[Reset] Ability

In the office.

Sui Yang stood by the observation window with his hands behind his back, gazing at the view outside as he sank into thought.

Following his line of sight, one could see the azure sky of a bright afternoon and an abandoned village surrounded by dense redwoods.

However, a fourteen-by-fourteen-meter "mercury mirror" stood in the village's central square. The houses had also undergone simple modifications, while equipment crates piled in the corners and military SUVs, pickup trucks, and other vehicles parked along the streets all indicated that Atlas had temporarily requisitioned the area.

This village was actually the foothold connecting the "Main Universe" and "Universe 01," while the "mercury mirror" with personnel constantly passing through it was the first Space Gate.

To facilitate subsequent filing and statistics, Sui Yang called the world he had crossed into and lived in for over a century the "Main Universe." As for this Edge of Tomorrow world before him, he called it "Universe 01."

The contents displayed on the computer screen atop the desk also demonstrated the importance of convenience:

File Name: Universe 01

Status: Continuously Updating

Main Universe, June 5, 1993, Pacific Time

13:32, Atlas's core team discovered ruins belonging to an unknown civilization.

14:14, the first Space Gate was opened by the Atlas owner (ATLAS Corporation Owner) through some kind of blood sacrifice ritual.

15:20, the Alpha Advance Team crossed the Space Gate.

15:30, the wired base station was completed.

15:35, the Alpha Advance Team completed tests and analyses of the air and soil. The results indicated that there was no need to worry about contagion in the short term.

16:20, based on the Alpha Advance Team's physical condition and the preliminary research results, research director Wang Zhaofeng concluded that the Space Gate possessed a "disinfection" function that could effectively prevent biological invasion and personnel infection.

However, Director Wang Zhaofeng still recommended that personnel exposed outdoors wear Level 1 or higher respiratory filtration devices.

16:35, Atlas's Engineering Department crossed the Space Gate and officially began constructing the Frontline Base.

16:40, the Alpha Advance Team continued exploring outward...

...

17:42, drones captured footage of an engagement...

...

Main Universe, June 7 / Universe 01, March 15

09:12, two Atlas Investigators, ■■ Chersky and ■■ Johnson, successfully obtained partial information about Earth-01 using forged civilian identities.

Earth-01's hours, minutes, and seconds were synchronized with Main Universe Earth, but its year, month, and day were twenty-seven years ahead: March 15, 2020.

Investigations revealed that an orange-glowing meteor had fallen on Hamburg, Germany, on September 1, 2015. Afterward, an alien species known to the humans of Universe 01 as Mimics began its invasion.

Germany was the first to fall, followed by France, then all of Western Europe.

Due to the alien invasion, humanity temporarily ceased its internal conflicts and established the United Defense Force, or UDF, on the foundation of the United Nations.

Within five years, the UDF had won few battles, while military and civilian casualties had surpassed ten million.

It was not until the Battle of Verdun on March 13, 2020, that the UDF and the humans of Universe 01 finally went on the offensive. The Battle of Verdun was also the first battle in which the UDF deployed mechanical exoskeletons on a large scale.

The two Investigators had also pumped several drinking soldiers for information. A sergeant named Rita Vrataski had used a new mechanical exoskeleton to kill hundreds of Mimics by herself, earning her the title Battle Angel of Verdun. However, the more widely circulated nickname in the barracks was Full Metal Bitch.

At present, the UDF appeared to be concentrating its forces in London, United Kingdom; Brusseville, Belgium; and Lausanne, Switzerland, preparing to wipe out the Mimics in a single stroke.

The exact timing of the counteroffensive could not be determined. According to the two Investigators...

...

Click.

With the sound of a left mouse button click, the document closed, leaving the screen on a desktop with a black background and a red "Λ" logo floating at its center.

Sui Yang had already returned to his seat behind the desk.

As a transmigrator, the moment he observed footage of UDF soldiers fighting Mimics through the drones and saw the key phrase "Battle of Verdun," he had determined that Universe 01 was the film version of Edge of Tomorrow.

To be safe, he had still dispatched several trusted Investigators to the United Kingdom, Belgium, and other regions. The intelligence they sent back further confirmed his suspicions.

As a film alone, Edge of Tomorrow was absolutely famous in Sui Yang's mind. Watching the theatrical release once had not been enough; every so often, he would pull it out and watch it again.

But if one put oneself in humanity's place in the film—especially after learning the Mimics' true nature, while lacking their Reset ability—there was only despair.

Just as Dr. Carter, whom the UDF commander had dismissed, had said, "An enemy that can foresee the future is almost impossible to defeat."

Mimics were unlike human armies, where every unit and every soldier possessed independent intelligence. They had to be regarded as a "single organism."

The seemingly endless Mimics with orange-glowing cores were like the human body's fists and feet, responsible for attacking, construction, and serving as cannon fodder.

These Mimics only needed to use local materials. For example, by "devouring" soil, they could complete their own copy-and-paste process. This was the root of their endless numbers.

However, among every 6.18 million Mimics, there was one larger, stronger specimen with a blue-glowing core: the "central nervous system" known as an Alpha.

Omega, meanwhile, was their "brain," resembling a gigantic sea anemone.

When a single Alpha died, it triggered Omega's Reset mechanism, resetting the day. Omega would also retain all memories from before the Reset, allowing it to formulate more complete battle plans and deployments.

Against such an enemy, if William Cage, played by Tom Cruise, had not possessed protagonist Halo, accidentally killed an Alpha, and happened to absorb its blood, he would never have successfully entered the Mimics' Reset mechanism.

It was equivalent to a "bug."

To fix this "bug," Omega needed to create false visions, lure the independently intelligent William Cage into a trap, then drain all his blood.

However, in the end, William Cage used Dr. Carter's device to successfully pinpoint Omega's true location. Using classified information and Rita Vrataski's reputation, he successfully recruited J Squad and instead turned the tables on Omega.

After Omega died, all the Mimics invading Earth collectively lost their activity. By all rights, it was already a very good ending: the protagonist and the lone heroes silently sacrificed themselves and won victory for humanity.

But while hovering on the brink of death, William Cage absorbed Omega's blood and underwent another Reset, causing himself, Rita Vrataski, and every member of J Squad to "come back to life"...

Frankly speaking, Atlas could obtain many benefits from the world of Edge of Tomorrow, such as refined modular mechanical exoskeletons and related technologies involving special materials, high-capacity batteries, intelligent systems, two-way data transmission, and more.

However, Sui Yang's top priority was to seize the Mimics' [Reset] ability.