He Saw It Too

The mountaintop was lush with greenery.

At the entrance of the wooden cabin.

Fang Qi stared at the familiar wooden door, momentarily lost in thought.

...Just like that, we're here?

The hike up the mountain had been surprisingly uneventful.

It was just... a normal climb.

Lin Xiaoyou led the way at the front, with An Lian following close behind, while he and Liguang walked side by side at the rear.

Liguang had been on edge the whole time, constantly keeping an eye on the movements of the two up ahead!

By the time he snapped back to reality...

That familiar little wooden cabin had already appeared before him again.

Fang Qi felt a brief daze.

...I'm back here again.

Come to think of it, it felt a bit strange.

This time...

It was still technically his first time arriving at this little cabin, right?

The first time in this "cycle"!

In previous cycles, he had indeed been here several times...

He had even lived in this cabin with Liguang!

Their ankles chained together, picking wild vegetables, cooking soup, fixing the shattered little star...

Those were truly beautiful memories.

Too bad Liguang didn't remember any of them.

But those memories didn't belong to this cycle.

They had all been part of a "dream"!

And it seemed... he had never actually made it out of here alive before.

Every time, he had reloaded his save point right here.

Liguang pulling out her core to reload.

Lin Xiaoyou dragging him and Liguang into the gas-filled secret room to commit suicide, reloading.

Being shot by Liguang, then watching her slaughter the "ghosts," reloading.

Dying by his own hand in the space devoured by the azure code, reloading.

Every single time, it ended with a reload and a fresh start!

And he would always return to the living room early in the morning.

...What about this time?

He took a deep breath and pushed open the wooden door.

"Creak——"

Could he finally break this curse?

...

"Here...?"

An Lian, her right ear still wrapped in blood-stained gauze, stood at the doorway, her gray eyes sweeping over the simple furnishings inside.

Her face was still somewhat pale, and her tone was filled with confusion.

She seemed uncertain why Fang Qi had brought her to this... ramshackle cabin deep in the mountains.

"Sister An Lian, this is my secret base. Watch closely!"

Lin Xiaoyou giggled.

With a swift motion, she darted over to the foot of the bed and grabbed the bed leg closest to the wall!

The silver-haired girl also stepped forward gracefully.

She walked to the other side of the bed, bent down, and gripped the other bed leg.

Fang Qi watched her left eye.

Inside it, the azure blue was beginning to surge faintly again.

...She was starting to awaken.

"Click."

Lin Xiaoyou and Liguang twisted the bed legs simultaneously.

"Rumble——!"

The wooden bed slowly slid sideways, the dark gap gradually widening!

Cold underground air seeped out from the crack, carrying the damp, rocky scent unique to the depths of the earth.

An Lian's gray eyes widened slightly.

"What's down here...?"

"Let's go, Sister An Lian!"

Lin Xiaoyou let go of the bed leg and clapped her hands.

"Down below is the real destination!"

...

The staircase leading underground was as long as ever.

But nothing happened.

The four of them now stood before that silver-gray alloy blast door.

The silver-haired girl pulled a white access card from her bag and lightly tapped it on the card reader.

"Beep."

"Researcher, Lin Zhouyuan. Access granted."

An Lian's eyes flickered, and she looked at Lin Xiaoyou.

But Lin Xiaoyou didn't react.

She just pursed her lips, staring at the heavy metal door that was slowly sliding open.

"Shhh——"

The door opened.

B1 floor, the living quarters.

Back again.

White light shone down from above.

The simple metal-framed beds, the snack bags on the folding dining table, and... the corner where Xiaoqing used to kneel as punishment.

Nothing seemed to have changed.

An Lian instinctively took a step forward and stood in front of the wall marked "B1"...

Her gray eyes swept over everything before her.

She raised her hand, her fingertips lightly brushing against the yellowed duty roster on the wall.

On it, the name "Lin Zhouyuan" could still be seen.

"So this is where Uncle Fang and Aunt Su..."

She murmured softly.

"...Yeah."

Fang Qi replied quietly.

As they came down the stairs earlier, he had already told her what this place was.

He had told her...

that the three super cores she was responsible for maintaining had all come from here!

An Lian's gaze lingered on that yellowed duty roster for a long time.

Then she lowered her eyes slightly, withdrew her hand, and turned around.

"I see."

She didn't ask any more questions.

But her gray eyes were slightly reddened.

"Senior!"

Lin Xiaoyou's voice came from deep inside the passageway!

She had already walked quite far ahead!

"Don't waste any more time!"

Now she was standing with her hands on her hips, waving at the others!

"Look, what time is it now!"

What time was it...

Fang Qi pulled out his phone and checked.

...A little past ten.

Yeah.

That was also why he wasn't too anxious anymore.

Because...

An Lian's death in the previous few cycles had occurred around nine in the morning. That time had already passed by more than an hour!

Around nine o'clock back then, they had still been driving!

At the time, everyone had been on high alert!

Even Lin Xiaoyou, who always tempted fate, had instinctively slowed down to 120 kph!

But...

Nothing happened.

No car accident, no explosion.

That time point had passed quietly.

The only "accident" in this cycle was An Lian nearly being shot.

But even that incident had been pretty odd...

Strange...

Fang Qi pursed his lips.

Why did it feel like in this cycle, An Lian and Lin Xiaoyou wouldn't die...?

What kind of trick was "fate" pulling this time...?

"Senior, what are you daydreaming about!"

Lin Xiaoyou started yelling again from the other end!

"Even though we've passed nine o'clock, it doesn't mean we won't die!"

"Maybe the next second, I'll go 'smack' and fall flat on my face! Or Sister An Lian will go 'bang' and get hit by something!"

She planted her hands on her hips and glared at Fang Qi!

"Don't you really fear that Sister An Lian and I might just kick the bucket right in front of you!"

Fang Qi: "..."

Of course, I'm afraid! Terrified!

But what good would his fear do!

Now that they were here, wasn't it...

He turned his head to look at the silver-haired girl beside him.

Wasn't it up to his wife to decide!

And at that moment...

The azure blue in Liguang's amber left eye was already surging outward uncontrollably!

Half of her face was tinged with a faint blue glow!

And in her right eye, that crimson red was now...

Dull and lifeless.

She was staring in the direction of the B2 floor.

Her gaze was dark and deep.

"Master."

Liguang spoke softly, withdrawing her gaze.

Then she looked at Lin Xiaoyou and An Lian.

Her crimson eyes flickered, narrowing slightly... then she gently shook her head.

"Not yet."

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

Not enough yet!

So...

"Let's go, head deeper in!"

He immediately started walking.

"Let's go to that gene-locked door first!"

Lin Xiaoyou had already run back and grabbed An Lian's wrist!

"Come on, Sister An Lian! Senior and Liguang are going to save our lives!"

...

The four of them passed through the living quarters.

Through the empty storage area.

Through the dust-covered basic laboratory.

An Lian, pulled along by Lin Xiaoyou, walked while glancing at the dust-blanketed instruments on either side.

She remained silent the whole time.

But soon Fang Qi noticed...

She had started looking at Liguang.

Looking at Liguang's left eye!

Because the deeper they went, the brighter that azure light became!

It was utterly impossible to ignore!

And An Lian, looking at the silver-haired girl’s profile, her lips trembled several times, as if she wanted to speak but held back.

Until they stopped in front of the alloy door on the B2 floor. That door, with its metal panel pried open, revealing a tangle of dense wiring.

Lin Xiaoyou immediately crouched down in front of the door!

“Hold on, I’ll open it right now!”

Then she pulled the bright yellow shell-covered laptop in front of herself and began tapping away at the keyboard with a rapid clatter!

Only then did An Lian finally speak, unable to hold back any longer:

“Liguang, your origin core… is it really gradually awakening?”

Her tone carried a hint of confusion.

Fang Qi looked at the azure glow in Liguang’s eyes.

Liguang was standing right beside him, her posture perfect.

She nodded gently and smiled:

“Yes, Miss An Lian.”

Fang Qi then shifted his gaze to An Lian.

When they had come down earlier, he had already explained it to her.

—Deep within the underground research facility, behind that door, something was affecting Liguang’s origin core!

An Lian stared at the increasingly bright azure light in Liguang’s left eye, her brow now slightly furrowed.

She murmured softly:

“Liguang’s origin core is an emotional core…”

“Its awakening mechanism relies on emotion—it requires extremely intense emotional fluctuations to trigger it…”

“This is written into the underlying code. How could it possibly be influenced by external factors…?”

Her voice gradually faded.

“How could there be something that makes her…?”

A rare flicker of bewilderment crossed her usually cool gray eyes.

Fang Qi pressed his lips together.

It seemed…

Even An Lian, as Liguang’s maintenance specialist, couldn’t figure out what was hiding behind that door.

This time, should they really open that door?

“Done!”

With a sharp slap, Lin Xiaoyou struck the final key!

“B2 door, open!”

“Ssshhh—”

A low pneumatic hiss sounded.

The heavy alloy door slid slowly open to both sides.

Lin Xiaoyou snapped her laptop shut with a click, jumped up, and patted the dust off her hands.

“Alright, Senior, Liguang, Sister An Lian, let’s go!”

…

…

The gene lock door.

Once again, the group passed silently through the entire B2 floor and finally arrived there.

Fang Qi looked at this small door.

It was just the same as before.

The surface was smooth, with no weld marks, seams, keyboards, screens, or data ports.

Only that small indentation right in the center of the door.

A gene sampling port—just big enough for a finger to fit inside.

And now, the door was reflecting the azure light!

Fang Qi turned his head slightly.

The silver-haired girl stood right beside him.

In her amber left eye, the azure glow was already becoming dazzling!

So bright that Fang Qi squinted slightly!

He had a feeling…

This time, the azure in Liguang’s amber eye was more radiant than ever before!

And her right eye’s crimson pupil had been completely subdued.

Only a very thin ring of dark red remained, shrinking to the edge of the pupil!

She was now staring fixedly at the door!

Her chest rose and fell rapidly!

Her simulated breathing was too fast!

“Liguang!”

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly shouted.

Fang Qi turned around to see that she had already pulled An Lian back a few paces.

The two of them now stood side by side against the metal wall of the corridor.

Lin Xiaoyou still had one hand gripping An Lian’s sleeve, while her other hand was behind her back. She tilted her head and looked at Liguang.

“Liguang, can you save us now?”

Liguang turned her head to look back at her, and in that moment, her gaze was still somewhat vacant!

Fang Qi’s heart skipped a beat!

The way his wife looked right now was…

Actually kind of beautiful.

Lin Xiaoyou blinked at the silver-haired girl, letting out a playful giggle:

“This time, we’re partners, so no zapping me, okay!”

An Lian said nothing.

She stood quietly beside Lin Xiaoyou, watching Liguang’s left eye, her lips pressed together slightly.

As Liguang’s maintenance specialist, she was probably the person in the world who best understood the parameters of those two cores.

But the expression on her face right now clearly said…

Even she couldn’t make sense of it.

And then Fang Qi reached out and gave the silver-haired girl’s hand a firm squeeze!

The azure glow in Liguang’s amber eye immediately froze for a moment!

Her somewhat vacant look quickly regained its vitality!

She stiffened for a second, then turned her head slightly to look at Fang Qi beside her.

And then…

She even blinked at him innocently.

—Master, Liguang wasn’t spacing out just now…

Fang Qi squeezed her hand again.

—Darling, time to act!

Liguang nodded gently, slowly closing her eyes…

And then, snapped them open!

In an instant, the azure light became blindingly bright!

Lin Xiaoyou and An Lian both squinted slightly, their bodies coated in a layer of blue!

Liguang’s gaze darted rapidly back and forth between the two of them!

A silent scan!

Fang Qi held his breath.

Time ticked by, second after second. The corridor was so quiet that only the faint sounds of their breathing could be heard.

Suddenly!

Liguang’s amber eye flashed again for an instant!

The blinding azure dyed the entire space blue!

Fang Qi instinctively squinted!

Then, within his field of vision…

Something seemed to flicker?

…Huh?!

He immediately focused his gaze!

And then his pupils shrank!

…He saw it.

He saw around the necks of Lin Xiaoyou and An Lian…

That same, nearly identical azure glow!

…What?

It was a circle of extremely thin threads.

Or rather…

A semi-transparent blue collar, wrapped around their throats!

His eyes widened sharply!

That thing really existed!

He could see it too!