“A… secret of the world!?”
When he heard Zhong Qingshu’s words, Su Mo, who was cleaning up the mess on the ground, raised his head.
With regards to this world, more and more people were taking the time to study, analyze, and explore its boundaries.
Why did the game, that sent all humans to this wasteland, choose this timeframe when Earth’s disaster was imminent? Why did it have to set up some strange rules in this place?
All kinds of questions were discussed on the World Channel every day. Even Su Mo, who was constantly busy every day, was no exception to this.
In the eyes of others, the science fiction-like game panel, the intricate functions, and the mysterious and high-risk, high-reward mechanics of the game, all conveyed certain meanings and alluded to the secrets of the world.
However, only Su Mo knew that aside from the game panel, the system that he possessed was much more mysterious and powerful!
Upgrading items!
DF-17!
Analyzing the Heavenly Dog Pseudo God!
Various wonderful functions, together with the abilities displayed by the different-colored lights, made Su Mo eager to explore the secrets of the world more than anyone else.
“Yes, I know you’ve entered the realm of the ruins before, and I believe you know that there’s a time difference on both ends. This is especially true when your actions affect the ruins, where this feeling and time difference will become even more obvious!”
“Have you managed to figure it out? Time!”
“Time?”
The level one is at tends to determine the kind of people one interacts with, which often meant that individuals of similar levels would interact with each other.
Facing Su Mo and looking into the eyes of the “world’s number one”, Zhong Qingshu took her time and tried to guide Su Mo’s thought process.
He tried to figure out the uniqueness of the ordinary word “time”. From the smallest unit of time, to the entire human civilization’s definition of time, to the Mayans’ prophecy, and even all other miscellaneous information that he had unintentionally read…
Su Mo thought about it slowly, while Zhong Qingshu remained calm. She waited quietly for Su Mo to complete his thought process.
“Time… time… what exactly is time? Who defined it, and who proved it?”
The more he read into the word, the more he pictured the words in his mind. The word “time” seemed to take on a different form.
Time was a parameter that humans used to describe the motion of matter or the process of events. To determine time, one had to examine a pattern brought about by changes in the cycle of matter that were not affected by external influences.
Moreover, time is one of the seven basic physical volumes in physics. It is the eternal motion of matter, the continuity of change, and the performance of sequence.
Modern cosmology theory believed that there was no such thing as time before the Big Bang. “Always moving forward” also meant that the progression in time was always positive.
“Let me remind you, do you know about the theory of relativity? You can think about it from that angle.”
“Relativity …?”
Su Mo had a headache when he heard Zhong Qingshu mention the term.
He studied in university when he was still on Earth, but he had only read books related to relativity in the library, so his memory was not that fresh.
“I remember…”
Using his memory framework, Su Mo took out a small bottle of psychic energy water and slowly drank two mouthfuls. As he recalled the contents of the theory of relativity, he connected it with what he had seen and heard over the past few days.
Einstein proposed in the theory of relativity, that time, space, and matter cannot be explained separately.
Time and space formed a four-dimensional space, forming the basic structure of the universe.
Time and space are not absolute in terms of measurement. Observers measure the flow of time at different relative speeds or different space-time structures.
The general theory of relativity predicted that the gravitational field produced by mass would create a distorted space-time structure.
For example, the time passing on the clock near a body of mass (e.g. black hole) was slower than the time passing at a place far away from the body of mass.
“The time in the realm of the ruins passes much faster than in the wasteland. In other words, the wasteland’s time progresses much slower than that of the ruins…”
“If we alter or affect the ruins, it’s the same as us intervening in the timeline. In the other world, we become real. After returning to the wasteland, it would be the same as projecting ourselves again…”
“Doesn’t that mean that the wasteland is built on a black hole, or that we’re living inside the black hole, and the ruins are the means to escape from it? Or does that mean that the black hole can easily allow wormholes to be torn open inside it which allows us to enter other spaces?”
Su Mo shook his head and tossed all his weird thoughts to the back of his mind. He looked at Zhong Qingshu’s smile and scratched his head.
“No, it’s overthinking it.”
“In the ruins, time is not a measurement of the three-dimensional motion’s effect on people’s senses, nor is it a measurement unit that marks distance. Time is a type of energy!”
“In the ruins, no matter how big of an impact we make, as long as we do not bring anything that does not belong to the wasteland along with us when we return, we will not need to use “time” energy to teleport. On the other hand, the more things we bring along, the more time currency we need!
In the conversation with Brother Feng Zi earlier, both of them had been caught off guard, so they did not notice the difference.
Spring passed and autumn came every year. In a hundred years, one could witness birth, old age, illness, and death. In a thousand years, one could lament the change of dynasties. In ten thousand years, one could see the changes in the cosmos.
At that moment, after being reminded by Zhong Qingshu, Su Mo realized why the wasteland always emphasized the word “time”.
Periodic disasters had strict time rules.
The opening and closing of the remains had strict timelines.
And…
“Yes, time has become a currency in the wasteland. We can pay using this currency to achieve a series of unbelievable effects.”
“Payment. In the blink of an eye, the saplings on the ground will turn into towering trees.”
“Payment. Even if you wreak havoc in the ruins, and enter and exit three times, you can ignore the rate of time difference.”
“Payment. Perhaps even… the myth of “immortality” can be achieved!”
Compared to Su Mo’s own speculation, Zhong Qingshu had obviously made a detailed guess and even captured the key evidence relating to the subject. At the same time, she was very straightforward!
“So, you found a way to obtain the currency?”
After saying that, Su Mo looked at Zhong Qingshu’s small face and could not help but have a headache. He sighed with “worry” for his intelligence.
Zhong Qingshu was like a clever little fox. She did not directly invite him to help her obtain the currency. Instead, she beat around the bush.
First, it led Su Mo to think about time, and then it guided him. Finally, when Su Mo realized the importance of the currency, she threw out her “bargaining chip”.
Su Mo only wanted to say:
“Well done!”
Time currency was like a supreme temptation, but fraught with danger and challenges.
Even though he knew that it might be risky, Su Mo was still confident that, with the help of the system and his growing strength, he would be able to attempt it.
“When the time comes, I’ll call you when the ruins open. We’ll go in together and obtain the currency. You get seventy percent and l’lI get thirty, okay?”
“No problem, it’s a deal!”
Needless to say, entering the ruins to explore was definitely a risky endeavor. Su Mo would definitely become the main fighter.
However, Zhong Qingshu’s intelligence would play a huge role as well. Coupled with the simple “revolutionary friendship” between the two of them, Su Mo agreed without even thinking.
Having achieved the most important thing, Zhong Qingshu tilted her head and thought about it for awhile. Then, she seemed to have thought of something funny and smiled brightly.
“Then I’m leaving?”
“Go then. I can’t make you stay anyway!”
Hearing Su Mo’s faint voice, Zhong Qingshu raised her head and rolled her eyes charmingly. Then she turned around and walked toward the team that had already packed up.
Watching Zhong Qingshu leave from afar, even her dull hair seemed to float and wave beautifully in the distance.
“Su… Big… Brother, we’re going back! If you have any instructions, just send us a message!”
After cleaning up, Chen Shen stood beside the handmade snowboard. He cupped his hands like a loudspeaker and shouted. The others also raised their hands and waved.
“Be careful and travel safely!”
Waving his hand, he saw the excited group leaving. After they disappeared into the horizon, Oreo nimbly crawled out and dug her paws into the ruins.
“Let’s go, Oreo. Everything has been taken away. There’s nothing good for you to dig up anymore!”
With half a foot into the ranks of Godhood, Oreo still did not have any sense of self-awareness. She had already lived most of her life like a mongrel on a farm.
Hearing that, Oreo pouted and walked out. She wagged her tail unhappily.
“Let’s go, let’s go. Don’t be unhappy. I’ll prepare a feast for you when we get home. Let’s celebrate!”
Squatting down and rubbing Oreo’s head, Su Mo absorbed a wave of Oreo’s luck. He stood up and walked forward.
Under the morning sun, the shadow of a man and a dog stretched out endlessly…
This time, he was no longer lonely!
