Chapter 271: Parallel Window: Temporal-Spatial Technology Breakthrough

Zhao Xing still had that bubble gum in his mouth, the sweetness fading slowly. He had just returned from school, the folded certificate tucked into the innermost layer of his backpack, outside the sky was a grayish light, and when the wind blew, the electric wires at the Courtyard Gate swayed gently.

Jia Dongxu stood at the Laboratory entrance waiting for him, cradling a metal box in his hands; its corners were a bit rusty, but the interface glowed with blue light.

"Here?" he said, his voice pressed low as if afraid to disturb anyone, "Come in quickly, we're just missing you."

Zhao Chen sat in a wheelchair, Zhao Yang holding his hand, and the two had already arrived. On the table sat a square device, its front a Transparent Panel, beneath it several Electric Wires connected to an old Electric Box in the corner of the wall.

"What is this?" Zhao Yang looked up and asked.

"Parallel Window." Jia Dongxu set the box down, opened the lid, "It can see other worlds."

Zhao Chen's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"Tried three times; the first two only produced snowflakes. This time we used the Data Stream you left when fixing the circuit, it should stabilize." Jia Dongxu said while connecting wires, "Don't touch the button, wait for me to say start."

The Triplets stood in a line, half a step away from the device. Zhao Xing stared at the panel, his heartbeat a little fast.

"Ready?" Jia Dongxu stepped back, his finger pressing the activation key.

"Mm."

"Start."

The panel lit up.

First a white light, then it split into three layers, like stacked glass windows. Each layer showed a different scene.

The top layer, dense high-rises, cars flying in the air, pedestrians leaving light trails under their feet, the city clean beyond belief.

"Is this… the future?" Zhao Yang whispered.

"Techno Paradise." Jia Dongxu looked at the Recorder, "The first possible world."

The middle layer, a Wasteland, the sky red, the ground cracked open, in the distance a twisted iron frame, wind blowing raised dust.

No one spoke.

The bottom layer, trees grew oddly, leaves glowing, stones floating in the air, and a silhouette in a long robe drawing circles.

"Magic?" Zhao Yang blinked.

"Third-type Civilization Evolution Path." Jia Dongxu logged the timestamp, "A simulated sample provided by the system."

Zhao Chen reached out to touch the Technology World image, Zhao Yang followed to feel the Runes of the Magic Layer, Zhao Xing stayed still, staring at the Wasteland layer.

The wind suddenly grew stronger.

The three of them touched the panel with their fingertips simultaneously.

Buzz—

The device jolted violently, the Screen warped, and an alarm sounded.

"Worldline fluctuation detected! Childhood Protection Mode suffered High-energy Impact, disengaging…"

The voice came from within the device, not from Jia Dongxu's machine, nor the Speaker in the room, as if it resonated directly in the mind.

Zhao Xing's ears burned, his vision went black, and when he opened his eyes again, the scene had changed.

No longer a Projection.

He stood on a stretch of scorched earth, the sky pressed low, the ground beneath his feet hard as stone, cracks exhaling heat. In the distance a silhouette in gray clothing crouched beside a pile of scrap metal, rummaging.

"Mom?"

He blurted out.

The figure did not turn around.

But he knew it was her.

Zhao Chen grabbed his arm, "Brother! What's wrong with you?"

Zhao Xing gasped, cold sweat streaming down his neck. He tried to step back, but his legs wouldn't move.

"She's here." He pointed at the Screen, "She's in that world."

Jia Dongxu looked up at him, said nothing, and his fingers tapped quickly on the Recorder.

"Data Normal, Energy Value within safe range." He murmured, "Reaction intensity exceeds expectations, but no threshold breach… continue observation."

Zhao Yang's complexion also turned pale, she crossed her arms, teeth chattering, "I heard someone singing… not a current song, but… from the future?"

"You hummed it." Zhao Chen looked at her, "Last night, you hummed it while sleeping."

Zhao Yang shook her head, "I don't remember."

The Technology World layer above kept rotating, skyscrapers lit, traffic endless. The middle Wasteland scene froze on the moment Zhao Xing saw, the silhouette blurry, but it was clear she held half a Red Scarf.

The Runes of the Magic Layer at the bottom began to move, lighting up in circles, as if responding to something.

The device sounded again.

"Cross-dimensional Cognition Permission unlocking…"

This time it didn't finish, the voice cut off.

Jia Dongxu stared at the Recorder, his breathing grew heavy: "It's coming… really coming."

Zhao Chen looked up at him, "Uncle, what does this mean?"

"It means." Jia Dongxu's mouth twitched, "You aren't limited to only dreaming of the future. You can recognize it."

Zhao Xing finally moved his eyes away, his hand still trembling. He looked down at his palm, the spot where he had touched the Screen earlier, the skin slightly reddened.

"Mom's not here." He said, "She's over there."

"Which over there?" Jia Dongxu asked.

"The Wasteland." Zhao Xing gritted his teeth, "She's alone, no signal, no water, even the doors are broken."

"But we just repaired the electricity." Zhao Yang tugged his sleeve, "Now it's pretty good."

"That's now." Zhao Xing looked up, "Not the future."

Jia Dongxu walked to him, crouched to eye level, "Xing Er, what you saw may be just one among countless possibilities. It may not happen."

"But it could." Zhao Xing stared at him, "You also know it could."

Dong Xu did not refute.

He stood up, walked back to the equipment, and called up a set of numbers: "The energy feedback shows that your three brainwave frequencies synchronized when contacting the window. Not just seeing—you are receiving information."

"Just like downloading?" Zhao Chen asked.

"Faster than downloading." Dong Xu looked at the record curve, "It's as if it was always there, just opened."

Zhao Yang suddenly raised his head: "Can I hear that song again?"

"What song?"

"The one that just rang in my head." She closed her eyes, "I can't make out the words, the tune is very slow, like a lullaby, but... it's not meant for people to hear."

Dong Xu looked at the equipment.

On the screen, the magic layer's image changed.

Stones floated up in a line, leaves pieced together a string of symbols, flickering.

"It's responding to you." He said.

Zhao Chen pushed the wheelchair forward a step: "Can I go into that technology world to have a look?"

"No." Dong Xu pressed his shoulder, "You can only look, not enter. The window is just a mirror, not a door."

"But I touched it." Zhao Chen pointed at the screen, "It recognizes me."

"Recognizing doesn't let you in." Dong Xu's tone hardened, "It's too dangerous. That resonance just now almost burned the main control board. Do it again and the equipment might explode."

Zhao Xing remained silent. He stared at the wasteland image; the silhouette was still there, but its position had shifted a bit, as if it had taken a few steps.

"She's moving." He suddenly said.

Everyone else looked over.

The woman in the image stood up, stuffed her red scarf into her bag, and turned to walk in another direction.

"Where is she going?" Zhao Yang asked.

No one answered.

Dong Xu lowered his head to look at the recorder and discovered something.

"Strange." He frowned.

"How?"

"Every time you speak, the image lags." He said, "It's as if... being monitored."

"Who is monitoring?"

"I don't know." He raised his head, "But the signal source is neither inside the house nor outside the courtyard. The coordinates can't be worked out."

Zhao Xing reached out and touched the screen again.

"Don't!" Dong Xu shouted.

Too late.

As his finger just touched it, the image jolted violently.

The city lights in the technology world went out completely, the runes on the magic layer reversed, and in the wasteland image, that silhouette suddenly turned its head.

Zhao Xing froze.

He didn't see her face clearly.

But he knew she had seen him.

The equipment emitted a sharp screech.

"Warning: Reverse signal injection detected! Source unknown!"

Dong Xu rushed over and pulled the power plug.

It was useless.

The wires were still live.

He grabbed the insulated pliers from the table and cut the main line.

The machine shut down.

The room fell silent all at once.

The triplets stood still, hands still raised.

Dong Xu panted: "Who let you touch it?"

"She turned her head." Zhao Xing's voice hoarse, "She knows I'm looking."

"So that's why you touched it?" Dong Xu stared at him.

"Yeah."

"Don't do that again." He wiped his face, "We still don't know if they can come through."

Zhao Yang suddenly said: "She can't come through."

"How do you know?"

"Because." She pointed at the bottom of the equipment, "The wires are cut, but the light is still there."

Everyone lowered their heads.

That transparent panel, although powerless, still had a faint glow on its surface. The wasteland image shrank to a small dot, parked in the corner, blinking on and off.

Like breathing.

Dong Xu crouched, used his hand to block the light, then moved it away.

The little bright spot moved along.

"It's running on its own." He said, "It doesn't need power anymore."

Zhao Chen reached out and lightly touched that point of light.

No alarm.

No vibration.

But Zhao Xing suddenly said: "She left a message."

"What?"

"She said." Zhao Xing stared at that dot, "Don't look for her."

Nobody spoke in the room.

Dong Xu picked up the recorder, discovering the last piece of data wasn't saved completely.

On the screen remained half a sentence:

【Cross-dimensional Cognition Permission unlocking…… identity verification passed, user "Zhao Xing" marked as "Gatekeeper".】