Ouroboros
Chapter 19 (Part 3)
Everyone looked back at him.
Ji Yushi’s face didn’t look too good, as if the smallest wind would blow him over.
The hope of solving this puzzle currently laid with Ji Yushi. Without Ji Yushi, they most definitely wouldn’t be in this current situation and perhaps they would’ve already gone crazy.
Everyone felt bad for him, but they also couldn’t do anything for him.
“But the me in Team B isn’t hurt and didn’t fall unconscious so after discovering the overlap in time and space, they most definitely reached a conclusion before us.” Ji Yushi said, “Team B is the same as us. They also know that if they go to the bookstore now, they would inevitably encounter Team 2 and a paradox would appear.”
This was also what Ji Yushi wasn’t able to say to Song Qinglan before he fell unconscious.
Fortunately, Song Qinglan must have also thought of this and chose to remain nearby, observing the situation.
Of the two of them, one stood while the other sat.
But there was an inexplicable atmosphere between them, as if they were real partners, the kind that no one else could get between.
This kind of tacit understanding had at some point in time established between them.
Li Chun, “What paradox?”
It was hard for Ji Yushi to speak and he had to pause a little with each word.
Song Qinglan went on to say, “Because our existence comes from the third cycle and the reason for the third cycle is because all of Team 2 died. As a result, no matter whether Team A or Team B goes, it would most definitely change the fate of Team 3. The third cycle then wouldn’t be like this and we wouldn’t be here anymore.”
Everyone understood.
“So that’s why they won’t go to the bookstore.”
“I see!”
Ji Yushi nodded and then said, “There is actually one more thing. Do you remember the mission mode?”
Everyone said, “Ouroboros.”
“This is the key point to this current situation. I seem to understand it somewhat now.” Ji Yushi said, “Ouroboros holds the meaning of an infinite loop in Western legends. Since the beginning, we only understood the meaning on that level and thought it just meant that everything would restart after death but, in fact, the representation of ouroboros is a snake eating its own tail. It was a case of consuming oneself.”
Ouroboros symbolised infinity, no limit, no beginning and no end.
Ji Yushi picked up a knife next to him, “Cap Song, help me draw a circle.”
Song Qinglan replied and carved a white circle onto the floor of the car.
Ji Yushi took the knife back and used the tip of the knife to mark out a few spots on the circle.
“Look, no matter which point of the circle it is, it can be regarded as the starting point of the circle and it can also be regarded as the end.” He spoke very slowly, leaving time for the others to think and react, “This is similar to our current situation. In the first cycle, we were killed by a spacecar. It was because the people who chose to drive the spacecar was us ourselves. We encountered a roadblock and had to take the alley to reach the bookstore because we were hijacked by people on another timeline which resulted in damages blocking the road. After escaping from the bookstore, we were faced with a wire fence and was swallowed up by the black wall because the people who had hijacked us had raised that wire fence. As if everything was destined, all these incidents are linked, forming a circle on its own.”
“With the time anchor setting in place, time is fixed. That’s why, every trace we leave is like a point on this circle. There is no particular order, only cause and effect.”
Once done with this explanation, the large and complex world setting of PU-31 left everyone in shock.
Even though Song Qinglan had a faint guess, he didn’t analyse it as clearly as Ji Yushi did.
For a long time, no one in the car spoke.
“Older brother, did you understand?” Tang Le poked Tang Qi.
“Yeah.” Tang Qi answered coolly and after showing a slight look of confusion, he answered again as if he needed to confirm it once again, “Yeah.”
Zhou Mingxuan, “I can’t do it. I seem to understand but I also don’t seem to understand. I feel a little dizzy.”
Duan Wen took out a cigarette, “Want one?”
Li Chun, “Brother Wen, me too.”
After giving everyone a few minutes to digest this information, Song Qinglan made them put out the cigarettes.
Tang Le was worried. He asked the most critical question, “Then, Advisor Ji, can we still get out of this loop?”
Tang Qi had the same thoughts as him, “Could everything that we’re doing now also be a cause and effect? But nothing has changed?”
Perhaps the painkillers worked as Ji Yushi’s wounds didn’t hurt as much as before.
He was silent for a moment and answered honestly, “I don’t know.”
Song Qinglan suddenly spoke up, “We can definitely get out of this loop.”
He leaned back against the wall of the car. His posture was lazy, but his expression wasn’t at all relaxed, “Since we know what’s going on, there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just a loop. The only way is to not look back and keep pushing forward. Even if we fail, we have to leave a clue for next time. Don’t forget, we are not here to experience anything about cause and effect. Our purpose here is to complete the mission.”
Everyone slowly returned to their senses.
Song Qinglan asked, “Let me ask you. Do you want to go back?”
Everyone, “Yes!”
Song Qinglan nodded and then asked, “Then, are you afraid of death?”
Everyone, “Not afraid!”
“Then that’s it.” Song Qinglan laughed, “Why think so much? It’s enough to just understand what’s going on. Besides, although we don’t know where Team B is hiding, we now have two teams, A and B, which is equivalent to learning the doppelganger technique. Wouldn’t it be easier to complete the mission this way?”
Everyone’s spirits were lifted. They even felt a little proud.
Song Qinglan then unceremoniously poured a bucket of cold water onto them, “Of course, the main point is that we have two Ji Yushi’s who can analyse the situation.”
Song Qinglan had said that without any psychological burden.
It was similar to the time when Ji Yushi said blankly that he wanted to lie down and win.
The situation had reversed.
Everyone: “………”
Suddenly, there was a soft sound outside the spacecar. Zhou Mingxuan threw away his cigarette butt and went out to check with his laser gun.
He only saw a grappling hook with a plastic bag nailed to the door of the spacecar.
Three or four zombies had followed the sound. Afraid of attracting more by making more of a commotion, Zhou Mingxuan pulled out a dagger and dealt with them cleanly with it instead. He returned with the plastic bag, “What is this?! There are people who still send messages like this?”
Song Qinglan seemed to have thought of something, “Open it and take a look.”
There was a piece of paper and pen in the bag.
Opening that piece of paper, there was only one book title written in it: <Golden Crow No. 1: Propagation>?
“Let me see.”
Ji Yushi reached out.
Song Qinglan handed it over.
“This is my handwriting.” Ji Yushi quickly understood, “This is from me in Team B! As I guessed, they also figured out the problem of overlapping time and space and knew that they couldn’t go to the bookstore to check the clues right now and have been following us!”
Team B’s Ji Yushi remembered that he needed to look for this clue but didn’t have the chance to read the book.
Everyone had goosebumps on their backs.
They were just saying that they didn’t know where Team B was hiding and now, they had appeared.
This was a different feeling from watching Team 2 in the bookstore. Team 2 was their past self while Team B was their present self.
Anyone would feel uncomfortable at the thought of two of themselves existing at the same time.
“Where did they get the paper and pen?” Duan Wen asked, “Should we contact them through the communicator?”
“No.” Song Qinglan stopped him, “Now that multiple timelines have been established, we must try to avoid being discovered by Team 2.”
Ji Yushi wrote very quickly.
He wrote down all the insights he saw from the book <Golden Crow No. 1: Propagation> and as he wrote, he said, “My earlier guesses were right. PU-31 itself is just an artificial colony in a parallel universe. It is located in the crevice, a marginal product that shouldn’t exist. In this universe, the earths energy has been exhausted and is almost completely gone and that is why there are many colonies like PU-31 which rely on various artificial energy to run. This also includes the artificial sun that emerged under the thermonuclear fusion project.”
“Artificial sun?” Song Qinglan found it incredible, “Golden Crow No. 1?”
“There is also No. 2.” Ji Yushi said, “I originally thought that cosmic radiation, dark matter or other elements in the artificial sun caused animals and plants to mutate. For example, the strange tasting Kemeng beans that nobody eats, but there were those survivors in black robes as well as that woman——”
“She said that after Golden Crow No. 2 was launched, her daughter has never been in the sun so she definitely wouldn’t mutate.” Song Qinglan immediately understood what Ji Yushi was saying, “That is to say, this zombie disaster is related to the artificial sun.”
“Because of the artificial sun, there are zombies?”
“Fuck, then we’ve been in the sun too. Would we also mutate?”
“This, I understand. It’s similar to a game saving function. As long as we return to the anchor point, it’s equivalent to not being exposed.”
Ji Yushi said, “Not only is it related to mutation, it also must have something to do with the chaser of darkness mentioned in our mission objective. Although I still don’t know what the connection is, there are two Golden Crow bases. We can go separately to find the answer.”
Song Qinglan waited for him to finish writing and then took the pen and signed underneath: Team A.
The two turned back when they were done.
They were met with five confused faces.
Li Chun, “I feel like I’m an NPC who doesn’t understand anything and just follows the protagonist around.”
Everyone nodded, “Aye.”
Zhou Mingxuan repacked everything in the bag and randomly tossed it out.
A group of zombies chased wildly after the bag.
Zhou Mingxuan: “……….”
After a while, there was another soft sound outside.
The bag had returned.
It said: We will go to Golden Crow No. 1.
It was signed below: Team A.
The A was also heavily circled, emphasising that they are Team A.
It was clearly Song Qinglan’s handwriting. He was speechless for a while, “Childish. To us, you are Team B.”
Ji Yushi: “…….”
Song Qinglan scribbled down the team members on the paper to give them an understanding of their team’s current state.
When the note came back, Song Qinglan frowned.
The current situation of Team B was: Song Qinglan, Ji Yushi, Duan Wen, Li Chun, Zhou Mingxuan, Tang Qi. Only Tang Le was missing.
An explanation was attached below: Remind Tang Le not to chase after a two-tailed dog.
There was even a stick figure drawn at the end and a cross over the neck.
Ji Yushi’s previous analysis in the bookstore appeared in Song Qinglan’s mind. At that time, he had said that the zombie that had appeared outside the bookstore in the second cycle wasn’t Tang Qi but Tang Le. Song Qinglan didn’t understand Ji Yushi at the time but now he did.
It turned out to be Tang Le from Team B.
At this moment, Tang Le was still talking to Tang Qi, alive and well.
More than ten hours ago, he had rushed into the bookstore and chugged down some water before saying to everyone, “There is something wrong with this place!”
Facing his teammates ridicule, he said he ran into a dog with two tails.
What he didn’t know was that ten hours later, his other self would be attracted over for the same reason and would die after trying to go after it.
Song Qinglan turned to the side and looked down at Ji Yushi who sat on a box of equipment.
The other person also happened to be looking at him. There were some doubts written in his beautiful eyes, as if he was asking him what’s wrong.
Time was endless, and the universe was vast.
Only wisdom and knowledge remained unchanged.
If one could find a lighthouse when they are lost, then they will be able to find their way home even if they had to cross the ocean or go over a mountain.
Song Qinglan retracted his gaze.
He scrunched the paper up into a ball and threw it out, “Pack up now. Let’s go to Golden Crow No. 2.”
