The Last 299 Days of Humanity

"And what about you?" Yu Qing finally asked, "What role do you play in this game? Are you telling me all this so that I'll fight against my ancestors? So that I'll join your side?"

Professor Lu sighed. "No, Yu Qing. I don't want you to join any side. I want you to choose for yourself. But the choice needs to be based on the truth, not lies."

He stood up and walked to the window. The scene outside was even more bizarre; the sky was now a deep purple, with luminous patterns flowing within it, like the blood vessels of some enormous creature.

"I've spent twenty years researching ways to counter Yu Yunshan's control," Professor Lu said with his back to Yu Qing. "I've discovered the fatal weakness of parallel human technology. That consciousness carrier made of special matter, while powerful, is not invincible."

He turned around, his eyes resolute: "I've developed something. Something that can dismantle the structures of parallel human consciousness, causing them to 'rot' and disintegrate. The principle is based on the reverse application of the Immortal Flower, combined with specific quantum frequency resonance."

"That's why Yu Yunshan has never dared to take direct action against me. He doesn't know where I've hidden all the details of this technology, or what triggering conditions I've set."

If I die, or am controlled, that information will be automatically released, threatening all parallel humans.

"So he's been playing 'hide-and-seek' with you all along." Yu Qing understood.

"Yes. He wants to control me, or at least make sure I don't use this technology against him."

Professor Lu walked back to his desk. "But recently, things have changed. Yu Yunshan has encountered real trouble at the interface layer—not the external enemy he fabricated, but the consequences of his own ambition."

"He failed in his attempt to control a particularly powerful interface layer and instead became trapped by that entity. He now needs help; he needs someone to exert influence from the real dimension to distract that entity and give him a chance to escape."

"So he and his 'Professor Lu' projection came to you. He wants you to complete the upload, become a parallel human, and then go to the interface layer to 'save' him."

Yu Qing remained silent for a long time. His mind was racing, analyzing every piece of information and assessing every possibility.

“What would happen if I went to save him?” Yu Qing finally asked.

“He will control you,” Professor Lu said without hesitation, “or at least, he will try to control you. He may not do it immediately; he may act grateful and make you think you are equal partners.”

But ultimately, he will use some method—perhaps a variant of the Immortal Flower, perhaps a backdoor he left in your consciousness—to make you another of his puppets.

"What if I don't go?"

"Then he might be trapped for longer, even forever. But that doesn't mean his plan will stop. The parallel humans in Tianqing City are still carrying out his orders, the 'Mirage' system is still expanding, and the reality distortion is still intensifying."

Moreover, without his direct control, those systems might become unstable, causing even greater chaos.

"What if I use the technology you developed?" Yu Qing asked, carefully observing Professor Lu's reaction.

Professor Lu's expression turned extremely serious.

"That will be the last resort. If used, all parallel humans—including your aunt, everyone in Tianqing City, Yu Yunshan, and yourself—will be affected. The only difference will be the degree. It's a choice of mutual destruction."

"It sounds like I don't have many good options," Yu Qing said with a wry smile.

“There is a choice,” Professor Lu said, “but it requires immense courage and wisdom.”

"What choice?"

“Become a third party.” Professor Lu’s eyes lit up. “Neither join Yu Yunshan nor completely side with me. Use your current state—a newly completed parallel human, not yet controlled by any party beforehand—to establish your own foothold.”

Learn, grow, and understand the true relationship between the interface layer and reality. Then, find the third path.

"What third way?"

“A balance point that doesn’t require enslaving or eliminating parallel humans, nor does it require throwing reality into chaos,” Professor Lu said. “A way for different forms of existence to coexist peacefully. A system that respects free will while maintaining necessary order.”

Yu Qing pondered. The idea sounded wonderful, but it was also extremely difficult, almost impractical.

"Why don't you do it yourself?" he asked Professor Lu. "You've been researching these things for so many years, why don't you go and establish this 'third way'?"

Professor Lu's expression turned bitter. "Because I am no longer a complete human being, Yu Qing. In my long-term dealings with the Immortal Flower and the interface layer, my consciousness has changed."

I can't fully integrate into the interface layer to become a parallel human, but I'm no longer a completely real being either. I'm stuck in the middle, in an awkward, incomplete state.

“Moreover,” he added, “Yu Yunshan knows me too well. He knows my way of thinking and my behavior patterns. I can’t hide my intentions from him. But you are a new, unknown variable. You have the opportunity to do what I can’t.”

Just then, the study suddenly trembled violently. Books on the shelves fell to the ground, the jasmine flower on the table shone brightly, and black cracks began to appear in the purple sky outside the window.

“He’s here,” Professor Lu said in a low voice. “Or at least, his power has seeped in. He’s trying to locate us.”

"Who? Yu Yunshan?"

“Yes. He sensed your upload was complete at the interface layer. Now he wants to establish a direct connection,” Professor Lu said quickly. “Yu Qing, you need to decide. Now.”

Yu Qing felt a powerful gravitational pull coming from above—not from above in a physical sense, but from above in a dimensional sense, originating from the direction of the interface layer. That gravity was calling to him, tempting him, promising him power, knowledge, and eternity.
At the same time, he also sensed that the distortion of the surrounding reality was intensifying.

The walls of the main house began to become transparent, revealing the non-Euclidean geometric structure behind them; the wood grain on the floor began to move and recombine, forming some kind of ancient symbol; the temperature in the air fluctuated between cold and hot, as if the space itself was running a fever.

"What if I refuse his call?" Yu Qing asked, resisting the pull of gravity.

"He will try to force a connection. In your current state, you may not be able to completely block it. But if you actively sever the connection with the interface layer and return to a purely physical existence, it means giving up the abilities of a parallel human and returning to the limitations of the physical body."

"What if I go to the interface layer but don't go to him?" "Then you will face the challenges of the interface layer itself. The entities there will not easily accept a newcomer. You may be besieged, rejected, or even swallowed up."

Every choice carries enormous risk. Every path is fraught with unknowns.

Yu Qing closed his eyes—if he still had eyes—and delved into the core of his consciousness.

He looked back on his life: his lonely childhood in the First Paradise, the power struggles in the Shengtian Group, the shock when he discovered the old man's secret, the resolute decision to upload his consciousness, and the transformation when he became a parallel human.
He recalled his initial goal: to uncover the truth, protect Wengshan, and understand the meaning of his existence.

The truth is now before us, though complex and contradictory. Wengshan is facing a threat from the "Mirage" system, and the very structure of reality is crumbling. Perhaps the meaning of existence is not found in escape or control, but in facing and choosing.

Yu Qing opened his eyes: "I choose the third path."

He said, his voice calm but firm, “but not the kind of third party you might imagine. I don’t join any camp, but I don’t promise to build any new system. I only do one thing: explore. Explore the truth of the interface layer, explore the essence of reality, explore what I can do myself.”

Professor Lu looked at him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, but also worry. "This is dangerous. You might lose your way."

“I’ve already lost my way once,” Yu Qing said, “during the upload process, amidst the fog of truth and falsehood. But each time I’ve lost my way, it has made me clearer about what I don’t want to become.”

He looked up at the ceiling—the ceiling was no longer there, replaced by the blurred boundary between the interface layer and the real dimension, where flowing colors and distorted geometry existed.

"I'm going to the interface layer," Yu Qing announced, "but not to rescue Yu Yunshan, nor to join any side. I want to see it with my own eyes, experience it firsthand, and understand it for myself. Then, I will make my own judgment and take my own actions."

Professor Lu was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Very good. This is the Yu Qing I wanted to see. Not a pawn, not a puppet, but an entity with its own will."

He took a small box from the pocket of his lab coat and handed it to Yu Qing. "This contains what you need. A modified extract of the 'Desmodium styracifolium' flower, which can help you maintain the stability of your self-awareness at the interface layer."

And then there's the core data of that technology. If you find you have no other choice, if Yu Yunshan's control cannot be stopped, if reality faces true destruction, you can use it.

Yu Qing took the box. It was small and light, but the weight it carried was immeasurable.

“You know what giving me this means,” Yu Qing said. “If I’m controlled by Yu Yunshan, this will fall into his hands.”

“I know.” Professor Lu smiled, a smile that held both trust and resolve. “But I believe you won’t be controlled. I believe you will find your own path.”

The distortion of space outside the window reached its peak. The entire First Paradise now resembled a crumpled and unfolded piece of paper, its structure as thin as a cicada's wing. The gravitational pull emanating from the interface layer grew stronger and stronger, and Yu Qing felt himself being pulled upwards.

"There's one more question," Yu Qing asked one last time before leaving, "What exactly are those physical bodies, those clones of me operating outside?"

Professor Lu's expression turned somewhat strange. "That's Yu Yunshan's technology, but it was used on you. They are 'expansions of reality anchors,' projections of your consciousness onto the reality dimension."

But more accurately, they were tests. Yu Yunshan used them to test the coverage effectiveness of the 'mirage' system and to test reality's tolerance for anomalies.

"So when I say they are needed to maintain surface calm..."

“That’s exactly what Yu Yunshan wanted you to think of.” Professor Lu nodded. “He guided your thinking, making you believe it was your idea, but it was actually part of his programming.”

Yu Qing felt a chill run down his spine. How much of his thinking and his decisions were truly autonomous? How much was predetermined?

"Don't overthink it." Professor Lu seemed to see through his thoughts. "What matters is now. What matters is your next choice."

Gravity was irresistible. Yu Qing felt himself being pulled away from the dimension of reality, towards the interface layer. The study, Professor Lu, and the First Paradise were all becoming blurry and distant.

"One last piece of advice," Professor Lu's voice came from afar, "At the interface layer, don't trust anything that appears on the surface. Look for the underlying data flow, for the original form of information. The truth often lies hidden beneath appearances."

The sound disappeared.

Yu Qing has broken through a certain critical point.

The dimension of reality fades away like a faded oil painting.

The interface unfolded before his eyes.

That wasn't the battlefield seen in the safe house illusion, nor was it the ocean of information Professor Lu described. It was an existence that defied accurate description. Infinite possibilities, infinite dimensions, infinite information, all intertwined, flowing, colliding, being born, and perishing.

Yu Qing felt like a drop of water falling into the ocean. A massive torrent of information washed over his consciousness, countless senses flooding in simultaneously:
He witnessed the birth and destruction of countless worlds, the branching and convergence of timelines, and the various forms of existence—some like him were conscious entities, some were pure energy structures, some were complex information patterns, and some were incomprehensible abstract concepts.

He also saw the battlefield. A fierce conflict was indeed taking place far beyond the dimensional boundaries. Powerful beings were clashing, and the energy fluctuations they released could be felt even here. He recognized one of the energy characteristics—it was Yu Yunshan, his ancestor.

Yu Yunshan's consciousness was trapped in a complex encirclement, surrounded by three enormous, luminous geometric structures. These structures were constantly changing shape, releasing interference waves that restricted Yu Yunshan's movement and connections.

Yu Qing didn't go over immediately. He first needed to calm himself down and adapt to the environment.

He used the extract of the celestial flower given to him by Professor Lu. A cool sensation flowed through his consciousness, helping him filter out excessive information input at the interface layer, making his self-awareness clearer and more stable.

Then, he began to explore.

The interface layer is more complex than anyone can describe. It consists of "regions," each with its own rules and characteristics.

Some areas are like libraries, filled with static knowledge structures; some areas are like battlefields, filled with dynamic conflicts; some areas are like workshops, where something is being created or transformed; and some areas are completely incomprehensible, like the dreams of a madman.

Yu Qing moved cautiously. He kept a low profile, avoiding contact with other beings, focusing instead on observation and learning. (End of Chapter)