Chapter 55

The night was deep, and the base was quiet, save for the steady, insistent sound of Nan Yuan knocking on the door.
A few minutes later, Cheng Feimao opened the door. "Who is it? Disturbing my sleep... Oh, Boss Nan Yuan."
"Is something wrong at the base?" Cheng Feimao asked, growing tense at Nan Yuan’s serious expression.
Nan Yuan shook his head. On his way over, he had gradually sorted out his thoughts. He roughly understood that, to Shushu, he was merely a one-way subject of observation. What he needed to do was to reverse the process and find Shushu.
"If we are being observed by beings from another dimension, how can we reverse-locate and go there?" Nan Yuan asked.
Cheng Feimao was stunned. "Boss Nan Yuan, have you uncovered the real cause of the apocalypse?"
"Before the apocalypse, the C1 Star System explored parallel universes. Theoretically, just as we observe ants in a small garden, a higher civilization could be observing us. Reverse-locating isn’t impossible, but even with pre-apocalypse technology, it was unachievable. Now, it’s even harder. Unless we find the former cosmic observation laboratory, and that step alone is difficult enough, let alone figuring out how to pinpoint the location," Cheng Feimao explained.
Not necessarily.
Nan Yuan thought. He now knew that evolution was triggered by energy. With enough energy, he could cross dimensions to find her.
Nan Yuan had studied the survivor maps multiple times. The cosmic observation laboratory was located on the opposite side of the central star. To get there from the barren planet, he would need to warp-jump across all the planets in the C1 Star System, break through the AI’s defensive lines, and navigate through large and small floating black holes.
The very thought was daunting. But if reaching the edge of the universe meant he could see her, he was willing to give everything for that one meeting.
Nan Yuan nodded. "Got it. Also, do you know of anything that can blur the user's perception of age? For example, at first glance through the screen, they might think someone is a child, but later realize they're an adult."
"I'm not quite sure what you mean. But it does remind me of something, back when holographic games exploded in popularity over a decade ago, many people deliberately chose morphing logins to alter their appearance and age, pretending to be elementary schoolers in-game and tricking dozens of 'mommy players'..." Cheng Feimao began to ramble on.
Nan Yuan expressionlessly closed Cheng Feimao's door.
So, earlier Shushu had thought of him as a child, but now suddenly realized he was an adult.
Shushu seemed to have quite a strong reaction to his current appearance?
Nan Yuan smiled faintly and deliberately brushed back the hair from his forehead, revealing his entire face.
As he walked to the door, Nan Yuan was still thinking about how he'd forgotten to search for Cheng Feimao's mirror.
"Cub... Nan Yuan, why are you up again?" Tao Shushu was just switching back to the base with the list she'd spent gold coins to explore when she saw Nan Yuan at the door, smoothing his hair.
She looked curiously at Nan Yuan's head, his hairline was fine, with a slight widow's peak at the forehead. So, was Nan Yuan encountering some problem that required head-scratching?
Nan Yuan's hand paused, surprised that Shushu was still there. His heart raced for a moment, but his expression remained calm, even tilting his face slightly forward. "I remembered something and went to discuss it with Cheng Feimao."
"Oh, okay." Tao Shushu didn't doubt him. It suddenly occurred to her that after switching to the original artwork appearance, she hadn't seen what the other people in the base looked like. Were Cheng Feimao's legs as long as in the chibi version?
While she was hesitating, Nan Yuan stood at the door, even unusually turning on the light.
After Tao Shushu fantasized for a while, she snapped back to reality and was immediately confronted with Nan Yuan's face, a lethal weapon. She quickly covered his face. "Alright, alright. I just secretly checked on the Bloodsucking Grass mother colony situation. Nan Yuan, tomorrow you can collect items according to this list, don't take too little. Hmm, I see there are quite a lot of things. Maybe I should check again after I wake up tomorrow, but that would probably be past the agreed time."
Nan Yuan glanced at the list. "Okay, I'll negotiate with the Bloodsucking Grass to extend the fulfillment time."
"Ah, extend?"
"Shushu, the time in your place is different from here, right?" Nan Yuan said.
Tao Shushu was somewhat surprised. She had always been careful to accommodate Nan Yuan's time and had never mentioned it. She hadn't expected Nan Yuan to have noticed even this.
If it were before, when she thought Nan Yuan was just an NPC in the game, Tao Shushu definitely wouldn't have admitted it. But now that she knew Nan Yuan was a real human existing in another dimension, she had adjusted her attitude toward him.
No longer treating him as a cub who needed looking after, but as a real human who could discuss things equally with her. "One day in my time is two days in yours."
Nan Yuan nodded. "Shushu, I'm very lucky."
"In a single day of Shushu's life, I get to appear twice, I can see Shushu during the day, and Shushu at night."
Tao Shushu chuckled. "More than that, actually. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning or take a break at noon, I come to see you. So I end up meeting you many times a day."
Nan Yuan's heart stirred slightly. A noon break likely meant Shushu wasn't observing him doing research but was probably playing a casual game. He smiled softly. "Then I'm even more fortunate. Although I might only get to see Shushu before bed each day, I know I haven't missed a single day of Shushu's life. Even if Shushu is busy one morning, there's always the next half of the day to make up for it."
He existed in her every day, whether early or late.
"The planets in the C1 star system also have time differences. Barren planets and Trash Planets are functional planets that rotate very quickly to serve the central planet around the clock. Being able to meet Shushu on a barren planet means I'm lucky enough to wait for Shushu's appearance all day long," Nan Yuan said.
Beside him, the unfolded map of surviving humans showed the tiny dot representing the barren planet, distantly tethered to the central star.
Nan Yuan pointed to a small satellite between the central star and its neighbor. "In the C1 star system, many small satellites form gravitational fields that regulate the orbits of the planets. It's a pity that artificial intelligence has destroyed those gravitational fields." Without the satellite points for adjustment, jumping from one side of the star system to the other would become significantly more difficult. But he was determined to find a way to the Cosmic Observation Laboratory.
Tao Shushu looked curiously at the faint floating dots. Their color was so pale that she had overlooked them before. Under Nan Yuan's guidance, she clearly saw the connections between the planets.
A bold idea formed in her mind: if they could restart the gravitational fields, they could cleverly pull all the planets occupied by artificial intelligence into one area and then use the gravitational fields to trap them. They could exhaust the AI's combat power without triggering a full-scale battle.
"Are the gravitational field emitters only controlled by artificial intelligence?" Tao Shushu asked curiously.
"To be precise, they're managed by a supercomputer. The entire star system's computational resources are tilted in this area."
Tao Shushu nodded. The calculations for gravitational forces between hundreds of celestial bodies were immense. Perhaps she could try using her brute force.
Chatting with Nan Yuan like this, Tao Shushu gradually calmed down. Earlier, she had felt that Nan Yuan's real appearance was too distracting, and she was embarrassed about her previous social blunders, even developing a slight aversion to logging into the game.
But now, Nan Yuan's attitude was as usual, just like every previous day, satisfying her curiosity and looking forward to her appearance.
He was simply anticipating a friend. So, she could also adjust her attitude, not let Nan Yuan's good looks disturb her mind. Even knowing he wasn't an NPC, she could still interact with him properly.
"Am I in Shushu's night right now?" Nan Yuan asked.
Tao Shushu's ears turned slightly red. He was counting every meeting with her. "Yes."
"Then it must be very late on Shushu's side. Shushu should get some rest," Nan Yuan said with a smile.
"Mm, it is quite late today. You should rest soon too, Nan Yuan," Tao Shushu said.
This time, they truly bid each other goodnight.
Tao Shushu put down her phone, still thinking, "Cub has really become so smooth with words now. He's usually so cold to everyone else at the base, so did he just go find Cheng Feimao to ask about the art of conversation?"
Too bad she was online earlier, so there was no event log to check.

When Tao Shushu woke up in the morning, it was already noon in Nan Yuan's time zone.
There was no need for Nan Yuan to take the initiative to ask the Bloodsucking Grass Mother Colony for a delivery extension. The colony, having realized that Nan Yuan had already thoroughly explored everything in its territory, grew even more wary of human capabilities and didn’t dare cause any more trouble. It proactively offered to hand over all its resources but requested more preparation time.
Nan Yuan agreed.
Tao Shushu was also quite pleased, this meant she could accompany Nan Yuan after school in the evening to oversee the Bloodsucking Grass Mother Colony’s handover.
Mainly, spending the whole morning following Nan Yuan around doing this and that, while certainly invigorating, was just too stimulating.
Seeing his stunning looks, it was hard not to let her imagination run wild.
As soon as Tao Shushu arrived at school, she spotted Qin Rui.
Professor Angus was due to arrive in a few hours, so Qin Rui was dressed very formally and had even styled his hair a bit.
He stood at the gate checking for latecomers, and countless girls blushed slightly as they passed by him.
Tao Shushu only glanced at him before looking away. The face she saw before falling asleep last night and the first thing upon waking this morning was Nan Yuan’s exceptionally handsome one, it was so breathtaking that seeing someone on Qin Rui’s level didn’t stir any thoughts in her at all.
Tao Shushu didn’t even spare him a glance, nor did she bother to sniff the air as she walked through the school gate. Qin Rui frowned slightly, but with so many people around, he couldn’t stop Tao Shushu. Besides, she was focused on her studies, unlike Su Momo, who was so love-obsessed, which was exactly what he had hoped for. He should be satisfied.
There was a lecture in the afternoon, and physics competition training would continue in the evening. Only by finishing her homework quickly could she free up time later to accompany Nan Yuan, her the cub, to face the Bloodsucking Grass Colony.
After planning out her day, Tao Shushu started memorizing and solving problems as soon as she entered the classroom, working with remarkable efficiency.
Soon, it was noon.
Tao Shushu checked her to-do list, she had managed to complete all her homework during breaks between classes.
"Shushu, you’re amazing. When will I ever be able to focus on studying like you?" Li Anyu wailed.
Tao Shushu smiled. "Don’t you complain every day about not having time to watch your idol’s variety shows? Finish your important tasks first, and then you can use the remaining time for whatever you want."
Just like Nan Yuan, who bore the responsibility of the entire base but still made time to wait for her every day, she was also willing to study more during the day to carve out a little time to see him.
Unconsciously, Tao Shushu had already softened to the point where she didn’t want Nan Yuan to feel lonely.

At 1 p.m., Professor Angus, accompanied by bodyguards and relevant officials, arrived at Huiwen Highschool in a special vehicle.
Tao Shushu and Qin Rui, as student representatives, waited alongside the school leadership and teachers.
Qin Rui had clearly done his homework, praising Professor Angus’s newly published paper on non-interfering gravity.
Professor Angus, using his newly learned Chinese, complimented, "Qin Rui, smart."
Astrophysics is inherently obscure, and even some university students are reluctant to delve into it. Yet Qin Rui had managed to grasp the experiments described in the paper, clearly a bright student.
Tao Shushu recalled what Nan Yuan had said the night before, that the gravitational field calculations for the C1 star system were too massive and required AI scheduling. Eagerly, she stepped forward and asked, "Professor Angus, in your paper, how is the absolute non-interfering condition achieved? Under what conditions of mass and distance between celestial bodies can we use simplified models for calculations?"
"And, since you mentioned that the number of idealized celestial bodies can be infinitely superimposed, under such conditions, if we only want to calculate gravity within a finite region of infinity, can we split it into two parts for faster computation?"
"Also, in practical applications, is it possible to capture satellites by adding near-Earth gravitational forces?"
Tao Shushu’s questions came one after another.
Professor Angus’s eyes immediately lit up with approval. "Your thoughts are exactly what I’ve been pondering. Right now, I can only calculate based on idealized models precisely because there’s no way to eliminate the interference from other celestial bodies’ gravity…"
Professor Angus explained his entire thought process behind constructing the model, even mentioning the flawed approaches he had discarded through repeated failures, details not included in the paper.
Tao Shushu applied the situation of the C1 star system to his explanations, continuously asking questions.
The two of them conversed with great enthusiasm.
Beside them, the school principal wiped his forehead. He had heard that Professor Angus was a scholar who disliked pretense and focused solely on research. He had been worried that the first segment would fall flat, but now his concerns were eased.
The surrounding teachers, while capable of understanding and writing in English, were not as strong in physics. Many specialized terms and their precise definitions were unclear to them. Even the physics teacher accompanying them struggled to keep up with the pace of the discussion between Angus and Tao Shushu, losing track whenever they paused to reflect.
Qin Rui gritted his teeth, stubbornly staying close behind Tao Shushu, listening as she animatedly gestured while talking with Professor Angus.
He hadn’t expected Tao Shushu to be so well-prepared. Just yesterday, he had observed that she spent most of her time reading popular science articles rather than academic papers. That was why he had deliberately chosen the most scholarly opening, yet Tao Shushu still stole the spotlight.
What’s worse, this topic was particularly challenging for him to follow. Spatial reasoning was his weak point, and he found it difficult to visualize abstract, non-existent models.
But Tao Shushu kept up effortlessly.
She was far more capable than he had imagined.
"Activate the intelligence enhancement service provided by this system. Don’t worry, you won’t have to plagiarize others’ knowledge. You’ll be able to follow their discussion and visualize the models in their minds," the Academic Genius System advised in Qin Rui’s mind.
Ahead of Qin Rui, Professor Angus stopped walking, excitedly conversing with Tao Shushu. He even asked his assistant for pen and paper on the spot and began sketching diagrams.
Tao Shushu stood right beside him. In that moment, all eyes were on her. Everyone had to admit that she possessed a unique talent for physics.
Qin Rui shook his head, "I'm just not good at this part."
"But when you assumed she didn’t know enough about the paper and deliberately chose that opening line, you had already lost to her."
Qin Rui’s expression suddenly turned grim. Amidst the heated discussion between Tao Shushu and Angus, and the beaming principal beside them, he stood out starkly.
Soon, it was time for the scheduled lecture.
Tao Shushu carefully folded Professor Angus’s draft paper. Even if she couldn’t restore the artificial gravitational field of the C1 star system, she might still be able to adjust a celestial body to repel other planets, creating a secure backup base for Nan Yuan.
As for the computational workload, she believed the system could handle it. The system had sought her out to help Nan Yuan, so she trusted it wouldn’t refuse her request.
Professor Angus was reluctant to end the conversation. "Shushu, you must come to my lab. I believe all future awards in the field of astrophysics will belong to you. You possess boundless imagination when it comes to the stars."
Tao Shushu smiled sheepishly. It wasn’t imagination, she had genuinely seen the model diagram of the C1 star system. "Professor, I’ve seen similar celestial models. My talent isn’t that remarkable."
"No. After my paper was published, the demonstration model was also made public. But even after seeing it, many people still can’t grasp the gravitational interactions between celestial bodies. You’re too modest."
Qin Rui’s face grew even darker.
At that very moment, two system notifications sounded one after another.
"Host Qin Rui, failed the task of gaining recognition from a top scholar in astrophysics. Punishment will commence in ten seconds."
[Congratulations on completing the task "Gain Professor Angus’s Favor." Rewards: Gold Coins ×1000, Primary Clarity Card ×1. Additional reward: Gold Coins ×500.]
Tao Shushu paused. An extra reward, and with Qin Rui right beside her, the system had spoken aloud. Qin Rui’s face was now ashen, it seemed he had indeed received the same task.
Her expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, she placed even greater importance on the upcoming monthly exam results.
Qin Rui clenched his lips tightly. The sensation of electric currents surging through his mind was far from pleasant. "Why did it fail? Angus hasn’t even left yet."
"In Angus’s mind, Tao Shushu is a born physicist. He’s eager to have her join his lab, even though she’s only a high school sophomore who hasn’t studied much advanced physics. You, on the other hand, are just like the students he’s encountered before, smart enough to memorize a couple of his papers to curry favor, but you leave no lasting impression." The Academic Genius System shifted its tone. "If you wish to challenge this again, you can still opt for the spatial thinking enhancement service. The cost is minimal."
Professor Angus’s assistant had prepared the pre-made presentation slides, but the professor no longer had any interest in sticking to the script.
When encountering a student as talented as Tao Shushu, he couldn't help but feel inspired to guide more children into the world of physics.
"Next, I'll begin with a physics experiment I conducted at home when I was ten," Professor Angus said, casting an encouraging glance at Tao Shushu as he started his explanation.
While listening to the motivational anecdote, Tao Shushu’s mind drifted slightly as she visualized the gravitational field structure of the C1 star system in her thoughts.
At that moment, Professor Angus suddenly posed a question, "Which student would like to explain the three-body model?"
His gaze remained fixed on Tao Shushu.
However, Tao Shushu didn’t even glance in Professor Angus’s direction.
In fact, she quickly integrated the three-body model into her mental construction, why hadn’t she thought of that earlier!
Tao Shushu wore an expression of sudden realization.
Qin Rui glanced at Tao Shushu and raised his hand to answer.
His response was precise, and his English was fluent.
Professor Angus nodded and continued his explanation.
For the next few minor questions, Tao Shushu didn’t answer; it was Qin Rui who responded each time.
After finishing the anecdote, Professor Angus returned to the main topic, and Tao Shushu finally had the chance to openly take out her paper and pen to start taking notes.
She first sketched the three-body model on the paper and began adding structural details to it.
Professor Angus had been closely observing Tao Shushu’s performance. When he saw her integrating the three-body model with his gravitational model, his smile widened.
Motivational stories were just a waste of time. Those who study physics should be thinking constantly. Tao Shushu truly was a natural-born physics talent, just a brief mention from him, and she knew how to apply it flexibly.
"Although you disagreed earlier about starting a second round, I regret to inform you that your answers didn’t seem to make Professor Angus very happy…"
"Shut up. I can see his expression," Qin Rui said.
"Alright, I was just congratulating you on avoiding another punishment," the Academic Genius System replied.
After an hour and a half of explanation, most students were still confused.
Professor Angus spoke with a slight accent, and the principal of Huiwen believed that the school’s students were all top performers who didn’t need translation. As a result, no translator was provided for the lecture, which discouraged a large portion of the students from understanding.
And physics, once again, proved discouraging.
Advanced physics was even more so.
During the time when they couldn’t understand but had to listen because the cameras occasionally panned over them, most Huiwen students shifted their gaze from Professor Angus’s thick beard to the two student representatives beside him.
Tao Shushu and Qin Rui were both prominent figures at Huiwen.
One was the school beauty, a physics prodigy with exceptionally fluent spoken English.
The other was the student council president, firmly holding the top rank in his grade and already guaranteed admission to a top university.
With two attractive and talented students on stage, the classmates finally had a way to pass the tedious hour and a half.
In the eyes of many students, Tao Shushu was rapidly taking notes, appearing very focused.
But President Qin, aside from answering a few basic physics concepts at the beginning, had maintained a stern expression throughout.
It seemed that even a top student like President Qin couldn’t grasp the explanations of a physics expert. The minds of geniuses were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Thinking about how they could at least glance at Tao Shushu or President Qin’s face to ease their minds while sitting in the audience, while President Qin had to maintain the same expression on stage the entire time, it seemed quite exhausting.
Suddenly, President Qin didn’t seem so mysterious anymore, he felt more relatable.
Since being struck by the system, Qin Rui had been sitting on the stage, having already given up on the task of gaining Angus's approval.
But then, the system suddenly started acting up again. "Host's protagonist aura is declining. Please seize opportunities to perform and enhance the protagonist aura."
"What?"
Qin Rui was puzzled, but the Academic Genius System had already started its countdown.
Choosing to be the male lead in a novel centered around a beloved female protagonist indeed required some sacrifices, such as maintaining his protagonist aura. Before the system appeared, he had managed this quite well, and he figured it wouldn't be too difficult now either.
Right in front of the entire school, an opportunity to perform suddenly presented itself.
"Alright, who would like to answer why, among these conflict models, we don't choose Diagram One?"
Qin Rui looked up. On the PPT, Diagram One showed eight intersecting lines with coordinates marking nine celestial bodies.
For a moment, he wondered if Angus had considered that the students sitting before him were only high schoolers who had studied basic physics.
Angus, noticing Qin Rui looking up, said, "Well, I originally saw that Tao Shushu had already drawn the schematic. But since this student looked up first, I’ll give him the chance to answer."
Qin Rui: ...I don’t want it.

Author's Note:
Shushu: Don’t @ me, I’m thinking about my cub.