- Objective
- Calibrate the world-line deviation instrument and return Fang Li to his original world.
- You are
- Fang Li, a researcher—at least for now.
- Clue
- Two earlier articles on this blog: “I’m back, but I’ll soon set out again” and “Blog Version II Is Here” 。
All three boxes have been found.
That night, just after you lie down in the dormitory, the voice in your head returns.
【The coordinates are fixed.】The Cloak says. 【You can go back.】
〖Congratulations! Though I will miss you a little…〗
“Go back? Back to 2025?”
【Back to your original world. But before projection, you must calibrate an instrument. It is in the laboratory.】
The next day, you go to the laboratory alone.
The instrument is old, like an antique radio. A round dial is set into its face, its needle swinging wildly in the red zone. A line of text beneath the dial is missing several words:
The world-line deviation is still within ____
〖Once the needle returns to the green zone, we can leave!〗
【Someone in another world wrote this sentence. When he wrote it, he was also preparing to set out again.】
Hint 1 · Direction
The first article in the clues：“I’m back, but I’ll soon set out again”。
Hint 2 · Method
Find the words “world line” in the article. The sentence is italicized.
Hint 3 · Almost the answer
It means “still visible and measurable.”
The needle shakes more violently in the red zone.
The needle slowly slides back into the green zone.
“Senior?” Kate opens the door. “What are you doing here so early?”
You do not hide the truth from her.
Kate is silent for a while after hearing it.
“So you were never Fang Li.”
“…Yeah.”
“I know,” she says. “I knew from the first day you asked what the little black box was.”
She walks to the instrument and looks at the dial. “What is missing?”
【One confirmation phrase remains.】The Cloak says. 【When that person in another world built a new place, he left one final sentence.】
Hint 1 · Direction
The second article in the clues：“Blog Version II Is Here”。
Hint 2 · Method
That article is short. The passphrase is its final sentence.
Hint 3 · Almost the answer
A “new” what? You are inside it now.
The instrument hums but does not start.
The instrument starts.
【Before projection begins, one thing.】The Cloak says. 【In another plane, you have another name: Xigong. You will tell some not-very-funny jokes on an open-mic stage.】
〖They are actually pretty funny!〗
“Senior.” Kate stands in the doorway. “See you next time.”
“See you next time.”
Kate looks into your eyes.
The blue-green color that always made her wonder whether you wore colored contacts gradually fades.
Then the person standing before the instrument is simply Fang Li.
A graduate student who may never graduate. She blinks and looks at Kate. “…Why am I in the laboratory?”
“You must have been sleepwalking, senior,” Kate says. “Come on, let’s eat.”
The black-box arc pauses here. Back to the case files →