Once Upon in Nanjing-Chapter 15 - 2 No Evidence

"2019?"

Upon hearing this year, Ban Xia's first reaction was that her brain had short-circuited.

Either her brain had short-circuited, or the other person's had, but certainly one of them had.

What time was 2019?

Ban Xia counted on her fingers, she was 19 years old this year, she hadn't been born in 2019, was there only one moon in the sky back then? Xuanwu Bay was just a lake, Zijin Mountain was just a mountain, and the world was bustling with people coming and going.

It sounded like something from the last century.

People cannot be brought back to life once they die, and the same goes for cities, a great Civilization born tens of thousands of years ago destroyed, like a castle built from sand, once collapsed could never be restored.

During those years, Ban Xia was too young to understand the pain of her teacher, who always caressed the skeleton of the steel-reinforced concrete buildings on the roadside, telling her, "Can you imagine? We used to have powerful machines that could construct such skyscrapers so quickly they'd rise before your very eyes," she often said as she burst into tears.

Probably the people of the old era— the teacher was from the old era, always had such laments.

People always find it hard to let go of the old things that grew up with them.

That's what Ban Xia thought.

But Ban Xia wasn't a person from the old era, although she was born at the end of the old era, she grew up in the days after the apocalypse, to that glorious city, Ban Xia only had vague memories, to the corpse of human Civilization, she was accustomed, as this 6000 square kilometers large corpse quietly lay on the ground, turning into pale bones over the long years.

Nanjing City is slowly sinking into the ground, gradually returning to the embrace of nature, on a larger time scale, the hard ground is actually soft and flowing, it envelops and wraps the unpopulated Nanjing, pulling it bit by bit underground, if someone could fast forward the flow of time tenfold, then one could see the process of the city being devoured with the naked eye, the teacher once said that some ancient cities are buried one layer on top of another, one city atop another city, the new city built on top of the old city's head.

If you have a long knife, you could split them vertically, and you would see the shale-like Civilization fossils.

The Earth faithfully records history.

A thousand years later, Nanjing City will be completely buried, not just Nanjing City, all the cities in the world will be buried, by then the Earth will once again return to the state as if humans had never arrived, animals running and jumping in the grasslands and forests, they will never know that beneath their feet, dozens of meters down, lies a once glorious city.

The teacher wept for this, perhaps it's the sorrow that from then on until the end of the universe, no one will remember the existence of mankind.

What kind of desolation would that be?

"In 2040, I was the only person left in the entire world."

This statement startled Bai Yang.

Even if it was nonsense, it was frightening enough.

This year is 2019, only twenty years away from 2040, in twenty years the whole world is reduced to just one person?

Obviously, I'm just eighteen years old, according to the normal life expectancy of the 21st century, I should easily live another twenty years, including dad, mom, He Dashao, Yan Ge, and the teachers and classmates at school, they shouldn't have any problems surviving another twenty years— so where did all the people go?

Even the greatest natural disasters, or even a nuclear war, couldn't wipe out all of humanity in just twenty years, right?

"BG4MSR, this is BG4MXH, let's stop the joking, don't make things up anymore, I don't blame you for not coming last time... or maybe you really did come, but we didn't meet, I don't know what went wrong, I don't want to pursue it anymore, I need to rest, wish you sweet dreams tonight, 73, OVER."

As soon as the girl heard the other party was ending the conversation, she immediately became anxious.

"BG4MXH! BG4MXH! This is BG4MSR, I can prove I'm in 2040! I can prove I'm in 2040! Don't go yet! OVER!"

The channel was silent for a long time, Bai Yang's voice eventually resounded, easing Ban Xia's anxiety.

"BG4MSR, what did you just say? You can prove you're in 2040? OVER."

"BG4MXH, yes yes yes, I can prove it! OVER."

"BG4MSR, how will you prove it? OVER."

Bai Yang was curious. Hearing this, he wasn't in a rush to sleep or rest anymore. Could they really tell him winning lottery numbers or college entrance exam answers?

Such blatant nonsense, and they could actually provide proof?

That would make Maxwell and Einstein roll over in their graves.

"BG4MXH, I'm going to find you proof right now! Just wait for me, you must wait for me! OVER."

Ban Xia put her hand mic down, took off her headset, and sat in her chair, looking around. Her gaze swept over the desk, the bookshelves, and all the furnishings in the room.

She got up and rummaged through her room, scratching her head frantically.

What could possibly prove what she was saying?

What could possibly prove she was living in 2040?

Ban Xia realized she was helpless. Every rock and speck of dust in this world was unquestionably from the year 2040, yet Ban Xia couldn't prove it to the person at the other end of the radio waves. She had no physical evidence, no witnesses. The radio didn't have a camera or display, couldn't transmit images, not even a photo could be sent.

How could she make the other person believe her?

Even an old newspaper from a decade ago would be something, but she didn't even have an old newspaper.

What should she do?

What should she do? What to do, what to do, what to do?

Ban Xia sat back down in her chair, put on her headset, and Bai Yang was already speaking:

"BG4MSR, this is BG4MXH, have you found any evidence? OVER."

"BG4MXH, this is BG4MSR, I... I..."

Ban Xia nervously gripped the hand mic for a long time but didn't know what to say.

She released the hand mic, and Bai Yang's voice came through the headset.

"BG4MSR, you couldn't find the evidence, right? OVER."

Bai Yang thought to himself why insist on it? Why firmly assert she was in 2040? To seek evidence for a lie that not even a three-year-old child would believe?

This girl's way of doing things and her thought process were pretty strange, even a bit scary upon further thought.

Couldn't she be mentally disturbed?

Suffering from hysteria?

Imagining she lived in a future where all humanity had perished?

Bai Yang knew of a group called survivalists who believed in an impending major catastrophe so to prepare for a large disaster or doomsday, they stock up a lot of food and equipment at home, in anticipation of emergency needs, just like severe hoarders and bunker enthusiasts. Could this girl be a deeply affected doomsday survivalist, constantly fantasizing about living in a post-apocalyptic world?

She really should see a doctor.

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Bai Yang thought his luck wasn't great; it was hard enough making contact with someone else, but the person he contacted was not quite normal. Next time he would have to change the channel.

He would no longer use 14255.

"BG4MSR, this is BG4MXH, I'm going offline now, 73, OVER."

"I'll definitely find proof tomorrow!"

"BG4MSR, what did you say? You'll find proof tomorrow? OVER."

"Yes, I'll definitely find proof for you tomorrow that my words are true, so... please, I'm begging you, could you please come online tomorrow night? Wait for me on this frequency?"