Those who travel back in time

Chapter 3 Time Machine

"I dug this out from under the old locust tree on the east side of the outpatient building three years ago." Dr. Fang didn't keep you in suspense any longer and revealed directly: "It was sealed in this box and buried for who knows how long."

"A piece of paper dug up from under a tree three years ago, with my name on it? That must be just a coincidence, there are many people with the same name." Chen Qing said as he picked up the paper, noticing that it was severely yellowed, with a brownish-yellow hue like an old photograph, and water stains of varying shades, showing very obvious signs of the erosion of time.

"Perhaps, I don't know." Dr. Fang put the paper back into the tin box: "You are the first person I've met named 'Chen Qing' since this paper was unearthed."

"I'm probably not the 'Chen Qing' you're looking for. This is my first time here since the apocalypse, and I have no connection to this place."

"Mr. Chen, I cannot be certain that you are the 'Chen Qing' on the paper, but likewise, I cannot be certain that you are not. But there's no need for us to guess; we'll find out by trying."

"I'm not in the mood to play games with you."

"Mr. Chen, before you so hastily refuse, please allow me to ask you a question. Haven't you ever considered changing anything? For example, saving someone... who shouldn't have been lost?"

"You investigated me?!"

"Does this even need an investigation?" Dr. Fang retorted calmly. "This is the apocalypse. Who among the survivors doesn't harbor feelings for people they 'shouldn't have lost'?"

"Dr. Fang, are you saying you have a way to save those who have already been lost?" Chen Qing asked in a deep voice.

"Mr. Chen, it seems I've successfully piqued your interest. Let's go to the morgue to talk." Dr. Fang walked out of the office, closed the door, and went down to the basement via the original fire escape.

"What is this?" Chen Qing was taken aback as soon as he arrived at the morgue.

There stood a huge spherical cabin covered with thick bolts. On one side was a heavy door like a bank vault, and on the other side, countless cables wrapped with damaged insulation stretched out, intertwined and tangled like twisted vines, eventually connecting to rows of old server racks and huge capacitor banks that covered the surrounding walls.

The sphere was surrounded by layers of rusty superconducting ring-shaped magnetic coils, flashing with eerie blue electric arcs, and emitting a low-frequency humming sound, like the panting of a dying beast.

This is a scene straight out of a science fiction movie, yet it's right here in front of me.

"If I tell you this from up here, you might think I'm crazy," Dr. Fang patted the spherical capsule. "Once you see it with your own eyes, it will be much more credible."

"What exactly is this?" Chen Qing took two steps closer, examining the enormous, technologically advanced object.

"A time machine," Dr. Fang uttered, then paused and added, "Just like in those science fiction movies, this machine allows you to go back in time, make amends for mistakes, and correct the future. No matter who you want to save, this time machine in front of you is your only hope to save that person."

"A time machine?" Chen Qing walked around the large object a couple of times, still finding it hard to believe. "Something from science fiction movies, actually exists in reality?"

"Aren't zombies just things from science fiction movies? Yet they've actually appeared right in front of you!"

"The zombies are a fact that I saw with my own eyes. But I didn't see that this machine could travel through time."

No, you saw it.

"What did I see?"

"That piece of paper with your name on it that you just saw is evidence of time travel. Clearly, you successfully traveled to the past. What happened in the past that caused people there to bury that piece of paper in the ground?"

"All I saw was a piece of paper, nothing more."

"Mr. Chen, if you need meticulous evidence like that of a police detective, then I truly cannot provide it. However, I don't think it needs to be that complicated. Whether this machine can achieve time travel or not, we'll find out soon enough. While you were sleeping last night, I worked through the night to get it working, and we can begin our time journey now."

"No, thank you," Chen Qing refused. "I'm not used to being a guinea pig."

"Mr. Chen, since you disagree, I won't force you." Dr. Fang took off his white coat. "Thank you again for saving A-Jie, but for the sake of community stability, I'm sorry I can't keep you here. Farewell."

Chen Qing was slightly taken aback. The scene he had envisioned was the other party relentlessly throwing out more evidence, whether true or false, in an intense and protracted psychological tug-of-war. After all, words like "time machine" and "salvation" immediately suggested a crazy obsession to achieve the goal by any means necessary.

But the other party let go.

Chen Qing thought Dr. Fang was using some kind of roundabout tactic, but Dr. Fang did not reappear even after he finished breakfast and took the supplies and walked out of the gate of Shuguang Hospital, which was made of thick steel plates and car frames.

The other party actually gave up.

Chen Qing once again embarked on a lonely journey of wandering alone.

Two years ago, in that warehouse, Chen Qing was too terrified to open the door and watched helplessly as his brother Chen Hai died before his eyes. This nearly drove him to a mental breakdown, and he rushed out to kill the zombies to avenge his brother.

Without a doubt, Chen Qing was also bitten by a zombie.

If things had proceeded as normal, the world would have gained one more hideous zombie and lost one less human named Chen Qing.

But unfortunately, Chen Qing did not mutate.

His wounds healed miraculously, and his physical abilities improved significantly. Although he was not yet at the level of Captain America in Hollywood movies, he was far beyond what ordinary people could achieve.

His exceptional combat skills allowed him to handle zombies with ease; no matter how fierce the horde, he could always break through.

For the first two days, he did maintain this ease and skill, searching for supplies and clearing out zombies as he always had, his movements clean and efficient.

But on the third day at noon, as he squatted behind a shelf in an abandoned supermarket, examining the blade in the sunlight, his movements suddenly stopped.

Half of his face was reflected on the blade, and those eyes reminded him of the last time he and his brother looked at each other through a small hole in the warehouse door two years ago.

"Aoko, live on!"—those were the last words her brother shouted before he was overwhelmed by the horde of zombies.

Even though she didn't open the door for him, her brother didn't blame her. Before he died, he was still thinking of her.

At that very moment, Dr. Fang's words exploded like a landmine that had been planted long ago: "This time machine in front of you is your only hope to save that person."

Chen Qing suddenly stood up, causing the shelf to rattle loudly.

"Of course it's fake, a time machine, how could such a thing be possible..." Chen Qing muttered to herself, but the crazy thought in her mind was like a flood breaking through a dam, impossible to suppress: "But what if, what if it's real?"

Mingming prayed to God countless times for a chance, saying that she would not hesitate to go to hell if it meant bringing her brother back to life.

But when the light machine appeared, why did he turn around and leave?

Is a time machine that can't be distinguished from reality more terrifying than hell?