Chapter 236: Avīci Hell

Chu An didn't say much for a moment, just silently looking at him.

Lin An forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, realizing he had revealed too much information.

The name "Spirit Energy Node" was only confirmed after more than half a year in his past life.

Before that, it was called by various names.

It's just a name; one shouldn't be able to infer that he is a reincarnator from it.

Just...

The Spirit Energy Node itself cannot be moved.

Its appearance is a ball of light, but essentially it is just a cluster of light with no substance.

To move it, one must first establish a base using the Safe Zone Token, after which a system-generated module wraps it, turning it into a Spirit Energy Core.

It's like trying to hold air in a bag—you can't grasp air with your hands.

What's even more shocking is.

Upon carefully observing the Spirit Energy Node inside the Electromagnetic Cannon, he actually saw traces of a Spirit Energy Core.

Under normal reasoning, this would mean...

Someone had already obtained a Safe Zone Token before the Apocalypse? But how could that be?

If someone really had established a Safe Zone during the Apocalypse, why wouldn't it show up on the rankings?

Moreover, to "destroy" a Safe Zone and turn its most vital Spirit Energy Core into an Electromagnetic Cannon at most equivalent to fake blue is nothing short of wasteful extravagance.

After a long while, Chu An continued speaking as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

"Spirit Energy Node?"

"Not a bad name."

"You mean the light-ball-like thing you encountered when you awakened?"

"But they probably aren't the same thing."

"We have always called it an Unknown Energy Source."

"Like the Electromagnetic Cannon in your hand, there are many of these energy sources inside."

"Even before the Apocalypse, we had discovered nearly a thousand of them across the globe over time."

"The first discovery of this kind was probably about twelve years ago."

"Back then, the first batch of people who touched the energy source all died, their genes shattered and bodies collapsed."

"It had no effect of helping players awaken like it does now."

"So, we utilized the 'waste' by transforming it into an energy module for electromagnetic weapons, crafting it into a personal armament."

"You seem surprised that this thing would appear before the Apocalypse."

Lin An fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

Did the Spirit Energy Nodes before the Apocalypse have no awakening effect?

Did they exist twelve years ago?

He suddenly recalled the Doomsday Ring.

Some things existed before the Apocalypse officially broke out, but he had always thought they were merely a few days early.

Like the "black hole" where the Doomsday Ring was located.

After taking the ring from No. 97 Fengming Road, something monstrous seemed to rush out of the "black hole."

That heart-pounding roar and the subsequent strange coma transmission left a deep impression on him.

If he hadn't been in a coma for three days, disrupting most of his plans, perhaps...

He had originally wanted to go back and investigate, but these past days have been too busy, leaving him no time.

Chu An, who rarely pondered, fell silent for a moment, as if organizing his words.

"That's right."

"As for the question of Spirit Energy Nodes existing before the Apocalypse, I also cannot answer it accurately."

"Even after our first discovery of Spirit Energy Nodes, we were shocked for a long time."

"One is an unknown phenomenon before the Apocalypse; the other is the most crucial existence after the Apocalypse."

"Therefore, during this period after the Apocalypse broke out, we also tried to speculate on some things."

"But unfortunately, none of the speculations we came up with have any evidence."

"First, Spirit Energy Nodes existed before the Apocalypse, possibly as a 'foundation' in nature."

"Just as constructing a building requires a foundation, building the Apocalypse Game also requires a foundation."

"But this theory has many loopholes."

"The Nodes we found before the Apocalypse could be moved, but after the Apocalypse they cannot, and their effects differ."

"So I would say they are not the same, merely extremely similar."

Lin An hesitated for a moment after hearing that.

Chu An's words revealed two pieces of information.

One is that Chu An and the people behind him do not know what a Spirit Energy Core is.

The other is that they had never seen a Safe Zone before the Apocalypse.

"Chu An, the Spirit Energy Node and the Unknown Energy Source in your hand are the same thing."

"It merely has an additional wrapping module, but this module can only be generated by a Safe Zone Token."

Chu An was stunned upon hearing that.

He suddenly stood frozen like a machine, and after a few seconds began pulling out energy bars and chocolate, stuffing them into his mouth.

This time, he spent a long time thinking.

A long while.

He slowly took off his glasses, and only after a long while did he calmly reply:

"Is that so..."

"Then I understand what you mean."

"It turns out you're not only surprised why there were spiritual energy nodes before the apocalypse, but also surprised that a suspected safe zone appeared before the apocalypse..."

"If we continue to speculate this way, it actually resembles the fourth theory we initially envisioned."

"Even, the fourth theory became the only one with evidence supporting..."

"In the fourth theory, we once envisioned that the Doomsday Game, being a game..."

"Then why not combine real experience to reason backwards?"

"Just like the game before the apocalypse, a game's final release will have many steps."

"Design, production, testing, internal test, public test."

"So, we also wondered whether the Doomsday Game also went through these stages."

"Twelve years ago, or even earlier, there once occurred an internal test that we didn't notice or feel?"

"The Doomsday Game has been opened before."

"And the spiritual energy nodes we found are what remained after the previous game ended."

"Just as you said, this kind of thing can only be generated by safe zone tokens."

"That means, in the previous game, someone established nearly a thousand safe zones, even more..."

Lin An listened and then remained silent for a long while, feeling that everything had become mysterious.

He also realized this.

But...

If it wasn't an internal test, but rather an official launch?

If it wasn't no effect, but rather memories were erased?

Just thinking about it is terrifying.

If we continue to speculate, this conclusion will ultimately become:

The Doomsday Game has been opened many times, but they had their memories erased.

Even...

The world we are in is trapped in a cycle of reincarnation.

Opening again and again, destruction again and again...

Endless, and also a hell without respite.