Chapter 662
That is the "anchor point." Is it a time anchor point, or a time-and-space anchor point, or perhaps a world line anchor point?
These three are somewhat different.
If it is simply a time anchor point, then after Xia Er establishes two anchor points and travels back and forth, only the passage of time occurs, while the time that is skipped in between continues to run normally.
For example, if Xia Er returns to anchor point A and kills C, then when she travels to anchor point B, she enters a world where that person is already dead, and the events that unfold are those that happen after C's death.
Then, if Xia Er returns to anchor point A again, this time without killing C, and goes back to anchor point B, C would still be alive during the skipped time, and everything C does would be visible at anchor point B.
This is the first scenario.
In the second scenario, where time is combined with space, an additional coordinate for Xia Er is added. Not only does time pass, but Xia Er's position is also fixed.
For instance, at anchor point A, Xia Er stands at location C, but at anchor point B, she sets the anchor at location D.
Even if Xia Er returns to anchor point A and goes to a place where it would be impossible to reach anchor point D in a short time, when she crosses anchor point B, she will still appear at the fixed location D.
This is the second scenario.
The third scenario is even easier to understand.
Xia Er sets an anchor point A, kills C within A, and then travels to the future to set an anchor point B where C is already dead.
From then on, no matter how Xia Er cycles back to anchor point A, regardless of whether C is alive or not, every time Xia Er returns to anchor point B, she is destined to enter that fixed world line where C is already dead.
These distinctions have a significant impact on Xia Er's plans, so she must understand them clearly.
"System."
Xia Er directly inquired in her mind.
"I’m here."
"You should know what I was just thinking," Xia Er continued to press in her mind. "I need an answer."
The system responded promptly, displaying a long string of characters as if it had been prepared for this answer, just waiting for Xia Er to ask.
"If the host leaves one anchor point in reality and one in simulation, that corresponds to the third scenario of anchoring a world line."
"If the host only leaves an anchor point in reality, that corresponds to the first scenario where only time passes."
"As for space, it is anchored together with time, so it does not need to be listed separately."
"So, as long as I leave one anchor point in reality, I can continuously travel back and forth between reality and simulation?" Xia Er's eyes lit up as she asked the most crucial question.
"Of course."
The system's response made Xia Er nod lightly.
If that’s the case... it seems Xia Er's plan can be executed.
By leaving just one anchor point in reality and then heading to the simulation of the future, she could see a "result."
But when she returns to the reality anchor point, modifies her plans for the future, and heads back to the simulation, she could see a "result B" at the fastest speed.
She wouldn’t need multiple simulations; just one future simulation would allow her to witness the different futures resulting from her actions!
And all of this could happen with just one anchor point switch.
This was the idea Xia Er had when she first gained the anchor point ability, but now, that idea could finally be put into practice.
She had enough questions to solve and enough destiny points to utilize this plan.
Moreover, this time, she had a long enough simulation period, nearly a year ahead, allowing her to maximize her alterations to the future.
Xia Er directly opened the simulation interface.
"Future: Day 339 (Year 742, July 3, 20:00) (Cost: 400 destiny points)"
"Anchor Point"
"Anchor." Xia Er thought directly in her mind.
"Would you like to spend 100 destiny points to set an anchor point?"
"Anchor time: Year 741, July 29, 10:14."
"Yes."
With Xia Er's nod, the interface in front of her changed.
"Destiny Points: 1131 ↓ 100"
"Destiny Points: 1031"
"Anchor Point"
"1. Year 741, July 29, 10:14"
After spending 100 destiny points to set the time, Xia Er began to contemplate what she needed to accomplish during this time.
The future simulation had 339 days, which was longer than the days she had simulated before, and it would cost her 400 destiny points, so she had to make good use of it.
When thinking about utilizing time, the first idea that popped into Xia Er's mind was "research."
Xia Er looked up at Tara, who had already prepared paper and pen. Tara quickly stepped forward, placing the paper and pen on the table in front of Xia Er and opening the ink bottle.
This time would surely be enough for Eleanor to find Imogen, who was working on preventing the drugging device. Finding Imogen meant a high probability of reaching some cooperation with a member of the North Ansu's Pleasure Society.
That extraordinary individual from North Ansu wanted to become an Ascendant, and with her rich experience, Xia Er could definitely leverage the information gap to her advantage. She could even use "shared results" as a condition to get the other party to wholeheartedly assist her in advancing the research on flesh alchemy.
This was not just for Xia Er; it was for herself as well.
Xia Er's purpose in doing this was to use the anchor point to accelerate the research on flesh alchemy.
She could obtain the research results from 339 days in the simulation, then return to anchor point A, hand over the results to the research team, and let them continue their work based on that.
In this way, when Xia Er returned to the simulation, she would have the results of 678 days of research on flesh alchemy... Xia Er could continuously cycle through this research process...
Of course, this was an ideal scenario; reality was certainly not as simple as imagined.
[After finding Imogen, propose a collaboration request, ideally bringing together the Order of the God of Order, North Ansu's Pleasure Society, Natura Medical Group, Pharos Medical Society, and the Redemption Society into the same research collective.]
[All research must be documented, organized, and the researchers' manuscripts must be signed in an orderly manner; everything should be for the sake of easy circulation and understanding.]
Xia Er aimed to create a super research team with abundant resources and technology. She didn’t need to worry about the possibility of these groups forming an alliance and then splitting; even if conflicts arose, it wouldn’t matter.
What Xia Er wanted was simply the research results, and even if problems occurred, she could quickly make adjustments through the anchor point.
Besides this research, there was another study that needed to proceed simultaneously.
This research was about grasping the key to North Ansu's "Apostle of Calamity."
It was the study of the Brain of the Otherworld.
In reality, Xia Er needed to spend a large amount of destiny points to exchange for the Brain of the Otherworld, and it was hard to estimate how much time would be needed for the research.
But in the simulation, Xia Er could directly exchange for the Brain of the Otherworld, and before she descended into the simulation, the two brains exchanged from the subsystem were real items.
Xia Er picked up her pen and continued writing.
[The research on the Brain of the Otherworld must also be prioritized. The Order of the God of Order is very cooperative, but the key is to secure the original research team from the Pharos Medical Society. If possible, find the escaped Lafayette.]
[She had previously helped the Order of the God of Order with the research on the Brain of the Otherworld on behalf of the Pharos Medical Society. With her joining, the research speed will increase significantly.]
These were not tasks that could be accomplished in a short time, but with 339 days of extended simulation time, tasks that were originally impossible became feasible.
Both research-related matters were settled...
Now, what remained was to search for the three major lost pathways.
The Tower Path might have clues in the seabed, after all, Sadana was hiding there, and perhaps some ruins could be found.
The Time Path could only rely on finding the Ascendants of the Otherworld, but the time of the Otherworld would not be affected by the time of reality.
Previously, in the simulation, when Xia Er was still dealing with the "Instigator" matter, she had indeed figured out a way to summon Xiao Zuo.
However, later, when Xia Er wanted her simulated self to summon some higher-tier beings that originally belonged to the "Ascendants," it seemed to have failed.
Ultimately, it still came down to the blood... the blood of her simulated self and her real self had an essential difference.
This also meant that the Time Path still had to wait.
And as for the most elusive "Existence" Path... Xia Er currently had no good solutions.
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