Shen Yue saw the so-called stone that could travel through time and space for the first time, and had only one thought: how small it was.
She had imagined the time machine to be: huge beyond comparison, able to hold an entire person, with loud roaring when started, and an appearance full of technology and futuristic feeling.
But now it seemed that the so-called space-time medium that could accelerate spiritual energy was just a stone.
"This thing has already been set up. As long as there is strong energy with specific intentions around it, it will be activated.
Although a person's death will produce spiritual energy, the energy is not strong enough to activate the medium. According to current research, extremely regretful emotions at the moment of death can activate it 100% of the time."
As for how Shen Hui came to this conclusion through research, it was already obvious.
"Do you want this? If you want it, I'll give it to you," Shen Hui said to Shen Yue one day, holding the space-time medium.
And Shen Yue's answer was rejection.
"I don't have any regrets. I just want to be with you."
Shen Hui smiled and didn't insist anymore. She just asked, "Are you happy to meet me again this time?"
Shen Yue nodded, "Yes, this is the happiest thing in my life."
Hearing this answer made Shen Hui very happy too. She laughed out loud for the first time, laughing so hard that tears came out of her eyes in the lab, "Being able to meet you is also my good fortune, thanks to that guy who covered the worldlines 25 times."
"Where is that person now?" Shen Yue asked.
She was quite curious about the person who had brought her and Shen Hui together.
Shen Hui looked in a direction. Shen Yue didn't know what direction it was.
"I sent him to Flightless Bird. For someone like him, that's the only place he can settle down. He snatched the medium from me 25 times. This time, I don't want him to snatch it away from me...Yueyue, I want to leave the medium to you."
Not long after that, Shen Yue finally knew why Shen Hui wanted to give her the medium.
Shen Hui was going to commit suicide.
She was going to use her own death to drive the greed of the whole world.
"Little Yue, if you don't want to accompany me to carry out the next plan, I will send you to a safe place."
Shen Yue shook her head and said firmly, "I will be with you."
Just like that, the space-time medium, the thing the world craved, was placed in Shen Yue's chest.
Shen Hui also told Shen Yue about her plan.
"I will send you to Flightless Bird. There is a bodyguard I have prepared for you, his name is Su Yunan. He used to modify people with me. His body has been enhanced. Under drug conditioning, he will be 100% obedient to you, but he himself will not notice anything abnormal. You just need to get along with him normally."
Shen Yue nodded. She suddenly remembered the other person Shen Hui had mentioned, "Is the person who covered the timeline also in Flightless Bird?"
"Yes, he's there too. And if he finds out you're related to me, he'll definitely try to get close to you. When that happens, you can judge for yourself."
Shen Yue was a little confused. "What should I judge?"
That day, the lab was the same as usual, with only the cold light emitted by the instruments, clean and white but also without any warmth. But under that icy glow on Shen Hui, Shen Yue suddenly felt a warmth of being loved for a moment.
"I'm actually very grateful to that person, grateful for his persistence. Because he kept growing, I was able to accumulate and become stronger through him. At the age of 20 I escaped from that place, then met you.
But I don't want to give him the ending he wants. If you meet him in the future, you can judge for yourself whether or not to give him this favor."
From then on, Shen Yue knew that there was someone in Flightless Bird who had facilitated her encounter with Shen Hui, but Shen Hui did not tell her that person's name.
On the day Shen Hui died, Shen Yue was by her side all along, accompanying her.
Shen Yue also saw the last tear Shen Hui shed.
She heard Shen Hui ask her, "My life has only pain, why couldn't you have appeared sooner?"
It was also on that day that Shen Yue noticed the contradiction in Shen Hui's words for the first time.
Remember Shen Hui had said when she gave Shen Yue the medium, even if she regretted it later and used the medium to go back to the past, she must never look for her past self.
Because the Shen Hui at that time was not the Shen Hui now, and the only one who would get hurt seeking her out was Shen Yue herself.
But now, Shen Hui was saying it would have been great if they could have met sooner.
When Shen Hui died, Shen Yue did not understand what she meant until she followed Si Chengyou to learn about human nature in Flightless Bird and finally understood Shen Hui's meaning.
It turned out the one who was always protected was herself.
Shen Hui didn't want Shen Yue to get hurt, so she told her not to look for her past self, preferring to suffer as before until escaping herself at 20, rather than let Shen Yue rescue her prematurely and get hurt.
Shen Hui longed for redemption, but she feared hurting Shen Yue even more.
Not telling Shen Yue the name of the man who covered the timelines was also to protect her.
She hoped that Shen Yue's final decision would be what she truly felt in her heart, and not influenced by others.
After all, once the space-time medium was used, Shen Yue would be truly alone in the new timeline.
Everything that happened in the previous timeline, only she would remember.
The truly painful thing was not for those who forgot, but for those who remembered.
"Little Yue, if you meet that person, you must follow your own heart to judge whether or not to help him."
"But no matter what your choice is, don't sacrifice yourself for others. I want you to find happiness."
...
Shen Yue's thoughts returned to the present. Shen Hui was pulling her out of the clothing store towards a small street in the commercial district.
Clearly, the memories Shen Hui had sent back from the future told her this was the safe way.
So what exactly did Shen Hui see?
What happened that made Shen Hui unwilling to give up a death to send her memories back to the present?
