Chapter 55 Resurrection06

Dong Shuoye woke up at five in the morning to go for a jog. Upon his return, he opened the fridge in search of water and immediately spotted Su Yu's phone frozen inside.

Dong Shuoye: "?"

He picked it up and found that Su Yu's phone had automatically shut down due to the cold. Wiping his sweat, he turned back towards the room and saw Su Yu still sound asleep. With a mischievous grin, he stuffed the icy phone into Su Yu's neck.

Su Yu let out a startled cry, jumped on the bed, and frantically burrowed under the covers, thus waking up. Dong Shuoye, sensing he'd had enough fun, placed Su Yu's phone by the pillow and looked at him with a half-smile. "Were you planning to have a frozen phone for breakfast after putting it in the fridge?"

Since childhood, Su Yu seemed to lack a certain sense of logic, and Dong Shuoye knew all too well that his actions couldn't be explained by conventional reasoning—especially when he was drunk.

Recalling the incident, Su Yu shuddered once more. He had been completely drunk last night, acting purely on instinct. Vaguely, he remembered... placing Fu Luoyin's phone in the fridge.

He hurriedly got up to turn on the phone and asked Dong Shuoye for a charger.

Dong Shuoye shrugged. "I don't have a compatible cable for your phone, but Xia Ran's phone model is the same as yours..."

"Scram, scram, scram! Hand me your phone, I need to call Negative Two," Su Yu took a deep breath. "I'm ready for the storm to come!"

Seizing Dong Shuoye's phone, Su Yu dialed Fu Luoyin's number.

Upon connecting, Su Yu sprang up like a rabbit, hastily putting on his jacket and dragging Dong Shuoye out. "I-I-I came to tell you, I'm nervous. Negative Two, wait for me, don't scold me later. I drove over with Dong Shuoye—no, I absolutely didn't intentionally ignore your calls! I was drunk yesterday, for heaven's sake!"

As they passed by downstairs, Xia Ran was pouring hot water for himself.

Hearing that familiar nickname, Xia Ran paused in his action for a moment before lowering his head. The steaming hot water splashed into the paper cup, making a rustling sound.

Su Yu, holding onto Dong Shuoye, rushed to Fu Luoyin's residence at breakneck speed.

Knocking on the door, Fu Luoyin's voice echoed from inside, "The password is my birthday."

His voice was raspy, sounding exhausted.

Su Yu muttered, "I know which day your birthday is, but what year were you born again?" As he spoke, Dong Shuoye leaned over his shoulder, typed in a sequence of numbers, and the front door clicked open with a snap.

Upon entering, Su Yu was startled by the overwhelming smell of smoke filling the room.

Mint-flavored cigarettes—neither pungent nor did they leave an indelible scent on the body like regular tobacco. Yet, inhaling one left an icy chill from the nostrils straight to the lungs, an intensely cold sensation.

Fu Luoyin sat on the sofa with his damp clothes half-dried, still creased and moist. He lay with half-closed eyes, and as someone drew closer, his voice sounded even more hoarse. "Where's Lin Shuicheng?"

He had checked, and Lin Shuicheng had disabled their location tracking feature.

If he wanted to know where Lin Shuicheng was, there were countless ways to find out immediately, but Fu Luoyin didn't want to take that route.

First, Lin Shuicheng abruptly suggested a breakup without any explanation, then moved out without so much as a word. Even if it was due to jealousy over Xia Ran, this incident had crossed a line for him—one he hadn't even realized existed. His mind was consumed by a single thought: Lin Shuicheng dared to abandon him!

Who gave him the audacity?

Anyone could sense the pent-up anger radiating off him. Su Yu sat obediently on the sofa, trembling in fear.

Swallowing hard, he cautiously handed Fu Luoyin an envelope. "Minus Two, Sister-in-law, your... sister-in-law sent this to you..."

Dong Shuoye took a seat on the adjacent sofa. Su Yu looked at him desperately, hoping Dong Shuoye would be the kind of brother who'd risk it all for another, perhaps serving as a human punching bag. However, Dong Shuoye remained still, acting as a mere spectator, crossing his arms and leaning back with one leg propped up.

Struggling to contain his emotions, Fu Luoyin took the envelope and opened it, revealing a black card and another ordinary bank card inside.

He only felt his stomach ache again.

He hadn't eaten since he returned, and the fridge was spotlessly clean, save for the untouched fresh produce.

Lin Shuicheng hadn't even left him a note!

"What's this?" Fu Luoyin looked at Su Yu.

Su Yu was on the verge of tears. "Sister-in-law returned your money and, d, breakup fee..."

Fu Luoyin's expression couldn't be described with just the word "ghastly." He was so furious that he couldn't speak for a while.

In Star City, every bank card could be directly linked to an ID card. This card had originally been empty, but Lin Shuicheng had transferred its ownership to Fu Luoyin, then added over a hundred and twenty transactions in batches. Each one had a detailed note explaining which part of Fu Luoyin's expenses it was for, down to the date, month, and time, as well as the order number of the recipient.

For instance, "10.17 Beef Hot Pot at Star City University Food Court" or "11.03 Supreme Leader's Cat Climbing Frame"… Every single expense, no matter how trivial, was meticulously accounted for by Lin Shuicheng. The Supreme Leader toy Fu Luoyin had bought had barely been used, and Lin Shuicheng didn't take it with him, yet he still recorded it and returned the money.

The final transaction had a simple note, simply stating "breakup compensation."

A kept man who played the role of a lover had broken up unilaterally and refunded all expenses from the period of being kept. He even gave a breakup fee...

Fu Luoyin had never experienced such an immense humiliation in his twenty-five years of life!

His voice trembled with rage as he spoke, "Lin Shuicheng... You're ruthless, you're good at this."

He knew what kind of tantrums someone like Lin Shuicheng would throw, but he never imagined the consequences would be this: he was nearly driven mad with anger.

Lin Shuicheng spent the entire day sleeping in his new rental house.

He had prepared canned food and filled up the cat feeder for Chief beforehand.

Chief, being a self-controlled little cat, didn't overeat like an orange tabby. It always knew when to stop, so there was no need to worry about it gorging itself.

After eating, it didn't do anything else. In this new environment, Chief couldn't bear to be away from Lin Shuicheng. It jumped onto the bed and nestled beside him, curling up quietly into a small ball. It didn't sleep but simply stared at him, obediently using one paw to gently pull on his arm like a fluffy guardian angel.

Rain started pouring outside in the early hours of the morning, bringing a chilly breeze with it. The air conditioner in the room hadn't been repaired yet, so despite running for a while, warm air mixed with dripping water created a rustling sound, making the room both warm and humid.

Several times, Lin Shuicheng woke up to see the window in his bedroom. There were no curtains in the bedroom, and outside was a deserted tree-lined path, only separated by a patch of grass. Star University had never been this quiet before; it felt like a scene from an old apocalyptic movie, where the sky was darkened, and all signs of human life had vanished, leaving only the sounds of his own breathing and that of a cat.

Reaching out, the warmth dissipated.

Lin Shuicheng felt a headache coming on, so after dozing off for a while, he got up and turned off the air conditioning, thinking it might be too warm. As the coolness gradually seeped in, he fell into a deep slumber filled with bizarre dreams, waking up every few hours or even minutes, mostly startled by vague nightmares. He couldn't recall anything from these dreams, but the palpitations that spread throughout his body lingered vividly.

Lately, he had started experiencing sleep disturbances, much like before. His body was excessively weary, yet his mind remained highly strung. Upon waking, he felt more drained than when he had gone to bed, as if his flesh and bones were hollowed out and buoyantly attached to his frame like foam.

He wasn't sure when this condition had begun – perhaps after meeting the red-coded informant, or maybe after dining with Han Huang. Unaware of it previously, this state only became apparent to him after moving out from Fu Luoyin's place.

After countless awakenings, Lin Shuicheng opened his eyes and glanced at his phone.

A few scattered messages, a group chat notification, some friend requests, and confessions from both girls and boys.

The review system hadn't assigned him any new manuscripts. At the moment, he only had Professor Du Qingwu's paper left to review, and there were still two months until the feedback deadline.

Aside from Fu Luoyin's previous mention of wanting to have a face-to-face talk, he hasn't provided any new information.

Lin Shuicheng gazed upon Fu Luoyin's profile picture within the messaging screen, his sharp brows and star-like eyes exuding an undeniable handsomeness. This time, he extended a finger to drag the message timeline, erasing the conversation thread with a swipe.

The screen of the phone was glaringly bright. Lin Shuicheng scrolled down, deleting promotional messages from telecom operators and solicitation requests from previous clients he had collaborated with.

There was also a message from Yang Zhiwei: "I've heard about the incident in Star City's Quantum Analysis Department. How are you? The door to chemistry will always be open for you here."

Lin Shuicheng gathered his spirits to reply, "Thank you, Professor. I think I need some time off first. I'll finish my master's degree ahead of schedule and graduate early. I might need some time to adjust my current state."

Even if he were to drop out and retake chemistry exams, it would still take nearly a year. It was better to spend an extra half year obtaining his quantum analysis master's degree earlier. Chemistry, particularly the biochemistry and physical chemistry that Yang Zhiwei had led in recent years, overlapped with quantum analysis, including mass spectrometry and rule calculations.

The shutdown of quantum computers would cause significant losses for the Alliance, which would undoubtedly rush to repair the instruments. Classes would resume sooner or later.

This period would be a smooth transition phase between his past and future life.

It was just that Lin Shuicheng couldn't see where this transition would lead him.

"Then, what have you been up to lately? When you're well-rested, you can come back as a lab assistant, just like before," Yang Zhiwei replied.

Lin Shuicheng responded, "Thank you, Professor. Please give me a bit more time."

He didn't know what he was doing either.

His life seemed to have suddenly become empty, now that he had finally stopped in front of that transparent wall.

After a moment of being lost in thought, Lin Shuicheng finally moved, struggling to sit up from the bed.

The leader shifted from lying down to crouching, his green eyes gazing at him intently, swishing his tail.

Lin Shuicheng stroked the leader's head.

He got out of bed, took yesterday's leftovers, and cooked them with cold rice in a pot. It smelled delicious, and Lin Shuicheng could feel the emptiness in his stomach, but he had lost his appetite. After a few bites, he put down his bowl.

Once again, he fell into a daze, watching the steam from his rice bowl dissipate until it was completely cold. Only then did he come back to reality, heading to the kitchen to dispose of the uneaten meal.

He switched on his phone and mindlessly scrolled through news articles. There was nothing interesting, and he couldn't recall a single keyword. He flicked through text messages and other platforms, but there were no urgent messages to attend to. While other students reveled in their vacation, he always found himself without plans, especially during the festive season.

Ultimately, Lin Shuicheng opened an app and booked a flight to the small town where he was born, scheduled for that very afternoon, just one hour away.

He wanted to go back and visit Lin Wang, pay his respects at his grave.

Years ago, standing there before the departed, he had vowed to reclaim everything that he and those he had lost were entitled to from life. At that time, he had just graduated from high school, having lost almost everything, yet still filled with youthful determination.

Now, perhaps he could finally find reconciliation with life. He would buy a small bottle of wine, raise a glass at the graveside like a weary adult, and have a conversation with his aging father.

Lin Shuicheng packed a backpack with daily essentials and a change of clothes, heading to the airport terminal.

Their small town had become somewhat dilapidated. The bustling branches of Star City lacked talented individuals, and students eagerly flocked elsewhere. With no influx of outsiders or fresh labor, the town's development had stagnated, even regressing.

The Lin family's original residence was rented. After the old landlord passed away, his son, seeing the house and small courtyard in an unpopular area, decided to sell it at a bargain price rather than attempt to fetch a decent sum.

Since Lin Deng's accident and Lin Wang's passing, Lin Shuicheng hadn't returned there. It was an indescribable feeling; during the holidays, he preferred wandering the deserted streets of the Jiangnan branch over returning to the home where he had spent over a decade.

With his backpack in hand, Lin Shuicheng waited for the boarding announcement.

The rain continued to pour down. He folded his umbrella, though despite his efforts to shake off the water, droplets still dripped incessantly. The terminal reeked of dampness as people shuffled about, their footsteps squeaking on the polished floor.

A graceful female voice echoed over the public address system: "Dear passengers, due to precipitation in some southern regions, certain flights may be canceled. Please refer to the flight status display boards. In case of exceptional circumstances, refunds can be processed at the check-in counter or via the flight app. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

Everyone in the hall looked up at the boards, and so did Lin Shuicheng.

In that instant, as his gaze fell upon the electronic screen, the sequence of flight statuses shifted. Out of more than sixty flights bound for various southern towns of Star City within an hour, only one displayed a change.

"Notice: The flight from Star City North to Winter Cypress City is canceled. Kindly take note, repeating, the flight from Star City North to Winter Cypress City is canceled..."

Lin Shuicheng rose to his feet, observing amidst a sea of green 'operating' statuses, the solitary yellow 'canceled' indicator. His brow furrowed.

Lin Shuicheng approached the front desk.

"May I ask when the next flight to Dongtong City will be available?" he inquired.

The attendant politely replied, "That information is currently unknown."

Lin Shuicheng continued, "I understand the probability of weather-related disruptions. Flights from Star City with the prefix 'U' can fly directly to Dongtong City, as that route is within the most stable weather forecast zone. There haven't been any significant thunderstorms or heavy snowfalls predicted for the past year, and today's rainfall in Star City shouldn't justify a flight cancellation. I need a convincing explanation."

The attendant seemed taken aback by his line of questioning. However, a well-dressed young woman, who was nearby to check-in, overheard their conversation and chuckled. "This student... Are you studying meteorology? Or perhaps involved in risk assessment?"

Lin Shuicheng shifted his gaze.

This one cold and composed glance was so captivating that the beautiful girl before him found herself momentarily enthralled.

After regaining her composure, she continued with a smile, "I'm from Star City Media University, and I work as a weather presenter."

Lin Shuicheng nodded, "I study quantum analysis and work on risk assessment indices."

The girl suddenly understood, "No wonder."

These data were part of their hazard index screening when they started school. Lin Shuicheng was responsible for Star City's weather data for an entire year – he had single-handedly taken on the tasks of almost three teams, and could now recite those figures by heart.

In the past, the accuracy of weather forecasts had always been criticized. Even though later on, they could achieve an 80% prediction success rate for three days ahead or over 95% for a few hours, the 5-10% margin of error and short time frame remained a technical challenge for meteorologists to overcome.

In recent years, with the upgrade and reinforcement of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) extrapolation radars, improvements in the feedback and operation of weather prediction systems, and the development of assimilation techniques and parameterization schemes, progress had been made. However, the only obstacle was that the computational power of machines couldn't keep up.

The advent of quantum computers extended weather forecasting periods by a year or even two. Of course, due to errors, computational predictions usually resulted in exponentially different outcomes. Therefore, the Alliance's long-term weather forecasts were chain-based – if the current situation didn't match a particular calculation, the entire prediction would be discarded, and the answer would be sought among the remaining possibilities.

If any of these exponential predictions indicated extreme conditions, like wildfires, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, and so on, they would continue monitoring them closely. Once real observations began aligning with the forecast chain, the Alliance would prepare contingency plans.

This was the significance of hazard screening operations: to search for that elusive lifeline amidst countless unpredictable events.

When Lin Shuicheng and his team conducted their hazard screenings, they referenced factors such as model resolution, initial value checks in parallel models, parameterization schemes, and high-order discarding. The task was undoubtedly challenging.

Lin Shuicheng vividly recalled that among the multitude of final prediction chains, not a single scenario showed unfavorable weather conditions in the flight path from Star City to Winter Walnut City that would warrant flight cancellations.

"But, classmate, you forgot something," the girl smiled at him, narrowing her eyes – Lin Shuicheng noticed that she, like him, had a red mole at the corner of her eye, as if it were a mystical connection between them.

He watched as she extended her hand, making a gesture with one hand: her middle finger lightly touched the base of her thumb while the rest of her fingers danced nimbly, resembling a butterfly.

The girl replied, "The butterfly effect. A butterfly flapping its wings might ultimately provoke a great storm – that's the concept initially proposed by meteorologists. The practical significance of this effect is that while the patterns and trajectories of events can be traced, there are also unpredictable variables at play. The phenomenon described by the butterfly effect has been proven to be chaotic, and chaos is inherently unpredictable – irregular motion that appears random within a deterministic system, displaying behavior that cannot be repeated or foreseen (source), something that was verified centuries ago."

The girl nodded gently at him. "Brother, don't take it too hard. There's nothing we can do about the flight being canceled. With such heavy rain, let's go back. The butterfly effect is unpredictable, so we can't find that butterfly. Let's head back."

When Lin Shuicheng returned, he almost got mistaken for some odd character by the patrolling security guards and was nearly escorted out.

Drenched from head to toe, he had even lost his umbrella somewhere along the way.

He strolled slowly along the tree-lined paths of Star University, feeling the youthful winter rain roll down his skin, drip into his eyes, and when he lowered his gaze, his eyelashes seemed to be dusted with a layer of frost.

Occasionally, when he lifted his gaze, he would momentarily mistake the drifting withered leaves for butterflies.

The security guard approached and asked, "Are you a student? Which department?"

The guard looked at him suspiciously.

The person in front of him was good-looking and had a pristine aura, resembling a student. However, there was something peculiar about his state – it was almost evening, not the usual time for undergraduate classes, and this young man seemed to be in a daze.

Drenched by the rain, Lin Shuicheng stared blankly at the security guard, not saying a word. He simply lowered his head and smiled softly, as if sighing, "The butterfly effect is unfathomable. The chaos of dissipative systems... is also unfathomable."

That is something every student with a basic university education in science would learn: chaos, quantum mechanics, and relativity are the three pillars of modern scientific theory.

If quantum mechanics' principle of "uncertainty in both velocity and position" reveals the unpredictability of the microcosm, then the emergence of chaos theory symbolizes the third great revolution in physics following relativity and quantum mechanics – it marked a decisive break from Newtonian classical mechanics. (Quotation)

Unpredictable, unpredictable, unpredictable...

For a full two years.

He had been battling "unpredictability" and "surprises." In contrast to the well-trodden path paved by countless great predecessors, he chose a contrary, erroneous route, repeatedly seeking solutions within his mistakes.

He believed that the fifth-generation quantum computer could be his guiding light and shield, but in the face of experiments and theory, he was still an innocent child, only to realize in the end that his perceived solid support was nothing but a flimsy piece of paper that crumbled at a touch.

He wanted to find that butterfly.

How ironic.

"…Another one lost in studies. Forget it, forget it. You'd better hurry and leave; it's pouring out there." The security guard shook his head repeatedly.

Lin Shuicheng felt a growing heat in his body, and his mind grew increasingly hazy. He vaguely sensed that he might have a fever or was experiencing low blood sugar—the butterfly from his dream was once again attempting to break free from his consciousness, swooping before his eyes, dividing the world into two.

"Lin Shuicheng."

The moment he pushed the door open, he saw the light was on inside, and Fu Luoyin stood there with a dark expression.

His deep voice seemed to carry a chill.

Fu Luoyin reached out, intending to pull him in fiercely, fueled by anger, restraint, and a myriad of indescribable emotions—yet the action was aborted before it even began.

"… Lin Shuicheng?"

Lin Shuicheng took a step forward, swaying slightly. He reached out to grab Fu Luoyin's arm, leaning his head gently against his chest, catching his breath.

Fu Luoyin initially interpreted this as a sign of coyness and reconciliation, but he quickly realized it wasn't. Lin Shuicheng then slid downward, almost collapsing to his knees.

He caught him just in time, noticing that Lin Shuicheng's face was alarmingly pale, with teardrops or raindrops glistening on his long, dark eyelashes.

Author's Note:

A clarification: All concepts mentioned in the text adhere to standard definitions.

The Butterfly Effect and the mysterious concept of xxxx (spoiler alert withheld) are pivotal to the narrative thread in this story. The author has taken liberties with certain hypotheses for creative license, so I feel compelled to clarify, especially for my student readers, that this should not be misconstrued as scientific fact or used as a reference for education... It's a work of speculative fiction on a small scale.

Chaos comes in various forms, and in this text, we deal specifically with chaos in dissipative systems, assuming that the transformations of elements fall under this category.

Furthermore, stable, interference-resistant quantum computers are not yet a reality.

Please bear in mind, all these settings are purely fictional and must be treated as such!