How to Leave the Closed Loop

After a brief discussion, just to be on the safe side, Li Tong and Chang Xi set off to pursue [West Pavilion Gardener], while Fireworks of Romance and the others stayed in the Plaza.

Bai Zhi doesn't need to worry about what [Gelina] is doing. What he needs to do now is to quickly deduce a way to break out of this Closed Loop.

Putting aside the Sanity Value is constantly decreasing, Li Changyu's current severe injuries mean he is destined not to last much longer.

The necessary clues have actually been gathered.

As things progressed rapidly, some things began to become clearer.

Sealed memories, the system’s disappearance, immortal Monster, waning Sanity, a world of nested dolls...

The Unique thing Bai Zhi lacks right now is a thread that can connect all these fragmented pieces of information.

... What exactly is that thread?

With her eyes slightly closed, Bai Zhi's mind raced.

From the very beginning, this Dungeon exuded a rather eerie atmosphere. All Player were scattered, and the world resembled ten nested dolls, with each Player inevitably encountering an undead Anomaly... What was the point of all this?

While those Anomaly were said to be invincible, in terms of actual strength, they were really no match for these Top Player. So what if they couldn't be killed?

The system’s disappearance, an immortal Monster... Is there any necessary connection between these two? If we consider it from a certain perspective...

Reaching up to rub his head, which ached slightly from thinking too fast, Bai Zhi suddenly had a thought. Using a fleeting inspiration as a thread, he quickly connected the fragmented clues.

He opened his eyes and turned to look at Li Changyu.

Although this guy is basically one foot in the grave, this Old Otaku is quite open-minded, indifferent to Life and Death, and ready to fight anyone who dares to challenge him.

In the final moments of his Life, he was doing something meaningful... trying to strike up a conversation with the Girl sitting on the bench.

However, it was obvious that the Girl didn't seem to hear him at all; she remained completely unmoved, simply sitting there quietly with her guitar.

"Okay, let me ask you a question."

Bai Zhi reached out and pressed his forehead slightly, then asked the other person with a hint of helplessness.

"When you travel to other Anomaly Space, do the Anomaly within those Anomaly Space actively attack you?"

"That Giant Octopus?"

Looking somewhat dejected, Li Changyu withdrew his gaze from the Girl, thought for a moment, and then gave his reply.

"... They didn't attack me on their own, did they? It was only when I went up to help that the tentacles attacked me. Before that, they were just relentlessly attacking Panties. But Panties was very lucky. No wonder he's a man with the Protagonist Aura; he almost killed that Giant Octopus just by luck. It's a pity that later... So, is there a problem?"

Are you willing to take the gamble?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, showing no intention of answering the other person's question. Instead, Bai Zhi asked him a question in return.

"Bet? What kind of bet?"

Li Changyu appeared somewhat bewildered.

"[Frozen Ice Cream] has three minutes of effect remaining. Given the severity of your injuries, you won't even last two minutes after that."

Bai Zhi glanced at the wound on the other person's neck, which OriginDeficit had bandaged up as if to prevent the head from falling off, and spoke calmly.

"But now you have one chance to gamble. If you lose, you will die. But if you win, you will gain the right to live. But here's the question: are you willing to gamble?"

"If I don't gamble, I'm sure to die; if I gamble, I have a sliver of a chance to live... This should be an easy choice to make, right?"

Li Changyu spread his hands, looking completely unconcerned.

"Stop beating around the bush, just tell me what you want me to do."

"It's simple. I'll make you helplessly killed by those Anomaly."

--Someone calmly uttered words that would absolutely not calm anyone else.

As soon as he said those words, the expressions of Fireworks of Romance, OriginDeficit, and Li Changyu, apart from the Girl sitting quietly on the bench, immediately changed.

"... Why?"

After a moment of silence, Li Changyu spoke up and asked.

"It's simple. I suspect the exit from this Closed Loop is here. After the Players are killed by the Anomaly, they can get out of this Closed Loop."

Bai Zhi held up one finger in front of him.

"Remember, he was killed by the Anomaly, not by the Player. If he were killed by the Player, he would really be dead. So that Panties was actually the first person to escape this Closed Loop. He was lucky not to be killed by [Gelina], but by the Anomaly, and thus escaped from here by some twist of fate... No wonder he's a man with the Protagonist Aura."

"What's the reason?"

Li Changyu looked utterly exasperated.

"Is it just based on this reason? A deduction made because of the Title [Protagonist Aura] that Panties possesses? His body is still lying in that Ancient Castle."

"You don't have much time left, and I certainly have good reasons, but are you sure you want to waste your precious time staying to listen to this?"

Bai Zhi glanced at the other person.

"And as I've said before, this is a gamble; the winner lives, the loser dies. There's never anything that's foolproof. But based on my reasoning, the odds of winning this gamble are over 70%. The choice is yours."

Slightly tired, Bai Zhi yawned, placed his hands on the railing of the bench behind him, and looked up at the Tian Kong.

"There's one minute left before [Frozen Ice Cream] expires. You still have a choice. Being killed by Player means real death, being killed by Anomaly gives you a chance to survive... These are your Two Choices. Make your decision. Don't blame me if you die."

"No, you're asking me to feed Anomaly without warning, and we're not even that close... Can you reassure me?"

Looking at the person in front of him who had closed his eyes to rest, Li Changyu couldn't help but give a wry smile.

"Although I do seem to be on the verge of death right now, at least..."

"The system’s disappearance, Anomaly that cannot die and is constantly trying to kill us... I believe that those unkillable Anomaly originate from the intervention of the system's Strength."

Interrupting the other person, Bai Zhi spoke calmly.

"So, does this deduction reassure you?"

"... Lil’Deficit, I have a favor to ask you."

After a moment of silence, Li Changyu turned to look at OriginDeficit, who was frowning and deep in thought, and began to speak to him solemnly.

"You know my address. If I really die, please make sure you completely destroy all Figurine in my room."

Please!!!

OriginDeficit: "..."