Those who travel back in time

Chapter 47 The Source of the Cycle

"Chen Qing, the source of the cycle should be in Tianhai Hospital," Li Qilin speculated. "Based on your experience, the first cycle occurred after you entered Tianhai Hospital."

"I've been to Tianhai Hospital five or six times, but I still don't know what the source is." Chen Qing had also considered Li Qilin's excuse.

“The previous times you removed the serum, you were in contact with the same group of people, and you took the same route.” Li Qilin suggested, “Let’s go to Tianhai Hospital again, not to find the serum, but to find the source.”

He added, "This time we're not going for the serum, so there shouldn't be any danger. We'll all go together."

"Finding it is no problem, but Dad, what are we looking for?" Li Mengfei asked. "We don't even know what the source is. Is it a person, a machine, something that happened in the hospital? Or some form of existence that we can't even imagine?"

"I don't know," Li Qilin said. "Just go with your gut feeling. Write down anything or anyone you think might trigger a time loop."

This time, even the hacker Xiao Zhao followed them into the hospital. The four of them searched aimlessly in the hospital until the loop ended.

"Uncle Li, we've tried it, it's not a good idea." As the seventh cycle began, when Li Qilin suggested going to Tianhai Hospital again, Chen Qing objected: "We don't even know what we're looking for, we're just running around like headless flies, we can't find any clues."

"A single loop is very short, and the search range is definitely limited. Not finding it in one loop doesn't mean it's not there." Li Qilin still felt they should go to Tianhai Hospital: "If we do a few more loops, maybe we'll find it."

"I think we should try other methods first. If all else fails, then we can consider searching for hospitals," Chen Qing said.

"Brother Qing, haven't you tried sending a message to 2044 and asking them to take you away?" Li Mengfei thought of an idea. "Once you leave this timeline, you'll break out of this loop, right?"

"I'm in this time loop, so I shouldn't be able to contact 2044." Chen Qing shook his head. "I was almost killed in the fourth loop. Under normal circumstances, 2044 would notice if I was injured and recall me. But last time I was fatally wounded, and 2044 didn't do anything."

"Maybe they didn't hear the alarm about your injury for some reason. That doesn't mean 2044 can't transmit messages," Li Meng added.

"I'll give it a try first, since I don't have any other ideas right now." Chen Qing immediately drove to Shuguang Hospital to bury the box.

After 10:43, Chen Qing sat down outside the steamed bun shop again.

"Brother Qing, haven't you tried sending a message to 2044 and asking them to take you away?" Li Mengfei said again. "Once you leave this timeline, you'll break out of this loop, right?"

"In the last loop, I tried, and there was indeed no way to contact 2044." Chen Qing shook his head, then added, "However, this also proves one thing: the loop should be unrelated to Tianhai Hospital. This time, no one even stepped into Tianhai Hospital, but the loop still occurred."

"This doesn't mean it's unrelated to Tianhai Hospital," Li Qilin said. "The first time I went to Tianhai Hospital, I don't know what I triggered there, causing the loop to start. Once the loop starts, it will run on its own, regardless of whether I go to the hospital again."

"If I had known, I would have studied physics instead of piano in college and become a physicist, specializing in the study of time," Li Mengfei complained as she sat there. "Maybe I could still think of a way now."

"A physicist?" Chen Qing slapped his thigh. "How could I have forgotten about Dr. Fang!"

If we're talking about who understands time best in the world, it has to be Fang Xiande!

He can't contact Fang Xiande in 2044 now, but he can contact Fang Xiande in 2025.

I just hope that Fang Xiande, who is 20 years younger, won't be too much worse off than he is in 2044.

Although Fang Xiande repeatedly warned him not to contact his past self under any circumstances, he really had no other choice now.

Moreover, time now cycles and resets at 10:43, erasing the fact that he went to see Fang Xiande.

Fang Xiande never told Chen Qing his past address or workplace. Chen Qing did ask, but he didn't tell her, just to prevent Chen Qing from looking for him in the past.

But in 2025, finding someone will be too easy.

Hacker Xiao Zhao quickly discovered that Fang Xiande was a PhD student in the Physics Department of Jiangxin University, and even found out his home address, down to the house number.

…………

In a living room, Chen Qing and Fang Xiande sat together.

"Time travel, time loops?" Fang Xiande asked. "Theoretically, time travel is indeed possible, but why should I trust a complete stranger I've never met?"

Chen Qing picked up the remote control from the coffee table, turned on the TV, and then muted it.

Then he turned around, with his back to the TV, and handed the remote control to Fang Xiande: "Dr. Fang, just change a few channels, but be careful to cover the remote control so I can't see what you're pressing."

"It's okay if you see it. I can just press 'next' or 'previous' instead of the numbers, but to be on the safe side, I'll cover it up." Fang Xiande then took a book, placed it over the remote control, pointed it at the TV, and pressed a button.

"Now it's GG. A BYD's latest 'Ocean Series' model is driving in the rain. The GG slogan 'Enjoy driving, enjoy life' will appear on the left side of the screen. When the vehicle turns, the camera will zoom in on its streamlined rearview mirror, and the mirror will reflect a GG sign on the roadside that is changing color." Chen Qing dictated the content of the TV screen.

Fang Xiande looked surprised and picked up the remote to change the channel.

"This is a cultural program called 'New Rhymes of Intangible Cultural Heritage.' An embroiderer is demonstrating double-sided embroidery with different colors. One side of her work is a panda, and the other side is a dragon. The camera will give a close-up showing how she guides two colors of silk threads with a single needle at the same time," Chen Qing recited again with perfect accuracy.

Fang Xiande stood up and changed the channel again.

"This is a movie, 'The Last Witness.' I'll now repeat some lines."

"Emily, you mentioned 'the red door' during the last treatment. Can you tell me what's behind that door today?"

"Lies. All behind that door are lies."

"Whose lie?"

"Yours, Doctor. That paper you published three years ago in the *Quarterly Journal of Psychology* about false memories—the data was fabricated, wasn't it?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"On page 42, in the third paragraph, the case you cited simply doesn't exist. It's a lie, just like when you told me you 'have never met my sister.'"

"How many times have you come to see me now?" Fang Xiande turned off the TV.