Chapter 36

Thinking of this, Lu Mi reached a conclusion:

If his guess just now was true, it meant that only Cordu village and the surrounding areas had time flowing backward, and other places were not affected!

Does this mean that as long as one can leave here, one can return to a normal life? As Lu Mi's thoughts raced, he turned his head to look at Aurora and pretended to be guilty:

"This, uh, this telegram was actually caused by me."

"You?" Aurora was both angry and amused, but more confused.

She suspected that she had been pranked by her brother without realizing it.

This was simply a case of someone who had been hunting for years getting pecked in the eye by an eagle!

Lu Mi explained "sincerely":

"It's like this, haven't I always wanted to go to Trier to take a look? So, I secretly sent a telegram to the corresponding telegraph office for 'Novel Weekly' two days ago, inquiring in your tone about when the next writer salon would be. They enthusiastically sent an invitation, as expected."

"So that's how it is..." Aurora had an expression that said, "The mystery is finally solved."

The next second, she picked up the wooden stick placed nearby and said through gritted teeth:

"The child has grown up!"

Lu Mi hurriedly added:

"Aurora, no, sister, listen to my sophistry, no, listen to my explanation."

He wasn't panicked and even deliberately made a joke.

"Fine, you speak." Aurora leaned on the wooden stick and said, "Your sister has always been someone who makes people convinced from the heart with good virtue. How can I judge someone guilty without listening to the suspect's statement?

"I'll make you die clearly even if you have to die!"

Lu Mi said at a very fast speed:

"In Intis, the place with the most and best-quality universities is Trier. I'm about to take the unified entrance exam for higher education, and I want to go there for a field trip in advance to decide which three schools to apply for."

Aurora nodded imperceptibly, signaling her brother to continue.

Lu Mi praised his sister with earnest words:

"I believe that as long as I make this reasonable request, you will definitely take me to Trier for a tour. But in that case, it would be your money being spent. If the invitation is issued by 'Novel Weekly,' not only the steam train ticket fees and hotel accommodation fees, but even the various entertainment expenses in Trier can be reimbursed.

"I know you don't lack that bit of money, but that's all written by you word by word with hard work. If there's a way to save, I definitely won't let it go."

Aurora's expression softened:

"At least you know how to care about your sister.

"But have you considered that I don't want to participate in any writer salon? I hate contacting so many strangers."

Lu Mi smiled:

"Aurora, uh, sister, have you ever thought that 'Novel Weekly' is inviting you so enthusiastically not to let you participate in the salon, but to use the salon as an excuse to build a relationship with you? You are a famous best-selling novelist.

"So, the salon is not important; what's important is you. As long as you are willing to accept their invitation to go to Trier for a period of time, you can easily find an excuse to decline the salon when the time comes. The people at 'Novel Weekly' won't be angry; instead, they will be glad—glad that you accepted the first part of the hospitality."

Aurora looked Lu Mi up and down a few times:

"Your ability to figure people out is getting better and better."

She then exhaled and said:

"Fine, I'll handle some things, pack my luggage, and take you to Trier in two days. At that time, send a telegram to 'Novel Weekly' in advance and let them pick us up at the Trier train station."

"Good!" Lu Mi didn't hide his joy.

Although he suspected that it was impossible for him and Aurora to just walk out of Cordu village simply, and that before uncovering the secret of time flowing backward and finding the corresponding root cause, the act of "leaving" might trigger some unpredictable changes, one had to try; one couldn't trap oneself to death in the same place.

Holding this mentality, he had just tried to persuade Aurora.

Lu Mi didn't intend to tell his sister about time flowing backward right now, because Aurora had lost the corresponding memories and was unlikely to believe this near-delusional speculation, unless Lu Mi kept making "prophecies" and the prophecies were verified. But he himself still wanted to pretend that he was completely unaware of time flowing backward and wasn't prepared to "prophesy" for the time being, to see if he could discover any clues.

Using reading as an excuse, Lu Mi returned to the second floor and entered the study.

He sat down, picked up a book at random, opened it, and confirmed whether he was holding it upside down.

Then, he fell into his own thoughts, hoping to further clarify his current encounter through the various details discovered last night and today.

While his gaze moved blankly, Lu Mi scanned the small blue book on the table.

His heart jumped, he withdrew his thoughts, reached out his palm, took the small blue book, and flipped through it quickly.

The pages with missing words and corresponding holes came into his view.

"That letter..." Lu Mi whispered silently.

Combining it with the "late" reply from "Novel Weekly," he had a new guess about the help-seeking letter received by Lyra, Ryan, and the others:

"Perhaps, that letter was really written by me; I am that 'murderer'!

"Time flowing backward has likely happened more than once. According to the definition in Aurora's novels, this should be called a time loop.

"In a certain previous cycle, I discovered certain abnormalities through some exploration behaviors and decided to seek help from the outside world in a way that wouldn't implicate Aurora by sending an anonymous letter? And by the time official personnel realized the seriousness of the problem and sent Ryan and the others to handle it, Cordu had already started a new round of the cycle, and I, like Aurora now, lost all corresponding memories and returned to the 'initial' state...

"Now there is a problem: why does this small blue book still maintain the appearance of having words cut out?

"Logically speaking, it should also return to the 'initial' state, just like the food I ate in the last cycle...

"Hmm, two possibilities:

"One is that discovering abnormalities and seeking help happened before time started to loop, but in that case, the relevant memories shouldn't be reset. Could it be that there are other reasons that caused me to lose part of my memories? This is getting more and more complicated...

"Two is that I in that cycle also found a way to make something unaffected by the loop... What kind of way would that be? If there really was one, why not just find a piece of paper and write down what was discovered?"

Lu Mi felt that he had peeled away a layer of fog and restored the general situation, but he also fell into more doubts.

He believed that he should have already experienced quite a few time loops, but in those previous cycles, once it started from the beginning, his memory and physical state would be reset, so he didn't notice it at all.

And the reason he could retain his memory and the "Hunter" Beyonder characteristic this time was because he met that lady, obtained the Scepter card, entered the dream ruins, and triggered the specialness in him.

Since the specialness brought by those two symbols could allow Lu Mi to "bring" the Beyonder state in the dream to reality, it was entirely possible for them to "save" his complete physical condition to the initial point of the cycle.

"So, that hunting rifle monster still couldn't 'take back' the 'Hunter' Beyonder characteristic after its state was reset..." Lu Mi leaned back against the chair, looked at the ceiling, and exhaled slowly.

He then smiled self-deprecatingly:

"Just became a Beyonder and have to face such non-standard things; not giving me time to develop...

"Uh, that help-seeking letter can't be fully confirmed as being created by me; Aurora also has a suspicion, and Madame Pualis is also a suspect... As Beyonders, they might have noticed something wrong in a previous cycle and made efforts to save themselves. Moreover, with the occult knowledge they possess, it's easier for them to find ways to retain certain traces than me... But regardless, the appearance of a time loop is indeed the speculation that best fits the current situation."

Thinking and thinking, Lu Mi had a way to confirm the source of that help-seeking letter.

The method was very simple: enter the dream ruins and flip through the same small blue book in the house there.

If that small blue book also had missing words, it meant the help-seeking letter was created by Lu Mi himself, because the house in the special dream was formed by his subconscious projection mixed with the ruin world, and things known in the subconscious should appear there.

If not, then it was highly likely done by Aurora or Madame Pualis. Lu Mi's subconscious couldn't know about this and didn't need to be responsible for it.

Lu Mi didn't rush to "catch up on sleep." Seeing that the time was about right, he sneaked out of the house and headed straight for the old tavern.

In the corner of the old tavern, a familiar figure came into his view.

That lady who gave him the Scepter card and the potion formula appeared again.

She was wearing a ruffled orange stand-up collar dress, with a light-colored lady's ruffled hat placed by her hand.

Lu Mi immediately breathed a sigh of relief, just like a drowning person finally grabbing a lifebuoy.

He walked over quickly and saw that what was placed on the table in front of the lady was not breakfast, but Tarot cards divided into three stacks.

"Do I need to draw a card?" Lu Mi asked tentatively.

"You've already drawn one." The lady didn't even raise her head and mixed the three stacks of Tarot cards together:

Lu Mi instantly had a feeling of his eye sockets becoming sore.

She really wasn't affected by the time loop either!

Without adopting a roundabout way, Lu Mi sat down and asked directly:

"I, and the entire Cordu village, have fallen into a time loop?"

The lady raised her head and answered with a smile:

"Yes, you are all people in the loop."

People in the loop... Lu Mi repeated this term in his heart.

He asked in confusion:

"What does this refer to? People who have fallen into a time loop?"

The lady smiled:

"It has two interpretations: one is the special power equivalent to Sequence 4 obtained after praying to a certain existence, and the second is your current situation."

"Can one obtain power by praying to a hidden existence?" Lu Mi was very surprised by the first interpretation of "people in the loop."

Isn't it said that all twenty-two Beyonder pathways rely on consuming potions to advance?

The lady nodded gently:

"Theoretically speaking, the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' can also allow His believers to become Beyonders without potions, relying solely on gifts. But to Him, this is a burden and can only be used as a temporary means. The more people who need gifts, the greater the burden, which will even affect His state.

"The recipient of the gift is also not without harm; they will slowly move toward the 'Eternal Blazing Sun,' regardless of body, heart, or spirit.

"Also, since it is a gift from a superior, they can take it back at any time, unless you possess the unique power of certain pathways and secretly complete a certain, hidden theft during the life where you retained the gift."

(End of chapter)