Nobita's Time Heist

"Is it a tool to eliminate presence? As expected of Origin Technology, they can even do this kind of thing. I should have caught you by now, but I feel nothing. Even if I concentrate, I can't detect your talent."

She glanced at the "empty space" in her right hand, which should have been devoid of anything, and sneered, "But, after so much evolution, I can now sense danger as easily as I can sense pain. Trying to fool me with such a petty trick is just too much..."

"laugh!"

The Kusanagi sword suddenly thrust out, piercing her chest and shattering the latter half of the Phoenician language within her.

Nobita showed no mercy. After piercing her heart, he stirred the sword through her flesh like he was churning juice, trying to inflict a severe blow in those few seconds.

"ah----!!"

Phoenicia clutched her chest, letting out a powerful scream, her face contorted in agony, looking as if she were about to be killed. But seeing her reaction, Nobita felt a sinking feeling in his heart, a bad premonition rising within him. The last person he thought had struck a vital point, only to be met with such a performance, was the Great Demon King, Daimao.

"Was...killed......"

After an extremely formulaic performance, she pressed her right hand against the Kusanagi sword that was still piercing her heart, revealing a cold smile.

Do you think it will be that easy?

From the wound, more and more viscous substances, like oil, gradually emerged—clearly the same substance that made up the wings. Her smile grew increasingly sinister, and beneath her skin, something restless seemed to be thrashing about. If one had to use a metaphor, the Phoenician they had seen before was like a human-shaped compressed package, compressing a vast amount of information into a small shell. And now, this compressed package was rapidly decompressing, nearing its breaking point.

"Nobita, you have no idea how long I've waited for this moment... all for a mere broken sword..."

Her voice gradually grew rougher, and finally, it completely broke through the human form, releasing itself in one breath!

"You want to kill me too?!"

Chapter 430: This is a dream! No, it's not a dream!

To be fair, Nobita has seen his fair share of monsters and demons, but this is truly the first time he's encountered one like this. Its size far exceeds the limits of a "living being," making it more like a conceptual creature.

Her size was so great that she resembled a thin membrane enveloping the sky; with the gentle flapping of her wings, the sounds of wind and thunder filled the air. The crimson full moon, as her pupil, stared intently at Nobita's figure from above. From the outline of her form, one could still vaguely discern a trace of Phoenician origin; otherwise, she was a completely different species from the one they had first encountered.

It's huge. It's absolutely enormous.

Faced with such a huge size difference, claws, teeth, and even the deadly atomic breath that could bore through the earth's surface didn't have a chance to appear.

In nature, there are two species: whales and sharks, both of which reign supreme in the deep sea.

Both whales and sharks contain the character for "fish," which can easily lead people to mistakenly believe they are creatures of the same level. However, whales and sharks are not even in the same league; their size differs by nearly ten times. This means that whales simply open their enormous mouths in the ocean and swim, swallowing small fish whole. They never need to waste energy actively hunting for prey.

Sharks, upon encountering whales, typically keep their distance and never attempt an attack. The reason is the sheer size difference. Even if a shark wanted to attack, it wouldn't know where to begin, while a whale could simply crush it with its massive size, or even with a gentle bump, cripple it. This size difference is so great that no tactic or weapon can overcome it, not even Origin Technology.

Even if Nobita had a shrinking flashlight, a single beam of light couldn't envelop Phoenicia's body.

"Even now, haven't you come to your senses?" Her voice echoed in the air, making the ground vibrate like a giant drum.

The intense tremors must have been felt by everyone in the capital.

The moment of earth-shattering change is the moment the decisive battle begins.

"I have experienced countless battles, and each one has brought me greater power. Now, I no longer need to replenish my energy through food! I have transcended the food chain and become a being of supreme evolution!"

Her wings covered the sky and the ground, and with the blessing of this power, the Scarlet God's abilities became less important.

"Your head, which is barely bigger than an almond, probably doesn't understand. In your human terms, the principle here is thermonuclear fusion. Particles enter the core of my body, are compressed to the extreme, and then form a fusion reaction similar to that inside a star before being ejected. In that breath, there are actually countless miniature suns. Any defensive measures are like child's play in front of this."

"You will be burned to ashes along with this world—!!"

The colossal maw slowly opened, splitting open a crack above the dark, heavy clouds. A molten lava-like light flickered within, and as she had said, the power of a star was slowly condensing and taking shape in its mouth, a cataclysmic storm powerful enough to destroy a planet's surface, about to erupt!

Faced with it, Nobita's mind went blank for the rare reason—he couldn't think of a way to break the deadlock. His defensive cloak, his softball… even the AT field he had witnessed in his previous world seemed far too rudimentary in the face of an attack of this magnitude. The Phoenicians' destructive power was measured in "planetary" units; if they could directly dump the sun onto the ground, how could one possibly contend with it?

"Wait a moment……"

In the nick of time, a thought flashed through his mind, and Nobita vaguely felt he had grasped it, only to have it slip away again. He only regretted that he wasn't Dekisugi, lacking a systematic way of thinking, and simply drifting along like a watermelon rind, going wherever the wind took him.

"boom-----!!"

In mid-air, the Phoenicians had already unleashed their punitive flames, carrying a powerful flash of light. A breath of atomic energy pierced through the air and landed on the ground like a dragonfly skimming the water.

……

A dull thud, like a hammer blow.

In an instant, the ground was uprooted like custard, and the shockwave spread outwards, heating the air and instantly engulfing everything on the surface. The enormous fireball that rose was as if the sun had been lifted directly from the sky and smashed onto the earth. Endless fire and light formed a curtain, rapidly expanding outwards from its center, pulverizing everything in its path before it could even touch any physical object.

"Why this world? She clearly hates me to the core, she should have come directly for me, why did she go through all this trouble to go around in circles and attack Asur first?"

The reason for all this helplessness is that we have nowhere to start. Once we find a starting point, things become much clearer.

"【Dream Awakening Machine】—!!"

[Dream Awakening Machine: Doraemon's pocket contains many mysterious and impressive gadgets, and this is one of them. It's only the size of a toy, a tracked vehicle equipped with a mechanical arm. When the user suspects they are dreaming, they can use this machine to verify; it will pinch the user's face hard. If they are dreaming, they will be instantly awakened by the pain. If the pain is severe but they don't wake up, it means they are in reality, and the pain from the pinched face will not disappear.]

There is no such thing as trash, only resources in the wrong place—this is Nobita's wisdom on using gadgets.

Doraemon couldn't understand what the developers of these gadgets were thinking. In reality, it was almost impossible to find an opportunity to use them, so he kept them at the bottom of a box.

However, during the adventure in the South China Sea, this thing proved to be of great use when Doraemon was swallowed whole by the Leviathan sea monster. Activated by the debate over whether it was a dream or not, it extended its mechanical arm and fiercely gripped Leviathan's stomach wall. No matter how imposing a monster is, as long as it's still eating and retains its stomach structure, this is its unavoidable weakness. Being gripped so tightly in the stomach, Leviathan was in so much pain that it vomited Doraemon out on the spot—a blessing in disguise, perhaps.

Nobita has a more unique understanding of gadgets, and through so many adventures, he has also summarized his experience. In the end, what determines victory or defeat is never the weapon-shaped gadgets, but those seemingly insignificant gadgets that can actually come in handy at crucial moments.

He's going on an adventure in the world of dreams, so in order to ensure that he can return to the real world at any time, he must have an emergency escape device at critical moments!

Is this a dream?

He asked this classic question that he already knew the answer to.

"...It's a dream...it's not a dream..."

The dream-awakening machine sprang to life, extending its mechanical arm and grabbing Nobita's cheek without hesitation, giving it a sharp pinch that made him howl in pain. The next moment, he woke up with a scream, clutching his right cheek, and saw the familiar wooden ceiling before him.

In the quiet world, the waves gently lapped against the beach, and the wall clock ticked slowly on the wall.

This is Xiaofu's villa on the Sizhang Peninsula. Everyone is lying sprawled on the ground, fast asleep.

"It's useful, but..." he said, covering his right cheek, still shaken, "it hurts a bit too much."

Chapter 431: The World of the Silver Swordsman

Looking at the ground, cleared clean after being struck by an atomic breath, Phoenicia fell silent. She maintained her enormous form, in which her senses were even more acute. There was no sound coming from this desolate, bomb-ravaged ground, but she was still unwilling to give up and continued to listen intently.

"finished?"

Jia Kun appeared silently beside her, his feet dangling in the air, and asked with a smile, "This is your personal feud, and I'm willing to give you room to resolve it. But I thought you would have a better way to end it. The strength of the ion weapon is indeed extraordinary, but unfortunately... such a powerful attack is enough to vaporize his body in a fraction of a second. He wouldn't even feel any pain; with a bang, his brain would be evaporated."

"To use such a method of execution on someone with whom you have a blood feud is far too humane, don't you think?"

"...He's still alive." After a brief silence, these words came out from the Phoenician... whatever the vocal organ was, "A guy like him is bound by too many chains of cause and effect. Once he dies, nothing will happen like this."

"He must have somehow escaped this universe."

"Is this really possible?" Jia Kun asked curiously. "Didn't you already devour the last bit of Scarlet Goddess's essence and seize her power? Logically speaking, the key to entering and leaving this universe should be in your hands."

“You’re not new to Origin Technology. Anything can happen before we actually take him down.” Phoenicia’s tone was a little defensive. “I tricked him into giving me three Origin Technology items, but they didn’t help the outcome at all. That guy fooled us all!”

“He’ll be back.” Jakun shrugged, smiling with absolute certainty, appearing quite composed. “We still hold hostages from all over the world. Just for that, he’ll have to come back again. This time, don’t waste time chatting with him. Before he can pull any tricks, just swallow him whole and burn him to ashes in your atomic reactor. Once he’s dead, another universe will lose its [Spacetime Anchor]. All the problems that have been troubling us will be solved.”

“…This is the umpteenth time I’ve heard similar assurances.” Phoenicia’s tone was somewhat unfriendly, his huge, crimson eyes rolling with a hint of sarcasm. “Every time you fail, you always manage to find a number of high-sounding reasons. But since he appeared, not a single one of your plans has succeeded. After so many failures, how can you expect me to believe that this time will be different?”

"Because, having come this far, neither of us has any other choice."

Jia Kun replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "At least until the spacetime anchors are completely eliminated, our positions will always be linked together."

“…” Phoenicia remained silent, her enormous head making her almost expressionless, with her dissatisfaction only visible in her large, round pupils.

"Well then, let's leave it at that... Have your 'eyes and ears' patrol more frequently, focusing on holding off that last remaining city. If he comes back, he'll most likely go back there. As for me, I'll make sure to eliminate him completely the moment he returns."

“No,” Phoenicia said coldly, “he cannot die by your hand.”

“All major events in the world go wrong because of emotions. Your emotions will make you lose your judgment at critical moments and be unable to make the right choices.” Jia Kun and she are exactly two different extremes. “This kind of cockroach should not be given even one chance. If we let him run back, who knows what trouble will arise.”

“I’ve destroyed at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, civilizations with my own hands. It’s not your place, a human not even a hundred years old, to lecture me on what I should do.” After emphasizing his stance, Phoenicia softened his tone appropriately and assured him, “Don’t worry, I won’t stand in your way. When he reappears, I’ll make sure he never wakes up from his dream again.”

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Is this... the world of the Silver Swordsmen?"

Jinglu had run out of new words to use. Logically, in her worldview, every scene in this world was a miracle. But for some reason, looking at the surrounding skyscrapers, a sense of familiarity suddenly rose within her. She felt as if she should have lived here before. This feeling of déjà vu even made her think that if she continued down this road, she should see something.

Cars like the one with the dollar bill are parked everywhere on the road, and the streets are deserted, without a single person in sight. It should be a crowded city, but it's empty, which creates an eerie sense of unease, producing an effect similar to a "dream core."

For safety reasons, Nobita specifically asked Shizuro to hide in his four-dimensional pocket, entrusting her with the Silver Sword as well. He planned to pounce out and ambush her when the time was right, but after hiding for more than ten minutes, he still didn't get the chance. However, precisely because of this, Shizuro was spared from death, and through the four-dimensional pocket, she managed to complete the cosmic transfer and arrive in the "real world" with Nobita.

However, Nobita didn't know how to answer the question. He didn't let Shizuku out while they were still at the villa on the Shijo Peninsula. Instead, he deliberately waited until he opened the Anywhere Door and returned to his own front door before sending a "safe" signal to Shizuku, who was hiding in his pocket, precisely to avoid direct contact between the two.

Can Shizuka and Shizuro be considered the same person?

Logically speaking, this isn't the correct way to put it. Initially, it was because the "Dream Antenna" stuck to Shizuka's head wasn't removed that she was unknowingly and semi-forcibly pulled into the Dream Universe, where she and Nobita completed the final coordinated kill of the Demon Emperor. Nobita = Nobinia because Nobita is different from the others; he entered the Dream Universe through the "Dream Machine" and the Dream Trio cassette tape, essentially his soul transmigrating into Nobinia's body. The others didn't receive this treatment.

Seeing Shizuka would inevitably cause Shizuro distress and fear—if you come to an unfamiliar place and suddenly see someone who looks exactly like you lying on the ground, unconscious, it's understandable that you would have doubts.

"You might not understand what's going to happen next, but anyway... we're going to visit someone now and borrow an item from him. Once we get it, we can go and confront Scarlet God. Maybe we'll have a better chance of winning."

"Oh... I see, it's the usual 'finding the artifact' part of a comic book story, right? You have to go through some hardships and encounter some difficulties, and after overcoming them all, you can gain the artifact's approval and defeat the powerful enemy!"

The girl interpreted the sentence with her own worldview, her eyes shining as she felt herself participating in an epic legend, and nodded heavily.

"Don't worry, Nobinia, I'm ready! Now that I've decided to be with you, I'll go through fire and water with you to the very end."

……

Then, in front of her, Nobita slowly opened his own drawer.

"what?!"

Chapter 432: The End of This Journey, the Secret Item Museum!

Jinglu hesitated for a long time before finally making up her mind, gritting her teeth, and entering the wooden drawer. For someone seeing how a time machine works for the first time, this scene was undeniably terrifying.

Inside the drawer lay a bottomless abyss of darkness, with only this small flying carpet as their refuge. The carpet floated silently, and she dared not look out, fearing that one slip would cause her to slip off the edge and fall into the unfathomable void.

Nobita, however, was clearly already used to it. He sat down in the driver's seat and began typing away on the keyboard, setting parameters, while explaining, "This is called the 'Time Machine,' a vehicle that can travel through time. We're going to ride it to the world a hundred years from now."

"A crown that can transcend time... No wonder he's a Silver Swordsman."

Jinglu curiously touched the navigation light standing on the flying carpet and exclaimed, "When I was about eight or nine years old, I often dreamed about machines like this when I was asleep! Strangely enough, it was exactly the same as this one. There was also a strange blue cat in the dream, who took us through so many things!"

"..." Nobita's hand, which was pushing the trigger, froze slightly, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.

For Jinglu, who exists in the dream world, everything that happens in reality seems to be presented in the form of a dream.

The story of Zhuangzi's dream of becoming a butterfly still echoes in our ears. Who can guarantee which of these two worlds is real and which is a dream?

"And then?" he asked casually. "Did that dream have an ending?"

"What are you talking about, Novinia? How can a dream have an ending?" Jinglu found the question absurd and said with a smile, "Is it the feeling of everyone standing together, clapping and saying 'Congratulations'? I've never dreamed of that, but... it seems that one day, suddenly, I never had that dream again."

Her voice was somewhat downcast, "I've tried to go back to that dream, but no matter how hard I try, when I wake up, there's only emptiness. Sometimes I wonder, where did that dream go? Are my friends in the dream alright? And that round, magical blue cat, where is he now..."

“I told my dad about the dream, and he said that I’ve just grown up, that’s all. Once you grow up, you’re no longer a child, so naturally you won’t dream about those strange things anymore.”

"I feel a little regretful when I hear him say that. It turns out that growing up happens in the blink of an eye. Even though my appearance and my heart haven't changed at all, everyone says that I've grown up. I haven't even said goodbye to them properly in my dreams, and now I'll never see them again."

……

"Well, that's not so absolute. We might never see each other again."

Nobita pulled the trigger, and the time machine's engine roared to life. Once activated, the dim time tunnel seemed to come alive, filled with light. The image of a clock began to be projected onto the tunnel's "inner wall," and the entire passageway, like the inside of a kaleidoscope, began to slowly rotate, displaying dazzling patterns.

"Let's have a proper talk with them after all this is over."

"It happened in my dream."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"boom----!!"

With a tap of the accelerator, the time machine gained power and sped through the tunnel like a shooting star towards the 22nd century that Nobita had set. He was mentally prepared for a battle in the time tunnel; after all, his opponent was the Apairon Foundation, the organization that was adept at manipulating time.

Previously, it was during their return journey that they were ambushed, causing their companions to be separated. Nobita and Asur ended up in western America in 1899, leading to their subsequent grand adventure. This time, Nobita floored the accelerator, wanting to reach their destination as quickly as possible. In the worst-case scenario where a battle was unavoidable, he could hide Shizuka in his pocket to prevent them from being separated into different eras.

"No...Nobinia...No, it's too fast!" Jinglu gripped the navigation light's pole tightly, her screams torn apart and swept away by the hurricane of time and space. "My tongue...is going to break!"

The car chase inside the time tunnel was unobstructed and police-free. The roar of the engine sent Nobita's adrenaline soaring, ignoring Shizuka's screams. His foot seemed glued to the accelerator, impossible to pull away from.

There were no time-space distortions or assassins preparing to ambush them. The journey was unexpectedly smooth, quite different from what Nobita had anticipated.

"boom----!!"

Without slowing down, Nobita drove his time machine out of the tunnel.

If the 21st century was still barely on the edge of being understandable, then the 22nd century, for Jinglu, was entirely the abode of the gods.

The view was filled with all sorts of skyscrapers, yet it didn't feel crowded. On the contrary, it resembled a circuit board, with all kinds of circuits meticulously planned and engraved within it. The use of space here was taken to the extreme, almost like a child's imagination fully unleashed, drawing a vision of the future on a blank sheet of paper. The time machine swept across the city, bringing gentle breezes that injected new life into Nobita, who had just been living in the apocalypse.

"Thank goodness, this place is still here at least."