008 A Reborn Person’s Wise Choice
“This ‘correction mechanism,’ could it be that you’re the one pulling the strings?”
【How can you slander an innocent person out of thin air?】
Wang Heng calmly analyzed, “You said before that the world should continue as it originally did as much as possible, or that everyone’s life trajectory shouldn’t change too much. But that doesn’t make sense for Han Yixuan. Getting into a car accident and being hospitalized, versus dating me—those two paths are worlds apart.”
【…】
Wang Heng thought carefully. “However, if you make me go and save her, then the matter between her and me isn’t over. That way, her life trajectory really does return to its original path. So you were just forcing me to save her. If I hadn’t played my part well, you definitely would have directed another accident.”
【You’re a quick thinker, but the truth isn’t as simple as you believe. The worldline’s self-correction mechanism is too complex to explain clearly, so I won’t say much. Because even if I did explain it, you wouldn’t understand.】
After his calm analysis and careful thought, Wang Heng had already seen through it. “What do you mean, I wouldn’t understand? You were clearly caught and have no rebuttal!”
【You should know what the butterfly effect is. In a sufficiently complex system, a tiny disturbance can lead to enormous changes. For example, after your rebirth, any subtle difference from the original timeline will cause the worldline to shift. For instance, whether you have takeout or instant noodles for dinner—different choices could mean different worldlines. The existence of the self-correction mechanism is to prevent this kind of deviation. Therefore, if I were to explain the specific causal chain behind this, you truly wouldn’t be able to comprehend it, just as the human brain cannot program a game like Assassin’s Creed using only 0s and 1s.】
“Is that so… but I still feel like you’re lying to me.”
Seeing the message box disappear and the phone screen return to normal, Wang Heng decided not to dwell on it for the time being. After all, it was still working hours, and the manager was waiting for him to return.
He went back into the milk tea shop and continued his work.
**
When Wang Heng got home, his father had already been back from work for a while. But unusually, Wang Jian wasn’t playing a game tonight. Instead, he was sitting on the sofa, waiting for his son to return.
“You already found a job?”
Wang Heng glanced at his father on the sofa and said while changing into his slippers, “Yeah, part-time at a milk tea shop.”
“How is it?”
“It’s okay.”
“Isn’t it tiring?”
“A little, but it’s not a formal job. I can work one day and rest the next. I’m not going out tomorrow; I’ll just rest at home.”
Wang Jian had never worked a similar job, but recalling the scenes he’d witnessed when passing by milk tea shops, more questions popped into his head.
“Does your shop have a place to sit?”
“There are seats for customers.”
“So the staff stands? All day?”
“Not just the staff. The manager has to stand all day too.”
Wang Heng had already changed into his slippers, but since his father hadn’t even turned on the computer and was showing a clear desire to talk, he didn’t rush back to his own bedroom. Instead, he sat down on the sofa.
As it happened, he also had something he wanted to discuss with his father.
Wang Jian asked again, “So what’s your pay? You work a day, you get paid for a day, right?”
“Yeah. It was originally 15 per hour, but the manager saw I was doing a good job and raised it to 20. I made two hundred today.”
“Paid in cash on the same day?”
Wang Heng pulled two hundred-yuan bills from his pocket and waved them.
However, his father looked worried. “Did you sign a contract? You can’t work without a contract. There’s no protection at all…”
Hearing this, Wang Heng couldn’t help but laugh. “Dad, you’re being very thoughtful, but I really don’t mind not having a contract. I’m just trying to save up a little money as quickly as possible. It’s a question of how long that milk tea shop will even last. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
Although his father still had some lingering concerns, he didn’t press the issue of the contract. What made him more curious was something else.
“Honestly, why are you in such a hurry to make money? It’s not like your old man is unemployed. Putting you through university is no problem. I remember you said this morning you needed money for something. What is it? Chasing girls?”
Wang Heng said dismissively, “I don’t need money to chase girls.”
His father slapped his thigh and laughed. “This shameless confidence of yours really has a touch of my style back in the day!”
“…Anyway, I have other uses for the money. For example, buying a computer.”
“For gaming?”
“The performance needs to be a bit better, but it’s not for gaming. I want to learn programming, so of course, I need a computer.”
Before his rebirth, Wang Heng’s profession was coding. Although he had slacked off a bit too much at work for reasons related to girls, his basic coding skills were still up to par. So he was confident that as long as he could get his hands on his own computer, he could immediately start taking on freelance jobs online and begin earning money more efficiently.
But of course, Wang Jian didn’t believe his son really wanted a computer for work and study. He patted his son’s shoulder and smiled. “Alright, a better-performing one. I’ll look into it for you. Don’t push yourself so hard. How much can you earn doing manual labor like that? You might as well play games with me for a couple more days. I’ll pay you for your time. How about it?”
“Other parents stop their kids from playing games, but you’re actually paying me to play?”
“Not a bad deal, right?”
Wang Heng shook his head with a smile. “It’s a good deal, but I already promised the manager I’d work for a few days first. That account I used to play with you on, I probably haven’t logged in for two years. Can you help me level it up?”
“Sure!”
“Oh, right… Dad, have you been paying attention to something called Bitcoin?”
Despite his love for games, Wang Jian’s actual job wasn’t in the internet industry, so the word ‘Bitcoin’ was inevitably unfamiliar to him. He thought hard for a moment before remembering that he seemed to have seen a news report about it.
“It’s like, a virtual currency?”
Wang Heng’s expression immediately turned serious. “You should look into it. I have a feeling it has a lot of potential.”
Of course, it wasn’t just a “feeling.” Wang Heng knew better than anyone what a massive storm Bitcoin would stir up over the next seven years.
Clearly, Wang Jian didn’t really believe his son. He thought for a moment and said, “The essence of currency is national credit. A virtual currency with no one to back it up is worthless. I saw that news report before. A Bitcoin probably couldn’t even buy you a meal, right?”
Wang Heng shook his head. “No, that was two or three years ago. Bitcoin has already risen this year. One coin is worth about two hundred US dollars. You can check.”
“One or two thousand yuan for just one Bitcoin?” Wang Jian’s eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.
“That’s the price now, and that’s after it already dropped once a few days ago. I think this thing can go even higher in the future.”
