Crossing Over Chapter 42

  One of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid is "Doraemon", originally known as "Machine Cat". In that comic, all the impossible becomes possible. The most common and yet the least noticeable one is probably the time machine. Nobita's drawer can open at any time and out comes his future self. Now this kind of thing has happened to me.

  The person in front of me is myself, to be precise, my older self. Some gray hair, wrinkles at the corners of my eyes, and that mature face make me believe it's really me. I can hardly believe it, but I actually fought with "myself".

  "Don't you still believe?" I said as I walked away.

  "I can't accept it for now, this is too sudden." I said.

  "You'll get used to it, I was also shocked at your age, but now it's my turn to shock you."

  "Why did you come here? How did you get here? Why are you always hiding and not showing up?"

  "I am from the universe 30 years later, at that time, it was already possible to use magnetic fields to travel through space-time smoothly. Magnetic fields are not restricted by time and space, as long as they remain in the same frequency band and magnetic energy, they can shuttle freely in any space-time. However, due to interference from various household appliances and scientific instruments, from now on, the farther into the future, the more prone the magnetic field is to chaos, so we can only selectively return to the ancient times that are still blank, where there is no interference and precise positioning is possible. Why did I come here? It's because my magnetic energy for shuttling through ancient times was interfered with by chaotic waves, resulting in a malfunction, and I could only be forced to appear here."

  I'm a bit confused:

  "Why don't you go back then? What's the point of staying here?"

  "You asked the right question, I was wondering the same thing at that time. The reason is that my machine can't sense the magnetic field of the future, so I can only look for a magnet with the same energy here to open the door back home. And the only key is in this tower."

  "What? What's in this tower?"

  "Magnetic stone, it's a meteorite that constantly emits rays. Using its powerful energy can open the time-space door for me to return."

  "What is it like?"

  "A stone with a very ordinary appearance, our ancestors gave it the name 'bird pattern'."

  "You're so clear about it, why don't you go find out yourself, wouldn't that be faster?"

  "This is hard to say, because the 'I' I met treated me this way, so now I have to use the same method to help you, and in the future, you will also use the same pattern to help your future self, an infinite cycle."

  I'm so fed up with this, it's like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg.

  "What's most important is not to disrupt history. My appearance could change some things, like now you're seeing my true face, whereas in my time, it wasn't until finding the 'bird pattern' that one saw their own. Time advancing ahead of schedule is the first step towards changing history. Therefore, for 'me', which is the future you, to return home smoothly, you must go back and continue your adventure."

  "Tell me where that stone is."

  "You'd better go find out for yourself, what's the point of knowing everything about the future? Isn't it human nature to yearn for the unknown? I believe in you, which is the same as believing in myself. I'll be protecting you from behind."

  I really want to scold him a couple of times, but I couldn't scold him. Scolding him is equivalent to scolding myself! Anyway, I've found a reason to turn back, 30 years, it seems that I can still live in peace for 30 years. Seeing the future me is still quite prosperous, so I'm at ease with my own future.

  It's that small road again, my mind digesting the whole thing while moving forward in the narrow gap. This road has obviously shortened, anyway, I'm no longer afraid of future dangers because I've seen proof that I'm alive, and whatever danger lies ahead, I can get through it.

  As I arrived at the water's edge, I saw an empty mineral water bottle floating on the surface with a thin line tied around it. I thought this must be a marker left by Pengpeng and his friends. I used my foot to explore underwater and found that there was indeed a hollow cave here, roughly the size of a palm. I should be able to fit in. So I wrapped the short knife I carried with me in cloth and inserted it into my waist, holding the waterproof flashlight given by my future self in hand. He said this flashlight could use one battery for a week.