The Last 299 Days of Humanity

Faced with the urgent need to obtain the Immortal Flower and the practical dilemma of not being able to forcibly enter the courtyard, Yu Qing and his aunt devised a plan to escape unscathed.

Yu Qing used resources outside of Shengtian Company and, with the technical support of his aunt, fully matured "humanoid" technology to create a substitute that was highly similar to him in appearance, physical characteristics, and even basic life fluctuations.

This stand-in was carefully placed within the Wengshan settlement, where it performed limited activities according to a pre-set simple behavioral pattern, deliberately "showing its face" in some peripheral areas.

This creates the illusion that Yu Qing is still busy with affairs in Wengshan and has not traveled far, thus misleading any potential "Dadian" organization spies.

The real Yu Qing, under the cover of his aunt's use of advanced spatial transmission technology, was quietly sent, along with the loyal and reliable Dong Hao, to a secluded mountain valley several miles away from Professor Lu's courtyard.

They approached on foot, avoiding any energy fluctuations that could be detected.

Returning to that familiar desolate place, and seeing the lonely little courtyard standing in the distance, Yu Qing was filled with mixed emotions.

Following his previous successful experience, he first walked to the stone tablet in front of the courtyard gate, which had weathered the elements and whose inscriptions were somewhat blurred. Like a traveler returning home, he slowly sat down with a feeling of awe and anticipation.

He planned to stay here for the night, just like last time, bathed in the starlight and night wind of the wilderness, waiting for dawn so that the door might open for him again.

"Will this... work?" Dong Hao asked in a low voice, cautiously observing her surroundings, her hand tightly gripping the device that could activate a small force field shield.

“I don’t know, but this is the only known method that might work.” Yu Qing closed his eyes, trying to calm his chaotic thoughts, recalling the strange tranquility he had felt here last time. “According to the plan, remain hidden and on guard, and wait for dawn.”

However, man proposes, God disposes. They considered all sorts of human factors and technological interference, but they forgot to take into account the unpredictable and severe weather in this region.

In the latter half of the night, the previously clear night sky suddenly turned hostile, with dark clouds gathering, howling winds, and then torrential rain pouring down like a celestial river without warning.

The raindrops were dense and cold, splashing up murky water as they hit the ground, instantly enveloping the entire world in a misty haze.

Although Dong Hao reacted quickly, he immediately deployed an advanced force field cloak provided by Tianqing City, which could distort light and energy fields and also had a certain physical protection function, barely covering the two of them and preventing them from being soaked to the bone.

But the torrential rain in the wilderness was incredibly powerful. The edges of the cloak were constantly being whipped by the gale, and some of the icy rain mixed with the chill still managed to seep in.

To make matters worse, the ground beneath their feet quickly turned into a muddy mess, with mud and water flowing everywhere.

They spent the night in damp, cold conditions, constantly adjusting their force field cloaks to ward off the wind and rain.

As the gray, rain-shrouded dawn finally arrived, Yu Qing eagerly looked towards the gate of the courtyard, but his heart sank immediately.

The expected scene of mysterious characters appearing before the door and then opening wide did not occur. What alarmed him even more was that the once clearly visible, ancient wooden door had now completely "fused" into the surrounding alloy courtyard wall!
The walls were smooth and flat, without any gaps, as if a door had never existed there. From the outside, the courtyard resembled a completely sealed fortress, refusing any contact with the outside world, entering a state of absolute self-isolation.

"This...the door is gone!" Donghao exclaimed in a low voice, his face filled with disbelief.

Just then, a new message came from the miniature receiver that Yu Qing carried with him, which maintained one-way communication with his aunt.

Information indicates that the aunt observed, through a sophisticated detector deployed high in the sky at a distance, capable of penetrating rain and certain camouflage layers, that an astonishing change occurred in the courtyard just last night.

The robots "Evil" and "Ugly," which were originally intended to guard and manage, did not patrol or standby as usual.

They sat directly on the stone steps in front of the inner porch, their bodies covered with a rock-like substance, completely entering a static, "petrified" state.

Instead of these robots carrying out regular patrols within the courtyard, two other unfamiliar robot models, with completely different appearances and a more aggressive and wary look, were used.

All these signs clearly point to one conclusion: some kind of intelligent defense core inside the courtyard has keenly sensed Yu Qing's return and has reacted extremely strongly to it.

It completely erased or sealed away everything he was familiar with—entry channels (doors), guiding signs (possible text), and even familiar interactive objects ("evil" and "ugliness")—while simultaneously activating a higher-level, completely unfamiliar defense mechanism.

This is not just a rejection, but more like a complete and utter isolation with a warning connotation.

"I messed things up..." Yu Qing muttered to himself, raindrops dripping from his hair, the cold touch clearing his muddled mind slightly. He racked his brains, trying to figure out why this had happened.

Judging from his limited understanding of Professor Lu and his previous experience, this deceased sage seemed to have been willing to provide shelter and guidance to those who truly needed help; otherwise, he would never have allowed him to enter the courtyard so easily last time and come into contact with the Immortal Tree.

To put it another way, if Professor Lu really intended to completely isolate his courtyard and the Immortal Tree from the world, preventing anyone from approaching, he had more thorough and discreet methods at his disposal, given his skills and abilities.

For example, the courtyard could be hidden in a folded space, or completely shielded by a stronger force field, or even buried deep underground with the owner, never to see the light of day again.

Instead of standing openly and undisguisedly in this relatively open and desolate place, as if waiting for something or testing something, Yu Qing forced himself to analyze the situation calmly. "So, is there a fundamental difference between this visit and the last one?"

He stood in the pouring rain, gazing at the cold courtyard wall that had become an integral part of the whole, with no trace of its former entrance, and felt an unprecedented sense of bewilderment and a sense of loss at being abandoned by invisible rules.

A stubborn streak welled up inside him. He gestured to Dong Hao to remove the force field cloak that barely provided any protection from the wind and rain, letting the icy rain instantly soak him through.

He stood motionless in the rain, like a child being punished, or a stubborn sculpture, staring intently at the courtyard, as if trying to pierce through the thick walls with his gaze to see the hidden logic and answers within.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, turning the world into a vast expanse of white. Dense raindrops lashed at the ground and at his already soaked body.

Cold and exhaustion began to erode his senses, and he even had a ridiculous and pathetic hope: would this wretched and miserable appearance, out of some kind of "soft-heartedness," cause the cold courtyard wall to suddenly crack open and let him in to take shelter from the rain?
Of course, this was just a ridiculous and helpless fantasy. He quickly came to his senses, and a sense of desolation welled up inside him.

He was the only living, breathing person here, capable of feeling cold and despair, while what he faced was a cold, sophisticated machine operating strictly according to predetermined programs and underlying logic!

In this absurd world, is it really true that only those who can precisely cater to the rules set by these machines can obtain that pitiful little bit of "attention" and "permission"?

At the peak of despair and self-mockery, a flash of inspiration, like lightning piercing through thick clouds, suddenly cleaved through the fog in his mind! He grasped that crucial difference!
“Things might not have been so complicated from the beginning,” Yu Qing thought. “I always thought Professor Lu only selected those who met his moral principles and genuinely needed help to enter his courtyard, but that’s not the case…”

"Auntie!" he called out immediately through the communicator, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "Find a way immediately, quietly, to get Daya, Xiaoya, Xiaomianbao, and Chen Jiang here as soon as possible! Hurry!"

On the other end of the communicator, Aunt's voice was filled with obvious confusion and bewilderment: "Yu Qing, what do you mean by this? Do you want to relocate all these native humans to the vicinity of this courtyard? This is not safe, and it does not solve the fundamental problem."

“It’s not about relocation,” Yu Qing quickly denied, his thoughts becoming clearer and clearer. “I just need them to be ‘present’.”

"Present there? What do you want to do? Are you all kneeling there begging for mercy?" Auntie pressed, her tone full of doubt. "What I care more about now is how to obtain the Immortal Flower for mechanism analysis, not to conduct a meaningless sob story."

Yu Qing took a deep breath of the cold air, trying to make his explanation sound more convincing. He even managed a sudden, knowing smile in the rain:

"I think I understand the 'rules' Professor Lu set! We don't need to play the victim or devise any clever tricks to get permission to enter. The reason I can't get in now is precisely because my cleverness has backfired..."

Professor Lu was like a doctor with superb medical skills and a kind heart. He knew clearly before his death what kind of magical effects the Immortal Flower he cultivated had. Given his character, he would never have stood by and watched someone who truly needed treatment die.

Therefore, I suspect he must have set up a trap in the courtyard's defense system—a 'diagnosis' mechanism based on biometric scanning and demand assessment! This courtyard itself is an automated 'clinic'!
When you approach it, it's like entrusting yourself to it for a health check. Its various sensors must be giving the person who gets close enough a thorough physical examination…

He paused, gathering his thoughts, and continued, "The reason I was able to enter and exit smoothly last time was not only because I was close to the stone tablet or waited overnight, but the most fundamental reason was that I was infected with a variety of deadly 'bacteria' (symbionts) and my physical condition was extremely poor."

At that time, I was a qualified 'patient in need of treatment'! The courtyard's system detected my 'symptoms,' so it opened up, allowing me to enter, and indirectly, by having me consume the 'Immortal Flower,' completed the 'treatment'!

My aunt remained silent for a moment on the other end, seemingly digesting the speculation. Then she muttered, "It sounds reasonable... but I'd rather study the specific mechanism of that 'Immortal Flower'..." Her tone still carried the obsession of a researcher.

"Absolutely not!" Yu Qing immediately warned, his tone becoming serious. "Auntie, what we need to do now is play the role of 'patients seeking help' and let the 'doctor' (the courtyard's automated system) provide diagnosis and treatment. Not try to steal the 'doctor's' secret formula!"

Doing so would not only be immoral, but more importantly, it would very likely trigger the most extreme countermeasures that Professor Lu had planned, leading to the self-destruction of the courtyard. That would be a real disaster, with everything ending in nothing!
We must respect the rules he set and humbly seek our tickets as those who 'need help.'

My aunt sighed softly on the other end of the call, with a hint of helplessness and a barely perceptible sense of relief: "Sigh... According to you, doesn't that mean I've wasted all my time and won't get any substantial research data?"

"It won't be a wasted effort." Yu Qing's voice sounded unusually firm in the rain.

"Whether we are so-called original humans or you parallel humans, for the sake of the word 'human,' we should all learn from and uphold Professor Lu's benevolent heart and vision of 'benefiting all things without contention.'"

The act of saving Daya and the others is meaningful in itself. Moreover, if my speculation is correct, when the courtyard reopens to those in need, we may gain deeper insights into life, coexistence, and the future—insights far more important than simply acquiring material goods.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the communicator, followed by a soft, ambiguous laugh from her aunt: "Fine. You certainly know how to give me a lecture. This time, I won't ask for anything in return; I'll help you out of pure 'humanity'."

I will make arrangements immediately to ensure the safe delivery of those children and Chen Jiang as soon as possible. I hope your judgment is correct, Yu Qing.

The call ended, and Yu Qing was still standing in the rain, but his state of mind had changed. He was no longer confused, but filled with an expectation of verifying his conjectures and a determination to uphold a certain moral principle.

His gaze returned to the closed courtyard. This time, he seemed to sense that beneath the cold, procedural logic, perhaps truly lay the heart of a compassionate and wise healer, a spirit that had not been extinguished by the deceased.

What he needs to do now is wait for the real "patients" to arrive, and then knock on this invisible door again. (End of Chapter)