Chapter 1665: Chapter 1665: Time Ray
Yu Qingqing was quite sharp, and after hearing Xu Huo’s words, she wasn’t upset. Instead, she said, “I knew you must have figured out what that is!”
“Even though we don’t have the ability right now, there’s no harm in learning more. Tell us about it, so we can broaden our horizons!”
Xu Huo repeated the same thing, not knowing, but also said, “For safety’s sake, it’s best for those who haven’t undergone Super Evolution not to go in there.”
Considering the potential chaos of space-time forces, one should at least understand a little about them, or they’d be unable to protect themselves when faced with danger.
Yu Qingqing made a “tch” sound. “The Special Defense Department boasts a lot, but actually, there aren’t many Super Evolvers. Even if there are, at least eighty percent of them have just barely touched the threshold… They’re definitely not comparable to you, cousin!”
The last sentence sounded somewhat flattering, but that wasn’t her intention. She continued, “Anyway, we’re all rookies here. Why not take us along? Maybe one of the eight of us will suddenly have a Secondary Evolution.”
Super Evolution is highly dependent on opportunity. Both of Xu Huo’s Super Evolutions were comprehended under specific conditions, meaning he could only access the Super Evolution Power in particular environments.
Of course, most people won’t evolve even in such environments, as it still relies on one’s talent.
But his method is considered relatively safe. There are other methods, like accidentally entering a Super Player’s battleground ruins or being pricked by space-time elements—those rely more on luck, which, if bad, could cost one’s life, as in Nie Xuan’s case.
Not everyone has his good fortune. For instance, those who accidentally broke into Lawrence Lee’s and Suitcase Man’s fight in Zone 017 were also hit by Spatial Rays, but they didn’t survive.
It can’t be said that Yu Qingqing and her teammates lack the aptitude necessarily, but Xu Huo felt there was no need to take that risk. If they truly had the potential, they could search for suitable dungeon venues to test this out.
After informing Yu Qingqing and her friends, he added, “Getting trained in Super Evolution is also very difficult. Every level is a threshold, and it’s time-consuming and exhausting if you want to balance it with leveling up as a Player.”
Take the Spiritual Super Evolution, for example. Xu Huo had seen many Evolvers of the same type, and many of them needed a long time to reach the level of interfering with others via the Spiritual World. Those truly gifted, like Bai Kou and Dou Shengnan, are one in a million.
“If someone else can do it, why can’t I?” Yu Qingqing firmly believed in herself. “I will also have a Secondary Evolution sooner or later!”
“Good luck.” Xu Huo said, without much sincerity.
After her ambitious declaration, Yu Qingqing asked Xu Huo to tell her about the classifications of Super Evolution. Although this information is available on the gaming platform, there’s nothing like a real Super Evolver explaining it firsthand.
Seeing her eagerness as if picking out cabbages, Xu Huo chuckled, but still detailed the Spiritual and Spatial Super Evolutions.
Without actual experience, it sounds very abstract. Xu Huo felt the same way when he first encountered a Spatial Ray.
“Have you ever seen a Time Ray?” Yu Qingqing pressed on.
“I’ve seen it…” In fact, Xu Huo had numerous dealings with the Time Force. Instances from the Guile Sound Knights’ attack on Zone 011 to the static timeline on the island in Zone 014 that might have birthed a Primeval Stone, and the recently acquired “Angel’s Eye” all count.
Although these could be considered direct contacts with Time Rays, he still couldn’t comprehend what a Time Ray actually was, let alone differentiate it clearly from a Spatial Ray.
Yet instinctively, he felt Time Rays shouldn’t be the same as Spatial Rays, at least they shouldn’t be identical.
If the island that appeared last time hadn’t disappeared, there might have been different insights upon re-entry.
Yu Qingqing served him a bowl of meat, urging, “I heard Lawrence Lee’s Spatial Rays are colored. Do Time Rays have colors?”
“Lawrence Lee’s Spatial Rays aren’t colored. The reason they appear in different colors is because the rays themselves consist of countless rhombus-shaped fragments, merely reflecting colors. Average people can’t reach a level where they can view Spatial Rays unaided by instruments…” Xu Huo paused abruptly, realizing why he always felt Time Rays and Spatial Rays should be dissimilar.
Indeed, he had seen Time Rays, but in the same environment, he wasn’t the only one who saw them. This implies that the Time Rays in their eyes, in resemblance to the Spatial Rays Lawrence Lee deployed in battle, were all in magnified states!
According to Xu Huo’s understanding of Spatial Ray units, one’s naked eye shouldn’t be able to directly capture their shape. By the same logic, true Time Rays should be invisible to the eye.
Then what state should Time Rays originally be in?
Many thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, eventually landing on the scene when caught on the railroad during a Dimension Storm. At that time, the train guide mentioned “curved time.” Under this concept, time isn’t straightforwardly advancing but has ups and downs, leading to the hypothesis of “time traversal.”
Dr. Wu’s repeated use of the trolley problem in the “Midsummer Night’s River of Stars” instance wasn’t truly to test human nature, but to show those tested that if they wish to change something, they must manipulate time. Whether it’s the result or intervening variables, time holds the undercurrent. Approaching from the event’s perspective only leads to a dead end; stepping back might reveal opportunities.
Thus, time should be lively and fluctuating, perhaps without a fixed form, only taking on a certain form in the instant it gets captured.
The Spiritual World enveloped the small building. Beyond the pervasive lines of Psychic Power and Spatial Rays, Xu Huo gradually sensed another sort of tangled, disorderly power lines drifting within.
He closed his eyes and slowly reached out to grasp the force drifting before him. However, like in another space of the “Midsummer Night’s River of Stars,” a breeze slipped through his fingers.
Suddenly he had another realization, that time is impossible to grasp.
Compared to space, time is far more dynamic. According to the current understanding of human society, it is constantly flowing and shouldn’t be, nor can it be, held.
Of course, interpretations of time’s form are just a personal understanding. Different people have varied perceptions, and Time Rays might manifest in differing states.
However, as his thoughts deepened, his Spiritual World filled with various fluctuating and differently-shaped lines—this was the anomaly; the timeline lines in his space should have been consistent under normal circumstances.