Taoyuan Vale.
Under the pink wish-making tree, a silent figure had stood for a long time.
Seeming to sense something, Xiangli Yao suddenly turned his head, and a figure in white leisure clothes came into view.
"Hey, does a genius researcher like you also enjoy spacing out?"
Noah patted Xiangli Yao's shoulder, and they both overlooked the lively and peaceful scenery of Taoyuan Vale:
"Seriously, designing this Moontree Lodge to fulfill everyone's wishes during the festival is a romantic and great genius idea."
Hearing such praise, Xiangli Yao's heavy expression slightly eased, his gaze somewhat nostalgic:
"Thank you for the compliment. Actually, this Moontree Lodge was first created by my father, but unfortunately, when I was very young, he..."
"Hey hey, don't talk about unhappy things during the big festival. Hurry up and finish the last wish—we'll go to the Moonlit Fair together."
"We? You mean the Moonlit Fair includes me too? Thanks for your kindness, but I still need to control the holographic performance for the dragon dance."
Xiangli Yao was somewhat moved but ultimately shook his head, reaching out to point at the assistant robot Patty.
At Patty's position, a domain gate constructed by Sonoro Sphere had already unfolded.
"As you can see, the frequencies enriched by Patty might have coincidentally triggered some resonance. Now, Patty has become the entrance to Sonoro Sphere."
"Sorry, let me introduce it. Sonoro Sphere is a complete and pure frequency energy; dense Sonoro Spheres can form a surreal world space."
"This space is probably where the last wish is located. If this Sonoro Sphere is harmless, great for everyone; if the opposite..."
Before Xiangli Yao could finish, Noah had already dived headfirst into the Sonoro Sphere entrance.
What was he babbling about? He just skipped it.
"Hey, I—"
Xiangli Yao's expression changed. Without saying more, he took a big step and rushed into the Sonoro Sphere entrance.
The sky spun.
The earth turned.
Noah, who had intruded into the Sonoro Sphere space, was hit by a strong repulsive force, thrown disoriented, his stomach churning.
The world before him had changed entirely, becoming a laboratory filled with precision mechanical equipment.
Noah supported himself on a nearby cold instrument to stand up, holding his forehead for a while before easing that nauseous feeling.
Not far away, several voices of exchange sounded. Noah looked up and saw only a few remnants of old-day illusions formed by Sonoro Sphere.
Though only outlines were visible, it was clear that these old-day illusions were four young children. Among them, three kids were apologizing to the one in front:
"Sorry, we were playing nearby and accidentally threw the sandbag onto your door."
"It's fine."
"You're a good person—we thought we'd get scolded. I'm Pascal, he's Modi, this is Ryan, and you?"
"Xiangli Yao."
Young Xiangli Yao appeared very aloof.
Noah shook his head and quickly walked past these four old-day illusions. As someone familiar with the plot, he naturally had no need to slowly watch these cutscenes.
The last of the four wishes came from Xiangli Yao's closest childhood playmate, Pascal.
From a young age, Pascal admired Xiangli Yao, viewing him as a goal to chase. He studied desperately, wishing to create scientific achievements more outstanding than Xiangli Yao's.
This wish had been deeply buried in his heart for many years but was never realized.
Gradually, Pascal became obsessed, ultimately leading to an irreparable tragedy.
And in this Sonoro Sphere space, Pascal's life stages from childhood to adulthood would be vividly displayed.
Pushing open the laboratory door, not far away under a large tree blooming with pink flowers, a wish stall stood quietly.
In the sunset's rosy afterglow, the scene gained a touch of autumnal melancholy and beauty.
Under the wish stall, two teenage illusions formed by Sonoro Sphere were discussing academic topics:
"Building an observation station at zero distance is still too risky. Once a Waveworn Phenomenon occurs, whether us or the guards, the chance of survival is minuscule."
"So what? Just like how chemists in the past would taste chemical substances to record properties, pursuing truth requires this spirit of abandoning everything, almost martyrdom."
"Does pursuing truth require abandoning everything?"
The young illusion representing Xiangli Yao fell somewhat silent, as if recalling his genius father. He shook his head and changed the topic:
"Modi and Ryan said it's been a long time since they saw you. How about meeting up with them during this Moonlit Fair?"
"No time."
"They seem a bit distant from you after failing the exams."
"I suggest you stop playing with them too. The path of the wise is lonely; those who can't keep up with our pace are best cut off early."
Noah quickened his pace, passing the two illusions.
Though he was repelled by this Sonoro Sphere space, the space was created by Pascal's obsession.
So, as Pascal's close friend, Xiangli Yao wouldn't be repelled by this space. Presumably, Xiangli Yao was walking ahead of him now; he needed to hurry and rendezvous with Xiangli Yao.
Crossing another gate formed by Sonoro Sphere, ripples formed in the folds of spacetime before his eyes. Light and shadow poured over like liquid mercury, and Noah found himself under the dome of a giant laboratory.
Four old-day illusions formed by Sonoro Sphere were reenacting what had happened in the past.
This was the deepest corridor of memories in Pascal's consciousness, so even the coffee stains on the lab table exuded a real bitter aroma, several times more vivid than the previous memory fragments.
The four illusions led by Pascal were happily exchanging experiments, dreaming that one day they would crack the secrets of Tacet Fields.
They already had preliminary feasible results. When they unveiled the veil of Tacet Fields, the entire Solaris would surely be shocked by this achievement.
The scene switched rapidly; the four illusions repeated experiments endlessly. The smiles on their faces gradually stiffened, then silence, and finally... hysterical breakdown.
They invested massive energy and time, but the results they researched for so long were invalid... and meaningless.
The greater the previous hope, the greater the current despair.
"Under the Lament, old physical laws fail; all fixed calculation systems become unusable, just like how π might suddenly become 3.15, or apples won't naturally fall to the ground but fly into the sky..."
A small variable can easily topple an entire field of academia.
Researching science in such a world is inherently extremely difficult.
Noah stopped in his tracks, watching the four young scholars' figures tearing at each other's collars, splattering saliva condensing into ice-crystal-like memory fragments.
Clearly, repeated failures had shaken their faith, making them doubt whether their research had any meaning.