Chapter 139: Cheng Xin's third destruction of the universe's restart, Zero-Returners: the entire universe is wanted!

The sky curtain gave no one time to catch their breath.

Golden subtitles re-formed from the darkness, and the timeline kept jumping forward.

【Cheng Xin rode 「Star Ring」 at lightspeed to escape the solar system, then headed for the DX3906 star system.】

【The star she had discovered and owned back then.】

In the picture, the Star Ring's curvature wake stretched a long trail in the interstellar medium.

The spacecraft finally decelerated, entering an unfamiliar star system.

A blue star hung in the center of the view.

Near the orbit of its fourth planet floated something that did not belong to this universe.

A door.

Precisely speaking, it was the entrance to a closed space independent of the greater universe.

Mini-universe.

The sky curtain subtitles appeared.

【Yun Tianming.】

【Cheng Xin's secret admirer, who had once sent his brain into the Trisolaran Fleet and lain hidden for decades within Trisolaran civilization.】

【He left Cheng Xin a final gift: a mini-universe.】

【It contained land, sunlight, water, and an ecosystem—a Garden of Eden that could exist eternally.】

The picture fast-forwarded. Cheng Xin and another man,

Guan Yifan,

Yun Tianming's former classmate entered the mini-universe together with them.

But they did not find Yun Tianming.

Because before they arrived, they mistakenly entered the 'dead line'—a spacetime channel warped by a region where light speed was reduced.

By the time they emerged, it was already the end of the universe.

The sky curtain picture changed.

No more stars.

No more nebulae.

No more light sources.

Only endless, absolute darkness.

The temperature reading appeared in the corner of the screen: 0.0001 K.

Close to absolute zero.

The universe was dying.

The sky curtain subtitles slowly appeared.

【Universe age: about 180 billion years.】

【All stars have gone out. All black holes have evaporated.】

【Matter is entering the final heat death stage.】

【Cheng Xin and Guan Yifan missed their reunion with Yun Tianming.】

【When they arrived, Yun Tianming had already left.】

【Destination unknown.】

Dragon Ball World, King Kai's Planet.

Wukong blinked. '180 billion years? How many Dragon Balls would I have to gather to wish to go back?'

Piccolo ignored him. He stared at the absolute darkness on the sky curtain, his face grim.

「This is not the destruction of a certain planet, nor the downfall of a certain civilization。】

【This is the entire universe heading toward its end.】

King Kai set down the teapot.

"More serious than that. If the universe cannot be restarted……

"Even the concept of an 'endpoint' no longer exists, because there will be no 'starting point' again."

The sky curtain continued.

In the darkness, a signal pierced the barriers of all dimensions.

Brane broadcast.

Not a Trisolaran civilization technology.

Not human technology.

It is a communication method far surpassing the technological level of all known civilizations, acting directly on the universe's substrate membrane structure.

The signal was translated into text, appearing on the sky curtain.

【To all intelligent civilizations in the universe:】

【Please return the matter you took from the greater universe.】

【The universe's total mass is falling below the critical value.】

【If the taken matter is not returned, the universe will be unable to generate enough gravity to complete collapse, and will never be able to restart.】

【All civilizations' past, present, and future will perish in eternal heat death.】

【No second chance.】

【——Zero-Returners.】

The sky curtain subtitles gave an annotation.

【"Return-to-Zero": a super-ancient civilization alliance in the universe.】

【Their goal is to return the universe to the "zero point" through contraction and a big bang, completing a reboot and beginning a new cosmic era.】

【The condition for cosmic reboot: all matter must return to the great universe. Not a single gram can be missing.】

【The problem is that, throughout the long history of the universe, countless civilizations have built "small universes," taking matter away from the great universe.】

【The matter that has been taken away is like coins stolen from a piggy bank.】

【Each one weakens the possibility of a cosmic reboot.】

On the Myriad Worlds public screen, that gray comment appeared again.

Still no signature.

【……Finally we've come to this point.】

【Those tiny civilizations are utterly insignificant on the scale of cosmic reboot.】

【We Return-to-Zero are beings who strive for the reboot of the entire universe.】

Sai Botan Star.

Qingtian Zhu's optical sensor quickly processed the data coming from the sky curtain.

"A cosmic-scale mass conservation problem."

"The total mass is insufficient; gravity cannot overcome expansion, so the universe will forever grow cold."

He turned his head to look at Weizhen Tian.

Weizhen Tian didn't look at him.

The crimson optical sensor fixedly stared at the small universe where Cheng Xin and Guan Yifan were, on the sky curtain.

"Are the Return-to-Zero going to reboot the universe?"

"Whatever you do, don't tell me."

Weizhen Tian's voice was extremely low,

"Cheng Xin, that foolish holy mother, is causing trouble again."

The sky curtain gave the answer.

The view cut into the interior of the small universe.

Cheng Xin and Guan Yifan stood on a patch of verdant grass.

Simulated sunshine shone overhead.

A clear stream flowed beneath their feet.

In the distance were a small grove and flower fields.

This is the gift Yun Tianming left for her.

A perfect, eternal home.

Cheng Xin stared at the super-membrane broadcast translation text in her hand, silent for a long time.

Guan Yifan stood beside her. "Cheng Xin, we must return all matter."

Cheng Xin did not answer immediately.

The view gave her a close-up of her face.

That expression had already been seen twice by the audience of the Myriad Worlds.

Hesitation.

Reluctance.

Inner conflict.

Just like before the button.

Just like when destroying the light-speed spacecraft before.

The Myriad Worlds were already familiar with Cheng Xin's expression, and their hearts instantly sank to the bottom of the valley.

Fire Shadow World.

Zuozhu's pupils contracted sharply.

"No way."

His voice barely squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Third time?"

"This woman, is she going to destroy everything for the third time??"

The sky curtain continued.

Cheng Xin and Guan Yifan walked a long distance in the small universe.

She repeatedly looked at that patch of grass, that stream, and those few fruit trees.

In the end, she made a decision.

"Return."

She said.

Guan Yifan breathed a sigh of relief.

The Myriad Worlds civilization also breathed a sigh of relief.

If matter can be returned, at least it shows Cheng Xin still has some humanity.

Otherwise, because of this, it would affect the universe's reboot.

The consequences would be unimaginably dire.

But,

Cheng Xin's next sentence, however, left everyone stunned.

I am willing to return, but...

I plan to return ninety-nine percent.

She squatted down and scooped up a small handful of soil from the stream bank.

She also ladled a basin of clear water from the stream.

She placed them into a prepared ecosphere.

The size of a glass sphere.

Inside were a small patch of soil, a basin of clear water, and several small fish.

About five kilograms of matter.

Just leave these.

Cheng Xin held the ecosphere in her arms,

Just this little bit.

It won't affect the universe's reboot.

Just five kilograms.

The sky screen displayed subtitles.

【Cheng Xin returned 99% of the matter in the mini-universe.】

【But she left behind about five kilograms of matter, an ecosphere.】

【She believed that five kilograms of matter would not affect the universe's total mass.】

Immediately afterward, the sky screen gave another line of commentary.

【But the Zeroers' broadcast was very clear.】

【"Not a single gram can be missing."】

【Because it's not just Cheng Xin making this choice.】

【In the 13.7-billion-year history of the universe, the civilizations that have built mini-universes number in the millions.】

【If each civilization left behind "five kilograms."】

【That would be a shortfall of tens of millions of tons of matter.】

【And the threshold for the universe's reboot is precise to the gram.】

Myriad Worlds Public Screen.

The barrage completely exploded.

【Cybertron—Megatron】:

I take back everything I said before.

She is not a saint.

She is a universe-level disaster.

The first time she destroyed a civilization's deterrence.

The second time she destroyed a civilization's escape route.

The third time she delayed the reboot of the entire universe.

【Dragon Ball World—Piccolo】:

Five kilograms.

Just because of five kilograms of mud and little fish, she's betting on whether the whole universe can reboot?!!

【Dragon Ball World—Sun Wukong】:

Wait…… if the universe can't reboot, doesn't that mean everyone is doomed?

All universes?

All worlds?

How dare she?!

【Dragon Ball World—Piccolo】: Yes, all of it, forever.

Land of Light.

Saiwen's ice axe again plunged into the floor of the Land of Light.

This time, the floor cracked through.

"The Zeroers say not a single gram can be missing."

"She left five kilograms."

Saiwen's voice reached the utmost helplessness,

"And her logic is 'just this little bit, it won't have any effect.'"

At this moment,

Saiwen was speechless at his utter disappointment in Cheng Xin.

Among the humans he likes, there actually exists such a person.

Saiwen even felt an urge at one point: Cheng Xin, she's simply not human!!

Taro was also worried:

"Just five kilograms? But what if the people of millions of civilizations all thought that way?"

"Then the universe would die."

The Father of Ultra's voice came from behind the command console.

"Forever dead."

Warhammer 40K Universe, Marklag.

Jiliman's Sword of Justice was stuck in the ground, his hands covering the hilt.

One person's goodness destroyed a civilization's deterrence.

One person's mercy abolished a civilization's escape pod.

Now, one person's selfishness could block the entire universe's cycle of rebirth.

He raised his head, his voice echoing in the hall.

If the Emperor faced this choice, He would throw Himself back together with that microcosm, not leaving even a soul behind.

On the golden throne, the withered body remained silent.

But the psychic light shone steadily.

That is certain.

Stellar Peoples Union flagship.

Grand Admiral Sidney sat in the command chair, hands crossed.

She did not lose her temper.

Her anger had already burned out beforehand.

Now her gaze held only ice.

【Stellar Peoples Union—Grand Admiral Sidney】: First, she dared not press the button, sacrificing a civilization's sovereignty. Second, she stopped Wei De, costing a civilization its survival path. Third, she left five kilograms of mud, possibly dooming an entire universe.

【Stellar Peoples Union—Grand Admiral Sidney】: This woman's destructive power grows exponentially. Give her another chance, and she could wipe out the entire multiverse.

Super Beast Armored World, the Xuanwu.

Huo Linfei no longer speaks.

He sat on the deck, clutching his head with both hands, repeatedly muttering: 'Five kilograms, five kilograms, she'll kill the universe over a five‑kilogram fish tank!'

Tianyu stood by the porthole, voice soft: 'Each little bit added together becomes the final straw that breaks the universe.'

Miaotiao Jun raised his hand: 'Um, if really millions of civilizations each left a "little bit," would the universe truly be unable to restart?'

No one answered.

One Piece World, the Ten Thousand Miles of Sunshine.

Luffy's chewing motion stopped.

That big sister… does she destroy wherever she goes?

Zoro closed his eyes, his voice heavy as lead.

Not that she destroys wherever she goes.

It's that each of her 'kind' decisions kills on a larger scale.

Robin turned to a new page in her notebook and wrote three lines.

【First: a civilization reduced to livestock.】

【Second: a civilization lost its chance to escape.】

【Third: the entire universe may be unable to restart.】

She drew a line at the bottom and added a note.

【Chengxin's kindness half‑life: each decision expands the destruction scale by an order of magnitude.】

Three‑Body Universe, the PIA outer street.

Chengxin gazed at the future self holding an ecosphere on the sky‑screen; her expression was no longer anger or shame.

It was bewilderment.

I merely left a little bit.

Her voice was soft, as if she were speaking to herself.

Just five kilograms.

The top floor of the PIA building.

Wei De stood by the floor‑to‑ceiling window, cigar smoke condensing into a thin mist on the glass.

Well, I must admit I previously underestimated Chengxin.

I used to look down on Chengxin, dismissing her ideas, but…

Wei De paused, his tone full of helplessness.

Her seemingly ridiculous ideology actually destroyed the entire universe.

In some ways, she is more formidable than anyone I have ever met.

The final scene on the sky‑screen.

The exit of the micro‑universe opened.

Chengxin and Guan Yifan brought the ecosphere back to the grand universe.

Behind them, the micro‑universe, stripped of 99% of its matter, collapsed and dissipated into a ripple of quantum foam.

Chengxin held the glass sphere in her arms.

Inside, the little fish swam in clear water; on the soil sprouted a shoot the size of a fingernail.

She held it tightly.

The sky‑screen displayed subtitles.

【The Zero‑Returners detected that the grand universe's total mass remains below the restart threshold.】

【The shortfall comes from millions of civilizations, each having left a 'little bit.'】

【Chengxin's five kilograms is one of.】

The final line, its font larger than all previous subtitles.

【The universe's fate hinges on a single ecosphere.】

The universe rebooted, and thus it was interrupted.

Then, the sky displayed the most incisive, deeply moving conclusion.

All things die, the death god lives forever.

This death god is Cheng Xin.

In an extremely short time after the barrage appeared.

On the universal public screen.

A special barrage slowly rose from the bottom of the screen.

Unsigned.

Gray font.

Just like the previous one.

That is the subtitle of the Zeroers.

But now, these subtitles are filled with fury.

We Zeroers have waited 13.7 billion years.

Waiting for all stars to burn out, for all black holes to evaporate, for all civilizations to return to dust.

Just to return to zero and start anew.

And now, someone tells me.

Off by five kilograms.

Cheng Xin, you human, are the death god who sincerely destroys everything!

Now, we Zeroers broadcast across the whole universe's super-membrane, issuing a universal warrant for Cheng Xin!!

……