Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

Chapter 73 Difficulty Falling Asleep

As dawn broke, everyone dispersed and returned to their rooms to rest.

But Chang Niankong couldn't fall asleep; the day's experiences were too surreal.

At this moment, he lay on the bed, one hand under his head, the other holding up the bead that represented him.

Chang Niankong named this bead the Life Bead.

The life bead is not particularly magical. It is not shiny, grayish-white and opaque, and its size and shape are like a glass marble.

Chang Niankong couldn't understand why he could avoid being swept away by the world just by carrying it.

This incomprehension was something that Sun Fumin and his group couldn't explain, nor could Jiang Ning. Chang Niankong estimated that even scientists couldn't explain it.

What kept Chang Niankong awake even more was Zhou Yunci's statement that space was unaffected by the world's regression.

This news will be announced on New Year's Day, 2046.

This means that the regression of the entire world is only happening on Earth.

This naturally reminded Chang Niankong of a foreign science fiction novel he read during his student days, called "Time Spiral," which tells the story of how Earth is enveloped by a mysterious black membrane called "Time Spiral," causing the external time flow to be much faster than the internal one. One year on Earth is a hundred million years in the sky, and the sun will destroy Earth in about forty years.

Although he read this novel 20 years ago when he was in school, Chang Niankong was still able to recall the entire plot very naturally because of his photographic memory and outstanding ability to remember.

"Is there also a membrane 1000 kilometers above the Earth?"

"This membrane isolates the inside from the outside, causing the Earth to regress day by day, while the outside world remains unaffected."

Chang Niankong pondered for a moment, and after finishing, he couldn't help but reread The Three-Body Problem again.

This is perhaps the advantage of having a good memory; you can relive anything you've seen, no matter when.

The reason Chang Niankong thought of The Three-Body Problem was because he thought of the escape faction and the stay-at-home faction in it.

These two factions ultimately failed to reach a consensus, leading to the destruction of Earth, with only a few escaping into space.

"If this news is indeed announced on New Year's Day, how will the public react?"

Chang Niankong tried his best to deduce the situation in his mind, but as he did so, he couldn't help but laugh.

Let's not even talk about how others will react.

My first reaction was to rapidly develop aerospace capabilities, establish a lunar base using a lunar space station, and then gradually migrate there.

The moment this idea came to mind, Chang Niankong's heart skipped a beat.

Who goes to heaven? Who stays on earth?

It is not about harming the few, but about harming the unequal.

Countless classic post-apocalyptic science fiction novels have offered different solutions, but literature is literature after all. When that day really comes, even the Three Pure Ones probably couldn't suppress it.

This naturally brings us back to what Zhou Yunci said: "Once it's announced, a major battle will be inevitable."

Only after all of humanity has gone through a period of internal conflict and emotional release can we perhaps get back on track.

Fortunately, even if a major battle breaks out, no one will actually die.

Some are like a real simulation game, where everyone uses their skills and bombs each other. Even if the Earth is blown up, as long as the debris doesn't scatter too far, it will probably recover to its original state.

As for whether or not we can blow up the Earth, or whether or not we are willing to do so, we can't get anywhere by just daydreaming.

Chang Nian remained in a daze until 8 a.m., still unable to fall asleep.

He knew he had insomnia; the more he tried to sleep, the more distracting his mind became.

So Chang Niankong no longer chose to force himself to sleep, but instead silently recited the Tao Te Ching.

This is a Taoist classic that at first glance seems easy to memorize, and can be considered an introduction to learning Taoism.

However, the profound meaning contained within was so subtle that no old Taoist priest dared to claim he could fully comprehend it.

It is like a general outline, and the scriptures of various Taoist temples are all developed under this general outline.

"The Way is like an empty vessel, yet its use is inexhaustible; it is as deep and unfathomable as the origin of all things..."

On the other side, Jiang Ning was exhausted and unable to fall asleep.

He was the most mentally exhausted that day. After lying in bed, he routinely looked at his family through the mysterious space for a while.

By now, my parents have already gotten up.

Jiang Hua went to check on the vegetable garden as usual, while Li Xiuyun was preparing breakfast.

Meanwhile, his younger brother Jiang Yuan sleeps in late.

Jiang Ning looked at his family for a while, then at his parents-in-law. Dawn breaks late in XJ, so the two elders were still fast asleep. His sister-in-law, however, was sitting intently in front of the computer, seemingly absorbed in her work.

Since Lin Wei's death, Jiang Ning has felt guilty and has never dared to take the initiative to contact his father-in-law's family.

However, his father-in-law's family never said a word of blame, which made Jiang Ning feel even more guilty.

He felt that the woman had gone to great lengths to agree to marry her daughter to him, and that she was a cheerful and sunny girl when she married him, but she developed depression a year after the marriage. He felt that he had let her down.

Jiang Ning still can't understand why Lin Wei developed depression.

That's why the other person jumped off the building and committed suicide!

This problem has plagued him for over a year, and every time he thinks about it again, he experiences excruciating pain.

He doesn't understand where the problem lies.

Since Lin Wei married him, he has never neglected her and has always put her at the center of his life.

The only slight drawback was that during the first month of Lin Wei's pregnancy, he was busy compiling the "2046 China Sleep Report," working from dawn till dusk every day.

However, after Lin Wei's suicide, Jiang Ning repeatedly recalled and reflected on the events and discovered that during that period, Lin Wei never complained in the slightest. On the contrary, she would personally cook him a late-night snack when he worked overtime until late at night.

By all accounts, she doesn't seem to have perinatal depression.

"Perhaps it's still my fault!"

Jiang Ning suddenly woke up in the mysterious space, clutching his head with both hands, his face contorted in pain.

Psychologists have said that hormonal changes during pregnancy, as well as psychological and social stress, can all contribute to depression in pregnant women.

Jiang Ning thought painfully to himself that Lin Wei must not want to distract him and support his career, which was why she was unwilling to show her support in front of him.

"But doesn't she know that bearing this alone will cause me even more pain?"

"This kind of love is too heavy..."

In his anguish, Jiang Ning wanted to blame Lin Wei in his heart, to scold her for loving too selfishly, but he found that he couldn't do it at all. All he felt was a sense of loss of control on the verge of collapse.

Love her? Love yourself?

Hate her? Hate yourself?

Jiang Ning clenched his teeth, swallowing the blood along with his saliva, and finally the image in his mind remained at the moment they met.

That day, after the boy dropped the girl off at home, the girl had to pay the fare.

The boy pushed and shoved a few times, but didn't take it.

The girl smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be in Shanghai for a few more days anyway, I'll treat you to dinner another day. Oh, by the way, I haven't asked your name yet? My name is Lin Wei..."

"My name is Jiang Ning..."

Jiang Ning snapped out of his daze, and all he could hear was Sun Fumin's snoring as he fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Ning sat up gently and saw Sun Fumin, who was sleeping on his side in the lower bunk next to him, with a small military radar radio still on his back.

Jiang Ning looked at it for a few seconds, then turned to look out the window. The sun had already risen, and the sunlight shone through the dappled light inside the room, making it seem exceptionally peaceful.

Like many ordinary mornings, the sun rises in the east and sets in the evening.

But Jiang Ning knew perfectly well that the rollback that started yesterday at noon had been going on for almost 20 hours, and it would take a whole day to finish.

Perhaps in the next moment, countless people will, like Sun Fumin, continue to witness the world's regression while they are still asleep.

"As long as the sun rises again, everything will be alright!"

Jiang Ning subconsciously thought of Lin Wei's words again, then lay down again and closed his eyes.

Goodnight, Lin Wei!