Chapter 11: Abyssal Consciousness

Lin Ye was once again the first to enter the tunnel.

Unlike the previous simulation mission, the order of entering the tunnel had little impact on resolving the incident, while communicating with the captain or letting personnel 2 and 3 enter first might trigger unknown complications.

It was possible to try, but unnecessary.

Lin Ye didn't perform any actions that would alter the future trajectory. This time, he didn't want to drastically change the outcome of the last simulation, only to calmly be killed by himself.

Time loops were extremely dangerous. If he acted recklessly relying on simulation attempts, it might lead to a situation where even suicide became impossible.

He wanted to use one simulation cycle to think about how to safely terminate the time loop.

Lin Ye didn't discard the Abyssal Egg. This thing was troublesome - discarding it might cause unpredictable consequences, while keeping it would lead to his mutation.

Without the Abyssal Egg, Lin Ye could continuously communicate with his next loop self, gaining more thinking time with each simulation.

Yet without the Abyssal Egg, he couldn't deeply understand the mutation process either. It was hard to say which option was better.

Perhaps due to heightened awareness, he could clearly sense the Abyssal Egg affecting him this time.

After walking for about half an hour, Lin Ye's vision darkened. Taking one step forward, his mutated self appeared diagonally across from him.

As Lin Ye approached, the monster version suddenly spoke.

"It's alright. This time I controlled the mutation process, retaining speech ability. But I probably won't be able to talk next cycle."

His voice was hoarse and slightly distorted, but still better than communicating through blood writing.

"Get to the point. We don't have much time. Did you find a way to stop the loop?"

This was Lin Ye's first time talking to himself - the feeling was rather strange.

"Don't rush. We're standing at a temporal node. As long as we don't move forward, we have infinite time."

The monster Lin Ye appeared completely calm, as if everything was under control.

"What are you talking about? Our physical bodies are still in the shelter. Can you confirm this space's time synchronizes with the shelter? What if simulation time stacks? I'm afraid I'll return to find myself starved to death!"

Lin Ye felt something was off - his other self shouldn't overlook such simple logic.

The monster Lin Ye's composure gradually faded, as if just realizing this problem.

"...I might not be able to help you. This simulation failed. Kill me."

Lin Ye didn't act immediately, wanting to understand what went wrong.

"What happened?"

"The Abyss is more terrifying than I imagined. As my understanding deepens, the Abyssal consciousness's influence strengthens. I'm already trapped. You must kill me - don't enter the next cycle."

The monster Lin Ye tore open his body, handing the dagger at his waist to Lin Ye.

"Wait, we still have time. Like you said, we're at a temporal node. The Abyssal consciousness won't deepen its influence."

Lin Ye observed his other self, unsure whether this was an act or genuine forgetfulness.

Because time formed a loop, if the cycle had already started, he should have experienced this conversation before - just from the opposite position.

"No, the Abyss is far more complex. Neither time nor space can block its influence.

Walking by the Abyss? No... I've already stepped deep inside."

The monster Lin Ye revealed an eerie smile, spreading his arms and letting his body fall backward like dead weight. Blood gushed from his chest, splattering all over Lin Ye.

Lin Ye didn't dodge. Instead, he swiftly stepped forward and delivered several finishing strikes, thoroughly killing 'himself'.

The other seemed to be hinting at something, but Lin Ye couldn't decipher the message. He could only keep moving forward.

As he walked, Lin Ye monitored his mutation status. Under the Abyssal Egg's influence, some kind of ambient energy flooded into his body.

In this state, Lin Ye could only affect already mutated parts, unable to slow the mutation speed. Attempting controlled mutation was impossible.

As the energy saturated him, Lin Ye's heart mutated first, gradually forming his first mutation organ.

When the mutated heart fully formed, Lin Ye perceived a vaster world.

A bottomless, boundless abyss. A void. A world. Everything.

Standing at the Abyss's edge gazing inward, Lin Ye seemed to see much, yet nothing at all.

"What are you talking about? Our physical bodies are still in the shelter. Can you confirm this space's time synchronizes with the shelter? What if simulation time stacks? I'm afraid I'll return to find myself starved to death!"

Snapping back to reality, Lin Ye found 'himself' already standing before him.

"...I might not be able to help you. This simulation failed. Kill me."

The other Lin Ye didn't act, instead asking:

"What happened?"

"The Abyss is more terrifying than I imagined. As my understanding deepens, the Abyssal consciousness's influence strengthens. I'm already trapped. You must kill me - don't enter the next cycle."

Lin Ye tore open his body, revealing the mutated heart, and handed the waist dagger to his other self.

"Wait, we still have time. Like you said, we're at a temporal node. The Abyssal consciousness won't deepen its influence."

The Lin Ye before him spoke.

"No, the Abyss is far more complex. Neither time nor space can block its influence.

Walking by the Abyss? No... I've already stepped deep inside."

Lin Ye revealed an eerie smile. He finally understood how to leave this place. Spreading his arms, he let his body fall backward like dead weight. Blood gushed from his chest, splattering over the other Lin Ye.

As the corpse hit the ground, Lin Ye fell into the Abyss.

Buzz buzz buzz...

Lin Ye opened his eyes, sitting in the familiar position beside D-Class personnel 3.

'The simulation didn't end. Do I need to exit the tunnel alive? Or resolve the anomaly? Doesn't matter - it's about the same.'

Lin Ye already knew how to handle this tunnel.

He just needed to connect the Abyss with the tunnel. The Abyss would solve everything. Actually, he'd already resolved the tunnel loop last simulation, but perhaps because he died then, it triggered a new simulation. This time, he just needed to emerge alive.

Yes, just █ everything to █ the Abyss █ will █ handle it.

Lin Ye revealed an eerie smile.