Chapter 30

After a few seconds of listening, a black, human-shaped object slowly rose from the middle of the shadow on the ground, about two meters tall, its body enveloped in condensed darkness, like a three-dimensional "shadow." However, it was clearly not a regional optical phenomenon caused by an object blocking light, but a real entity existing in three-dimensional space.

"Let's change the metaphor of the puddle outside the river to a whirlpool outside the river of time, which would be more appropriate," Feng Jue ignored Samodel's not-so-glorious entrance and continued the previous topic as if nothing had happened. "Although Einstein said that time and space are just illusions of human cognition, merely parameters for describing the motion of matter, in this magical world, we can treat them as more tangible things. This is something that must always remain in motion, like water in a river, always flowing. If the water stops, the river can no longer be called a river."

"Based on this perspective, since Samodel has separated this space, he must also have separated a part of 'time,' otherwise everything in this space, including himself, would be static. But the water he can take out of the 'river' is limited, only thirty minutes. These thirty minutes belong only to this city and will loop infinitely. At the end of each loop, there will be a few seconds of nothingness as a buffer. That dark moment is where the segments of the timeline connect. After passing through the buffer point, a new loop begins."

The shadow circle beneath Samodel began to move, his humanoid body advancing with the black circle connected to his feet, approaching the five people.

"Jue, do you have any suggestions?" Wang Tanzhi, not daring to act rashly, asked first.

The others also waited for Feng Jue to say something.

"There's probably no need to do anything special..." Feng Jue said, "Given the current plot development, the difficulty won't be higher than the choice to go through the door." He continued, "Don't keep interrupting, I'm not done yet. In summary, the arrival of darkness is just a phenomenon that occurs when reaching the connection point of the timeline, not an action taken by Samodel."

"But why do the monsters become stronger every time the darkness arrives? There's only one reason: that short period of darkness, which is not part of the time loop, is when Samodel can exert his full power. He can only do something during those few seconds, like distributing his power to the demons or instantly devouring the people in the city. Of course, before we arrived, he had already devoured everyone in the city, and we are visitors from another world, so he can't devour us."

"Are you saying... this Samodel in front of us isn't actually strong? At least weaker than the BOSS we might encounter after going through the Demon's Gate?" Long Ao Ming asked.

"If I have to give an example, it's like we are a few weak ants inside a balloon, and Samodel is a human outside the balloon, equally powerful. The balloon creates a dimension that cannot be crossed, so he can't pierce it; he can only grab blindly through the balloon. What we see now is just the outline of his fingers pressing against the outside of the balloon," Feng Jue said, stroking his chin. "But personally, I think... even so, his current strength is not as weak as you say. It would still be easy for him to kill us."

"Hey! Then why are you so relaxed and talking so much! Run!" Lonely Guy pulled Lonely Girl and turned to run.

Before they had taken a few steps, they heard a system prompt: [Worldview cracked, player: Feng Jue, awarded 240 skill points, the team can now view the world rules of this script in the extended options of the mission menu.]

"Without saying it out loud, how could I get these skill points?" Feng Jue said, "To crack the worldview, it must be said out loud for the system to recognize it."

The black shadow of Samodel was already about ten meters in front of Feng Jue, but he still had no intention of running: "Besides, didn't I say we don't need to do anything special? Since the Demon's Gate is already closed..."

At this moment, the black shadow suddenly accelerated, and the volume of the human-shaped object in the black circle increased several times in an instant, turning into a giant black hand that pressed down rapidly toward Feng Jue.

But at the last moment, the large hand stopped in mid-air, motionless.

"From the name... [Lord of Time] should be someone who is never late," Feng Jue slightly lowered his head and walked out from under the black hand with ease.

Soon, Samodel's black shadow began to contract sharply, as if a powerful force on the other side of the shadow was pulling it in.

[One day... you... will... pay... the... price... not... long... now...]

"Haha... that's not good, usually when a villain says this, it means they will reappear sooner or later," Feng Jue laughed.

The part of the black shadow protruding from the ground struggled wildly like a beast caught in quicksand, then was completely pulled back. The black circular shadow on the ground gradually shrank and disappeared completely after about ten seconds.

[Visitors from another world, thank you for what you have done. After this place is purified, I can draw water back to its source, allowing it to flow again in the river of time.]

A different voice appeared in everyone's minds, a typical voice often used for elderly sages in games.

[You have received a reward from the Lord of Time, please check it in the settlement screen.] The system voice then sounded.

[The current mission is complete, all main missions are complete.]

[You have completed this script, automatic teleportation in 180 seconds.]

The automatic teleportation time for team mode is longer, considering that players might need to communicate.

Wang Tanzhi immediately sat on the ground, his tense nerves relaxing, and his fear value finally returned to zero.

Lonely and Lonely Girl also sighed in relief, feeling great to have survived to the end.

Long Ao Ming remained relatively calm, putting away his weapon and shield. Taking advantage of the remaining minute, he said to Feng Jue, "Brother Feng." The title had changed back to "Brother Feng," "I still have one question I haven't figured out."

Feng Jue said, "What is it?"

"It's a question about time," Long Ao Ming said, "As you said, since we entered the script, we haven't seen any clocks or timing devices. How did you calculate the time between the two periods of darkness? I remember you said 'about thirty minutes' when we reached the Demon's Gate."

"Because I've been timing it," Feng Jue replied, "As soon as we entered the script, I noticed an anomaly. How could there be no electronic clocks in the subway station? Later, I didn't see any timing devices on the surface either. After the first darkness, I started timing. When we reached the police station, the second darkness arrived, and I calculated it to be about thirty minutes."

"Right, I was just wondering, without a clock, how did you time it?" Long Ao Ming asked.

"By counting," Feng Jue replied, "Counting silently, 301 counts is five minutes. In a non-moving state, you can count your pulse instead. Didn't you notice that I often used my right hand to feel my left hand? That's the body's built-in timer. In that state, I have 77 beats per minute." He knew his pulse rate clearly because he had stayed in the hospital for a long time and undergone countless tests, so he was very familiar with his body's various indicators. "Counting the pulse is actually more accurate than counting silently, and you don't have to control the counting frequency, which is a lazy way. When concentration drops, alternating between counting the pulse and counting seconds can yield similar results. If you don't believe me, try it at home for half an hour or an hour. You can do other things to distract yourself during this time; it's just a task that requires patience."

"No need... I understand, thank you for the advice." Not just Long Ao Ming, but Lonely and Lonely Girl, who were listening, looked at Feng Jue as if he were a monster.

Wang Tanzhi was already used to it. After knowing Feng Jue for so many years, he had seen everything. If someone told him that aliens had invaded Earth, he would probably be skeptical; but if someone told him that Feng Jue was actually an alien, he might believe it.

"Let's not talk more, everyone, the teleportation is almost here, let's part ways." Feng Jue said.

Lonely and Lonely Girl said a few words of thanks and said goodbye to the others. They soon turned into white light and left the script.

Long Ao Ming did not teleport immediately. After the two disappeared, he said, "Brother Feng, Brother Wang, how about we add each other as friends?"

He suggested this not because he was hoping to cling to a powerful player; it was too early for that. It was the first day of the beta test, and whether professional players, casual players, or leisure players, the level gap would not be significant. Although Feng Jue seemed to have the potential of a high-level player, it was hard to say if he would consistently play.

Long Ao Ming wanted to add this friend mainly because Feng Jue had handed him a piece of fine equipment without hesitation. Although the equipment itself was not particularly valuable, it was hard to trust a stranger unconditionally these days. Just for this, the friend was worth adding.

As for Wang Tanzhi, it was clear he had queued up with Feng Jue, and Long Ao Ming couldn't just add Feng Jue alone. Moreover, from the performance in the battle against the blood zombies, this guy, though timid, had decent skills. Even if he wasn't a high-level player, he wouldn't be a liability.

"Sure, let's chat in the login space, let's check the settlement first," Feng Jue responded.

The three said their goodbyes and left the script.

After all the players had left, the Demon's Gate suddenly trembled again, as if something unknown on the other side had collided with the magic barrier of the door...

A flash of white light appeared, and Feng Jue returned to the login space. System prompts sounded one after another:

[You have reached level 11, your stamina cap has increased, current: 1100/1100]

[The title system has been unlocked, you have received the title — Cold Blooded Headshot Maniac]

Then, he shifted his gaze to the display on the wall, which already showed the settlement details after completing the script.