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It was the first day of Golden Week in X Country, a holiday that filled the entire country with excitement. People were traveling and celebrating, creating a lively, festive atmosphere.

Donghai City, a popular tourist spot, was even more packed than usual. The streets were jammed with people and cars.

But none of this mattered to Lin Xian.

He hadn’t felt true peace or joy for a long time. Even on this rare holiday, his routine stayed the same. After cleaning up, he prepared to dive back into his midday dream to study Academician Gao Wen’s notebook.

“The Theory of Time-Space Travel and the Construction of a Time-Space Machine.”

This research was groundbreaking, something he couldn’t share with anyone. But having the theory was just the beginning. The real challenge was building the time-space machine.

The Rhine Joint Laboratory at Donghai University didn’t have the right resources. Liu Feng’s personal lab, where he worked, had limited equipment. Building a time-space machine would require a much larger, specialized research institute.

With only 3 billion yuan left in his bank account, it wasn’t enough to build a new lab.

And there was another problem.

He needed time-space particles to power the machine.

Both Elon Musk and the fake Yu Xi had confirmed these particles were essential for time travel. They were extremely rare and hard to find.

Lin Xian stared at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth.

“I need to find another time-space particle. It’d be embarrassing to build the machine and not be able to start it because I lack the particles.”

“I should talk to Liu Feng later, see if we can figure out a win-win solution. But first, I need to speed up the funding for Rhine Company. The next step is sorting out the financials.”

“You need enough money to juggle multiple plans and boost your core capabilities.”

He rinsed and spat out the toothpaste.

In this world, if you wanted power and success, money was essential.

His next dream phase began with copying Gao Wen’s research and figuring out how to make more money.

Wiping his face and turning off the bathroom light, Lin Xian went to his bedroom, lay on his single bed, and closed his eyes.

He drifted into a deep sleep easily.

Entering the dream world had become routine.

All he had to do was pretend to be married, join Big Cat’s Village, and recite notes from Gao Wen’s safe.

He no longer needed to seek out Uncle Wei Sheng Jin and could meet up with CC along the way.

Once again, he gave a long, persuasive talk.

CC nodded. “I get it. We pretend to be married to trick Er Zhuzi and get him to recommend us to the Face Gang. But… I’ve never dated. I don’t know how to act like a wife or show affection.”

Lin Xian waved his hand dismissively. “It’s simpler than you think. Trust me, Er Zhuzi won’t catch on.”

“What should I call you?” CC asked seriously. “Lin Xian? Or… maybe ‘husband’ or something?”

“Uh…” Lin Xian scratched his head. “Whatever feels right. Er Zhuzi might be too excited to let you speak much anyway.”

They hurried toward Big Cat’s Village.

Whoosh!

Er Zhuzi twirled his spear with a red tassel, looking fierce. “Who goes there?”

“Relax, big brother,” Lin Xian pointed to CC behind him. “My wife and I—”

Boom!

Steam shot from Er Zhuzi’s nostrils as he stepped forward and grabbed Lin Xian’s hands. “Is this my sister-in-law?!”

“Yes.” Lin Xian nodded, confident.

This was their second time posing as a married couple, and it was becoming familiar.

CC stood quietly beside him. Without Uncle Wei Sheng Jin’s lessons this time, she showed no special emotions or acting prowess. She just stood there.

But with someone like Er Zhuzi, whose smarts were limited, no elaborate acting was needed.

They blended into Big Cat’s Village seamlessly.

Lin Xian and CC headed straight for the aluminum alloy safe. With swift moves, they cracked it open with a loud bang.

“Huh?” Big Cat Face’s eyes widened. “How did you open it so fast? We’ve been trying combinations for over a decade! My dad started this when he was alive! You must be code-breaking experts, right? Hurry, open it up and show me what’s inside!”

Big Cat Face leaned in eagerly as he opened the safe door. “Tch, just books. If my dad were here, he’d dive into studying them, but they’re useless to us! I can’t believe we spent over ten years on this safe for books! It’s so frustrating. I thought it would be treasure!”

Lin Xian held up Gao Wen’s notebook. “Knowledge is power. Finding this in a safe is actually the best outcome. What else were you expecting? How could it not be something valuable?”

Big Cat Face listed potential treasures on his fingers. “Queen Town in the south got really powerful because they busted open some safes years ago and found amazing stuff inside!”

Lin Xian looked up seriously at Big Cat Face. “What did you say? Queen Town in the south? They’ve got safes too?”

“Yeah, a bunch of them!” Big Cat Face said with a huff. “The folks in Queen Town are super pushy. They make the nearby villages pay them money every month. If you don’t pay, they just come and attack your village.”

“Their town is really advanced. My dad says it all started when they forced open some safes years ago and got weapons and power from them.”

“I’m not sure about all the details, but now Queen Town has guns! Do you know what guns are, little brother? You load them with gunpowder and bullets, and boom, they shoot out metal pellets. One shot can take down an animal!”

“We’re too scared to stand up to them. Every year, we just pay up the protection money. Sometimes, villages find safes and have to give them to Queen Town. We were going to give this safe to them as payment, but my dad said we can’t keep letting Queen Town push us around… Otherwise, they might not stop at just protection money; they could destroy our village or even make us their slaves.”

“My dad was worried about that, which is why he had everyone in the village try to crack the safe’s code day and night, hoping to find powerful weapons and strength in it… But finding just a book was a huge letdown!”

Listening to Big Cat Face’s story, Lin Xian shook his head.

“Brother Face, I think you got it wrong about your dad. He meant that Queen Town got weapons and power from the safes, but it was really more about getting knowledge than actual weapons.”

“If it was really weapons, why would they still be using old guns? At least they’d have automatic pistols or those high-tech weapons from years ago… But that’s not likely. First off, Time Bank wouldn’t keep such dangerous stuff; second, the fancier something is, the quicker it tends to break. There’s no way those weapons would still be working perfectly after 200 years.”

“So, most likely, the folks from ‘Queen Town’ got knowledge from the safes—knowledge that helped them develop technology. From what you said, it sounds like they’ve figured out how to make gunpowder, how to work with iron or steel, and how to make different parts, which is how they could make guns.”

In this world, where technology was still basic, even a few guns could control a region.

At the moment, the strongest fighter in Big Cat’s Village, Er Zhuzi, would have no chance against a gun.

“Queen Town.” Lin Xian murmured the name. “Brother Face, is it called Queen Town because a woman rules there?”

“Exactly.” Big Cat Face nodded. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s a real piece of work!”

He snorted. “I’ve never met her, but she’s been in charge around here for years, so she’s probably really old, definitely a cranky old lady by now.”

CC suddenly remembered something. “Oh, I get it. So when the people from Rhine Village gave their grain to those who came in carriages… it was for protection money! I thought they were just trading.”

She turned to explain to Lin Xian.

Over the past few months, she had been living in Rhine Village and working from there. She had seen carriages come to Rhine Village to pick up grain many times.

Because the grain was always pre-packed and the carriages came so regularly every month, CC hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was just normal trade.

Now, understanding what Big Cat Face said, it was actually protection money!

Paying protection money… wasn’t that just like being robbed?

Lin Xian listened and set down Gao Wen’s notebook, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “So that’s what’s happening. Isn’t Earth supposed to be rich in resources and materials now? There shouldn’t be any need to fight over food, right?”

Big Cat Face spread his hands. “Sure, living normally and eating well isn’t an issue, but the people in Queen Town want a better life and to keep developing their tech… That increases their consumption and need for supplies, so they need more raw materials, which means they have to take from others.”

Lin Xian snorted. Now he understood.

A thought struck him:

“The only lesson humanity has learned from history is that humanity never learns from history.”

Right now, the situation between Rhine Village, Big Cat’s Village, and other small villages and Queen Town was just repeating history.

Big Cat Face had a point.

If it were just about having enough to eat and clothes to wear, there’d be no need to fight over resources. Nature provides enough, and no one would starve.

However, Queen Town was clearly targeting industrial growth, and once the industrialization started, resource consumption would skyrocket, way beyond what the current era could produce.

They had no choice but to start taking from others.

For now, they were just collecting protection fees, which was a relatively “gentle” approach. But as Big Cat Face’s dad worried, it could get much worse in the future.

What would happen then?

When Queen Town’s industry got advanced enough and its power strong enough to dominate all of Old Donghai… would that ruthless queen be content with just these small acts of extortion?

“History is interesting,” Lin Xian sighed. “Where there are people, there’s history. And history always repeats itself.”

But he wasn’t too worried about that.

He didn’t plan on being the hero in these tough times.

That was probably Li Cheng’s role, right?

Unfortunately, it looked like Li Cheng might not be around in the Fifth Dream anymore. Maybe he and Li Ning Ning were living happily on Mars by now.

Thinking this, Lin Xian looked at Big Cat Face with great respect. “You really are something else.”

“Huh?” Big Cat Face blinked, confused. “Little brother, what are you talking about?”

“A butterfly flapping its wings can cause chaos around the world, but it can’t even mess up your hair, Brother Face,” Lin Xian joked. “Okay, let’s focus now. I need to know everything about Queen Town—what’s going on there, how many people are there, what’s the place like, how do they live, and… what do you know about the queen?”

Big Cat Face scratched his cheek. “How would I know? Hold on; I’ll call our strategist.”

Strategist?

They had a strategist in Big Cat’s Village?

Lin Xian and CC looked at each other, both surprised.

“Ah Zhuang!!” Big Cat Face shouted toward the village.

Lin Xian was speechless.

So, Ah Zhuang was the strategist now.

In Big Cat’s Village today, Ah Zhuang was like the Zhuge Liang; Er Zhuzi, maybe the Zhao Yun or Lü Bu; and the always honest San Pang was like Zhang Fei, while Big Cat Face…

Well, he could only be Liu Chan.

Soon, the sharp-eyed Ah Zhuang hurried over and explained to Lin Xian:

“Queen Town is really close, just three kilometers south. It’s way bigger than our village, maybe dozens of times larger. It’s surrounded by tall walls, so we can’t see inside.”

“As for how many people live there, I’d guess several thousand. They definitely live better than us. They have brick houses, and lots of buildings are three or four stories tall. They even have horses.”

“We don’t know much about the queen, though. We hardly deal with her. When they come to collect protection money, we already have the pigs, cows, and sheep ready to load onto their carriages.”

“Everyone’s upset but too scared to say anything. They have guns; we don’t dare fight back… Before Brother Face’s father died, he told us to open the safe as soon as we could, hoping it might have something that could change our fate and make us stronger.”

“We always thought there were powerful weapons in the safe, but it was just books.”

“What about the safes?” Lin Xian asked, getting to his main concern. “Earlier, Brother Face mentioned Queen Town has a dozen safes, and many are open. Any clues about these safes? Know their serial numbers or names?”

Ah Zhuang shook his head. “We can’t even get into Queen Town, so we definitely don’t know the details about the safes. The story about the dozen safes is just something the elders used to say. It’s probably just a rumor from before Queen Town got so powerful.”

After hearing Ah Zhuang’s description, Lin Xian had a better picture of Queen Town.

His main interest was still the safes.

But the power gap between them was huge. Even with help from Uncle Wei Sheng Jin, he might only get a handgun at best.

First, the handgun had limited bullets, so they couldn’t just charge in; second, although the enemy’s guns were old, their sheer numbers made them formidable.

How could he get close to those safes?

After some thought…

Maybe…

He’d have to sneak in the old-fashioned way.

After Ah Zhuang finished explaining, he and Big Cat Face left, uninterested in the notebook from the safe.

Lin Xian shared his plan with CC. “Since Queen Town has a dozen safes, I think it’s worth a shot.”

“Absolutely,” CC agreed, already determined. “Even if there was just one safe, I’d still go. But… there are just two of us, and we don’t have enough weapons. Can we pull it off?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll handle it,” Lin Xian reassured her. “But it’ll take some time. I need to study this notebook first.”

Queen Town.

And the dozen safes within it.

This was a real opportunity in the Fifth Dream.

Maybe one of those safes was Uncle Wei Sheng Jin’s, or perhaps it was the one he and CC were looking for.

Either way, there was no reason not to try.

But first, he had a more urgent task—The Theory of Time-Space Travel and Building a Time Machine.

This was the real treasure!

If the manuscript was legit and accurate, it might be more important than even the aluminum alloy safe.

Everything else could wait.

After he copied the manuscript, he wouldn’t share or publish it.

To be extra safe, he might even keep part of it just in his memory.

That way, no permanent changes would be made.

He could keep exploring the Fifth Dream, going to Queen Town to see what was really in those safes.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Lin Xian decided to find a quiet, cool spot where no one would bother him.

“Big Cat Face’s dad has a house,” Lin Xian suddenly thought. “It has tables, chairs, and two oil lamps. It’s perfect for studying.”

With that thought, Lin Xian grabbed his notebook and headed with CC to Big Cat Face’s father’s house. They settled in and started studying seriously.

This wasn’t the first time Lin Xian had used dreams to help him remember things.

He had learned a lot of memory tricks.

For instance, complicated formulas and problems were easiest to remember just before waking up. That way, he could write them down right after he woke up.

Things that needed to be understood to be remembered should be studied right now, kind of like how you memorize a poem or a speech.

If only there was a magic potion like in his third dream that could boost his memory for a little while…

But sadly, the technology on this Earth wasn’t advanced enough for that.

As the sun set, turning the sky red, CC lit two oil lamps and placed them on the table for Lin Xian. She sat on the wooden bed, hugging her knees, leaning against the wall, and watching Lin Xian from behind.

Outside, the villagers had started a bonfire, even though the guest of honor couldn’t make it. Big Cat Face insisted the celebration go on to show their appreciation, so they slaughtered a pig and the party started.

Inside, Lin Xian and CC were quiet as a calm lake, while the rest of the village was lively with energy as drums, made of animal skin, beat loudly. They guided the happy villagers as they danced and sang around the bonfire.

Lin Xian finished memorizing a section and looked back to see CC still sitting quietly on the bed.

“You should go out and have fun,” he suggested, nodding towards the bonfire outside. “It’s not a formal dance. Men and women dance together, and many of the women are dancing with each other. You could join them.”

“I don’t know how to dance,” CC replied, shaking her head.

Lin Xian didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Time loops were like that; every time they restarted, everything reset.

Just like last time, when he danced with CC, she had said: “Will I forget these dance steps tomorrow or whenever we meet again, and have to start all over?”

Yes, it was frustrating, but it was true.

“They can teach you,” Lin Xian tried to encourage her, knowing CC enjoyed dancing. “I’ll be fine here on my own. The villagers are nice and mean well. They’d love to teach you.”

CC shook her head again. “Lin Xian, right now, I’m pretending to be your wife. How could I leave you?”

She blinked her bright eyes at him. “I’ve never been in love or married, but I think if two people love each other and get married, the first thing they do is stick together, right?”

“Since we’re ‘married,’ I won’t leave you to dance with someone else or just to have fun. Don’t worry; I’m staying right here with you.”

CC’s eyes, lit by the flickering oil lamps, met Lin Xian’s gaze. “I’ll be wherever you are.”

…

The setting sun cast a warm orange glow over Donghai.

Up on the MX building rooftop, Zhao Ying Jun, in her long white coat, leaned against the railing, letting the wind mess up her hair.

Usually, she liked to smooth her hair down. But today, a little mess seemed fitting.

Could things get any more chaotic?

The cold high up was biting, and the wind was relentless.

Her earrings, usually swinging freely, now clung coldly to her cheeks.

“Hey, Miss Ying Jun!” Brother Wang burst through the rooftop door. “I went to your office and didn’t find you there. I was puzzled… It’s not time to leave yet, and your driver hadn’t left either. Where could you have gone?”

He closed the door behind him and walked over to Zhao Ying Jun. “I heard you came up here. What’s up? Something on your mind?”

Zhao Ying Jun turned and smiled at Brother Wang.

“Not really anything big, just thinking.” She paused, then asked, “Brother Wang, how old is your daughter now? Fifteen or sixteen?”

“She’s sixteen, turning seventeen this September,” Brother Wang replied. “You remember so much; you might have forgotten, but you helped her get into a good high school. If not for your help, she wouldn’t have made it with her scores.”

Zhao Ying Jun nodded, recalling the simple phone call that had solved that issue. “Does she listen to you?”

“Ughh… Not at all,” Brother Wang laughed helplessly. “I told Lin Xian before, she’s as stubborn as they come. If you say go east, she’ll say west. She always does the opposite.”

“Raising kids… You really only enjoy it when they’re little. Once they grow up and form their own opinions, you can’t control them anymore…”

“Sometimes, I look through her baby photos and just stare, remembering how adorable she was and how much she’s changed. Ah… I wish she’d stayed little forever.”

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d have forgotten the last time my daughter talked to me. It’s been days, at least! And whenever she does, it’s always about money. I can’t figure out why her school has so many fees—study materials, tutoring, milk, class fees, water bills…”

Brother Wang couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke.

“Honestly, I know there’s no way the school has that many fees; the kids are just making up reasons to get extra cash. We did the same thing when we were their age. Parents see right through it but never call them out on it.”

Watching Brother Wang’s honest smile, Zhao Ying Jun realized that despite his grumbling, he truly cherished his daughter.

She pushed her wind-tossed hair back and turned to watch the sunset over the city skyline. “I’ve always wondered—what does a man feel the moment he finds out he’s going to be a dad?”

Brother Wang paused and rubbed his hands together before answering. “To be honest, I didn’t feel anything, not even a little.”

He leaned on the railing. “From when my wife was pregnant, I knew I’d be a dad, but life went on as usual… work, hanging out, having fun. I didn’t feel any different or understand what it meant to be a father.”

“It wasn’t until my daughter was born—so tiny I could hold her with both hands—that it hit me, ‘This is my daughter, my little girl.’ It might sound silly, but that was my reality. Becoming a dad isn’t an overnight change.”

“The day after she was born, I was back at work. They only gave me one day off. While at work, I didn’t think about her much. I’d check the family group chat during breaks, look at photos, and show them to my coworkers. That’s all; I still didn’t feel much like a dad.”

Zhao Ying Jun listened closely, her arms crossed. “So, when did you actually start feeling like a dad?”

Brother Wang chuckled. “It was when my daughter felt wronged. I remember it clearly—she was just over three years old, playing in a park, and another kid took her toy.”

“At the time, both her mom and I were busy with work, and her grandma was with her. The other kid’s parents dismissed it as kids being kids, saying they’d return the toy later. Grandma didn’t want to make a fuss, so she told my daughter to be generous and share.”

“That night, she came home with tears in her eyes as she told me about it. It might seem minor to us, but for a three-year-old, waiting for someone to return her favorite toy can feel incredibly harsh.”

“For them, their world is small, and a toy can mean everything. Losing it might feel like the end of the world. She was quite mature about it; she held back her tears and didn’t cry until she saw me after work. She ran into my arms and sobbed—Daddy, I didn’t really want to let him play…”

Brother Wang looked reflective as he touched his nose.

“You might not think it’s a big deal hearing about it—just kid stuff, trivial. But in that moment, I truly felt like a father. I realized I had this little person who needed my protection, needed me to stand up for her, needed me to support her.”

“That moment changed me. I grew up, I became a man, a dad.”

“This change in role can’t be rushed… Fathers are different from mothers. A mother starts bonding during the pregnancy, feeling the baby’s presence.”

“But a father’s connection comes later, slowly. But that day will come. As you spend more time with your child, you step into your responsibilities, you become a dad who stands firm.” As he spoke, the sun dipped below the horizon.

Zhao Ying Jun nodded in agreement. “Sometimes, a woman’s transition into motherhood can be slow too.”

“Huh?” Brother Wang laughed heartily. “That’s rare. Ah, I see; you’re worried about this. I understand, these days, many young people hesitate about having kids. They think they lack the patience or love for it.”

“But that’s because you haven’t experienced motherhood yet, so you don’t know that feeling. I think you shouldn’t worry about that anxiety. Your parents must be pushing you to get married, right? Haha… I get it, but you’re too young to worry about kids.”

“Even if you start dating now, get married, and have a child, it’ll still take years!”

He cleared his throat and whispered.

“Well… There’s a faster way. When looking for a partner, you could consider people you already know—like colleagues, former subordinates, or young, ambitious entrepreneurs!”

“If you already know each other well, you can skip the usual dating steps and get right to the point! You could have a baby by next year!”

…

Tap, tap, tap…

Zhao Ying Jun made her way toward the stairs, her long shadow stretching across the rooftop in the evening sun.

“It’s time to go,” she called to Brother Wang without looking back. “See you later.”

She climbed into the Alphard business car and rode to her apartment’s parking garage. Once there, Zhao Ying Jun stepped out, entered the elevator, swiped her access card, and selected her floor. The elevator hummed to life.

“Woof!” Her Pomeranian, VV, barked eagerly. Even though the elevator had just started moving, VV’s barking echoed around.

Ding—

The doors slid open, and Zhao Ying Jun stepped inside her apartment. She didn’t bother turning on the lights; her heels clicked on the floor.

“Woof…” VV was about to fuss over her late return, but something scared it into silence.

It spotted something alarming in the woman’s hands!

That cover looked familiar.

The thick cardstock.

The sealed strip!

It was just like the item that had sat on the coffee table a few days ago, which had upset her so much!

Could it be happening again?

VV squeezed into a gap in the shoe cabinet, pretending to be just another decoration.

Zhao Ying Jun placed her bag in the hallway cabinet, still clutching the paternity test report, and sank into the dark living room’s soft sofa.

The seal on the report was still unbroken.

She had silently waited for three hours at the private hospital to get this report as quickly as possible.

But now, holding it in her hands, she hesitated.

Usually decisive, Zhao wasn’t one to waver.

It wasn’t the report itself that scared her.

It was what the report might reveal—knowing could change everything.

If Yan Qiao Qiao was indeed her biological daughter, then there had to be a father.

She didn’t know who Qiao Qiao’s father was, and she preferred it that way. Ignorance allowed her to ignore his existence. She might even be willing to raise the child on her own.

But this report was like opening Pandora’s box.

It would reveal the truth.

If the results confirmed Qiao Qiao was Lin Xian’s daughter, that would be one scenario.

But if not…

Then Qiao Qiao’s father was someone else.

This was Zhao Ying Jun’s biggest fear.

She knew she had always been faithful. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Yet here she was, facing accusations and a teenage daughter who had appeared as if destined.

There had to be a reason, probably connected to Qiao Qiao’s father…

“If she’s my daughter with another man…” Zhao Ying Jun bit her lip, unable to finish the thought.

How would she face Lin Xian then? Oddly, she felt like she was already betraying him.

She spent all afternoon agonizing over these thoughts. It wasn’t the possibility of a positive result that scared her, but a negative one.

Taking a deep breath, she pinched the seal between her thumb and forefinger and tore it open!

It felt like she wasn’t just opening a report but also setting the direction of her life.

She flipped the cover and her eyes darted to the results section.

“Heh,” she chuckled softly.

She leaned back on the sofa, covering her eyes and chuckling again.

Then, she got up, flipped the light switch, and filled the room with light.

“Are you hungry?” she asked VV.

The Pomeranian, curled up tight, looked up with wide eyes, silent and still.

Could it be… scared of being hungry?

“Hehe, you must be starving.”

Feeling suddenly cheerful, she poured a huge serving of dog food into the bowl—a mountain of it!

Switching her heels for slippers, she stretched and walked toward the bedroom.

VV was confused.

Why did the same report that angered its owner last time now seem to relax her?

Curious, it didn’t start eating but hopped onto the sofa and then onto the coffee table to inspect the open report.

It looked the same.

It even licked it—the taste was the same.

Puzzled, it finally started eating.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ying Jun, now dressed in comfy home clothes, stepped out of the bedroom and walked toward the kitchen. She paused, returned to the living room, and leaned down to read the report again, focusing on the bold, slightly smudged line the dog had just licked—

“The test confirms that Sample A is the biological father of Sample B, and Sample B is the biological daughter of Sample A.”

“Tsk…” She smiled faintly, “Lin Xian, not bad at all.”