Nobita's Time Heist

He looked into the Seeder's liquid gold eyes and asked anxiously, "Then, so, does that mean you think humanity has also failed?!"

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.

After a brief silence, the god smiled.

Ultimately, humanity is nothing more than one of the countless lives he has sown in countless universes… nothing more. From his face, Nobita could not fathom his thoughts, only knowing that, in the face of something truly grand, the success or failure of humanity seemed to be nothing more than a distant, indifferent glance to him.

“I remember…you asked me the same question not long ago.”

"At the time, my answer was 'not yet,' right?"

The sower moved his fingers, and the golden liquid gathered above Da Xiong's head, transforming into a glittering starry sky.

“Back then, you weren’t mature enough for me to explain anything too profound. But… now, it seems that’s about right.”

In a flash, the Seeder transformed into Doraemon, albeit a 24k pure gold version. When he spoke again, even his slightly hoarse voice was a perfect replica. Although Nobita had expected this move, he was still taken aback.

“Using this image to speak will best grab your attention… Let’s leave it at that for now.” Doraemon winked at him and smiled, “Nobita, have you heard of the ‘Big Filter Theory’?”

Chapter 149: How about it, Nobita, does this sound familiar?

"From the tree-dwelling Australopithecus to the present day, you humans... it took about 600 million years. But in reality, it only took about 200 million years for our ancestors to undergo significant changes in behavior and physiological characteristics, developing the most basic intelligence of 'humans'." The sower paused after saying just one sentence, and like a teacher who particularly values ​​classroom interaction, asked, "Do you think it's fast?"

"I...I don't know." Nobita sat there obediently, even though he realized that he was most likely having a "mental exchange" with the Seeder, he didn't dare to slack off at all, and he had never been this attentive in class. "Is that fast?"

“That’s the charm of life,” the Sower laughed. “The universe is so vast, and there are countless multiverses. No matter how fast you evolve, there will always be something faster than you. Similarly, no matter how slowly you evolve, there will always be something slower than you. The initial evolution had no rules, it was completely random, all based on probability. Humans, under these extremely limited conditions, with only a few guidelines at hand, guessed at the laws beyond our knowledge.”

"Fast or slow is not important. What is important is that a scientist has proposed that if there were a civilization that started 200 million years earlier than humanity, wouldn't that mean that while humanity was still using slash-and-burn agriculture, they had already entered the information age?"

"Really?" Nobita exclaimed in surprise. "That's two million years!"

"On a cosmic scale, 200 million years is not a long time. The evolution of a planet takes hundreds of millions of years. A mere 200 million years is just a brief moment in that time." The Seeder waved his hand and continued, "In the end, civilizations will inevitably face the problem of resource depletion. Once the resources on the home planet are exhausted, there will only be one path left."

"Expand outwards, towards the starry sky."

"boom----"

The roar of rockets.

In the starry sky conjured by the Seeder, a rocket rose slowly from the surface of a planet and landed on other planets. Soon, more rockets were launched from this planet, constantly searching for resources that could be mined. Watching the dense array of rockets rising and falling, Da Xiong felt a strange sense of nausea, as if he had seen some kind of spore that could parasitize other vegetation.

"Once a civilization's technology breaks through a certain threshold, its outward expansion will increase exponentially. If I had to use an analogy... yes, it's like cockroaches. When you see one in a room, it means there are a hundred, right?"

The sower spoke calmly, mentioning that cockroaches were one of the species he had created. Did the gods hold the same equal attitude towards this repulsive creature?

"A civilization that is 200 million years ahead of its time, theoretically, would be fully capable of such rapid expansion. In other words, as long as there is even one such civilization in the Milky Way, humanity should be able to see the traces left by their frenzied expansion."

"However, no."

"To date, all human efforts to explore the outside world have ended in failure."

"So, there are no aliens?" Nobita scratched his head, puzzled. "Then what were those I encountered before?"

“I’m not saying there are no aliens. I’m saying that on a cosmic scale, life is actually harder to survive than we imagine.” The Seeder changed the subject. “That scientist therefore proposed a theory called the ‘Great Filter,’ which suggests that some kind of ‘filtering’ mechanism exists in civilizations throughout the universe.”

"It might be some phenomenon, axiom, or something that humanity has yet to discover, or something that we cannot yet understand with our current technology. It will eliminate unqualified civilizations. And this great filter is already quietly waiting for you at some point in the future."

"Gulp..." Nobita swallowed hard, too nervous to breathe. "Then... was he right?"

"Partly. To be honest, this theory is more like a concrete manifestation of humanity's 'fear' of the vast starry sky. Interestingly, it does hit the nail on the head. Survival is not so easy. Civilizations exist in the world and constantly face challenges from both inside and outside."

"Just like now, humanity, a species with a short history of 600 million years, is about to face its first 'selection'."

At this point, Nobita suddenly became alert. His reaction time was undoubtedly quite fast when he was thinking seriously, and he immediately understood the other person's meaning.

Finally, let's get down to business!

"Scarlet Goddess?"

The sower smiled without saying a word and nodded.

Nobita couldn't help but mutter, "That guy has caused me a lot of trouble. Speaking of which... are there really any other 'gods' besides you?"

"I'm not a god," the sower laughed loudly, as if Nobita had told a funny joke. "If I had to say, I think I'm more like an old farmer, diligently sowing seeds all year round and waiting for the harvest."

"However, the widespread worship of power in mortal civilizations makes it easy for them to label something as 'god'."

"Is this how the Scarlet God came to be?" Nobita vaguely grasped a clue. "A powerful creature that you created?"

"You seem to believe that all living things in the world were born through my hand?"

The Sower looked at him with a half-smile, "That's not the case, Nobita."

"The universe is so vast and boundless. In some corner I don't know, there must be life that has evolved on its own, and this is one of them. I have always respected planets that already have life. After sensing its existence, I left without sowing any seeds of life on this planet. It thus spent millions of carefree years, slowly evolving, until it encountered a tiny..."

"In your human terms, it's an invasion of species."

"An alien species that should not exist in the first place broke into its peaceful life through a gap in the time tunnel."

Upon hearing this, Nobita instinctively sensed that something was amiss; this account seemed to resonate with a fragment from his deepest memory.

A bone-chilling cold made him shiver involuntarily.

"Those tiny creatures posed no real threat. For the first few hundred years, it coexisted relatively peacefully with the invasive species. The latter, in awe of its imposing, mountain-like size, never dared to approach it, regarding it as a monster that had always existed in this world, and naturally did not provoke it. The two lived in peace, and the invasive species established its own utopia on this uninhabited, habitable planet."

"But... as civilization continued to develop, desires within it began to swell."

“In Utopia, ambitious individuals have emerged. They believe they can use this ancient monster to take revenge on another race that once harmed them. And at this very moment, it is peacefully entering its ninety-second hibernation, a period of fifty years.”

"With a loud bang, the ice layer exploded, and it was awakened. Perhaps it was just being grumpy in the morning, because it threw a huge tantrum. And in the end, this 'native' who had always lived on its own planet and never set foot outside was banished to the boundless depths of space by a group of outsiders."

The Sower revealed a Mona Lisa-like smile, his body, composed entirely of liquid, slightly turned to look at Nobita, making him feel as if he had thorns in his back and shiver with fear.

"How's it going, Nobita?"

Does this story sound familiar?

Chapter 150: Feniki

"Roar----!!"

A sharp, soft whistle drifted from afar. Jia Kun, who had just closed his eyes, opened them expressionlessly and sat up. Looking around, he found himself on a shattered island, a place that could be vaguely discerned as having once been magnificent and grand. But now, everything that could once be called a "wonder" had vanished, reduced to meaningless broken stones, drifting silently around the island.

Surrounding the island is a starry sky bathed in a rosy glow, and looking into the distance, one can see the nebula arms that seem to be slowly rotating beneath the endless depths of space.

The colossal pyramid-shaped temple had been wiped from the ground by an even more powerful force, leaving only ruins. On the barren, yellow earth, faint traces of vegetation remained, but whatever plants once grew there were nowhere to be seen. The desolation made the goddess statue standing in the center of the island, its hands still holding a dove of peace, its face shattered, appear even more tragic.

Jia Kun rubbed his slightly numb face and yawned. He didn't seem too surprised by the current situation, but his tone was a little tired as he complained without turning his head, "I've been running around to different eras this month to help you with your affairs. I've worked hard, even if I haven't done anything great. At least let me get some sleep."

……

"boom----"

An unimaginably enormous head drooped down from beyond the island, creating a pressure comparable to a hurricane. In an instant, a crimson "eye" appeared against the previously pitch-black cosmic background. No words could describe the oppressive feeling it evoked, like a crimson full moon rising into the sky, its crimson light shimmering within. This scene alone was enough to make someone with megalophobia faint on the spot.

Along with the enormous, barely visible eye came heavy breathing, like thunder and lightning. More like a human than a beast, this crimson vertical pupil seemed to hold a complex, indescribable emotion.

“Looking at me like that won’t do any good. If it’s not going to work, it just won’t work.” Jia Kun spread his hands, a helpless expression on his obsidian-like face. “The timing isn’t right yet. Even if we forcibly broke the shackles of the universe now, it wouldn’t make any sense, would it?”

"Roar……"

The growl carried a hint of impatience, like a cat on the verge of its fur standing on end hissing at him. A powerful burst of heat suddenly descended, stirring up dust from the ground.

"The Golden Land?" Jia Kun covered his face with his hand, sighed deeply, and said helplessly, "Have you been spying on mortals' dreams again? I've told you many times that this is a bad habit, haven't I?"

"Roar--!!"

His scarlet pupils narrowed, and he roared in considerable dissatisfaction.

"In the end, this trip to the Golden City was an accident. I originally wanted to win you a powerful ally. The original plan was this: to work together from the inside and outside to break the seal of the Mother of Insects, let her slaughter the Golden City, and then show her the wonders of our side to recruit her. Her ability is very useful. When invading the real world, she can generate a large number of troops in a short time, saving us time."

"I didn't expect to come face to face with them so soon."

"Roar……?"

"Yes, yes, you must have seen it all, right? Or is it that you can't really know everything clearly just by looking at other people's dreams?"

Jia Kun crossed his arms and said in a tone that seemed to enjoy watching a good show, "That bespectacled boy who's going against me is the one you keep talking about all day long."

"Nobi Nobita."

……

These words were a fatal blow.

"roar--------!!!"

A moment of silence fell over the island, followed by a deafening roar that shook the heavens. Crimson pupils trembled violently as if in an earthquake, the roar transforming into tangible energy that slammed into the ground. Even the only relatively intact statue of the goddess on the island had several stones knocked off. Moments later, an arc of light flashed along the edge of the pale pink celestial mirror, and a blue star fell to earth, landing right in front of Jia Kun, raising a cloud of dust comparable to a tidal wave.

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.

The smoke dispersed.

A girl with short, bright silver hair appeared. She was probably only half the height of Jaqen, and had little to no curves. Her cheeks were round and chubby, easily reminiscent of a cute little animal like a rabbit. However, her strikingly human features—her crimson vertical pupils that seemed to glow in the darkness, and her cold, almost gravity-defying gaze—all emphasized that she was definitely not some cute mascot.

Because of the height difference, the girl had to tilt her head slightly so that her scarlet eyes could look directly at Jia Kun. Even so, her aura was not inferior at all; a terrifying aura emanated from her, and the surrounding dust avoided it, not daring to touch the hem of her robe.

"Ha, finally... It's been so long since we've had a proper conversation." Jia Kun shrugged nonchalantly and laughed, "You get all excited just mentioning him?"

"【Feniki】?"

……

"...Why...didn't you tell me?" Feniki bit her upper and lower canines, shouting angrily, "I'm going to kill him—!!"

"I'll tell you, and then what? What are you planning to do?" Jia Kun's tone remained the same, but the smile on his face had faded, replaced by a more businesslike attitude. "Should I smash the barrier between the 'Dream Universe' and the real universe with one punch, rush over, and smash it to pieces?"

“You know what he did to me. He banished me from my home without any reason, leaving me to die in the empty depths of space!” Feniki’s head tilted slowly, to an angle no human could possibly achieve, her eyes gleaming like two bright lamps, staring intently at him without blinking for a long time. “You personally promised to make sure he died a horrible death!”

"The premise is that we proceed step by step according to our plan." Jia Kun held up a finger, breaking down the key points like explaining a knowledge point to a primary school student, and patiently said, "Our universe is composed of 'phenomena' and 'essence,' which complement and influence each other. In other words, when enough 'phenomena' are rewritten and accumulate to a certain extent, the 'essence' of the universe will also be shaken."

"In that instant, the universe will release a tremendous spiritual tide, and the past and the future will collide at this moment—that will be the best time for you to make your appearance."

"Ride this spiritual tide and become a true god... This is the script that belongs to you!"

……

With a snap, Feniki turned her head back, but her gaze toward Jaqen was filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"Most of the humans I know have ulterior motives, only their purposes differ. But you... I just can't understand you."

She asked in a deep voice, "You've gone to so much trouble just to elevate me to godhood? But you don't know me, and I've never promised you anything. So, this isn't a worthwhile deal."

"why?"

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.

……

“It was just a coincidence.” Jia Kun narrowed his eyes, revealing a smile that was both frank and complex for the first time. “There just happened to be a surge of spiritual energy, so it doesn’t matter who comes.”

"Because, I and this world..."

"There are accounts to be settled too."

Author's message

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.

Oops, I forgot to upload a chapter!!!

Chapter 151: My Blood's Blood

"Pinkie...Pinkie..." If Nobita still can't remember after being hinted at this much, then he wouldn't be Nobita.

If you were to test him on the classical poems he had just learned, he might not remember a single word. But if you asked him about the details of his past adventures, it was as if they were memorized perfectly. He could recount every single one vividly. Childhood memories are as precious as diamonds, let alone such heavyweight ones—they're like a superb South African diamond.

"I see. So she's called 'Scarlet Goddess' because she's Feniki?"

The sower smiled without saying a word, neither admitting nor denying.

During their adventure in Birdtopia, Phiniki became the final boss. Doraemon used almost all of his gadgets, but still couldn't defeat it. Desperate, they lured it to the top of a giant tree and used the time machine, which still had some energy left, to teleport it to a branch of the Taiko era, thus avoiding seeing it again. (This scene is from the movie *Nobita's Winged Braves*.)

As with all great adventures, the villains are punished and the heroes are honored. The group saves Birdtopia, and they receive flowers, honors, medals, and even a special vacation to commemorate their great victory.

Everyone happily stayed overnight, enjoying a lavish feast prepared especially for them. The next morning, with a touch of reluctance, they bid farewell to their newly met companions. Although they all said "see you next time," everyone knew very well that the two places were practically separated by different universes, and it would probably be very difficult to meet again in this lifetime.

All good things must come to an end. Returning to the back mountain where the story began, the five friends were filled with emotion. These precious memories will not disappear; they will remain a treasure, cherished forever, along with their owners.

But... young Nobita overlooked one point: one man's hero is another man's enemy. The same principle applies to Columbus discovering the New World but becoming a nightmare for the local natives.

Looking back now, what did Feniki do wrong?