Chapter 685: Other timelines belong to one's own selfishness

At this moment, Zhang Jie still doesn't know that Lei Na has secretly done something very bad.

But actually, for someone, this is already his second Loop.

At this moment, he is repeatedly backtracking to fight the boss.

Unbeknownst to him, in places he doesn't know, some past events have quietly changed.

For example, he doesn't know how miserable Lei Na's past was, nor how many times his older sister has undergone an awakening of will.

In short, those parts of his memory that were very inconspicuous have already been quietly changed.

For now, he won't encounter any trouble on his side, but Lei Na on the other side is currently experiencing a feeling worse than death.

The effect of the strange substance is much stronger than he imagined, but correspondingly, it cannot perfectly replicate the feeling Zhang Jie had when absorbing pollution.

In other words, it is a process that speeds up the painful absorption of pollution by ordinary people by thousands or even hundreds of times.

Light pollution only causes slight dizziness, nausea, coughing, and fever.

At moderate pollution, one experiences hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and spasms of the five viscera and six bowels.

And severe pollution causes organs to begin dissolving, the brain to begin proliferating, and bones to begin mutating.

This was originally an irreversible process, but relying on the special effect of the strange substance, it has been entirely transformed into a continuous pain that can be felt.

Lei Na countless times felt her will about to collapse, but each time, at the critical moment, it seemed as if something pulled her back.

"Is it Master?"

Lei Na muttered to herself; actually, from the beginning she had this suspicion, and this suspicion had already started when she was first beaten into mince.

That's right; the man who appeared the first time, she only felt looked very much like Zhang Jie.

Although the other's appearance was extremely aged, so aged that one couldn't recognize them, Lei Na, after years of struggling in the mire, is fully aware of all kinds of disguises of anomalies.

Such a degree of change is completely detectable to her.

Back then he had already suspected that this person before him was Zhang Jie's father, or rather...

It was himself.

Perhaps Zhang Jie doesn't know, but Qi Yu had said that back then.

During the time she was under the influence of the Chief Investigator's legacy, there was a version of her from another world.

This shows that there must be timelines existing in this world.

In those boring past times, Qi Yu would steal old books from secondhand bookstores to read, like novels about timelines, which she liked the most.

One could also say she had projected it onto reality, right?

And then, one after another, events repeatedly proved her conjecture.

"The pain is starting to weaken."

Qi Yu muttered, her expression gradually beginning to relax.

But it is not yet a true Forbidden Permit; a true Forbidden Permit requires absorbing a large amount of pollution.

He still needs to go to some place, possibly the evil god's planet or the anomaly's planet, as long as it can provide him with abundant pollution.

"Finally.... did we succeed?"

Lei Na's collar was soaked with cold sweat; subjectively, it felt as if several hours had passed.

But in reality, only about twenty minutes had passed.

The fluctuation of pollution nearby brought him back to his senses; Zhang Jie was still battling the pollution god 'Aberration'.

"Or perhaps...."

"Shall I go check on Cloud Star myself?"

Lei Na stroked her chin and began to think. She wanted to give Zhang Jie a surprise, but in the next moment, a glowing cross appeared on the nearby wall.

Zhang Jie in the time rift was almost driven mad.

"No, sis! It's time to team fight! Don't lose points!"

Cough cough cough, actually points have already been lost, pulled back by the outside Zhang Jie.

No choice, can only come again to remind Lei Na.

Regarding some things from Lei Na's childhood, some things that could greatly alter her life's trajectory, he did not go and change them much.

But! For some major turning points in her psychological shift, Zhang Jie made some very great fine-tunings.

For example, he forced her scumbag parents to give her a bit of love (in fact, his main body went over and gave them a beating).

And he let her scumbag parents die more meaningfully, which for that pair of scumbags could also be considered a kindness.

At least when Lei Na recalls her parents, it is not purely hatred.

Zhang Jie now knows how important a good upbringing environment is for the will.

But the only thing Zhang Jie doesn't understand is why, although he can freely alter Lei Na's childhood, he never did so in other chapters.

"Is it because of selfishness?"

The other Lei Nas all crawled out of the mire, and he is the same.

Most Zhang Jies are also pitiful worms; if a person's childhood, background, and thoughts were all changed, would that person still be the Lei Na he knows?

The answer is obvious; that person is no longer their Lei Na.

So they all chose not to make sweeping changes to Lei Na's childhood.

But he is different; his life experience, compared to other world lines, is entirely a matter of hardship.

After all, regaining what was lost is one of the most gratifying things in this world.

"So....."

"Why don't I give Lei Na a better childhood?"

"Making everything as perfect as possible—that's what a perfect timeline should have, right?"

I advise you, kid, don't do that.

Old-timer Zhang Jie suddenly stood up and said a few words.

Bold, sweeping changes will cause an irreversible shift in the characters of the entire timeline.

If you keep changing things randomly, Lei Na in this timeline won't meet you when you were wrongfully accused and fled to the outer region to avoid investigation.

Zhang Jie suddenly recalled the version of himself who had protected Ceng Tian; at that time he said a sentence that left Zhang Jie with a vivid memory.

You don't know Lei Na? How could you possibly not know Lei Na?

No, no, this timeline is wrong...

That's probably how it is. And it's precisely because of those few words of his that Zhang Jie went to specifically look for that person.

And judging by his appearance, the situation probably isn't optimistic, right?

According to the setting that each Loop ending strengthens power, being able to appear directly before oneself and influence someone like Ceng Tian...

This should be his last few Loops, right?

Zhang Jie shook his head; the greater the timeline changes, the lower his connection to you, which is probably the fundamental reason power increases after each Loop ends.

Then what? After your journey ends, there will be a new Zhang Jie, emerging from the world line you personally changed, who will inherit all of this and inherit all you left unfinished.

Indeed, it is a grand journey through time.

Next, it's just a matter of figuring out how to safely guide Lei Na into the Forbidden Permit.

Hey, let's just get to work!