rainfall from the 20th to the 25th, and the temperature will drop by 8 to 10 degrees Celsius. Please bring rain gear when going out, pay attention to keeping warm, and avoid catching a cold."

Salty Duck made a cup of cold medicine, wrapped himself in a blanket, and curled up in front of the computer like a shrimp, coughing and typing away with difficulty.

That's right, he caught a cold. It's the turn of summer and autumn, the time when the flu virus makes its triumphant return. As a patient, he should have been resting, but as a writer, he owed the website 4000 words as soon as he opened his eyes every day. With his left and right brains battling each other like this, he ultimately lost to the requirement of perfect attendance and chose to continue writing. After all, his worthless life would only be worth more than perfect attendance when choosing his urn after he dies.

A stuffy nose, cough, and sneezing—these symptoms devoured his energy like three alluring little demons. Coupled with the sleep-inducing effects of the cold medicine, Salted Duck's brain was practically a mess. He managed to squeeze out 213 words in a full hour, but instead, drowsiness overwhelmed him, making his eyelids droop constantly.

"Just a little nap, just a little bit..."

Salted Duck slammed its face onto the keyboard with a thud, then drifted into a dream that was hard to tell whether it was sleep or unconsciousness.

V emerged from the shadows behind him, quickly downloading the document. As she turned to turn around, she inadvertently glanced at the view outside the window. The vast, expansive city made her wonder: could such a sophisticated virtual world truly be built with just nanobots contained in a single biochip? And after regaining her memories, could she really break the time loop and find true freedom?

Just as I was feeling lost, the struggling writer suddenly said, "You can do it."

V was taken aback. She had thought the other person had woken up, but it turned out they were just talking in their sleep.

"You can do it... Salted Duck, this time you must become a top author on Qidian..."

V glanced at the huge "Tomato" logo at the top of the novel publishing website and couldn't help but complain, "Then you should have chosen the right website first!"

The famous V is gone, and Salted Duck sneezed loudly and woke up.

He pulled the blanket up a little and asked in confusion, "Is the cold virus in the virtual world a biological virus or an electronic virus?"

V returned to the real world.

Gant Odim immediately asked, "So, did you get the manuscript?"

"Of course I got it, no doubt about it." V uploaded the manuscript to the tablet.

"Wow, 96 words! You really have a lot of memories."

“It’s not much in bytes.” V’s expression turned serious. “This isn’t a regular memory recovery procedure, so I might not be able to get all my memories back.”

Gant Odim was taken aback: "Then what do we do?"

"Let's get back as much as we can, it's better than nothing," V said. "I'll see if there are any other ways after I get back this part of my memory."

"That's right, then you can begin. I'll protect your body."

V nodded and began transcoding the document.

Her eyes lit up with blue light, flashing rapidly. The original Word document was converted into a special format, quickly growing from 7MB to over 2000TB. That was a memory backup that only V could read.

After the download and update were complete, V opened his eyes and exclaimed "Huh?"

Gant Odim asked nervously, "Is it not okay?"

"No, the memories have been retrieved, and all of them have been retrieved."

"Then why did you say 'eh'? You scared me half to death."

"It's precisely because I retrieved everything that I'm wondering, 'How can I retrieve all my memories with such an incomplete memory recovery program? This doesn't make any sense at all,'" V said, his face full of confusion.

"Think about those things later. Your priority right now is to figure out how to break the time loop."

The higher-dimensional demon was right. V certainly had many questions, but he could only put them aside for the time being, since everything had to be prioritized.

“I discussed with Astraea that time travel would inevitably cause some problems, but I never expected it to be a time loop.” V frowned. “Speaking of which, time is just a unit of measurement that humans have created to observe the world. Unlike space, the universe doesn’t actually have the concept of time. There are only different stages of decay or collapse of various atoms. So why is time punishing me? Is it an intelligent being?”

Gantt O'Die looked more serious than ever before.

Because of his seriousness, V also became nervous.

The high-dimensional demon coughed and slowly said, "I don't know."

V almost slid off the sofa: "I didn't know you were putting on such a big show!"

"I was just trying to ease the tension."

"The atmosphere is even more tense because of you!" V asked irritably. "Aren't you from the other side of time? How come you don't know anything?"

“I am from the other side of time, but this is not of my own volition. Higher-dimensional demons are born with the ability to travel through time, just as humans are born with the ability to breathe and are aerobic creatures. It is not something we choose. Most humans do not know the composition and generation mechanism of oxygen, so it is normal for us higher-dimensional demons not to know what time is.”

V was speechless: "Don't you understand at all? Don't you high-dimensional demons have professions like scholars?"

"Yes, but they haven't appeared for a long time because they've been too unproductive."

V was taken aback: "Scholars explore the world and benefit society, how is that neglecting their proper work? Then what do you consider to be their proper work?"

"Of course it's deception, extortion, and having fun. Pursuing happiness and self-satisfaction is what an excellent high-dimensional demon should do. Studying knowledge and constantly learning is too painful. Only blindly impulsive young demons would do that, just like humans deliberately bandaging their right hand or wearing blindfolds to pretend to be injured. It's all unbearable youth pain literature."

This kind of painful literature is just chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)!

V rubbed his forehead, looking exasperated: "Humans at least know that oxygen is produced by plants. You've been living with time for so long, even if you don't know the principles, you should at least observe some phenomena, right?"

Gant Odim nodded: "That's true."

"tell me the story."

"I don't know where to begin, since it's all too common for us. Why don't you ask me what you want to know?"

V thought for a moment and asked, "Is time an intelligent being?"

Gant Odim shook his head: "Of course not, it's more like the four seasons."

"You mean to say that time is a natural phenomenon?"

"No, the four seasons are a related phenomenon caused by the Earth's rotation, and time is also a related phenomenon caused by the continuous changes of atoms."

“Just like our research showed, time doesn’t actually exist.” V frowned. “If time doesn’t exist, then how could I be punished by time and trapped in a time loop?”

“I don’t know the specific principles, I can only talk about the phenomena observed by us high-dimensional demons.” Gant Odim paused for a moment, organized his thoughts, and then said, “In the eyes of us high-dimensional demons, time is a calm lake. We can swim from the east to the west, or from the south to the north. In the eyes of humans, this is time travel.”

V nodded in understanding.

Gant Odim continued, “If we’re talking about a normal swim, then your previous crossings were like skipping stones on a lake. Although you could get from one side to the other, the commotion was too great. Every rise and fall would cause ripples. At first, it was nothing, but as you crossed more and more, the ripples would gradually gather, become bigger and bigger, and become stronger. The calm lake surface would then be rippled, spreading outward from the point where the stone landed, releasing force to restore the lake surface to calm.”

Forces are reciprocal, which is not hard to understand, and V quickly grasped it. But a new question arose: "If that's the case, I should be pushed out of the lake. Specifically, it might be that time travel becomes increasingly difficult, but it shouldn't be that I'm trapped in a time loop."

“You’re right, but your statement is based on the premise that the lake is infinitely large and the ripples will keep spreading outward.”

V paused for a moment, then asked in surprise, "You mean time has boundaries?"

"That's right. Changes in atoms are the origin of time. Although most matter changes over time, many non-material things never change from the moment they are born. Without change, there is no need for time to measure it. In the eyes of higher-dimensional demons, time has a fixed boundary, just like even the largest lake is surrounded by embankments."

"You travel through time and cause ripples. The ripples carry you outward until they hit the shore and bounce back. New ripples are constantly being generated. You bounce back and are knocked out again. This cycle repeats, forming a time loop."

"I see."

V nodded heavily. The analogy of the higher-dimensional demon was simple and intuitive, and she understood it all.

"Ripples should eventually stop, but cycles keep creating them. Cycles shouldn't exist, but the constant creation of ripples forms cycles. So it's not time that imprisoned me, but... I imprisoned myself!"

Gant Odim clapped: "Congratulations, you even managed to answer first. Now that you understand these things, it's clear how to break the loop, right?"

V trembled slightly: "I don't need to do anything. As long as I stop activating time technology, stop throwing stones into the lake, and stop creating new ripples, everything will naturally end."

“That’s right, it’s that simple.” Gant Odim stood up: “Alright, since you understand everything, there’s nothing more for me to do. I’ll be going now. I’ve booked a private room over there, and it’s almost time.”

Snapped!

V pressed down on the shoulder of the high-dimensional demon.

“What will happen to Vera if I don’t activate the time technology?” V asked.

Gant Odim asked, puzzled, "What do you mean, 'what to do'?"

"Vera's world only came into existence because of our observations. If I hadn't activated time technology, wouldn't Vera and her world have ceased to exist?"

"What does it matter? So what if they're gone?" Gant Odim said indifferently. "You said it yourself, they won't be born if you don't observe them, and without birth there's no suffering. I know you humans have a strange sense of compassion, but it's not like you caused a bloody massacre that wiped them out. You don't need to blame yourself."

"I've traveled through more than just the world of Vera, and it's not just the world of Vera that's going to disappear."

"Yes, you have to give up something to gain something. In order to break out of the cycle, this is a choice that has to be made. Don't keep dwelling on this."

"Always?" V astutely grasped the crux of the matter: "This isn't the first time I've struggled with this, is it? I didn't choose this path before, did I? I understand now, you say this is your first success, you're just lying to me, aren't you! You've actually succeeded many times, countless times, but I rejected your proposals every time, didn't I!"

"Damn it, you found out again! I avoided every possible flaw this time!" Gant Odim was getting frustrated. "V, just listen to me this once. As long as you don't activate time technology, all the problems can be solved. The solution is right in front of you, why won't you do it?"

V released the high-dimensional demon, took a deep breath, and said, "Because Vera said that we came together as a pair, we should go back together as a pair."

"Wow, awesome, so awesome! You truly live up to the name of the famous V, you're absolutely cool!" Gant O'Dim made an exaggerated expression, then his face turned serious, and he said coldly, "Did you think I would say that? You're so wrong! You're just a complete idiot for ignoring the ready-made answer! V, now is not the time for you to play the hero, you should make a rational judgment!"

"I'm very rational."

"If you were rational, you would do as I say instead of thinking of unreliable methods!"

V once again seized on the key point: "That kind? Which kind? So there are other methods after all, right? Tell me what they are!"

"Damn it, I let it slip again." Gant Odim was filled with regret, waving his hands repeatedly and saying, "I won't tell you. I'm from the other side of time. I've already done you a favor by helping you. That method is too treacherous. I will never tell you!"

“Gant, you’ve always been my best friend.” V started to take the emotional route.

The high-dimensional demon retorted irritably, "Friends my ass! We're not even acquainted!"

V slapped his forehead; he was used to this tactic. Since the emotional approach wasn't working, he'd try using bribery.

"I'll cover all your expenses for the Big Bird Spinning Lifetime Membership!"

Gant O'Dim laughed in exasperation: "You think you can settle something as serious as defying time with a gay bar membership? Do you think this is some kind of comedy novel?"

V also realized that he had acted rashly and said regretfully, "I was originally thinking that if you didn't agree, I would go all out and get you a Chengdu household registration."

"Deal!" Gant Odim instantly changed his stance.

"This is fucking a joke novel!" V complained bitterly.

The two exchanged a glance and asked simultaneously, "You're not going to back out, are you?"

Okay, now they both know how serious the other is.

Gant Odim was a little embarrassed: "Chinese citizenship is really hard to obtain."

V looked somewhat suspicious: "You didn't come to help me just for this, did you?"

The higher-dimensional demon immediately changed the subject: "Going against time is a very difficult thing to do!"

"So that's why you came to help me, you fucking bastard!"

Gant Odim, enraged, shouted, "Do you want to hear this or not?!"

"Listen, listen, listen."

"Shut up if you're going to listen!"

"Yes Yes Yes."

Gant Odim straightened his collar, regaining his composure, and said seriously, "Defying time is a difficult act, but not impossible. Time loops are created through reflection, so we only need to..."

V suddenly realized and immediately added, "So all we need to do is break the dam and stop the reflection from happening!"

Even the higher-dimensional demon was speechless: "The embankment is made of countless non-material energies. That thing is as old as the entire universe. It has been intact for hundreds of billions of years. Do you think you can break it?"

"Uh..." V felt inadequate: "Then what should I do?"

“Think in reverse,” Gant Odim tapped the table. “Since we can’t break the dam that produces the reflection, why don’t we break the reflection itself?”

V pondered: "Break...the reflection?"

“The Night of Echoes,” Gant Odim said seriously, “that’s what the higher-dimensional demons call the reflection of time!”

Chapter 194 Arasaka Beach

“Echoing Night?” V scoffed. “Sounds like the name of a gay party.”

“What a load of rubbish!” Gant Odim said irritably. “The Night of Echoes, also known as the Night of Recollection, is a manifestation of time reflection. If you can overcome the Night of Echoes, it means you have stopped time reflection and broken the time loop.”

“A materialization phenomenon?” V asked, puzzled. “Where is it materialized? Astraea and I have conducted comprehensive research on time, and we have never observed any Echoing Night.”

“That’s because you’re observing from the wrong angle.” Gant Odim waved his hand. “I’m asking you, how does time reflection occur?”

"It is produced when the ripples of time created by traveling through time collide with the banks of time."

"And what is the embankment of time?"

"It is non-material energy in the universe, and therefore cannot be measured by time, transcending time."

"Since time reflection is produced by the collision of non-material energy, it naturally acquires the characteristics of non-material energy. The Echoing Night is a manifestation of this, and naturally also possesses non-material characteristics. Therefore, you cannot observe the Echoing Night in the material world. If you want to face it, you must go to the non-material world."

"Goodness, this sounds like an RPG game. To defeat the Demon King, you have to go to the Demon King's Palace. To get to the Demon King's Palace, you have to cross a river. To cross the river, you have to hire a boat. To hire a boat, you have to help the boatman rescue his daughter who was kidnapped by a slime..." V couldn't help but complain, "If I want to go to the non-material world, do I have to find a sword stuck in a stone or collect five spirit orbs or something?"