Darkness.
The entire Freezing Zone was shrouded in complete darkness.
This shouldn't be happening. The Research Base hadn't lost power; logically, this situation shouldn't have occurred. Unless that guy staying in the Power Zone had actively shut off the power to this area himself, turning this place into a zone of darkness.
"Mr. Fulen, do you think that by just hiding here, you can avoid all difficulties and problems?"
Maki Shijo stood at the entrance of the Freezing Zone, speaking slowly toward the darkness ahead.
There was no response.
The entire Freezing Zone had fallen into absolute darkness. No sound rang out, as if this place had already become a dead zone.
However, this wasn't impossible to understand. After all, the man named Fulen was indeed already dead.
Maki was very clear about this matter. She could be certain that the Fulen currently located inside the Freezing Zone was, in a physiological sense, absolutely a dead man.
If one were to ask why, the answer could only be given by Gao Hai, who was currently in General Shegera's Office.
[Cave Research Base Life Signal Tracking Record]
[ID A001: Shegera Wilson]
[Signal Interruption Location: Living Area, Office No. 1]
[This signal was interrupted 13,552 days ago. Specific interruption time is...]
[ID A002: Fulen Cavendish]
[Signal Interruption Location: Experimental Zone, Research Zone]
[This signal was interrupted 13,552 days ago...]
[ID C2-184: Susan Garcia]
[Signal Interruption Location: Unknown, exceeded signal detection range]
[This signal was interrupted 14,004 days ago...]
[ID C4-028: Lixer Hanks]
[Signal Interruption Location: Unknown, exceeded signal detection range]
[This signal was interrupted 13,793 days ago...]
[ID C1-005: Howard Smith]
[Signal Interruption Location: Prison Area, Cell D2]
[Read error for signal interruption time, Error Type 443...]
[ID C1-003: Werbo P. Brown]
[Signal Interruption Location: Red Nut Gray Hole, Great Slide Entrance]
[This signal was interrupted 15,003 days ago...]
...
Through the computer located in Shegera's office, Gao Hai could clearly determine the location of death for every person within the base.
Among them, Werbo's signal interruption time was very early; he likely used an exploration mission to enter the depths of the Red Nut Gray Hole, thereby disconnecting the signal with the base. Shegera's signal interruption time and Fulen's signal interruption time were only about two minutes apart.
Susan and Lixer's signal interruption times were between Werbo and Shegera, making it seem like they were released during some period when the Research Base was operating normally. It was worth mentioning that there was no time record for Howard's own signal interruption, which was quite strange.
But regardless, the ending of the human Fulen could actually already be predicted.
The man who yearned to become a god never actually managed to reach the Freezing Zone; he was killed by Hedal, who had chased him down.
But he still successfully survived. Relying on his obsession, and through that powerful obsession, Fulen's will still reached the Freezing Zone and occupied this place, becoming an obsession existing here.
And precisely because of this, Hedal's obsession could not be completed. Because the person known as 'Fulen' had indeed not been thoroughly exterminated. Regardless of how everything in this base replayed and reenacted, Fulen still could not be completely destroyed, thus forming the current dead loop of this instance.
In a sense, he did succeed. He obtained the power of the god in his mind, but he also failed thoroughly. Because he had been completely locked in this place, just like those obsessions in countless game instances, never able to leave here forever.
This man fell at the final step of his beautiful dream of becoming the god of the new world, never able to advance even half a step further.
For this scholar who had poured everything into this, there was probably no result more cruel than this.
However, for Fulen, who had already become an obsession, whether he could recognize this fact was a question worth pondering.
"You are already dead. It is impossible for you to become the god you envisioned. Even hiding here is of no use."
"Or do you feel that even if you have died and become a part of this place, you can still use your intelligence to turn the tables?"
"If you really think that, then you are truly laughable. After becoming an obsession, the only thing he has left is his own obsession; the only thing he cannot do is fulfill his own obsession. Do you not understand such a simple principle? Then your intelligence is really nothing more than this—truly a fool so stupid it can't get any worse."
Maki, who had begun to speak with merciless sarcasm, had a tone filled with biting cynicism.
Beside her, Kaguya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. To be honest, she was also very good at this kind of cynical sarcasm, but she hadn't expected Maki to be practically carved from the same mold as her; that demeanor and tone were almost exactly the same.
The pitch-black Freezing Zone remained the same as before, without any changes occurring.
But in the next moment, Kaguya abruptly realized something was wrong. She jerked her head back, discovering that the main door through which the two had entered had disappeared, leaving only a wall.
"It seems he has been enraged by you, Fujiwara-san... no, Shijo-san. Right now, he probably won't let us leave alive."
Saying this, Kaguya gripped the scalpel tightly, having already prepared for a desperate battle.
Right now, this place was Fulen's home ground. Even after becoming an obsession, this man would substantially be restricted by the obsession and couldn't freely use the extraordinary power he possessed. However, without knowing Fulen's own rules, how to resolve the current situation remained a troublesome matter.
The surrounding temperature was becoming increasingly cold and gloomy.
Although the opponent still hadn't revealed himself, it was certain that his power was being applied to this place more and more intensely.
"By the way, Mr. Fulen, you should know, right? It's already the 21st century outside. After all, since you could learn information about the outside world from that Mr. Lixer, I guess he must have told you quite a few things."
Maki suddenly spoke again at this moment, her tone taking on a hint of mystery.
"The Sacrificial Game throws us Players into these instances, letting us experience these worlds where anomalies run rampant. Speaking of which, in the era we live in, information about anomalies has become something ordinary people cannot understand, an existence with information-masking effects.
"But in the era you lived in, Fulen, anomalies could be perceived by everyone and could be researched at will. This gap is really quite large. I'm actually very curious why such a thing happened and what the source of this change is, but the reason I mention this now doesn't lie there."
As she spoke, Maki reached out and gently pressed a finger to her lips, a smile appearing on her face like she was looking at garbage.
"I am telling you this now to let you know that even if you truly leave this hell and successfully escape from here, you can never become the god in your mind. Because no one will remember you. No one will care about you. Even if you completely destroy the entire world, people won't even be able to know who did all this. You... you will never be able to realize your wish forever. Do you understand what I mean, you poor wretch?"
The mocking voice transmitted into the darkness.
In the very next moment, an intense, icy aura shrouded the entire Freezing Zone, sweeping over like a tsunami in an instant.
"Ugh..."
Even while wearing the Rescue Team suit, Maki still felt the pain of her whole body's joints seemingly being frozen.
And Kaguya, standing beside Maki, cried out in pain even more, almost collapsing to the ground from weakness.
But in the next moment, the Freezing Zone, which had fallen into darkness, was suddenly brightly lit; the power had been connected all at once.
Rows of frozen human experiment specimens.
Various experimental equipment bearing mottled bloodstains.
And at this very moment, standing in the center of the Freezing Zone, was Fulen—wearing a white coat, looking as if his whole body had been thoroughly crushed and then pasted back together, his appearance hideous and ferocious to a nauseating degree.
Why?
This man's eyes widened at this moment, unable to understand why the Freezing Zone, which should have had its power cut, was energized again.
Originally, it was all part of the plan. Kill Shegera, cut off the power supply to the entire base, let that ghostly thing that always wanted to kill its way into the base have fun with the people inside, and then slip into the Freezing Zone himself.
Because safety settings existed for locking the main gate, it could still be used for a short time after a power outage, so there was no need to worry about being locked in the corridor and unable to enter. As for that instrument, which he was actually still unsure could realize his wish, it was now a last resort he had to take. So he couldn't care about that much; anyway, he had secretly installed power storage equipment, so even if the power was cut, he could use that instrument to fulfill his wish.
It should have been like that, but why...
"If you want to ask why, shouldn't you think about it more yourself?"
Not far away, Maki sighed, probably feeling somewhat helpless regarding Fulen's intelligence.
The facilities in the Power Zone had already been destroyed and couldn't be repaired; this was certain. However, the power supply facilities of the entire cave base were extremely complex. Fulen, who didn't specialize in this area, could only destroy the main circuit and disconnect the backup circuit to prevent it from supplying power. To truly destroy the entire circuit system, based on the premise of 'reenacting what happened in the Research Base,' Fulen couldn't do it.
After all, there were quite a few people monitoring and observing him. For things like modifying equipment that only Fulen himself could grasp, others couldn't do much. But for things like power supply equipment, if Fulen wanted to pull any tricks in advance, he would inevitably be discovered. Therefore, in an emergency state, the things he could do couldn't be too many.
So, the switch Werbo left behind, located in the Land of Lingering Regrets—that device capable of controlling the Research Base's power supply—could still be used at this moment. It was just that its purpose had changed from cutting off the base's power to turning the power on.
"I didn't expect this place could still come in handy with this kind of reverse thinking. Should I say, as expected of Ah Hai?"
Watching Gao Hai reinstall the handle onto the tripped switch and then pull it directly up, Chika, standing to the side, couldn't help but say with a smile.
Huh, Ah Hai?
Maki, hearing this sentence through the cloth doll's hearing, froze for a moment. But then, due to the dangerous situation at hand, she had to focus her attention back first, unable to spare energy to think about whether there was any deep meaning in that address Chika just used.
Fulen's appearance was rapidly undergoing a change, transforming from the fragmented state of being executed by Hedal into a normal appearance like a human.
It seemed that only in the Freezing Zone after a power outage could Fulen use the power of the anomaly with a human will. But once power was restored to the Freezing Zone, he would become more like a human in terms of rules. The actions of anomalies were always restricted by rules; even Fulen, who yearned to become a god, hadn't been able to escape this point.
Boom—
A dull, loud sound came from somewhere in the base.
The terrifying female anomaly named Hedal had already entered the Research Base. And those researchers and soldiers who were forced to go resist it under Gao Hai's orders were now being crushed one by one, just as they had experienced in the past. Just like what Gao Hai experienced when he was dragged into the Great Rift, they turned into a floor full of rotten meat.
For these anomalies, this didn't count as death. Just like the Rescue Team member summoned by the badge, who could be resummoned after some time even after being torn apart by this female anomaly. However, because these anomalies were killed by Hedal when they were once human, when Hedal executed them, these things would truly lose their anomalous nature temporarily and become pure corpses.
Only when this round of past reenactment ended and the next cycle began could they be reborn, to restart the final fifteen days of their lives.
The Quarantine Zone had completely lost power, turning into the dark state that only existed at the end of the fifteen-day cycle.
The power in the Observation Area was also being rapidly cut off. Through the private surveillance monitors in the offices of Fulen and Shegera in the Living Area, one could see a pale figure walking step by step through the corridor filled with sewage, approaching the direction of the Experimental Zone.
It was going to kill the final target within the Research Base, the one it hated to the bone, so much so that he became the key to its obsession: Fulen. And if there were no interference from external forces, the result this time would be just like the countless cycles before—it would shatter Fulen's body but have no way to destroy his will, forced to continue living together with him in this endless hell.
Thud!
Amidst a dull sound, Gao Hai stood in front of this rapidly approaching white dress female anomaly.
In a posture of holding a wooden door with one hand, Gao Hai stood openly and squarely in the corridor aisle of the Observation Area, looking at the figure gradually walking over from ahead.
"Hey, beautiful, want to have a fantastic encounter?"
In the next moment, speaking unreliable words, Gao Hai extended his free hand, gave a thumbs-up to the anomaly ahead, and just like that, displayed the silver ring worn on his thumb.
________________________________________
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