343: Chapter 343: A Mirage in a Misplaced Time and Space

"Next, let's look at a few even more exciting ones!"

Operating the computer, Jiang Zhe opened a folder named [Displaced Spacetime].

The first item was a yellowed newspaper clipping, appearing to be a blurry old photograph.

In the photo were figures wearing crude armor, holding shields and axes, with long, low classical wooden ships behind them.

"This is a mirage that occurred in the Aegean Sea in 1954."

Jiang Zhe looked ahead and began to explain:

"Approximately 2,400 tourists, along with nearby sailors and residents, witnessed it together."

"What they saw was not a city, but people and ships that did not belong to that era."

He operated the mouse to zoom in on a hand-drawn illustration.

Looking at it with the naked eye, the people on the ship wore simple helmets and crude armor, holding battle axes and round shields. The ships were long and narrow with upturned ends, unmistakably the design of ancient Nordic vessels.

"According to eyewitness descriptions and archaeological reconstruction, they found that the characters' attire, weapons, and ship structures perfectly matched the characteristics of the Viking Age from 700 to 1000 AD."

"And what's more!"

"Many tourist eyewitnesses emphasized that the people in the scene were active—they were walking, talking, and rowing; it was not a static image."

"Another eyewitness said afterwards: 'We could see those people wearing clothes from a thousand years ago, like ancient pirates moving about on the ship—it was so vivid. My god, it was incredible!'"

As he finished speaking, the chat in the live stream exploded instantly.

"Holy crap, 2,400 people witnessed it? What's going on?"

"Could this be a case of mass hallucination?"

"How could it be a hallucination? This is a damn dynamic mirage!"

"Aren't mirages static images? How can they move?"

"Viking pirates—where is this being refracted from? Modern Earth refracting ancient Earth????"

"Damn, this isn't even an optical issue anymore; it's a spacetime issue!"

"..."

Looking down at the audience, Jiang Zhe's gaze fell particularly on Researcher Zhou. "If this is still just light refraction, then may I ask, in 1954, did such an original scene exist anywhere on Earth, near the Aegean Sea or anywhere else on the globe?"

"This is a real scene of living Viking pirates, dressed in attire from a thousand years ago, sailing in ancient ships!"

"Is it possible for this to be light refraction?"

Researcher Zhou was filled with shock.

No wonder he used mirages as an entry point when I asked about latitude.

I didn't expect his true intentions to be here!

Indeed, this is completely incomprehensible!!

Professor James, standing to the side, whispered, "My god, Viking pirates are one thing, but seeing them suspended in the sky with your own eyes—this is simply exhilarating!"

The two Professor Hanses beside him had expressions of astonishment, and exclamations in English could be heard continuously.

Soon, Jiang Zhe continued:

"Case B!"

Operating the computer, he opened the next set, which was a short video screenshot.

On the whiteboard projection, a monstrous wave appeared out of thin air on the horizon. The wall of water was towering, waves churning, as if it were surging toward the cameraman with the force of an avalanche.

"Network codename: Ghost Snow Mirage!"

"Time and location unknown; it circulates within North American adventure and paranormal enthusiast circles."

"The cameraman accidentally captured it while filming wildlife in a remote western region."

"This time, the image is still dynamic; the tsunami is continuously advancing. But when verifying global earthquake and tsunami detection data from that time, there was no geological or oceanic activity anywhere on Earth capable of triggering a tsunami of this scale!"

"This tsunami does not exist on Earth!"

As he finished speaking, the living room fell into a deathly silence!!!

Every expert and professor's face was filled with doubt—could it be faked?

However, the Aegean Viking pirate mirage had already been confirmed as a real displaced spacetime mirage.

As for whether it's real or fake, perhaps it no longer matters!

In the live stream, countless comments flooded in.

"No tsunami anywhere on the globe, yet a tsunami appears in the sky?"

"Holy crap, this is terrifying when you think about it!"

"This isn't a natural phenomenon anymore, is it!"

"..."

At this moment, Lin Chen, a 28-year-old young researcher from the Meteorological Bureau sitting slightly toward the back, spoke up.

With a calm expression, he slowly began:

"I have seen a record of this Ghost Snow Mirage in the internal, non-public anomalous atmospheric case database."

"At the time, our group tried to trace its origin, but the video source was blurry and shooting parameters were missing. Ultimately, it could neither be verified nor completely falsified, so it could only be filed as an unsolved case."

"Similar sourceless dynamic mirages are actually not isolated cases in the industry."

"It's just that most cannot be published or made public. In the end, they are either classified as misidentifications or simply treated as suspected fabrications."

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene became even more stagnant.

Internal corroboration from a professional in the official meteorological system carried much more weight than online rumors.

Jiang Zhe nodded lightly, then his gaze fell upon Old Qian. "Professor Qian, from the perspective of historical documents, are there numerous records in official histories and local gazetteers regarding this type of ancient scene mirage?"

Old Qian recalled and said:

"Yes, many!"

"From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, records of 'seeing ancient people, ancient battlefields, and ancient cities in mirages' have frequently appeared in official histories, local gazetteers, and scholars' notes."

"In the past, they were generally classified as supernatural phenomena or celestial sights; today, they are mostly explained as memory bias, forced associations, or literary embellishment."

"But cases like Qingdao in 1942 and Penglai in 1988, where multiple people witnessed them simultaneously for long periods and in dynamic forms, are very hard to explain away as mere forced associations!"

"Since Professor Qian mentioned Penglai!" Jiang Zhe said, while operating the computer to open the next set of data.

"Case C: June 1988, Shandong, Penglai!"

"Mirages appeared three times in one month—on June 1st, 14th, and 17th—with the longest lasting for six hours!"

On the whiteboard projection:

A few relatively clear color photos and a large number of eyewitness accounts appeared.

In the images were ancient buildings and figures in ancient costumes.

After zooming in on a section, one could even clearly see a dynamic scene of two teams of soldiers charging with weapons and fighting each other.

"There were many eyewitnesses to this mirage, including tourists and local residents."

"According to optical theory, a prototype should still be found, but after investigation in Shandong, there was no film studio in the corresponding direction or distance that had filmed such an ancient battlefield."

"To this day, this prototype still cannot be located!!!"

As soon as these words were spoken, netizens in Shandong immediately popped up.

"I've heard of the Penglai ancient battlefield; the elders in my hometown have mentioned it, and there are absolutely no film studios nearby."

"Six hours long, and they were fighting? Is this really a mirage?"

"If you can't find a prototype, it means it doesn't exist on Earth at all."

"..."

Just then.

A concise table appeared on the whiteboard projection.

It listed: Location, Time, City Appearance, City Prototype, and Witness Status.

Liverpool: 1954, unidentified medieval spired city, does not exist, thousands of witnesses.

Qingdao!: 1942, Chinese-style palace complex, does not exist, multiple witnesses during wartime.

Hubei!: 2019, future city, does not exist, video later [debunked].

Aegean Sea: 1954, Viking pirates—dynamic, does not exist, 2,400 witnesses.

Ghost Snow!: Unknown, tsunami—dynamic, does not exist, no record in global monitoring.

Penglai!: 1988, ancient battlefield—dynamic, does not exist, lasted 6 hours, appeared multiple times.

Watching the experts and professors in the audience looking stunned and incredulous.

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly, his calm voice echoing in the room.

"When multiple independent cases, and even dynamic cases, all repeatedly point to the same possibility!"

"We modern people call it light refraction, yet we cannot find the source being refracted."

"Some sources clearly don't even belong to our era!"

His gaze slowly swept across every face with its varying expressions.

"Are we going to continue forcing everything into the box of light refraction, labeling everything we can't explain as misidentification, fabrication, or recording error, and then setting it aside?"

"Or!"

"Do we need to admit that light might be able to refract things from places we cannot understand?"

"Things that are not in the distance, but rather, elsewhere?"

As his voice faded, no one in the living room made a sound.

Sunlight from outside filtered through the glass, casting a faint shadow on the whiteboard, landing right on the bolded words [Anomalous Mirage Case Table].

The live stream fell into a brief silence, as if tens of millions of people were holding their breath simultaneously.

Seconds later, the chat exploded!

"Holy crap!!!"

"Hearing the brother talk about it might have been one thing, but damn, after the table was shown, my entire scalp is tingling!"

"I have goosebumps all over; can't find it, can't find the prototype—it's very likely that it just doesn't exist, damn it!"

"Not only does it not exist, it doesn't even exist in our spacetime!"

"Completely shattering my perception!"

"..."

Watching the audience silent for a long time, as if every professor and expert had experienced an incredible shock.

Jiang Zhe broke the silence first. "Since mirages..."

Before he could finish, Researcher Zhou stood up abruptly, his eyes shining. "Wait, is there more? Is there anything even more inconceivable?"

"I don't know why, but I'm suddenly not that concerned about dimensions anymore; I want to hear more!"

Once these words were spoken, the tense hearts of all the professors in the room suddenly relaxed.

They were originally in a state of shock, but these few sentences immediately whetted their appetite again.

At this moment, countless viewers' eyes lit up, giving Researcher Zhou a big thumbs up in their hearts!

He spoke exactly what was on their minds!

Seeing the strange atmosphere, Researcher Zhou felt so embarrassed he could curl his toes. He was just about to say, "Sorry, I was abrupt..."

"Of course there is!" Jiang Zhe smiled slightly. "Since you want to hear more, let's continue!"

As he finished speaking, the hearts of the twenty-plus people at the scene finally settled. Ouyang Baili, Guan Jingming, Old Wang, Old Qian, and the others exchanged knowing smiles, as if their devious scheme had succeeded!