The countdown continued.
[Estimated arrival: Fifty-seven seconds.]
The tremor beneath the conference room grew stronger, causing ripples to pass through the holographic display.
Shen Luo activated the facility’s emergency network. "Security Command, tell me what is causing the vibration and whether anything has breached the outer defenses."
A response came immediately. "No breach has been detected, Director. The tremor originated from the temporal-isolation chamber surrounding the Black Box."
Qian Wei looked at the system panel. "You said an unknown variable was approaching this facility, but Project Dawn cannot detect anything. Where exactly is it?"
[Recalculating future timeline...]
The countdown stopped at forty-nine seconds.
[Error.]
[Arrival coordinates cannot stabilize.]
[Original apocalypse trajectory is no longer valid.]
The red panel flickered violently before the estimated arrival disappeared.
Qian Wei’s pulse quickened. The system had never appeared confused before.
"Did the unknown variable arrive?"
[No stable arrival detected.]
"What was approaching us?"
[Temporal signal originated from a future event that no longer possesses a fixed path.]
That explanation created more questions than it answered.
The trembling gradually faded as the Black Box chamber stabilized.
Shen Luo looked at Qian Wei. "What happened? A moment ago, you said something was less than a minute away from reaching us."
"The system detected a temporal signal and interpreted it as an unknown variable approaching Project Dawn. However, the countdown disappeared when it tried to recalculate the future."
"Does that mean the danger has passed?"
"I don’t know. The system says the arrival coordinates cannot stabilize because the original apocalypse trajectory is no longer valid."
Silence settled over the room.
The holographic images of ruined cities still floated above the table, displaying a future that might already be changing.
Shen Luo’s expression became serious. "Repeat every message exactly as the system presented it. The wording may help us understand whether we are facing a physical arrival or another form of interference."
Qian Wei reviewed the notifications.
"It detected restricted future information after I read the damaged Temporal Transfer document. Then it said the timeline deviation had increased. After that, it detected an unknown variable and attempted to recalculate the future. The recalculation failed, and the system declared that the original apocalypse trajectory was no longer valid."
Professor Song focused on one phrase. "It said the deviation increased rather than saying one had begun."
Qian Wei slowly nodded.
She had overlooked that distinction.
"That would mean history had already deviated before this meeting," Professor Song continued. "The divergence might have started when you awakened, when your identity appeared in police records a year ago or even when Project Dawn was founded."
Qian Wei looked toward the Black Box. "Could Project Dawn itself be the deviation? If this organization did not exist in the future stored by the system, three centuries of preparation would have changed history before I arrived."
Shen Luo considered the possibility. "The Black Box created Project Dawn, but your system identifies the Black Box as an unauthorized fragment. That suggests the object may not have belonged in the original timeline either."
"Then someone sent more than one thing into the past," Qian Wei said. "The future host sent me and the Zombie System, while another person may have sent the Black Box."
Professor Song adjusted her glasses. "Or the Black Box arrived as a damaged part of the same transfer and began altering history independently."
They could not confirm either theory.
One of the military officers leaned forward. "If the original trajectory is no longer valid, could that mean the apocalypse will not occur?"
Hope appeared briefly around the table.
Qian Wei wanted to share it, but the warning remained red.
"I don’t believe we should assume that. The system did not say the apocalypse had been prevented. It said the path had changed."
Professor Song nodded. "The event may still occur in three months, but its development could differ from the records. It might become less severe, or it could become worse."
Lin Mei remained behind Qian Wei. "Can the system determine which possibility is more likely?"
Qian Wei asked.
[Insufficient stable data exists to calculate the revised outcome.]
"It cannot predict the result yet."
Shen Luo looked around the table. "Then we will prepare for the worst outcome while working toward a better one. No one should interpret uncertainty as safety."
Everyone’s expressions became solemn.
"Everything discussed after Officer Qian entered this room will be sealed under Dawn Black classification," Shen Luo continued. "No record may leave Project Dawn without my direct authorization. Public disclosure of the apocalypse would create panic before we can secure essential systems."
The officials around the table acknowledged the order.
Shen Luo turned toward an elderly man seated near General Cao. "Minister Han, contact the national executive office and inform them that Variable One has arrived voluntarily. Tell them I have activated Phase Zero and require an emergency session today."
Minister Han nodded. "I can send the authorization request immediately, but the executive office may demand evidence before approving the national measures."
"Do not send another written request that can remain unanswered for days. Contact them directly and tell them the Black Box activated after Officer Qian’s arrival."
Minister Han hesitated. "Will you also request permission to open the Temporal Archive?"
Qian Wei noticed several expressions change.
Shen Luo answered, "Yes. We can no longer rely on the eleven percent of data recovered from the Black Box. We need access to the original records inside the archive."
"The Temporal Archive has remained sealed for thirty-four years," Minister Han warned. "The last research team suffered severe neural damage after connecting to its core, and two members never recovered."
Qian Wei frowned. "What is the Temporal Archive, and why would accessing stored information damage someone’s brain?"
No one answered immediately.
Shen Luo looked toward her. "The Black Box did not store all its information as conventional data. Some records were compressed into patterns designed to connect directly with human consciousness."
"Why would anyone create information that injures the people reading it?"
"We believe the damage occurred because present-day human minds cannot process the volume or structure of the transfer. The archive may have been designed for people altered by the apocalypse."
Qian Wei thought of her mutation.
"Are you considering connecting me to it?"
"Not without understanding the risk and receiving your consent. Opening the archive will allow us to examine the outer records before anyone attempts a neural connection."
Professor Song added, "Your system may also be capable of interpreting the archive without exposing your mind directly."
Qian Wei glanced at the red panel. "The system has only four units of energy left, and the Black Box is the only compatible energy source it has detected. I will not approach that fragment until we know whether its reunification protocol can be blocked."
Shen Luo’s expression sharpened. "Why didn’t you mention the energy source earlier?"
"Because absorbing it would require getting closer to an object that just tried to enter my consciousness. I decided that the risk outweighed the immediate benefit."
Professor Song nodded approvingly. "That was the correct decision. We can search for another compatible source during the medical examination."
Minister Han returned to the earlier issue. "Director Shen, the executive office may still refuse to open the archive after reviewing the previous casualties."
"We no longer have the luxury of treating inaction as safety," Shen Luo replied. "Tell them the original future trajectory has changed and that Project Dawn may have lost the advantage provided by its historical records."
Minister Han stood. "I will contact them personally and request an immediate decision."
After he left, the system panel flickered again.
[Unknown Variable remains unresolved.]
[Timeline recalculation suspended.]
Qian Wei read the messages silently.
The signal had not arrived, but it had not disappeared either. Somewhere in the unstable future, another variable was attempting to enter the timeline.
Whether it belonged to humanity or the force that destroyed it remained unknown.
The damaged document reappeared in Qian Wei’s mind.
[...must never become fully...]
Perhaps the missing word did not refer to her becoming fully mutated.
It might have warned that something else must never fully arrive.