Chapter 1043: Sword Overhead

Chapter 1043: The Sword Hangs Overhead

Leaving behind this final piece of information, the voice from the unseen vanished into nothingness.

But that was not all.

The gaze that had come from somewhere unknown also dissipated along with that ethereal voice, as if it had never been there at all.

Instinct told Chu Guang that they would not meet again—at least not within any time he could foresee.

Even this encounter itself was an accident that should never have happened.

Watching Chu Guang stare blankly at the bookshelf, Xiao Qi whispered a worried reminder.

"Master... are you alright?"

Pulling himself back from his wandering thoughts, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi’s concerned face, reached out with his index finger, and gently tousled her hair, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I’m fine. I just happened to run into someone who called himself an Observer."

Xiao Qi looked at him in confusion.

"Observer?"

"Yeah," Chu Guang nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face as he turned his gaze toward the lush green thicket outside the window. "How should I put it? Though it was an unexpected meeting, I have him to thank for showing me another possibility beyond the timeline... and for answering a question that has long puzzled me."

According to the Observer’s theory, the multiverse and parallel worlds exist simultaneously. In this world, there is another universe identical to this one in every way—except that he does not exist in it.

This is somewhat reminiscent of the famous "Infinite Monkey" theory.

That is, suppose one or an infinite number of monkeys sit at typewriters and randomly press keys. Given enough time, they would almost inevitably produce a complete work of *Shakespeare*.

Of course, not just *Shakespeare*—this would also include *Journey to the West* or any other novel.

Including the stories of *Wasteland Online* and *Reality Online*.

And in fact, the "infinity" that the Observer described was precisely such a vast concept.

From the very first vibration of the first particle in the primordial universe, heat death had already begun, and it would reach the zero point of the "Big Bang" after the birth of consciousness.

From that moment onward, the movement of matter no longer followed only its original trajectory of diffusion. Instead, under the interference of the three original consciousnesses, it evolved into infinite possibilities.

Thus, an infinite number of universes were born—truly infinite!

Among these endless parallel universes, there were stories about Chu Guang, stories about others, and stories where he did not exist but others did.

And these results, controlled by variables, were further compounded by countless additional variables...

For example, the Alliance might still be the Alliance, and he might still be himself, but the Pioneer they encountered was not the "Psionic Explorer" of this moment, but rather the "Most Ancient Civilization" that the Observer claimed intended to destroy all life in this universe.

The differences between universes could be as vast as the presence or absence of an entire civilization, or as minute as the presence or absence of a single person at a specific point in time—even down to whether that person did or did not do something at a particular hour on a particular day.

These infinite possibilities were all determined by "consciousness," or the mind.

And they corresponded one-to-one with the infinite material universes.

Chu Guang tried to imagine an analogy that, though imperfect, was vivid enough: the infinite parallel universes were like an infinite number of typewriters.

And the "three original consciousnesses" the Observer spoke of were like the male and female monkeys that could give birth to infinite little monkeys.

As for the Observer himself, whose projections existed across infinite universes, and his companion, the Sower—including the slain "TAG.7444154"—they were essentially the "monkeys sitting at the typewriters."

Though their existence accelerated the wear and tear on the typewriters and the bankruptcy of the newspaper offices, they also created the possibility of profit for those nearly dead enterprises.

Among them, the Sowers and Observers were the most numerous.

It was said that they, born from the primordial light, were as ubiquitous as the three original consciousnesses born from the primordial universe, with their own projections in infinite parallel worlds.

And they possessed stronger subjective initiative than the latter, as well as clearer and more specific motives.

One was responsible for randomly striking the keys, the other for "proofreading." Together, their goal was to produce the story of the "Boundary Breaker" on every typewriter before its ink ran out.

Every time a Boundary Breaker was born, two or more typewriters on the verge of failure could be merged into one.

After all, these monkeys were not entirely random in their keystrokes. They would reference "successful cases" on other typewriters and, within the bounds of the rules, make fine adjustments to typewriters producing similar content, generating a "Boundary Breaker A" or "Boundary Breaker B" in universes that originally had none.

Though this behavior did not always succeed, it did increase the probability of a Boundary Breaker being born.

As for "TAG.7444154" and other void consciousnesses with varying designations, they were the "mischievous monkeys."

They would randomly dart to a typewriter, write their own names on it, disrupt the orderly text, and produce either good or bad results—or else get beaten up by the keyboard itself and slink away in disgrace.

They might have grand goals, or they might have none.

For instance, the Observer mentioned that the Pioneer Civilization, in its long-term study of the void, had been seduced by "evil voices" from the void, causing the entire civilization to plunge headlong into it.

Meanwhile, the Seventh Research Institute of the Alliance’s scientific expedition had heard nothing. It had only accidentally attracted a hungry lizard, which, before it could get a few warm bites, was beaten up and fled after uttering a few harsh words.

As for the typewriter beneath the Alliance, it had probably been abandoned by the Observer.

For example, the person or civilization it had chosen did not complete the task as expected, causing the situation here to spiral completely out of control under a series of butterfly effects.

Chu Guang was not sure if this "complete loss of control" referred to the collapse of the Human Federation.

After all, judging from the possibilities the Observer described, no matter how the wastelanders struggled, they all seemed to die beneath the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

And that day might have been predetermined long before the Human Federation entered its prosperous era.

However, due to some accident, the "Boundary Breaker" that should never have appeared seemed to have emerged again?

This surprised even the "Outer Gods" in the void.

Not only did the Observer come back, but that nameless fog also got involved, even allowing him to converse with the Observer, whom he should never have met.

Looking at Xiao Qi, who was still bewildered, Chu Guang smiled faintly and continued from where he had left off.

"I’ve always been puzzled about where our players come from, and why that world has no information about me at all..."

"At one point, I even suspected that the 'real world' was actually virtual from the very beginning, like the world inside Vault 101... that it was nothing but data."

"How could that be?" Xiao Qi opened her mouth in surprise. "The server of Vault 101 is already comparable to the endpoint cloud of an ideal city... Vault 404 simply doesn’t have that kind of computing power!"

"And it also can’t explain the real-time transmission of information, right?" Chu Guang smiled at Xiao Qi and continued in a gentle tone. "So that explanation was never rigorous, even if it seemed closest to the truth."

Without a doubt, the players were not AIs on a virtual machine, but real conscious beings from another world.

Why? Because the primordial universe had split into an infinite number of small universes.

In a forest, you could not find two identical leaves, but you could find two nearly identical ones—it would just take a little more time.

Though Chu Guang was not sure which specific technology the first Administrator had used to create and maintain the continuous resonance field spanning two worlds—

Perhaps it was drinking some potion that awakened psionic powers, or signing an agreement with some entity in the void, or some other chaotic method—

He could roughly guess what that person had done!

"Not only does another universe and another 'me' exist in this world, but there is also another 'first Administrator' and a universe where that guy was still young."

"If I’m not mistaken, what he located was that parallel universe—"

"Or, to put it another way."

"He connected to his past self."

Completely erasing a person’s information from the early internet?

For a "native" living in that era, that might indeed be somewhat difficult.

But for the "Professor" who created the Academy and even the entire prosperous era, it was far too easy.

It is no exaggeration to say that he, who descended on the eve of the prosperous era with all his knowledge, was perhaps closer to an omnipotent deity than Night Ten who descended on the planet Gaia...

...

Rolling yellow sand swept across the land, and the relics of the old era were hastily buried in forgotten dunes.

At the same moment when the Alliance and the observers in the void exchanged a fleeting glance and passed by, a solemn and dignified meeting was taking place in the deepest part of Vault 13.

This meeting had two main topics.

One was about determining the order by which the new world would operate after the "Punishment," such as establishing the post-war ruling status of the Celestials and the political rights of the vault dwellers who had submitted to them.

The other was to determine the exact date of the "Punishment" and the subsequent action plans, such as taking over the production and living facilities of the "unattended" survivor factions.

These included the nearest settlement to Vault 13, Pioneer City, the Ravencrest Industrial Zone, and the more distant Dawn City Industrial Zone and North Island Industrial Zone, as well as Ideal City on the east coast and even the coastal outposts of the Willant people on the new continent.

To avoid losses of production materials, they planned to devise a rapid takeover action plan.

The Celestials sent five representatives to the meeting, all of whom were androids without exception.

The vault dwellers, on the other hand, had a full twelve representatives, half of whom were members of the Enlightenment Society, a quarter were residents of Vault 13, and the remaining quarter came from other vaults in the Great Wasteland.

Although the Enlightenment Society and the Celestials were to some extent a community of interests, this forced alliance was clearly fraught with ulterior motives and superficial harmony from the very beginning.

The Celestials possessed the weapon that the Enlightenment Society needed most—the one that could "play match-three on Earth."

And the Enlightenment Society also had something the Celestials needed—they could not go to Orion alone and had to rely on some "tangible" forces.

Even if those forces were rats in the gutter.

As for the other vault dwellers, each had their own reasons for joining the Enlightenment Society.

Some, like Zhuang Lan, were deceived; others agreed with the Enlightenment Society's views; but most were neither opposed nor supportive.

After all—

Why oppose?

The neutron plume would not harm the vault in the slightest.

Even if they did not approve of the overly extreme methods of the Enlightenment Society and the Celestial organization, thinking of those disgusting wastelanders, mutants, and all other troubles of the wasteland turning to dust and blowing away with the wind, they had enough reason to turn a blind eye.

The entire process would involve no pain, and would even be more comfortable than living in this decaying world... like embracing eternal slumber in warm sunlight.

If there were a next life, and they were reborn in this world, they would probably be born in a vault again.

Or perhaps live in a "New Era" rebuilt by vault dwellers.

For those still struggling in the wasteland, this might not be unkind.

At least, that was what they themselves believed.

It was for this very reason that Vault 13 opened its doors to the Enlightenment Society.

After all, with defenses layered three deep inside and out, unless they opened the door themselves, no one could force their way in, let alone allow others to remodel their home.

And so, the "Punishment" plan proceeded steadily with the efforts of a few and the silence of the many.

Indeed, if not for a small accident, this "Punishment" would have descended two months earlier.

But as luck would have it, that accident eventually occurred.

The timeline for the "Punishment" was postponed again and again, and it was foreseeable that this month's launch schedule had been canceled once more.

Now, not only were the peripheral vault factions dependent on the Enlightenment Society showing signs of wavering, but even within the Enlightenment Society itself, morale was unsettled.

It was for this reason.

As soon as the meeting began, an uncertain expression was written on everyone's face.

The president of the Enlightenment Society, Guixu, who sat at the head of the conference table, had rarely spoken a word since the meeting started. Instead, he frequently cast his gaze toward the android "Apocalypse," whom the Celestial organization had air-dropped into this desert.

This fellow had once belonged to the Torch Church and was one of its pioneers.

Although Guixu did not hold high hopes for his abilities, this fellow was the only one who could contact the Lagrange point space station.

Not only that.

He had also faced the Alliance on the front lines.

Although the Enlightenment Society had had some conflicts with the Alliance, those skirmishes were mainly small-scale military engagements.

Guixu felt that this fellow might offer some constructive insights.

But unfortunately, the latter ignored him, sitting there expressionlessly, kicking the ball back with an indifferent attitude.

In truth, it wasn't that he didn't want to engage with the Enlightenment Society's president; it was simply that there was nothing they could do at the moment.

All they needed to do was wait.

Just as the Lagrange point space station had commanded, they needed to do nothing more—just wait quietly for victory.

These organisms were far too impatient...

Feeling those frequent glances, a trace of annoyance arose in Apocalypse's cognitive plugin.

Perhaps influenced by the Celestial organization.

Dedicated to pursuing higher evolution, for the first time he felt a genuine repulsion toward these frail lumps of flesh...

As if they were something dirty.

Silence lingered long over the conference table.

Finally, someone could no longer bear to wait endlessly. A man in his early thirties stood up from the table.

His name was Feng Zhiheng, the eleventh-generation overseer elected by the survivors of Vault 13.

It was he who had overruled the objections of most residents, who had harbored doubts about the Enlightenment Society, and welcomed these dreamers dedicated to "rebuilding the pre-war era."

Initially, the two sides enjoyed a long honeymoon period, and the Enlightenment Society's relocation indeed brought unprecedented development to Vault 13.

However, as the situation increasingly turned against the Enlightenment Society and the Celestial organization, the suspicions of Vault 13's residents grew, and his position in the vault became precarious.

If not absolutely necessary, he would not have chosen to confront the Enlightenment Society's high command at this moment.

With sharp eyes, he swept his gaze over Guixu and the high-ranking members of the Enlightenment Society and the Celestial organization. Planting his hands on the conference table, he asked in a resounding voice.

"The 'Punishment' has been postponed—again. Before we enter the core agenda of this meeting, I would like the members of the Enlightenment Society to explain this more critical matter."

The conference table fell into dead silence.

Apocalypse clicked his tongue impatiently, as if wanting to end this tedious charade.

But Guixu was clearly more tactful than him, well aware that now was not the time for a falling-out. So he coughed to cover up that inadvertent display of impatience and quickly took over the conversation.

"The neutron torpedoes still need some time to prepare. I believe they will be ready next month."

However, Overseer Feng, who had posed the question, was not so easily brushed off. He pressed on aggressively.

"I want to know exactly how long that time will be."

Guixu's brow twitched violently, and a barely perceptible glint of killing intent flashed in his gentle eyes.

Was this fellow taking himself too seriously?

The vault's authority was indeed a nuisance, but nothing more.

If necessary, he would not mind replacing the overseer of Vault 13.

He believed that he didn't even need to act himself; that fellow named Tianqi would be more than willing to do the job.

Facing that unpleasant gaze, Guixu forced a warm smile, about to offer some bureaucratic platitudes to brush it off.

But just then, something he never expected happened.

The man sitting not far from him suddenly stood up without any warning.

Ignoring his stunned expression, the man swept his eyes around the conference table, then in a voice tinged with pity and a hint of coldness, spoke the words that caught most of those present off guard.

"No need to wait."

"The divine punishment will not come."