Chapter 2084: Time Reset
"Maybe this is just a chaotic space." Wang Ling offered his own view. "Relatively stable, but difficult to communicate with the outside world. If we're lucky enough, we might be able to get an Instance Authorization."
That was another way to look at the problem, and Lu Miaomiao and Long Jianfeng expressed great interest.
"I'm not interested in the Instance Authorization. I just want to get out alive." Meng Wenguang said, and beside him, Feng Hui, Yue Rui, and the Hong Chen siblings all nodded in agreement.
"What do you think?" Wang Ling turned to ask Xu Huo.
"Of course, everyone wants good stuff, but you have to be able to get it." Xu Huo glanced at the correct time. "How about we rest early?"
Wang Ling laughed heartily, "Alright, then everyone will have to rely on their own skills when the time comes!"
With his interruption, the atmosphere was no longer as heavy as before. Some people rested, others replenished their energy; overall, everyone's mindset was still decent.
During this time, Hong Chen used his tattoo tools to make a few simple stamp versions that could inject pigment into the skin in one go. The stamps were engraved with "Successfully passed 9:17" and "Failed to pass 9:17". He and Meng Wenguang and a few others each had two tied to their arms, ready to make a mark as quickly as possible when 9:17 arrived, in case their memories were reshuffled again. The existence of the Time Tower and the four times on it had already been tattooed on their arms in advance.
It seemed like a crude method, but for a completely unknown future, it was the last insurance they could think of.
Time quickly came to 9 PM. Everyone checked their prepared tools one last time and quietly waited for 9:17 to arrive.
And when everyone's watches jumped to 9:17, Xu Huo put on "Three Seconds of Life".
*
10:55 AM.
When his vision switched, Xu Huo first observed his surroundings. The thick fog blocked his sight and perception range; he could only clearly see a few dozen meters around him. He released his Spiritual Realm but had to retract it again.
Before he could move forward, he noticed a broken timing device tied to his arm that didn't belong to him, its hands frozen at 9:17.
He had no memory of this broken watch or the time 9:17, because his memory stopped at the moment he was teleported from District 011.
But this watch was covered by his coat sleeve, tied securely, and the technique of wrapping tape and rope was very familiar.
It was hard to convince himself that someone else had tied it to him. Xu Huo began to check his Luggage Compartment. On the "Cube Space", he found a note that read "Entering the instance, day three", and the handwriting was his own.
Realizing his memory was faulty, he found a prop box in the Luggage Compartment labeled "Time Tower 9:17". Inside the box were a photocopy of notes that didn't belong to him and a Recorder on standby.
He first turned on the Recorder. The first thing that appeared was his own face. In the corner, he could see two other people: one he had never seen before, and one was the female player he had met in the previous puppet instance. Then he heard his own simple explanation of entering this abandoned city. The Recorder then swept over several other people who had never appeared in his memory.
Meng Wenguang, Feng Hui, Yue Rui, and Hong Chen.
Then came the discussion about the Time Tower.
There was also a route map he had drawn from the entry point to the Time Tower.
Xu Huo didn't rush to find the Time Tower. Instead, he sorted out the current situation.
First, he and seven others were trapped in a city that seemed to be an instance. This city had both time and space restrictions that could erase all related memories.
Second, although players would lose a full day's memory, the records they kept could persist until 9:17 PM each day.
Third, the time after 9:17 didn't disappear; it just didn't leave any traces due to the influence of the venue or the instance.
Fourth, the current abandoned city might not have other time-flow powers, but that didn't mean the city after 9:17 didn't exist.
Finally, he had been forcibly returned to the starting point by the instance for three consecutive days. The times on the Time Tower might be four important nodes. The changes here started at 9:17 PM, meaning the other three times should come later. Today was the fourth time he had returned to the starting point with no progress.
When he arrived at the Time Tower, everyone except Lu Miaomiao was already there.
The Recorders he had left near the Time Tower in advance were all damaged and couldn't be turned on. The notes he had left at the newsstand and the carvings on the ground still remained.
"You should have all seen yesterday's records," Meng Wenguang spoke first. "I was worried we wouldn't find the Time Tower today, but Mr. Wang had already arrived when I came over."
"Also," he pulled up his sleeve, "aside from the part about the Time Tower, the other stamp tattoos we prepared didn't come into play."
That meant all the efforts they made after the time passed 9:17 had no effect.
On the other side, Wang Ling also showed his clean arm and pointed to the middle. "There was supposed to be a wound here."
"So did we jump directly from 9:17 to the next day, or did we experience it but forgot everything?" Feng Hui asked anxiously. "Doesn't that mean we're back to square one?"
"We're back to square one," Xu Huo said, "but it's not a total loss. I can confirm that the time after 9:17 exists."
"So sure?" Wang Ling raised an eyebrow.
Xu Huo didn't beat around the bush. "I have a one-time life-saving prop. I only use it in dangerous situations, so I would definitely have it on me before 9:17. But now, this prop is safely stored in my Item Slot."
"Three Seconds of Life" had a dial, and it was obvious whether it had been used. This also confirmed that he hadn't faced a life-or-death crisis during the night.
"If a one-time prop is used, it becomes invalid. If it hasn't been used, does that mean the time after 9:17 PM isn't actually that dangerous?" Yue Rui asked cautiously.
"Isn't that a bit off?" Feng Hui suddenly said. "Since everything we did after 9:17 PM is considered invalid, how could the props we took out be put back into the Item Slot? They should have remained in our hands!"
If the Item Slot could verify the existence of time after 9:17, then all the insurance measures they had taken should have worked too.
"Don't overthink it." Wang Ling slapped him on the shoulder and squeezed hard. "It's hard to say if this is an instance, but with such a big Time Tower here, it's definitely related to time power. Since his prop can bypass the rules here, it means it's also a time prop. Do you have a time prop?"
Feng Hui didn't, but Wang Ling certainly did. And he was smart enough to have taken the same insurance as Xu Huo. But when he came out, his prop was still in his pocket. It was also a time prop. If Xu Huo wasn't lying, it could only mean the prop's level wasn't high enough.
Their eyes met, and Xu Huo gave him a slight nod. "Although I don't know the specific details, it at least proves that the time after 9:17 PM exists. Also, the traces we leave in the city during the day can be preserved. This means this abandoned city might be a separate space. Everything that happens here can be retained, but after 9:17, the players undergo a change."
Everyone's expressions darkened. "We entered another space?"
(End of Chapter)