Chapter 374: The Butterfly Effect, Truly Changed

Li Mingyuan stood up abruptly, nearly falling over due to dizziness.

He searched for more information with trembling fingers; article after historical article sliced through his perception like a knife:

"The 'Thor' rocket artillery, led in development by Long Country scientist Li Mingyuan, became the key weapon in resisting the aggression of the Star-Spangled Country..."

……

"The world order has completely changed: How the Star-Spangled Country fell from a superpower to a second-rate nation..."

……

Li Mingyuan sat dazed on the edge of the bed, his phone slipping from his fingers.

He felt as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding truck.

"System, explain this. I clearly remember that in my... uh, that timeline, the Star-Spangled Country was the winner, the superpower, and Long Country was the latecomer. How is it now..."

"Master, please note that what you have changed is no longer a dream, but real history," the System's voice was unusually solemn. "Every technological breakthrough has tangibly altered the course of history."

"This is impossible!" Li Mingyuan growled, clutching his hair. "That was clearly a simulation, part of the 'Phoenix Nirvana' project!"

"In fact, Master, the situation is more complex than you imagine." The System paused. "When the memory fusion program was forcibly interrupted, a rare quantum spacetime distortion occurred. Simply put, the simulation became reality, or rather, multiple timelines have merged."

Li Mingyuan felt as if ten thousand ants were crawling in his brain. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"System, do you mean that what I did in the simulation really changed history?"

"Affirmative. Current historical clues indicate that you have completely changed the world order."

Li Mingyuan continued browsing the web, becoming more shocked the more he read.

According to this world's historical records, with the help of Li Mingyuan's technology, Long Country not only defeated the Star-Spangled Country on the battlefield but also led the global technological wave in the following decades. The Star-Spangled Country, meanwhile, never recovered after its defeat, falling into a second-rate nation long suppressed by Long Country.

"Damn, this is literally a parallel universe!" Li Mingyuan muttered to himself. "While I was using a cheat, did I also accidentally trigger the butterfly effect and change the entire world line?"

He hurriedly got up and finished washing, discovering that his closet was full of high-end custom suits.

The middle-aged man at the door—evidently his roommate or co-tenant—urged him from the living room: "Lao Li, don't dawdle, the nine o'clock meeting! That's a major project for the Military!"

Li Mingyuan nodded mechanically and grabbed a random suit to put on.

"System, give me a detailed file on my current identity, the more detailed the better," he whispered.

Soon, a detailed file appeared in his mind:

【Name: Li Mingyuan

Age: 32

Position: Advanced R&D Engineer for Artificial Intelligence at Longteng Technology

Background: Tsinghua Computer Doctor, specializing in Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence

Achievements: Led the development of multiple dual-use military and civilian AI systems, recipient of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (First Class)

Family: Single, parents living, resides in the suburbs of the capital

Assets: 90-square-meter apartment in the city center (mortgage paid off), annual salary 1.5 million+

Social Circle: Primarily tech geeks, a few close classmates and colleagues

Current Project: Developing a new generation of strategic analysis AI systems for the Military】

"This is a pretty good identity," Li Mingyuan laughed at himself. "At least better than being a wage slave."

His gaze was suddenly drawn to a photo frame on the desk—in the photo, an elderly man with white hair stood with a group of young scholars, and he himself was prominently in the middle. At the bottom of the frame was a line of small gold-stamped text: "Academic Symposium Commemorating the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Academician Li Mingyuan."

"What the hell, this is..."

"Affirmative. According to historical records, you—or more precisely, your 'predecessor' in the other timeline—Academician Li Mingyuan, Academician of the Academy of Sciences, pioneer of Mushroom technology and aerospace technology, is hailed as the 'Father of Modern Technology of Dragon Country'."

Li Mingyuan picked up the frame, his fingers brushing over the face of the old man who looked exactly like him, and a strange feeling welled up.

"So, I am actually... him?"

"From the genetic map, yes. From the perspective of consciousness composition, you are both him and a fusion of the researcher identity from the 2097 timeline. Simply put, you are a spacetime anomaly, a fusion of three identities."

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath: "Then are my current memories real or fake?"

"Both. Your memories from that era are real history that occurred; the 2097 memories come from another timeline; and the current 2024 memories are newly formed spacetime adaptation memories."

Li Mingyuan felt like he was going crazy. He hurried out of the apartment and found he lived in a high-end apartment building. His roommate handed him a coffee and car keys.

"Your keys, you parked the car at the entrance of the complex last night. You were so drunk and still drove, lucky nothing happened."

Li Mingyuan took the keys in a daze and sat into a brand-new BMW.

"System, what about the 2097 memories in my brain? That 'Phoenix Nirvana' project, the future war..."

"Detected that your 2097 memories are gradually blurring; this is a natural phenomenon of spacetime reconstruction. As the new historical line forms, the memories of the original timeline will be replaced by the new historical line."

"Wait, you mean..."

"Affirmative. Because of your actions in that era, the future has completely changed. That world in 2097, that war, may no longer exist, or it exists in a completely different form."

Li Mingyuan turned on the car radio, and the news was broadcasting:

"The Long Country-led permanent lunar base welcomed its 500th resident researcher today; the Star-Spangled Country announced its withdrawal from the lunar development program, citing a lack of funds..."

"Long Country's quantum computing network coverage has exceeded 90%, becoming the first country in the world to achieve universal quantum internet..."

"Latest global GDP ranking: Long Country firmly in first place, Europe second, Polar Bear Federation third, Star-Spangled Country fell to fourth..."

Listening to this news, Li Mingyuan felt both unreal and inexplicably excited. This was clearly the parallel universe that many of his countrymen dreamed of!

"Navigate me to Longteng Technology," he started the car and drove into the morning rush hour traffic.

"By the way, System, I want to know, does the 2097 crisis still exist in this current timeline?"

The System was uncharacteristically silent for a few seconds: "Detected spacetime disturbance, future information acquisition is restricted. But according to the analysis of available fragmented data, the crisis still exists, though its form and timing may have changed."

"What does that mean?"

"On this new timeline, although the Star-Spangled Country did not become a superpower, its long-term suppression has led it toward an extreme nationalist path. Multiple information fragments indicate that the Star-Spangled Country may be secretly developing some kind of 'doomsday weapon', intending to regain world hegemony."

Li Mingyuan gripped the steering wheel tightly: "So, even if I changed history, trouble will still come?"

"Affirmative. According to chaos theory, you only changed the historical direction, not the historical impetus. The ambition of the Star-Spangled Country still exists, just expressed in a different form."