El encanto de una mujer poderosa se extiende por todo el mundo

Capítulo 6

"Incredible, isn't it?" Lin Cui asked excitedly. "Do you know what this means? It means that every electron must pass through both slits at the same time!"

“An electron… at the same moment… passes through two small slits…” I repeated this logically contradictory statement, and my train of thought was momentarily stuck in a rut.

"It sounds impossible, doesn't it?" Lin Cui said decisively, "But in fact, it is a scientifically proven fact. The reason I gave this whole example is to illustrate that many principles that we usually think cannot be violated can actually be broken."

"you mean……"

"If an electron can pass through two gaps at the same time, then why can't a person exist in several worlds simultaneously?"

One person exists in several worlds at the same time!

What surprised me even more than the concept itself was the serious expression on Lin Cui's face when she said it. It was an utterly absurd idea! Yet, I couldn't refute it at that moment, whether it was because the previous analogy did make some sense, or because Lin Cui's own attitude gave me confidence.

“I was thinking,” Lin Cui further explained, “that if every subtle difference in every event can constitute a new world, that is, if there really are countless possible worlds, then it doesn’t necessarily mean that there are many versions of me in these worlds. The world where Tie Niu was salvaged in 1992 and the world where Tie Niu was salvaged in 2002 both contain me; the world where Nuonuo suffers from hemophobia and the world where she doesn’t have this disease both contain me… These versions of me might not necessarily be the same person! The me that appears in different worlds is a projection of the only me, my clone, while the real me is always only one.”

I thought about it for a moment and decided not to dwell on the issue. "Your reasoning may be right or wrong. I used to think, like everyone else, that an object couldn't exist in two places at the same time, but now you're telling me it's possible. And from this, you speculate that perhaps a person could also exist in two worlds simultaneously. Even if her clones were mistakenly thrown from one world to another, there wouldn't be two versions of her appearing at the same time. This makes the inference that 'you come from another world' reasonable and feasible. I can't point out anything wrong with it, but it's just a deduction."

“That’s right, it’s just a deduction.” Lin Cui’s attitude was very calm.

I continued, "I think discussing theories here isn't very meaningful, because we lack factual evidence. Perhaps we should go and take a look..."

"Tie Niu!" Lin Cui interrupted me, saying exactly what I was about to say.

Indeed, since the timing of Tie Niu's salvage is a significant point of contention between "two worlds" (if two worlds really exist), and Lin Cui claims that she happened to be with Tie Niu the night she fell into the water, we have no reason not to thoroughly investigate Tie Niu.

"Go now?" I glanced at my watch; it was almost midnight, and Lin Cui's expression clearly indicated she was serious. I thought for a moment that if we were to investigate Tie Niu, the dead of night might be a good option. During the day, with so many people around, finding anything about the much-discussed Tie Niu would be no easy task.

A man and a woman left the hotel late at night. As we passed the information desk downstairs, I distinctly felt strange looks being directed at us.

The ground outside is wet; it seems it rained without us noticing.

I thought hailing a taxi late at night wouldn't be easy in a small city like Dujiangyan. Surprisingly, perhaps because the city has a vibrant nightlife, there were quite a few taxis out soliciting passengers. However, once they heard that our destination was the dammed Minjiang River, several taxis waved them off, saying they wouldn't go. I was furious but helpless; this isn't Shanghai, and I didn't even know which number to call to complain about the refusal to take me.

Finally, at a relatively busy street corner, we saw three or four taxis waiting for passengers. Upon seeing Lin Cui and me, several drivers immediately began soliciting our business. Lin Cui gestured for us to observe for the time being, remaining silent. Sure enough, the drivers started competing with each other, with one immediately offering something like, "I'll take you anywhere." Lin Cui managed to deflect his offer and successfully boarded a taxi heading to "Tie Niu's Residence."

A light rain started to fall again on the night road. The excitement we had when we set off had been replaced by a sense of uncertainty about the unknown. The quiet carriage was deserted. The usually talkative driver from Sichuan was probably not in high spirits because he had suffered a loss on this trip.

In this atmosphere, Lin Cui asked me seemingly out of the blue, "Na Duo, do you know about relativity?"

"I know, it was founded by Einstein."

Do you know what it's actually about?

"...It seems to be related to some formula...It seems that because of it, we know that in space travel, the faster the speed, the slower time passes. That's why some science fiction movies have plots where people who participated in space travel return to Earth and all the people they knew have grown old."

"Hmm." Lin Cui nodded slightly. "The essence of relativity is described in a very simple way in Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time.' Let me explain it to you briefly."

“Okay.” I knew there must be a reason why Lin Cui suddenly brought up relativity.

"We all know that velocity = displacement/time. To determine the velocity of a moving object, we only need to calculate the distance it travels in a certain period of time."

"Measuring the speed of light also uses this method, only it is more precise and complex. In essence, it is the same as measuring the speed of a train."

"We all know that if we stand next to a metal cabinet to measure the speed of a train, the result we get will be different from the result we get from sitting on another moving train. This is because the motion state of the measurer is different, and the displacement of the object being measured is also different, so the resulting speed will naturally be different."

"This principle should also be applicable to the measurement of the speed of light. Scientists before the establishment of relativity all thought so. Of course, the speed of light measured when we are moving towards the light source should be greater than the speed of light measured when we are not moving towards the light source, just like the speed of a train measured when we are facing it."

"However, the fact is that a very precise experiment conducted by two scientists in 1887 proved that the speed of light measured under both conditions was exactly the same."

"Similar experiments were repeated many times afterward, but the conclusion was exactly the same: regardless of the speed or direction of the object moving in the universe, the measured speed of light was exactly the same. This is completely different from measuring the speed of a train. What is the reason for this difference?"

I naturally didn't respond, and Lin Cui clearly didn't intend for me to answer. "We used to think that time was absolute. If a ray of light is emitted from one place to another, different observers wouldn't have any objection to the time it takes to travel that distance, because time is the same for everyone. They would only have different opinions about how far the light actually traveled, because every point in the universe is in motion, and the observers' own speeds are not exactly the same. An observer moving against the light would think that the light has traveled a long distance, while an observer moving with the light might think that the distance is very short."

"The greatness of relativity lies in the assumption that the laws of science are the same for observers regardless of their speed of motion. In reality, this has been proven by experiments to be the same for all speeds of light."

"Of the three factors—speed, time, and distance—none can be changed independently while the other two remain constant. Now, since the speed of light is always changing, and different observers have different perceptions of distance, they should also have different perceptions of time. This is necessary to maintain the formula: speed = displacement/time. Therefore, absolute time does not actually exist; for observers in different states of motion, the passage of time is perceived at different rates!"

"Absolutely speaking, any two different people in the universe are using their own set of clocks; there is a 'clock difference' between any two different points in the universe."

"The experiment I mentioned earlier, where particles pass through two gaps, might be helpful in understanding it with this concept. What we perceive as 'simultaneous' passage may not actually be truly 'simultaneous,' because there is a tiny 'clock difference' between the two gaps."

"What I really want to say is how to understand 'a person can exist in two worlds at the same time.' Perhaps this simultaneity is like an electron passing through two slits at the same time, because time itself is different at every point. We think that the countless worlds composed of different possibilities exist in a parallel and forward-moving state, but in fact they may be continuous with a sequence. Our perception that they are parallel is like our perception that an electron passes through two slits at the same time, which is entirely an illusion caused by the difference in time."

Lin Cui's words were very profound, and I found them quite difficult to understand. All I know is that Lin Cui's words broadened my thinking considerably, making many things that seemed impossible in my usual way of thinking possible. Even if I don't fully understand what these words mean, I can clearly feel that Lin Cui is striving to perfect her theory of "a person existing in two worlds simultaneously," trying to bring it to a reasonable conclusion, no matter how profound or even "unreasonable" that "reason" may be.

At this moment, I certainly couldn't say something like, "Although I don't understand, I will always support you." Those cheesy lines from TV dramas have no effect in reality, and now wasn't the time to win her favor. But I knew I had no way to continue the discussion with her or help her reach the explanation she wanted. I could only vaguely say, "Everything is still uncertain. Let's talk about it after we see Tie Niu."

Lin Cui nodded silently.

The driver glanced at us several times while giving us change. I think he must have thought the couple we were picking up today were mentally ill.

Under the cover of night, the iron ox appeared ancient and solemn, with a desolate sense of loneliness. It even made me suddenly feel a sense of sympathy for this iron behemoth, enduring the erosion of the rain alone on this rainy night.

The path leading to the river was muddy and slippery, and Lin Cui, wearing ordinary leather shoes, needed my support to walk steadily. The fragility of this woman, which had been overshadowed by her earlier display of wisdom and fortitude, seemed to only now become apparent. As I helped her across this "road to the iron ox," I silently vowed that, regardless of today's outcome, I would help her unravel this mystery and reveal the truth in my lifetime. "Life is only once for me, and I don't want it to be anything but unclear!" These words echoed in my ears, filling me with admiration and a sense of responsibility.

Upon closer inspection, the first impression the Iron Ox gave me was still summed up in two words: exquisite. Its rugged and simple style made it seem completely transparent and without any secrets. This same style, embodied in its identity—the Iron Ox, which sank to the bottom of the river as the Fish Mouth of the Dividing Water more than four hundred years ago and has now reappeared, playing an important symbol in Lin Cui's strange events—cannot help but make it seem even more mysterious.

Researchers had already confirmed that the iron ox was made from a single piece of wrought iron, completely solid, without any hidden compartments like those found in a Trojan horse. Its simple shape also made it easy to see that there were no mechanisms or traps. After futilely touching the iron ox several times, Lin Cui and I could only focus our attention on the only striking feature—its horns.

This isn't the first time I've noticed the horn pattern. Overall, it presents a spiral shape, and upon closer inspection, there are many right-angle turns. In the past, I only thought it had a modern feel, but now, perhaps because of the refreshing rain, my thoughts have become more active. I even recalled seeing a similar pattern at an abstract painting exhibition by a friend who works in visual arts. It was created by blackening some small squares on instrument paper while leaving others blank.

"When you encountered the flood, which cow horn did you grab onto?"

Lin Cui thought for a moment, then gestured with her hands in the air—the horns were too high, and without the buoyancy of the water, she couldn't reach them at all—and finally decided, "I'll grab both horns."

“I’ve grabbed both corners… Could you hold the flashlight for me?” I said, taking out my notebook and asking Lin Cui to provide light. I craned my neck, trying to make out the patterns and copy them.

Just as I was marveling at Michelangelo's incredible perseverance in completing the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Lin Cui and I simultaneously heard a loud bang. It wasn't like an explosion, nor like a heavy object falling; strictly speaking, it wasn't like any loud noise I'd ever heard before. But perhaps because of my preconceived notions, I almost immediately connected it to something Lin Cui had mentioned.

I turned my flashlight around in the dark and immediately started cursing: Damn it! This shoddy construction is killing people!

It's like when you're playing Counter-Strike and you're reloading when two or more enemies suddenly appear in front of you. You know that cursing "Damn it" won't help, but there's really nothing else you can do besides cursing—that's how I felt at the time.

Because what I'm facing is the breach at the dam!

I didn't have time to think about why I was so unlucky. Just tonight, I'd heard someone talk about the breach, and I'd even imagined the raging, white-capped waves. And now, only a few hours later, I was about to experience that terror firsthand. I didn't even have time to utter a single glorious word as my final farewell besides "damn it!" If I'd known this was the last time I'd speak, why didn't I gossip a bit more, so my colleagues would have more "anecdotes" to write in their memorials? In short, the Minjiang River burst forth like a volcanic eruption, seemingly confident, calm, and clean, determined to fill everything in its path. All the rafts and bamboo cages vanished, their very existence becoming laughable. In an instant, perhaps a mere second (I didn't fully understand relativity before, but now I know that the length of time is sometimes impossible to estimate accurately), the water level had already lifted me to the surface.

I only had time to grab two things tightly: one soft and slightly warm, the other hard and extremely cold. As for distinguishing between Lin Cui's arm and one of Tie Niu's horns, I don't know if it was in the instant before I lost consciousness or after I woke up.

Chapter Five: An Unexpected Encounter

There is no doubt that I had to wake up, otherwise there would be no written record, and no subsequent stories in "Na Duo's Notebook". I woke up after Lin Cui, although this seems unreasonable from a physical point of view.

It was already quite light outside, roughly around five or six o'clock.

The location is... by the river.

After surviving a minor flood, we reappeared unharmed and seemingly unharmed in almost the same spot. The floodwaters seemed like a mischievous child, swallowing us briefly before spitting us out. And that brief moment left us unconscious for five or six hours.

The rain had stopped, but the riverbed was still damp and messy, looking as if the floodwaters had just receded.

The gap at the joint is now "intact," but not "as it was," with obvious signs of repair. However, there are almost no construction workers left on site.

Based on my initial assessment, given the circumstances at the time... to be honest, I had never experienced anything like this before, and I had no way of knowing whether it was unusual.

My immediate priority was to talk to Lin Cui. I got up and walked towards her, who had her back to me. The ground was already somewhat dry and hard, and I deliberately made noise with my footsteps, but she seemed oblivious. I reached her side and was about to put my arm around her shoulder when I suddenly heard her mutter to herself, "That's right... that's more like it..."

I followed her gaze—it was just the iron ox; I'd already noticed it. It hadn't left us. It was still in the same spot… Wait a minute. I carefully examined the riverbed and the location of the dam, comparing the ox's position to my own… Strangely, the ox seemed to have moved twenty or thirty meters from its original location!

The flood that occurred last night, while deadly enough, was clearly not large enough to move the iron ox. What exactly is going on...?

Suddenly, Lin Cui jumped up and shouted excitedly in a voice I had never heard before, "I'm back! I'm finally back!"

My ears were startled, and then my heart was immediately filled with shock—of course I understood what Lin Cui meant.

"Lin Cui," I went over to touch her still-wet clothes, but she immediately turned around and interrupted me.

"There's no mistake! I remember in my world, Tie Niu was always in this spot! There's no mistake! I'm back!"

I tried to calm her down and prevent her from getting so excited. It seemed she was completely convinced of her "two worlds theory" and was now insisting she had returned to her original world. Although I hadn't denied the possibility, it was too early to draw conclusions based on that alone. I feared she would be even more disappointed once she learned that the truth was different.

Just then, pedestrians finally appeared along the riverbank, seemingly construction workers. We, a man and a woman, stood there soaking wet and utterly disheveled, feeling incredibly embarrassed. I quickly tugged at Lin Cui, "Let's go, we can talk about it back at the hotel."

Lin Cui acted as if she hadn't heard him, staring intently at the man, completely ignoring the fact that he was also staring at her, whose clothes were soaked and somewhat transparent.

Just as I was about to urge her to leave, Lin Cui uttered a few words from her tightly clenched lips: "Excuse me, how long has this iron ox been here?"

The man laughed. "Tie Niu? You mean this Tie Niu? You must be from out of town." As he spoke, he continued to look me up and down with a malicious gaze, which made even me feel uneasy.

But his next sentence was more than just giving me the creeps. "This iron ox, it's been here... for ten years, hasn't it? Yes! It was salvaged in '92. It caused quite a stir back then..."

I didn't hear a word of the person's rambling on in an attempt to stall for time.

I felt like nothing around me existed anymore, leaving only my brain pounding like a heartbeat. In that brain, concepts like "as many worlds as there are possibilities," "Steve Hawking," "a world passing through two slits at the same time," "a person existing in two worlds at the same time," and "Einstein's theory of relativity" were all mixed together, colliding and making a great fuss.

Back in college, one of my classmates had a screensaver with these words in red: "XX, face reality."

The need for a screensaver to constantly remind you shows that "facing reality" is not an easy thing.

I truly grasped this deeply after I regained consciousness following what the stranger had said, finding myself already in a taxi. I have absolutely no recollection of how Lin Cui led me away from the riverbank, flagged down the car, pushed me into it, or gave me our destination. To face reality, I endured a period of utter bewilderment that lasted for countless minutes.

Lin Cui's destination was her home. I snapped out of my reverie and looked out the window; the street scenes along the way were all strangely familiar. If I hadn't experienced what happened with Lin Cui, if someone had told me that such a seemingly similar place was actually another world, a world "at the same time" as ours, yet not at the same point in time, I would never have believed it. Yet now, I believed more than I disbelieved, although a small, selfish wish still lingered in my heart—that all of this was just Lin Cui's mistake, that she was truly mentally unstable… In short, I'd rather she, in another world, not be me! This thought made me ashamed, but it wouldn't leave me. Only then did I realize how incredibly important a familiar, even somewhat unpleasant, "everyday world" is to an ordinary person…

However, my last shred of hope was shattered within half a minute of Lin Cui reaching her doorstep. She allocated that minute like this: 5 seconds to open the iron gate, 4 seconds to open the main gate, 3.5 seconds to turn on the light and cross the living room to reach the bedroom door, 5 seconds to open the bedroom door, 1 second to reach the bedside table, 3 seconds to open the bedside table drawer, 5 seconds to flip through the photo album, and 3.5 seconds to turn to that particular page—a full thirty seconds. During those thirty seconds, perhaps because I sensed the impending "final verdict," I didn't think about anything; I just mechanically counted the seconds.

That page, naturally, was the one Lin Cui mentioned, the one that had been replaced by the "photo with her German boyfriend"—the photo with Tie Niu.

Lin Cui looks younger in the photo than she does now, though I don't know how much younger, but that's enough for both of us.

I saw tears on Lin Cui's face. I thought to myself: Congratulations.

The reason I didn't say it was because I knew she wouldn't hear it. She was completely immersed in the joy of returning to "reality." And she wouldn't notice how I felt now that we had suddenly switched places, even though she had only recently emerged from that state of mind.

For a moment, I felt incredibly lonely.

So that's really how it is. It turns out the breach wasn't repaired in the early morning, but rather sometime "a dozen days ago" (I felt a real irony saying those words; this world doesn't have a "a few days ago" for me; to this world, I'm like a newborn baby) the night Lin Cui drowned. No wonder all the construction workers disappeared without a trace. To this world, it's just some unknown woman missing for a few days—no big deal.

As I thought about all this, Lin Cui's phone call with her mother was nearing its end. Her mother had naturally learned of her daughter's situation through a notification from her workplace and had also filed a police report. Now, hearing that her daughter was safe and sound, she was naturally overjoyed and wept tears of happiness. Lin Cui was also very emotional, not much better than her mother. "...Mmm...Mmm, Mom, I'll wait for you..."

After she hung up the phone and calmed down a bit, she looked at me with an extremely complicated expression, as if she had suddenly remembered my existence. It was clear she didn't know what to say. Seeing her like this made me feel guilty. I perked up and started thinking. This thought led me to realize: even though I had indeed arrived in another world, if everything here was exactly as I was used to, why shouldn't I continue my life here?

With this thought in mind, I immediately felt much better, so I pointed to the phone and asked Lin Cui, "Can I make a long-distance call?"

"Oh, you can use it."

I dialed a number starting with 021, which was the phone number for the editor-in-chief's office at the Morning Star.

"What are you doing?! You said you'd submit the manuscript last night, why haven't you said anything yet? I called you all night yesterday and your phone was off, where have you been gallivanting off to?..."

The boss's yelling had never sounded so pleasant. I smiled and kept saying "Hai hai," thinking that things were about 80% done. The fact that I came to Dujiangyan to report on the annual maintenance work remained unchanged, unchanged!

Thinking this, I took out my phone. As expected of the SIEMENS 3618 sports waterproof model, it could still be turned on after such a baptism of waves. It seems that I will become a living advertisement for them when I get back.