Mutation research

No one understood Lin Ye better than he did himself, so he quickly caught up with his "own" line of thought.

A Möbius Strip was a kind of infinitely looping topological structure. Lin Ye did not actually know much about this structure, so his "other self" probably just thought their current situation resembled a Möbius Strip.

The three Möbius Strips represented the three Class-D Personnel.

So we didn't enter the same tunnel? There are just points where the loops connect?

Lin Ye thought of the inexplicable phenomenon of the lights going out. Perhaps it was a special phenomenon caused by two Möbius Strips intersecting.

If I don't move forward, the lights stay off. As soon as I take a step forward, they light up the tunnel, and the moment they do, I'm bound to encounter someone on another loop...

If I don't move forward, we'll never meet.

Lin Ye glanced down at his feet.

So are we walking along loops of time?

As long as I don't move forward, I'll remain at a particular point in time forever, so the lights stay off...

As soon as I move forward, I'll leave the intersection, and the person will disappear...

So direction is meaningless. My only choices are to stay or move forward...

Not long after I came in, I encountered myself, already turned into a monster and finishing the first loop.

Three intersecting loops, each with one intersection with each of the other two. The No. 2 and No. 3 I met earlier weren't the ones behind me. They were the ones who had come around and were about to finish a circuit, but hadn't met themselves yet.

But why did the next "me" want me to kill him?

Why not go through a few more loops? Shouldn't we be looking for a way to break the loop? Going back now would only mean starting over. Could "I" have already found a way to break the loop, but didn't tell me?

No, there's no way "I" wouldn't mention something so important at all. "I" only left the Möbius Strips as a clue, which means "I" hadn't found a way to break the loop.

Then why the hurry to get out?

Last chance, can't hold on, can't run another simulation...

Is there anything that could stop me from running another simulation?

Is there anything that could leave me unable even to kill myself?

The Abyssal Egg.

The Abyssal Egg causes bodily mutation. If I keep mutating, I'll lose control, to the point where I won't even be able to kill myself.

The out-of-control monster will keep looping, and I'll be trapped here forever too.

But wouldn't the monster kill its own self within the loop?

No, the monster grows stronger with every loop. Without "my" cooperation, I can't kill myself from the next loop.

And "I" can't kill me either, because without me, "I" wouldn't exist.

Then if I find a way to make "myself" kill me, could that end the loop?

No, that's too risky. My understanding of time is far too shallow. Trying things recklessly could trigger unknown risks.

There are still rules to this place right now. If I trigger a temporal paradox, I might become completely lost in the time tunnel.

Lin Ye kept walking. The severe mutation of his body had already begun to affect his mental state. It sounded as though someone was whispering in his ears. He could not make out what they were saying, yet they never stopped for a moment.

Light and shadows occasionally flashed through his field of vision, but when he looked closely, there was nothing to see.

If this continued, it would not be long before he truly went mad.

Forget it. No more overthinking. I'll leave the loop to myself in the next simulation. All I need to do now is walk toward the predetermined ending.

Lin Ye relaxed his body and checked his condition as he walked. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have far fewer Mutation Organs now than his self from the next loop.

Did they develop through mutation later? But why were they all on the surface of the body?

Something's wrong. The Blood Corpse's Mutation Organs were inside its body. Could it be because of the Abyssal Egg's special properties?

But what creature would grow its vital parts on the surface of its body? They're not decorations...

Ah! Could I have induced their growth myself?

But why would I induce Mutation Organs to grow on the surface of my body?

...To kill myself.

That's right. Mutated Creatures have extraordinarily tenacious vitality. If I don't come up with something, I might not be able to kill "myself" at all.

So I'll also have to move the Mutation Organs that grow next to the surface of my body.

Lin Ye began studying his own body.

Only after he began his research did he discover that, after becoming a monster, he seemed to have gained a perceptual ability distinct from the five senses.

This perception was extraordinarily powerful. Without using his eyes, he could sense his surroundings, and he could even directly sense what was happening inside his body.

Relying on this perception, Lin Ye began studying and influencing his own mutation process.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Ye finally encountered himself from the previous loop again.

Along the way, Lin Ye had encountered No. 2 and No. 3 once each again. This time, they turned and ran as soon as they saw him. After all, Lin Ye looked far too terrifying now.

After encountering himself, Lin Ye followed the script and recreated their previous encounter: the Mutation Organs growing on his body's surface, the marks of the Möbius Strips, the words in blood, pulling open his chest... waiting to die.

The process went very smoothly. After all, this was the predetermined ending.

By now, Lin Ye was already starting to lose control of himself. The Abyssal Egg had a consciousness of its own, and Lin Ye could not bypass the Abyss Consciousness to kill himself. Pulling open his chest was already the limit of what he could do.

Along the way, he had concentrated all his energy in his heart, catalyzing the growth of a malformed yet powerful mutated heart. Without a doubt, this heart was his vital point.

Through this simulation, Lin Ye's understanding of Mutated Creatures and Mutation Organs had deepened by several levels. He had even begun considering whether to try mutating his real body.

He did not want to become a monster. Rather, he coveted the strength of Mutated Creatures.

The human body had limits. No matter how much one trained one's body or practiced one's techniques, one could only draw infinitely close to that limit. No amount of effort could break through it.

Mutation was the key to breaking through those limits.

In fact, "mutation" was not an accurate term. This was evolution on the level of life itself, but it required precise control of the dosage. Once a certain threshold was exceeded, one would mutate into a monster.

Mutating into a monster did not merely deform the body. It also had an immense effect on the mind.

Bzz, bzz, bzz...

Lin Ye opened his eyes. He was sitting in the familiar prison transport, with Class-D Personnel No. 2 opposite him.

[Simulations remaining: 9]

Nine simulations left. If I weren't worried that something might happen to my real body if too much time passed, perhaps I should run a few more simulations here and study the mutation process carefully.

Lin Ye suddenly realized that the strength of his innate ability lay not in obtaining supplies, but in experiencing Anomalous Events to gain experience, and using his simulated body to study mutation.