Past and Present

This is a four-dimensional, closed-loop space-time epic spanning antiquity, the past, the present, and the future. Its central idea is that science, taken to its ultimate extreme, is theology. Foreshadowing runs throughout the book, its logic is consistent, and its long-form plot forms a complete loop. The setting remains stable, with no risk of collapsing or ending badly. At its heart is the two-way space-time transmigration of Shuiyuan and Zhou Lu. Separated across past and present yet bound by fate, they rely on a mysterious artifact in an ancient tomb to anchor cause and effect across time, unlocking a unique rule for transmitting information in both directions without physical objects. No transporting supplies, no overpowering the past with the future, and no effortless cheat abilities: they break through dilemmas only by reasoning across time, deconstructing the rules, and exploiting the information gap between past and present. The story is rigorous and hard-science-focused, unlike formulaic soft sci-fi power fantasies. The story redefines the boundary between science and the occult: every strange phenomenon is a higher cosmic law not yet decoded through mathematics; every advance in technology and civilization is merely a shallow manifestation of the universe's great principles. The occult is higher science not yet understood, while science is a surface-level expression of principles that can be deduced. The plot unfolds step by step, intertwining power struggles across past and present, modern investigations, future deep-space adventures, and ancient secrets, while revealing the truth behind the confrontation and coexistence of carbon-based and silicon-based civilizations. The elites of the Nine Heavens Alliance traverse four-dimensional space-time, are tempered by desperate trials, see through the illusion of immortality, and cast aside their obsession with eternal life. Countless players are trapped in cycles of reincarnation and fixated on immortality, yet none can escape the genetic constraints of carbon-based life. Only Zhou Lu achieves the ultimate form of immortality in the story: scientific and practically attainable, completing the perfect four-dimensional space-time loop. The past forges the present, the present opens the way to the future, and the future traces back to the source. The four eras form a closed loop, returning to their beginning as one. Hence the title, The Past and Present.