"Exposed?"
"Tong Yang! You're on TV!" Xu Junyue exclaimed in astonishment.
"Shut up!" Tong Yang cursed.
Every electronic device with a screen in District One displayed Tong Yang's image.
"The time anchor is located at Residence 322."
"The time anchor is located at Residence 322."
"The time anchor is located at Residence 322."
The broadcast continued.
"Sis Tong Yang! What do we do?"
Tong Yang turned and fired a shot through Mother Yan's heart, temporarily incapacitating her.
"You find the high-grade gene serum first. I'll come back for you in an hour."
"Okay! Be careful!"
At the same time, on the chaotic streets, the District One residents who had been slaughtering each other all stopped their movements. Covered in blood, they staggered to their feet, stared blankly towards Residence 322, and began shuffling in that direction.
Those who had hidden in their rooms, not participating in the carnage, also all emerged, expressionlessly moving closer to Residence 322.
The time anchor was the only limitation on their invasion of the real world. As long as they killed her, there would be nothing left to hold them back.
"Tong Yang, be careful! They're all heading your way!" Chu Shiyu warned.
"Residences 21, 47, and 578 have been occupied by humans from the Shadow World. Please exert full effort to expel them."
"No way? Are we exposed too?"
"Great. We should have just taken it by force from the start!"
"Oh crap! They're coming, they're coming! So many people!"
"How can we fight this? Run!"
Chaotic voices came through the earpiece; everyone else's coordinates had been marked by the broadcast.
Tong Yang dragged the incapacitated Mother Yan out of the study and closed the door.
Yan Qing and Ye Huai didn't seem to be exposed yet; they were temporarily safe. Tong Yang couldn't stay here any longer. She had to hold out for an hour before returning to the study to regroup with the others and release Yan Qing.
Amidst the chaos, Ye Huai's voice came through: "Tong Yang, you leave Residence 322 first, draw them away. I want to seize the chance to go to the study. The computer there should be able to block the satellite signal for the entire villa."
Tong Yang replied, "Okay, be careful."
"Mm."
Tong Yang dragged Mother Yan into the garden, cut down a thick branch, and brutally drove it through her chest. The bloodied tip pierced through her body and into the soil. Even if her body could regenerate, this would buy some time.
Mother Yan lay on her back on the ground, her pupils unfocused as she stared at the sky, murmuring Yan Qing's name.
A gunshot rang out from behind. Tong Yang quickly found cover. Father Yan, who had been shot in the head by Ye Huai, staggered towards her.
The wound on his forehead hadn't fully healed; flesh was turned outward, his brain nerves scrambled. He moved like a zombie, posing no real threat to Tong Yang.
Tong Yang was low on bullets. She seized the opportunity to pounce, slashing his throat. As she was about to finish him off, Ye Huai's warning sounded in her ear: "Don't get drawn into a fight. Those people are already inside."
Hearing this, Tong Yang stopped. She pinned him to a flower bed using the same method, then got up and ran towards the garden wall. In a few swift steps, she leaped onto the wall, pushed off with her hands, and launched herself over.
The wall was embedded with broken glass for security. Despite her careful movements to avoid it, her palms were still cut, bleeding profusely. The pursuers couldn't see her exact location, but the broadcast reported her position every thirty seconds. The mere thirty-second time gap gave her no chance to tend to her wounds. She ran towards the other side of the street.
"Where are you all?" Tong Yang asked, her breath uneven.
"Running for our lives! These things are like unkillable cockroaches! Cripple one and it still crawls towards me!"
"What about Chu Shiyu?"
Chu Shiyu whispered, "I'm hiding in a basement. There don't seem to be any cameras here. Someone's been walking right above me, and they started fighting."
"Then stay hidden. Don't come out."
"What about the Taoist?"
Tang Shuyan said, "I'm on the rooftop. The door's locked. They can't get in for now."
"There are too many cameras here. Any change in our position is exposed immediately. We can't keep going like this."
Tong Yang took a heavy breath. "Figure something out yourselves. I'm going to the command base to smash that broadcast."
Ye Huai reminded her, "There's a central satellite receiver at the command base. If you can manage it, destroying that would be enough. The satellite signal for the entire area would be blocked."
"Okay, got it."
The command base was located in the center of District One. Due to the earlier chaos, many enforcers had already left the base. Passing by a shop, Tong Yang tore off a strip of clean curtain and wrapped her wounded palm to prevent excessive blood loss from hindering her movements.
Although her position was broadcast every thirty seconds, thirty seconds was enough to leave those pursuers behind.
People were coming from all directions on the streets, so Tong Yang avoided the main roads, constantly weaving through residential areas. The broadcast reported positions primarily by residence numbers, causing the pursuers to get stuck one after another inside rooms, buying her more time.
If she encountered any stragglers—unlike Yan Qing's parents who had firearms—they were mostly acting alone. Tong Yang dispatched them with a quick slash. Passing by a quaintly decorated house, she saw a silver willow-leaf knife enshrined on the main altar. Without a second thought, she took it and carried it with her.
Arriving at a crossroads, the house number showed 511. The command base wasn't far now.
But just then, the sound of car engines came from the street. The enforcers had caught up!
They had guns. Tong Yang had no intention of a direct confrontation. She ducked into a blind spot. A police armored vehicle slowly drove over. The passenger window was open, a black rifle resting on the sill, its barrel aimed right at Tong Yang.
"Bang—"
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from above.
On the rooftop across the street, Tang Shuyan, dressed in Taoist robes, waved at her.
The pistol's range was limited. Tang Shuyan's action drew the enforcers' attention. Both men in the vehicle looked up, slowing down to observe the rooftop.
At that moment, the passenger door was suddenly yanked open. The enforcer instinctively pulled the trigger, but the rifle's muzzle was forcibly twisted away, the shot hitting the driver instead.
Tong Yang moved swiftly, stabbing her knife through his neck, cutting his seatbelt, and dragging him out of the seat before flipping inside herself and shutting the door.
The driver was wounded, but the armored vehicle was still moving. Tong Yang grabbed the steering wheel, unbuckled the driver's seatbelt, opened the left door, kicked the enforcer out, and then slid into the driver's seat herself.
"Which one is the accelerator?" Tong Yang asked, knowing little about cars.
"Right."
Tong Yang slammed on the accelerator, the vehicle speeding wildly. Fortunately, it was a straight stretch, so it didn't lose control. After crashing through the residents of District One on the road, she still didn't stop. The heavy armored vehicle rolled over their bodies and came to a halt beneath the rooftop building where Tang Shuyan was.
"Jump down!"
Tang Shuyan looked at the height and slid down a pipe from the rooftop.
"You drive." Tong Yang opened the driver's side door and climbed into the passenger seat herself.
Tang Shuyan smoothly slipped into the driver's seat and closed the door, asking, "Where to?"
"The command center. Ram our way in," Tong Yang said.
"Got it!"
Although the police armored vehicle wasn't as sturdy as a military one, it was still impervious to most things. As it sped down the street, more and more residents chased after them, until there was no longer enough clear road for the armored vehicle to pass through.
"Crash through!" Tong Yang gripped the overhead handle with her left hand and held her willow-leaf blade out the window with her right. As the vehicle swiftly passed by, the blade's edge acted like a tiger-head guillotine, cleanly slicing nearby people in half at the waist.
Splattered blood covered both of them, and the street became a scene of corpses strewn everywhere and rivers of blood.
"Hiss... Did you crawl out of the underworld or something?" Tang Shuyan couldn't help but suck in a cold breath upon seeing Tong Yang expressionlessly pull the willow-leaf blade back inside.
Tong Yang said, "I don't consider them human. They aren't human."
Tang Shuyan clicked his tongue. "Seems to me you're not very human either."
"Just drive!"
"Whoa!!! I saw that! Tong Yang, you're amazing! I want to try too!"
"Does it feel like cutting fruit?"
Xu Junyue's exaggerated voice came through.
Tong Yang replied, "The sensation is a bit lighter than cutting fruit."
"Ah! I really want to try!"
Tang Shuyan complained, "You two are seriously messed up."
"Chu Shiyu? How's the situation?"
Chu Shiyu's voice still sounded muffled: "I'm still in the basement. I haven't been discovered."
"That's good."
"Boom—"
Right at that moment, Tang Shuyan drove the vehicle crashing through the large iron gate of the command base.
"There are grenades here."
"Pull the pin and throw it in."
"I'll try."
Tong Yang pulled the pin and threw it towards the iron gate.
A loud explosion sounded. Amidst the smoke from the blast, a mangled, bloody body fell onto the windshield.
They pressed on with their momentum and broke into the command base.
Gunfire rang out continuously inside the base. Tong Yang quickly closed the car window. Fortunately, the armored vehicle was very sturdy and sustained no damage.
"This Taoist master is gonna ram you all to death!"
Tang Shuyan drove the armored vehicle, recklessly crashing through the base. Tong Yang had long since cut the passenger seat's safety belt, so now she could only hold tightly onto the overhead handle to steady herself.
Tang Shuyan was probably having too much fun and even performed a tail-slide drift. Tong Yang, furious, kicked him and cursed, "Do you think I'm dead?"
"Hey! Do you have any common sense? Where's your seatbelt?"
"It's broken!"
"Tong Yang, there's another inner entrance inside the base. It requires a password," Ye Huai's calm voice sounded.
"How do you know?"
"I'm already in the study. This computer can connect to the command base."
"Where's the entrance?"
"Fifty meters ahead of you. There are two Enforcers at the door. Just crash right through."
"Understood!" Tang Shuyan shouted, stomping on the accelerator and crashing forward.
"Bang!"
The armored vehicle slammed the two Enforcers hard against the base's closed door, causing crush fractures to their lower bodies.
Without a seatbelt, the massive inertia kept throwing Tong Yang's body against the car door. Enraged, she elbowed Tang Shuyan in the face and then opened the door to get out.
Tang Shuyan: "..."
He felt two streams of warm liquid flow from his nostrils.
This was the most serious injury he had suffered since entering the parallel world—a critical hit from a teammate!
Tong Yang told him to back the vehicle out and deal with the others, while she checked the keypad lock outside the entrance.
"Is it dangerous inside the base?" Tong Yang asked.
Ye Huai said, "Shouldn't be. It's mostly technical personnel."
"Is there a way to open it?" Ye Huai asked.
"Yeah, should be no problem," Tong Yang responded, taking out the golden ID card.
Yan Qing's ID card level was S; perhaps it could grant access to the command base.
Tong Yang placed the card against the authentication machine and heard a "beep."
"Identity verified. Please enter."
The base's heavy door slowly slid open to both sides. Tong Yang looked thoughtfully at the ID card. Although the door opened smoothly, she sensed something unusual, but there was no time to dwell on it now.
"Block the door!" Tong Yang shouted to Tang Shuyan, then stepped into the base first.
Tang Shuyan drove the vehicle crashing into the base entrance, the chassis getting stuck between the two doors, with the front end inside the gate.
"Attention all residents of District One, the Time Anchors have successfully infiltrated the command base. We will urgently request assistance from superiors for destruction."
"Attention all residents of District One, the Time Anchors have successfully infiltrated the command base. We will urgently request assistance from superiors for destruction."
"Attention all residents of District One, the Time Anchors have successfully infiltrated the command base. We will urgently request assistance from superiors for destruction."
Alarms blared throughout the entire base. Tong Yang and Tang Shuyan warily looked around. High-end instruments were everywhere, screens flashing red alerts, yet the place was eerily empty.
"Ye Huai, where are they?" Tong Yang asked.
"They entered a basement. There are no cameras inside. Don't waste your effort; you can't open it. Just destroy the central satellite receiver."
"Okay."
"Where is it located?"
"Beneath the central control console."
"What's going on? Everyone here just left?" Xu Junyue's puzzled voice came through.
Immediately after, Chu Shiyu's voice sounded: "Same here..."
"What's happening?"
Tong Yang frowned. "Ye Huai, can you switch to other cameras?"
"Yeah."
A moment later, Ye Huai said, "Everyone is gathering at the exit of District One."
Tang Shuyan's hand, which was about to destroy the central receiver, paused. "What?"
At the same moment, the glass dome covering District One above began to show clear cracks, as if being shattered.
Ye Huai's voice turned grave. "District One is going to collapse."
"What?"
"Holy crap... We're done! The sky is falling!"
Tong Yang turned and ran to the base entrance, looking up at the sky. The glass dome, hundreds of meters high, resembled a cracking eggshell. With a "crack," a huge shard of glass fell from above, and a beam of sunlight shone through the gap.
The glass shard fell like a meteorite, plummeting rapidly from mid-air.
Seeing this, Tong Yang's face instantly changed color.
If such a massive glass dome collapsed from such a height, not only the residents of District One, but likely the entire district would be flattened.
"Self-destruct protocol..." Ye Huai murmured.
"District One had a self-destruct protocol preset, set six hours ago."
"Ultimate objective: Completely destroy the Time Anchors."
"Boom!"
A deafening roar echoed simultaneously from nearby and through the earpiece, the ground trembling in response.
Tong Yang clutched the golden ID card tightly, finally realizing what had felt off to her.
After exposing "Yan Qing's" identity, everything had progressed too smoothly.
"Yan Qing" had told them everything, including about this ID card. Even though there was no chance to use a communication device to inform the First District, there had been countless opportunities to press the button on the ID card to alert the First District that she was in danger.
But she never did it.
The parallel world knew they would try to stop the transaction, so they turned the tables, luring them here. The self-destruct sequence had been set six hours ago.
Using the high-quality gene serum as bait, they drew them to the First District, planning to annihilate them all at once. This way, the parallel world could not only kill them but also continue using the high-quality gene serum to cooperate with the Meng Family.
Tong Yang had aimed for three gains with one move; they were aiming for two.
One crashing impact after another sounded around them, and everyone fell into a unanimous silence.
Clearly, the base technicians had taken shelter in the underground bunker in advance, and the First District residents flooding towards the exits, all with the goal of utterly destroying them along with the First District.
The massive glass dome, the falling shards of glass, a drop of several hundred meters, no pre-built bomb shelters... they had no chance of survival either.
"Yan Qing, is the high-quality gene serum in the safe?"
Yan Qing's voice was choked with tears. "Yes..."
"That's enough then."
"Sis Tong Yang... are we going to die?"
"One hundred percent."
"Wah... I'm so scared..."
"Ye Huai, can the self-destruct sequence be canceled?"
Ye Huai replied, "It cannot be canceled."
"Is the time fixed? Or are there trigger conditions?"
"The time is fixed."
Tong Yang found a comfortable spot to sit down and sank into thought.
The time is fixed.
That meant regardless of whether they had entered the First District's command base or not, the self-destruct sequence would ultimately activate.
After a long while, Tong Yang let out a scornful laugh. She had really underestimated "Yan Qing," thinking she was like the real Yan Qing—naive, willful, and guileless. But then, how many people who grew up in the parallel world could be psychologically normal?
If Tong Yang and her group were permanently trapped in the parallel world, she would undoubtedly be kept in the real world as a test subject. To destroy her, they were even willing to disregard their own lives.
Only, she was playing the fool to catch the wise. Police Officer Wan might not be able to keep her.
"They didn't let the First District residents leave."
Ye Huai's voice was calm, his emotions still placid even in this life-or-death situation.
Tong Yang sneered, "Using my destruction as a pretext to kill everyone in the First District, then pinning the blame on me. What a brilliant strategy."
"Boom—"
"Boom—"
Tong Yang asked, "If we could do it over, what would your solution be?"
"Do it over?" Tang Shuyan asked suspiciously.
"Kill Yan Qing's parents, ignore the alarms, grab the gene serum and go back immediately," said Xu Junyue.
Chu Shiyu said, "The end result would still be like this. The First District was broadcasting our location in real-time; there wouldn't be time to use the elevator game to return."
"That's true too."
Ye Huai said, "We don't need to be gathered together. Communicating via phone should also work."
Back then, Dr. Wu had guided them through the world barrier using a walkie-talkie.
"No. Yan Qing's safe won't open for another hour. Before the self-destruct sequence starts, she can't get out. The safe's interior space also isn't large enough for her to complete the steps of the elevator game."
"And, the high-quality gene serum is inside too."
Chu Shiyu realized something and gasped. "So that means, before the self-destruct sequence activates, Qingqing can't leave the safe, and she can't return to the real world either? She's doomed?"
"Sis Tong Yang... what... what do I do? I panicked and hid in here... what do I do..." Yan Qing was utterly distraught.
Using a time loop to go back to ten minutes before the self-destruct sequence activated, the others might be able to follow Ye Huai's phone instructions to leave the parallel world. But Yan Qing, trapped in the safe, could not.
"Tong Yang, if we enter the loop, we can all get away safely, but Qingqing will..."
"Sis Tong Yang..." Yan Qing sobbed, her voice filled with the anxiety and fear of being abandoned.
"Don't be afraid. I'll make sure you get back safe and sound."
Tong Yang said, "I told you, no matter what happens, you must listen to me. Do you remember?"
"Yeah."
"Tong Yang? What are you planning to do?"
Tong Yang didn't answer. Amidst the tremendous noise of the glass shards constantly falling from the sky, she raised her pistol and pressed it against her temple.
"Bang—"
After the gunshot, the world fell silent.
There was no need for everyone to experience the taste of death. As long as Tong Yang died, time would rewind to ten minutes ago. Only she needed to die, not by the hands of someone from the parallel world, to trigger the time loop.
Time returned to ten minutes earlier. Tong Yang sat in the jolting armored vehicle.
Perhaps she had cycled too many times; darkness clouded her vision for a moment before she realized her location.
Beside her, Tang Shuyan sat in the driver's seat.
"Head straight for the base," Tong Yang said.
Tang Shuyan acknowledged, "I know."
The armored vehicle sped towards the command base. Tong Yang prepared a grenade in advance, pulled the pin as the vehicle neared the iron gate, and threw it.
"Go in, turn left. Ignore everyone else. Take me to the entrance of the base's inner sector."
Tang Shuyan shot her a surprised look. "We haven't even entered yet, and you already know where the inner entrance is?"
Tong Yang's lips pressed into a tight line. "Less talk."
"The main gate of the base has a password," Ye Huai said.
"I know. The ID card can get us in."
Ye Huai fell silent for a moment. "Did you enter a loop?"
Tong Yang paused. "You guess."
"Did we die?"
"More or less."
"Why?"
"Self-destruct sequence. The glass dome collapses."
"What are you two talking about? I don't understand," Tang Shuyan asked, confused.
"I don't understand either," Yan Qing mumbled.
But Chu Shiyu and Xu Junyue had already grasped the situation.
"Do you have a solution?" Xu Junyue asked.
"Not yet."
Chu Shiyu asked, "Will you enter the loop again?"
Back at Nameless Slope, Tong Yang had entered the loop three consecutive times before stopping the events.
"Not necessarily. Only if needed."
"Ye Huai, check if the safe door can be opened early."
"Okay."
As the armored vehicle charged into the base, through a cloud of smoke, it headed straight for the inner gate.
After ramming and killing the two enforcers guarding the door, Tong Yang jumped out of the vehicle and said to Tang Shuyan, "Find a way to hold off the others."
"No problem."
Tong Yang took out the ID card. With a "beep," the several-hundred-pound door slowly retracted to both sides, revealing a passage in the middle.
"Attention all residents of Sector One, the temporal anchor point has successfully infiltrated the command base. We will urgently request higher authorities to proceed with destruction."
"Attention all residents of Sector One, the temporal anchor point has successfully infiltrated the command base. We will urgently request higher authorities to proceed with destruction."
"Attention all residents of Sector One, the temporal anchor point has successfully infiltrated the command base. We will urgently request higher authorities to proceed with destruction."
The same message echoed through the broadcast.
Tong Yang asked, "Has the self-destruct sequence been initiated?"
Ye Huai replied, "No."
"I understand."
The self-destruct sequence was set to activate at a fixed time, likely a period after her identity was discovered. In the first timeline, it had activated by coincidence, right after they entered the base.
Tong Yang entered the base, gun raised. Before a room full of high-grade instruments sat technicians in white lab coats. Since the self-destruct sequence hadn't started, they hadn't retreated to the underground shelters.
They heard footsteps and turned to look.
"Bang—"
Tong Yang shot the person closest to her.
Simultaneously, Ye Huai's voice came through her earpiece: "I tried. The password doesn't work. There's no key."
Tong Yang said, "I threw the key into a flowerpot. Look for it."
"Okay."
The shot technician collapsed. The others simply watched her, their expressions eerily calm.
Cutting off the central satellite receiver was now pointless. In a few minutes, the self-destruct would begin, and all residents of Sector One would converge on the exits. The primary goal was to find a way to open the safe.
The situation was bizarre. Even after Tong Yang killed one of them and stood pointing a gun at them, they showed no intention of fleeing or attacking her.
"Tong Yang, the key doesn't work either."
Yan Qing's anxious voice came through: "I'm not going to be trapped in here forever, am I?"
"Do you know who I am?" Tong Yang walked over to the fallen body, keeping a wary eye on the others.
She nudged the body with her foot and saw the man's wound healing at a visible rate. He must have been injected with a low-grade gene serum.
"Yes," one of the technicians answered.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Tong Yang narrowed her eyes.
"You will die."
Tong Yang said, "You will die too."
"Not necessarily."
Tong Yang frowned, finding it strange. Compared to the Enforcers, these technicians seemed more like machines wearing human skin.
"You don't want to kill me?" Tong Yang asked.
"Killing you is their business. It has nothing to do with us."
With that, the technician turned back to face the massive electronic screen.
"Are you human?"
"Yes. We are humans implanted with chips."
"Chips? What's their function?"
"Develop the brain. Lose judgment. Obey commands."
Tong Yang looked at them suspiciously. They sounded similar to the Order Maintainers, answering every question as if they would obey anyone's command.
Tong Yang held up the golden ID card. "Do you recognize this ID card?"
"Yes."
"How can the safe in the Sector One instructor's study be opened ahead of schedule?"
"All safes in Sector One have a one-hour opening interval. The lock core is equipped with a satellite receiver. Opening the door means disconnecting; closing it means reconnecting. The connection duration is one hour."
Tong Yang frowned. "It can't be opened early?"
"It can," the man said.
"How?"
"Disconnect the central satellite receiver. The lock core will lose some functionality. Then use the key to open it."
"Turn off the central satellite receiver."
"Yes."
Tong Yang spoke into her headset: "Mobile signals will be temporarily cut off. Once Yan Qing is out, I'll have them reconnect. We should be able to leave before the self-destruct initiates."
"Okay!"
"Finally, we can leave!"
"These people are starting to head for the exit!"
The man pressed a button on the control panel, and the voices in her earpiece abruptly vanished.
Tong Yang estimated the time. Within a minute, Ye Huai should be able to open the safe and rescue Yan Qing.
Tang Shuyan had dealt with the Enforcers, blocked the entrance with a vehicle, and jumped out.
"Why are they so obedient? Do they obey anyone's orders?"
"Come here! Kowtow to this master?"
The technicians acted as if they hadn't heard, gazing at the now-darkened electronic display.
Tong Yang said, "They have chips in their heads. 'Yan Qing's' ID card also has a chip. They probably only obey my commands because they sense the card."
Seeing that enough time had passed, Tong Yang ordered, "Reopen the central satellite receiver."
"It cannot be reopened."
Tong Yang was taken aback. "Why?"
"Once the central satellite receiver is shut down, the self-destruct sequence initiates. It cannot be reconnected."
"What about the self-destruct sequence itself?"
"The self-destruct sequence was pre-set and is not affected by satellite signals."
Tong Yang kicked out at him. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
Tang Shuyan brushed it off. "Anyway, we got Yan Qing out of the safe. We can just head back to Residence 322 and meet up with the others."
Tong Yang suppressed the anger rising in her chest. Time was running out.
She had thought that by shutting down the receiver, getting Yan Qing out, and then restarting it, she could re-establish voice contact with Ye Huai and receive his guidance from different locations to return to the real world. Now it seemed that plan was impossible.
Once the central satellite receiver was off, the entire area would lose satellite signal.
She would have to loop once more, enter the base directly to shut down the central satellite receiver, and then immediately rendezvous with the others.
"Tong Yang..."
One minute remained before the self-destruct sequence initiated. A gunshot rang out in the base.
Entering the loop again, Tong Yang's eyes snapped open. She found herself at the same starting point as the first loop. Dying two minutes earlier in the previous loop hadn't caused the loop to start two minutes earlier.
Just like at Nameless Slope, entering the loop multiple times in a short period meant the loop's start time was fixed to the time of the first death.
"Into the base, turn right, go straight," Tong Yang said.
Before Tang Shuyan in the driver's seat could react, Tong Yang instructed the others: "Ye Huai, the safe key is in the flowerpot in the study. I'll shut down the central satellite receiver in a few minutes. Use the key to open the safe and get Yan Qing out."
"Chu Shiyu, Xu Junyue, you two return to Residence 322 immediately and meet up with them."
"Tong Yang, did you enter a loop?" Xu Junyue asked in surprise.
Chu Shiyu's voice was hesitant. "I'm in the basement. There are still many Sector One people outside. I can't get out..."
Xu Junyue said, "Same here."
Tong Yang gritted her teeth. "How far are you from 322?"
In the previous two loops, the residents of Sector One only began converging on the exits after Tong Yang had entered the base interior, giving Chu Shiyu and Xu Junyue a chance to leave.
If they weren't too far, they could all meet up and leave successfully before the self-destruct started.
"About a ten-minute run?"
"Me too, roughly."
Tong Yang pulled the pin from the grenade, cursing under her breath. It was too late. Getting from here into the base's interior would take at least two minutes. Even if the others avoided the people from the First Zone by then, it was impossible for them to reunite before the self-destruct sequence initiated.
If she had Tang Shuyan drive to pick them up, Tong Yang couldn't possibly reunite with the group before the self-destruct either, meaning she would certainly die and the loop would restart.
If Ye Huai left room 322 to meet them at a halfway point, they could save half the time. But that would have to happen after Tong Yang entered the base interior to shut down the central satellite receiver and rescue Yan Qing. The timing still wouldn't work.
Moreover, Ye Huai couldn't engage in strenuous activity. If anything happened to him, no one would be able to return.
What to do... what to do...
It was impossible for all six of them to reunite before the self-destruct sequence. Yet, to rescue Yan Qing and obtain the high-grade genetic medicine, they had to shut down the central satellite receiver. Doing that would cut off their communications, preventing any long-distance guidance...
The result? Only Ye Huai and Yan Qing could return to the real world with the medicine.
No... they couldn't go back either...
Tong Yang would die after the self-destruct initiated, time would loop back to ten minutes ago, and none of them would escape.
This was almost an unsolvable deadlock!
Tong Yang even began to think the parallel world's dealings with the foreign black market and the Meng Family were all designed to create this exact scenario. Even if she could enter the loop countless times, she would remain trapped in this impossible puzzle.
As long as she died in the self-destruct, no one could get out. They would just repeat the cycle, over and over.
"Tong Yang, are you going to enter the loop again?"
"Yes."
Tong Yang heard their voices while her mind raced at high speed, calculating and arranging every possible combination of actions.
"Will our memories return?" Ye Huai suddenly asked.
"What?"
"After dying once, when you enter the loop, we'll regain our memories, right?"
"Right..."
Before Tong Yang could finish her sentence, a gunshot echoed through the headset.
"Ah!!" Yan Qing screamed. "Sister Tong Yang! He shot himself!"
"Is he insane??"
Tang Shuyan exclaimed in shock, "Didn't you say you can only be killed by someone from the parallel world? What if he can't revive?"
Tong Yang's expression went blank, completely unprepared for Ye Huai to go this far. Was he crazy?
Chu Shiyu explained, "As long as the death occurs after the point in time Tong Yang loops from, everyone can come back to life."
"Well then... I also want to know what's really going on. I'll go first."
Immediately after, a gunshot came from Xu Junyue's end.
Before entering the parallel world, each of them had been equipped with a firearm.
"They say execution by gunshot isn't very painful. I'm off too, then," said Chu Shiyu.
Another gunshot rang out the next moment.
"Huh? You're all doing this? Then I'll also..."
"Wait a bit before you die. Drive the car in first," Tong Yang interrupted him, her complexion regaining some color.
Tang Shuyan responded with a hint of regret.
As they neared the command base's main gate, Tong Yang threw the grenade inside, then had Tang Shuyan drive straight for the inner gate.
After crashing into two enforcers, Tong Yang didn't even bother opening the car door, scrambling out through the window in a race against time to open the base door.
Ye Huai was already dead, and she still hadn't thought of a perfect solution. There was no need to shut down the central satellite receiver anymore. She just needed to think of a solution to enter the loop one more time.
Entering the base interior, the broadcast sounded again.
"Attention all residents of the First Zone. The time anchor has successfully infiltrated the command base. We are urgently requesting assistance from superiors for destruction."
"Attention all residents of the First Zone. The time anchor has successfully infiltrated the command base. We are urgently requesting assistance from superiors for destruction."
"Attention all residents of the First Zone. The time anchor has successfully infiltrated the command base. We are urgently requesting assistance from superiors for destruction."
Tong Yang didn't waste time. She needed to make good use of these few minutes to gather as much information as possible.
"After the central satellite receiver is shut down, can the broadcast system still be used?"
Her question seemed abrupt, but a technician, sensing the metal ID card on her, answered, "Yes."
"Where is it?"
"Here."
It was a device resembling a walkie-talkie.
"Do the instructors' homes in the First Zone have anything that can connect to this broadcast system?"
"No."
Tong Yang narrowed her eyes. If she had Tang Shuyan drive the walkie-talkie to Ye Huai, they might be able to do it within five or six minutes.
Finally, a sliver of hope ignited in her heart.
"Is there a usage range?"
"Yes, within about ten meters of the terminal, inside the base."
The hope that had just flared was snuffed out again. The walkie-talkie couldn't be used outside the base. Driving to pick up Ye Huai simply wouldn't work in time.
They could only use the walkie-talkie here, guiding the others back to the real world via the broadcast.
There was no other way.
Suddenly, Tong Yang remembered something and looked at the technicians before her. They were also people of the parallel world! They could guide everyone back to the real world too!
Tong Yang hastily pulled out a piece of paper, wrote down the steps of the elevator game, and said, "Read this aloud."
She wanted to test if they would obey. If it worked, she would enter the loop immediately.
"Apologies, that is not within our scope of duties."
Tong Yang plunged a knife into his temple. "What do you mean, 'scope of duties'? Is killing me within your scope of duties?"
The hope in her heart shattered once more. Even Tong Yang felt a deep sense of powerlessness and rage.
"What did we do wrong? What did I do wrong?"
"What does the state of your world have to do with us?"
Tong Yang's breathing grew rapid. Her death on May 18th, the college entrance exam on June 7th, the child nearly drowned at Nameless Slope, the disappearance of Ye Wen... incident after incident, one thing after another.
If no one from the parallel world had come to kill her on May 18th, she should never have encountered any of this!
She wanted to live, desperately wanted to live!
The parallel world... this damned parallel world...
What if, partway there, she got out of the car and went to the base alone, sending Tang Shuyan to pick up Ye Huai and Yan Qing? Before they arrived, Tong Yang could shut down the central satellite receiver. The three of them might then make it to the base smoothly, and Ye Huai could use the walkie-talkie to guide them all out of the parallel world together...
No, still impossible.
Time wouldn't allow it. They couldn't return before the self-destruct sequence initiated.
Furthermore, there were many enforcers inside the base. Going in alone, she couldn't possibly reach the interior within ten minutes.
She ran countless different scenarios through her mind. No matter what choice she made, it would inevitably lead to this same dead end.
No one could foresee the future. Even she only knew what she had personally experienced.
What should she do?
There was still no solution. She couldn't go back, no one could go back. They could only enter the loop, over and over again.
Regardless, Tong Yang could only enter the loop one more time.
The point in the cycle was still the node of her first loop.
This time, she sat in the speeding car without saying a word.
Even she could think of no way out.
Unless they left Yan Qing and the gene serum here and returned to the real world.
Leaving aside that Yan Qing would die, what would be the point of everything they had done if they just went back like that?
Tong Yang closed her eyes, feeling the rushing wind against her face.
But there was no way. Absolutely no way.
What to do... what to do...
She didn't know how many minutes had passed when Ye Huai's voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.
"Tong Yang, I remember now."
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Tong Yang.
The overlooked pieces of information connected into a single thread in her mind.
Unraveling the threads, each link connected to the next.
Her eyes snapped open. There was a way!
She had thought of it!
The final and only way!!
