Chapter 065 Waiting for You
Why did such a scene appear in Chen Jian's bardo? Was it because of his past experience? Or was it because I came in and my personal experience affected this world?
Many puzzles can only be solved after communicating with Li Daming.
As the long whistle blew, everyone gathered in the open space in the valley. The night must have been very cold and windy, and everyone's faces were frozen red due to the cold, and the hems of their clothes were shaking in the strong wind.
Even so, the whole audience was still silent, and every young face was filled with passion.
A leader wearing glasses and looking dignified stood at the front with a loud speaker and cleared his throat: "Hello, members of the exploration team!"
All the people below shouted in unison: "Hello, leader!"
The voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the valley. The leader praised, "Great! This is the morale boost I need. Is it cold?"
"It's not cold!" everyone shouted.
I stood next to Li Daming and Chen Jian. Li Daming was nonchalant, just opening his mouth without saying anything, watching the scene coldly. Although Chen Jian was young, he was really excited. After he finished shouting these slogans, his face turned red.
"Since we have chosen this industry," the leader said, "we must contribute to the country! We must not be afraid of hardship or difficulties. Difficulties are like springs. If you are weak, they will be strong. If you are strong, they will be weak! As long as we have a passion to serve the motherland in our hearts, we will not mind any obstacles or dangers and will forge ahead!"
"Break through the thorns and move forward!" Everyone shouted together, and the slogan echoed in the valley.
The leader said, "I have good news for you all. We have found the location of the cave entrance and we are going to form an advance team. Anyone whose name I call will gather at tent No. 1 after the meeting. Do you understand?"
Everyone was shouting and understood.
"Zhang Jianguo, Li Changjiang, Wang Di... " The names were read out one after another. When the ninth name was read out, "Chen Jian."
Chen Jian was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. He walked out of the team, with his chest raised high, and shouted "Here we are". Everyone around him looked at him with envy.
"Li Daming!" The last tenth name was read out.
Li Daming and I were both shocked. We didn't expect this name. Li Daming didn't know I was here yet. His expression was uncertain. He slowly walked out of the team and said "Here".
"The ten people whose names were read out above, please gather in Tent No. 1 immediately." The leader walked down the temporary platform.
Li Daming came out of the crowd and followed the other nine people towards the center of the valley, where there was the largest tent.
I took a few quick steps, came closer and whispered, "Damin, it's me."
Li Daming suddenly paused. I quickly said, "Keep going, they can't see me."
He took a deep breath, walked slowly, kept a distance from the person in front, and asked, "Why are you here just now? Where have you been?"
"I didn't go anywhere." I said, "After entering the Yin , I went to the tent. Just now, when you were talking to Chen Jian."
Li Daming turned his head to look in my direction, his face uncertain, and after a long while he said, "Do you know how long I've been here?"
"How long?" I asked.
"One year." Li Daming's throat moved, "A whole year!"
"What?!" I was shocked: "You are kidding."
He smiled bitterly, "Are you kidding me? I arrived before you and stayed here for a whole year. Do you know how I got through this year? I couldn't find you, and I didn't know what went wrong. The anxiety I felt was indescribable. I lived in fear every day. And I had to be careful all the time, for fear of triggering the puzzle mechanism. It wasn't until this moment that I realized that the mechanism of this level had not been triggered. The reason is..." He paused, "We were all waiting for you."
"I don't understand what you mean." Somehow, I felt a little creepy.
Li Daming said as he walked, "I have not wasted this year. I have seen a lot of things, experienced a lot, and figured out some problems. Lin Cong, have you noticed that every time we enter the bardo realm, we never cut in halfway, but always get stuck at the beginning of the puzzle test."
When I think about it, it’s true.
"Why?" I asked.
Li Daming said: "I found that the bardo realm has a very strange and mysterious mechanism. It may also be that my imagination is too big and I am just imagining things."
What am I asking.
He said, "The Bardo realm seems to know in advance how many of us will come together to break through the barriers. If not all of us are here, the barriers won't open. Like this time, Chen Jian and I arrived here ahead of time, but the barriers just wouldn't open. I just realized now that it's waiting for you."
"That's ridiculous." I was dumbfounded. "Chen Meiyu doesn't plan to come in. If she wants to come, don't we have to wait for her at this level?"
"Yes, that's what I meant." Li Daming said, "But Meiyu decided not to come at the last minute."
“Can the bardo realm also know about things that were decided at the last minute?” I licked my lips.
"That's the problem." Li Daming looked at the vast night sky, paused for a moment, and said, "I used to be an atheist. Even after experiencing these adventures in the bardo, I was still an atheist. I felt that even the underworld was just the name of a certain space that we were not familiar with. But until this moment, I was a little shaken. I always felt that there seemed to be a god above us, or a system that could record all our actions and thoughts without blind spots, and every decision we made could affect the course of events through it."
"You're talking about a theory in quantum mechanics," I said, "that the observer can affect the observed, Schrödinger's cat."
"Maybe." Li Daming said: "Quantum mechanics, God, matrix, karma... etc. I think they are all different names for the same system."
I asked him how he met Chen Jian and why Chen Jian was only in his teens.
Li Daming sighed, "I was with him when I came here. I am now his cousin. In the past year, we took exams together, were selected into the exploration team together, and conducted several field operations. Today, we finally received this big task."
Exploration team… I was too sensitive about this, so I said hesitantly, “Damin, my parents are in the exploration team, and I am very familiar with this valley. My dad once watched a documentary, and it showed this scene, almost exactly the same.”
Li Daming was shocked: "Lin Cong, this is exactly what I want to tell you. Our entry is affecting this system! The selection of the exploration team's identity is not random, but has something to do with you!"
"No, no." I thought of a key question: "Chen Meiyu said that she can let us directly enter Chen Jian's level. This is neither your level nor my level, but Chen Jian's level. All the tests should be aimed at him and have nothing to do with us."
Li Daming thought about it and shook his head: "Have you ever experienced the last level of the bardo realm?"
“No.” I have walked through the Yin and entered the bardo realm several times, and these were all the first few levels. The last level was my first time experiencing it.
Li Daming said, "The last of the seven levels in the Bardo is the Final Judgment! It is the most difficult and the most unimaginable. In the past year since I came here, I have discovered many things that only come from my memory, such as the gifts given by my first love, my elementary school, etc. Chen Jian certainly doesn't know these things, they only belong to my memories, but they all appeared here. So it is not difficult to understand that the things in your memory also appear here."
"You mean this place is like a dream that the three of us had together, your dream, my dream, Chen Jian's dream, all mixed together." I said, "But I just came in. Before I came in, the setting of the exploration team already existed. This explanation doesn't make sense..."
Li Daming waved his hand: "The system of this world is too complicated, it is definitely a chaotic body. The specific details can only be explored slowly. Let's talk about the current situation first."
"We are all here, so the difficult test is about to begin?" I said.
Li Daming nodded: "Yes. The last level is really extraordinary. He gave me a big slap in the face right at the beginning. I have spent a year here for nothing!"
"Shit." I cursed. "I envied you. This year was a free gift to you. The real world outside is only a few minutes, but you got an extra year here, learned so much exploration knowledge, and had so much experience. You are just being ungrateful."
"Haha." Li Daming suddenly laughed: "In fact, I have figured out this truth a long time ago. It's comfortable! I just want you to be envious."
I really envy you. If you really have this ability, I will be so happy that my nose will bubble. You don’t need to waste real time. You can enter the bardo for as many years as you want and learn anything you want. When you get out, only a few minutes have passed.
At this time, the ten selected exploration team members walked to tent No. 1.
We entered the tent, which was quite large, and everyone was sitting on the ground in a mess. Li Daming stopped talking to me. Others couldn't see me, so he had to be careful about his words and actions.
This situation is very strange. I am actually a ghost in this world. Like a ghost, only Li Daming can sense me.
