Those who travel back in time

Chapter 4 First Time Travel

Chen Qing knew he had to go back.

It wasn't because she believed in the machine, but to kill the illusion of "what if"—either to prove it was false, or to gamble everything she had on that minuscule possibility of bringing her brother back to life.

Chen Qing, looking travel-worn, reappeared at Shuguang Hospital. Upon seeing Dr. Fang, who had rushed over after hearing the news, he asked only one question: "When do we begin?"

"It seems you're ready." Dr. Fang appeared completely unsurprised by Chen Qing's return.

"You better not be playing me, that really is a time machine, or I'll make you pay a price you'll never forget," Chen Qing warned coldly.

"Mr. Chen, your return date is July 5th, 2022." In the morgue on the basement level, Dr. Fang handed a folder to Chen Qing and briefly explained, "Three days later, on July 8th, a girl named Li Mengfei died in a plane crash. Her father, Li Qilin, developed a serum in an attempt to resurrect his daughter, which led to the emergence of zombies."

Chen Qing casually flipped through the folder, not looking closely at the papers full of text, his gaze first falling on the three photos.

The first picture is a photo of a girl in the sunlight. She is about twenty years old, with her hair tied in a neat ponytail, smiling brightly at the camera and making a slightly playful peace sign.

The second image is a shocking news photograph. The background is a lush green forest, but a twisted, silvery-white metal wreckage is scattered among it like the skeleton of a giant beast, with clearly visible charred marks.

The third photo is a close-up of the laboratory. In the center of the picture, a slender glass test tube is steadily held by a robotic arm. The test tube wall gleams with a cool light, and it contains a small amount of crystal-clear, deep blue liquid. On the test tube label, the gold-stamped "Kirin Group" logo is clearly visible.

"If we can stop Li Mengfei from boarding the plane, we can save her life, and Li Qilin won't develop the serum to save his daughter." Dr. Fang walked to a control panel with many complex switches. "Saving the cheerleader can save the world, it's that simple."

"No, not 2022." Chen Qing glanced at the photos and closed the folder. "Let's go to 2042."

"2042?" Dr. Fang, who was pressing buttons on the control panel, looked up. "The apocalypse has been going on for more than a decade by this time. No matter what we do, we can't change the apocalypse."

"These are my conditions: go to 2042 first." Chen Qing casually placed the folder on a table. "I don't care which year you want me to go to, I don't care. I want to go to 2042 first. After I come back, whichever year you want me to go to, I'll go."

"It seems you really lost someone very important to you two years ago." Dr. Fang pushed up his glasses. "I completely understand how you feel, and I would love to send you back to 2042, but I'm sorry, I can't do it."

"You can go back to 2022, but you can't go back to 2042?"

"Mr. Chen, it's not that I'm unwilling, but it's technically impossible; it's beyond human capability."

"Both involve going back to the past, so what's the difference between 2042 and 2022? Why is one possible while the other isn't?"

"Explaining it using professional spacetime physics would be extremely complicated. Let me give you an analogy, and you should understand." Dr. Fang stood up, pondered for a moment, and drew a line in the air with his hand. "Imagine time as a constantly flowing river, and our 'present' is a boat in the middle of that river. Once we activate the time machine, this boat will violently rock, and the water's surface will generate numerous ripples. Going back to the past is like trying to jump precisely from this rocking boat to a specific point on the water's surface. The problem is, the closer the water is to our boat, the larger the ripples caused by the boat's rocking, making it impossible to pinpoint our location. This is 2042—too close, the spacetime disturbances are too strong, and we can't find any coordinates to locate ourselves."

Dr. Fang pointed his arm into the distance and continued, "And the farther away from the ship 'now,' the fewer the waves, the calmer the surface, and the easier it is to locate the coordinates—that is 2022."

He looked at Chen Qing and concluded, "So, it's not that I don't want to send you back to 2042, but that point in time is too close, the spacetime disturbance is too strong, and it's impossible to pinpoint your location."

"I don't care about rivers or boats," Chen Qing said in a deep voice after waiting for Dr. Fang to finish speaking. "I only care about one thing, and that is how to save my brother."

"Mr. Chen, going back to 2022 is how you save your brother. If you can stop the apocalypse, wouldn't your brother's death be rewritten?" Dr. Fang picked up the folder again and handed it to Chen Qing. "On the contrary, if the apocalypse is still going on, even if you save your brother, it will likely be in vain, because he will die in the mouth of zombies tomorrow or the day after. Stopping the apocalypse is the most correct way to save your brother."

"Saving this girl is saving my brother?" Chen Qing waited three seconds before slowly taking Dr. Fang's hand and carefully examining the information page by page.

The above content is not complicated; it includes detailed information about the plane crash, Li Mengfei's short life that ended abruptly at the age of 22, a structural map of Jiangxin Airport, and other information that the mission may use.

"laugh--"

The sound of high-pressure gas being released reached Chen Qing's ears. Turning his head, he saw that the heavy hatch had been opened, revealing a cold, narrow metal cavity inside. The inner walls were covered with large, unidentified pipe joints and unfinished welding marks, resembling the inner liner of some kind of industrial reactor.

"Mr. Chen, remember, your only mission in 2022 is to save Li Mengfei. Do not do anything else." Dr. Fang solemnly instructed, "No matter who you meet in 2022, they are all dead. Apart from Li Mengfei, do not interfere in anyone else's affairs."

Chen Qing lowered his head, finished reading the last line of information, and walked into the cabin without saying a word.

A strong smell of ozone and the metallic odor of coolant hit me, smelling like a giant engine about to burn out after being overloaded.

boom!

With a muffled thud, the hatch closed, severing the outside world. Chen Qing's world was reduced to a mere few feet square.

Several rows of rapidly flashing red indicator lights on the inner wall, like anxious eyes, cast a chilling light in the confined space.

Chen Qing felt as if he had stepped into a high-tech coffin.

"By the way, if you really do manage to go back to the past," Dr. Fang's voice came from outside, "remember, you must not meet with your past self."

"Why can't I meet my past self?" Chen Qing asked.

"Because this will create a time paradox, and you would never want to know the consequences of a time paradox," Fang Xiande said.