Chen Chen's appearance naturally aroused the vigilance of the soldiers in the car.
Several guns protruded from the car, but in the next second, there was a blank look in the eyes of the two high-ranking military officers. They lowered their arms and then walked out of the car door, leaving the seats in the car empty.
Chen Chen smiled and sat directly in the back seat of the car.
At this point, in addition to the soldier driving the car, the woman who followed Zhao Shanhe was sitting in the front passenger seat, while Chen Chen and Zhao Shanhe sat in the back seat of the military car.
After that, the car drove toward downtown New York again.
"I have to say, the power of your Civilization Monolith is truly unfathomable."
Chen Chen looked at Zhao Shanhe beside him. "You can control people's minds and make them into a marionette that you can do whatever you want. No wonder you were able to single-handedly establish the Earth Federation. With this ability alone, you're invincible."
"But the power of the Civilization Monolith can't affect you."
Zhao Shanhe took a deep look at Chen Chen. He clenched his fists slightly, also secretly on guard against Chen Chen. "But during this time, I carefully thought about it and found that there are still many flaws in your story. I dare say that you're not the previous owner of the dimension key at all! So, who are you? "
Chen Chen nodded. "I didn't want to lie to you for long. That's right, I'm not the previous owner of the dimension key, but all you need to know is that I can help you."
"If someone whose identity you don't even know says he'll help you, would you believe him?"
Zhao Shanhe chuckled. "Besides, why do you insist on cooperating with me? You're just plotting something against me. "
Hearing this, Chen Chen could not help laughing. There was a flash of pity in his eyes. "Do you really want to know who I am? If you know, I'm afraid you'll regret it. "
Zhao Shanhe still looked at Chen Chen steadily, as if he would not cooperate if Chen Chen did not reveal his identity.
Seeing this, Chen Chen thought for a moment and then said, "Tell me, when you came to the Event Horizon dimension, what year was it in the real world?"
Zhao Shanhe frowned, but still said, "It was 2002, why?"
"I'm from 2040."
Chen Chen immediately said, "I'm 38 years old this year and it's been 20 years since I obtained the dimension key. Back then, I was a biology student at Shangdu Jiao Tong University and it was in Professor Wang Xi's class that I obtained the dimension key..."
Hearing Chen Chen's words, Zhao Shanhe's expression changed drastically. Even the woman in the passenger seat turned around in disbelief and stared at Chen Chen. "No, you're lying to us, aren't you? You must have investigated the boss, so you made up this lie to deceive us! "
Chen Chen ignored the woman in the front row. He just looked at Zhao Shanhe silently.
Zhao Shanhe's expression was slightly gloomy. He stared into Chen Chen's eyes, trying to see if Chen Chen was lying, but he was disappointed.
Chen Chen's eyes were pure black, like a deep, gloomy pool. It was impossible to discern truth from lies.
"No, you must be lying to us, you must be!"
The woman in the front row screamed even louder. She even broke down and was about to pull out her lightsaber, but she was instantly stopped by Zhao Shanhe.
Seeing this, Chen Chen continued slowly. "You founded the Earth Federation in 1993, but because of being infected with the antimeme, the entire Earth Federation has completely forgotten your existence. Only a quantum computer is still maintaining the fragile alliance...
"Because you knew that you might die, you left an image in 'Adam'. The image hinted at a hidden crisis. At the same time, you suspected that the previous person was Professor Wang Xi, but for some reason, you couldn't say it, so you could only use some means to store your student ID in the campus server. Only by investigating the entire network can you find the only trace of your existence, and on it, Professor Wang Xi's name is also on it..."
Chen Chen continued. "In the image, you also left a hint that you're going to the Event Horizon dimension, am I right?"
Hearing this, Zhao Shanhe fell completely silent.
Chen Chen understood that it was normal for the two of them to have such a big reaction because if what he said was true, it meant one thing — Zhao Shanhe had died in the Event Horizon dimension.
"No, maybe it's a parallel universe!"
The woman in the front row was still unwilling to believe all this. She emphasized, "It's a parallel universe, right? Aren't the various worlds we keep traveling through all parallel universes? We shouldn't die here, absolutely not! "
However, Zhao Shanhe only smiled bitterly and shook his head. Only he understood that parallel universes did exist, but the dimension key was unique like the Civilization Monolith in his hand. If the mysterious young man in front of him was his next holder, there was only one reason, and that was that he was really dead...
He wanted to refute, but everything that the other party said was indeed the layout that he had left in the real world. Only the holder of the dimension key could explain all of this in detail, right?
For a moment, Zhao Shanhe felt weak all over.
"No, I might not die..."
However, at this moment, Zhao Shanhe seemed to think of something. A dark light flashed in his eyes and at the same time, he thought to himself. 'He said that he was also affected by the antimeme, doesn't that mean... If I adopt the method that I thought of, there might be a chance...'
Thinking of this, Zhao Shanhe took a deep breath and pulled himself together, but on the surface, he still laughed loudly. "I don't know if what you said is true or not, but since I came here, naturally, I'm prepared to die!"
"Oh?"
Chen Chen suddenly glanced at Zhao Shanhe with a smile. "You can choose not to believe me, but everything I said is the truth. Now, can you tell me everything you know?"
"What else do you want to know?"
Zhao Shanhe asked solemnly. "As long as it's something I know, I'll tell you."
"All the secrets of the Event Horizon dimension."
Chen Chen said, "Also, how did you link Professor Wang Xi to the dimension key?"
"That's a long story."
Zhao Shanhe's expression suddenly became solemn. He turned his head and looked at the black cloud that stretched across the distant sky, wearing a sorrowful expression. "I used to be an ordinary college student... My parents are people from the mountains. In order to provide for me to go to college, they almost pawned all the valuable things in the house, even selling off the land...
"And I worked hard and finally got into Shangdu Jiao Tong University and entered the Department of Biology...
"In the year I enrolled, I met my life mentor — Wang Xi. He knew that my family was poor and usually took good care of me. After learning that I was very interested in computers, he personally sponsored me a computer."
However, when he said this, a trace of hatred appeared in Zhao Shanhe's eyes. "But I didn't expect that all of this was part of his plan. One day, I picked up a CD in his class. I wanted to hand it in, but in the end, I still wanted to go to the computer to see what was on it. At that time, I was still young and maintained a strong curiosity about everything..."
A CD?
Chen Chen's heart skipped a beat. He still remembered that Zhao Shanhe graduated in 1988, which meant that he was still in college in 1984. At that time, there was no storage device like the USB drive.
In other words, at that time, the dimension key existed in the form of a CD?
"So, I secretly brought the CD back to the dormitory and put it into the computer when all the students were away."
Zhao Shanhe was unaware of Chen Chen's thoughts at this time. He only continued to say, "But I didn't expect that it would store a movie... A movie called 2001: A Space Odyssey..."
Chen Chen's pupils shrank when he heard this. So, Zhao Shanhe had obtained the black slate this early? But why this movie? The black slate was so precious. If he had obtained it himself, he would never hand it over to someone else.
Could it be that there was a more far-reaching plan behind the scenes?
"From then on, my career went out of control..."
Zhao Shanhe turned his head to look at Chen Chen. "I'm sure you can guess what happened next. With the help of the Civilization Monolith, I easily set foot on the peak of my life and easily entered the upper echelons of the country. Then, I discovered in various movies that the humans in those movie dimensions were in a state of extinction or on the verge of extinction. There were various clues, so I gradually deduced that human civilization was probably not far from extinction...
"I didn't want my home to be destroyed like the movie dimensions, so I single-handedly created the Earth Federation, hoping to rely on the strength of all mankind to deal with that crisis... But at the same time, I've been tracking down who left this magical CD in my hands, but when I investigated my mentor Wang Xi, I was surprised to find that Wang Xi had vanished from the face of the earth..."
Chen Chen suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. He also remembered that when he first suspected that Professor Wang Xi had something to do with the USB drive, Professor Wang Xi also disappeared without a trace. It was as if an antimeme had erased everything related to Professor Wang Xi.
Now it seemed that it was not a coincidence.
"So, I continued to investigate. As a result, when I was investigating his home, I found a black box..."
Zhao Shanhe's expression at this time was faintly tinged with fear. "I'll never forget that day. There was such a terrifying thing in that black box... Fortunately, I used the Civilization Monolith to resist its invasion, but this also caused me to be infected with an antimeme and I could die at any time!"
Hearing this, Chen Chen immediately interrupted. "So, what's in that black box?"
"I can't say..."
Zhao Shanhe suddenly put a strange expression on his face. He put a finger in front of his lips with a look of fear. "If I say it, I'll die."
Chen Chen frowned.
"But I have to remind you."
Zhao Shanhe suddenly changed the topic again and sneered. "You must think that the Civilization Monolith in my hand is very powerful, right? It can even fight against an antimeme. But you have to know that even if you burn this movie into the dimension key, you won't be able to extract it. The Civilization Monolith is the same as the dimension key. It's unique."
Hearing this, Chen Chen suddenly wore a look of disbelief.
"If you don't believe me, you can go back and try."
Zhao Shanhe said indifferently, "By the way, since you're also infected with an antimeme, it's obvious that this is also Wang Xi's masterpiece. I'm afraid he's up to something big and definitely doesn't have any good intentions."
Chen Chen could only nod. "Understood, what next?"
"That's all."
Zhao Shanhe leaned back in his seat and began to rest with his eyes closed. "I've told you everything I know."
"And the Event Horizon dimension."
Chen Chen frowned. "Tell me, why did you come here?"
"I just found traces of memes in this dimension."
Zhao Shanhe closed his eyes and replied, "This movie has been released for five years. I discovered the existence of this movie a long time ago. Then, out of curiosity, I tried to burn the movie into the plane key, and it really succeeded."
"It's just that I didn't intend to enter this place at first. After all, the plot of this movie is too strange, but then I was infected with an antimeme, so I risked everything and came here to find a way to survive. Even if you say that I'll die in the future, I still want to try..."
"Understood."
Only then did Chen Chen nod and say no more.
For a time, the entire car was completely quiet, leaving only the three people with ulterior motives and a controlled driver, as well as the roar of the car engine.
Chen Chen knew that most of the information revealed by Zhao Shanhe was half-truths. At least the fact that he did not hesitate to enter the black fog showed that he was prepared.
It was just that Zhao Shanhe had concealed some of the secrets. As for the credibility of the other words, there was obviously a question mark.
Half an hour later, the military car came to the black fog and stopped here.
Zhao Shanhe had unknowingly activated the power of the black slate. The troops stationed at the edge of the black fog gave way, allowing the car to drive in unimpeded.
"Screech!"
With the sound of the brakes, Chen Chen and Zhao Shanhe got out of the car one after another, along with the woman who had gradually calmed down.
"Are you going in with us alone?"
Zhao Shanhe looked at the calm black fog in front of him and suddenly turned his head and asked, "Since you're able to get the dimension key and travel through the major dimensions, you should have your own elite team."
"Does it matter how many people enter this place?"
Chen Chen said calmly, "And my people are a bit special. They're a group of robots. They can only help with ordinary things, but in this situation, there's nothing they can do."
"Oh?"
Zhao Shanhe frowned. "In that case, come with me, but I have to say in advance, if you encounter a situation that even I can't take care of, I won't sacrifice myself to help you."
"Of course."
Chen Chen nodded calmly. "It's all up to your ability, but before that, shouldn't you at least tell me about the dangers in the black fog first?"
"Sure."
Zhao Shanhe nodded and said solemnly, "My team went in to explore before. Once this black fog shrouds this place, it will cause this area to completely turn into a ghost town. There are many unexplainable things in it. You can think of them as ghosts or you can think of them as a memetic effect. The only way to avoid them is to close your eyes."
"Close my eyes?"
Chen Chen turned his head to look at Zhao Shanhe with a surprised expression.
"Yes, close your eyes."
With that, Zhao Shanhe walked directly inside and at the same time said as he walked, "Remember, no matter what crisis you encounter inside, even if you'll die on the spot in the next second, never open your eyes!"
With that, he did not give Chen Chen a chance to continue asking questions and stepped straight into the black fog!
The woman who followed Zhao Shanhe also walked in without hesitation.
Watching the two of them disappear into the black fog, Chen Chen's originally somewhat puzzled expression suddenly dissipated. The corner of his mouth curled up into a sneer, and with a step, he also stepped into the black fog.
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