"We should strive to understand this mechanism next. Only in doing so can we save our planet."
"And what do you think about the two of us?" Yang Ming asked. "Have you found anyone else?"
"For now, it’s just the two of us," Allison pointed to Yang Ming and then to himself, speaking with determination, "We are the pioneers, and also the ones retaking the exam."
Yang Ming said, "Don’t you think there’s a paradox here?"
"We’ve returned to the Milky Way about thirty years before the game launch. If we change the past, it will inevitably affect our planet."
"You’re wrong, Pikachu."
Allison smiled and said,
"That’s why I said our planet is trapped in a space-time bubble, completely isolated from the outside world, except for the laws of physics.
"This is the only way to reasonably explain several things.
"First, our consciousness was digitized and integrated into the Milky Way’s civilization system. The chain reactions generated need a massive space-time sponge to absorb the ripples and ensure the Milky Way’s stability.
"Second, we can’t find our planet on the Milky Way’s map, nor can we find Mink Port."
Different planets, the same Mink Port?
Did that high-dimensional civilization open ’Abyss’ simultaneously to different lower civilizations?
Multiple lower civilizations taking the same exam?
Allison continued to speak eloquently.
"Third, our civilization is a lower form compared to the Milky Way civilization, but there is a deviation in the core theory. I compared the black hole data collected from our planet with that collected by the Milky Way.
"Oh, I might need to explain to you, black holes are vital specimens for researching physical theorems, and studying them is a necessary path towards unifying the four fundamental forces.
"You might not be familiar with this knowledge.
"Fourth, our existence."
Yang Ming frowned and said, "This indeed isn’t my specialty; I’m better at dungeon strategies."
"You’re an indispensable talent as well," Allison smiled and suddenly spoke a string of phrases.
Yang Ming watched Allison intently, his expression slightly stern.
Didn’t understand a thing!
Did Allison suddenly use his hometown’s language?
Just as Yang Ming was wondering how to bluff through, two lines of text popped up at the lower left of his vision.
[We have different roles.]
[Based on analysis of his brainwave frequency, it’s most likely this sentence, but Lyu isn’t sure either.]
"Yes, we have different roles," Yang Ming said slowly, "It seems you’re building an influence, while I haven’t found my direction yet."
Allison’s smile became a bit more amiable.
But Yang Ming said, "Use the Galaxy Universal Language."
"Don’t worry, I’ll erase the data," Allison replied slowly, "What do you plan to do? Do you want to cooperate with me? We are among the very few selected by high-dimensional civilizations. Now, it’s certain that our planet still exists well within the space-time bubble."
"Then what do we make of the destruction we experienced?"
"A warning, subjugation, breaking to rebuild," Allison said, "or, it allows us to directly understand how immature our civilization is."
Yang Ming sighed, "I feel helpless now. We have only about twenty-six or twenty-seven years; we can experience the ’Abyss’ game’s launch again, right?"
"How things will evolve, I cannot determine, but since we were chosen as pioneers, it must have meaning."
Allison pondered for a moment,
"We must find a way to ensure we can influence this assessment to save our planet.
"First, we need to research the history of the Milky Way, looking for clues. This kind of thing is highly likely to happen periodically, but the exact operation is hard to determine.
"We can only think positively—the high-dimensional civilization put effort into sowing human civilization; it must have a positive significance.
"They destroyed our planet but gave us a chance to start over, entering the Milky Way thirty years before the launch, which has to be an optimistic prospect."
"I suspect the last exam was the hardest, but if we can pass the exam, the best outcome we can achieve is that our civilization merges into the Milky Way civilization, without being enslaved, without being exploited, becoming a true sovereign nation.
"But now, we failed the first exam and entered the makeup exam; the mechanism for the makeup exam must have changed, and that’s the significance of our existence."
"What can we do now?"
Yang Ming smiled bitterly, "We’re now outside the space-time bubble."
"We still have plenty of time," Allison said, "I will strive to grow strong... and you can actually come to help me."
"Alright, I’ll think about it."
Yang Ming sighed, "Let’s call it a day; my mind is a mess."
"Understandable," Allison said, getting up, "If you’ve thought it through, send me a reply. Let’s use that website as our exclusive contact point."
He opened the meeting room door, turned back to glance at Yang Ming, and said with a smile,
"Forgot to mention, I’m a man; this is just a disguised identity... don’t get any ideas."
"I’m a bit powerless now."
"Haha, well, I roughly guessed that."
Allison winked at Yang Ming, and feeling he had already taken the lead and advantage with his peers, he left the meeting room with a smile.
Yang Ming waited half a minute and then pulled off the holographic helmet.
Lyu would handle the follow-up.
Yang Ming just wanted to calm down.
The counterpart wasn’t from Earth, but their planet’s experience was identical to Earth’s! No, it’s different, Earth’s players were disorganized, while their planet gathered all its forces to resist.
Of course, their resistance failed too.
Yang Ming quickly left this Empire’s Resource Star and returned to the Feinan.
He decided not to delete Lyu’s related memory this time. He needed someone to discuss it with, and Lyu was the only one he could trust.