"That's impossible," Qin Ci categorically denied. "Our current physiological state is that of a living person; it's impossible for us to be in a state of being both alive and dead."
"Then what is the program trying to achieve by creating these?" Ke Xun pointed to the wave-like and particle-like dots above his head.
"Both the name of this painting and the wave-particle duality patterns of particles displayed in each room seem to point to the phenomenon of quantum superposition," Mu Yiran said. "In the physics community, the equation used to describe this 'superposition of multiple indeterminate states' is called a wave function.
"To put it simply, you can think of the wave function as a list of all possible states of a quantum superposition system. At the moment of measurement or observation, this multi-state superposition wave function immediately collapses into one of the superposition states."
"The wave-particle duality of particles is a wave function. Schrödinger's cat is also considered a wave function in this program, so I think the location of the signature must be related to the wave function."
"Could it be…" Ke Xun was about to speak when he suddenly received a help request. He quickly clicked on it—now only Wei Dong and Zhu Haowen's group were still sending help requests. "What's wrong? What's the problem?"
Ke Xun asked abruptly. At the same time, the other side was also asking him abruptly, "What's wrong with you guys? Have you encountered a problem?"
It was Zhu Haowen's voice.
Ke Xun was taken aback: "No, we've already cleared the level, what about you guys?"
A string of ellipses seemed to float across the other end: "...If you've cleared the level, why aren't you out yet?"
Ke Xun: "What about you guys? Have you cleared the level?
" Zhu Haowen: "We've cleared it, we're already outside."
Ke Xun: "...If you've cleared it, why are you asking for help? You scared me, I thought something happened to you."
Zhu Haowen: "...I was the one who was scared. When are you coming out?"
Ke Xun: "We're coming out now."
After hanging up with Zhu Haowen, Ke Xun said to Mu Yiran and Qin Ci: "Looks like everyone has cleared this level, we need to hurry out and continue rolling the dice."
The three of them didn't delay any longer and immediately returned to the room through the exit, finding that the other groups had all arrived, not a single person missing.
Ke Xun glanced at the time on his phone; it was already 11:32 PM.
This was usually the most dangerous time in the painting.
"Yiran, after we roll the dice and form groups, let's share our analysis results with our group members and brainstorm clues together," Ke Xun said to Mu Yiran quickly. "Also, don't waste your chances to ask for help again. Although you're always omnipotent in my eyes, what if you need it? Don't waste them for me. Don't worry, if I encounter a level I can't pass, I'll definitely ask you for help first. And if you don't receive my help, it means I'm confident I can pass. Just wait patiently for me, and I'll wait for you the same way, okay?"
"Okay." Mu Yiran nodded slightly.
The countdown for rolling the dice on the interface had already started, so Ke Xun had no choice but to reach out, preparing to begin another endless round of challenges.
If the program assumes that all matter has a quantum superposition state, Ke Xun suddenly wondered, does this die also have the same properties? For example, is it both spinning and stationary?
If matter is determined by consciousness, when I "observe" it, it will definitely stop and display a certain number. So, if I don't "observe" it, will it present a different result? For example… keep spinning endlessly?
Thinking this, Ke Xun moved his outstretched finger and first tapped the book icon above the dice icon.
[Please state the law you wish to apply.]
"Electron double-slit interference phenomenon," Ke Xun quickly recalled all the knowledge points Mu Yiran had just told him, "Wave function, quantum superposition state." He recited everything he knew.
[Law approved. Please go to the item box and select the item you wish to use.]
—Useful! Ke Xun suppressed his excitement and tapped the item box icon.
[Please state the name of the item you wish to use.]
Ke Xun tentatively said, "The dice on the interface."
[Request approved.]
Ke Xun looked at the dice on the interface and found that it hadn't changed. With the countdown nearing its end, regardless of whether this idea was useful or not, he could only start rolling the dice.
Ke Xun pointed at the dice, which spun rapidly. Before the dice stopped spinning, he closed his eyes.
Four or five minutes later, Ke Xun heard Mu Yiran speak in his ear: "Ke Xun, keep your eyes closed, don't open them yet."
Ke Xun knew that Mu Yiran understood his idea, and that his idea had indeed become a reality!
Each person can only see their own dice roll; others cannot. Therefore, within their own "interface," this "box," they are the sole observer. Closing their eyes is equivalent to removing the camera from the box, causing the dice's wave function to collapse into another possibility: continuing to spin.
Mu Yiran noticed this because he was the second person to roll the dice. When the 60-second countdown started, it meant it was his turn. However, after waiting four or five minutes, the countdown on his own interface hadn't started, indicating that the dice on Ke Xun's interface hadn't yet yielded a result!
After exiting the first level, the group was forced to immediately begin the second level's dice roll due to the countdown timer. They had no time to exchange information or discuss methods for finding clues. Now, before entering the third level, Ke Xun's method bought them time, allowing them to finally have a chance to communicate without being forced to rush in.
Mu Yiran didn't waste a second and immediately recounted the process and results of her discussions with Ke Xun and Qin Ci inside the level. She concluded, "The three of us believe that endlessly completing levels is useless for finding clues and will only lead to our continued losses. Therefore, we must find a way to escape this predicament as soon as possible. Let's use this time to brainstorm and try to think outside the box."
"But we're not physics majors, what can we possibly come up with?" Deng Lin said anxiously.
"Imagination is more important than rigidly following the rules," Mu Yiran said. "The program thinks so too. So, let's abandon our habitual thinking and let our imaginations run wild."
"Guys," Ke Xun said, his eyes closed but still able to communicate, "the previous test proved that rules and tools can be applied outside of levels. I think we can use these two to find signatures."
"So what rules can be used to find signatures?" Deng Lin asked hastily.
"Think about it," Ke Xun said.
"Well, in this emergency, it's impossible to think of anything right away," Deng Lin said, scratching his head vigorously.
"That's true," Wei Dong struggled to pull himself out of the dazed state of having his worldview reshaped. "Like when we broke through the barrier just now, many of the rules and methods, if we had thought about them slowly under normal circumstances, we might have come up with seven or eight, and they might even be better and more effective than what we came up with right away. But in that tense state, our thoughts were like they were being strangled, and we could only come up with a limited number of ideas. So don't be tense, try to relax. You have to know, in this painting, consciousness determines matter… My god, I still can't believe that the real world might be like this. I'm so afraid to go back…"
"Pah, stop spouting such ominous nonsense," Ke Xun said, his voice turning serious. "Yi Ran, pay attention to the prompts on your interface. If the countdown starts, it means my dice have stopped rolling.
"Brother Qin, keep an eye on the time on your phone. Although we delayed the entry time, we didn't delay the time within the painting. Once the phone time exceeds 3 AM, notify everyone.
"Hao Wen'er, you and Yi Ran know a lot about physics, so you two are responsible for figuring out the applicable rules for the signature.
"Dong Zi, you and Luo Bo usually play games. I think these levels are quite similar to those level-based games. You two are responsible for figuring out from a game perspective whether there are any ways to quickly pass the levels or find hidden clues. "President Shao, you and Brother
Qin are both meticulous. Go through all the text that has appeared on the screen again. Maybe you can find loopholes in the rules. "
Deng Lin, He Tang, and that beautiful girl with the long hair..."
The girl with the long hair interjected, "My name is Wu You."
"Good name." "Ke Xun said, "You three, don't worry about anything else for now. Your task is to calm down. To survive, you must stay calm no matter what."
"What about me?" Fang Fei asked.
"You demonstrate to them what true calmness looks like," Ke Xun said.
Fang Fei: "..."
The eleven people, who had been in a state of confusion and shock, became orderly and focused intently on finding clues to the signatures in twos and threes.
Ke Xun closed his eyes, listening to Mu Yiran and Zhu Haowen's hushed discussion with his left ear, and Shao Ling and Qin Ci's meticulous organization with his right. Wei Dong and Luo Yi's voices listing the different levels of the game also occasionally drifted over. The various sounds merged together and gradually became somewhat blurred, buzzing into a murmur, floating around as if separated by a membrane.
Ke Xun's thoughts... Slowly calming down, the darkness brought by closing his eyes made him feel as if he had been transported back to the painting "The Burning Rhinoceros Horn at Sea."
Every night was like this, filled with different illusions. Of all these illusions, the one most unforgettable was the night he heard his father's voice.
Although it was an illusion, it so vividly mimicked his father's voice and personality.
If... if all matter is truly determined by consciousness, then is the human body, this mass of matter, also determined by its own consciousness? If consciousness transcends the body... So, after the physical body dies, does consciousness still exist?
It should, right? Otherwise, if consciousness disappeared upon physical death, wouldn't that mean matter determines consciousness?
Therefore, if the body cannot influence consciousness, then consciousness must still exist after death. So, is what we call the soul simply consciousness without a body? And
where does the consciousness of the dead go? Does it wander aimlessly, or does everyone have a destination?
If consciousness can control its range and location, then… then will Dad… always be by my side? He's always watching me, watching me eat, sleep, wander aimlessly on the street, watching me laugh, watching me daydream, watching me cry.
Watching me grow up day by day, just like when he was still here.
If that's truly the case, then I'm willing to believe that all matter in the macroscopic world exists in a quantum superposition state.
I'm willing to believe this fantastical idea like a program.
As long as Dad is still by my side, even if he can only exist in another state.
...
And so on.
Could the program that lost its son also have the same thoughts as me?
Its longing for its son drove it to a mad belief in this idea—that even though its son was dead, only his physical body had died; his son's consciousness remained alive, only he couldn't see it!
—That's why it kept saying itwanted to find its son!
—It committed suicide so that it could similarly kill its own body and, in the same state of consciousness, go to find its son!