123: Chapter 123: Who Decides Fate? (3rd Update)

I died in countless parallel worlds?

“Huh?” Xiaoyu struggled to follow his train of thought. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is—” Jiang Zhe slowed his speech, “If your brother were holding a real gun right now, in 99.99% of countless parallel worlds, the bullet in my gun would hit your forehead, resulting in Xiaoyu dying from a headshot.”

“However, there is always one parallel world—for instance, the world you and your brother are in right now.”

“Perhaps because your brother's hand shook by a 0.1-millimeter margin when aiming at you; or perhaps because the spring in the sofa you're sitting on caused your body to unconsciously lean back half a centimeter; or even because the gun's firing pin had a tiny flaw... and by chance, your skull was hard enough that the bullet didn't fully penetrate your brain.”

“In short, due to some infinitesimal variable, some bullets will graze your scalp; you’ll be seriously injured, or perhaps just startled, but you’ll still be alive.”

“Because of an infinitesimal variable, the bullet might get stuck in your forehead without going deep, and you might even feel perfectly fine, not even seriously injured!”

At this point, Jiang Zhe paused for a moment, looking at Xiaoyu's contemplative face. “Then, according to the hypothesis of Quantum Immortality, in that 99.99% of the multiverse, at the moment countless Xiaoyus die—the moment their consciousness dissipates—their sense of existence and continuity of consciousness will seamlessly switch or collapse into the only 'Xiaoyu' who is still alive in the greater world: which is this very moment, our world.”

“Therefore, for your subjective experience, Xiaoyu, you only experience one result: [the gunshot] and [I am still alive].”

“And you will never experience the moment of [I have already died]!”

Xiaoyu’s mouth hung open. Her expression shifted from deep thought to bewilderment, and then from bewilderment to her beautiful eyes lighting up.

She suddenly understood!

It means that in the instant my brother fired the gun, 99.999% of Xiaoyus died—it could be tens of millions of Xiaoyus, or even hundreds of billions of Xiaoyus.

But there is always one Xiaoyu, which is me right now—who stays alive because of a series of accidents.

And I, personally, cannot experience any of the experiences of the Xiaoyus who were shot to death.

Because the [consciousness] of me, Steel Rain, has been drifting through the [infinite multiverse]?

When almost all the Xiaoyus in the infinite multiverse are dead, that consciousness will drift into my current self. To me, it’s like [I, Xiaoyu, didn't die at all!]”

A mysterious and profound feeling washed over her!

Xiaoyu smiled in realization. “I get it, Brother! So what you mean is, like that time I was crossing the street and a voice in my head told me to dash across, but I held back and didn't.”

“But in many parallel worlds that I can't see, many Xiaoyus already dashed across and have already died?”

“And this [consciousness] of me, Xiaoyu, is that one and only Xiaoyu who [didn't die] and [survived]?”

An appreciative smile appeared on Jiang Zhe's face: “Exactly. This is Quantum Immortality!”

At this moment, the viewers, teachers, and experts were all struck by this novel yet terrifying concept.

[Physics Graduate Student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University]: “Brother is so strong! This is a concept in Quantum Mechanics. Our brother has played around with Quantum Mechanics so creatively that even I can't refute him. You're the man, Brother!”

“Holy crap, so it’s a concept from Quantum Mechanics. This perspective is quite fresh!”

“So the reason I have such good luck is because the dead versions of me don't count. Heavens, how wonderful!”

“Then how lucky must we be to be alive? It’s actually terrifying when you think about it!”

“So that voice telling us to pick option A and die is actually helping 'us' in other parallel worlds eliminate options to ensure that we survive at this moment?”

“It seems to make sense, but something also feels off!”

“Too much information, my head hurts!”

“...”

Meanwhile, in a lounge at Huaqing University in Kyoto.

Hearing what Jiang Zhe said, Professor Guan stood up with a look of novelty, his eyes shining.

“A former student of mine who transferred from the physics department once told me something similar.”

“This is entirely the rhetoric of Quantum Mechanics. Actually, the name of the thought experiment it fits better is [Quantum Suicide]. The underlying tone is that consciousness does not exist in the dimensions visible to our naked eyes, but can constantly drift across different space-times, though the individual will not notice it.”

“In an infinite number of parallel worlds, there will always be an observer in one world—that is, oneself—who survives.”

“In the eyes of that lucky one, [I will never die. Even if I court death, I won't die. Even if I almost drowned while swimming as a child, in the end, I still won't die].”

“Because once death occurs, that person's consciousness terminates!”

“So he can never experience the moment of [death]; he can only experience the branches where he is alive.”

“This explanation is very interesting!”

As he said this, he looked at Li Mo and the students with fiery eyes. “Just like the people in our current world who die in accidents—they could be children, young people, or the elderly. But for those who died, in the infinite multiverse, there must be some who are still alive. And those who are alive after those accidental deaths must have a certain feeling right now—”

“[That was close, I almost choked to death just now / That was close, I almost got hit by a car / That was close, I fell from the fourth floor but actually landed on the grass / That was close, I just fell from the sixteenth floor and only had a minor fracture...].”

“To us, these people died in our world, but they live on in other worlds. It's just that the number of worlds where they are still alive is already very small—and the people in our world will never be able to see them again!”

Li Mo and the other graduate students nearby all saw the curiosity and horror on each other's faces.

While this sounded mystical, it was actually very much in line with Quantum Mechanics!

Crucially, Quantum Immortality seemed to provide a somewhat scientific explanation for the devil in one's mind!

But is the true mysterious power really like this?

Just then.

Xiaoyu shook her head, recovering from the shock of Quantum Immortality.

She was extremely excited right now. This was more thrilling than any horror story—using Quantum Mechanics to interpret the essence of [living] itself!

“While Quantum Immortality hits the spot, it feels like its connection to mysterious powers isn't that strong anymore; instead, it's trying to explain what mysterious powers are.”

Jiang Zhe nodded with satisfaction. “Smart!”

“Brother!” Xiaoyu’s beautiful eyes sparkled. “Are there more cases? Counter-intuitive, mysterious ones... using this Quantum Immortality to explain counter-intuitive things feels so thought-provoking!”

“I feel like the emergence of the first soul is definitely related to mysterious powers!”

“Your feeling is correct; it indeed relates to mysterious powers!” Jiang Zhe looked satisfied as he placed the gun on the table, his posture gradually relaxing.

“Listen as your brother explains it in detail!”

Xiaoyu and countless viewers instantly sat up straight, pricking up their ears to listen carefully.

“Let’s start with one you might know.” Jiang Zhe’s brow twitched slightly as a series of cases flashed through his mind. He filtered out some common ones and selected a few more incredible cases.

“For example: Telephone Precognition. In the few seconds before the phone rings, without any causal connection, you just somehow mysteriously know who is calling, and it's very accurate. This isn't a vague hunch; it's knowing very clearly, even with certainty, and it's the kind that doesn't need a reason—you just know it's that person.”

Xiaoyu had no say in this case because she was only sixteen and lacked life experience.

At this time, the viewers in the live stream room all had their eyes lit up and began to share their own experiences.

“I've had this. I went back to my rural hometown, and they have one of those red landline phones. Suddenly the phone rang, and a classmate's name immediately popped into my head—a primary school classmate I hadn't contacted in years. Then I picked up the phone, and holy crap, it really was him!”

“The hunch about a specific contact calling—damn, I've really had that. One time I got sick and went to the hospital, then my phone suddenly rang. I guessed it was my mom, and when I took out my phone, it really was her. The first thing she said was: [Are you in the hospital?]. It scared me to death at the time. How could my mom know? Later she said it was [Telepathy / a Mother-Son Connection]!”

“To the person above, does that count as long-distance Telepathy?”

“...”