"Before he died, he made this gesture to me." Ke Xun raised his hand, making an OK sign.
Wei Dong saw it, first startled, then shocked: "Ah! This is—that city sports meet—"
"Yes, that one." Ke Xun nodded slightly, "That city sports meet used our school's sports field as the main venue, so the audience was basically all students from our school. At that time, Dongzi, Tian Yang, and the others led the whole stadium in cheering for me, and everyone made this gesture. This doesn't mean 'OK.' This gesture represents the number I was wearing at the time. 'O' represents 0, the middle finger represents 1, and the ring and little fingers represent 2, so my competition number at the time was 012."
"—2012!" everyone shouted in unison.
"We've seen dates on some food packaging that start with the number 2. Combined with the number 012 that Tian Yang conveyed, it seems that the time background of the event depicted in this painting is undoubtedly 2012," Shao Ling said.
"But that's so strange," Gu Qingqing said. "If the painter is depicting the real world of 2012, then if such a terrible thing happened somewhere, why has it never been reported in the news?"
"Not everything will be reported," Zhu Haowen's words were as sharp as ever.
"No, the content of this painting isn't entirely based on real events," Mu Yiran said. "The chaotic vegetation in the forest doesn't seem like a mistake made by the painter on a whim. I'm more inclined to believe it was intentional. So, in this light, the painting is more like what Wei Dong said—a symbolist work. Everything that happens and is shown in this painting has symbolic meaning or comes from the painter's imagination and metaphor."
"Then this blurred date, rather than deliberately making it harder for us to find clues, is actually pointing us to the key point," Shao Ling said. "Indeed, that's the case. Now we know this year—2012. Unlike any other year in this century, it's a number with too many rumors and speculations."
"2012, the end of the world?" Luo Yiran's bloodshot eyes widened. "I feel like the painting trend has blown things up. Before, it was always on a small scale, but now it's escalated to the whole planet…"
"But the 2012 doomsday prophecy is just a rumor," Wei Dong said, his eyes red from lack of sleep for two days and two nights. "Are we supposed to look for clues in a rumor?"
"Perhaps the focus isn't on 2012, but on the doomsday," Qin Ci said in a low voice. "The reason we've blurred the dates is so that once we find clues about the dates, we can use them to point to a fact, just like how we are now. When we hear '2012,' our first reaction is to associate it with the doomsday. So 2012 might just be an arrow; the 'doomsday' it points to is the key. For example, what caused the doomsday?"
…Ebola.
This answer crashed into everyone's hearts like a shattered barrier. Facing the pale and exhausted Qin Ci, no one uttered the answer.
"Don't forget the other clues we've already obtained," Zhu Haowen, who always played the role of rational and calm in the team, broke the brief, uncomfortable silence first. "I think global warming might also be one of the reasons." He had been very concerned about the hot climate depicted in the painting.
"And air pollution?" Fang Fei continued, pointing to the perpetually gray sky outside. "That's smog, isn't it?"
"That's right, it's smog, and very severe smog at that." Wei Dong nodded firmly. "Ke'er and I are very familiar with this kind of weather. Z City's smog pollution level ranks among the top three in the country."
"Global warming is caused by humans burning large amounts of fossil fuels," Gu Qingqing recited, "For example, the production and manufacturing process of the oil industry, the large-scale burning of coal for heating in winter, and the rampant deforestation for burning, etc. This produces a large amount of carbon dioxide, thus creating the greenhouse effect. Global warming will cause glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise, and will disrupt the balance of the natural ecosystem, ultimately endangering all life on Earth, including humans."
"Air pollution, ecological destruction, and… and terrifying infectious diseases," Luo Yi silently added in his mind, "and then the end of the world. What does this have to do with the theme of this painting, 'Reboot'?"
"Could it be… that the Earth is destroyed and then starts anew?" Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran.
"The idea of the 2012 doomsday prophecy comes from the Mayan prophecy. The 20 years from 1992 to 2012 are called the 'Earth Renewal Period.' After the renewal is completed, the Earth will enter a new era," Mu Yiran said. "From this perspective, calling this renewal a 'reboot' doesn't seem unreasonable."
"The Earth Renewal in the Mayan prophecy in 2012 refers to the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one, not the end of the world," Gu Qingqing added to Mu Yiran in a serious tone. "Therefore, the clue of 2012 that we have points to 'renewal,' 'cycle,' or 'reboot,' not the end of the world."
"In that case, the same prophecy appeared quite coincidentally in our ancient Chinese book, the *Tui Bei Tu*," Shao Ling continued. "The 52nd image of the *Tui Bei Tu* says: 'Heaven and earth are recreated in the constellations of Jiao and Kang.' Some interpret this as: Jiao and Kang refer to the seven constellations of the Azure Dragon in the east, implying the Year of the Dragon, and 2012 happened to be the Year of the Dragon. 'Recreating heaven and earth' is self-explanatory; it means exactly what it says. Therefore, 'recreating heaven and earth' together with 'renewing the earth' and 'rebooting' clearly points to the same situation."
"Renewal and reconstruction, initiating reincarnation?" Wei Dong asked.
"This is actually still the end of the world," Ke Xun said. "No, to be precise, it's the end of humanity. The Earth will still exist, but humanity will perish. Then a new round of biological evolution will begin, from apes to humans, from the Stone Age to… well, what age is it now, the Information Age? Or, the Nuclear Age?"
Mu Yiran's eyes flashed upon hearing this, and he was about to continue speaking when suddenly there was a "thump." Everyone hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wu You slumped onto the table, as if she had fainted.
Everyone's hearts sank. Fang Fei, who was closest to her, squatted down and touched her forehead for a moment. She looked up at everyone who was anxiously waiting for her answer and said, "It's nothing, just a simple fainting."
The people who had entered the painting had not slept for two days and two nights. During this time, they had suffered from the heat, thirst, hunger, and fright. Those who were physically and mentally weaker were naturally unable to hold on at this point.
Shao Ling took out his phone and glanced at the time, saying, "The night is over. Let's leave this house first."
Unable to bear looking at or mentioning their two companions who had died so tragically beside them, they silently left the house. Dawn was breaking outside, but the air lacked the freshness of daylight. Besides the strong stench of blood, the air was thick with the unpleasant smell of dust that made their lungs and respiratory tracts extremely uncomfortable.
Apart from Ke Xun, who had the best stamina, and Mu Yiran, who possessed the strongest will, everyone else was extremely tired and listless. Luo Yi was even unsteady on his feet, and could easily fall asleep while walking.
"We need to rest," Shao Ling said. "Going for autographs in this state will only be less effective."
Ke Xun glanced at Qin Ci without making a sound, but Qin Ci noticed and smiled wearily at him: "Little Shao is right, let's rest first. If the brain is too tired, it won't help to figure out the clues. Sharpening the axe won't delay the work. Let's rest first."
Ke Xun put Wu You, who was still unconscious, on the ground. The others also sat down on the ground, but Qin Ci walked to a place far away from everyone, sat there, and closed his eyes.
Perhaps because they had been constantly moving and startled since entering the painting, everyone's nerves were on edge. Now that they relaxed, drowsiness and fatigue immediately overwhelmed them. Within moments, Wei Dong, Luo Yi, Fang Fei, and Gu Qingqing had all slumped together and fallen asleep, even Zhu Haowen and Shao Ling were on the verge of waking.
Ke Xun leaned against Mu Yiran, shoulder to shoulder, talking softly.
"Sleepy? Lean against me and sleep for a while," Mu Yiran gently stroked Ke Xun's chin.
"I can't sleep," Ke Xun said, leaning his head on Mu Yiran's shoulder. "I'm worried about Lao Qin. This Ebola hemorrhagic fever thing really scared me. I'm afraid Lao Qin might die here… Yiran, although our clues have progressed another step, we still can't figure out where the signature will be or in what form. And in fact, I have a bad feeling, or rather, a guess."
"Tell me about it," Mu Yiran said gently, as if trying to soothe his anxiety.
"I was thinking, if this painting depicts the end of humanity, then we… could we be the last group of people still alive in this world?" Ke Xun continued to rest his head on Mu Yiran's shoulder, looking up at him, only able to see his perfectly curved chin.
"That idea is indeed very possible," Mu Yiran said, holding Ke Xun's bent knees and gently stroking them.
"If this world was destroyed by air pollution, ecological damage, and infectious diseases, then I think humanity wouldn't have experienced a one-time mass extinction like the dinosaurs. Instead, it would have occurred in a chronological order, so eventually, as people died, only a few of us would remain. We would be the last humans on earth."
Ke Xun said, reaching out to grasp Mu Yiran's hand, which was resting on his knee, and squeezing it tightly. "Rebooting means a new beginning, like that option in antivirus software on a computer—automatic reboot after the virus is removed. We humans are the 'poison' on Earth. We have to be completely eradicated before rebooting can happen. Does that mean…we all have to die to achieve 'rebooting' and for the signature to appear? But this painting isn't 'The Journey,' there's no other timeline where we can find redemption in this way. So what's the point of this signature?"
Mu Yiran turned his head and gently kissed his nose, saying softly, "Your thinking is a bit pessimistic, perhaps because you've been influenced by Lao Qin's experience. I… " There are also some speculations I didn't have time to mention earlier, would you like to hear them?
Ke Xun reached out and put his arm around his waist, quickly perking up: "Yes!"
Author's Note:
Dr. Qin felt everyone's care and concern, and was so moved that his headache and vomiting of blood stopped, and he had a good appetite~
Seeing everyone's care and concern for our Dr. Qin, Xingyue, who originally adhered to the principle of never giving away spoilers, was also deeply moved, so she decided to break the rule and give away a little spoiler here: put your little hearts back in your hearts, Xingyue is a very soft-hearted person. My dears, I feel the same way about the character you all feel sorry for~~~ Actually, I already subtly hinted at it in the author's notes in the last chapter, saying "I dare not move," haha~~
Also, please don't let some irrational and immoral comments affect your reading experience. Let's enjoy reading and discussing! Seeing your strong girlfriend-like support for me and this story has touched me deeply, but it also breaks my heart. I'm afraid it will spoil your mood, and I'm even more afraid that you'll be bothered by unreasonable people. That would truly break my heart.
So let's just turn our faces to the sunshine, and those dark things will be left behind and trampled underfoot. Why bother with them?~~
Hugs to all of you, muah~