Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Butterfly
The vote was two in favor, one against.
The Time SMS plan to save Xu Yan... had begun.
"First, we need to be clear about one thing: the secret of the Time SMS can never be known by anyone other than the three of us."
"That means we can’t send the message to Xu Yan. We have to be the ones to prevent this tragedy in person."
In the club room, Qin Feng wrote on the small blackboard:
"This rescue mission isn’t that difficult. We just have to stop the two children from falling into the water, or stop Xu Yan from jumping into the river to save them, or even just wait in ambush with life preservers and life jackets... There are many ways to do this."
Jiang Ran and Cheng Mengxue nodded.
That was true.
In terms of the action itself, there really wasn’t any difficulty.
The Time SMS was just that kind of magical and powerful "cheat code." If they could send precise information about the future to their past selves, what regret couldn’t be undone?
But...
Jiang Ran looked at the now-clean blackboard and didn’t say much.
He was still worried about that string of mysterious numbers.
’But on second thought, what Qin Feng said makes sense.’
’What’s the point of speculating without any clues?’
’It’s better to try another experiment, within an acceptable range of the Butterfly Effect, and see if we can get a second message or any other clues.’
"We should give our past selves from three days ago some clear instructions."
Jiang Ran pointed to his watch.
"Because we don’t have much time. The place where Xu Yan drowned is a forty-minute drive from the university. After our past selves get the message, they might not have much time to prepare."
Cheng Mengxue strongly agreed.
"The Time SMS can only be sent three days into the past. Factoring in a potential margin of error, we have to send the message right now."
"If we keep dragging this out... I’m afraid we’ll really lose the chance to save my sister."
"Let’s get started then."
Jiang Ran stood up.
"The more time we give our past selves, the more hope we have of saving her."
The operation began.
It was the same setup as before. Jiang Ran was in charge of sending the message from outside by the transformer box, Qin Feng was in charge of activating the Positron Cannon, and Cheng Mengxue was perched on the windowsill to synchronize the time.
Jiang Ran edited the message as he walked out of the club building and around to the transformer box.
’Please note, this is a Time SMS...’
He tried to describe the situation as clearly as possible, and soon the message was ready:
[This is a Time SMS from three days in the future. Take action immediately.
Xu Yan will drown around noon on March 26th. Cause of death: jumping into the river to save drowning children. Location: near Qing’an Bridge. Please change history and prevent this tragedy.]
’Hmm, that should do it.’
’The time, place, and cause of the event are all described clearly.’
’Their past selves aren’t idiots; they’ll know what to do.’
Of course.
The main reason...
...was because a single SMS could only be 70 characters at most; any more and it would automatically be split into multiple messages.
Jiang Ran wasn’t sure if a split message would even be sent successfully. At such a critical moment, it wasn’t worth the risk. What if it failed?
"The message is ready!"
He shouted to Cheng Mengxue.
Then, he got as close to the transformer box as he could.
Qin Feng had theorized that the temporal black hole was minuscule, with limited gravitational pull.
If the phone was too far from the temporal black hole when sending the message, the radio waves likely wouldn’t be absorbed, and the cross-time transmission would naturally fail.
In any case, a life was on the line. They had to do everything possible to ensure it was foolproof.
Qin Feng connected the Positron Cannon to its power source, carefully adjusted its aim so the "barrel" was pointed at the transformer box outside the window, and gave an OK sign.
"I’m ready over here. I can activate it at any time."
"Okay!"
Cheng Mengxue got the signal and raised her right hand, signaling to the two of them.
"Alright, I’ll start the countdown! When I get to zero, Qin Feng, you activate the Positron Cannon first, and then Jiang Ran, you send the message immediately!"
The exact same words.
Jiang Ran felt as if time itself was slightly askew.
’But it’s understandable.’
For him, who possessed memories from before the timeline changed, this was the second Time SMS experiment. But for the Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue of the current worldline, this was their very first.
"Five!"
Cheng Mengxue began the countdown.
A light breeze made a willow branch brush against the back of his neck, and the ZAP-ZAP-ZAP of the current from the transformer box filled his ears.
"Four!"
Jiang Ran looked at the 65-character message.
He had never sent such a long message before.
Nor had he ever attempted something so insane.
"Three!"
This wasn’t an accident, nor was it a test. It was their unprecedented attempt to use the power of the Time SMS to save someone who was already dead.
"Two!"
’Can we really save her?’
’Can she be saved?’
Jiang Ran suddenly grew nervous, his palms sweating.
’And will there really be no problems?’
"One!"
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
The ukiyo-e-like hallucinations reappeared in his mind.
The sun setting in the east...
New shoots retracting into their branches...
Spilled water flowing backward...
Starlight vanishing from sight!
"Zero!"
Qin Feng activated the Positron Cannon, and a loud ROAR erupted!
Jiang Ran’s fingertip pressed down hard! He hit the send key—
WHIR!
WHIR!
WHIR!
The disorienting vertigo, that familiar feeling, was back!
For an instant, the world spun, his five senses vanished, and Jiang Ran could no longer feel the pull of gravity.
’Good.’
Amidst the dizzying haze, Jiang Ran understood that the temporal shift had occurred as planned.
This meant the message had been successfully sent to the past, and established history had been changed.
Once he opened his eyes again...
...it would be a new history, a new worldline!
"Ugh!"
Two seconds later, all the discomfort vanished.
Jiang Ran slowly opened his eyes...
’Huh?’
He sucked in a sharp breath.
’Where is this?’
His eyes met a sterile white ceiling, white bedsheets, a bright window, and the pungent smell of alcohol. Beside him stood an IV drip stand.
’Is this... a hospital room?’
He blinked, quickly confirming his surroundings.
That’s right.
This was a room in a hospital. He was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV drip.
’What’s going on?!’
He shot up in bed with a jolt.
A searing pain shot through his right arm, but he had no time to worry about that now.
’How did I end up in the hospital?’
’Just a moment ago, when I sent the message, I was still at East Sea University, outside the club room window.’
’But how could I get dizzy, open my eyes...’
’...and inexplicably find myself teleported to a hospital?’
’No.’
Suddenly, a terrifying, uncontrollable phrase flashed through his mind—
’The temporal Butterfly Effect.’
He instantly understood. The message sent three days into the past had triggered an unexpected temporal Butterfly Effect, drastically altering the course of history!
In the original history of March 29th, he had indeed been at East Sea University.
But after that Time SMS was sent, the history between March 26th and March 29th was changed... and in this new historical timeline, the him of March 29th was lying in a hospital.
The cool breeze from the hospital room’s air conditioner washed over the back of his neck. It felt as if, somewhere in the unseen void, a butterfly of time had flapped its wings, and the gradually forming tornado was about to swallow him whole.
"What in the world... happened?"
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